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One step at a time…

Wow, quite a weekend there.

My family and I went over to our cabin Sunday and Monday to start moving some stuff out. Tables, boats, knick-knacks, etc, etc, etc. Consequently, we’ve been pretty busy. Yesterday, I went to talk to the people down at Applebee’s about getting a job there. I figure I have a fairly good chance of getting something there, and it’ll pay the bills for now.

We close on the cabin this Friday (the 5th), and we’ll say goodbye to Washburn lake. A sad day… but goodbye happens. My parents will own this house now, so that’s good.

On a completely different note, please pray for India. You may or may not have heard of the violence against Christians in the state of Orissa, but I recently learned that Orissa borders Andhra Pradesh on the north. Andhra Pradesh is where Vishakhapatnam – where I went last January through April – is. The violence is spilling over into Andhra Pradesh, and the people at Christ the King of Kings Ministries are getting worried, especially as the children’s home in Paderu is 30 miles from the border. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in India, that God would protect them and keep them safe from the violence, and that this would refine them further for His glory.

There you have it.

Monday, 04-13-08

Well, here I am, Stateside once more.
I would like to sum everything up for you guys, but it’s hard to know where to begin. God used us in India in ways that we probably don’t fully comprehend, and I think we were the more blessed during our stay. I know God used the trip to impact me personally, and give me a better sense of where He would have me go in my life. There were times when I was stretched, and times when nothing seemed to be going my way… But as a whole, it was a glorious experience. I don’t know the full impact of my presence there, but God used me as He wanted, that much I know.
From leading VBS early on, to finishing the CD recording project, we were used. There were many times when I was stretched as I suddenly discovered that I was going to be giving a message to a group of people! But God spoke through us and used us to bless Christ the King of Kings Ministries, the children, and anyone else we came in contact with. I know I’m going to miss the children and the ministry leaders there.
This summer I return to work as an HVAC technician, but I also hope to record a CD, put on some concerts, and get a number of other things pulled together, in addition to planning a trip to Israel that will hopefully happen this Fall. But with all that, you can be sure that I hope God one day leads me back to the children of India. Perhaps He’ll lead me there to minister to a broader group of people, but I have a strong desire to be reunited with my little brothers and sisters there…

As He desires.

Monday 04-07-08

Wow… This is my last post from India. The next time I write here, barring any unforeseen change of events, I will be in the States.

I’ll have to reflect on events here the past few months another time, as we’re about ready to head to an evening prayer time with the pastors and children, but I’ll leave you with some good news… Recording is 99% finished! We have one small 30-second clip of Yosepu blowing the shofar with echoes of “Hallelujah” from the children. Aside from that, all the vocals are finished. We’ve done all of the instrumentation we can do here. We’ll need to edit and mix things from the States, but that’s not a problem. Thank you all for your prayers… Clearly, we didn’t pull this off… It was entirely God. I’ll have to give you guys a rundown of everything that Satan tried to do to shut the project down later. God is faithful!

So here I am… Sittin’ in my room (“my” room?) of three months… With only one full day left in India. Three days from now, I’ll be in the States. I’m looking forward to a nice, juicy, hamburger… But I’m going to miss the children here… *sniff*

In every step, His guidance.

Friday, 04-04-08

Wow, time sure flies when you’re havin’ fun! There’s less than a week left of our time here in India. Next Friday, I should be back in the States. It’s hard to believe. Just this post and next Monday’s post, and the next you’ll hear from me will be from back in the States.

For now, please keep praying for the recording. We have so much to finish in the little time we have. We’re moving forward in faith that He will finish what He has started… But my human nature is adding in plenty of worry. He is faithful, though!

Thank you for your continued prayers! I look forward to seeing many of you again soon!

In every step, His guidance.

Monday, 03-31-08

I am pleased to inform you guys that we have officially started recording songs for the CD! It’s taken a long time, and we’ve had many delays, but last night, we took a small group of children and used what we have (we still need a few more things for larger groups), and recorded “I Love You, Lord.” Tonight we are planning on recording “More Love, More Power.” Please continue to pray, we still need to get all of our cables in order so that we can record larger groups of children, and there are still many things that could go wrong. But we’re going on in faith that everything will be accomplished according to HIS plan. Thank you for your prayers… Keep it up!

