Berean Way

N. India 20 - Dehradun

Our long journey home started with a 7 hour drive to Delhi. Sam checked in and I went to wait for 10 hours for my flight at the airport waiting area. Then an 8 hour flight to Frankfurt. Then a 10.5 hour flight to Portland.

There are few greater things than coming through the airport security gate and seeing Erin, Ranger, Bella and Andie waiting there to greet you with hugs and kisses. I am so grateful to arrive safely home once again.

Thank you for your prayers and support for us while I was gone.
Thank you for sending me to serve God and plan for the future in India.
Thank you for obeying His calling and allowing yourselves to be used for His eternal purpose.

I can't wait to see you all soon. By the way, our next India trip is scheduled for October.

May you be blessed by God and obey His calling in your lives - Jeff

N. India 19 - Dehradun

We started the day with a flat tire, but that did not stop Pastor I from taking us north to Dehradun, Uttarakhand. This is located at the foothills of the mighty Himalayas.

The roads were very narrow and had to be shared by everyone. The culture and people in this part of India are completely different than what we have experienced to date. They are mountain tribal people and many are immigrating from Tibet, Nepal and China.

This drunk driver refused to move aside as lots of traffic backed up behind us.

Notice the rock cliff behind them? They are set up on the narrow road.

Narrow tunnel . . .

There is no better way to have a meeting. We were in Himalayan foothills as Sam and I began to unravel the past 7 years. We discussed the history of all the trips we have made together and how the this vision of reaching India started back in 2002. God has matured the two of us on parallel, yet separate paths. We then discussed each of the different places and people we met these past few weeks.

With our clear calling towards N. India we have many ideas and plans on how to successfully train pastors in the Word of God and successful discipleship. God has opened many doors and we are excited to see His plan come together. Today, I have written pages and pages of the many events and people that God has allowed us to interact with. He is changing lives in the impossible situations that India presents every day. We still have much to process in determining the future . . .

Sam and I took one last photo on the way down the mountain.

On the day before we leave, it was so nice to be in the higher elevations and enjoy the cool weather and relaxing views. Even this street dog agreed with me.

For dinner we joined with Pastor A and his family. Their neighbor, Sonya, stopped in and asked us to share with her. She is a Punjabi woman who experienced the love of Christ when a Christian pastor prayed for her when she was unable to conceive for the first 5 years of marriage. She said that several doctors told her she has no uterus and will never be able to have a child of her own. The next year her son was born.

But now she came because of the abuse she is regularly receiving from her alcoholic husband. You could see the marks on her face and arms. We had the privilege of counseling her for a couple hours. Deep down I wondered how big this kind of problem was in this neighborhood, let alone everywhere. With tears in her eyes, she thanked us and left home after prayer.

It seems that everytime we get excited and see great works of God, I am reminded of just how real the pain is throughout India. There is a lot of work to do in India.

Thanks for making a difference with us!

N. India 18 - India Journey with maps

Since I finally have some free time in front of a computer, I thought I would try to place a map with all of these names I have been mentioning to you. I hope this helps.

Here is a map of India. Notice that on the east you will see Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). This is where we flew into from Portland on May 13. We will end our journey in New Dehli (top center) in three days on May 30. Notice the state names are abbreviated by two initials.

Our journey through the specific cities was as follows:

West Bengal State (WB)
Kolkata - about 300 miles directly south of the word SIKKIM on the far right side

Bihar State (BR)
Patna
Buddhagaya (just outside of Gaya)

Uttar Pradesh State (UP)
Varanasi
Lucknow
Meerut (just NE of New Delhi)

Uttarakhand State (UA)
Dehradun (foothills of the Himalayas)

Uttar Pradesh State (UP)
New Delhi

The next map gives a little more detail as to where we traveled in the country.

Tomorrow we take the five hour car ride north from Meerut City to Dehradun located in the foothills of the Himalayas. There Sam and I will spend 1.5 days reviewing the past 7 years together, the current situation as we discovered on this trip and then putting together a plan for the next five years. That's a lot to cover and we seek God's wisdom through this process.  Please join us in prayer during this time!

