January 31, 2013

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

 

Luke 19:10

 

God, help us each in our own places of lostness.  Save us from those things that will bring us harm.  And God, help us to be mindful of those around us that don't know you, and hear our prayers for their safety and salvation this day.  Amen.

January 30, 2013

Nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’

for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

 

Luke 17:21

 

Holy God, help us to be such clear reflections of you that the world around us can't help but see your Kingdom bursting forth in our midst.  Not for our glory God, but for yours, now and forever. Amen.

January 29, 2013

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

 

Mark 10:45

 

Lord, grant us humility that we might recognize our rightful places and seek first your Kingdom...a Kingdom that is in service to others.  Amen.

 

Airports and Worship, Indian Style

We have certainly had a lot of adventures in airports this trip.  From names not recognized to wrong dates on tickets, we have experienced the difference between 1st, 2nd, & 3rd world airports on this trip to India.

Our last domestic flight was adventurous in a different way.  So far, to the best of my recollection, there have been three separate instances where security took a closer look at us.  The first was in London when David got the once over.  The second was when my batteries (AA and AAA) were confiscated.  As we were going through security in Lucknow, I was pulled aside and asked to open one of my carry on bags.  I had inadvertently packed my Bible in carryon baggage instead of my checked baggage...I am carrying a rather large study bible with the metal tabs at the start of each book of the bible for easier reference...and apparently this caused a big stir at the X-ray machine.

I opened my bag and as I did, the guard in front of me said book in a loud voice to someone over his shoulder.  Without even thinking, I corrected the guard saying it was a bible.  This caused what appeared to be a problem as I nervously watched the armed officer with the most stripes hurried over to me repeating the word bible twice.

What happened next took me completely by surprise.  He took my bible in his hands and bowed to it until it was at the edge of his forehead, touching gently.  He then moved the bible to the edge of his lips and kissed its cover.  Opening and peaking inside at the words written in English, he then closed the bible and repeated the process.  When he was finished, they gently replaced the bible back in to its original spot and had me to move on.

It was an amazing amount of respect shown to the scriptures.  I have no knowledge of the officers
faith or from what religion he came from...regardless, it was still a very moving and humbling
experience.

On a completely separate note, some of you all have asked what worship has been like.  I submit to you the following video excerpt from today's worship to give you a taste.  I will provide additional examples when I can get them from other devices once I get home.  As you can see from this clip, worship is demonstrative and engaging getting a lot of participation from those gathered.  Enjoy!

January 28, 2013

But he was wounded for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his stripes we are healed.

 

Isaiah 53:5

 

Thanks be to God for His sacrifice on our behalf.  Help us, O Lord, to lean more fully into the healing and peace that this sacrifice wrought for our lives.  Amen.

 

January 27, 2013

I will raise up for them a prophet like you

from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth,

and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

 

Deuteronomy 18:18

 

God, help us to be open to your work in us and through us.  If it is your will, allow that we might each be prophetic voices in our own spheres of relations.  Use us, if not in this way, in any way, to reflect the love, grace, and mercy of your Kingdom.  Amen.

 

January 26, 2013

For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have

mercy on all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and

knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how

inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or

who has been his counselor?”“Or who has given a gift to him that

he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are

all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

 

Romans 11:32-36

 

Amen.

Random Thoughts So Far

Language

I thought I was being smart as I was preparing for my trip to India and downloaded a couple of apps to begin to learn Hindi...what I thought was the national language of India.  This just goes down in the record books as something that I am already looking back and laughing at.  You see, there are 28 states in India and everyone of them has their own language. Add to that more than 1500 dialects of these different languages (a lot of them only spoken with no written alphabet) and communication across India becomes very difficult.  One of the natives suggested that 60% of residents of India don't speak Hindi.  In fact, our first conference in the town of Kolkata, state of West Bengal, here in India had everything translated into Bengali...the little bit of Hindi I thought I had learned was worthless.  This is probably why exposure to the gospel in India is so challenging...you simply need so many translations of materials or translators for teams and pastors that it can seem like an insurmountable obstacle.  I will have to see how this plays out in the other cities and states we are visiting and working in....but so far, it seems more people we have encountered have known English over Hindi...very interesting stuff.

Lucknow has proven the opposite both in praxis of the spoken language and the information received by the locals.  I have an ongoing dialogue with some of the native team in this city, so we will continue to probe this question, but any kind of real answer may have to be concluded at the end of the trip.

Driving

If you think you have drivers that scare you to death wherever you live, I challenge you to find a more aggressive driving adventure than the one found in India.  Cars of course drive on the opposite side of the road than we are accustomed to in the states...I'm sure that was inherited from days of their British colonization prior to their independence 65 or so years ago.  What's challenging, however, is that no one follows any road signs and they barely pay attention to the traffic cops.  One of our traveling companions from south India simply said these things are nothing more than mere suggestions.  So, for example, if a road is divided into two lanes, drivers have no problem creating 4 lanes out of two in an attempt to go forward and get around whatever traffic obstacle is in front of them.  Bicyclists, pedestrians, and other autos beware...people are not afraid of hitting you.  On one journey, we merely clipped mirrors with a car traveling next to us.  On another trip in Kolkata, within a two block radius, we first rear ended the vehicle in front of us and then was promptly rearended ourselves before the end of the next block.  Two different accidents, less than 10 minutes apart.  Now no one was hurt and for these fender benders, no one gets out of their cars to exchange information. No cops show up.  They simply lean out a window and survey the damage and if they can keep moving, they do.  So many cars with so much bondo on them it is ridiculous.  One of our  Indian traveling companions said he loved driving here...personally, I have enough challenge participating in the road games we play in Texas.  I am grateful that we have drivers for the whole trip and for the very real experience of India we are getting on the roads.

