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BLESS INDIA TEAM 2010 UPDATES

Just received some updates from the team in India. There internet was down until now but God has been at work and we wanted you to see the latest on their travels.

Team Intro –
Paul Caprera, team leader
Allison Webb, Marc Yokel, Andrew Torrico, Erin Morrissey, Rachel Ascher, Sarah Fisher, Kelly Webb
& joined by Brian Webb & Christian Webb-Hall

Update I  8.6.10 - Friday - Travel/ Arrival
Praise the Lord, we arrived safe & sound in India!   We all & our bags made it through 3 days of traveling from RI to JFK to Dubai to Hyderabad to Vishakapatnum. 
Dubai – Our first flight departing the US landed in Dubai, UAE the following day, where we had a 9 hour layover, just enough time to spend exploring the famous city.  So, tour we did, in 104 (+) F temperatures, including walking, riding the metro, walking on the famous Palm island and shopping in the Dubai Mall!
Hyderabad – we took a late evening flight from Dubai and arrived in Hyderabad around 3:30 am, Indian time, the following day.  By 4:30 am, we made it through the long line at customs and went to retrieve our bags.  At this point, we changed then checked into the next airline, went through security, got some coffee/ breakfast & crashed for the few hours until our final flight. 
Vizag – The last leg of the trip was the shortest, so before noon on Friday, we were thrilled to arrive in India!  We grabbed our bags & exited the airport to a warm welcome by the Mekalas, complete with a beautiful Bless India team welcome banner on their school bus.  All the younger team members piled in the bus with Sudheer & our luggage, while Mr. & Mrs. Webb rode with Daddy & Mommy Mekala in the A/C’d sumo (jeep) for a *cultural* ride J to the school, which included a stop at a local shop for a drink.  The nationals reaction to little Christian’s blond hair was priceless.
When we arrived at the Christ the King of Kings & Two Worlds School, all of the children were lined up on either side of the entrance leading to the front steps, ready to shake our hands & greet us with English “Hello’s” & “Welcome to India.”  The processional ended at the front steps, where some of the children performed a welcome dance/song and each team member was presented a fresh marigold garland (lei). Pastor (Daddy) Mekala prayed a blessing over all of us, then the children were dismissed to go back to classes as their teachers shyly greeted us in limited English. 
Sudheer took us upstairs to show us our lovely accommodations – we’re on the 3rd floor in the children’s home building, situated in a private open suite w/ a common kitchen/living area and surrounded by an open porch.  Usha, Sudheer’s wife, had lunch ready & waiting for us (Indian curries & white rice), then we gratefully cleaned up in a cold shower & crashed for the afternoon.  Most of us woke in time for dinner and then slept again.     
Our first morning in India, we awoke to different adventures.  Some had been awake early & participated in the Children’s Morning Prayer Hour at 5:00am.   Others were introduced to the daily electricity outage at 6:00 am (usually until 8am) & learned to clean up & shower in the dark.  The wonder of flashlights…After time to read, enjoy our morning “Starbucks” (hot coffee or tea, served in demitasse cups), and eat breakfast, we enjoyed use of the internet to email home (as the power returned) & met Daddy Mekala for a tour of the property. 
Andrew’s arrival…hours after his plane arrived in Vizag, two trips to the airport later, and multiple phone calls, we finally tracked him down at Subhaker’s home in the city! 
Please pray for all – health, safety, spiritual growth & Christ-like response to issues (jet lag, heat, stomach upsets, change of routine) & daily Indian life (fly-swatting, curries & rice, weather, power outages) – that we will be self-emptied & yielded & so God can fill & work tremendously.  May He be glorified in all!

