The last two days have been the most hectic and exhausting since I’ve been here in Madurai. I haven’t had time to even sit and collect my thoughts to write the blog. So I’m going to try and catch you up on what has been happening.
Friday, I went to look for a digital camera shop where they could take my photos and make prints for me. I wanted to give the newly baptized ladies a picture and I wanted to give some to my translator. People don’t have cameras here like back home. A camera is an instant draw to people. They will literally stop you on the street and ask: “photo please?”
While wandering the streets I was accosted by many of the local carnival hawkers trying to take me to their shops; do you want shirt, pants, suits, rugs, etc they ask and they know a mother, sister, brother, uncle who will make one for you. As I was walking down a busy street with a hawker by my side encouraging me to follow him to a local jewelry store; a bicyclist was struck by a taxi right next to me. The man on the bike was thrown to the pavement where he struck his head. The bike was demolished. People came out of the shops and began yelling at the driver. I stood there astonished at what I was seeing. Traffic continued to blow their horns and drive right around the accident scene.
I’m told that if a driver hits a bike rider or pedestrian and the person is killed, there is a standard fine of 2000 rupees; equivalent to about $50 USD. If the person is just injured, you must pay all medical costs until they recover.
I did find my photo shop and had the prints made. Also, Friday was a holiday in India, much like our 4th of July. There were special activities going on and everyone was wearing or carrying an Indian flag. I stopped at a local shop and bought 100 small flags to give to the children in my village. Giving small gifts like this or balloons go a long way to create good will. I went to my site and began visiting. Each day there are more houses for me to go to. We sit, they stare at me, I pray a blessing on the family and the house, sometimes pray for specific needs such as health, jobs, family issues; then we move to the next house.
Got to the meeting site a little late and quickly set up. As soon as we were ready to begin, it began to rain. This is the dry season and it seldom rains this time of year; I wonder why it is raining now (maybe you can figure it out)?
We covered the equipment and they took me into the house. We waited for 20 minutes till the rain stopped and we resumed the meeting. I had to shorten my sermon a little but it worked out OK. We gave the flags to the children and their eyes were huge. I had some left over and gave all of the adults one too; they were almost as happy as the kids.
Sabbath morning at breakfast (7:00 a.m.) the local Indian conference President found me and asked me to speak in the church where I held the baptism on Thursday morning; nothing like getting plenty of advanced warning to prepare. I said yes. At nine they came to get me with a scooter and we were off to church. They treated me like royalty as they introduced me during Sabbath school. I was taken to each of the classes and asked to say a word or two. At the teen class, they wanted to ask me all sorts of deep theological questions. It was fun. Then during church you would have thought I was an envoy from a foreign government. When I preached I came out in front of the podium, they had never seen a preacher not stand behind the pulpit before. Some spoke English but they translated my sermon. I gave a modified kingdom of God sermon that I had done at Walk of Faith before I left and inserted my testimony into it. They loved it. Three of the four ladies I baptized on Thursday were in church, the fourth was home sick. They all were so proud to be connected with me.
Right after worship I walked back to the hotel. It’s almost 4 miles by cart but less than half a mile to walk. Railroad tracks and the road system make it quite confusing. After eating at the hotel, they picked me up at 2:30 to go out to the village to see what they normally do with the kids each Sabbath. I wouldn’t get back to my hotel room until after 11:00 p.m. Needless to say, I was exhausted last night.
The picture you see above is one of the Sabbath school classes I attended. There were four of them that I visited. The local team, from the church where I preached, moves from place to place conducting a short program at each. The kids (about 50 at teach site) are given something to color with a Bible verse on it to memorize. If they color the picture and memorize the verse for the next week they get a small gift. They sing songs, a Bible story is told, there is prayer and all the children get a small treat to eat.
They sang their songs for me, I was asked to tell a Bible story through the translator. The only time you see kids sit this quietly and with rapt attention in the States is when they are playing video games or watching a movie. Their eyes were large and focused on me when I talked, then their heads turned and the stared intently as the translator spoke. I told each class the story of Daniel and his faithfulness to God, both as a child and when he was older with the lions den. When I finished the story, I asked the children if they would like to be faithful like Daniel. All hands were raised. Remember, all these children are Hindu; this is their only experience of Christianity.
It rained on and off during the afternoon and these little classes were held in the street, in the dirt. The rain slowed us down but did not stop us. We ran late and couldn’t have a complete program at the last site, but we still showed up. The local leaders had me give out the treats to the kids and they lined up and politely said thank you. I felt a little like Santa Claus at the mall as I sat in a plastic chair (the only chair at any site and I was always told to sit in it) and the kids lined up to receive their treat.
As we moved from site to site, I was taken to parts of the village I had not seen before. I took over 100 photos of people that I had not met in the village, both adult and children. I entered over a dozen homes to pray with families. I was taken to one home where they brought out a set of twin infants that were extremely small and undernourished. The babies were ill and the family wanted prayers for the children. They wouldn’t let me photograph them and maybe its best. The picture would have haunted you; the memory does me.