In Christ - Jeff

N. India 17 - Meerut

So our train didn't exactly leave on time . . . again, I can live with that. Therefore, we were late arriving in Meerut City this morning, I can live with that. That this was our fifth and final train ride of the trip, now I can definitely life with that!

No more train stations means no more train station entertainment . . .

That little rat crawling on the floor is following his big daddy behind the garbage can . . .

If you look closely you will see the ground start to move . . . how many rats do you see?

I think there is room for one more. This guy in the orange ran across the tracks to jump on as it drove off.

That's a long position to be in for 24 hours!

You know when you are a kid in the bathtub and you have some sort of ship or cup or something floating on the top? Then you try and make a big enough wave to flip it over? Well, this train felt like we were in a small boat on the rough seas and something was trying to tip us over. It was amazing that we stayed on the track!  The entire night my head and body was being jerked back and forth and back and forth.

We got off the train and something was different. It was much cooler. Not cool, mind you, but cooler than the past two weeks for sure. What a great feeling that was.

The pastor that Sam had coordinated this part of the trip with ended up getting delayed down south so his friend, Pastor I (right), took his place.

We checked into the hotel, showered and had breakfast.  How about a salty snake of bananas and cooked potatoes with a dusting of spices?

Then we toured around the area and saw some Hindu, Jain and Muslim places of worship. But most of this area is Muslim. We saw countless numbers of monkeys, temples, mosques, statues, idols, etc.  And the new construction of these things is not slowing down.

It is so sad to see the enormous amounts of money being spent on temples, and yet see the people live in their own filth, poverty and sin.

This is the part of India where all the revolting began against the British and where the Muslims and Hindus also started their fighting so it is an important place in Indian history.

I have internet access in my room for the evening so I will try to post and update later tonight.

N. India 16 - Lucknow

In order to see the real India, we actually live it. Sam and I have been going into a little rougher (less expensive) conditions. Here is the entrance to our hotel.

They are making candy in the alleyways (on the floor) all around us:

A snake charmer asked me to give him money for the snake's blessing.

After breakfast, Sam and I were picked up by Pastor ORC and Sanjay and they took us to the Iman Bara's palace that was built over 200 years ago. This was one of the coolest man-made things I have ever seen.

Much of the "wow" factor needs to be experienced first hand. The main room is over 330 feet long and there are no pillars or beams in the construction. There is no concrete or metal either. It is made of limestone, bone, grains and spices. Sounds crazy, but it is lightweight and solid!

You can literally whisper into the walls from one end of the hallway and you can clearly here the words from 330 feet along the walls. This is how the soldiers communicated. The have natural light and circulation throughout and it is cool inside the palace regardless of the outside temperature. They had window openings where the line of sight lined up perfectly over 1 km away through the walls and directly to the main gates. They had a very strategic area to get water directly from the river.

One of the highlights was hearing the testimony from Sanjay, 42 years old. His father was a faithful Christian, and prayed regularly for Sanjay, but Sanjay decided to live his own life. He was a criminal, a liar, a cheat and a gangster. He said he was an evil man was addicted to every vice you can think of. Two years ago, his father died. This really effected Sanjay. So the very next day he turned over control of his life to Christ. Immediately, he was released from every one of his addictions and Pastor ORC says Sanjay is one of the most faithful and serving members they have. I was so encouraged to hear this testimony, because in my flesh it would be so easy to give up on India. Only through Christ can a man that far gone be freed from his sin and changed to be a servant of the Living God!

Sanjay making his way down the stairs.

My new friends.

One thing stood out to me while I was visiting the palace today. That is how amazing man was designed to be. The architect for this place was from Iran. The wise men that sought out the young boy Jesus were from the same area and knew how to read the stars in the heaven to travel those countless miles. They had been studying the Scriptures that most likely were passed down from Daniel in the Old Testament. As I think back further in the Bible I come to the Tower of Babel. That is were a unified mankind came against Gods commands and God came down because "nothing which they purpose to do will be withheld from them." So God had to intervene and disperse them.