Team Members dressed and ready for church

Update II  8.8.10 – Sunday – update…
The team has experienced full past few days, with heat, heat, heat, beautiful children, orphans, English lessons, Indian-style worship services, power outages, Indian food, mild team sickness & exhaustion, laughter, tears, early mornings, but all attempting to lose our (selfish) selves and see & experience life through the Creator’s eyes.  Oh, what a mighty, awesome, trans-cultural, boundless, patient God we serve! 
Sunday morning began quite early for many of the team.  Most woke in time for the children’s 5:00 am Morning Prayer hour, although some had been awake hours before due to the heat.  Yes, you read that right!  Every day, these children start & end the day with prayer, usually led by Mommy Mekala.  One of our team members, Andrew, was asked to share a Psalm (39) & expound it for the kids, while Daddy translated.  Afterwards, the kids tackled their morning chores before their 7:30 breakfast bell.  Meanwhile, the team re-grouped, had our own devotional/prayer times, group discussions, & breakfast before the Sunday activities began. 
Children’s Sunday School began at 9:30 am (not 9, like we thought the night before), which we were asked to lead.  We joined the kids outside under a metal roof, and team-taught/led songs with hand-motions (Lord I Lift Your Name On High, I’ve Been Redeemed) and a lesson on Abraham & Isaac, complete with Scripture reading , a skit & follow-up questions, all through Sudheer’s patient translation. 
Our skit was fun, involving team members, a little Indian boy playing Isaac, and several props.  Hilarious to have a large team member be the donkey (wearing a wool vest) & a tiny (very tiny) stuffed lamb serve as the sacrificial ram, & Mrs. Webb doing a stellar Abraham impersonation.  Hopefully God spoke through the language/cultural barrier and the children enjoyed & learned from the lesson.  Sometimes it’s difficult to tell, as they have delayed reaction to our English words.
After Sunday School, we had time to go back upstairs for a de-brief & music practice for the 10:30 am worship service.   Their typical Sunday services go from 10:30am until about 1:00pm, with the majority of the congregation seated on the ground.  (Yes, a long one). J We arrived to much singing, then the whole team was introduced by Pastor Mekala & had to move up front for the remainder of the service.  Paul gave a greeting for the team, then each of us shared a greeting with the congregation and we all sang a few songs.  Next, Marc gave a mini-lesson/sermon on Psalm 29, followed by more singing, offertory & testimony from the congregation, then an interlude-charge/sermon by Pastor Mekala, and finally Paul gave the official sermon. 
Of course, everything was in Telegu, except when any of us spoke, Sudheer translated (A 15 minute lesson can become a half-hour with translation & sometimes expansion by the interpreter).  During all of this, the electricity went out several times (the fans would stop then re-start) & some of us fought to stay awake.  However, overall we were humbled & blessed to be an observant part of the day.  At the end of the message, Sudheer & Paul prayed & the kids got into a prostrate position on the floor; some of the kids actually fell asleep as the prayer was quite lengthy.  They concluded the service again with more singing & a closing prayer by Pastor Mekala.  Afterward, several of the children & even some adults congregated up front to ask for team members & Pastor Mekala to place a hand on their head & pray a blessing over them.  So touching.
By this time, we were blessed, dripping with perspiration, & hungry.  The power still hadn’t returned by 1:30 or after when we ate, and stayed out until 5:00 pm or later that evening.  Nonetheless, the heat became even stickier without fans… God is testing our patience in little things.  J  Had a non-scheduled, but full afternoon of resting, playing/studying with the kids, visiting with team members, etc.  Although we couldn’t send emails (no power, no internet) or really sleep (no heat relief), God was good to sustain & fill us.
----Thank you for your prayers for us – please do, body, mind, soul & spirit – that the Lord will place a hedge around us & we will be sheltered from & armored against the enemy, that He will have his way completely in this place, this ministry, this team & each one of us. 
We’re never quite sure of what tomorrow holds – but are we ever?  However, we’re not in control – but are we ever?  Oh Lord, may we fully surrender – but do we ever?  Oh, Father, please have your will & way completely!  May we surrender totally, love you wholeheartedly & give sacrificially, all through you!

Rachel just after finishing stitching cut chin of one of the boys		Marc plays with some of the boys			Sara enjoys swinging with her new little friends

