One things for sure, the trip from CA to India does not feel any shorter the more times I make the fight. After some extreme hurdles at LAX where my entire reservation magically disappeared from the computer system and a one hour conversation with a representative who made it very clear that it was not her mistake nor her problem, I managed to get a seat on a very crowded plane and to my surprise had an empty seat in between myself and Vicky, a very nice lady who now has India on her radar as she heads off to see her daughter in London. :)
I arrived in London on standby due to the error with my reservation and an overselling of tickets on the British Airways fight. Thankfully my travel agent had done some work for me with the airline while I was en-route and by the time I arrived at the ticketing counter I not only had a seat but I had been upgraded to economy plus. Double the legroom and a wider seat is like a first class upgrade when you’re only half way to your final destination and you just got off an 8.5 hour flight. God is so good!
I arrive in Hyderabad, make it through customs with a few questions about why I travel to India so much (I think I need to get some new stamps in that passport of mine just to throw them off my trail) and found my luggage (always a sigh of relief). Outside the airport Yasu Padam was waiting for me and after hello’s and family updates were exchanged (Indian tradition haha) we were off again. Seven and a half hours later I was home.
The ROCKHARBOR 2011-2012 short term mission team is here now and in the middle of VBS for 1,000 of my favorite little faces in the whole world. It’s going to be an amazing few weeks as the 38 of them make new memories and many experience the amazing work of Harvest India for the first time. It’s wonderful to be back… let the fourth chapter in this saga begin!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
A Good Laugh
We went to the movies yesterday to see the "Tollywood" (Telegu Films) blockbuster Dookudu in celebration of David's 16th Birthday! We paid "extra" and drove to the "nice" theatre in town with stadium seating and A/C... sort of.
Real story:: We sat in VIP with recirculating air. Thanks God, I needed a good laugh!
Real story:: We sat in VIP with recirculating air. Thanks God, I needed a good laugh!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Lookout for leather... God's got this
First read the post on the Harvest India Blog and then continue on...
It truly has been a wonderful time making new friends and developing a partnership with 31 Bits, to bring sustainability to women who are struggling to provide for their children and families in India. The model behind 31 Bits is making a lasting mark in the lives of the women that they are already serving in Uganda.
As the weeks went on we were able to build connections with vendors working in each raw material needed for our 2012 venture... except we were still looking to find a leather factory that would be able to supply us with leather for finishings. We had done the research, phoned in our findings to Premanandam, a friend that Suresh had in Chennai, and thoroughly searched Tenali and Vijayawada for any and all leads on leather in the area. We found absolutely nothing an our leads were getting us nowhere. Our last shot was finding something in Chennai and because of the huge Hindu festivals at the end of the September we could only get train tickets to arrive in Chennai 12 hours before Kallie had to catch her flight. We knew our odds were not looking good. Our train was delayed and we arrived in Chennai starving and a bit exhausted. We grabbed a quick bite and started walking to our first stop that Premanadam had found for us. (Not a good sign since all leather factories are quite some distance outside the city) Half way to our destination it became clear that our connection in Chennnai had no idea what we were looking for as we passed shop after shop of leather belts, purses, wallets, shoes, you name it. We re-explained that what we wanted to see was a leather factory for the purchase of raw leather. Something seemed to click but Kallie and I had already lost hope of anything working out in our limited time. We jumped in Premanandam's car and headed out of the city, a much better sign. We arrived one hour later in Chrompet at the building site of the church Premanandam had planted in 1996. We laughed as we completely lost hope and gave in that our leather factory hunt was turning into another ministry tour. Just as we were mentally about to throw in the towel, I was reminded of all the times in my journey in India I have been completely taken aback at the ways the Harvest India network is able to accomplish almost any task because of the magnitude of people in our vast network. As we sat down to have a cold drink, a man approached the church. It turns out that Chrompet is one of the largest producers of leather in ALL OF INDIA... AND the man approaching us, Bani Patrick, is a church member and works one of the machines in one of the bigger factories in the town. He immediately went to his factory and got permission for us to visit the factory. They approved permission for us to visit and within 10 minutes we were on our way to the leather factory! We were greeted by George, the sweetest man you could ever meet, who processes all of the orders for the factory. He personally toured us through the entire factory, showing us each and every step of the process, answering all of our questions and introducing us to all of the staff. AMAZING! We were then escorted to his office where he let us hand choose samples and place a small sample order on the spot that will be ready for pick up in just 15 days!
