Back Home

After six flights spanning 46 hours, we are home. There were three flights to get from Nagpur to Chennai on Wednesday, then we started at 2:00 AM there on the way back. Since we gained 10.5 hours coming back, it seemed like the day that never ended. Upon boarding the flight in Frankfurt, they fed us lunch. Then, 7.5 hours later, we hit the ground at lunch time in Chicago.

On the way home, we ran into James, one of the board members at HBI. In Frankfurt, I met a lady from Portland, Oregon that also knew of HBI and the Guptas have stayed in her home. I guess it truly is a small world.

My takeaways from this trip:

1. God gave me a glimpse of His heart for the world in a way that would never have happened here.

2. I am very encouraged by the faith and commitment of the church in India and how it is mobilizing to do God's work there.

3. I believe God gave me a picture in my mind of what India could be if God swept over that nation. It can happen.

Thanks once again to everyone who supported me in going on this trip. I think it made a difference in the lives of the people I ministered to in Chennai and Nagpur, but I know it made a difference in me.

Correction to dates

I apologize for my mistake....the team does get home Thursday and not Friday!  Sorry for any confusion my former and deleted blog entry may have caused.

Day 2 in Nagpur

It's been an interesting day of travel on Wednesday. I tried to post some of this before we left Nagpur, but the Internet connection at the hotel went down. Connectivity has been spotty throughout the trip for what many consider a high-tech country.

The worship seminar on Tuesday was good. It was compressed due to the weather. It is difficult to travel here when it rains. We still had about 30 worship people, with a wide variety of ages, including some teenagers. It was at a nearby training center, which doubles as a church. What they consider a nice training center is different than what we would think of by western standards. During the morning delay, pigs and dogs were walking by the door, as well as the occasional cow. But facilities aside, the people came hungry to learn.

At the end, the facilitator, Abash, asked people to tell what they had learned. One young man said he learned that worship is not about how well he plays the guitar or sings, it is about the heart. Another pastor said that he realized that worship is sacrifice.

In the afternoon, both the worship and small group people met for a combined session. Bobby put me on the spot to speak to them. I talked to them briefly about the transfiguration of Jesus and asked them to consider how they see Him. Is He just a man? Or is he big and powerful?

We took a break and then there was a time of Marati worship. Bobby challenged the people to dance as they do in their culture. It was an amazing time of unrestrained worship. The people were so joyful and entered in deeply. I had this picture of Jesus there in the midst of us.

Then Steve gave a fantastic message about overcoming discouragement in ministry. Bobby gave a final challenge and a local pastor prayed for the combined group. At the end, the sang a worship song. The purity of their devotion to Jesus made it very sweet.

Several of the Bible women had completed their course of study and got certificates. Several of us asked for us to pray for them, which we did. Pastor Silas, the point person for the area, asked us to pray for his family. His wife got a certificate and his son was at the worship seminar and played guitar for us, very well I might add. Silas has such a burden for his state to bow its collective knee to Jesus.

I'm writing this sitting at HBI. We came by just to pick up some of our things and head back to the airport. It took all day to get from Nagpur back to Chennai, and we now face about 3o more hours of travel to get home. But to spend the time we spent with these pastors and worship leaders made it all worth it.

Torture Travel

Folks, Here is a summary of our travel plans for the next 2/3 days. This will give you an idea why we may be a little tired when you see us Thursday evening.

We leave for the airport here in Nagpur in less than 1/2 hour.
1) Flight From Nagpur to Pune leaves at 11:00 arrives at 12:15
2) Flight from Pune to Chennai leaves at 2:15pm arrives at 4:50pm
3) Drive to HBI campus and back
4) Flight from Chennai to Frankfurt leaves at 1:50am arrives Frankfurt 7:40am (10hr flight)
5) Flight from Frankfurt to Chicago leaves at 10:25am arrives Chicago 1:10PM (10hr flight)
6) Flight from Chicago to Columbus leaves at 6:50pm arrives Columbus 9:08pm

In Chicago we will try to get standby on an earlier flight to get home earlier. Looking forward to seeing all of you soon.