Update III  8.11.10 – Touring the City, Village Life, school days…
Thinking we may go into the city after morning chapel (8:15ish) & the children begin their exams at 9:30am. 
Well, never a dull moment or lack of excitement here!  The past few days have held diverse adventures…only to be had in India.  Lots of culture, memories, heat, heat, heat & prayer!  Bus trip to local villages (white people are a novelty), driving with locals, getting soaked by the Bay of Bengal, shopping, appreciating the value of Kleenex & hand sanitizer (when visiting Indian bathrooms), learning to deal with multiple daily power outages (no fans, lights, internet), encouraging our fellow non-sleeping team members, leading chapel times for children, planning for upcoming events, performing on-the-spot surgery (Rachel stitched a boy’s cut chin), and daily interacting with the children…
On Monday, the team had a unique opportunity to explore the city, Vishakapatnam (Vizag for short), thanks to the Mekalas!  After leading morning chapel (at 8:15) and the children began their exams at 9:30, we all gathered to head towards the city.   Sudheer & his brother Subhaker graciously transported us all to & from, an experience in itself to drive on Indian roads with locals.  J  We enjoyed a day of shopping in air-conditioned stores (yay-a), eating American-ish food, bustling through a crowded, not so clean city & even experiencing the Bay of Bengal!  It was a long, enjoyable day from which we all slept well that night.  
Driving on Indian roads…
The girls actually had quite the cultural experience yesterday morning, driving into a local village on the school bus to visit a local tailor.  Mommy Mekala gifted all of us with saris, so we had to get them fitted.  The overall experience - views, scenery & sights - were well worth it!  Meanwhile, this week, children’s school schedule is very different in honor of Indian Independence Day (this Sunday); their days are like field days, filled with Indian games for most of the children.  Yesterday’s intense heat (even the Indians said it was hot) didn’t prevent many of them & a few of us from running around there, playing everything from the more familiar (cricket, dodge ball & volleyball) to the lesser known (kumbati, coco & a hopping game). Yes, we were tired last night.  J
Please keep us all in prayers, for health, sleep, wisdom & spiritual growth/stamina.  There is an all-night prayer meeting for Pastors on Friday, a Pastor’s Conference & Women’s Conference on Saturday, preparation for Sunday (sermon, psalm, etc.), in addition to daily opportunities to interact with /the children & family.  May He sustain, fill, and guide – giving us His power, grace & wisdom to proclaim His name – all for His glory. 
Trust you are well; we miss & pray for you & appreciate your encouragement & prayers for us. 

Sree Shavani School assembly team spoke to		Fervent prayers at the Women's Conference

Update IV  8.12.10 –School program, Pastor's & Women's Conference (From Allison)…
It is always interesting to see how God will work out schedules and opportunities in spite of our best planning to serve Him! On a quick jaunt out to the village juice stand on Wednesday night Sudheer ran into a friend of his who is the correspondent (administrator) of a local private school and has been a great help to Two Worlds Public School by navigating the government bureaucracy of accreditation renewals.  The relationship that developed during these professional situations led to us getting a last minute invitation to speak and pray in an assembly to all 1200 students at his school and visit the classes! Sudheer was really excited about this invitation because this was the first open door given to Christians to speak to this school.
He met with us to explain how we could share without alienating the children according to what they and the teachers believe, using well the opportunity we have as visiting foreigners to share through aspects of our language and culture the seeds of the gospel. Sudheer is excited to then follow up on our visit with Bibles or more literature for the students, something he would never have been able to do without this invitation. The next morning Sree Shavani School sent a bus to pick us up and we went off excited about this open door and to plant some seeds. In front of an assembly of all the students and teachers we taught and sang “Lord I Lift Your Name On High” which with hand motions shares the message of Jesus coming, dying for our sins and rising again – through song what we could not say in a speech! Pray that those listening would begin to question who this God is who would come and die for their sins. After a message by Paul on the importance of doing well so that you can give back to others, encouraging character and virtues in the students which are universally approved of and therefore giving us a good reference point to work off of when visiting the classrooms. Once students were dismissed we split up and went throughout the school talking to classes about the importance of thinking about others, why we were in India to do that based on our Christian beliefs and open for questions about our culture. We had some tracks to share with the classes that looked like American currency and had a message about the great question – “where will you go when you die?” This was well received as a piece of educational information about America but we reminded them to read ALL the writing on the bill as it had an important message.
Allison recognized a few students at the school as having previously been her students at Two Worlds Public School (families switch schools often here) and it was enjoyable to reconnect with some of them. The whole morning was an unexpected blessing and opportunity – India schedules and planning may be difficult to adjust to at times but can also leave open availability to do amazing things.
Friday was the all night prayer with the supported pastors, the team briefly greeted the pastors and worshipped with them for a little while. It is such an amazing thing to see these tired and hard-used faces light up with joy when they sing praises to their Lord, their strength for the hard work of ministry is found in their Heavenly Father and they know they need His Presence. Paul spoke an encouraging/admonishing message on guarding their hearts against fear and anger – in situations of difficult ministry these are real temptations the heart can slip into but knowing what the Word says to these issues makes them easier to identify and combat.
Day after the all night prayer was the Women’s Conference and Pastors’
Conference – a time when all of us felt inadequate to teach but desiring the Spirit to guide our thoughts and words so that despite ourselves the truth would be sent into the hearts of the listeners.
The women’s conference was held in on the church floor and the pastors met below in the Bible school space with both groups starting between 10 and 11 in the morning and going until a lunch we provided at 3.
The time with the women was such a humbling and Spirit-dependent time speaking on the theme of “Value”, value as created beings with a soul in the image of God and value in Christ when He makes us new creations.  With Mommy Mekala directing the program the women of the team were all able to share either with a testimony, teaching, or encouragement to our sisters in Christ to hold onto the value they have and to know why God made us valuable and that we have a purpose in life. We are hoping they left with the encouragement to reach out to the eternal souls around them with the truth that God holds us precious and we can know our Creator. Women here in Indian churches have an important role as they can visit homes and socialize with a large segment of the population that pastors cannot – reaching Hindu women and children with the Gospel in safe and natural ways. The church in India will be so blest to have strong women with a fire for evangelism, so pray that our sisters here would claim their relationship and live out their purpose where God has given them a field of influence!
Pastors from the local Mandels (equivalent to something between a town and a county) and the pastors the Mekalas support all gathered to hear Marc and Paul preach.  Both messages focused on our need to become wise followers of Christ who are skillful at guarding our hearts from the attacks of the flesh, world, and Satan by knowing the Word and meeting each attack/lie with a scriptural truth.  It was so rewarding to see attentive heads nodding in agreement as we reminded ourselves of the seriousness of the battle we each face and how we can ensure victory in each fight.  Shaking hands and warmly greeting the pastors before and after the meetings was such a humbling honor.  They truly labor hard for the Lord in difficult situations with very little support and encouragement.  To know that a few minutes of conversation in broken English with big smiles and hearty handshakes exchanged, in combination of the messages shared, did encourage them (give them
courage) for their work was such a privilege and joy.  For Paul, who had met many of the pastors on previous trips, the day had extra meaning – catching up with faithful followers of Christ whose lives have been an influential part of his Spiritual growth.