Bathrooms

I am convinced that bathrooms are for foreigners and members of the Brahman caste.  Never in my life have I seen so many people defecate publicly.  Now occasionally there were concert block partitions on the roads that served as urinals.  But most, when they had to go, they simply pulled over and did their business right in front of God and everyone (as one of our drivers did in Kolkata while we were riding with him).  I asked one of our traveling companions if the women did the same thing and he assured me that they did (and sure enough they do)...but that they have a tendency of finding a more secluded spot, although frequently still very much in the public eye.  Children of both sexes are seen using the street as a toilet and parents help to clean them up when they are done.

Toilet Paper

Buy your favorite and bring it with you, because some of the sandpaper they are passing off as toilet paper here is no bueno.  I have to thank Dr. Holland for this sage advice before we left for the trip...and thanks be to God I didn't know any better and followed instructions.

Trip planning

if you are going to do international missions be sure and raise enough money for contingencies.  Stuff is bound to happen sooner or later when traveling to second and third world countries.

Water and Vegetables

Be careful of native veggies and some fruits that may be directly washed in local water before being served to you.  The water (if we can even call it that) gets absorbed on the fruit/veggie and may cause issues.

Second Domestic Flight Adventures

Second Domestic Flight Adventures

So this morning was an earlier morning than normal.  I was a able to get to sleep reasonably early and slept until about 4am (Indian time).  I took the extra time this morning to reflect on what I had experienced so far (coming to you later) and to prepare myself and my luggage for traveling again.  While getting ready the hotel staff came in to check the snack bar for purchases...it took 2 of them 15 minutes to verify the 5 snacks and 5 nonalcoholic drinks were still there.  They kept asking about how the service was and if i needed anything. I told them that the only thing that I needed was for them to get out of my room and out of the way so I could finish getting dressed and packed and ready for check out.  Eventually they relented and I had my room to myself again.  I thought that that was a little strange and chalked it up to a difference in culture and language and went on about my way.

Obviously, one of you out there has been praying for patience for me and the team...let me be clear here...Please Stop!...it is not helping :0)

When we got to the air port, we discovered as we were trying to enter, that two of our team members (yes, me and Henry) itineraries had the wrong flight date for today's flight...according to records we were a day late.  We exited the entrance area, headed down to the exterior ticketing window to attempt to get the situation rectified.  After 15 minutes or more of our team leader haggling with the workers, we were told that we would have to pay for new tickets.  Yeppers, $370 American each..but we were able to get on the same flight as the rest of the team.

So we are all inside again and going through X-ray for our check bags.  That goes fine and we proceed onto the check in area to drop off our recently examined bags.  There another team member, with itinerary in hand, is told that he is not in the computer.  So off he goes to the ticket window and after about 10 minutes or more of haggling, he is heading back to the check in line.  After quite some time, he is finally found on both ends of the system and he is able to join us to go through the remaining security.

Well at this point, they pull me aside with my bags, which have been packed the exact same way since we left Houston...but for some reason, they didn't like the fact that all of my spare batteries were packed in my carry on...so they tell me I can go to the check bag station and add them to my other bag...after several moments of frustration, I tell them to keep them and say good bye to about $25 worth of batteries (out potentially $395 now).

We get upstairs have a coffee together and a good laugh and as we are exiting the building to get on a bus to ride to the plane, they stop Henry and tell him that he can't go out because his bag tag for his carry on has not been stamped.  So all of the team exits except Henry, and we head to the plane while he heads back to security to get this special stamp.

Needless to say, traveling abroad poses its challenges at times.  The good news is that we are all on the same flight at the same time and this leg of traveling is coming towards a close and we can get back to the business of ministry again.

But please, if your praying for patience for us, don't.  Pray for safety, for effectiveness, for rest, etc.  Many thanks to each of you and stay tuned for more travel antics here in India.

January 25, 2013

In him we live and move and have our being.

 

Acts 17:28

 

God, these words prove true if we only give you the entirety of our lives.  Help us to turn over the things that have control over us, the things we think we have control over, and the ones we can't tell the difference between, that we may more fully experience living, moving and being in relationship with you.  Amen.

