What's in a name?

We have an interesting family name: Eicher.

Its a Swiss German name - linked with the oak tree (Eiche in German). Other German names are similar Bucher is linked with the birch tree (Buche in German etc).

The roots of our family tree apparently go back through the Mennonites who came to the US via Canada (great-grandad Christian was born in Ontario) to where they had settled in France (Alsace - or Elsas Lodringen as the Germans say it) and before that Switzerland. Oldest known ancestor is Jacob Eicher (1756 - 1815) who was born in 1756 and who died on 3 July 1815 in Aspach, Alsace, France. According to his records, Jacob's father Jean Eicher died on 9 July 1779. We are dealing with the time of the French revolution here and the hardy Mennonites were fleeing Europe in order to live out their faith.

.

But what twists and turns the Eicher name has had.

Today the two most common connotations with "Eicher" are as follows:

1) In Europe: Stephan Eicher - Swiss pop star

A talented lad who sings in many languages. German, French, English, Italian...

The one time I heard a tune of his in English... let me say that it was a strange kind of English.

Hats off to Stephan though!

I have noted that my own talented muscian brother has started to write his name as Stefan Prakash Eicher. Perhaps to put a bit of distance between our Stefan and that dopplegaenger Stephan...

2) In India: Eicher Motors

A long time ago - in 1959 to be precise - a small German tractor company set up an Indian joint venture in Harayana state. After some time the German company parted ways and fell into poor times. The Indian counterpart, however, went from strength to strength. I understand that it even bought out what remained of the German company in the late 1980s.

Today Eicher is a household name - in India at least. The Hindi translation fits the south German way "I-sher" instead of our 'Iker' (rhymes with 'hiker') that we are somehow straddled with.

We commonly see commerical vehicles with the Eicher logo on it - mainly trucks with a big EICHER written on the back - because the company has a dominant position in the light commercial vehicle sector - producing Mitsubishi based vehicles.

Enoch and Asha go to school each day in an Eicher bus similar to this one.

Interestingly enough, the Eicher company has sold its tractor division to TAFE, and is now minting its money from trucks, busses, gears, maps and the Royal Enfield motorcycle division it owns.

I once wrote to Eicher and asked if they could give us a small retainer - maybe just 1% from 1% of their profits - for using our esteemed family name. No response from the good folks at Eicher motors yet.

Today Eicher announced that they are forming a joint venture with Volvo to make trucks and other commericial vehicles in India.

Whatever the corporate behemoth this company may become, in one way it is all moot to us - since Dad is adopted we have no biological ties with the Eichers anyway.

.

Point is - a name is more than genelogy - we are culturally far more Eichers than any chromosomal inheritance.

.

Having been called "Itcher", "Itchier", "Acre", "I-kar" (income tax in Hindi) and having once heard Stefan's name being pronounced as "Stepan Evellier" on PA system at an inter-school sports meet - I know that we have an interesting name.

.

We even have a student dining hall at far off Taylor University on its Fort Wayne campus which is called the "Eicher Commons" to remember the involvement one branch of the family had with the then Fort Wayne Bible College and the missionary activities of the Eichers over the years.

.

There is an interesting account in the book of Revelation when Jesus tells the church in Pergamum (Revelation 2:17) "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."

.

What will our new name be?

.

The Eicher name has served us well - but we will gladly trade it in for our new one which will be written on the white stone we receive.

Monkeys and Leopards in Mussoorie

This just in from Dad - writing about happenings at the Shanti Kunj homestead:

We sometimes joke about these two species, but THIS IS NO JOKE:

.

Saturday, we had prepared a small packet for one of the girls from EMI to take to the States to mail to Premi. As Vickey walked out our upper front gate, there were a few monkeys beside the path. He took no notice of them. All of a sudden, two of them jumped up and grabbed Premi's parcel from his hand and one of them rushed up the tree. At the same time, a third money came up from behind and grabbed his leg and began to bite. Fortunately he had on jeans and so the teeth did not get thru to his skin.

.

He was so SHOCKED, he rushed back into the house, took a stick and rushed back up the path. He began shouting and waving the stick.

.