I am amazed at the amazing architecture, the great feats of construction, and the ingenious ways they have learned to adapt to live here in India occurring over the past thousands of years.

But all this worldly wisdom has not increased their quality of life. Things are not getting better for India, it is getting far worse. It is a standard below anything that you can imagine. The end result of the major religions in India should make you all very sad as it just breaks my heart.

The local pastors keep telling me that now is the time for a great harvest in India, unlike any other time they have seen here. Thank you because you are making a difference for the kingdom of God!!!!

Please continue to pray as we take our last train to Meerut that leaves at 11:00 pm and arrives around 8:00 am tomorrow. In Christ - Jeff

N. India 15 - UPDATE Cyclone Aila & the Punjab Riots

For those of you have not heard, there have been two major events to hit India over the past day.

Cyclone Aila
Cyclone Aila just missed Kolkata where we were on May 13-15th. However, they had 75 mph winds, 14 flights were canceled, 9 people are dead, and they are getting flooded with rain and wind. I can't imagine the destruction that is going on there . . . We praise God we avoided this.

Punjab Riots
On the other side of India they are suffering from riots and fire. A sikh guru was just killed in Austria. To demand action against from the government, many in the state of Punjab have begun to riot, stopping trains & setting fire to cars and trains. Our original plan was to end up in Punjab two days from now. But God's plans were different and we no longer plan on visiting Punjab at all.

Thanks for praying.

N. India 14 - Lucknow

Our train last night was late leaving the station so we arrived around 8:00 am. Thankfully, I got some sleep.

We walked directly to our hotel near the train station. We barely had time to shower when Pastor PC picked us up and drove us to his church. We were running late so Sam gave a short message. Then we were off to a village church about 30 minutes away. We were hungry so for breakfast, the pastors all stopped off and got a piece of cake. I am not joking, it was like a big slice of wedding cake. They like to eat sweets for breakfast.

On the way there, I was asked to give a message. Apparently, they finished church and were waiting there for an hour for us to arrive.

The group was comprised of people from 10 separate villages. Their background was either Hindu or Muslim. They were one of the most interactive and joyful groups I have seen in a long time and it was a special time for all of us. I spoke on Christ's love and the enemy's attempts to discourage us using examples from both Uganda and India. 1 John 1:9 was the main passage. I challenged them to take an active roll in inviting people to church and share the love of Christ with everyone - including their enemies.

This woman was the first one to become a Christ follower in this area:

Pastor PC took us back to his home for lunch. Three Christian men serving in Nepal also joined us, but we were not able to spent as much time with them as we would have liked.

Utter Pradesh (the state we are in) is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in India. Lucknow (the city we are in) is their main city.  We only have two days and one night here before we head north to Meerut city tomorrow (and our last train ride!)

Thanks for praying. We want to keep our intensity and energy high so we can finish strong. In Christ - Jeff

N. India 13 - Varanasi

We woke up early and drove to the Gangis River to watch all of the sun worshippers come to take a dip in the river and wash away their sins. I am told that 10,000 people make this trip every day. Again, this was an attack on all the senses and I am not sure all that I should tell you about that we saw.

There are many streets leading to the river. The road we took was lined with crippled people, homeless and priests all sitting on the road with their hands out begging for alms. Street dogs were everywhere and the trash was, um, thick. (I am running out of new ways to say the same thing.)

Every space was filled with street venders selling their temple idols and other things. It reminded me of a county fair rather than a holy place.

We hired a boat to take us upriver where they have an enormous outside area with firewood stacked as high as possible. Giant flames from three large fires burned brightly in the distance. Temples were everywhere.

A few days ago, I showed you where people would burn the bodies of their dead in the dry riverbed. Well, this is the place where you can have the temple priests incinerate the deceased for you. Two adults and one child were already in process when we arrived. The ashes are then thrown into the river (a few hundred feet from the temple priests are washing their teeth and many families taking swimming in the cool water.) This goes on 24 hours every day.

We have water wings in the US.

We found a cool little coffee shop and spent the next few hours with Pastor R.

I only wonder what it was like here many, many years ago. It must have been absolutely beautiful.