Day 2 in Nagpur

Wow, what a joy and highlight today has been. All three of us have been involved in teaching the seminar here on small groups and Worship. It was a joy to watch the people worship in Marathi and to hear the other devotionals. For myself I really enjoyed sharing with them what God has taught me about small group ministry. I ended up tag-team teaching with Bobby for most of the day. Bobby teaches with such passion and enthusiasm, it is contagious. Together we tried to impart to the seminar guests a passion for multiplying their groups and for having their cell groups embody the "Gospel Community" that Pastor Steve taught about yesterday. Joe will write about his time leading the Worship Seminar. Pastor Steve wrapped up all the sessions with an exhortation to be encouraged ... "Do not loose heart".

We woke up to find that it had been raining all night and was still raining. We were concerned what we would do since our venue on Monday was in the yard beside a building with just some fabric sheets for a roof stretched from the building to the courtyard wall. We knew that these sheets are good for shielding us from the sun, but they would do nothing to protect us from the rain. We wondered if the sound equipment was in the rain, and what would we do. Of course the crew here had a plan B and we went to the basement where they had a room that we could assemble in. That room turned out to be a better fit for the seminar than the open-air tent had been. The venue was a great fit for the Seminar, so Bobby was working on making arrangements to use this venue for future seminars here in Maharastra.

This evening, we said goodbye to Bobby for a day. He is headed to a board meeting in Bangalore. We will fly down to Chennai tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, it will take 2 flights and a layover. We will leave the hotel tomorrow morning at 8:30 and get into Chennai at 4:30 --- assuming the flights are relatively on-time. We will say goodbye to all of our friends in Chennai then and return to the USA.

Sights & Sounds of India

Well, we've now spent time in Chennai, Mumbai, and Nagpur. We've met a lot of people and experienced a slice of life here. We are bombarded with new visual images every day. It takes a while for Westerners like us to process all that we see here.

Sights I'd only ever seen on PBS or TLC I'm now seeing with my own eyes... abject poverty; trash strewn everywhere; people sleeping under bridges with rats and dogs crawling over them; posh five-star hotels located right next to little shantytowns where hollow-eyed people sit crouching all day under the shade of makeshift tents; cows wandering across busy streets; a dozen different and strange kinds of vehicles all occupying the same narrow roads, jockeying for position with horns beeping incessantly (all the time, day and night); children with no apparent supervision hanging on shaky wooden scaffolding rising four stories high, dogs wandering around everywhere, people urinating alongside the road ... it's all a bit overwhelming.

And then there's the sheer volume of people--that's overwhelming too. The main city streets are teeming at all hours with tens of thousands of dark-skinned Indian people--coming and going, sitting and crouching, walking and talking, riding and biking. On the streets of America people are in their cars so we peer at them through tinted glass. Here, relatively few own cars so you can actually watch people as they travel, including (surprising to me) many women young and old in bright-colored saris motoring along the road on bikes, scooters, motorcycles, and other interesting contraptions, weaving in and out of oncoming traffic (the traffic lines here appear to be only suggestions). It's been interesting to look into the eyes of these people. Some sparkle with the joy of God, but many, many appear empty, dead, and lifeless. It's been a constant reminder of the need for Christ in India and the important work HBI and others are doing here to reach more than a billion people with the Gospel of Jesus.

To me India is a study in contrast. For example, while riding to our ministry location yesterday here in Nagpur I was struck by the sight of a huge state-of-the-art domed stadium looming above the landscape ... right behind a trash-filled, dirty shantytown with animals and naked children running around. I find myself constantly thinking, "Why does it have to be this way?"

Of course the prevailing Hindu religion that permeates India contributes to some of these conditions, with it's fatalistic, deterministic, cyclical worldview. I don't know exactly how the virtue of compassion plays out between the castes in that Hindu system, but I do know that the work of Christian ministries here--including HBI, IJM, World Vision and others--is vitally important in helping address some of the injustices and oppression we see here.

All in all, it's been an incredible time for me. I've never experienced anything quite like it before, and there have been a number of 'firsts' for me on this trip (including sanitizing my silverware at each meal :). Joe and Steve have been absolutely awesome teammates and ministry co-laborers, and our Lord is using them to help train Indian believers in vital discipleship skills.