AMAZINGLY, the monkey who had the packet dropped it AND Vickey reached out and caught it. We are truly thanking the Lord, becausethose creatures could have taken the packet and gone off anywhere and ripped it to shreds!

.

Yesterday, Sunday, Vickey had gone for a walk into the woods in his chappals. He walked down the back path to Jabarkhet. He then cut down to Fairy Glen and then thot to keep going down into the woods. It was all so quiet and peaceful. When he was way down, near the stream, all of a sudden he noticed all the birds around were shouting and chirping.

.

Then something moved in front of him off the path. He looked down and there, barely 15 feet way was A LEOPARD in a crouching position, it's long tail spread out behind it. They both looked into each others eyes. Vickey's heart froze, he was so scared. The next moment he just turned and raced STRAIGHT UP THE HILL, thru the bushes and all. He got his hands all scratched up, but he said he had INCREDIBLE ENERGY AND SPEED.

.
Fortunately, the leopard must have been as surprised as Vickey and did not wish to follow him, PRAISE THE LORD! Finally when he reached Fairy Glen he just collapsed and realized what a miraculous escape he had had.

.
Probably the leopard was coming along the same bath and when he (or she) heard Vickey, he/she jumped down OFF THE PATH, to about 10 feet below the path. Vickey really feels that is he/she had BEEN ABOVE HIM, he/she would have jumped on him.This was about the 4th time Vickey has had an encounter with this species in the near past.

.
We prayed over Vickey, especially to ask Holy Spirit to remove every spirit of fear and trauma thru these two experiences, one right after the other.

Florence next

What will the future look like?
.
Mercifully we do not see what will take place - especially since we know that much sorrow is in store for most of us.
.
But at the same time, there are some hopeful pictures too.
.
One is the potential that we see in Asha and Enoch.
.
Last week Asha was asked by her teacher to dress up as a nurse.
.
She did so with great joy.
.
We have been blessed by Asha's caring nature and sensitive spirit. More than once she has 'nursed' one of us 'big ones' when we were feeling less than up to speed.
.
Where will she go in the future? What will she do for God? We are excited to know that her future is in God's hands - and that like her name there is much to hope for!

Chappal

Ever noticed the sad forlorn single pieces of footwear that dot the streets?

Where do they come from? Where is their partner?

Here is the story of one - make that two single shoes.

Mr. Lambu - one of our long-standing positive friends - has not been doing well.

Though he recovered from the door of death - and has started working again - things have not been rosy.

His income has not added to positive change. The rupees earned from his auto-rickshaw driving have fueled the old addiction to alcohol - the reason why he and his family were forced to leave their home and are now living on the pavement.

Last week he came to see us at the centre.

Mr. Lambu is in a terrible state. He can hardly swallow - because his oral candidiasis has spread down his throat. He can hardly feel on the left side of his body. We suspect he has a toxoplasmosis infection of the brain. Treatable - if he takes the meds and the prayers work...

Last week he lost his footwear - twice.

He was walking along and did not notice that his chappal had fallen off - until some time later.

Pray for this dear man and his family.

Next time you see a stray chappal or shoe on the road - remember Mr. Lambu.

YAA Fest 07 - A state of grace - Part 3

Grace is tangible - we felt it in buckets during the YAA Fest 07.

As the evening rushed to its conclusion it was time to gather again for the final bit of the programme.

After a song by Commonunion one of the JSK staff members - Daniel Kautikkar - gave a testimony. It was on behalf of Raju (name changed of course) a young man with HIV.

The sting in the tail was this: Raju is dead.

.

Instead of him standing up and sharing about his life - he is one of the many whom AIDS has taken over the past few years.

.

Daniel shared about how Raju had been deathly sick - and made a tremendous recovery physically - only to fall prey to his old demons of drink and self-pity. Despite many inputs into his life Raju kept making choices that lead to death rather than life. His behaviour became more and more erratic - people reported him threatening others with broken tube-light bulbs.

.

The final days of Raju were miserable. He passed from this world as a young 25 year old. In a psychiatric ward of a government hospital. Daniel ended by saying that we all make choices - and that he wished that Raju could have been here to tell you his story like Shubhangi did earlier...

.

