THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Our 33+ hour trip home was good. We had one close connection in Mumbai and had to hire a local (non-English speaking) taxi driver to get us from the domestic airport, through crazy Indian traffic jams, noise and smells to the INTERNATIONAL airport. It was our last experience of India on the ground - complete with all the night time sights. We both cried at the thought of leaving our Indian friends, the children in all the children's homes we visited and, of course, the delicious food!

The colds that Karen and Rick had completely recovered from seemed to return for Karen during the one 15 hour segment from India to Newark NJ. We were picked up in Pittsburgh by Donna K and made it home safely to the delight of our aging cat. However, during the evening and all night, Rick was sick with the runs and throwing up. Blame it on the food he ate at Newark airport! We may have to miss Resurrection Sunday services at our church :-( We are praising God for his goodness to us and for sending His son Jesus to die for our sins. But He did not stay in that borrowed tomb! "He is not here - He is risen!" Hallelujah!

If you have been praying for us during this trip - THANK YOU! You have no idea how much that means to us. Also, please continue to pray, not only for recovery from the jet lag, Rick being sick last night, but also that we can effectively communicate what we experienced. It was not a vacation; it WAS hard work and many times, uncomfortable. However, the joy that we experienced cannot be replaced by "things" in this world. We in American have no idea how good we have it here - especially in regard to our religious freedoms.

We pray this blog made you feel as though you were there; caused you to feel the hopeless emptiness of the Hindu's never-ending cycle of reincarnation contrasted with the light and hope that the Christian ministries offer through Jesus Christ, and lastly, helped you catch the burdens & the joys of our Christian brothers and sisters in India.

VBS A SUCCESS!

VBS finished up today with great success. We bought little gifts for each child: small nail polish, crayon box or watercolor paint tubes for the older girls, and small talcum powder. Thank you to New Life Baptist Church and to our Growth Group for contributing.They thanked us (and New Life Baptist Church) for the crafts, songs, games and Bible stories. A number of girls spoke during evening devotions of how they were blessed and encouraged in their walk with the Lord. It made us cry. Some of THEM cried! Tomorrow about half of the girls will return for the summer holiday to their home villages - perhaps to a mother or other relative. They want to be strong in Jesus. Pray for them. They did several skits for us - some hilarious in their actions, accents and costumes. They speak in Kannada language, but even WE could tell when they were imitating some country dialect or grouchy tone of an old cranky person! But one skit, while funny in that respect, made us weep because one girl was a Christian trying to share Christ with Hindus. They all rejected her initially, even to the point of beating up on her. This happens all too often for real to Christians in India. But she continued to pray and in the skit, each person was healed and came to know Jesus as the one true living God. Karen, properly dressed in a saree, shared one last song, their favorite for this trip - "Sing Alleluia to the Lord".

Seated next to Karen, is Shobha Massey, & her two dashounds, Dizzy and Rufus!

Here is a picture of half the group holding up today's craft: a bookmark that declares "He is Alive"!

Each child has a trunk that holds all their earthly possessions, as pictured here. They may have 5 or 6 changes of clothing (church clothes, school uniform and play clothes) but it all fits in the trunk. You will see in this girls' trunk, she is displaying the photo frame that was Wednesday's VBS craft. We had Arun Massey's file photos of each girl printed & sized to fit the foam frames which they decorated. Double click on any picture to enlarge.

Thank you for joining hearts and hands with us in this journey to India. Your support and prayers have meant SO MUCH. It is your hand reaching out to touch that little brown hand with attention and with God's love. Continue to pray for us as we leaving in about 12 hours. We will be in transit for probably 30 hours - 4 flights, layovers & such. Pray for smooth flights and good connections. Thank you!

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

A children's home full of LITTLE GIRLS learns that they can be instruments of God's truth and healing as they hear the story about a little girl from the land of Israel told her mistress about the prophet Elisha. Naaman went there, was told to dip in the muddy waters of the river Jordan and was healed of his leprosy.
Craft time included coloring pictures that went with Naaman's story and scratching off the black from a cross bookmark to reveal rainbow colors underneath.

Let the games begin! The water balloon toss went on and on in the hot sun. The balloons were tough to break, but oh the screams when they did!

