Treat them like criminals!

This is not for the weak of heart.

In the heart of Bihar - a.k.a. the heart of darkness - there is a town called Bhagalpur. Well known to me since childhood. This is where the police had poured acid into the eyes of some undertrials in the early eighties. One of my earliest memories in reading the papers as a boy.

Earlier this week a woman in Bhagalpur had her gold chain snatched from her.

She gave a cry and two passers-by ran after the thief. They caught him. The mob gathered. He was tied hand and foot and beaten by the crowd.

The police came.

They joined in the beating.

And took the man and tied him by a chain to their motor-cycle. And dragged him. Till the chain broke.



A video camera captured it all. And showed it on national TV. Even the heart of darkness has some eyes open.

But, Oh! the sorrow to know that these are our guardians of justice.

We all know that our police force is riddled with corruption and some of the harshest men around.

The Indian Express quoted a senior police officer's response to the terrible act: "The policeman involved should be treated like a criminal"

Exactly. And does that mean he should also be tied up and dragged? How do we treat criminals?

Lord have mercy upon us.

+ + + + + + + + + + + +

I have been to Bhagalpur - it is in the absolute corner of Bihar - just north of the tribal district where our dear friends Dr. Isaac and Vijila David are doing their amazing medical work among the Mal-paharia tribals (a.k.a. 'Maltos'). Its a jungle out there. Literally. But also a place where some of the most lovely people on earth live.

Despite the depth of darkness there is always hope. The man has survived - so far at least - though he was very severely wounded.

Closer to us here in Thane - We have people who are called to work in prisons. Today we met Vivek Kamble who said that he has watched most of his generation of young men literally waste away. And he wants to do something about it - so when his church (GMI - still mainly known as 'Bombay Baptist') started a prison ministry he jumped to it. Today he and his colleague Ravindra Raj visit people in Thane, Kalyan and Mumbai jails - and meet people with HIV there as well.

It is also no accident that we have been dealing with a number of members of the police force as HIV patients through Jeevan Sahara. We see the disheartening effects of brutality, alcoholism, infidelity at close quarters. In the police quarters - where the families live. But we also see the opportunities for change. Real change. Inside and also outside.

Pray for our police. Pray for the man who was so brutally beaten. Pray for the many undertrials rotting away in lock-ups. Pray for convicted men and their families. Pray for the local beat patrol man. Pray for the station officer who writes the all-important First Information Report (FIR) in the official register. Pray for those who investigate complaints. Pray for the families of those policement who have passed away from AIDS. Pray.

Two prayers

Two prayers at opposite sides of the room. Two very different situations. Many things inbetween.

We are at our month-end Positive Friends meeting. A kind of support group with lots of spiritual inputs.

The meeting started off with prayer and singing. Then a short skit presented by the JSK team which they had performed as a street play last Sunday. Then a message by Giri on encouraging each other - and the encouragement Jesus is to us.

Then time for sharing. One lady shares how her son has changed so much for the better - and that she was praying for a music system - and now she has one and is able to listen to beautiful songs - and then burst into a hauntingly beautiful Marathi song. A man shared how he has received pictures from his estranged son and wife after a very long time - and that his CD4 count is now over 500 (applause). A lady shared how her mother was sick, but now is better. Voices of people with HIV - but speaking out to encourage each other.

After this we broke up into small groups for individual prayers.

One one side of the room two very fidgety ladies. One of them holding a long green plant in her hand. She had picked it up from outside the hospital where she received the medical test results she had done for her sister - the person with HIV. The sister with HIV had moved back and forth during the entire time of the meeting. Now it was time to talk with Dr. Sheba. Both were deeply depressed. Both blamed each other. The hand of the 'healthy' sister was shaking - the green leaves were shivering. Both miserable. Sheba drew a dark heart and a light one. Talked about the difference Jesus could make. Both decided they wanted the change. Both prayed. One simple prayer.

On the other side of the room a man in soiled clothes was asked what we could pray for him. He said that he had everything he needed. The only thing he wanted was to get back to work quickly. His clothes were soiled because he lives on the footpath. A few months ago a passer-by had for some reason come into his hovel on the footpath. Seeing this man lying emaciated and unable to stand, the passerby took the man to his church. The church is where our JSK staff members Rahul and Varsha attend and their pastor brought Mr. Mandir (name changed) to JSK. A course of TB treatment and multiple inputs later - Mr. Mandir is a changed man. He has gained weight. He has his smile (slightly crooked) back. He has a driver's liscence again and is waiting for an auto-rickshaw to be repaired before he can get on the road and earn again. Today he was praying. Praying not for himself - but for Daniel - our longest serving JSK staff who suffers from periodic bouts of psoriasis on his feet. The sight of this pavement dweller praying to Jesus for healing - for one of our staff was precious. Another simple prayer.

We serve a great God - who uses simple - and at times sinful (but oh so readily redeemed if we only take him at his word) people.