Thanks again for your interest and prayers sent up on our behalf. Soon we return to the comforts of the U.S. but hopefully the lessons learned and expanded vision we've acquired on this mission will stay with us forever.

SB

Map of India to give perspective to those following the team

Day 1 in Maharastra

Wow, it's been an interesting 72 hours.

The storms and power outages made all Saturday and Sunday an adventure. Our worship team rehearsal ended when the battery backup ran out and we were left in the darkness. But it was an incredible time of worship with the New Calvary team - and I'm talking about the rehearsal. Samson, the drummer, rode his bike to the church in the torrential downpour and showed up soaked, but he was there faithfully and on time. On top of all of this, he has some physical challenges. Everyone should be as committed to worship as Samson.

The team knows a lot of western worship songs and I taught them the bridge I wrote for "I Stand Amazed". The team was hoping that I would be staying around this week, but our time at HBI was short.

By the way, Steve's message Sunday was absolutely anointed. Two members of the worship team told me that God spoke to them and the doctor that runs HBI's hospital had an encounter with God as He spoke to her in a powerful way. What a great morning!

Our trip to the boys home gave me my first look at the Indian countryside. On the main highway between Chennai and Calcutta cars are driving along at interstate speeds while sharing the road with pedestrians, animals, bikes, and even an ox-drawn cart.

The trip to Mumbai and on to Nagpur held their own challenges. We had a run-in with airport security in Mumbai and would have missed our flight if it had not been delayed. We stayed in a very nice hotel in Mumbai, but literally in front of it, many people were living under the elevated highway, some in abandoned vehicles, some in the street. Dogs and rats were roaming about. What a contrast.

We arrived in Nagpur and got a little rest before the pastor's conference. Bobby issued an opening challenge and Pastor Steve did a great job working with the translator. We were worried about how we would connect with these folks due to cultural and language barriers. While he had them doing some discussion questions, I was saying to Bobby that you could see the joy of the Lord in their eyes. Some spoke English and told us that Steve's sessions were definitely connecting with them.

At the end, they did some worship in Marati (the local language) and we prayed with some of them. One man is a police officer who is in a legal dispute and had a court date tomorrow. We prayed with him. His wife and mother also came to the conference. Through the translator, his mother told us how she had offered her son to the Lord and how he was being used by God now.

At dinner tonight, Pastor Steve asked Bobby to share with us the defining moments in his life and ministry. His story is a testimony to how God works.

Tomorrow Steve Thomas will do more small group teaching. He was concerned if what he had planned is appropriate, but one of the pastors told him he was excited about Steve telling them more about how to be small group leaders. I will be at a nearby site teaching them Biblical foundations of worship. We will come together for the last session and Pastor Steve will give them a challenge to close things.

Pray for us. This is an opportunity to touch believers all over Maharastra through the things we will teach them.

We read your comments and feel your support. Thanks for hanging with us.

First day in Nagpur

We are in Nagpur, Maharastra. Nagpur is in the very center (zero kilometer) of India. It is almost due north of Chennai and due East of Mumbai. Nagpur is a smaller city - around 3 million people. But it feels much smaller than either Chennai or Mumbai. Last night we spent the night in Mumbai very close to the airport. On the short drive to the hotel, we saw some more of the extreme poverty that exists here. Underneath the elevated road - overpass, there were many people just sleeping on the ground, some with a mat or cardboard or a blanket. In the midst of the sleeping people there were some Feral dogs running around and we saw a few rats just walking here and there near the people.

This morning we got up at 5am to get to the airport and fly to Nagpur. Our flight was delayed, but we arrived here at 10am. Brother Silas and Bobby led the two morning sessions for the seminar. The seminar started on India time - so the seminar should have started at 9:00 - really started at 11:00. Pastor Steve led the afternoon sessions talking about the need to have the Gospel as our foundation. Steve also talked about how a small group needs to be an incarnation of a gospel community and how the gospel community must be based on the Gospel.

Tomorrow, Joe will be conducting a separate seminar on worship from 10am until 3:30. In addition, Bobby and I will be teaching the seminar on small groups. We appreciate your prayers for us as we minister to these wonderful pastors and Bible Women.