Preparing to Leave Kolkata

It is almost 10:30 pm here in Kolkata as I write this and reflect on what has been a pretty amazing few days.  Today our work of teaching at a Pastor's conference came to an end with all of our pastors committing to deepening their walk with Christ (about 200), about 9 committing to be missionaries to other parts of the country and the world, and more than 100 committing to planting a new church in the next 12 months.  If only half of the commitments are honored, there will be an amazing movement of God in the Kolkata, West Bengal area of India and in the world.  AIM, Global Advance and other partners also gave away at least a dozen bicycles that went to new pastors in rural villages as transportation for pastors starting their own new church starts.  Additionally, some 8-10 young ladies received sewing Machines to help their families move towards

After an amazing day, we headed to get some "American" food at a local KFC.  Man it was good to have some fried chicken!  Not quite the same as home, but after a week of curry and other Indian favorites 3x a day, it was a welcome treat.  After our late lunch, the team split up to do about an hour and a half of site seeing.  One part of the team went to Mother Teresa's home and Joseph and I went to the Victoria Palace area and shot some photos and collected my first international Geocache.

It was a great day.  It is interesting to see how God can use a team Texans and native Indians to empower, equip and deploy new pastors and strengthen more seasoned ones.  I can't wait to see what happens next in Lucknow, India.  There, Dr. Holland, Dr. Grant, Jason and I will be assisting other Global Advance staff work on a sustainability program for the area.  Afterwards, while Global Advance continues its work with other partners in the area, Henry, David and I will visit some local churches and see where and how we can help through small group discussions and just being present with these men and women. Then we will explore Lucknow for a few hours and prepare for our next stop.

This does mean that parts of our team are going home in the morning and we will meet up with new team members and hosts.  So we are saying Goodbye for now to James, Finny, and Joseph...great
new acquaintances that I met on the trip so far.

I am excited about meeting the newest members of the team and seeing more of India and reaching more pastors and missionaries.  Keep the prayers coming and we will check in with you all after we land in our new destination tomorrow.

January 24, 2013

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over

transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not

retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

 

Micah 7:17-18

 

We give you thanks for your steadfast love, O God.  We pray that you might do a deep work in each of us that our anger would be overshadowed and overcome by our love.  Amen.

Day 5 traveling in India

Today was a really good day here in India.  The weather was nice, we had a full day of teaching and investing in men and women's lives as they lead new churches and strengthen existing ones, and connections are being made.

Here is what has me thinking at the moment.  Someone commented somewhere that they had talked to recipients of foreign missions teams in the past and not one had anything favorable to say about the experience.  It was suggested that we in the states, should just send money and that the pastors should just vacation stateside..  First, anyone with hands on missions in the context that I am participating this week would say that this is anything but a vacation.  I understand where this person is coming from, however, because other places I have visited have said similar things about their missions experiences with American missionaries.  The truth of the matter is that there are teams sent all over the world every week where there is no supporting structure, no follow thru after the trip is done and no on the ground help offered or available.

It's is not the case with the group that I am traveling with.  First, both groups have decades of experience in doing hands on missions thru teaching, Equipping and empowering indigenous people to plant and grow their own churches.  In fact, Gobal Advance and the Crosspoint division of New Beginnings Ministries have both been working with the groups we are working with.  So for more than 20 years a rapport has been established with the locals and real change has occurred in both the short and long term measures.  Second, both groups have folks that are on the ground in India year round.  They are supported financially and go about continuing the work we begin once we are gone.  This is huge.  We aren't doing construction (which if not committed to ongoing care can leave a village or city worse off than when the team started their work).  I guess it's just a little frustrating when folks don't understand the complexity of what's going on here.

Regardless, there is amazing ministry that is taking place on this trip to India.  The participants and presenters are growing.  Folks are recommitting their lives to Christ and follow up is already set in place to continue to nurture and grow this group of predominately new pastors.  I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of that today.

The other thing going thru my mind is the thinking already about coming back again in the future.  There is a particular soon to be pastor that has become a new acquaintance of mine.  He is doing some amazing work with small groups and parachurches and he has invited me to come and teach his leaders for a two week intensive period.  I am humbled that after only knowing one another for a few days, that such an offer was given,  I will of course have to pray about it and see what that might look like, but it was an honor to be presented with the opportunity.  I guess I am just in awe (again/still) of what God can do if we just get out of the way.

I'll talk more about the conversations my new acquaintance and I have had at some point down the road...suffice it to say that the long travel and investment (on all levels) is already creating blessings for participants and team members alike.  I am excited to be continuing the journey, and I invite you to join me...we will leave for Lucknow, India Friday morning and head to our third spot on Sunday.  Please keep those prayers  coming!

January 23, 2013

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong

wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes

kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and

knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep

and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness,

and the light dwells with him.”

 

Daniel 2: 20-22

 

God, search us and know our inner most beings.  Shine your gracious light into the depths and dark places in our lives.  Unveil and remove the hidden things that we may crawl out of darkness and live more fully alive in the light of your love and mercy.  Amen.

First day of conferencing

Although we are staying in Kolkata these first few days, our conference center was actually the sanctuary of a Catholic Church in West Bengal.  In traffic, this was about an hour and a half northwest of where we are staying.