Paul & the Mekala's Unfurling the Indian flag on Independence Day		Andrew and Marc getting a ride on Lake Kondakarla

Update V 8.15 –8.17.10 Indian Independence Day, Church, Lake, Village Crusade (from Erin)…
Finally the big day had come! Sunday was the Independence Day celebration which was carefully planned for with excited anticipation throughout the week. The colorful array of decorations around the grounds reflected the feelings of joy and pride the Indians felt as they celebrated their freedom and independence.
Paul gave a speech which focused on the importance of freedom and was also given the honors of unfurling the Indian flag which was the highlight of the ceremony. Many speeches and songs were shared. It all went very well even despite the intense heat and scattered showers.
Near the end of the celebration our team was called to the front to present awards to the children who participated with excellence in the game competitions the week before. Part of the team had to leave during the ceremony to go to a church in Gajawaka to minister to the people there. Allison, Sarah, Marc and I stayed behind to participate in the church service which is held were we are staying.
 After the celebration we headed to church. This time it was Marc’s turn to preach. He spoke on love and Allison did the Psalm reading. Praise God the service went well!
For a special treat Sudheer took us all to the lake , Lake Kondakarla, on Monday for a canoe ride. It was quite the experience! The canoes, which were made out of palm trees, were attached together by a crude seat between the two boats. The ride was very peaceful and the lush green mountains skirting the lake were beautiful. We all shared laughs and enjoyed the time we were able to spend resting and being in each others company.
On Tuesday evening, we had the opportunity to share at a village crusade conducted by an association of local pastors – if you’ve never preached a message with a goat watching from five feet away you haven’t lived! It was encouraging to see believers from many local churches in attendance and also the curious neighbors peeking around to see what was going on and (because of the loud speakers) definitely hearing the Word and worship.  Paul gave a message from Romans 2 on how all men know in their hearts that there is a God and how they are powerless to free themselves from their guilty conscious.  Only the high priest Jesus, who offers His blood in our place, is able to give freedom.  In a land marked by idol worship and sacrifice it is very powerful to speak to underlying heart issues with Gospel Truth – Truth that transcends cultures and nationalities and speaks to the universal needs of the heart.
Afterwards we were blessed by being served dinner by members of the sponsoring church and had an opportunity to visit with the local believers. A few days later some of the young people in attendance came to our Youth Meeting!

