Ecumenism - Jesus style

Meet sister Shanti - one of our home-based care staff at Jeevan Sahara Kendra. No, she is not about to become a politician in real life. The photo was taken back stage just before Shanti and the others went out to preform a small play on looking after people with HIV. Shanti plays a local leader who comes and visits and HIV patient and makes big promises - and then exits quickly when she hears that the patient may be supporting another party.

The venue for the play was the Mulund Christian Ecumenical Fellowship meeting. An off-shoot of the Mulund Christian Cemetary Committee - we were part of a remarkable meeting of a good 400 plus folks from all flavours of Christendom - meeting in the main hall of the St. Pius X high school.

I have heard of Ecumenical gatherings before - but this was very different. It was totally focussed on Jesus. We started off with the local Bishop reading out a homily in Hindi welcoming us all and affirming all the churches that gathered together in the name of Christ (interestingly the good bishop did not use the term "ecclesial communities" which a recent communication from Rome uses). And then we had prayers, songs, worship, sharing from all comers - Catholic, Charismatic, Orthodox, Jacobite, Marthoma, Independent... The "prayer fellowship" of the local Parish could have easily been a New Life fellowship worship band - black t-shirts, rock-n-roll praise - the worship leader saying that "Jesus is the only way". It was an amazing and blessed experience. A small taste of heaven.

We were invited as JSK to do a small skit - which we did, sharing the life of a person with HIV - and his good neighbour. The staff did an excellent job, and Rahul followed it up with a great speech. Perhaps in keeping with the Ecumenical labels, the Jeevan Sahara name got lost in the shuffle. In the official programme we were listed as "Bro. Pravin Thomas' Pentecostal Group"

We ended off with a simple but touching display - different church leaders being asked to come up and make the above message - while the Marthoma choir led us in singing "Bind us together".

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After the programme we met the remarkable principal of St. Pius X High School - Father Clifton (or was it Clinton??) - a lovely man who was born in Uganda and came to India during the Idi Amin era. He has been involved with HIV and life-skills education and has been working with the young people of his school and parish to make a difference. Who knows - we may even see this year's Youth Against AIDS Festival take place at St. Pius X!

Coming Home

As the years move on - we are privileged to grow with some of our long-term surving HIV friends - and their families.

Mrs. Reshma is one of them.

Having lost her husband - and having 4 small children - the oldest was 9 and a young infant to boot, Mrs. Reshma was trying to sell vegetables and eking out an existence - between bouts of illness.

She needed to be started on medications for her HIV - but she was alone. We finally were able to send her to Purnatha Bhavan - a rehabilitation home for women and children with HIV which OASIS India runs in Igatpuri.

Mrs. Reshma and her 4 bright children have been at Purnatha Bhavan for 2 years now. She has deeply appreciated the love and care she received there and would like to stay longer - but her term is over - and her oldest son has out-grown the age limit for young boys.

We are gearing up for Mrs. Reshma's return. But to what? Two small rooms that are in her husband's name. A smattering of largely disinterested relatives. A small church which she used to regularly attend in the months before she left. A shocking change of scene after the beauty and care she received at Purnatha Bhavan (or PB as many call it).

Please pray for us as we seek to partner with local churches to look after Mrs. Reshma and her kids. It is not easy - especially for her church which has hardly any regular wage earners attending. But we have to believe that with God all things are possible.

The hard fact is that Mrs. Reshma is unlikely to be able to work much - she has been losing weight recently, even though she has been on anti-retroviral therapy for 3 years now. The challenges of helping her look after her children seem immense - but with God our weaknesses can be turned into His opportunities.

We hope to welcome Mrs. Reshma to her home - soon. In the meantime we need to work out what is possible for some kind of employment, how she can be helped to look after her children, what role the local fellowship will play, how to spruce up the house so that the shock of transitioning from the beauty of Igatpuri to the slum where Mrs. Reshma lives is made a bit less. Above all - to allow the peace of Christ to guard her heart and mind in Him!

Living legends - David and Linda Householder

A few weeks ago we got an email from the depths of my childhood.