Day 5 in Chennai by Steve B

Friends,

My first post in awhile...sorry :(

Electrical power has been intermittent the past couple of days, with outages overnight. Umbrellas were needed this morning as we walked across the HBI campus towards the New Calvary worship center, wondering about the power situation. Upon arriving we found it dark and smotheringly hot and humid. Thankfully, about 20 minutes later lights, sound boards, and A/C units kicked on as power was restored through a generator. This was a huge answer to prayer for us Americans! The prospect of our team leading worship and preaching in those conditions for five hours was ... well let's just say we were extremely grateful to God!

New Calvary has two English-speaking services on Sundays and a Tamil service in another location on campus. Joe skillfully guided one of the NC worship teams in about 45 mins of Praise & Worship to lead out each service, which were heavily populated with younger worshippers. "My Redeemer Lives" "Blessed Be the Name" "How Great is our God" "Draw Me Close" and several other classics from the West were obviously well-known by this congregation. In some ways it felt like being at New Life. Interestingly, there seemed to be more energy and even more people attending the first (8:30AM) service, which lasted over two hours. This is Missions month at New Calvary (so cool!) and there was an Indian rep from World Vision present who gave a strong challenge to get involved in their vital work of stopping the sex trafficking industry which is thriving in India. Each service also consisted of guest recognition, birthday recognitions (complete with singing HB), several challenges to get involved in Missions, communion, announcements, two videos, prayer times at the altar, and a message. I felt yesterday that the Lord wanted to change up the message I had planned, so I spoke instead on "Listening to the Voice of God" from I Samuel 3. I hope God used it to bless and challenge His precious saints here at NC.

Our good friend Bob Swaggerty was at the second service and it was good to see him again. He seems in many ways to be thriving here in India.

After six days here with no tummy troubles I woke up this morning under attack from the Indian version of Montezuma's revenge (Bob called it "Ghandi's revenge"), so I've been laying low this afternoon, missing out on a visit to the Kuvi Children's home. We brought gifts for the children there so Joe and Steve, along with Pastor Titus, are taking these items that will hopefully bring smiles to the faces of the little ones there.

We board a flight tonight for Mumbai, where we'll have a short overnight stay and then fly out early to Nagpur where each of us will participate in training with pastors and ministry leaders in that region on Monday and Tuesday. Keep us in your prayers, OK?

Hoping New Life has wonderful, God-filled Celebrations this weekend! I know Pastor Claude will be bringing the heat from God's Word and may our worshippers fully enter the presence of King Jesus and be transformed by His power. It was fun to tell the Indian believers here that they have brothers and sisters 9,000 miles away on the other side of the globe who believe the same gospel and worship the same Jesus they do here. I love being part of the ONE worldwide body of Christ!

Blessings!

SB

Saturday Seminars

This will be a quick update. We have had thundershowers this afternoon - that has led to power outages and a blown Transformer. So power on part of the campus is out until close to morning. So I writing this update in the dark, with no AC or fan or window with the temperature at about 85.

Today, Steve and Steve led the Cell Group seminar. That was great to present and work with the students on this material. In the afternoon Joe led a seminar on Worship. Despite the rains holding people back, about 20 people came to learn more about the heart of worship. Tonight Steve B is making some revisions to his message for tomorrow. Joe is wanting to catch up with family and Steve T. is sweating on this post.

We don't have any AC in any of our rooms. Please pray that Steve and Joe are able to get a good night's rest anyway so that they can be refreshed for the morning services.

We may not get to post anything for the next 48 hours. We have a packed schedule Sunday - ending in a flight to Mumbai and arriving at the hotel in Mumbai at midnight. Monday morning starts with a 7am flight to Nagpur for our training seminar in Nagpur, Maharastra. So it may be Monday evening here before you hear from us again.

God bless you. We are praying for you and your weekend services. Please pray for ours as well.
- Steve T.

St. Thomas Mount

Here are some pictures of St. Thomas Mount and the views from the top of the City of Chennai. A few things have changed like the building of a highway type road that makes travel to a from the airport a bit easier, but by and large it is the same.

Also some pictures of the shrines inside the temple on the mountain. The bones incased in the cross are reported to be the finger bones of Thomas the Apostle that he used to touch the hand and side of Jesus in the upper room.