Many of the attendees were traveling great distances and when we began, we barely had 60 pastors that had made it.  We started late awaiting the arrival of others, and as we taught throughout the day, people kept arriving.  For the most part, we had amazing translators and it was a real gift to work with them.  This first day, every member of our team was able to present for about 45 minutes.  Today, I did what I normally do with folks I am meeting for the first time and I simply shared my story and talked about the radical grace and mercy of God.  The take away nuggets were simply that we are the recipients of mercy and grace and with God's help, we become vessels of that same mercy and grace for His glory.  I left them with a challenge of looking for where they are blocking the reception or transmission, turning that blockage over to God and being more open vessels.  It is a humbling experience to be received as well as I was and thanked for helping with their spiritual journey as pastors and soon to be pastors from all across denominational lines.  When the day was done we had grown from dozens to hundreds and the sanctuary was just about full.  I am really looking forward to what is in store for all of us over the next two days of this conference.

As we continue our conversations and get to know these men and women, I will continue to keep you posted.  Thanks to everyone who posts comments here or on FB, for the encouragement, and for your prayers...stuff is stirring!

Till next time,

Russell

First day of sight seeing in India

When we finally got in to Kolkata on the 21st, we were worn from delays and most folks went to their room.  I made a new friend; a young pastor with an amazing heart named Joseph.  He is native to south eastern India and had come up as a special guest of one of our speakers.  He had never been to Mother Teresa's charity and so we went together.

First, let me tell you that if you think the drivers of your own geography are challenged or they scare you, don't come to India.  Lines, signals, and road signs are all considered merely suggestions and every driver we have seen is willing and able to turn a two lane road into 8!  It's crazy...but amazing at the same time.

Mother Teresa's home is humble as you would expect.  She stayed in a room that was somewhere between 9 and 10 feet across and only about 15 feet deep...that is right at or under 150 square feet and from there she prayed, handled charity business and mail, wrote, and slept.  The bed is nothing more than a metal frame cot with a mattress with just over an inch of thickness to it to break the harshness of the wire spring mesh that ran from frame post to frame post.  The room was right over the kitchen and never had air conditioning, so in the hot Indian summers, Mother Teresa slept and worked over the hottest place on the property.  While we were there, we checked out the archive room with her life's work depicted through articles, awards and photos.  We even got to see her noble peace prize.  We experienced part of a daily mass and watched her many sisters carrying on her work in her absence.  We visited the site where she is entombed (just off the main courtyard).  It was a beautifully peaceful and moving experience.

After spending a good chunk of our afternoon there (it sucks you in and you just don't feel rushed to leave), we decided we would walk at least part of the way back and see the slums and other parts of the city.  To say that most of what we saw was easily classified as first or second world type stuff just doesn't do it justice.

We became part of the crowd (as much as any Indian and white male could in he context).  As we walked we saw people defecating on the streets, drug sales and usages happening, literally thousands of shack and lean to type structures that served as shops and homes, and tons of people.  My host and walking companion told me that what I saw was the real India and was representative of what 80% or more of the people in the country experience as life.  The issues regarding women, the economy, healthcare, drug use and abuse, etc. were no longer theories on paper, but now had real names and faces to associate with them.  The despair was so thick in some places it was heart breaking.  As I get pictures loaded, I will tell more of these stories in the days and weeks to come to where you can see some of what I saw a little more clearly.

Many in my group had already explored much of the city on past trips, so I am forever in my debt to Joseph who helped me get an inside look at India in ways that others might not have been able to or wanted to experience.  I'll share his story and picture in an upcoming post.

January 22, 2013

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep,

and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

 

Ezekiel 34:15

 

Gracious God, help us to recognize and better know our shepherd.  Help us to be done with our stubborn sheepish ways.  Allow the light of your countenance to be our guide as we follow you.  Amen.

First and second leg of the Journey

First Leg of the Journey

As I sit here in Heathrow Airport in London, I have officially completed the first leg of my journey safely.  In the moment I am a little frustrated at the dichotomy between technological level of the facility and the lack of available public wifi access...but that is a story for another time.

As I am writing this, it is a little after 3:00 am on the 20th back home.  We are already 6 hours ahead (9:00 am London time) and have about 2 hours before the next leg of our journey begins. Security has been easy for me so far and the flight was relatively uneventful.  I sat next to a man that was from South Africa and we talked a little throughout the flight.  He was traveling to London to visit his sister.

On this first leg, I read somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of a book of poetry that a friend lent me and watched Battleship and Total Recall between naps and meals.  Most of the music I listened to was retro 80's stuff REM, and the like.

There are really just two awarenesses from the first leg of the journey that really struck me.  The first involves the young children in the row in front of me.  I witnessed how challenging it was for the mother to manage what appeared to be a 2 year old girl and about a five year old boy.  All in all, they were pretty good for such a long flight.  What amazed me is how fascinated the boy was about the flight.  The take off and landing were absolutely exhilarating for him.  He had sheer joy in watching the wings open and close and the flaps function to get the beast of a plane off the ground and on again.  It dawned on me in watching and listening to him that we as adults have often lost a lot of our sense of wonder about things.  Not just airplanes and new experiences, I think we have lost our sense of wonder about the divine as well.  Now I must admit, I was much quieter about my excitement and wonder on the flight, but it was great to see a fellow sojourner with the same awe and wonder that I had happening on the inside.

