Thursday, March 13, 2008
Steve's art makes the News
Check out this post. Our son, Steve, made the pick of the week for his art.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Goa Pictures
This was my home away from home while in Goa. I was in Room 1 on the upper left hand corner of this guest house. It was a nice place to stay while in Goa.
There are many things that take place at the beach. Great little restaurants are found on the beach. The total structure is put up and then taken down each year for the tourist season. During the monsoon all is put away.
Fishing is also a vital part of life for people here. You have to get here pretty early in the morning to see them bring their boats back in after their night time fishing.
My hosts while in Goa.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Opportunities in Goa
My posts have gotten out of order, but I am in Goa and experiencing a great time with the people here. I have already spoken about Sunday. I also spent Monday and Tuesday in Goa and then will start my homeward journey on Wednesday.
Goa is an interesting place. It almost seems to be a culture based on the tourist industry. People live here and work here for six months of the year and then go back to their places of origin across India and across the world for the other six months. As I am here it is getting toward the end of the tourist season. The hot months will soon begin and then the monsoon will follow.
I have spent my time with the people who are working here in Goa from North America. It has been good to spend time with people individually and in groups around shared meals. It has also been a delight to be in several homes to share meals. Each setting gives opportunity to listen and to talk about things that are particularly on the mind of the people working here.
This morning (Tuesday) I am leading a session with the team. Dan has asked me to work with the group as they think about their individual gifting and the task before them. I pray it will be a good time of interaction and will continue to encourage each team member in the calling to ministry that God has given them in this place.
Blessings to each of you who have been reading my posts. Thank-you for your prayers! The Lord has answered and is at work in all that is happening through these days.
Goa is an interesting place. It almost seems to be a culture based on the tourist industry. People live here and work here for six months of the year and then go back to their places of origin across India and across the world for the other six months. As I am here it is getting toward the end of the tourist season. The hot months will soon begin and then the monsoon will follow.
I have spent my time with the people who are working here in Goa from North America. It has been good to spend time with people individually and in groups around shared meals. It has also been a delight to be in several homes to share meals. Each setting gives opportunity to listen and to talk about things that are particularly on the mind of the people working here.
This morning (Tuesday) I am leading a session with the team. Dan has asked me to work with the group as they think about their individual gifting and the task before them. I pray it will be a good time of interaction and will continue to encourage each team member in the calling to ministry that God has given them in this place.
Blessings to each of you who have been reading my posts. Thank-you for your prayers! The Lord has answered and is at work in all that is happening through these days.
Catching Up with Pictures
The temple to Jagannath is a temple open only to Hindus. This is where the devote Hindus believe they may die and be translated immediately to Nirvana.
It was remarkable to be here and see the many people going through many ritualistic forms to give their worship to their god.
There were ritualistic washings and sprinkling your head with water that seemed to come from the temple, or at least was at the point where many would enter.
There also were clay pots that were used to receive rice that had been offered to the gods of this temple. It put me in mind of Paul and his discussion about eating meat that had been offered to idols.
We went on to the temple at Konark. This was a monument to the sun god. It was made in the year 1200 and during the three seasons of the Indian year the sun shines straight through passage ways on the opposite side of this view and into the central chamber. The ruins you see before you were at one time the base of a structure that was taller than the one you see here.
In the midst of this land the Name of Jesus is also recognized and people gather to worship the one and only God of our Universe. Thank God for his mighty work in our world and pray that more and more people will come to know the truth and the light found in Jesus Christ. The people in this picture are some of those who gather to worship at the "All Nations Centre" in Goa.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
One Last Cultural Trip
Friday we had opportunity to make one further trip to experience the reality of Hinduism in the context of some major temples. We had been careful not to do much photography around other temple sites in order not to raise to many questions. Today, however, we would head to two areas that were "tourist" places and would not raise much question about our being involved with videography.
We started by stopping at the SPICE Hostel for High School boys in Cuttack. It was good to see this and get a feel for this further ministry of SPICE. The boys here all have finished up their work in one of the other hostels. Those schools only take them through the elementary grades. Through this hostel they now have opportunity to continue on into high school.
