What a day!!

So, worked out in 100 degrees for nearly 12 hours today, finished building 3 homes, painted two of them, rode an Ox cart, had 5 cups of Chai Tea, ate fresh watermelon from a man in the village who had once insisted on everyone being Hindu - until his one and only son became a Christian through Anbuvanan's church, shot hours worth of video footage, climbed a water tower, sang a song in the language of Tamil, watched kids and students quote a lot of scripture from memory and do traditional Tamil dancing for nearly an hour, danced the "interlude". . . Twice, laughed so hard I cried, and cried after only knowing these kids for 4 days, rode a rickshaw, drank a limco, heard more stories of miraculous healings, participated in a Tamil prayer meeting, saw once again the amazing love in a mothers eyes for her two youth who were mentally and physically challenged, ran around with children teaching them more about Jesus . . . NONE of which could have been done - if only I had depended on myself and my own "good" ideas. NO!! All these things were made possible today because of Gods work already happening here. we simply could not be happier!! Those relationships and bonding, where the ONLY thing in common is Christ, were happening all over this week - simply amazing.

Make no mistake, God is doing something amazing in Kotthiampakkum. We understand that this is only chapter 1, and there is so much more for God to write - come and join with us, and see what God can do!! Your journey can start by sitting down with a team member over coffee and asking them intentionally about this trip - there is just so much to share!!

More to come later!!

Ted

So you say you have a story?

Have you ever struggled with "witness envy?" - you know . . . When you feel like your faith journey story just isn't as "cool" or impressive as someone else's. This condition might be to the point that you don't even want to share it - afraid you might hear "that's it??" Of course, as a result of your lack of story that person will fall completely away from their faith and it will be all your fault!

Hi, my name is Ted . . . and I suffer from witness envy from time to time. . . It is a condition on our team as well as many other Christians that I know. Feeling a bit ashamed of their "story".

Today has begun to change that for many of us. We were able to speak more with the older kids (10th - college) tonight and exchange testimonies. After our large group time, Liz, Jay, Tim, and Rick did an heroic job of leading all the other kids on massive group games in the schoolyard of a nearby school. These times of sharing were amazing for various reasons. First, the boys (seen in the picture with Andrew and our translator names "Dos"), had never even been to the church building - in fact we were told by a younger kid later that those were some of the bad kids! Very ironic that our main group story tonight was that of Zacchaeus - a notorious sinner. . . Hmmmm, it's as if someone already knew what the night would hold!

Second, the girls all gathered in a circle inside the building and really dove into it in detail!! Most of these girls actually serve as Sunday School teachers - and they have amazing stories. You will hear much more posts on this later, but it is after midnight, and so trying to make this "short."

The night programming ended by us surprising Rick with a birthday cake (he turned 50 today), and all 100 kids singing to him Happy Birthday!! They love Rick!

Back at the "ranch" - pastor Anbuvanan's house - we had a late dinner and then Andrew taught us the "interlude" dance (feel free to google it - or just go down to the 4th and 5th grade room the next time you are at GCC - Granger campus). This is so we can have a "cultural" dance to perform at the celebration event tomorrow night . . . Yes, we had fun!!

Oh. . . One more word for the "witness envy" sufferers - remember that your story often shows others a God that is faithful and true, steadfast and consistent. It gives insight to another (as we heard today) that they don't have to first be "bad" in order to get "saved." Finally, your story might just be the hope that dawns in the mind of another kid that for the first time says "wow, I didn't know anyone ever made it" You know getting through your schooling, college, and 20s without "falling off the wagon!" Don't misunderstand me, I know my sin put nails through Jesus. . . Just maybe though, if you are willing to share your story, as we did today, you might hear and see the reward of someone now saying "I know now that I can 'make it' too with God's help." Hope is a truly beautiful thing!

Keep praying!!!

Ted

J2 for J2 - Jai Ho - LET'S GO!

I've been watching all of the posts from the team that is India right now (as many others have).  I can't wait to talk to them in person and hear their stories.  Today I will leave for India with my teammate Jennifer Price.  We will be working very closely with the missionary couple that has been in Kalavai for about a year and a half.  I believe it was Raj who named the team "J2 (Jennifer & Jennifer) for J2 (Jeyan & Jency).  I can't wait to see what God has in store for us.  Prayers appreciated... be blessed!

jenarcher ;-)

I'm tired of being a good person

India Blog by Andrew Staal:

So I'm sure your week has been just like mine. Wake up on the floor, eat some rice with hot and spicy sauce for breakfast and head to an Indian village to work in the hot sun and play with children. Oh, and to get to the village? A rickshaw of course. Okay, chances are, our weeks have been a tad different. But does that make me a better person than you. Some might say so, but I would disagree.

Our team had done some great things here. We have built houses, done some incredible kids programming and built deep impacting relationships. A lot of people can come here and do the same thing without out ever speaking the name of Jesus. Just being good people and doing good works isn't going to truly change lives. The true miracle is watching God show up and move in this village. This is not just a trip for us to feel good about ourselves. This is a moment in our lives where we are able to see God's love absolutely bless a community. I am more awestruck and blown away by the chances we have to had to pray over people and show them the love of Christ than the houses we've built. This trip isn't about us at all. It is simply a snapshot of what can happen when a team decides to completely surrender ourselves to Christ and let his love shine through us.