Marc and friends on bus ride home		Allison & Aksha at the Paderu Children's Home			Brian, Marc & Rachel helping the little artists in Paderu

Update VI   8.18.10-8.19.10 –Bible Study, Paderu, Gifts giving (from Marc)…
IMG_0668 (Brian, Marc & Rachel helping the little artists in Paderu), IMG_0657 (Paderu children with gifts from Immanuel Christian School), DSC_1003 (the children showing off their gifts from Immanuel Christian School) Wednesday was a pretty “normal” day by our now ‘Indian’ standards.
Today in chapel Andrew (Cain) killed Paul (Abel), though it was intended to support the catechism question of “What is Sin?”, it might have a cleverly disguised power struggle for leadership of the team. J Luckily for the sane members of our team his “death” only lasted the duration of our skit. We spent school hours listening in classrooms, studying for upcoming events, or catching up on rest. Later in the afternoon I took a ride on the “big” bus as it dropped off local kids who attend the school. The bus rides have been something I really enjoy, it’s a great way to spend time and build relationships with the village kids who we otherwise don’t interact with too much. It has also been interesting to see where and how these kids live, it’s an amazing sight to see a child in a clean uniform walk into a thatched, dirt floored hut.
This evening we participated in our second Bible study of the trip.
Andrew and Mrs. Webb shared the role of teachers. They sort of continued where Rachel had left off last week, working through John 15, talking about persecution and the Holy Spirit.
Thursday morning dawned with the promise of a very long and full day. The whole team, along with Daddy and Sudheer, loaded into the car and the Sumo and took off for the village of Paderu at around 8 a.m.
Paderu is located north of the main campus here, about a 2 ½ to 3 hour drive. It’s in the tribal region close to the border of Orissa; in fact the village is the headquarters for the tribal government. Our purpose for going was to visit the other, smaller, children’s home.
The drive up was an adventure in itself! Paderu is set in a mountain valley, but to get there you have to drive up and over a mountain range. The road is what we in the US would consider one lane, and it has the sharpest, most hair-raising turns I have ever been on. Despite that “one lane” status you will find buses, lorries, auto rickshaws, and motorcycles flying up and down. When you meet an oncoming vehicle it turns into a game of chicken to see who will yield most of the road. Once you numb yourself to the dangers of the road and you are able to take in the sights, it is well worth the trip. You’ll find tall mountain ranges shrouded in fog, and beautiful valleys with terraced fields and tiny villages. Truly amazing scenery.
When we did arrive at the children’s home we were greeted by the warden. After a short rest he took us in the see the children who were assembled to greet us. They treated us to a few songs both in Telugu and the language of the local tribal peoples. In turn we taught them “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”, which seems to have become our song of choice. After singing, we handed out the gifts to the children from Immanuel Christian School in Virginia, Rachel also handed out some dolls to the girls that one of her sisters had donated. That seemed to bring some smiles to the faces of the children who live an even simpler life style than the children at Two Worlds Children’s Home.
While at Paderu we decided to take an impromptu census of the children, it is important for purposes of getting them supported back home in the states. That involved about half the team taking photos and getting bios while the rest of us mingled with the kids. Once the kids had been “processed” we all had the opportunity to spend some time with them, mainly opening their gifts and making use of their notepads and pencils. Communication was a bit harder as these children know very little English, but drawing is a universal language. There are some promising artists in the mountains of India!
Sudheer had enough foresight to pack a lunch for the team (hooray for lemon rice!), so after dining we began to say our goodbyes. Quite the sight to see 40 children hanging out of the gate and waving from the roof of a building smaller than the average American house, so grateful we came and joyful in their farewells. We had our harrowing drive in reverse, this time with the addition of some rain.Nevertheless we all arrived back at the main campus thanks to the driving skills of Sudheer and Paul.
Our day had a bit more in store for us when we got back. It was Sudheer and Usha’s youngest daughter Anna’s (Chinnu) birthday so there was a little ceremony and cake to be shared with the other children.
This was also the night before Rachel was leaving so several of the children and team members got up to share their thanks and gratitude to her. Along with the cake the team passed out the gifts from the Immanuel Christian School, as well as some other treats Mr. Webb had bought. Mr. Webb had another surprise in store for the children. He had collected all the photos from the team and placed them in a slide show which we set up through a projector outside in the courtyard. The kids really enjoyed yelling out the names of their friends as they appeared on the screen. Eventually the outdoor festivities wound to an end and the children were sent off to bed, the team made their way upstairs to a birthday feast prepared by Usha and Mommy. A great conclusion to a full and rewarding day.