In every step, His guidance.

Friday, 03-28-08

Well, as we’ve been here these nearly three months, we’ve traveled on some of the roads of India. On the highways can be found many commercial trucks (or lorries, as the Indians refer to them as). These trucks are almost always painted with various designs, and some have fancy lights all over them. But one of the things that caught our attention most, was the English written on the backs (and sometimes sides) of these trucks. So, through our travels, we’ve collected a few of these English phrases.

Thus, I present to you… 10 English Phrases found on the Backs of Indian Trucks…

10.  Please Sound Horn Please

9. Use Dipper at Night

8. Horn Please

7. Stop & Proceed

6. Sound Horn, Save Rainwater

5. Edible Oil

4. Highly Inflammable

3. Good Luck (on mudflaps)

2. Contains No Fruit

And #1 on our list of things found on the backs of Indian trucks…

1. Don’t Touch Me

In every step, His guidance.

Sunday, 03-23-08

[Note] Well, I was hoping to get this post up yesterday… But since the internet wasn’t cooperating again, today’ll have to do… Just pretend it’s yesterday while you read it.

He is risen!
I hope this Resurrection Day finds each of you very blessed!
Today began with a sunrise service which I (mostly) slept through. After that, everyone (who had actually gotten up) went back to bed for an hour or two. All the kids got dressed up in their best, and the boys were all given a set of nice dress pants with a button down shirt. They were lookin’ quite snazzy.
The actual service was quite good, I’m sure. It was entirely in Telugu, and for some reason, it was really hard for me to hold still. I’m sure being able to actually understand what was going on would have helped… But I was trying to figure out how the kids could possibly sit still that long…
After church, we were blessed to be joined by the Mekala’s third son, Sunil, who lives in San Jose, California with his American wife Donna. The kids all lined up like they did for our own arrival two months ago, clapped, and sang their welcome song. This time, I got pictures.

The rest of the day was pretty normal. We’re hoping to get the recording started as soon as possible (tomorrow would be wonderful), so if you guys could pray that that goes according to plan, that would be wonderful!

He is Risen!

Saturday, 03-22-08

“Everything is today!”

This is what Sudheer told me last Thursday, as we were preparing to once again head into Vizag. This time, we were going to be getting sound equipment for the CD recording.

We were also going to get me a set of Tabla! Woohoo!

We drove around Vizag all day with Solomon, and managed to pick up three microphones and two headphones for the recording. With the help of Ramesh and J Kumar, we selected a good set of Tabla for me to purchase (good weight… *scratches head* ). On the return journey, we stopped for some noodles at an Indian Cafe… place… thing… Since it was about dinner time.

Also, between Thursday and Friday, the internet decided to not work for us. So I wasn’t able to get a post lined up for yesterday… But it’s working today!

Yesterday was Good Friday. We had a service that we were told was going to last from 12pm to 3pm. It lasted until 4:15… And was all in Telugu. Let’s just say it was very… very… very long…

I have more thoughts on Good Friday, but those’ll have to wait another time. Perhaps on Monday…

Keep your stick on the ice.

With every step, His guidance.

Sunday, 03-16-08

Ever have one of those situations where God makes it abundantly clear that He’s in something?
Daddy Mekala spoke with the recording studio yesterday afternoon. Afterwards he spoke with Rebekah (I was not present). Apparently, it was going to be very expensive, the guy wanted to use a bunch of musicians, and only a few children would fit into the studio. Not the kind of situation we were hoping for.
So, they decided that instead of using the money to pay for a recording studio, we’d use it to pay for equipment and record the CD here at the children’s home. There’s room enough for all the children, and I was told we already have a mixer.
As Rebekah was telling me this that evening, it became clear that we’d need a sound guy who knows what he’s doing. I only know the very basics of sound and recording, and I probably know more than the people here. So our next job was to track down a sound guy who knew his stuff…
…What we didn’t know, was that God had everything all figured out.
Later in the evening, one of the workers here (Rajesh, I think I’ve mentioned him before… he works on the bus), came up, quickly said something to Usha in Telugu, and then left. Usha turned to Rebekah in the hall and said that Daddy Mekala wanted the two of us to come down as soon as we could. Once the message was relayed to me (again, I wasn’t present… are you noticing a trend here?), we headed downstairs.
What we found, was a few of the children standing around the keyboard singing a song to the music that someone we’d never seen before was playing.
Enter Solomon… The sound engineer.
I have no idea where this guy came from, what the connection is, or how anyone met… But apparently, God has seen fit to drop a sound engineer (who knows what he’s doing) on our doorstep.
…Wow…
Keep praying, ’cause the story behind this CD is gettin’ good…