The challenge that comes from such an experience goes beyond the actual trip to India and even beyond those on this trip. My prayer is that everyone involved in this team is challenged to open themselves up to let Gods love flow through them like never before. We are fantastic at being good people, but what we need more of is to be bearers of the love of Christ. This is remarkably easy when thrown in another country. The true challenge is whether we are going to allow God to do the same thing through us in Granger, Indiana. Are you ready to give up being a "good person"?

[photo is of Tim praying for a child - many such opportunities have come up for us - people starting to bring their sick children to us and wanting us to pray over them - very humbling]

Sent from my iPhone

Back to Work!

Back to Kotthiambakkum this morning, and alot of progress has been made on the houses - they are looking "SUUUPERRR" - as the Indians would say.

We have noticed a difference in the village adults - they have moved from staring at us to waving/smiling/head bobble. That is a significant step, and mainly because they ALL love pastor Anbuvanan. The kids have always welcomed us in.

Many more puppies in homes here than in Kalavai and very domesticated - even playing with some straps at the bottom of my pant leg!

There is no room for gardens here - much more urban, but I did notice that did not stop this family from making produce. . . On their roof!

This plaque that pastor Anbuvanan is holding is the first one for this village - really an honor to be on it - I think our whole team had a really humbling moment when he showed it to us. We will see it go on their house tomorrow at dedication time!

We are adjusting our evening kids program tonight so that we can spend a little more time with several of the older students (college age) who have been wanting to exchange on a deeper spiritual level (hear our story's and share their own) . Of course Jay and Liz volunteered to take the other 100 little kids to the school yard to play some massive big group game - Springhill style!! I will let you know how it goes!

More to come - just a reminder to leave comments if you want. Our team is very encouraged by them!

Ted

"Chicken" you say?

This post is written by Dawn Payne:

I would like to personally thank Raj for feeding me, as he called it, "chicken". And about the time I swallowed it, he then laughed and told me it was really rat!!! I am beginning to see how much of a jokester Raj is and I love that side of him!!

On our trip to Kalavai, I was reminded of the fellow GCC people that forged before us, and so thankful that they listened to God's call on their life because I was able to reap the benefits of their dedication to Jesus. I am inspired by these people of Kalavai. They are not "happy"; they are JOYFUL! Wow, what a difference in those two words!

It is so amazing that thousands of miles away from home, Jesus can connect the hearts of people in such a powerful way! I love these people and I am so excited to see what God has in store for them!!

Thanks for your prayers!!

[photo was moment that Dawn discovered the truth about the "chicken". . . She wasn't very still - sorry for the blurring picture!]

Rest day and Kalavai!!

In the middle of the week, we took a bit of a rest day from the construction and kids programming. We were able to go to a nice hotel just a 12 minute rickshaw ride away from pastor's home.

This was a delightful day where we were able to swim a bit and enjoy a few western food items like pancakes, but there was no syrup :-). Several of the team members took advantage of the wifi as well! After lunch we started to trek to Kalavai (over 2 hours), and stopped at the "placenta tree" - you can ask a team member why it is called that when they get home!

A few of the team members are not feeling the best (Abby - throat - no more voice, Rick cut open his hand when it accidentally hit a fan, and Frank is having some stomach issues) - please join with us in praying for them.

Kalavai was amazing and it was so great to see all the progress that has been made since I was personally here in the beginning of 2011. The new KC3, playground, and gardens looked great. The villagers were so welcoming to us, and the kids ran up to us with HUGE hugs of love and excitement!! They also put on a bit of a dance show for us. We toured the village and many of the first time members on our team were inspired by how many homes had the GCC plaques on them - we are truly standing on the shoulders of those that have gone before us!

It was raining while we were there a bit, but that did not stop Jay, Frank, Bruce, and I from getting a little cricket in (a game similar to baseball).

The local missionaries to Kalavai (Jayen and Jencie seen with Raj) are also doing well!!

I can say confidently that Raj is back to 100% - as he did his whole "live rat in his hand as He shook someone else's hand" trick . . . Yep, it worked on Andrew. The end of that rat's story will be told in the next post by Dawn Payne.

As if that was not enough, Raj put a big lizard on the back of Jay (and then later on Andrew), that was later to become dinner for a local family. Raj told me this was just a "baby" because they can get up to 6ft long!! Traditionally he said that builders would tie a rope onto their back leg and then throw them up to a higher story floor of a building. The lizard's talons are so strong that the builder would then climb the rope to that higher floor as the lizard held onto the bricks with its talons . . . Yes, . . . That's AWESOME, and jay and I wanted to try it!! - couldn't though - this one too small.

More will be coming soon as stories are starting to come out from some villagers.

Please continue to pray for us to finish strong - we are soooo grateful.

Ted