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.