The Youth Meeting & many "human knots"		Andrew sharing his testimony with the youth

Update VII  8.20.10 –8.22.10 Youth Meeting, Church (from Andrew)…
Oh how gracious is our Lord; at times I, Andrew, wish there were more powerful ways to express my feelings verbally towards Jesus; unfortunately, the best I can do is tell you how much I humbly adore our King; may He reign in our hearts forever! Our visit to India has been humbling and very heart churning.  As sister Sarah mentioned earlier: “heat heat heat heat heat!”  Lately, the Lord has brought upon a bit of rain which has helped a lot, I believe at first He was testing us and preparing us for the weeks to come.  However, the Lord is good; He has been sharpening my faith throughout this trip.
I originally decided I wanted to go to India because I wanted Jesus to turn me into the humble servant He was.  When I first arrived to India, I was ecstatic; I had a blazing fire inside my heart to serve. As I traveled east across the Atlantic Ocean I saw God’s hand guiding me in every way; I knew this trip was His will for me. But the enemy is always lurking, and quickly He found ways to attack. I realized that the trip was not going to be the hardcore, physically draining trip I had expected. I was pleased because I felt it may have been God’s grace so I became lazy and lost that burning fire. (Briefly explaining) I noticed that every time our team went out to do the Lord’s work I was under constant attack, but every time the day was over I turned to The Spirit of truth and He filled me in every area needed. I am pleased to say the Spirit constantly beat the flesh.
One example of how graceful God has been to me occurred at the recent youth conference. It was a beautiful day, a variety of children in different age groups showed from the many different towns and villages.  There were a couple of different religions: Hindus, Muslims, and misinformed Catholics, and youth from about 11-25 with some pastors in attendance.  It was a great opportunity to witness to these people and shine for our Lord.  It started off great - our team split all the kids into groups of ten for an activity which also showed us the attendance (we had approximately 14 groups which I considered to be a positive turnout.) We had a very fun and exciting game of “human hand knot” in which the winning team was to receive a prize.  It was a brilliant ice breaker and helped to demonstrate the theme of the meeting which was Truth vs. Lies, how God’s truth can set you free from the lies you believe. Shortly after the game, Paul delivered a strong message on the lie of inadequacy. He used a clever technique as he tied a string around many of the children tangling the entire room together.  He later cut the string as sharing a Scripture which countered each of the lies that established the mess and set the bound room free: a great metaphor for what happens when we accept Jesus as  our Lord and Savior, “The truth will set you free.”
I was next; I had prepared a sermon that tied in well with my testimony which I was asked to present to the youth.   It was a sermon
I had prepared little time for; although it went well, I did very little praying and very little seeking on what it was exactly that God wanted me to preach only told myself several times that if I just walk up humbly I would walk down filled with joy in the Spirit; the problem was, I didn’t.  I walked up boastful. Again, although I felt the sermon went great and I was still able to deliver a great message to the children, it was painful to walk down feeling like a failure because I had taken some of the glory that was rightfully all of Jesus’.
After, we split the girls and boys up and Marc Yokel and Paul shared personal stories on feeling insufficient in life and living in bitterness. It was an excellent combination and I believed the crowd enjoyed. For the young ladies the women of the team spoke on lies that we believe and how the Scriptures speak the truth and counter the lies of the world. From relationships to self-sufficiency and worldliness the girls were shown that God sees these issues differently than the world and they were encouraged to be discerning and identify the lies of the enemies and claim God’s truth. Then, we shared lunch together and returned for a questions and answers session. The women, as usual were a little bit brighter than the men because they created a question box where you can anonymously drop in your questions so they got a few. Because the men did not have a question box we had no questions and a crowd of shy Indians.  So Paul cleverly enticed the boys by gently taunting them and asking if we had to do things like women. The boys laughed and one built the courage to finally step up and ask a good question. We did the best we could as a team and answered along with a few other tough doctrinal questions that followed. Finally, we grouped everyone back together and Miss Erin Morrissey did a fantastic gospel presentation; we felt it was important.  We had a theme of truth and lies throughout the whole conference and we felt it would be fitting to deliver the truth to all who were in the room.  Altogether it was a very successful team effort. However, I was left convicted of my foolishness.