Karen's birthday was also celebrated, with a small cake and candle. Additional treats and cake were given to all the girls too. Rick took off in the afternoon to go shopping in Hubli. Had a dusty, crowded bus ride with Mr. Dinakar and didn't get home until late! He was able to purchase some treats for the girls - nailpolish, talcum powder, crayons or paint and a brush for each of the 67 young ladies. They each came forward to receive these items, shaking our hands and saying thank you.

We are doing well at the Joyful Children's Home. Enjoying ministry with the girls every day and also with the Staff and Bible College students. We are staying healthy. It's still very HOT!!!

Yesterday, there was a bit of excitement as Arun, Rick and another man scurried to their relative's house where a COBRA had taken up residence in an area of clay flower pots and stacked bricks. There was a flurry of cutting sticks at the children's home for them to take and use at this house. Within a short time, they were back with the almost-dead snake in a bag. All 67 of the little girls came running with a few shrieks and exclamations (some with sticks of their own) to see before it was finally killed and disposed of. In spite of the worship of the cobra, Indians are REALLY afraid of them. As you can see from the picture, Karen is REALLY scared too!!! Ha!

We saw monkeys in the nearby mango trees; they're annoying to the locals, but it was interesting seeing a few young babies with their mothers.

We did a little shopping yesterday in Dharwad, a shady, noisy, smoke spewing bus town. Rode one of those buses home with Lisby, the other American that's here.

It is Palm Sunday already here and we will be spending some time with the girls in a worship service, listening to them sing their lively and haunting songs in Kannada language and also sharing some of our own. Rick will do a short sermon, translated by Shobha.

Keep us in your prayers, please. We appreciate it so much as we start into our last week here and put on a Vacation Bible School for these precious children. Please view the website (on the right column of this Blog site) to find out the lifestyle that these girls have been saved from.

IN THE STATE OF KARNATAKA

Thanks for your prayers for traveling. The 15 hour [overnight] train ride went fine. We were in a berth with 2 other Indian men. Both spoke English and one was slightly intoxicated. He kept leaving the curtained compartment to have a smoke and probably a nip or two. He engaged Rick in a slightly confrontational manner, wanting to know why we were in India, declared that there is no poverty in India, and insisting that American money that comes here for orphans goes into other pockets. Rick was very diplomatic but avoided the confrontational aspects. It was good that Rick did not try to share Christ - the other man was an officer in the Indian army. He sat quietly and listened to Rick's answers. Both knew that we were Christians. We plainly told them this. The one who was drinking asked why we did not drink. Rick said that he would not do something that caused so much pain in families. Drinking destroys families. It is bad. There was silence. The subject was changed. They ended up doing some number puzzles together and eventually, the inebriated one went off to sleep in another berth!

Now remember, we were on this train from 7 pm Monday evening through Tuesday morning at 10 am. 15 hours. In the morning, a gregregarious 11 year old boy adopted us. He wanted to "collect" some American coins and repeatedly asked us for more than the quarter and penny we gave him. I won't even get into what it's like to "go" in an Indian bathroom on a moving train! Balance is the key.
We arrived at our destination, a children's home called Joyful Children's Home. There is a LINK on the side of this Blog if you want to see their website. This home has 67 girls of all ages. They are precious. Many know enough English for us to be able to communicate somewhat. They LOVE music and are ready, willing and able to learn any action song I can teach them. They are absolutely adorable! They are well taken care of here by Arun & Shobha, but they thrive on any attention given to them.

There is also a Bible college here with about 11 or 12 students and today is the second day that we are monitoring them as they take finals. They sit on the floor on plastic patterned mats and write out the answers to their essay questions in longhand (in the Kannada language - which is scripty and curly like Arabian or Hindu).

Each morning, through a translater, we have been sharing a devotional time with a staff conference that is also happening. In the evening, we do something similar with the children.

Again, thank you all for your continued prayers for health and safety. You can respond by clicking on "comments" or e-mailing rickychen777@aol.com. God bless! Rick & Karen

ON THE MOVE

We have packed our bags in preparation of going on a LOOOOONG train ride across the country to western India. It is about 10:30 am Monday here. We will go into the city of Vijayawada where the train station is, but will do a little shopping first. Then we will catch the train this evening. Just think of a classic old black and white movie where there are sleeper berths on a train - it's something like that. Gentle swaying with the rhythm of the train all night long. Sounds of screeching whistles as trains pass by in the opposite direction. Venders calling their wares at each stop. Maybe having an opportunity to share Christ with a fellow passenger. The Indian people are tremendously friendly and open to talking about any topic.

