Saint Thomas

Yesterday our team visited the tomb of Saint Thomas. It was pretty inspirational to realize that the disciple who we generally think of as "Doubting Thomas" was the one God used to first bring the Gospel to India. Even 2000 years later southern India (where Thomas came) has far more Christians than the rest of India. Just a reminder that God can use anyone to do his work as long as you're willing to submit yourself to Him.

Third Time in Chennai

We're back in Chennai for a couple of days. The train ride back was kind of miserable. It wasn't a sleeper, which meant there was less space per person on the seats, as well as less space to stash luggage. About half way through the six hour ride a bunch of people got on, far more than there were seats for. I guess they just sell tickets that don't have seats when they run out of seats. The train was really, really packed with people. Even though I was sitting down, I was pressed up against people that were standing in the isles. Then, to make things even better, it started raining outside, so we had to close all of the windows and deal with a stuffy train. Oh well, it was only for a few hours, and we did all make it to Chennai, although we were pretty worn out.

Once we were in Chennai, we checked into a hotel and then went to a nearby restaurant in search of a late dinner. The people at the restaurant didn't speak much English, and we don't speak a word of any south Indian language. Apparently there were a lot of things that they were out of by this time of night. I'm not sure if we were just having major communication blocks, or if we actually found the one restaurant in India that was out of rice. It seemed like whatever we asked for, he would tell us that they had chapattis and parattas (two types of bread). While this was somewhat helpful when we asked about nan (another bread), it was less helpful when I asked for a lassi (sweet yogurt drink). Eventually we managed to order some chicken and parattas. It wasn't exactly what we had originally wanted, but it was really good. Todd and I rated the place as an "A" for taste, but as a "D-" for selection.

We had a similar experience at breakfast this morning. We chose to sit at two tables because the tables were small. At my table, Kristin tried to order grape juice, which the waiter said they didn't have until 11:30am. I tried to order a lassi, which he said they didn't have. We all settled for tea instead. The funny thing was, that they brought me both a tea and a lassi. I'm really not sure how that happened. At the end of the meal, we got a bill that had two grape juices on it. Apparently they were able to come up with grape juice for the other table. I wish I knew how these things happened. It doesn't seem like the waiters would try to prevent us from ordering what we want. They again... this is India.

Tammy's Home

Our team has been at a private orphanage outside of Bangalore since Sunday morning. Today is the first time we left the home, and hence the first time I've had the opportunity to blog. The home is run by an American women named Tammy, and it ranks pretty high among the most amazing places I have ever been to. I can see God's presence is so clearly there. I'll try to summarize some of our experiences from the past three days, but I'm sure that I'll only be giving you the smallest taste of this place.

There are currently 42 kids in the home, 24 boys and 18 girls. The kids range from two up to sixteen. They are divided into four groups for living purposes, and each group has a live in aunt. They live together like one big family. Tammy is the head of the home, and loves each and every one of the kids as sons and daughters.

Sunday afternoon we ate lunch with the kids, and then played an Indian game with them. Sunday dinners are reserved as an optional time of fasting and prayer. Not all of the kids came, but I'd estimate that over 30 of them were there. I gather that many of the kids would choose to fast more if Tammy would let them. This assumption comes from my observed reaction to Tammy's announcement of a three day fast open to the older kids. You could tell that the older kids were excited about it... and that the younger kids were disappointed to be left out. It blows my mind to see all of these kids so on fire and dedicated to Jesus. During the time of fasting and prayer, Tammy opened it up for everyone to pray for each other. While our team sat around not quite sure what to do, the kids quickly went around laying hands on us and on each other and praying without any worry about what anyone else thought. I probably had over half of the kids lay hands on me and pray for me at one point or another.