City Tour

As Steve said, day 3 started with a tour of Chennai and finished up with us visiting small groups from New Calvary Church.

We spent the day with Pastor Titus and Sushma as our guides. Sushma says her other name is "Mom" as she was there to take care of us. Pastor Titus is a great brother. We got a chance to talk in more depth about his church and what God is doing there.

I got to visit Dr. Gupta's small group and lead them in worship as well as join them in prayer and listen in as they are doing cell leader training in preparation for multiplying.

I was unprepared for what I experienced on the St. Thomas Mount. Legend has it that Thomas the apostle evangelized India and was martyred on this mountain. There are some Catholic shrines there with lots of icons and statues. From the top of the mountain, you can look in all directions and see the sprawling city of Chennai. It's population is similar to that of New York City.

I think perhaps for the first time, I really understood what it says starting in Matthew 9:36:

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

As I looked out at the bustling city, traffic going everywhere, people all over, my heart broke for the lost ones of India. I think I felt God's heart for these people. I admit it, I wept because of the darkness in which they live. Pastor Titus was with me and seeing my reaction, he just said, "Jesus loves India." Indeed he does. There is so much of His work to be done here, and so few to do it. Humanly speaking, it seems hopeless.

But, we serve a God who can do the impossible. We need to be praying as Jesus told us to do 20 centuries ago so that these people will hear the message of the Gospel.

Friday - Touring the City

Today was our day to visit outside the campus of HBI. We had a visit with International Justice Mission. That was a short visit, but one of the most powerful times that we have had. We had about 20 minutes to visit with the Director of the Chennai office. He gave us an overview of their work - these are workers on the front-lines. They have about a dozen interns from the US, one from Ohio and several others with Ohio connections. The Chennai office is focused on ending "Bonded Labor" which is the old British term for slavery. These folks investigate possible cases - all clandestine/underground, determine which are valid cases to pursue, then bring action from the government and they even provide two years of follow-through for the victims to ensure that they have a new stable life and do not get trapped again into a slavery situation. We were able to bless them with some worship which Joe led and a devotional from Hosea.

After IJM, we visited St. Thomas's mount. We could see much of the city from there and we prayed for the city. The mountain is where Thomas the Apostle was Martyred as he brought the gospel to this region. We also visited a Hindu temple, took some pictures and prayed for the hopelessness of the people presenting their prayer requests vainly to these idols.

This evening we had the opportunity to participate in a couple of small groups. This was a neat opportunity to see the students in action and the church in motion here.

Please pray tomorrow for the Seminar that Steve and Steve are leading for the small group leaders. Pray also for the seminar that Joe will be leading for the worship teams.

Day 2

Steve is right, today was packed full. After a great first day, I think the time change caught up with me, so I had a shaky afternoon. The trip to Sparky's, well, ask me about it when we get home. I loved seeing the Ohio SWAGGS license plate on the wall. We met a friend of Bob's who is a local radio personality that just recently came to Christ.

Reflecting on today, in the states, we go to a church or a conference and we tend to evaluate things on the externals. How is the facility? What style are they? What technology do they use? How good is their music? Who were the speakers?

The difference is that here, those things are far secondary to who God is, how big He is, and what He is doing though these people. The ministry leaders have clearly defined, well thought out goals. They are pursuing these things through God's strength. Over and over these leaders talked to us about their dependence on God to achieve these lofty goals.

In other words, the real strength of HBI is in its people, its leadership, and the fact that these folks are sold out to God, passionate about reaching their country for Christ.

I'll leave you to decide which has more Kingdom significance.

Lastest Schedule Update

Our most recent schedule:

Wednesday - Orientation, initial meetings
Thursday - Meeting all the ministry directors at HBI, Visit a Senior Citizen's home, Dinner with Bob Swaggerty.
Friday - Visit International Justice Mission, Take a tour of the city, Visit New Calvary small groups
Saturday - Small Group Training Seminar (Steve & Steve), Worship Seminar (Joe), Worship team practice (Joe)
Sunday - 2 church services. Steve preaching, Joe leading worship, Visit orphanage, fly to Mumbai
Monday - Fly to Nagpur, Seminar for 100 pastors and Bible women leaders.
Tuesday - Seminar on small groups for 100 pastors and Bible women leaders, Joe leads seminar for ~50 pastors on the foundations of worship.
Wednesday - Fly to Chennai, debrief, Begin flight home.
Thursday - Fly home (20 hours of flying)

India - Day 2 from Steve B

Quite a day I must say ... a LOT to take in. Pretty exhausted tonight.