Gave Dr. Chatla some Bill Rudge material which he would like to have translated and reprint on presses that he has here on site.

Please pray for safe travel, both by auto into the city (about an hours drive) & then the train ride.

BLOG HINT

To view any picture full screen, simply double click on it. Also, if you have trouble leaving a comment, an e-mail address to reach us is rickychen777@aol.com. Thank you!

DEDICATING A NEW CHURCH

Today was another hot day - in the mid-90's at least. We traveled this morning to a new church in the city of Vijayawada where a dedication ceremony took place. This included a ribbon cutting, music, special meal, speeches and prayers. In the picture, Karen can be seen in a dark pink saree with Rick partially behind Dr. Chatla.

Rick preached a brief message encouraging the Christians to "Go Light Your World", which is the song that Karen sang. Three other pastors gave messages also.

Thank you for your prayers for safety: the Ambassador vehicle (looks a little like a small old fashioned taxi cab, only white) had two mechanical problems this week. Last night, it was a wheel or brake which was fixed this morning by a repairman as we were parked partially on the busy main street with huge lorries barrelling by. Speaking of traffic, here are some of the things you see on the streets: goats, huge water buffaloes, chickens, dogs, people, bicycles, motorcycles, bicycle rickshaws and autorickshaws, bicycles hauling merchandise (including live chickens). Here is a picture of the most unusual so far - a truckload of live goats.

HELLO FROM DR. CHATLA, OUR HOST

"1.5 billion people in India. 2.5% are Christian. This Bible school is a channel of blessing to plant churches where there are no churches throughout this country. My desire is to bring people from all over India, train them and then send them out to plant churches. In spite of any lack of finances to pay, we will train the dedicated young people who want to learn. If they have a call on their lives, we trust God to provide. God has His way of doing things and we praise Him!"
Dr. Chatla D.

This is a picture of the young Muslim men pushing the little Ambassador car out of the sand when we stopped at the beach on the way to an evening meeting.


This is what we do a lot on our trips. The picture of this outdoor meeting is very typical – a village area that takes 1-3 hours of extremely hazardous (bumpy and the unbelieveable India driving style) driving to get to. These are Christian believers in a Hindu nation. We go to encourage them, teach them further about the Bible. Many of them have Bibles and can read; of course, it’s in their Telagu language.

This is our room here at Dr. Chatla’s compound. We are very thankful for comfortable nights due to the air conditioning. Things get very quiet at night, but during the daylight hours in this country setting, there are many sounds, the children’s voices from the kids’ home, crows cawing, roosters crowing very early (thank God for earplugs!), water being pumped from well, pots banging around as they are being washed.

We were invited to drive a ways to be part of an engagement party, pictured below. Although the spot was only about an hour away, it turned into an 8 hour trip, with our car going ka-THUNK a couple times before they put us in an auto rickshaw (Dr. Chatla, Karen, Rick and a guitar) to finish the journey. There was much pomp and circumstance, with some vows recited, gifts of sarees, clothing, bananas and sprinkling of flower petals on the young couples' heads by each of the 50 people in attendance on the rooftop. Rick shared a brief message from Ephesians 5 and Genesis 1 and 2 about the roles of husband and wives in marriage. Karen sang a couple songs and then the food was served - lots of rice, flatbread and saucy toppings that they refer to as curry in the same manner as we refer to "sauce". It's hot and sunny every day and we are eating well. Too well! Yum! God bless you all. Keep us in your prayers as Rick now seems to be catching Karen's head cold. Otherwise, we are doing find. God is good.

Greetings from India on March 23. This is a common sight - big bulls being used for labor, brown water buffaloes being given a bath by their owners in the canal.

We finished up at Jothi Nivas with Lifesong. You will see a picture of a FEW of the girls with us (standing way in the back in the shadow) as we prepared to leave. Our sponsored child grew up and so we were able to actually meet and interact with our new girl, a 15 year old named Saumyia. She is smart, funny and absolutely beautiful.