The stage was set for the finale. Indrajit Sunderam had come down from Delhi to be part of the YAA Fest and now was his turn.

A compact bundle of energy and determination - Indrajit put it straight forward in chaste Hindi to all those present - we have to choose between appearance and character. Working the theme, Indrajit helped us to see how valuable our purity is - and how possible it is to live a life with the help of the Holy Spirit. But how the choice is in our hands - and in the hands of this generation.

.

Indrajit capped off his sharing with a song he wrote - a Dylan-soaked number that talked about the angst around us - and offered the light of seeing the door to hope opened.

.

It was decision time. We explained that this was totally voluntary - but that it was important to put our will into action - and sum up all that we had learned over the evening. We were asking those who wanted to - to commit themselves to choices that led them on the road of purity.

We also explained that we had a small token to help them remind themselves of this - a simple friendship band - but one which had been put together by ladies who themselves already have HIV. The band is an outward reminder of the promise that we made to God and before our peers - and a nudge to keep us going forward - together.

And so jointly said (in Hindi and English) our final statement:

In the presence of God and my friends, I freely make this promise:

I decide to live a life of purity – and I want to lead the change

I will move forward on the road of purity – choosing to make God’s
standards my own – and asking forgiveness quickly if I fall.

Together with those I love – and whom I must love more – I choose to honour and respect relationships – regardless of the cost.

I choose to be faithful to my marriage partner – whether I know him or her yet or not. I want to give my best to him or her.

I admit that I need help from God. I will seek Him through his word and others who are on the same path as I.

I will honestly share my failings with God and others who are walking with me on the road to purity – that we may all be changed.

I put this friendship band on my wrist to remind me of my promise:

I will pray for the sister with HIV whose hands made this band –

and

I will encourage others to take a stand and stop AIDS – starting with me.

So help me Jesus.

Once more Commonunion came on - to do our closing song: just reach out - and He'll reach in - take your broken heart - and make it whole again.

---------------- x ---------------- x ---------------- x ----------------

Grace is tangible.

The amount of work that went on behind the scenes to make the YAA Fest 07 was just phenomenal. For each of the 500 odd people who attended over the course of the afternoon and evening we had lots of hours of work in preparation - and much prayer.

.

During the whole time there was a great sense of peace and security - any of the small hitches that came our way were overcome amazingly - and with minimal fuss.

.

We saw so many young people come and really enjoy themselves. We saw people being deeply moved. We saw people being challenged and provoked. We saw models of excellence in the drama and music. We were changed - glory to God!

YAA Fest 07 - A state of grace - Part 2

Showtime!
.

A bit of prodding and the crowd assembled at the stage. Varkey took the mike and welcomed people and then Commonunion took to the stage. The lads in black gave it what they had - good grooves, good moves and a focus on the Lord in all they did.

Mixing in standards with their own tunes that they had written just for the YAA Fest 07, the lads gave it their best, something that the crowd appreciated

Good music can't be enjoyed sitting down.

.

The lads had us up on our feet pretty soon into their set.

.

Someone said that you need hard rock for hard hearts. Whatever the style - it is clear that music speaks the language of youth - and that the message of purity and faithfulness - with the help of God was well put forward by the Commonunion guys.

After the storm came the quiet. Relatively at least.

A very funny - but painfully true play called Lead the Change saw a mock cricket-style commentary following the lives of two handsome young men on their way to the women of their lives.

.

As the commentators discected their every move - we saw one gorge himself on everything available - and try to get his friend to do the same.

Be it gobbling "Chinese" food from a pavement stall - while on the way to a sumptous feast at the Taj Hotel - or taking in pornography on his mobile - and flirting with multiple women - on his way to meeting his 'beloved' - the man was willing to play the game.

His companion took a different line - and though he looked a bit glum at times - in the end the payback was huge. The hook - you never know when your past will catch up to you - and no matter how dowdy it may look at the time - faithfulness to our future spouse is money in the bank.

.

After this laugh-riot - with a sting in the tail - it was time to get serious. Very serious.

.

As the crowd quietend down, very special person called Shubhangi took to the stage.