The second awareness, if you will was just my experience in flying into London.  We left and got to witness an amazing sunset over the states.  Gorgeous reds, oranges and yellows exuberantly lit up the sky as the sun was moving home.  Then, less than 12 hours later, I got to witness a beautiful pink and purple display as the sun was coming up over the UK.  Granted, the stunning beauty of the sunrise was much shorter lived than the sunset, because as we descended, we ended up in fog that was literally as thick as pea soup.  Once we finally got below 6,000 feet in altitude, we got another wonderful surprise...we found London covered with a blanket of beautiful soft white snow!  The sun and the weather were just bonuses though...the actual awareness that hit me as we landed, was that this was my very first time in London/the UK.  For some one whose mother and Grandmother were born here, it seems odd to me that I have never been here in the 43 years of my life.  This may sound weird, and it may just be in my imagination, but I feel somehow momentarily closer to them having at least spent a few hours near the place where they spent much of their lives.  I guess the real awareness here is that I need to plan another trip back to visit and learn more about the country that shaped these family members' lives.
I will write more and post once we arrive in Kolkata.

Second leg of the journey

This leg has been much more challenging than the first leg.  We are in a 747 instead of a 777 and trust me the space difference is noticeable.  The larger problem, however, was that we were trapped on the Tarmac waiting to get away from the gates all due to snow and ice.  We spent at least 3 additional hours on this plane waiting for our turn to get de-iced.  According to my flight time remaining, we still have another 4.5 hours and then we have to figure out connections to Kolkata since we are so far behind.  Oh we'll,
The adventures of traveling.  It was freezing in London and it will be 80 degrees later in India...crazy!

I'm looking forward to being in a single time zone, with a bed and without planes for a couple of days!  I'll post again with more news or updates as soon as I can.

January 21, 2013

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the

everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not

faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

 

Isaiah 40:28

 

Gracious God, help us to be a reflection of you that those that have not known or heard, may come to know and hear through us.  Amen.

January 20, 2013

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,

and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.

For the LORD is a God of justice;

blessed are all those who wait for him.

 

Isaiah 30:18

 

God, we give thanks that you wait for us to respond to your ever present grace.  Help us to respond more obediently and quickly...that we would not keep our Lord waiting on us needlessly.  Grant that we may seek you, love you, walk with you and be blessed to be a blessing to others in all our ways.  Amen.

 

January 19, 2013

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

 

Psalms 139:2-3

 

God, I give you thanks that you know me so well.  Help mold my thoughts and ways in accordance with your will.  Amen.

 

January 18, 2013

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD

stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

 

Psalms 33:10-11

 

God, frustrate my plans.  Grant me the gift and guidance of your Holy Spirit; that I may always follow the counsel of my Lord in all that I do.  Amen.

 

January 17, 2013

For he is manifold in understanding.

Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

 

Job 11:6

 

We thank you God for your love, mercy and grace.  We thank you that we do not get what we deserve.  We thank you that you gift us with what we don't deserve and can't earn.  Grant today that we may have the same understanding with our fellows.  Amen.

January 16, 2013

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and

the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the

earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted

as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you

rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it

is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you,

our God, and praise your glorious name.

 

1 Chronicles 29:10-13

 

Amen!

 

4 Days and Counting

Actually, it is about 85 hours away - just over 3.5 days - until my family drops me off to go to the airport and I fly to India.  I should be packing (and maybe I'll do a little before the night is done), but I am not.

This has been an interesting time of preparation.  When I committed to go on the trip, I was so uncertain about being able to raise the funds I needed to be able to go.  Needless to say, I have been provided for. Just this week several folks have come out of the wood work and surprised me with needed funds to finish out my commitment financially for the trip.  Likewise, a few months back, I had a visit with immigration in Canada while I was traveling, so when I went to get my visa for my trip to India, I expected to have issues...but I didn't, the way was made clear.  When I began to prepare my material for my teaching times, I thought I was way over preparing, but now another member of the team may not be able to make it because of visa delays due to back to back trips and I see that I am more than prepared to help take on additional teaching responsibilities should that become necessary.  Lack has been replaced with provision, doubt with faith, and fear with peace (at least as far as the trip is concerned...nobody is perfect).

Today I visited with several folks that have been battling illness (add Pre-trip health to my growing list of blessings) and I have been caused to think about the healthcare situation in India.  With a population of more than 1.2 billion people and home to some of the largest poorest slums in the world, to say that India has a healthcare issue would be an understatement.  From malnutrition to typhoid, malaria to hepatitis (especially types A and B), the list of issues far surmounts the resources necessary to provide for all those needs.

I do know that there are doctors (at least a couple from the states) that have moved to India to provide ongoing help to so many in need.  But from the outside looking in, it appears to me to be little more than a pebble sized ripple in an ocean of need.

I think about the blessing of having insurance and being able to see the doctors I want and need to see and then I remember that even here in the states there are millions that are uninsured or under insured and unable to get the healthcare and treatment they need.

