Memoirs from India: Day 4 (continued)

After our lunch break today, we visited two slums - "The Pipe Village" and "The Stone Village" (or "Rock Quarry Village"). The people who live in these places work for either the factory that makes concrete sewer piping, or work in the rock quarry outside of Hyderabad. Some of these people have contracts with the businesses that run the workplaces, which allows them to live there. Some have been there for decades already! The reality is they are essentially enslaved to the debt they owe the business owners. It's nearly impossible for them to repay these debts, which explains why they have been living in these places for generations in some cases.

How did we find them? ...Glad you asked!

The children who live in these villages attend the Good Shepherd school on the campus we're staying on. Pastors/Admin. from the schools go to the villages and lead Sunday evening services, where the Bible is taught to them. In both villages we spent time talking with the families, shared stories from our lives, prayed with them, and gave candy and balloons to the kids... and even some of the grandparents... guess they wanted to party with the kids too! The parents had their kids sing songs to us - with the motions! - that they learned in school. We video recorded and took pictures with them. They would laugh after we showed them their "performance" in the viewfinders of our cameras. They pointed and smiled in excitement... and of course, teased each other as they watched!

Money can't buy this kind of pleasure. There are fewer things in life that bring the kind of fulfillment we experienced in bringing joy to these people. To see them smile, laugh, and hear them sing songs like "God is Good", sets the stage for an array of emotions: heartbreak, inexplicable joy, hope for their futures, humility in recognition of one's privileges vs. the lack for another - and wanting to solve the problem (as any "good" American would respond in a similar situation)...

Really, words (and pictures) can't explain it - they simply don't do justice. Only when one is really there physically, with all of the senses engaged, can they experience the life transformation taking place in that very moment in time.

We left the Stone Village in the late-afternoon to return to O.M. campus for our team's debrief. As we were leaving, the children and families followed us to our bus - yeah, I know, in full "Bono"/"Brangelina" style (we were not super thrilled about the transportation situation, however, it was decided for us) - and we said our goodbye's. They asked us if we would come back, but unfortunately, our schedule is packed tight. We had to say "No".

Maybe you could go...

I hope and pray that you find some of these opportunities. When I talk about "transformation" or "life-change", I don't mean you become someone else. Rather, your perspective and worldview is broadened. Inevitably, you start to change, or at least, you return to familiar life having experienced some kind of change. One of the characteristics of overseas missions and work is that we often don't know exactly what we're doing from day to day. I usually need a bit of structure in my life, but I have little-to-no choice when I'm abroad. It's not vacation. Vacations offer choices as to what and how and where to spend money, time, etc. Vacations are great and needed! But without so much choice, interesting things happen:

• We have time to get to know people and allow for what's happening impact us
• We're thrust into new experiences that take us out of our comfort zone, which stretch us and change us (i.e. trying new foods, cultures, and landscapes)
• The element of surprise is always present... sometimes you feel like a straight-up child!
• We can see what God is doing in the context we are visiting, and better understand what God is teaching us - individually and collectively
• We learn how we might take what we've eperienced and find ways to take action on them at home, or teach others about
• We become influencers and inspire others
• Our lives are never the same, and live with greater fulfillment - material things, monotonous lifestyles, and cheap thrills satisfy only briefly, or creates complacency
• God blesses us beyond measure!

You need to GO! Be a part of something bigger than yourself. Engage in a life of adventure. Commit your life completely to Jesus, and watch what he does with your life and where he takes you. You will never look at the world the same way - you will know joy, peace, fulfillment, and hope that transcends all understanding! God's spirit will fill you and lead you through the good times and the bad, the moments of clarity and confusion. As he promises, he has good plans in store for you, and you will know his presence always!

If you're ready... Pray to God and ask him for forgiveness for living life by your standards, rather than His, and put your trust in Christ. Or, maybe take this time to re-commit your life to Him. Or, take a moment to thank Him for how he has blessed you!

