God's people

We are at rest. Today was Christmas day - and we celebrated in a leisurely and lovely fashion. The kids really enjoyed their gifts (kids Trivial Pursuit - Indian edition! + 2 books sent by Alistair and Merryn Appleby) which was set up by a treasure hunt. Lots of amazing Bible time too - and the watching of the Miracle Maker.

Who would even think that HIV/AIDS was an issue any more?

Well it still is. And we will be returning back to Thane sooner rather than later to continue our work of obeying God and loving people who have the disease and their families. Our team at JSK is hard at work doing just that even while we have this break.

Just before we came off to Andhra Pradesh we were visited by a lovely couple. He is doing an infectious disease residency in the US - and she is a nurse practitioner is looking after a small daughter - and who plans to finish her midwifery training in mid 09.

After that they are planning to come back to India and work with an urban HIV ministry. It was so encouraging to have them pop up for a day-long visit to us in Thane. How wonderful to see that God is preparing His people. We can so easily get trapped into thinking that we are some kind of holy martyrs, slogging it out all alone - when all along God has and is continuing to prepare His special folks.

We would love our friends to work with us - and so would just about every other group that we know of! Pray for them as they visit our dear friends Shalom in Delhi. Having visited his parents in the South, they have already put in some time with a local HIV clinic there.

The needs continue to be out there! Do you know of people who can serve? As Jeevan Sahara Kendra is moving towards the intended shift to the current Lok Hospital building some time in late 2009 - we need a whole new set of hearts and hands to take things further - way further! Folks like our friends. Called. Ready to multiply. God's people.

Train to Palakollu

Trains. You just can’t beat the joy of traveling in them.

Here are a few shots from our train which took us to Palakollu - our disembarking point on our way to Lankalakoderu village.

We got on at Vishakapatnam station – and were in the 2nd last bogie on a train that was going to Guntur – just before 7 AM. Just after noon the last 5 bogies of the train were uncoupled from the Guntur train (much excitement for Enoch and I to watch the deed being done), which steamed off Guntur-ways. We then were picked up by an engine that took us on a single-line branch route to Palakollu.

Breakfast on the train. Passing by the beautiful Andhra coastal country side. Seeing the 'march of progress' by way of roads, factories and power cables intersect with the agrarian land.

Crossing the mighty Godavari River.

Trains are human-shaped in that they give you time. Time to do the Soduku puzzle from the Hindu newspaper. Time to devour a crisp morning paper. To sip cups of tea from the vendours.

To look through Scripture. To get SMSes and send a Bible-based reply. To play travel games. Both things like chess and looking out the window and counting cows and buffaloes with Enoch. To think. To doze off. All the while while taking in the beautiful green of the paddy that is just about to be transplanted – framed by rows of coconut trees.

Small station called ‘Atilli’. So small it doesn’t even have a platform.

Generations of young boys have enjoyed the indoor climbing facilities trains offer. Enoch struck up a friendship with a Telegu speaking boy called Shriraja. Enoch was quite sad and teary when it was time to part ways with his new friend.

And so the train moves onward. Its single engine pulling a grand total of 5 bogies along a single line. Tooting its horn furiously as it crossed innumberable roads as we moved deep into the heart of the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

Christmas in the village

We celebrated Christmas eve in Amma's anscetral village of Lankalakoderu. As dusk fell, we saw gradually almost the whole village gather at the local Lutheran church. Loudspeakers – LOUD ones at that – came to life and provided a sonic wallpaper as the village Christmas programme gathered steam.

Lights garlanded the church and the path on both sides. At one end the lights culminated in the illumination of the village Ambedkar statue. He was trussed up in lights that would have done any Christmas tree proud.

Earlier in the day, while visiting some relatives in a nearby town, we went for a walk. Next to another Ambedkar statue I saw a group of drunken young men fighting. I couldn’t help but take a photo of the larger than life Ambedkar figure. Some of the men approached me and not wanting to get dragged in I scurried off to the drunken calls of ‘Merry Christmas.’