Whether India or the United States (or anywhere else in the world), too many people are not getting the help that they need...help that is available, just cost prohibited.  Here are the questions that this situation is bringing up for me:  1) if we believe in the sanctity of life, why don't we provide healthcare in equitable ways?  2) is it even possible in the current world economic order to accomplish this?  3) if so, how?  4) if so, why don't we?  And finally, what is our theological responsibility (or put maybe a better way, what is our responsibility in carrying out the healing ministries of the kingdom of God in doing
so)?

Again, I have no answers.  I will try to give some more theological thought and substance to my thinking during and after my trip to India; but in the mean time, I invite you to share your thoughts and answers.

January 15, 2013

It is the LORD who goes before you.

He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you.

Do not fear or be dismayed.

 

Deuteronomy 31:8

 

God, we get paralyzed by fear.  The fears of being alone, abandonment, lack of contentment, finances, the future, the unknown, our health; each haunts us with uncertainty and anxiety.  This day, help us to turn our fears (no matter how big or how small) over to your care.  Help us to recognize that you are on the journey with us and that you are never more than a breath away.  Amen.

January 14, 2013

Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?  Who is like you,

majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

 

Exodus 15:11

 

God, sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees.  Sometimes, the things that we think most about in a day become our gods.  Help us to recognize your majesty, your holiness, and all of your glorious deeds and wonders.  Rule again in our hearts and minds and reign as Lord of our lives.  Amen

January 13, 2013

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for he who promised is faithful.

 

Hebrews 10:23

 

In a world that doesn't see things as you do - a world that would rather force its perspective on us than be open to yours - help us to stand steadfast in our faith...in the confession of our hope.  When we are weak and wavering, hold us up.  When we are chaotic and confused, grant us peace.  Let us rest in your faithfulness and know the depths of your love.  Amen.

 

 

7 days and counting

It is a bit surreal knowing that this time next week I will be heading to the airport to get on a plane to go to India.  I have prepared my part of the teachings.  I have shopped for the trip's necessities.  I have been reading local news (local to them) to get some contextual understanding.  I have been meeting with my mentor/travel companion/friend.  And now I am stuck in that hurry up and wait holding pattern that I seem to get into before all big trips.

Even with all of the preparations, there is still much that is unknown.  Even with the knowledge that faithfulness and obedience are recognized and used by God, there are still some feelings of inadequacy. While not paralyzed by the fear and reality of these and other feelings that are coursing through me with the adrenaline and excitement for the adventure itself, they are my realities at the moment.

Things that I have heard all along my faith journey, I'm convinced are already taking on new meaning.  While I have traveled to some other parts of the world before for missions and fun, this is the furthest I have ever traveled from home (more than 8800 miles).  I imagine the thoughts and feelings that I am experiencing are not unique to me.  Suddenly being a stranger in a foreign land is having a different impact on me.  I have no idea what God is or will be doing in me...and I have no idea of what God is going to do thru me (praying it is something significant for the kingdom), I just know that I'm going and in that going is a certain amount of fear and uncertainty.

I am, however, an adventurer at heart.  Perhaps that is why camping, hiking, geocaching, firefighting, and trips in general are so appealing to me.  I am overwhelmed with curiosity and the anticipation of
new things and experiences.  I am excited to see and speak with people that have literally a completely different world view and understanding.  I am dying to see how faith is lived out in a part of the world where faithfulness has real life and death consequences.  There are some things that you can read about all your life, but they just don't become real until you experience them.  I am going to get to see what Mother Teresa saw.  I am going to probably go right by the slums that were in the movie slum dog millionaire.  I am going to feel and experience the vastness of disparity and look for and witness to real hope.  So in all of these ways I am incredibly stoked and can't wait to get the trip started.

So here I sit, blogging about being caught between the avalanche of feelings and chemical reactions that are unleashed in my being at the moment involving my trip.  I'm sure it's going to be one heck of a roller coaster ride and I can't wait (for the most part) for it to begin.


I will continue to pray and prepare the best way I know how.  I would appreciate it if you would join me in that endeavor.  Also, feel free to share your thoughts on long trips and how you cope and prepare in the comments section below.

January 12, 2013

But the Lord is faithful.

He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.

 

2 Thessalonians 3:3

 

God, it seems, sometimes,that when we draw closer to you all kinds of trouble and turmoil surrounds us.  We pray to you this day for the protection that only you can provide.  Thank you for being our refuge and our source of protection.  Thank you for your faithfulness.  Amen.

January 11, 2013

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”The LORD is good

to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

 

Lamentations 3:21-26

 

Gracious God, where our hope has grown weary or been lost, breath life into it again.  We wait quietly for the fulfillment of your promises and for the fullness of your salvation.  Amen.

January 10, 2013

And those who know your name put their trust in you,

for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

 

Psalms 9:10

 

God, help us to trust deeper than we ever have before.  For those seeking to trust for the first time, for those trusting-but for whom trust comes as a challenge, and for those that have been trusting a lifetime...help us to trust at a deeper level...to rely more fully on your faithfulness that we may see the fullness of your gifts of grace and mercy and know not just in our heads, but also in our hearts, that you would never forsake us.  Amen.

January 9, 2013

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God

who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him

and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.