Respect

Had a bracing conversation with Vasu Vittal and Abby from Oasis India trust. They are in the process of putting together a health centre at Kurla in Mumbai to serve women who are in prostitution, women who have been rescued out of 'the trade', people with HIV and community members from the two church-partnered community health projects OASIS runs.

This is an exciting prospect and more so because they have managed to find an existing nursing home which is fully registered and where the owners are willing for them to rent out the whole place - 4 beds - small OT and all.

They are looking for a committed doctor to provide leadership for the next 3 years. Any takers?

Over the course of our conversation we touched upon an issue. The women in prostitution get their health care from the local quack doctors. Church workers who go regularly to meet the women say that if a white-coat doctor could come and conduct a weekly clinic - that it would greatly improve the status and acceptability of the church-run work.

What do these women really want?

One of the things that came out was respect. And dignity. To be treated as someone special. To be loved.

It may or may not be possible to recruit the doctor and have the clinics. But one thing is certain. These women - as warped and as horrible as their circumstances / choices / situations are - each one of them is precious in the eyes of their loving maker.

Could we structure our work so that we genuinely care? Its so easy to become utilitarian and ugly in our work. Could we make something beautiful? Would it not be possible to take that extra effort to communicate that the person is valuable - even if it is not accepted - or even laughed at?

Hope

I have been HIV positive for fifteen years now. I don't have a perfect life, but I never will until I go home to be with the Lord. I just have a better life having God in the centre of it.

It is better because I don't walk around feeling guilty anymore. I know all I have to do is give my worries over to Go and he will take care of them for me. I feel clean inside and out.

Sometimes I am grateful for HIV because it has taught me to about what is really important in life. It has made me totally dependent on the Lord.
An anonymous woman with HIV quoted in "The AIDS Crisis: What we can do" By Deborah Dortzbach and W. Meredith Long, IVP Books 2006

Many thanks to our dear Philip B who paid us a refreshing 30 hour visit - and gave us the book from which the quote was taken.

Food for the Hungry

We meet together each week to eat.

The first day, the day on which our Lord rose from the dead, is a special time to get together as a family.

Not just as the Eichers, or the Thomases, or the Reddys - but as all of our families together in the new family of faith.

We eat not only the occasional pot-luck together - but also of the food of fellowship - and of the Bread of Life.

Today was a special day.

Yesterday had been full but wonderful - visiting friends in Borivali - where we lived in 2001 - and then traveled back across the city to be at "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" - a lecture Bro. Stanley Nelson gave on the wonders of creation - and the value of life - all life that bears God's image. Challenging and moving.

50 million. That's right. 50 million girls are apparently missing because of abortion in India. UN figures.

Take a look at Tammana - Narendra's daughter. Isn't she an absolute miracle? And yet to so many she would be considered a curse. A piece of plasma that can be disposed of at any point.

As the son of a loving father who would have been aborted had it been legal in 1940 - and the brother of a unique sister who was spared the same fate - I know that what God makes is never, never junk. And how much potential there is in each image-bearer!

So we came to this morning.

Over the past month Sheba has been deeply troubled. We have a small but important group of people with HIV who we are ministering to, who just do not have enough food to eat. We tell them to eat healthy food - but due to the present situations they are enmeshed in - they are not able to eat - because there just isn't enough.

Since the beginning of Jeevan Sahara, we have always wanted to work mainly through local churches. And yet 5 years down the road we continually struggle with this basic problem - we in the church have so much to eat - and others do not. And how to bridge the gap.

We know that we could make an appeal and get donations and then have people come to our centre for bags of groceries.

And we also know that that well-intentioned act of charity can do tremendous damage as well.

As we have been agonising about this for the past month the seed of an idea took place.

How about using what the church in the North-East does. How about putting aside a handful of rice for the poor everytime we cook rice. How about collecting that over the month and then giving it to a specified family in need. Food from our table to yours. Food that is not surplus, but part of our daily rations - and yet given with love - and prayer.

Over the past fortnight we talked about this with the JSK team and decided to make a prototype kit. We want to have a small brochure explaining the concept. A bookmark for prayer. A small picture drawn by an HIV-positive person. A case study (with names changed) to challenge the person. A pledge card - asking people to prayerfully commit to helping out for 6 months. And 6 sets of bags - a small one for dal, a larger one for rice and the largest for some fresh vegetables to be purchased just before giving the bag to the family at the end of the month. As each handful of rice is put in the bag on a daily basis - the person is able to pray for that family.

For some reason I really felt we should start it with our fellowship today.

Jacob Darlong - one of our interns from Union Biblical Seminary - worked on it on his day off yesterday - his hard work paid off with 6 prototype kits being made by him. Jacob brought the packets over this morning - and was persuaded to join us Eichers for breakfast.

Only 3 families came today to our fellowship meeting: The host family, ourselves and one of our single young men.

But the Lord was with us - and the fellowship was sweet.

As I helped lead the communion we meditated on what Jesus had said: "I am the bread of life. He who eats of me shall never die, but will live."

We remembered how broke the bread and gave it to his disciples saying He had said: "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."