Right now the kids are on vacation from school, so during the weekdays we all had pretty open time to spend with the kids. We talked, played games, and even watched a movie with them. In the evenings we divided up into groups to lead devotions for the kids and eat dinner with them. Kristin and I were assigned to the second floor boys. Our first devotion (Monday) was about being a hero versus being a servant. Our second devotion (Tuesday) was about thankfulness. We had the kids take some time to just talk about the gifts from Jesus they are thankful for. I certainly don't remember all of what they said, but it was pretty amazing to hear some of their testimonies. The following is an incomplete list of what they are thankful for, including some explanations:

• Food to eat every day.
• Their buildings - Up until last October ago they were living in two apartments that were only barely big enough for them. For 2.5 years they prayed for a new place to live. Without ever asking anyone for them, one day someone just decided to pay to build three buildings to be an amazing new home for them.
• Jesus dying on the cross for their sins.
• Bananas - I had to include this one because it was from an adorable four year old.
• Water - All of the wells in their area have dried up... except for theirs, which shows no signs of running out.
• Family - God brought each of them to this home where they are part of a very loving family. Without this home most of the kids would be completely abandon, and some would probably be dead.

There were a lot more too. Once they started going, it was hard to keep it down to only one kid talking at a time. I hope that I can learn to be so completely thankful to God for each blessing He has places in my life. I guess I'll start right now by being thankful for the opportunity to visit this amazingly loving home. Although it is only a brief part of my trip, I will certainly remember it as one of the highlights.

Official April Update Letter

Here is my official update letter for April. Even if you read every word on my blog, there's some new stuff in here.

Hello everyone,

This is an update on the events of my past month in Asia. About three weeks ago we left Kolkata to spend some time in Sri Lanka. We spent three weeks there working with Habitat for Humanity to help people rebuild homes after the tsunami. We just returned to India today and will spend a week in southern India before returning to Kolkata for another six weeks. I am past the halfway point of this trip, but I am sure that there is still a lot left for God to teach me.

Our time in Sri Lanka was spent in the city of Galle, in the southwest corner of the island. Word Made Flesh rented a house, which our team shared with seemingly ever changing residents. At the peak, there were a total of fourteen people sharing a modest sized house. We really didn't have any personal space. Some people were lucky enough to have beds, but not everyone. I slept on a mat in the living room, and had to put my bed away each morning when I woke up. Although it was crowded, it ended up being a wonderful time for all of us to grow closer together as a team. Nearly everything we did, we did as a team. We lived together, worked together, ate all of our meals together, and regularly prayed together. I wouldn't ever consider those experiences for personal space. The growth of relationship we experienced was just so valuable.

We were scheduled to work five days a week, taking off the weekend. If this had happened, then we would have worked 13 days. Unfortunately, a combination of poor weather, and Buddhist holidays cancelled four of those days. Still, I'm glad for the days that we were able to work. It was a privilege to be a small part of helping people recover from such an incredible disaster. Our team did everything from mixing concrete, to digging toilet holes, to painting walls.

Right now I feel somewhat apprehensive about being back in India, and particularly of returning to Kolkata. These stem from a variety of reasons. First, our community will lose some of the natural togetherness that we had in Sri Lanka. That doesn't mean that we will lose the closeness we gained, but a lot of the structure that helped us grow together so much won't be there. In addition to that, Kolkata is just a really hard city to live in. After getting away for a few weeks, I realize just how much the city had worn me down and how much I needed that break. For this six week stint in Kolkata, we will also be facing May, one of the most miserable months of the year. Our leader told us to expect temperatures consistently at or about 110 F, with high humidity.

Please be praying for us as we return. Pray that God would grow our hearts for the people of the city, and give us the strength to love them. Please pray for our community that we would continue to grow in love for each other and continue to challenge each other in our walk with Christ. Pray that we would not give up or give in to the overwhelming challenges of Kolkata.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers!
In Christ's love,
Philip

Back in Chennai

Our team is back in Chennai for most of today. Our plane arrived at about 9am, and we'll leave by train for Bangalore at about 11pm tonight. In Bangalore we'll be visiting an orphanage. Kristin says it is an absolutely amazing place with kids that love Jesus more than we do. I'm not sure if I'll have opportunities to update this while I'm there, but you can count on hearing about it eventually.