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Dr. David Householder - Uncle David to me - was coming through Thane. Did we know of a place to stay?

The choice was clear but there was the delicate question - was Uncle David alone? Was Auntie Linda with him? Where there others?

An email went back to ask the question. The response was classic.

Along with Aunt Linda, we have Justin, Timothy, Sunny, and the King of the Socks [my mind is not able to latch onto the name!]. The last 4 being puppets.

I had to think back to 1978 when at the OM conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, we were enthralled by Uncle David and his Yeti puppet. Further on to places where our lives had intersected - in Delhi, in Mussoorie where he was the chaplain at Woodstock School when I was there.

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Amazingly David and Linda Householder continue to move forward. Having worn multiple hats over the years of their association with India and Nepal, they were in town to provide some member care for folks that they are helping support - drawing on their vast experience on the front-lines - as well as their pastoral hearts.

But they sure didn't forget their puppets.

We Eichers were in for a special treat, as we got to see a wonderful array of puppets when Uncle David shared at a special 'children's meeting' at our church (which included many overaged members of that tribe who laughed hysterically at the puppets) and with the staff at the Jeevan Sahara Kendra, among other places.

More than the laughter (plenty of that of course) was the deep messages that were so clearly shared through the medium of puppetry. Getting along with each other... Allowing God to move us instead of going our own way... Trying to soldier on when we know things are falling apart due to hidden sin...
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God can use stones to praise Him. We as a family were deeply blessed to have his servants David and Linda stay with us and input into our lives.

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Just before they left Uncle David pressed a beautiful gift into our hands - a superb digital camera. The shots that you see here are the first fruits of their generosity to us.

Over the last weekend we were able to visit so many of our dear family and friends! At the drop of a hat (and with much grace from God) the Eichers were able to go over to Nallasopara and meet Sheba's cousin John, his wife Mala and their children Agnesia and Utkash (seen left with Enoch). It was shocking to realise that a good 4 years have gone by since we last saw them!

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While in Nallasopara we also met Solomon and Susie - and their kids Grace and Lois. Asha and Enoch just enjoyed playing with these bright little girls. Susie was the youngest of Uncle Selvenayagam's 3 daughters - where Sheba used to worship while she was studying in medical school in Cuttack (Orissa) and whose home became her home during the med school years. It is amazing to see this love and friendship continue over the years - and into the next generation!

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Then it was over to Borivali where we had first come when we arrived in Mumbai as a family in late 2001. John and Nalini Gabriel and their daughter Nikita were special friends to us - and we have continued to grow together over the years (and the additions of Enoch to us and Jasper to them). Nikita and Asha are very much 'best friends' and the younger two get on pretty well too!

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It was lovely to see the 4 kids love each other so much - and display their own particular personalities. The kids are so bright that sometimes you wonder when it will end? I certainly don't think I was anywhere near where these kids are now! We had the beautiful privilege of a morning Bible reading in which Nikita and Asha took turns to read. It was wonderful to see their minds grow and expand - and our prayer is that they will continue to grow in love for God as well.
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After a memorable time at the Hebron fellowship we used to worship with when we lived in Borivali way back then, we went over to our final family for the weekend: Philip and Epsi Ambrose. The second of the 3 sisters in Cuttack from Sheba's Med School days - the whole family welcomed us with great love. We are thrilled to see their kids Hannah and Bobby growing so much in wisdom, stature and favour with God and man.

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A splendid time was had by all - and we returned by bus to Thane very happy and refreshed.

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Our family is very big!

Eat Bible!

While in Manipur a good 12 years ago (ouch!), I heard this story.

In the bad old days when travel by outsiders was pretty restricted to the tribal parts of Manipur (which I guess still rings true today) - it was rare to have foreign guests, and even rarer to have a whole posse of Koreans.

But that is what our dear friends in Churachandpur town got - a visit by a delegation of Korean church leaders.

The team was feted and given many opportunities to speak. During my time in Churachandpur it seemed that people attended church on what seemed an average of 4-5 nights a week. The Koreans were thus asked to speak repeatedly.