 

Deuteronomy 7:9

 

God we thank you for your faithfulness, even in times when we have not reciprocated with that same faithfulness.  Thank you God for being bigger than our shortcomings, loving us where we are at, and loving us enough not to leave us where you find us.  Strengthen us in Your knowledge and love, that we may be counted among those in the thousand generations.  Amen.

Women in India

A few days ago I wrote a little about the poverty in India and hope to address this again in more depth in a future post. But as I prepare for my 12 day journey to India (leaving 11 days from now), I am struck dumbfounded by an article in the BBC News today (yes, I am reading international news attempting to get a grasp on contextual happenings before I arrive).

The article was entitled "The Girls Stolen From the Streets of India", and used an ethnographic approach to highlight one instance of an incomprehensibly sized issue. Here is how the article begins:

 “The death of a student who was gang-raped on a Delhi bus has prompted anguished soul-searching about the place of women in Indian society. The widespread killing of female foetuses and infants is well-documented, but less well-known is the trafficking of girls across the country to make up for the resulting shortages”

You can read the entire article here, but the article continues with the story of a young girl who had been missing for a while, who was discovered by police who reported she had been kidnapped and then sold to another family in northern India.  According to the article, this is happening at an alarming rate (reported at more than 35,000 missing per year…and that is remembering that only about 30% of the cases are actually reported).  Add to the kidnappings and trafficking more than 50 million females who have been lost to foeticide, infanticide, and neglect or abuse causing death in early adolescence or younger.  Unicef says that this is equivalent to genocidal proportions.

Lured away from their poor homes with the hope of work in larger wealthier cities, then sold for about 55,000 rupees ($1,000 American), these girls and young women are the latest casualties of a country with such incredible socio-economic disparities that human beings justify selling one another to get ahead.

Forget the fact that we apparently have learned nothing from the history of slavery and human trafficking that has transversed time and geography, what is it in the human being that allows someone to think that this is alright!?!

How do you speak truth to people that believe that other people are nothing more than property?  Maybe the better question is what should be taught to the Christian leaders (the people we will actually be meeting with while in India) that they can internalize and model and teach to those they shepherd in their local congregations once we’re gone?  How in the world do you begin...how in the world do you show that Christ can transform an entire culture?

I don't pretend to have answers to these questions or the thousands of others that are running through my head...this is just my latest theological conundrum in relation to my upcoming trip to India.

I invite your thoughts and comments.

January 8, 2013

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;

God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

God chose what is low and despised in the world,

even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29

God, help me to get out of the way of myself and the work you are doing in me.  Permit that in my celebrations and rejoicings that I may always boast only about You.  Put me to foolishness.  Put me to weakness.  Place me in the world as lowly and despised so that Your glory may shine through.  Amen.

January 7, 2013

For he will complete what he appoints for me,

and many such things are in his mind.

 

Job 23:14

God, you continuously promise that you will complete the work you have for us and the work you do in us...this day grant us peace in that knowledge, the strength to wait on your timing, the trust in you that it is good, and the courage to lean in when you are moving in our midst so that the things that are on your mind come to pass in us and through us without our interference.  Amen.

You just don't know...

who you're going to help or how you're going to help them.  Today I learned that several people have been touched by either actions I have done or words that I have spoken in the past few weeks.  Instead of sharing the details of how God used me in these people's lives, I want to share a story of how God used someone else in my life.

Her name is Mrs. Seagler and she was my Spanish II teacher in high school.  Mrs. S. had seen me at my worst, when I was in the throws of my drinking and drug addiction.  She witnessed from the front row the devastation that those choices had as they rippled through my life. 

During the Christmas season about 11 years ago, I ran into her while buying stockings and decorations at a Christmas store in Memorial City Mall.  I had finished making my selections and was in line to pay for my goods.  As I was standing there, I began to think that I recognized the back of this woman's head (her hairstyle hadn't changed in the passing years) and I began to attempt to get a view of her face.  As my eyes met hers, there was that instant flash of recognition that we both experienced.  I said her name and asked if she remembered me.  She responded that she did and I began to tell her of how I had sobered up a few years earlier and how I was married and how my life had been completely turned around.  As I related what had happened, she began to cry.  I asked why she was crying, insisting that this was good news.  She told me that from the time she had first met me and knew of the issues I was struggling with that she had included me daily in her rosary prayers. 

Now my eyes were welling up with tears because I realized for the first time...during all those years of darkness...I hadn't been alone.  She was encouraged to know that her prayers for more than 15 years had been answered.

I share this with you because up until that point, I didn't know that anyone else was for me.  I had no idea that others were standing right there beside me fighting for me.  It caused me to look back on my life and realize that there had been countless others whose words, prayers, and actions had blessed me in amazing ways.

Neither of us realized the work that God was doing in us and through us in those years.  Sometimes you just don't know who you're going to help or how you're going to help them.  So pray hard, speak kindly, and act in the ways of love and God can and will do amazing things in those places...even if you are unaware.

January 6, 2013

A person cannot receive even one thing

unless it is given him from heaven.

John 3:27

God, help us to see the blessings that are so richly poured into our lives each day.  Help us to be grateful for these bountiful gifts that we have done nothing to deserve.  Help us to be as generous as you are in your giving to us when we participate in giving to others.  Amen.