And how in the same way, after supper Jesus took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

The bread and grape juice we ate and drank were outward symbols of the inward nourishment we received from God.

And then the small miracle.

I was wondering how to bring up the Hunger Kits to the fellowship. I did not have peace to do so during the time of sharing before communion and so decided to talk about them as a small announcement at the end of our time.

Ryan - the late teen son of Jolly and Suma - our host family - had prepared a message for us. As he spoke my jaw dropped. He had chosen 1 John 3.16-18 as his main text.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

The whole time we were challenged to actually love in practice. And that our hearts must first change - but that the outward is a sign of what is inside. This was exactly the passage we used so often at Jeevan Sahara when we talked about how we can practically help our churches become involved in loving people with HIV as part and parcel of what it means to be church.

God speaks - and He speaks clearly. After the message was over I brought out our prototype Hunger Kits and Bro Jolly dedicated them to God's use.

Each of our families took one kit to start the process of helping immediately.

Kid's stuff

One of the most challenging and vexing issues we face is the tremendous suffering children go through.

Tonight so many have gone to sleep on an empty stomache. So many do not know what their next day will hold. So many are afraid of violence - in their own homes.

And that is while their parents are still alive!

A common response to finding out about one's HIV status is to think about what will happen to the children now.

Many parents come to us and ask us to put their children in 'hostels.' 'At least they will have a better life' goes the reasoning. Some parents already sent their kids to such orphanages.

A year ago we faced this challenge with two families affected by HIV and living in the same locality. Between them there were 8 children. Both families very broken.

One family was a recent widow with 3 children. The mother had just lost her husband who was leaching his government job - not having worked a day for 4 years his supervisor signed his attendance for him - they shared the salary 50/50. The kind of care this man gave his children was minimal. The bottle was a closer friend. The son would run away from school. Habitually. And loiter in the streets - as an 8 year old.

The other family had 5 children. Both parents with HIV. The father was also a friend of the bottle. His own mother brewed and sold alcohol in a nearby hut. The family - all 7 of them - had moved out of their shack - into a smaller and more muddy hut - in order to get some money as rental income from their bricked room. The father had already been on TB treatment - twice. The request was the same - 5 children who were going wild. Parents who wanted us to find a place for them.

We believe - that even though some of the situations are so difficult for the kids - that it is absolutely vital to keep them with their parents for as long as possible - and to help the parents really parent their children.

Last year we tried to do something practical about it. And started what we call the Child Care Centre. It started in the first family's little room. Varsha Mohite - the wife of our field social worker Rahul - plunged into looking after the 8 children. Each day they meet before or after school at the centre. Each day they get a simple meal. The children are helped with their home-work - are taught - are played with - learn songs - hear stories from the Bible - and are loved and looked after.

On the 3rd of July we celebrated a year of this on-going miracle.


To see these children dancing and performing their plays was a wonderful sight.

To realise that the boy who had been truant every day now attends school regularly and even is often the first to come to a local church fellowship, while the door is still locked, is amazing.

To hear that one of the other girls came first in her class. And another girl has been made the head-girl of the school is a tribute to what God can do.

Varsha (seen in the picture carrying her son Nivedan) has poured herself into these children. Others have prayed. God has touched some very hard hearts and made them soft. The ongoing work in these kids lives will continue. They have been joined by an HIV positive boy and recently by the son of another man who is positive. Most of the boys have not had father figures to look up to. The growth and development continues/

We are grateful to Hoofriz Ross for the last year's encouragement of Varsha and helping us move forward with the Child Care Centre. We shifted it to a one room Hall flat early this year - where Rahul and Varsha now live - and have recently started a weekly meeting for local women who are infected or from families affected by HIV. The idea is to have it as a women's self-help collective - and a time for ministry to these dear sisters.

So we move forward with this in mind: Each child deserves to be loved.

We must see ways of helping whole families live together - and love each other. The kids of today are the parents of tomorrow. We must see churches opening up to include the children. New challenges await. New frustrations. New blessings.

Treasure

How do you measure wealth?

Here is a shot at it: The two generations of Eichers immediately around Sheba and myself.



On one hand - the many years of loving kindness that Mum and Dad embody. Countless lives changed by their love for people, their sacrificial giving, their encouragement and kindness to others, their transparent lives, their desire to grow deeper with God.... We are amazed at the gift of parents to us - both Andi and Sheba have been so blessed - and challenged to live lives similar to our theirs!

On the other hand - the tremendous joy that Asha and Enoch have given us already in the 11 years they have been with us (6.5 years of Asha + 4.5 of Enoch) - and the potential that rests in these amazing bundles of joy and spirit.

A verse that was shared at Enoch's dedication:

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's
youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in
the gate. Psalms 127:4-5

The thought of our children moving forward into the future - doing whatever God wants them to do - is very exciting. Just as we have been able to fulfill some of our Parents' dreams - so too Asha and Enoch will be able to fulfill some of ours...

And may we all fulfill the good plans of Loving Father. Selah.