Outreach so far...

By now, I have been in India nearly two weeks. The team got here last Sunday and we have begun to do some ministry this past week. Basically, our schedule is pretty erratic at the moment. We have Mondays off to recoup. So far, we have been able to speak at a cell group (a cell group is basically a small group of people who meet in a home and do Bible studies and fellowship) & spend some time with orphanage kids and do things like play games and sing songs. We also have helped our contact Joshua with some labor at his church. Yesterday, we were able to speak at some church services and minister to the people.

Joshua also took our team to a famous landmark here in Chennai known as St. Thomas Mount. It is believed that the Thomas of the Bible (as in "doubting Thomas") was martyred there. We also got a chance to help Joshua out with a local fundraiser on Friday night for a ministry that does a lot of work with the poor and sick here in Chennai.

It has begun to rain a lot here in Chennai and the season is known as the monsoon season. It has also been very hot during the days. Fortunately, we have air conditioning in our rooms which is a huge benefit. The food has been fantastic and we are so thankful to have Joshua's mother Maggie cooking for us with some of her friends. I am told by Joshua that some of the upcoming weeks we will get a chance to work with street kids, gypsies, and more churches & orphanages. Please pray our team stays healthy and grows in unity. Thank you for your continued prayer and support for our team. FYI: One of our students has been updating a daily blog that you can look at if you would like--> http://www.wix.com/scoastdts/IndiaOutreach09

In Chennai, India

I have safely arrived here in Chennai, India. My first realization of the country was coming into the airport where everyone's temperature is checked because if the swine flu epidemic. Afterwards, I was let outside where there are literally hundreds of people waiting. Some of them want you to take their taxi, some are waiting for loved ones, and some I think are just there. It is hot and humid here in India this time of year and I definitely felt it getting off the airplane. Luckily, my contact Josh found me and took me to his place. On the drive I noticed the amount of people in the streets. With a country of over a billion people, it's hard to put into perspective what that looks like. I am told by my contact Josh that there are roughly 8 or 9 million people in Chennai which is located in the state of Tamil Nadu. Here in Chennai, they speak a language known an Tamil. The country of India itself has thousands of different languages amongst which is the national language Hindi. Luckily for me, lots of people speak basic English as it is taught in some schools.

Life is so different in this place. Poverty is much more "in your face". It is heartbreaking to see so many people living on streets, sleeping on sidewalks, and living on the margins. The diversity of this city is astounding as well. The majority of people are Hindu followed by Christians and then Muslims. I have spent the last few days driving around with Josh and getting to observe this massive city which is the fourth largest in India. Because of the caste system, many people have no hope for getting out of poverty. Even amongst Christians, the caste system has influenced the way people marry.

We are fortunate to have an opportunity to spend time with some of the marginalized people of this city. We get to see what Jesus was talking about when He said, "the least of these". It is my prayer that this team and myself have a life changing trip here in Chennai. When you see the suffering of the poor and you help them, somehow they help you even more. The good news of the Kingdom of God is best received by the poor, because in the Kingdom of Heaven the least are the greatest. Please continue in your prayers for our team. The rest of the team gets here tonight.

Last Week Before Outreach

So it is now upon us....outreach is at the door. I will be leaving before my outreach team on the 16th of September because my visa in Australia is ending. Thankfully I will get a few days to get used to India and spend some time with God before the team shows up on September 20th. It has been a blur this past few weeks. Outreach preparations are such a stressful time. It is important to look at the big picture of why we go.

We are not going so that we can do a "good thing" and pat ourselves on the back. We are not going so that we can say, "I did my share." At the end of the day, it is about love. We want to show the world that God is love. We want people in India to see that Jesus is Lord and that it is good news. If Jesus came and said what He said and did what He did, this is the best news ever. And this is why we go. We believe that God's heart is that people know who He really is and He has shown the fullness of Himself in Jesus. So please remember to pray for us while we are in India. We have a lot of challenges ahead of us. Specifically for team unity, opportunities, and safety. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support.

Jewish Roots

We are getting down to the final countdown with fewer than two weeks to go until outreach to India. Please pray for safety for the team and for health as we go into India. Specifically for me, pray for wisdom and grace to lead the team.

This week, we were privileged to have Joel Baker, a pastor from Nambour, speak on our school. Joel has a passion to share Jewish Roots with people after having lived in Israel for 10 years. He also played some Jewish songs on his guitar and taught us to sing "Hava Nagila." He talked about the tragedy of the treatment of Jews by early Christians and how they justified it. He explained the split of the synagogue and the church. One things I thought was interesting was that he showed how Christianity was like the younger brother of Judaism. Even Jewish history shows similarities such as Isaac receiving the blessing over his older brother Ishmael and also Jacob received a blessings over his older brother Esau. In one of Paul's letters, he explains how Christians are "fellow" heirs of the promise (Eph 2:6). Unfortunately, many people believe that the "Church" is the "New Israel" and God is done with them (the Jews). They call this "Replacement theology." It was actually the grounds for a lot of hatred between Jews and Christians that resulted in death ...NOT things Jesus would put His name on. Paul even goes on to explain in Romans 11 how we have benefitted from Jews and their gifts and promises are irrevocable (v.29). God has not forgotten them and neither should we. There are our older brothers who we owe gratitude towards and need to continue to advocate and pray for.