You won't regret getting on God's agenda and living your life for Him!

I would be honored to walk the journey with you! We're all on it, just in different places. Now, I don't have all the answers by any stretch of the imagination, but if you have questions, I'd love to talk about them. Be in touch.

Grace & Peace.

Memoirs from India: Day 4

As I sit and begin today's reflection, considering all that we learned and experienced, honestly, I find it hard to put it into words. We spent the morning and early afternoon hours on O.M.'s campus, then visited two slum areas - the "Pipe Village" and the "Rock Quarry Village" (to be explained later). Since O.M. wanted to give our team a more holistic understanding of what they are doing - only a snapshot really - in India (by the way, O.M. India services roughly 1/3 of all O.M.'s global activity!), we missed some of the Briscoe's teaching time. Our team agreed that getting off-site would be really valuable; and it has been. Today, however, we were able to join the morning session before we departed, which opened with singing praise and worship songs, both in English and in Hindi. It's quite the experience to hear other brothers and sisters singing the same songs we sing, but in their native tongue!

Stuart gave the morning session sermon - which blew me away... He gave an overview of Ephesians 1-5 without notes! He exposited from several verses in each chapter and used the illustration of being drunk to teach it. He taught with honesty and humor, intelligence and wit. He made the point that we must be "drunk" on the Holy Spirit. He explained that alcohol does 3 things in a person...

• Captivates
• Motivates
• Activates

The chemical itself captivates the person the more it is consumed. It motivates their thoughts and actions. Then it activates these things. He showed us that the filling of the Holy Spirit does the same thing, but with different consequences. He said that you can tell when someone is drunk on the Spirit, like when someone is drunk on alcohol, by the way they walk, talk and think. He spoke on the believers' 2 motives - the "old sinful" nature and the "spirit filled" nature, and in recognizing this, there are 2 realities:

1) The one that is fed, will live
2) The one that is not fed, will die

The sinful nature will always fight against the spirit that indwells the Christ follower, but which nature is being fed... which one isn't?

He said there are 3 kinds of people in the church:

1) Those who make things happen
2) Those who watch things happen
3) Those who say, "Huh, what happened?"

The questions I had to ask myself were:
- Who will I be? or become?
- What or who am I "drunk" on?

...Am I letting too much around me influence my life for the negative? Or, am I spending the time and energy to feed the personhood of the Spirit within me (given by God's grace through faith in Christ)?

The second portion of our day was spent touring the O.M. campus. Here is a laundry list of what they do:
- Offer undergraduate and MA degrees in Bible and Leadership (13-14,000)
- Have 80 grade schools around the country, giving under-privileged children high-quality education for extremely low costs (~ $1 per day)
- Train pastors, leaders, and volunteer leaders in the church to maximize effectiveness of ministry in their local contexts and languages
- Resource Christian books and media in 13 different languages in India - largest resourcer
- Train students and adults in trades like sewing, computer networking/programming, wood-working/carpentry, auto maintenance and mechanics
- Train teachers to lead and manage schools
- Employ 200 workers at the Hyderabad headquarters
- Empower the poor and oppressed to change the direction of their impoverished state through the tools of education and providing opportunities and jobs through O.M. in their local communities
- Export fine linens and clothing through the "LYDIA" program, where all of the proceeds are put back into training more seamstresses
- Hold Christian conferences throughout the year for leaders and Christian organizations
- Med. clinic, dentistry, and pharmacy at the O.M. headquarters (Hyderabad)

Believe it or not, the list could go on, but truthfully, there's far too much to remember! As I said before, O.M. is finding ways to meet the physical, spiritual, and social needs of the communities around them. They are empowering those who are otherwise ignored, oppressed, or simply forgotten about. India will be transformed by a new generation - one that was born into poverty, but will grow into influence.

If you have a Bible, open it to the Old Testament book of Isaiah 61. The prophet here speaks of God's call on his life, but apply this same message to O.M.'s mission and movement to paint a clearer picture of their vision.