Then we traveled to the house of Pastor S to meet his family for breakfast. This is the view of a small village outside of their home.

Afterwards, Sam and I said our goodbyes and headed back to the room where we spent more time talking about India.

Our train to Lucknow leaves this evening at 11:30 pm and we are supposed to arrive by 7:30 am tomorrow morning. In Christ - Jeff

N. India 12 - Varanasi

Daily sights in Varanasi:

Bath Time.

The heartbreak of so many street kids.

It was over 90 degrees F when we walked out of the hotel this morning. We took an auto rickshaw to meet with Pastor P at his home. His wife and kids were on vacation down south so he was spending this time alone in prayer. We shared our vision and exchanged stories. He was formerly crippled boy whom the doctors said would be bent over his entire life and never be able to stand straight in the air. He met Christ and was healed immediately and walked. He vowed to follow Jesus the rest of his life.

He share many things giving me valuable insight into the culture. He said Varanasi was the heart of India. If we can capture its heart, then we can capture the country for Christ. He said there were around 70 Christian groups working in and around this place, but all but 10-15 Christian organizations are doing social work with no gospel. They try to heal the physical body but will not talk about healing the soul.

He also said that those 10-15 evangelical churches are not very healthy. Some of those church leaders will go to service on Sunday and then turn around and celebrate the festivals of the Hindu gods (which means worshiping them). They have no clue what it means to follow Christ. And those are the good churches here!!!!!

We shared our vision to teach pastors how to read & study the Bible for themselves and for duplication through discipleship.

He looked me in the eye, smiled, and said that he has been praying that God bring men to this city to just teach the Word of God. We talked for a long time, then we prayed together for a time.

We continue to make new friends . . .

After lunch at a multi-story building that someone tried to model after an American-type mall, we drove by the burial place of Buddha. It was a giant structure with no doors. Buddha is still in there. He has not risen from the dead. We hired a tour guide for $0.50, but he did not realize what he was getting into.

Sam wouldn't pay him until Sam gave him a tour of history, so to speak. So right in front of a monument to Buddha with pilgrims all around, Sam gave the simple message of the gospel to our tour guide. Another young man came and listened in, and then an older man stood closely by. Pastor P helped translate.

Pastor P, tour guide (future follower of Christ), Sam

I am unclear about all that happened, but to our surprise, the old man leaned in afterwards and confirmed Sam's message. Then, our tour guide and the young man exchanged phone numbers with Pastor P. They committed to come to church this Sunday and Pastor P committed to call them and meet with them separately ib the next few days. Can I get and AMEN?

We went to the hotel, had dinner then off to bed. Tomorrow we get up and 5:30 for another busy day. Good night.

N. India 11 - Train to Varanasi

If you are taller than 5'6" you will have some issues to deal with in India.

Our train was scheduled to leave at 3:00 pm in the afternoon. I keep thinking it is not possible to get any hotter, but maybe it's just the humidity. However, try sitting on the outside railway platform with a plethora of sweaty people, who use the railway tracks as a toilet. New smells are invented here every day. It is so sad to see the condition of these people who were created in God's image, but have been fooled to believe that they are worthless and have nothing to live for.

Saying goodbye to Pastors V & R was like saying goodbye to old friends. They were so generous with their time and showing Christ's love. I will miss hanging out with them and pray God will bring us together again sometime in the near future.

Our train was late but we finally got on only to find that a family had moved into our bed area at a previous location. They just bribe the ticket collectors at each step along the way of their 24 hour journey south. They were sitting on our beds with unconfirmed tickets and there was no way we were going to get them to move. The two top bunks were reserved for a future station stop so we just crowded in with them. Finally, the ticket master let us go up to the top bunks. 3.5 hours we arrived in Varanasi. Remember when I wrote that it couldn't possibly get any hotter? I was mistaken. It was here.

We arrived in a very spiritually dark city. It is the heart of Hinduism and the burial place of Buddha with a strong Muslim presence. Sounds like they are in desperate need of the gospel! Pastors S & T picked us up, took us to the hotel, and dropped us off. Sam and I had dinner then off to bed.