Thinking About India

I had coffee with a mentor and fellow traveler yesterday and we were talking a great deal about our upcoming trip to India.  A lot of the conversation related to the culture shock that may be experienced by seeing the poverty that we will experience in many of the parts of India we will be traveling in. 

Having seen the shanty towns and lean to shacks of the super-impoverished in a number of other countries, I have at least glimpsed the level of poverty that my friend spoke of.  To be so surrounded by it for a period of a week and a half will no doubt leave a mark on my being, but there was more.  You see, India is estimated to have as much as one third of the world's poor among their population.  There is great disparity between the towers of the modern cities like New Delhi and the slums of Kolkata.  In some ways, that holds true here in the US as well...there is great difference between the financial and "galleria" type retail districts and the wards and slums of our inner cities.

As our conversation continued, the comment that really got to me was that there was a temple that was erected in India, that had the money gone towards feeding the hungry and the poor, there would have been enough money to feed them for several years.  Again, not that unlike here in the states (think about the towers, office buildings, stadiums, temples, etc that we have built).

I am not sure if it is greed, a lack of compassion, or some other shortcoming in our human nature that  would cause us (no matter where in the world we are) to build monuments to ourselves in the forms of temples and buildings, rather than caring for those who are around us.  I wonder if this is why Jesus said something along the lines, "the poor you will always have with you..." when he was speaking to his disciples about his imposing departure.

I throw all of this out there, not because I have some profound answer, but simply to put voice the the beginnings of some deep questions that are resurfacing in my faith journey.

15 years ago, I asked a church why they were spending about 16 million to rebuild their sanctuary rather than do more of the missions work they were known for.  The answers were not as clear as I would have liked them to be...and I am sure that the answers won't come any easier with this round of questioning...but I do wonder what God thinks about all of this.

I wonder if we are just re-offending in the department of idolatry...I wonder if we are just finding shortcuts around the rules that we think don't apply to us any more...I just wonder.

What do you think?  Are we getting this right by building these multi million/billion dollar monuments (in all forms from sports to worship to business) or are we missing the bigger picture of Kingdom building?

January 5, 2013

And the LORD will be king over all the earth.

On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.

 

Zechariah 14:9

 

Gracious God, let your kingship over all the earth begin this day with me.  Show me where to move out of your way.  Help me to submit to your lordship over my life; not for my glory, but for yours.  Amen.

January 4, 2013

And they shall declare my glory among the nations.

And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations

as an offering to the LORD.

 

Isaiah 66:19-20

 

Lord, help us to throw down our idols and the idolatry of seeing our own glory.  Help us to see you for who you are that we too, may be counted amongst those who declare your glory among the nations!  Amen.

January 3, 2013

“For I know their works and their thoughts,

and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues.

And they shall come and shall see my glory.”

 

Isaiah 66:18

 

Merciful God, grant us forgiveness in your knowing.  Where we have strayed in our actions and thoughts, purify us that we may be part of the healing of the nations that you so gloriously speak of through your prophet Isaiah.  Amen.

January 2, 2013

To grant to those who mourn in Zion –

to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

 

Isaiah 61:3

 

Gracious God, we pray for all those everywhere who are experiencing loss in their life.  May your peace and gladness be with them all.

 

Just Over 17 Days Till India

This is a picture that my friend, and soon to be travel companion, Henry took on one of his trips to India last year.  I am mesmorized by this picture and the dozens of others that he has shared with me in preparation for my upcoming trip.

Yes, in just 18 days I will be on my way with Henry to India.  Henry and I will fly out of Houston and meet our other team members from the Dallas area in London and then fly into New Delhi, India.

Our trip will include stops (some just layovers) in London, New Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai.  The team that I am a part of will be teaching pastors in Kolkata and Ahmedabad.  A portion of our team will be doing micro-business training for the indigenous folks in Lucknow.

For the past 48 hours, after weeks and weeks of prayer, I have been busy about the work of writing, redacting and preparing for the segments that I will teach while there.  It has been a busy time, but it has been a time of blessing.

Between now and the time that I depart, I will write about some of the many issues that affect India, some of the things I will be teaching, and will be inviting you to pray for our team as we cross the globe to bring good news to pastors who are facing challenges that we can scarcely imagine.

Once we begin our travels, I will attempt to update the blog daily with the progress of our endeavors and share with you some of my own pictures, thoughts and insights while there.  Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare and make our journey to India.

Thanks and blessings,

Russell

January 1, 2013

Your people shall all be righteous;

they shall possess the land forever,

the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,

that I might be glorified.

 

Isaiah 60:21

 

Holy God, may it be as you said through your prophet Isaiah.  May you use this night to shape our hearts with your hands, that we might be transformed into the people you speak of in your word.  Amen.

Resurrecting My Writing and Other Stuff

For those that are interested, I am resurrecting my writing of prayers, thoughts, discussions, musings, etc. here at Radically Altered.

I will begin with posting daily prayers and information regarding my upcoming mission trip.  I look forward to this new leg of the journey with you!

Grace and Peace,

Russell