Summarizing the day's events...

After another top-notch breakfast in the International Dining Room... yes!

In the morning we met with Bobby and Malini for an extended session learning more about HBI history, vision, purpose, mission and general ministry philosophy. Bobby is definitely a visionary leader. His goal? To cultivate a church planting movement that will plant a million churches to reach a billion Indian people for Jesus! So far over 4,000 churches have been planted in villages around the country (hope I got this figure right). Walking through the ministry facilities and meeting the different department heads and other staff members, we could see that HBI is structured to actually accomplish this very lofty Great Commission goal. "Nothing is too hard for God."

Partnership is a huge value for Bobby and this ministry. They understand that the vision given to them by God will not be accomplished by one single ministry. They have developed numerous partnerships with other like-minded ministries, and also recognize that other churches in India are working towards the same goal. We in the West could learn quite a bit from this partnership mindset.

Later in the afternoon we visited a historic Catholic mission facility that now houses elderly folks who have no family around. We talked and prayed with several aged and infirmed men and women, one of whom was an elderly lady recently turned 100! Another lady told us how she walked to Calcutta from Burma back in '42 when the Japanese were threatening her native land. I hope God lifted some spirits through us, but I must say it was mostly heartbreaking to see the abandonment these folks are experiencing.

Upon returning to HBI we briefly visited their on-site gift shop, then hooked up with Bob Swaggerty and some friends at his favorite American-food hang-out, a diner called Sparky's. The thrill of the day was riding in a couple of three-wheeled audos (sp?) through heart-stopping India traffic to get there. Never have I ever experienced anything like that before! We somehow made it intact and only lost two team members in the process (you'll have to ask Joe and Steve T about that). Good food and shop talk with Bob and a pastor friend about reaching the next generation of 400 million Indian young adults who are between 20 and 30 years of age--surely a cultural force to be reckoned with in the next few decades.

All in all, a good day with a lot to absorb. Tomorrow we visit some area landmarks before attending small groups in the evening and then launching into a full ministry weekend.

Thanks for tracking with us!

SB

God is good here on the other side of the world!

After safe travels, day 1 was a blessing in a lot of ways. The staff at HBI has gone above and beyond to make us comfortable here. Our meetings today were filled with the hope of what God will do during our stay here. I spent some time with a musicologist HBI has brought on staff. A musicologist studies ethnic and folk music of various cultures. HBI wants to get Indians to use their own cultural art forms in the church, including music, dance, and drama. I learned some about Hindustani classical music and we talked about bringing in the art without the Hindu spiritual associations that go with it. I got to encourage this neat lady and pray for her ministry as she finishes a musical certification you need to be respected as a teacher here.

The trip itself was long. Thanks to everyone who prayed for my knee. I did fine until hour 8 of the last flight, but I was able to move around and that helped. But, hey, I'm up for a little inconvenience for the Kingdom!

India is such a contradiction. So advanced in some ways, so heartbreaking in others. But even the people in the shop we visited off campus were so friendly and polite. Our guide so far has been an Indian pastor. His family disowned him after accepting Christ, but through he and others joining and praying for them, his entire family now follows Jesus!

As we flew over the jagged, snow-capped mountains of Turkey, I imagined Noah and his family leaving the ark. As we flew over the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, I thought about Abraham taking a journey of faith to go to a land he did not know. We in America just aren't used to seeing the kind of history associated with these ancient lands.

I'm getting excited about teaching the worship seminars that are coming. After talking to Dr. Gupta today, I'm sensing that what I've prepared was God ordained. I may never know the impact it will have on village churches in India, but I'm just going to do my part and leave that up to God. Thanks to all of you that helped get me here, you are making that impact as well!

India - Day 1 from Steve B

Our first day here is drawing to a close. My observations so far ... in no particular order of importance or kingdom priority...

--It's veeeeery humid here. We're just above the equator. Our prime directive as given by several coaches: three liters of water per day.

