A Special Lesson

Thursday was a difficult day. Elena woke with a killer headache and vomiting. Within a few hours she was dehydrated and was in trouble. Sal ran to get Joice, the local village nurse. Within minutes the bedroom was busy with people running to help. Pastor Wasau decided the best thing would be to take her to the hospital. So she was wrapped in a blanket and ushered into a jeep along with Sal, Joice, Wauau, Benji, and Victor. We arrived at the Government Medical Hospital in Masnangudi. It was amazing to be surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ who dropped everything they were doing to help and to pray all the way there. Joice cradle Elena in her arms as if she were a child. The hospital was a far cry from anything in the US. A crudely built cement structure. No sanitary conditions. The doctor was a young man who took his notes on a post it pad. The diagnosis was migraine and dehydration. Elena was taken to a room set up like a ward. The smell of cattle was waifing through the open windows. The nurse was a Hindu girl who wore a white uniform and nurses cap on her head. They gave Elena an IV drip and two pain killer injections. Two hours later we were headed back to Quiet Corner where she rested the rest of the day.  When Sal went to pay the bill, he was told no charge because it was a government hospital.

It was not a pleasant experience, however, we are glad it happened. We saw the love of Jesus in action through our jungle sisters and brothers. The prayer request went out for Elena across India. We will never forget the lesson in caring they taught us. Elena is fine now and back to normal.

AND, the greatest surprise was that Tom and Bev arrived at Quiet Corner two days earlier then we originally expected. David and Paul will arrive on Saturday. Sal is speaking tonight and tomorrow night at the staff training meetings. Tomorrow morning at 5:50 AM Sal, Elena and Bev will be taking a 2 mile hike into the jungle with the hopes of seeing some elephants. Tom opted out. We will report about that later on.

Please pray now as the conferences are beginning on Monday. There is much to do in preparation. Delegates are arriving and they expect over 100 at the campsite. I'll report on that in a few more days. Bless you for reading and praying. 

Standing In The Gap

We have had a full week already and we are only at QC three days! Today was the first full day of the prayer summit. Indians have come from all over India. Some have traveled as much as 7 days to get here. A group of 20 were turned away at the train and could not come. This was due to cold weather in the north. Another pastor's pregnant wife became ill in Kerala and had to be hospitalized. I heard she lost her baby. Despite the hardships, they come to pray for the nation. I am humbled by the dedication to pray. How often I have complained to attend The Gathering at our church because it was too cold to go out!

Sal is being kept quite busy with messages. He opened the prayer summit today with a great message on the power of prayer. He will speak again tomorrow.I will be traveling to a nearby village tomorrow to speak at a ladies gathering. That was not originally planned so I have been busy putting together a message for that. Pray for Sal and Elena as they teach that we might be given words that bless those who hear them.

We are in prayer for the Kish's who leave today for India and David Samuel who leaves tomorrow. We look forward to have them with us.

I am enjoying the beauty and wonder of the jungle. Yesterday I took a walk when suddenly a tribe of mongoose flew past me while being chased by dogs. Later on I was nearly knocked down by a group of cows that were trying to pass through a gate. Playing in traffic has a whole new meaning here. This morning, as I watched the sun rise over the mountains, I heard rustling in the bushes below the balcony. A family of wild boar came rushing by. . . poppa, momma and about 6 babies.

God bless for now. I hope to write again in a few days.

From Quiet Corner

We arrived safe and sound at Quiet Corner today despite the political upset taking place in Karnataka. We found out late last night that the entire state of Karnataka was going on strike and that riots were expected. In anticipation of that Thomas thought it best to get out of Bangalore early. How early? 1:00 AM!! So on just 2.5 hours sleep we made a night journey which took 6 hours. We arrived at QC at  7 AM, had breakfast and was taken to our new accommodations on the second floor of the new Mercy Corner. We have the privilege of being the first people to occupy the room. It is a very large space. Bigger then any of the village homes. AND they installed a bath tub. It is really nice. Tom and Bev will move in next door. It is a similar room - no tub though. Sorry Bev.

We took a nap and after lunch I spent some time picking up trash that was left behind by campers. I took a break and Sal joined me near the bird cages. To our utter surprise, a large mountain lion comes prancing by about 20 feet from us. It is the first time a cat like that has come into the camp. I think the staff was doubting our story until they found the paw prints in the dirt.

I am now sitting at an internet cafe in Masanangudi. We have been given a 3G motim for our lap top but there is only 2G signal here so I am not able to access the internet from our room. Therefore, you may not be seeing many blogs in the days to come. When I am able to get back to this computer I will fill you in some more. We are excited about the Prayer Summit which begins Monday and the Kish's and David Samuel joining us at the end of the week.

Thanks for praying for us. We are having a great time. AND, finally, I leave you with this. . . .GO BEARS!

It's Friday

Today Elena went for an early morning walk with Jaya, Paul's wife. She is a precious friend. I wish I had taken my camera along. The sights and sounds of Bangalore are like nothing I ever experienced walking in the USA. We walked on the sides of streets that were buzzing with traffic which included honking cars, buses, auto rickshaws, trucks, motorcycles, bycicles, carts being pushed by oxen, wild dogs and sacred cows. People here weave in and out of a traffic pattern that does not seem to have any rules. I spent much of the walk looking down to make sure I did not step in anything nasty.

Jaya and I turned into a park area and walked around a lake. It was a welcomed change from the hustle and bustle of the city streets. On the way back, we stopped at Rabbana Fish Stall. Jaya was buying some fish for dinner. I was amazed at the large variety of fish that was laid out in bins. No ice or refrigeration. Flies. . .yes.

Sal has been asked to preach this Sunday at Quiet Corner. He is working now on an additional message for that. I spent the last few hours down at Quiet Corner headquarters teaching a photoshop class.

Tomorrow we pack up and leave for the jungle campsite. Monday begins the Standing In The Gap Prayer Summit. I am told about 100 will be attending. I hope to have a wi-fi connection at Quiet Corner, however, it is only 2G. So if you don't see any blogging for a while, you know why.

Pray for us to be a blessing at the prayer summit. Pray for Tom and Bev who will be leaving next Tuesday and will join us on Friday. Thanks for taking the time to read this and to pray.

Hello From Bangalore

Sal and Elena arrived safe, sound and weiry after approximately 22 hours of travel. Our trip started with a pleasant surprise. The ticket agent at O'Hare took a liking to us and upgraded us free of charge. We were seated in a 5 seat row. There was only one man on the end of the row so we had four seats, four blankets and four pillows! What a blessing that was. We arrived at Thomas' house at 3 AM. He and Marykuddy are well. Still going strong. Today we will rest and recover. As I write, I hear the never ending sound of cars honking outside the window as they whiz by. So many people live here and have never heard the gospel. We are humbled that God would send us to disciple pastors so they can reach their nation with the gospel.