The problem was that they did not know much other than Korean. Even their interpreter did not seem to know much English. And he had to translate it, after which it was translated into the local dialect spoken by that particular church.

On one night the Korean pastor speaking forgot that we was being translated. While preaching his sermon he launched into an impassioned speech that lasted a good 20 minutes - all in chaste but otherwise uncomprehensible Korean.

His interpreter stood dumbfounded as the torrent of words continued.

Finally they stopped and it was his turn to now translate all that impassioned speech into English - after which it would get the local treatment.

The interpreter stood silent for a few moments and then gave this classic summary of the sermon till then:

"Eat Bible"

The church erupted in laughter - the belly aching laughter that just doesn't stop and that our brothers and sisters in Churachandpur love.

The story was lovingly told to me - what must have been years later - and the laughter continued even then when it was brought out again.

"Eat Bible" is not a bad idea. The more we feed on the word of God - the more we will know the living Word.

We do have a literalist among us though - I had to think of this story when I saw this photo recently of Stefan and Neeru's son Ashish:

Reflection - the Gallery!

I have many, many reasons to be proud of my brother.

Here is another one: he is running an art gallery!

Last week saw the opening of Reflection - an art gallery and studio space that Stefan and his merry band of Kingdom artists are developing. The achievement is stupendous - it is one thing to write and teach about art - and a totally different kettle of fish to actually produce, display and market it!
The first show was a private one, displaying the "Sanctity of Life" works that were done last year at the art camp that Stefan helped organise. But what a start - a display space full of challenging pictures - a buzz about all sorts of ways of reaching out - a discovery process about how the whole funny game of putting monetary value to works of art - its all there and has all gotten a big kick start.

Here's to you Stefan and Neeru! For daring to dream and for putting faith in Father God to make these dreams take root!

12 Standard Pass

"I passed my 12 standard exams today - please have some sweets and celebrate with me!"

Normally such a statement brings a big smile to your face and a hearty round of congratulations for the person who said it.

Not this time.

It was said to Seema and Lata - two of our JSK staff - by Mrs. Harappa - a 35 year old mother of three children.

Mrs. Harappa had been admitted at the Civil hospital because she had intense pain and severe coughing. She has HIV and is the widow of a man who died from HIV. One of her children also has HIV.

"Take this money" Mrs. Harappa told her younger sister who was attending her in the hospital, pushing a 20 rupee note into her hand, "and go and buy them some sweets - we will celebrate now."

The grim reality of HIV - and the horror of having a young woman lose her mental bearings was too much for the sister. When their mother came from the village - having heard her daughter was in the hospital - she broke down crying. What has happened to my daugther she wailed - does she have some dreadful disease.

The curse of HIV is that it does not bear speak its name.

Mrs. Harappa had never told her mother about her condition. Now her mother knows.

We have been meeting Mrs. Harappa regularly - and the JSK staff have poured their lives into her and her children. But most of the time Mrs. Harappa ignored the advice and positive steps suggested - preferring to live in her own fantasy world of denial.

As young students all across the city sit down for their class 10 and class 12 exams - we know that one student - who passed her exams long ago - lies dying in a government hospital still reliving her moment of glory.

"I have passed my exams, come lets celebrate."

Opening prayer

We prayed together with God's people to open our new JSK office this morning.

Pastor Benny and Pastor Jairaj from the Covenant Blessings Church - our neighbours and long-time friends came over to be with us - as did Bro. Pravin Thomas from Lok Hospital.

We were deeply challenged and encouraged by Pastor Benny who shared that we have the same spirit which rested on Jesus when he stood up in his home synagogue in Nazareth and said that "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me, to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4.18-19 NIV).

We are God's hands and feet and through the things we do we allow God to work in lives that are broken and without hope.

We had a time of prayer afterwards (no - I am not despairing for life though the picture looks like it).

Then it was pop and sweets time - the wada pao came to late for our friends to enjoy - but we JSK staff dug in anyway.

Here is Sanjeev enjoying Bombay's finest!