--India traffic gives new meaning to the word 'congested.' All manner of vehicles occupy the road. The guiding principles of operation seem to be: (a) You'd better have a horn, (b) Always use your horn at all times, (c) Right-of-way belongs to the larger vehicle, (d) Westerners should trust their Indian drivers to get them there safely, (e) Texting while driving would definitely get you killed here!

--There's a LOT of people in India!

--Breakfast in the international dining room is the BEST! Cooked-to-order omelettes, french toast, fruit, oatmeal. Waaay surpassed expectations.

--My bed seems made to order for me. Praise God!

--The staff here takes good care of their guests.

--There's a LOT of Western influence here.

--There's a lot of love for Jesus here too!

Today was mostly about getting oriented, drinking lots of water, meeting key staff, going over our schedule, drinking lots of water, finding our way around, a short shopping trip to acquire some light cotton shirts, and trying to NOT do culturally-insensitive stuff--all while drinking lots of water. We also had time for a nap, which was a huge blessing considering our sleep patterns the past few nights.

Tomorrow will be dominated by an extensive campus tour and mtgs with dept heads. We came both to SERVE and OBSERVE--so tomorrow will be heavy on observation. Serving opps will get heavier as we approach the weekend, and continue into next week.

It's hard to believe we're on the other side of the world!

SB

Arrived Safely

Wednesday afternoon

Hey folks - Sorry that we didn't post before now. We did not find good access in the Frankfurt airport and couldn't connect last night when we got in.

Our flights to Chennai were long - as predicted - but uneventful. Thank you for all your prayers. They make a difference on protecting us from the distractions of the enemy as we prepare for the work here.

We were delayed for a while in Columbus before taking off and made up some time in the air, so we only arrived about 20 minutes late. Since we had a 4 hour layover in Chicago, the 20 minutes was not a problem... still plenty of time to kill. Our flight from Chicago to Frankfurt was uneventful. Both Steve's got a couple of hours of sleep on the overnight flight - Joe not so much. Our layover in Frankfurt was enough time for us to get a shower and to get something to drink and talk some. The flight from Frankfurt to Chennai was just LONG. After that long previously in the air, it is hard to stay awake, but that was the assignment. Stay awake, so that you can sleep in Chennai and get quickly on the India Time Zone. Because the US is now off of Daylight Savings time, the time difference is 10.5 hours ahead of the EST. As I am writing this, it is 2:20pm here and 3:50 there at home.

The HBI staff have given us a gentle introduction, we have had several meetings this morning and a couple of more meetings this afternoon planned. Our meetings have given us a better idea of what our teaching will need to be focused on. We are teaching on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Please pray as we put the finishing touches on those meetings that we will be responsive to God's leading in all of these sessions.

What's coming next...

As I write this, the team is about 2 hours from touching down in Frankfurt, Germany. By the time they get there they will have been traveling for just about 16 hours. They will have around 3 hours in Frankfurt to stretch, maybe get a shower and change clothes (always refreshing after traveling for so long.), and then head to the gate through multiple layers of security checks. There is wyfi available there, so they may get to log in and update the blog or check their emails. Then it will be time to get aboard yet another plane and spend 8 to 9 hours suffering through some really bad Indian movies, and several airplane meals with an Indian curry twist, before arriving in Chennai. All in all it will take them close to 30 hours in total from start to bedtime at HBI. So please remember to pray for them to have strength and stamina as they travel.

Especially be mindful of praying for Joe, as he is still dealing with the knee and leg issues that resulted in needing physical therapy before leaving. Being cramped up in the flying, pressurized tube can be physically taxing enough, but can be dreadful when dealing with pre-existing physical issues.

We Love you guys and can't wait to hear about the adventure that is the trip there. I have often told our teams that getting there and back is the hardest part of the trip, so Godspeed Gentlemen.

The Adventure Is About To Begin

Wow, the reality of this trip is finally setting in! For so long, it was out there in the distance, but now it is here. I know God is in this trip through amazing answers to prayer.

First, due to God's people hearing His voice, all the money I needed to make this trip came in. I just knew God would do it! Second, my knee is much better. I had an increase of 20 degrees in range of motion from physical therapy.