We traveled a 3 hour journey to the ministry of Dr. Chatla and went to the area of the ocean, first to see the waves, got stuck in the sand, got pushed out by a bunch of Muslim youth riding on the hard packed sand on motorcycles. We made it to the evening meeting to sing and share the Gospel with a group of about 75 people, mostly from the fishing community there by the Bay of Bengal.

The power is scheduled to go off in a few minutes. Brown outs are a way of life around here. We will communicate again as soon as we can. Keep us in prayer for safe travel and that we stay well. So far, the only problem has been that Karen has a head cold.

Love to all, Rick and Karen

Wednesday

The attached picture shows Siromani Stoll and Karen handing out Bibles (in Telagu language) and toothbrushes to the children at Jyothi Nivas Children's home.

Took a brisk walk this morning as the sun was coming over the palm trees with 83 year old Bob Stoll who kept up a very brisk pace. Our walk included crossing a palm tree/bridge that spanned a canal. Don't worry, it had a handrail! The few Indian people that were out and about that early stopped everything to watch. We were quite a spectacle but at least nobody fell in the putrid canal water!

Our work today also included setting up Excel spreadsheets so that the 6 children's homes can report on the finances to Lifesong. Their team flew out yesterday after some lively brainstorming, planning and dreaming!

Visiting any of the children's homes involves an elaborate welcoming ceremony, pictured here.

Joyful

A happy little boy at Bethel Nivas Children's Home. He is hearing about Jesus' love, receiving good food, education, and medical care.

LIVE FROM INDIA!

We arrived in amazing India! The 15 hour flight from NY to India was nice, broken only by a few meals, sleeping and watching the movies or TV shows offered. We had a total of 4 flights in 2 days and all were very uneventful (which is a good thing), getting us to a tiny airport in a city called Vijayawada in eastern India. It's hot here, but not unbearable. Our friends from India Crusade met us, driving us in air conditioned vehicles for several hours before arriving at Jothi Nivas Children's home. We are joined on this trip by 6 other people who are part of Lifesong" (lifesongfororphans.org). As the leader of India Crusade (Bob Stoll) retires, Lifesong will take over the support and development of the ministry in India. The transition from India Crusade to Lifesong has been stressful for the folks here. They don't know what to expecct and their whole future depends on what happens next. Please keep them in your prayers. There is great potential for growth.

Our quarters are brand new, very comfortably furnished, with air conditioning and lovely Indian food (but not too spicy). There are 6 new guest rooms with bathrooms attached on the 3rd floor of the children's home. They include a dining room, and large living/meeting room. We've enjoyed getting to know the Lifesong people and interacting with the workers and children at this home.

Monday, we visited another children's home - Bethel Nivas. You should soon be able to see some film footage of this on the Lifesong website (as soon as those people get home). Bethel is a smaller home, with well groomed young boys and girls, smiling, wanting a handshake and eager to sing for us. We toured the home, seeing their "dorm" rooms - no beds or sheets, just pewter colored small trunks lining the walls (this holds their belongings). They sleep on mats which are unrolled on the floor at night. There is one room for the boys and one for the girls.

Today, the 6 Lifesong people left. It has been an amazing week so far and we've only just begun!

We have to think about the computer set up here before we can post pictures, but trust me, WE GOT PICTURES! Thank you for your continued prayers.

In His Service, Rick and Karen

We want to share a little info about our first stop in India. Pictured is the Jyothi Nivas ("lighthouse") Children's Home in Narsapur, India, where we will spend our first week in India. This is an older picture. A third floor has been added to the building which provides additional space for children, classrooms and guest quarters. There are 270 children in this home, all cared for by Lifesong for Orphans (lifesongfororphans.org). Click the link on the right to check out Lifesong.

Plans for trip continue

We have ordered craft & gift items for the VBS to be done at Joyful Children's home. Also, a talented volunteer is sewing a few Bible days costumes in lightweight material to be used to act out Bible stories.

Rick enjoys preaching and teaching - almost always through an interpreter. In a prior trip to India, Gabriel Massey accompanied us to many places & was instrumental in introducing us to many new friends.

PEACE PLAN INDIA TRIP 2009

On March 13, 2009 the adventure begins - A P.E.A.C.E. Plan trip to southern India, visiting children's homes, Bible colleges, churches and homes of Christian folks to do at least one vacation Bible school, teach and sing.