The picture below - taken just next to that Ambedkar statue - shows a sign announcing the local Christmas celebration in Telegu. The row of lights laid out on both sides as well as the white bands of DDT sprinkled on roadsides announce that serious work has gone into preparing for their local Christmas celebration. Its no wonder that many places where Christians live in our country are called "Sharabpurs" (liquor towns).

The august Hindu newspaper – the only English paper worth reading in the south – had a column by a veteran Communist extolling the revolutionary nature of Jesus. The Telegu newspapers all had special sections with Christmas trees on it, and men and women dancing and various avatars of the Red-coated imposter. I can think of no other major religious festival which replaces its central to-be-glorified deity with a fat European male. The manifestations of this incubus of Satan oh, sorry, I mean Santa ranges from the amusingly bizarre to the down right grotesque.

Cut to the chase.

The majestic opening words of the Gospel of John totally and completely link the Living Word – as the supreme, all-creating, all-light, all-life Deity. And then it takes the totally unexpected statement that “the Word became flesh and dwelled among us.” Eternal essence of God, now participating totally in the meat-bound, breathing / eating / sensory-sensate finitude of the human body. And that too forever! The scandal of Christmas is not that Christ was born in an animal shed (any palace on earth would have the same stink compared to the holiness of His great throne) – but that Jesus takes on human form – and will remain in this human form for all eternity hence!

The depth, the explosiveness of this news – coupled with the total anonymity and bizarrely crude first messengers has brought three main responses over the ages.

The first two are understandable and depressingly common.

The first – and the saddest response of all – is to totally ignore the news. A saviour? Ho hum. I have more important things to do. Where is my game-boy? A lord you say. Well, lets talk about the weather instead. How about that cricket match eh? Those politicians – never can trust them I say… and so it goes. John says that he came to His own, but His own knew Him not. Depressingly, that’s what we continue to see.

The second response? Active hatred. Some of the most horrible things have happened to people who profess to follow Jesus – and make active steps to live this out in their lives. Forced conversions? Well the only ones taking place in Orissa are when villagers who had fled to the jungles are told that they must ‘re-convert’ to the ‘sanathan dharm’ or pay the consequence. Some have. We will meet these saints in glory. The interesting thing is that many of the states and groups that have been most active in trying to stamp out the truth of Jesus have found themselves on the ash-heap of history. Dialectical Marxism anyone? Where in Enver Hoxha when you need the man! Danger of this response? Some of the most ardent proponents may turn and become Jesus followers. Happened to a man called Saul who would have been meeting the children and grand-children of people he had helped martyr throughout his public service for Jesus.

The third response? Worship. The only really sensible one in relation to the radical truth of God Himself becoming known to us. We have seen Him full of glory and grace. The amazing fact of God’s very nature being displayed in Jesus himself demands worship. Nothing less.

How sad our own feeble attempts at worship are. How quickly we replace devotion and adoration with ersatz goods. Ho ho ho.

And yet, how amazing to keep seeing the great cosmic gamble – God putting His reputation in our hands. In our worship.

Last night, while the loudspeakers of the village church announced the latest ‘special number’ (it was slated to go on till 4 am including the auction of banana bunches for charity) we gathered in Uncle David’s home. A small group of four nuclear families – all related to each other through Amma’s wing of the family – but more importantly – all linked together by being adopted into our Lord’s big family. We sang a few songs of thankfulness and then wondered at the amazing Word. He whose birth was foretold by the prophets and angels, who escaped the cruelty of the roman swords, and who will rule the nations with an iron scepter. This is our Lord, the Servant King, He calls us now to follow Him, to live our lives as a daily offering, of worship to, the Servant King.