I've been working much of today on prep for the trip including getting all those odds and ends Pastor Steve mentioned in his post. More importantly, though, I've been working on what I am going to say to the folks we will teach. I think there are things I can share about the Biblical basis for worship, or things I can talk about having to do with the "nuts and bolts" of worship. You know, how to rehearse a band or how to pick songs.

I suspect, though, that I am going to learn from these Indian pastors just what it means to worship where worship in and of itself is a sacrifice. I mean a real sacrifice. That's something all of us in the North American church could stand to learn.

Pray for us. There is so much God can do. I'm going there wanting to pursue His agenda, not mine. And while I know God will use us in the lives of the folks we will meet, I know He will change me.

At Meijer ... prepping for India

So Shirl and I headed out to Meijer today, trusty checklist in hand, to knock out the several dozen items I still hadn't picked up yet for the trip. Stuff like mosquito repellent, a new toiletry bag (I've gotten 30 yrs out of my current one. Figured it was fully depreciated by now), various and sundry ointments, antacids, pain relievers, allergy medicines and the like, a couple of short-sleeve white cotton shirts (had zero of these; a fashion staple there), towelettes (I guess you can never have enough of those) ... you get the idea.

I start the malaria pills tomorrow. Honestly, my wife's got me gobbling down so many vitamins and natural immune-boosters that I feel invincible! Bring it on!!!

I've got a few butterflies about the whole thing... never been out of our hemisphere before. Still have a few ministry opportunities to go here in this hemisphere before departing, so prepping for those too.

We'll see how this excellent adventure goes. One thing I know for sure... "God is faithful."

SB

Heading to India

Pastor Steve, Joe Brownlee (Worship Arts Director) and Steve Thomas (Missions Team) will be traveling to India from November 9th through the 19th. We will be staying at the campus of Hindustan Bible Institute (HBI) which is New Life's ministry partner in India. Many of you already know about the work in India with HBI. For those of you not familiar with HBI, New Life's history with HBI or the Maharastra consortium, please see the earlier post "Where are we going? - HBI"

This is a small team focused on a few goals. We want God to expand our vision, change and transform us through the people and places that we meet in India. We want to help HBI in their core mission of training and equipping pastors and Christian workers. We want God to give us a vision for how God wants to change and transform our church based on what He is doing around the world.

This is the first time New Life is sending a senior pastor to minister at HBI. HBI is excited about this, and Steve is eager to see what God is doing in India. Joe was specifically invited by Bobby Gupta to come and share about worship with the staff and students of HBI. HBI is excited to have Joe come. Joe will share more of his vision and passion in his post. This is my (Steve Thomas) first trip to India. I am eager to see the work that we have been involved with for so many years. I am eager to have God change me through the people that we meet.

This is also the first time that New Life will be ministering directly in the state of Maharastra (which is where our Maharastra Consortium is focused). We will be providing two days of teaching and training to pastors and Christian workers in Nagpur a city in the eastern end of Maharastra. We are all excited to minister to and share with these front-line workers in the state which we have been praying for these past 8 years.

Where are we going? - HBI

New Life has partnered with the Hindustan Bible Institute (HBI) for over 15 years in their purpose “to give every Indian an opportunity to hear, understand, respond to the Gospel and be discipled into communities of believers.” HBI trains, equips, sends and disciples pastors and Christian workers in India to plant churches and spread the gospel message. Over the last 25 years, they have equipped over 8,000 men and women who are engaged in full-time ministry all over the world. They have mobilized over 75,000 pastors and church planters who have planted over 400,000 new churches across India. HBI’s primary campus for training and equipping these pastors and Christian workers is in Chennai, India. New Life sends teams every year to Chennai to partner with HBI in training their pastors and doing outreach in the Chennai area.

In 2001, when New Life was forming its own 20/20 church planting vision, it also joined with two other churches and HBI to form the “Maharastra Consortium”. This is a partnership with a goal of planting 100,000 churches in the state of Maharastra in the next 20 years.

On this trip, we will be visiting HBI’s primary campus in Chennai and we will be visiting a new training center in the city of Jagpur, Maharastra. At both campuses we will provide training and teaching to the students who are becoming pastors and Christian workers.