I was taken to a home of the lady who was sick and couldn’t come to church, Kannatha. When I saw her house, I felt sick to my stomach. I wished I brought my tools. She had one room, no electricity and a roof that was over half caved in. If I ever come back to this village (God willing), the next time I come back with tools and money for materials and the Gospel I preach will be with my hands to help them with their living accommodations.
Once again, we got to the preaching site late, but the visiting was important. Many of the people I visited have not come to the meetings for one reason or another, but they are listening. The bible worker visits these people every day and to see me as I walked among them and entered their homes was an honor to them.
Just as we finished setting up it began to drizzle. I just covered the equipment with a tarp and kept right on preaching. It drizzled on and off for the rest of the night, but the people sat and listened to me, so I wasn’t going to leave them. As the meeting was going on, the local Hindu temple was blaring music as loud as our speakers. There was a controversy going on between the forces of good and evil. Satan has found a variety of means to keep this word from being preached, but we continued. I prayed the whole time I was preaching that God would stop the noise, about 20 minutes into my sermon, the music abruptly stopped. God is good, all the time!
I’m well over half way finished with the preaching assignment and barely halfway done with my visit to India. I am homesick for my wife and friends back home, I’m fatigued, both physically and emotionally and need your prayers for continued strength. I have developed a great respect and love for these people and will be sad to leave them. I don’t know if I will ever be able to get the memories out of my mind of the things I have seen or experienced. I have a slight taste of the passion of Mother Teresa and her work with the poor in Calcutta.
I look forward to the reuniting that will take place when I see these people again, whether in this world, or in the Kingdom of God. I think of you back home frequently and enjoy your responses to my posts. At least it tells me somebody is reading them.
Pastor Kevin
Friday, I went to look for a digital camera shop where they could take my photos and make prints for me. I wanted to give the newly baptized ladies a picture and I wanted to give some to my translator. People don’t have cameras here like back home. A camera is an instant draw to people. They will literally stop you on the street and ask: “photo please?”
While wandering the streets I was accosted by many of the local carnival hawkers trying to take me to their shops; do you want shirt, pants, suits, rugs, etc they ask and they know a mother, sister, brother, uncle who will make one for you. As I was walking down a busy street with a hawker by my side encouraging me to follow him to a local jewelry store; a bicyclist was struck by a taxi right next to me. The man on the bike was thrown to the pavement where he struck his head. The bike was demolished. People came out of the shops and began yelling at the driver. I stood there astonished at what I was seeing. Traffic continued to blow their horns and drive right around the accident scene.
I’m told that if a driver hits a bike rider or pedestrian and the person is killed, there is a standard fine of 2000 rupees; equivalent to about $50 USD. If the person is just injured, you must pay all medical costs until they recover.
I did find my photo shop and had the prints made. Also, Friday was a holiday in India, much like our 4th of July. There were special activities going on and everyone was wearing or carrying an Indian flag. I stopped at a local shop and bought 100 small flags to give to the children in my village. Giving small gifts like this or balloons go a long way to create good will. I went to my site and began visiting. Each day there are more houses for me to go to. We sit, they stare at me, I pray a blessing on the family and the house, sometimes pray for specific needs such as health, jobs, family issues; then we move to the next house.
Got to the meeting site a little late and quickly set up. As soon as we were ready to begin, it began to rain. This is the dry season and it seldom rains this time of year; I wonder why it is raining now (maybe you can figure it out)?
We covered the equipment and they took me into the house. We waited for 20 minutes till the rain stopped and we resumed the meeting. I had to shorten my sermon a little but it worked out OK. We gave the flags to the children and their eyes were huge. I had some left over and gave all of the adults one too; they were almost as happy as the kids.
Sabbath morning at breakfast (7:00 a.m.) the local Indian conference President found me and asked me to speak in the church where I held the baptism on Thursday morning; nothing like getting plenty of advanced warning to prepare. I said yes. At nine they came to get me with a scooter and we were off to church. They treated me like royalty as they introduced me during Sabbath school. I was taken to each of the classes and asked to say a word or two. At the teen class, they wanted to ask me all sorts of deep theological questions. It was fun. Then during church you would have thought I was an envoy from a foreign government. When I preached I came out in front of the podium, they had never seen a preacher not stand behind the pulpit before. Some spoke English but they translated my sermon. I gave a modified kingdom of God sermon that I had done at Walk of Faith before I left and inserted my testimony into it. They loved it. Three of the four ladies I baptized on Thursday were in church, the fourth was home sick. They all were so proud to be connected with me.
Right after worship I walked back to the hotel. It’s almost 4 miles by cart but less than half a mile to walk. Railroad tracks and the road system make it quite confusing. After eating at the hotel, they picked me up at 2:30 to go out to the village to see what they normally do with the kids each Sabbath. I wouldn’t get back to my hotel room until after 11:00 p.m. Needless to say, I was exhausted last night.