In every step… HIS GUIDANCE!

P.S. – By the way… Have a great St. Patrick’s Day!

P.P.S. – No sooner have I finished asking you guys to keep praying, then I must get more specific. We are truly grateful that God has dropped a sound engineer on our doorstep, and one that seems to know what he’s doing. However, things are rapidly becoming more difficult. We must record at least one of the songs very soon (as in, preferably this week, if not a few days’ time), as our soloists for those songs are intermediate students which, after exams are finished (tomorrow), will be gearing up to head to their homes. That means we’ll lose two important parts to “Awesome God.” Not only would we be hard-pressed to fill those spaces, but they’re incredible on them. Also, Rebekah and I have not, as of yet, had a chance to sit down with Solomon and talk to him directly about the specifics of what we’re doing, the mechanics of it all, what we need to do it, and our budget. Sudheer has spoken to him… But Sudheer doesn’t have the information that Rebekah and I do… We need to talk with Solomon directly (not to mention that Sudheer isn’t the easiest person to communicate with/through). So please pray for the difficulties stacking against us… Our needs as far as equipment, communication, and time. We feel very strongly that the Lord wants this to happen… But there are increasing signs that Satan is working very hard against this project. Thank you for your prayers.

Sunday, 03-16-08

I hope you all have a blessed Palm Sunday… I have so far!
Kind of funny, ’cause I didn’t actually realize it was Palm Sunday until this morning, when the kids were decorating palm branches with flowers and preparing to go parade around the surrounding villages singing songs. They invited us to come along, and it was a wonderful experience!
I got into my white Indian traditional dress and headed down. Daddy Mekala prayed over the group and we set out. We stopped occasionally, and Youseph (one of the older boys here) blew the Shofar they have here at the home. He would blow, followed by a chorus of “Alleluia!.” This is usually done three times. It’s awesome to watch.
Now, at the beginning of the journey, I neglected to get my own palm branch. Of course, the children were constantly offering me theirs, but I would rather they have something to wave. It didn’t take me long to spot the kind of branch I wanted, though.
It’s not exactly a palm branch… But it would work. I tried to pull one off, but was unsuccesful. I spotted another smaller one a little further down the road and attempted a second time. Still unsuccesful…
Oh well, no great loss.
A few minutes later, one of the older boys ran up to me and handed me a great big branch from this particular tree (or maybe it’s a shrubbery?). Shweet!
    

Now, I’m not entirely sure why, but a number of the children attempted to dissuade me from carrying this giant branch around with me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it was different from everyone else’s… *shrug* …Either way, I liked it, so I kept carrying it. It also made a nice sun deterrant… …And parasail (I was nearly blown away by the branch catching the wind severaly times)…
On the bright side, at least one of the kids liked it (probably more for the fact that it shielded me from the sun…).
I got to have some nice conversations with some of the older children throughout our time out. Eventually, we came back around to the children’s home, where the younger children departed from us, and the older children continued on. We walked a ways, and eventually stopped at a house (I have no idea what the background of this house is, or if there’s anything connection… it was just a house). There we sang some songs, prayed, fellowshipped, and had a great time. We continued on along a road with a number of flower bushes (which many of the older girls picked flowers from, making very nice boquets).
From there, we reached the road and began walking back to the children’s home. It was a wonderful experience. Definitely unlike anything I’ve done in the States before.

Before I end this post, I must pose this simple question…

…Can you spot the American?

In every step, His guidance.