Then we headed south to Puri. This part of Orissa is known for it's many temples. We passed a Buddhist center as well as many Hindu Temples. We also were touched by the presence of Muslim mosques as we heard the calls to prayer being called out across loud speaker systems.
Puri is a major center for Hindu worship. It is believed that if you die here, at the major temple, you will go straight to heaven, avoiding the multiple stages of reincarnation. We went to the roof of a nearby building and were able to observe so much of the religious life of those who were coming to this temple. Only Hindus are allowed to enter.
People were entering the temple to worship. Others were just stopping on the street, removing their shoes and praying, and then putting them back on and continuing on their way. The scene displayed the phenomenal devotion of people to a religious system that I believe is false. Yet they give themselves totally to this worship.
We pushed on to Konark and another temple. This one was built in 1200 and took some twelve years to build. This is not an active worship site as the earlier temple, and yet it is a place where many people come to see and experience what has been part of Indian culture for these many years.
It is into this culture and great need that we come to bring the message of Jesus and his offer of salvation, not by what we do, but by receiving his saving work for us by faith. The grace of Jesus is sufficient for every situation and need.
We started by stopping at the SPICE Hostel for High School boys in Cuttack. It was good to see this and get a feel for this further ministry of SPICE. The boys here all have finished up their work in one of the other hostels. Those schools only take them through the elementary grades. Through this hostel they now have opportunity to continue on into high school.
Then we headed south to Puri. This part of Orissa is known for it's many temples. We passed a Buddhist center as well as many Hindu Temples. We also were touched by the presence of Muslim mosques as we heard the calls to prayer being called out across loud speaker systems.
Puri is a major center for Hindu worship. It is believed that if you die here, at the major temple, you will go straight to heaven, avoiding the multiple stages of reincarnation. We went to the roof of a nearby building and were able to observe so much of the religious life of those who were coming to this temple. Only Hindus are allowed to enter.
People were entering the temple to worship. Others were just stopping on the street, removing their shoes and praying, and then putting them back on and continuing on their way. The scene displayed the phenomenal devotion of people to a religious system that I believe is false. Yet they give themselves totally to this worship.
We pushed on to Konark and another temple. This one was built in 1200 and took some twelve years to build. This is not an active worship site as the earlier temple, and yet it is a place where many people come to see and experience what has been part of Indian culture for these many years.
It is into this culture and great need that we come to bring the message of Jesus and his offer of salvation, not by what we do, but by receiving his saving work for us by faith. The grace of Jesus is sufficient for every situation and need.
Seeker's Conferences and more
I am sitting in an Internet Cafe in Goa. This is the first I have used public Internet access during this trip. Yesterday I had written this post and thought I had saved it, but my connection was not good through my wireless access modem. So I am writi8ng again following my first post from Goa.
We finished up with our trip to West Bengal and went as far south as Balesore. There we stayed overnight at a hotel we have used before (my third visit). It is nice to go to a place where people remember you and you remember them. Following a good nights rest we then continued south to Cuttack. It was good to be back after our several day excursion.
That afternoon the guys did some final video work in the Good News Office. It is great to see how they work with the radio ministry here and follow-up with the seekers. It was impressive to see their record keeping system so that they can track each person who writes for information and the response that has been given.
It is because of this work that they are then able to schedule regional Seekers Conferences to follow-up with people who desire more about a walk with Jesus. The Church in Orissa does this follow-up work and soon they are planting another congregation in the regions where the Gospel is being proclaimed through radio. Pray for this joint ministry of Gospel Tide Radio and the Orissa Brethren in Christ Church.
Along side of the Seeker's Conferences that grow out of the radio work are Seeker's Conferences that are a result of the direct outreach work of the Church. We were told that there may be up to fifty seeker's conferences throughout the year as they follow-up these two areas of ministry. We were part of three of them just in this time that we were here. In the Church Outreach work Brethren in Christ World Missions is pleased to partner with the Orissa BIC.