After a time of rejoicing in God’s word, we prayed for our brothers and sisters in Orissa, rededicated the home to God’s service and then walked in the star-punctured darkness to the empty single platform railway station. As we waited for the 11.15 PM night passenger train in the utter darkness of the unlit station, we could hear the loudspeakers from the village church through the dark groves of coconut trees and across silent the rice fields.

Phil

Phil B must surely be in the running for one of the nicest people ever to be fashioned. We were blessed with a few days of Phil last week – and found that his gentle presence was a joy to all who met him.

He also knocked our socks off (figuratively – we basically wear chappals) with his beautiful Bible teaching. Where God become homeless – all men found a home was the title of the amazing session he took for our churches – one in which all were deeply moved by his exploring of the amazing miracle of the human ‘enfleshment’ of God himself – to become the person of Jesus forever…

As always Phil is a gentle giant with our kids. They love Uncle Phil and Enoch drew an airplane for him as a welcome poster. Books were pulled out and Phil read for them.

We were able to do a small hike to the top of the nearby ridge as well. A highlight of this was Phil singing a lusty German hymn which alternated between plaintive verses describing Christ’s sufferings – and a robust hearty chorus that assured us of our security in Him. This was then given a concise commentary by our wonderman – Phil!

And then there is Phil the photographer, musician, artist. His huge frame and massive Nikon are somehow able to blend amazingly into the background as he snaps the most exquisite shots. We were also privileged to see some videos he did of his time in Mongolia, Pak occupied Kashmir and Austria.


Finally, Phil continues to be the gentleman discussant. A polymath and ever-learner, he revels in conversation. It was so valuable to talk and remember and sort out some of the past - while gazing with wonder at the world around us through words.

Asha's view of the world

Our daughter has turned photographer.

Here is her view of the first day of our holiday with Amma and Appa (Amamma and Thatha to the kids).

A marigold.

The vine covered coconut tree in the front garden.

Her darling mother.

Kanga, from Australia.

Mummy making puris.

One of them (yum!)

Young Enoch, all smiles for his sister!

Daddy relaxing (or trying to at least!).

Being in Tungalam

Asha with a fresh lemon from Amma's tree.

48 hours ago we were in Thane – trying to do the seemingly hundreds of last-minute things that it takes to get away. This morning we awoke to the sounds of roosters crowing.

We are in the small village of Tungalam, perched on the outskirts of Vishakapatnam, neighbouring the rapidly industrializing area of ‘Auto-nagar’.

We are gradually coming to terms with the love we receive here from Amma and Appa – who pray for us every day – multiple times. And who we miss so terribly.

The tiredness of this year holds onto me like a terrified monkey. Its grasp holds my heart – and is only slowly, slowly letting go.

Flowers in Amma's garden

Here is an antidote to tiredness and world-weariness:
1. Reading Hebrews.
2. Flowers
3. Hot puris and potato bhaji eaten with the family on the terrace
4. Games with Enoch
5. An evening stroll in the village
6. Talking and listening
7. Watching Sheba do cross-stitch – and Asha learning too
8. Silence
9. Sleep

Hot puris and potato bhaji on the roof!

Anniversary

9 years ago today Sheba and I promised each other .... each other!

What a wonderful, challenging, humbling, real, blessed, stretching, working journey we have walked so far - and what wonders lie ahead!

As we just saw off Sandhiya's parents who have spent the weekend with us since Sandhiya and Anil were betrothed yesterday (the pic of us above was taken at the reception), we look back with thanks on how good God was to bring us together - and to keep doing His work in our lives.

Paul writing to the church in Ephesus says that in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2.22). That's what we are experiencing - and want to experience more and more - out of the two of us the miracle of one emerging - and being a blessing to others.

I am proud of my beautiful, dedicated, loving wife - and I know she is of me. Our security in each other - a gift of grace - provides security for Asha and Enoch to develop and grow. On our 9th wedding anniversary - we look forward with faith that Asha and Enoch too will experience the joys and challenges that we have - knowing that our Lord has been holding our hands all along.