The picture you see above is one of the Sabbath school classes I attended. There were four of them that I visited. The local team, from the church where I preached, moves from place to place conducting a short program at each. The kids (about 50 at teach site) are given something to color with a Bible verse on it to memorize. If they color the picture and memorize the verse for the next week they get a small gift. They sing songs, a Bible story is told, there is prayer and all the children get a small treat to eat.
They sang their songs for me, I was asked to tell a Bible story through the translator. The only time you see kids sit this quietly and with rapt attention in the States is when they are playing video games or watching a movie. Their eyes were large and focused on me when I talked, then their heads turned and the stared intently as the translator spoke. I told each class the story of Daniel and his faithfulness to God, both as a child and when he was older with the lions den. When I finished the story, I asked the children if they would like to be faithful like Daniel. All hands were raised. Remember, all these children are Hindu; this is their only experience of Christianity.
It rained on and off during the afternoon and these little classes were held in the street, in the dirt. The rain slowed us down but did not stop us. We ran late and couldn’t have a complete program at the last site, but we still showed up. The local leaders had me give out the treats to the kids and they lined up and politely said thank you. I felt a little like Santa Claus at the mall as I sat in a plastic chair (the only chair at any site and I was always told to sit in it) and the kids lined up to receive their treat.
As we moved from site to site, I was taken to parts of the village I had not seen before. I took over 100 photos of people that I had not met in the village, both adult and children. I entered over a dozen homes to pray with families. I was taken to one home where they brought out a set of twin infants that were extremely small and undernourished. The babies were ill and the family wanted prayers for the children. They wouldn’t let me photograph them and maybe its best. The picture would have haunted you; the memory does me.
I was taken to a home of the lady who was sick and couldn’t come to church, Kannatha. When I saw her house, I felt sick to my stomach. I wished I brought my tools. She had one room, no electricity and a roof that was over half caved in. If I ever come back to this village (God willing), the next time I come back with tools and money for materials and the Gospel I preach will be with my hands to help them with their living accommodations.
Once again, we got to the preaching site late, but the visiting was important. Many of the people I visited have not come to the meetings for one reason or another, but they are listening. The bible worker visits these people every day and to see me as I walked among them and entered their homes was an honor to them.
Just as we finished setting up it began to drizzle. I just covered the equipment with a tarp and kept right on preaching. It drizzled on and off for the rest of the night, but the people sat and listened to me, so I wasn’t going to leave them. As the meeting was going on, the local Hindu temple was blaring music as loud as our speakers. There was a controversy going on between the forces of good and evil. Satan has found a variety of means to keep this word from being preached, but we continued. I prayed the whole time I was preaching that God would stop the noise, about 20 minutes into my sermon, the music abruptly stopped. God is good, all the time!
I’m well over half way finished with the preaching assignment and barely halfway done with my visit to India. I am homesick for my wife and friends back home, I’m fatigued, both physically and emotionally and need your prayers for continued strength. I have developed a great respect and love for these people and will be sad to leave them. I don’t know if I will ever be able to get the memories out of my mind of the things I have seen or experienced. I have a slight taste of the passion of Mother Teresa and her work with the poor in Calcutta.
I look forward to the reuniting that will take place when I see these people again, whether in this world, or in the Kingdom of God. I think of you back home frequently and enjoy your responses to my posts. At least it tells me somebody is reading them.
Pastor Kevin
3 comments:
Dear Pastor Kevin,
I am in awe over the events that have transpired in your life. I will also admit that I am a bit jealous over the spiritual fire I see going on in you right now. It's one thing to hear your Pastor say he's going to India. However, it's another thing to be able to experience it through your writings. It has made it more tangible for me. I'm sure that anyone who reads your posts will be impacted for the good of the Kingdom. I know, I am changed because of reading them....and Kevin? Your mission to India is only half over you say?
Am looking forward to seeing you again, and also to see how this Journey will have effected your life.
Keeping you and your
Family in my prayers.
With love,..your brother in Christ.
David
Kevin -
Thank you for taking the time to give a small account of your experience. This blog has become one of the things I look most forward to each day. I'm in complete awe of what you must be living through each day. God has certainly blessed your work there. You're in our prayers each and every day. Even more so, the people whom you are reaching for Christ.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" -
These people are living proof that Christs words are the truth!
Jon
I feel like I am reading a novel that I can't put down. I so look forward to reading your blogs daily and am bummed when I can't read them for a couple days due to the delay in them posting.
You truely are a warrior for God and an inspiration to me and many others. How God has used you is amazing to me and I can't wait until we're in heaven someday talking about it with Jesus and I can meet the people in India...of course this will be by the river with Robert:)
Your blogs are read weekly on Sabbath for those that don't have internet access. Many people are following your journey with Christ!!!
Our leader's meeting went well today, but we miss you!! We've completely changed the structure of the church board...and don't be surprised if when you get back we have moved the church to another location...haha (the above is definitely a joke) Seriously though, we are working as a
team and are moving programs forward. You have taught us well:)
We are all praying for you, your strength, and your safety.
We are praying for Trisha and the kids also. I know they all miss you like crazy...especially Trisha. Rest assured she is being taken care of!!
God bless,
Lisa
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