.
Shubhangi told us it like it was. That she was HIV positive. That she had married against her parents wishes - and as a young woman had found herself caring for a dying husband with HIV - and how she herself found out that she was positive.

The crowd was rivetted as Shubhangi continued with her story.

Earlier this year she came within a hair's breadth of death.

Her own illness had taken root - and though she had hoped that prayer alone would make it go away she was so sick that it was clear she was dying. A local pastor would occasionally come to her home to pray for her - and when she told him about her condition he urged her to go the Jeevan Sahara Kendra.

Though she was asked to go to one of the large government hospitals for treatment, Shubhangi's mother insisted that JSK look after her semi-conscious daughter. Through those dark days medications and prayers and care flowed and at the end of it - Shubhangi was able to go home.

.

Today this young mother of two is able to work to support her family - and be a courageous voice (as she was earlier this year when she addressed a similar meeting in the picture seen right).

.

There were many a moist eye as she signed off urging young people to be careful in love - not to be afraid of relationships - but to include their parents in the picture - and to make sure to get an HIV test before marriage!

After another song from Commonunion it was seminar time.

.

A bounty of seminars were available for the participants with topics ranging from

HIV/AIDS Basics - to seminars on Relationships and Preparing for Marriage - as well as discussion talks on Choosing Careers, Living Life with a Purpose, and Pornography - a pair of seminars For Girls Only (focussing on issues young women face) and How to be a Friend to a person with HIV rounded off the offerings.

James D'Costa fields a question in the seminar on being a Friend to people with HIV in the picture on the right. The small discussion group ended up profoundly reinforcing Jesus' desire that we should be to others what we want others to be to us - Friends.

.

And all of this before 8 PM! More to follow....

YAA Fest 07 - A state of grace - Part 1

Looking back it almost seems to be a dream. The intense activity of the past week - culminating in an almost round the clock effort to get the show on the road - and then the final day which almost went in slow motion - like Harold Abrams running the 100 m dash in Chariots of Fire...

We had a scorcher of a Dec. 1st - bright hot sunlight burning us to a crisp as we set up. Minor hiccups like no water for a long time - and the threat of our toilets not being given water by the resident power - but over all the peace - as a hundred different parts of the programme came together - as the logistics of setting it up on at the St. John's school took root - and we had the physical reality of the fun-fair and the NGO stalls set up and in place.

By 3 PM the first folks had started trickling in. It took a bit for a buzz to be there in the stalls - but the sheer joy of seeing the long prayed for young people coming in - some tentatively - some boldly was great. A young woman writes an encouraging message to people with HIV. We will be displaying this 'wall' at our year-end celebration for our Positive Friends and their families. We are expecting over 250 folks this year.

At other tables a number of games incorporated HIV prevention and information messages. The face-painting table was well frequented - but mainly for 'arm-painting' as most did not want to have their faces tatooed for the evening!

Edison runs a sound check in prep for the evening concert. The band Commonunion was our headline band this year and really put up a good show. Young guys who are in college and in workplaces - they do what most Mumbai bands have to do - cut down on sleep time try and meet up together after work to jam and practice.

A lady and her son from one of the JSK self-help groups. The 'Ruth' group made carrot halwa, poha and peanuts for sale at the programme. It was the first time that they had got together to do something like this and was a real encouragement for the ladies. We have seen a significant change in a number of the ladies since the self-help groups have slowly started to gather some steam. We were blessed to have an excellent turn out by our fellow workers in HIV issues. In the above picture, our colleagues from World Vision share with participants about their work while selling products made by HIV positve people. In the table behind them our friends from the International Justice Mission show their aftercare work through the candles their clients have made. We were thrilled that IMCares, Oasis India, In-touch, CBM, Salvation Army, ACT-Chiraag and our own JSK were able to display information about HIV and our responses to it - as well as products people with HIV had made.

While the fair was in progress below - a small film fest was taking place in the first floor classrooms - 4 films showing simultaneously - that is until the power went out! Our dear film affectionadoes had to come down and do some more milling about in the fun-fair and NGO stalls. The power did come back - all was cool - and tempers remained very tightly controlled. Throughout the time we were blessed with peace.

- next up - Purity Rocks! The Concert.