I asked Jesus that night for forgiveness and to give me another opportunity to glorify him; I had told Him I was truly sorry that I lost that fire to serve that I originally had and asked Him to give me the opportunity to humble myself so that He would not have to do it for me. Praise God, He was quick to answer.  A week later the entire team was going to go visit a church in the city (Gajuwaka) but I was asked to stay behind and preach a message for the Mekalas’ church!
Jesus had given me the opportunity I asked for! I prayed hard for 2 days and had a clue on what I wanted to preach on but I had not prepared anything at all.  I wanted to wait till the last minute; I wanted Jesus to lead the way. I started to put together the key points I would expound on just 1 hour before service.  God put on my heart to preach on servant-hood and the humbleness of Jesus but not just preach on it but lead with example and put the opening scripture I used into action “Faith without works is dead.”  So with just a couple of scriptures in front of me I felt the Spirit leading me every step of the way.  It was a powerfully riveting experience; I knew Jesus had control.  At the very end I knew what I had to do. The Mekalas along with Pastor Mekala’s daughter-in-law Usha had been serving me since my arrival.  I decided to do the one thing I always dreaded the most and humble myself as I asked God for the opportunity to do so.  I ran outside and filled a bucket with water; grabbed a good shirt along with the most expensive bottle of shampoo I had. I called each individual up and told them in front of the congregation that it would be my honor to wash their feet.  I explained to the church that it wasn’t a big deal that I was using my shampoo but it was my best, and Jesus always deserves our best.  God had filled me with His Spirit yet again, Praise Him; it was the best day of my trip thus far.
The rest of the remaining team (Paul, Allison, Marc, Erin & Sarah) had gone to the Gajuwaka church to visit with Pastor Subhaker and Hepzibah in their ministry there. It is always an encouragement to see the grace and wisdom with which Subhaker pastors the church and the joy and energy that Hepzibah brings to the children’s ministries. Marc preached a valuable sermon on prayer and how it is to be used to pull on the promises of God so that we can help “Thy kingdom Come and Thy will be done” and not try to use prayer as a genie’s lamp. The time after church was a blessing visiting with the family and it was very interesting to hear from Subhaker the challenges of pastoring a city church in India and the many ways the enemies of the Gospel are working in that city. This is a church with a real, strong discipleship focus, hard teaching from the Word and a pasturing family that challenges those they minister to not just be ‘believers’ but people with a life commitment to Christ. Pray that the building up and strengthening of this body and the church’s children’s outreach across the city would be powerful witnesses to their community and counteract the attractions of the enemy in that city.

Update VIII  9.2.10 Trip Conclusion…"Thank you all for your prayers during this trip, the Lord was merciful to our team and gave us many opportunities to share His love and glorify His name. We arrived safely back in the U.S. on August 27th with both joy at arriving home again and sorrow over leaving a vibrant and impactful ministry and so many people we loved. Something we will keep with us are the many ways we learned to pray for the ministry, each person on the team was impressed with a different aspect of the ministry's current work and future goals - none of which can happen without our continued support and prayer stateside. For some the desire for a Bible school that needs supplies and accreditation/affiliation was a heart reaching issue, to train the future pastors and evangelists in this hard hearted land is is no light and secondary task. For others the medical clinic that would be such a vehicle of ministry in a needy community, if the equipment and supplies were provided, is a continuing prayer and action focus. In so many ways we all saw that the Mekala family needs to be lifted up in prayer. The energy and resources that they pour out, their vision and love for the ministry of God in India is so much more than each or all of them. Pray that our gracious Lord would continue to uphold and strengthen this family who have given up all to be used by Him, a ministry that we were privileged to participate in and encourage, and that that each of us who partnered with this ministry would, as Daddy Mekala says, "never be the same". "
~ Bless India Team Summer 2010