Thursday evening we made our final excursion downtown. It is quite something to experience the evening markets. For those of us from NA it is likely closest to a county fair with multiple booths set up where you can find almost anything. These are out on the street or along side of walls. In addition you have all of the regular stores. There is a lot of activity.
We finished up with our trip to West Bengal and went as far south as Balesore. There we stayed overnight at a hotel we have used before (my third visit). It is nice to go to a place where people remember you and you remember them. Following a good nights rest we then continued south to Cuttack. It was good to be back after our several day excursion.
That afternoon the guys did some final video work in the Good News Office. It is great to see how they work with the radio ministry here and follow-up with the seekers. It was impressive to see their record keeping system so that they can track each person who writes for information and the response that has been given.
It is because of this work that they are then able to schedule regional Seekers Conferences to follow-up with people who desire more about a walk with Jesus. The Church in Orissa does this follow-up work and soon they are planting another congregation in the regions where the Gospel is being proclaimed through radio. Pray for this joint ministry of Gospel Tide Radio and the Orissa Brethren in Christ Church.
Along side of the Seeker's Conferences that grow out of the radio work are Seeker's Conferences that are a result of the direct outreach work of the Church. We were told that there may be up to fifty seeker's conferences throughout the year as they follow-up these two areas of ministry. We were part of three of them just in this time that we were here. In the Church Outreach work Brethren in Christ World Missions is pleased to partner with the Orissa BIC.
Thursday evening we made our final excursion downtown. It is quite something to experience the evening markets. For those of us from NA it is likely closest to a county fair with multiple booths set up where you can find almost anything. These are out on the street or along side of walls. In addition you have all of the regular stores. There is a lot of activity.
Sunday in Goa
We left Orissa and made our way Back to Mumbai. There our team split up with Don and Emerson going on to Zimbabwe and Ken heading for Goa. We made our good-byes in Mumbai and each headed for the planes that would take us eventually to our next destination.
I was met at the airport by Dan Deyhle. It is great to see him again and to see the others who are on the team here in Goa. An exciting development has been the creation of a Trust as a legal entity to work within as this ministry develops. It is called the West India Brethren in Christ Conference. Bijoy Roul is the "settler" for the trust and their are five trustees from within the people who are part of the fellowship here in Goa. This work is under the direction of "Everybody Ought To Know" and Dan and Karen are Missionary Associates with Brethren in Christ World Missions. It was great to be back with the team through the evening as we talked and shared a meal together.
Sunday morning we gathered for Sunday School and Church at the "All Nations Centre." There were people I remembered and there were many new faces. I am so grateful for the development of this ministry. Bijoy Roul is making regular contacts here in his role as Regional Administrator for South Asia under BICWM.
I had the privilege to open the word with the adults in attendance. It is a blessing to minister among God's people and to share the good news. We had a lady in church for the first time today. She was excited about what she found and said she will be back again next Sunday. Pray for her as she examines what she is hearing. She is a Hindu who is being called by the Spirit to follow Jesus. What a blessing!
I was met at the airport by Dan Deyhle. It is great to see him again and to see the others who are on the team here in Goa. An exciting development has been the creation of a Trust as a legal entity to work within as this ministry develops. It is called the West India Brethren in Christ Conference. Bijoy Roul is the "settler" for the trust and their are five trustees from within the people who are part of the fellowship here in Goa. This work is under the direction of "Everybody Ought To Know" and Dan and Karen are Missionary Associates with Brethren in Christ World Missions. It was great to be back with the team through the evening as we talked and shared a meal together.
Sunday morning we gathered for Sunday School and Church at the "All Nations Centre." There were people I remembered and there were many new faces. I am so grateful for the development of this ministry. Bijoy Roul is making regular contacts here in his role as Regional Administrator for South Asia under BICWM.
I had the privilege to open the word with the adults in attendance. It is a blessing to minister among God's people and to share the good news. We had a lady in church for the first time today. She was excited about what she found and said she will be back again next Sunday. Pray for her as she examines what she is hearing. She is a Hindu who is being called by the Spirit to follow Jesus. What a blessing!
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