Praise and Prayer Request.

Note: I did not actually observe the following event. Other people on my team did. A lot of my work while in Sri Lanka was at this house, and I've spent time playing with this boy.

This afternoon, a young boy (ten years old maybe) was playing around his family's house. Their house is currently still a work in progress, so we usually have three or four people from our team helping them. Being a boy, he had done something that interfered with the work, and his father was chasing him to stop him and perhaps to punish him. The boy tripped over two cement blocks that were next to a concrete drainage ditch. He fell towards the ditch and split his head open on the edge of the opening. He then fell into the ditch, which is basically full of sewage. His parents rushed him off to the hospital and he was back at home with a large bandage later this afternoon. Other than the bandage, he seems to be ok.

Based on the nature of the accident, I'm amazed that he's already back at home and back to life as usual. I praise God that he is walking. Please pray for his recovery. Pray that there won't be any complications like infections from falling into the sewage with a fresh wound.

Back in Action

Sorry to all of my loyal readers. You probably noticed the complete lack of posts for the past few days. The reason for it is pretty simple. We've actually been working again, and I've been really worn out. It has been so good to get back out there. We've been sifting sand, moving bricks, digging holes, mixing concrete, and probably a few other things.

We'll put in another day of work tomorrow, but then our team is leaving to head back to India. We will take a train up to Colombo on Friday, then leave Sri Lanka on an early morning flight to Chennai. Our team will spend about a week in southern India visiting several Word Made Flesh homes. Then we will catch a train back to Kolkata where we will spend another six weeks before coming back to the states.

Cross Cultural Relationships are Hard

Since our team hasn't been working on building homes the past few days, it's given us more time for other things. I've probably spent a lot more time with natives, just trying to get to know them and hear their stories. I've reached a point where I just feel drained by it emotionally. Overall I've had a lot more good interactions than bad, but I still feel drained and don't really want to deal with it anymore. Please be praying for me, and for the whole team, that God would bless our efforts at cross cultural interactions. Pray that we would experience part of God's plan for reconciliation of race, culture, and class barriers.

Will We Ever Work Again?

The last time our team did any work was Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon they didn't have anything we could work on. Wednesday and Thursday the whole town pretty much shut down to celebrate New Year's Eve/Day. Friday the skilled laborers took off to make a five day weekend. There are also some problems right now with Habitat For Humanity in Galle not having money. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is. I gather that it's a bit of a complex administrative issue, although a simple shortage of funds may be involved too.

The lack of work is getting somewhat frustrating for all of us. While it was nice to have a bunch of days off, this is starting to feel more like a Sri Lankan vacation than anything else. Supposedly there will be work for us again on Monday. Please pray both that there will be stuff for us to do and that whatever problems Habitat is having, they can resolve them and get back to helping people recover from the tsunami.

In Which Philip Purchases Some Pleasure Reading

About a week ago I had a strong desire for some pleasure reading. Unfortunately, all I (or anyone else on the team) had was Bibles and Christian books. Yesterday I wandered into a small book store in downtown Galle. Most of the books weren't in English, or even written with an alphabet I can read. I spotted a section of English books, but it was all books about Sri Lanka (history, language, tourist guides, etc). Fortunately I found another small section of English books, and they were novels! Looking through it nothing much caught my eye. Then I noticed one shelf containing classics. In general I have this idea that classics are old, boring books, but for the most part they were authors I have never read. They were all pretty cheap too, about $2.15 each. I picked out two of them, brought them home, and started reading.

I'm currently reading Around the World in Eighty Days, and I'm really enjoying it. I only started reading it yesterday, and I'm already on page 190. When I get a chance, I definitely want to read some more books by Jules Verne. The other book I picked out was Treasure Island. I figure that a book about pirates should be entertaining, and really that's all I'm looking for. If I finish these two before leaving Sri Lanka on Friday, I'll probably grab a couple more. Any recommendations on old classics that I should read? Chances are that any book you mention won't actually be there, but if you know of a really good classic, it's worth a shot.