Home Again

Well it may take me a series of posts to catch up with all that has happened over the past couple weeks. Again I apologize for the lack of updates while I was in India. Each day we hoped to pop in to an internet cafe but all kinds of opportunities kept popping up. The result we only got in touch with technology once while we were overseas.

Let me start at the beginning...

We arrived in Delhi on late on Thursday the 18th (actually it was Friday by the time we got to our hotel) and were extremely grateful to have a hotel shuttle waiting for us when we arrived (a luxery that is often advertized but not actuallized - and it wasn't ever again). We were grateful to have a clean bed as it had been a long tiring trip.

We all (Tania & Mike - my sister and brother-in-law and Jocelyn one of their friends who also joined us) woke up at the crack of dawn as our bodies began to adjust to the 11 1/2 hour difference. We enjoyed an Indian breakfast and a quick connection with a fellow Winklerite who had been in Delhi since late 2006. Nicole Enns stopped by the hotel to pick up a package that hitched a ride with us and shared a little about her ministry in Delhi as we ate breakfast. I encourage you to check out her blog at http://nicoleenns.blogspot.com

Then it was off to Chennai to begin reconnecting with the India Bible Camp Ministry team. And what a great beginning it was. Immediately it felt as though I had come home to my home away from home. The sites, sound and smells were a lot how I had remembered them and it was so great to share that with Tania, Mike and Jocelyn (it was especially fun to watch them as they experienced the many "close calls" of Indian traffic).

It was great to see Antony again after nearly 2 years. There was so much to catch up on and we did till the wee hours of the night.

We didn't plunge too deep into Indian culture just yet as Domino's Pizza was across the street from our hotel. I think Antony did that on purpose to make us feel a little more at home. We were all eager to get into some butter chicken and brota (one of my favorites) but there was plenty of time for that coming so we graciously enjoyed some really good pizza.

Tired from the journey and time change we orginally planned to unwind and relax at the hotel or maybe venture out to see some of the nearby notable sites (not that Chennai is a real tourist location but everyone was interested to experience traffic and just look at how Indians live). However there was a much better option for us to take in. One youth counsel was holding an outreach program in the Northern part of Chennai (where their church is located) in the slums of the city. The pastor was very eager to have us visit - and we discovered later that he had actually even hired a care to drive the hour long trip through the city to pick us up. Already having our own vehicle we drove out and met the pastor who showed us some of his community and told us about his ministry.

What amazing people and amazing churches we are privileged to work with. I can not describe the singing - the thundering singing - we heard as we pulled up to the youth counsel program.

Perhaps before I get to far into telling you about this program I should tell you a little bit about what it's about first.

The Christian Youth Fellowship of India (CYFI) was started after many of young people who worked with the camping programs were eager to continue ministering to their communities. Since September over 700 groups have been established in different churches. We offer materials, training and accountability to these groups and they go nuts!

Each group is asked to once a year reach out to their non-churched friends and host an evening of singing, skits and encouragement. The group that we visited was holding their program that week (every week there's at least one of these programs going in India). The youth counsel of about 30 members had brought in 300 of their friends. The had planned, fundraised and initiated this program on their own. Antony shared that this group had also spent the last 7 day-times in prayer and fasting asking the Lord to use this event to bring about change in the lives of their friends and community. That passion was certainly reflected in the program.

As we were greeted at the door by this youth counsel we could hear amazing praises coming from inside. God's presence there was so overwhelming that many of us were immediately moved to tears. I can't tell you how many responded to the gospel message that night as we don't generally encourage alter calls (which in India people typically just respond to out of respect for their hosts). Instead each attender was personally invited and followed up by the youth counsel. The result is simply amazing. The church is growing! It's not about us and our programs and stats but it's about helping these churches reach their communities and it's working!

I have so much more to say about this event but I really missed the family so I'm going to pull myself away from the computer now. But you can join us this Sunday after church for Indian food and more updates from my time in India. We just ask that you let us know you're coming so we can make sure we prepare enough food. Hope to see you then. And if we don't come back here and I'll tell you about day #2.