In utter shock, Kallie and I sat in amazement as we recognized the most unlikely course of events that God had chosen to lead us to the exact place he wanted us to be... fully recognizing that HE IS TOTALLY IN CONTROL and He's got this all under control. Hysterical, humbled and having just had our minds blown Kallie and I headed back to the hotel... In tow... new friends, a leather factory partner, and deepened faith in Christ's leading as we move forward in this Kingdom advancing work.
IN SHORT::
Because Premanadam responded when he was called by Christ Jesus to plant a church in Chrompet in 1996 Bani Patrick came to know Christ's love in his life. Bani Patrick got a job working in a leather factorry and used his influennce to get us a meeting with George. George is the exact person 31 Bits needed to meet before they left India on October 2nd at 5:30AM and at 7:30PM on October 1st Kallie and I sat at George's dest sipping chai and building a partnership... ALL OF WHICH IS BECAUSE JESUS IS WONDERFUL!
It truly has been a wonderful time making new friends and developing a partnership with 31 Bits, to bring sustainability to women who are struggling to provide for their children and families in India. The model behind 31 Bits is making a lasting mark in the lives of the women that they are already serving in Uganda.
As the weeks went on we were able to build connections with vendors working in each raw material needed for our 2012 venture... except we were still looking to find a leather factory that would be able to supply us with leather for finishings. We had done the research, phoned in our findings to Premanandam, a friend that Suresh had in Chennai, and thoroughly searched Tenali and Vijayawada for any and all leads on leather in the area. We found absolutely nothing an our leads were getting us nowhere. Our last shot was finding something in Chennai and because of the huge Hindu festivals at the end of the September we could only get train tickets to arrive in Chennai 12 hours before Kallie had to catch her flight. We knew our odds were not looking good. Our train was delayed and we arrived in Chennai starving and a bit exhausted. We grabbed a quick bite and started walking to our first stop that Premanadam had found for us. (Not a good sign since all leather factories are quite some distance outside the city) Half way to our destination it became clear that our connection in Chennnai had no idea what we were looking for as we passed shop after shop of leather belts, purses, wallets, shoes, you name it. We re-explained that what we wanted to see was a leather factory for the purchase of raw leather. Something seemed to click but Kallie and I had already lost hope of anything working out in our limited time. We jumped in Premanandam's car and headed out of the city, a much better sign. We arrived one hour later in Chrompet at the building site of the church Premanandam had planted in 1996. We laughed as we completely lost hope and gave in that our leather factory hunt was turning into another ministry tour. Just as we were mentally about to throw in the towel, I was reminded of all the times in my journey in India I have been completely taken aback at the ways the Harvest India network is able to accomplish almost any task because of the magnitude of people in our vast network. As we sat down to have a cold drink, a man approached the church. It turns out that Chrompet is one of the largest producers of leather in ALL OF INDIA... AND the man approaching us, Bani Patrick, is a church member and works one of the machines in one of the bigger factories in the town. He immediately went to his factory and got permission for us to visit the factory. They approved permission for us to visit and within 10 minutes we were on our way to the leather factory! We were greeted by George, the sweetest man you could ever meet, who processes all of the orders for the factory. He personally toured us through the entire factory, showing us each and every step of the process, answering all of our questions and introducing us to all of the staff. AMAZING! We were then escorted to his office where he let us hand choose samples and place a small sample order on the spot that will be ready for pick up in just 15 days!
In utter shock, Kallie and I sat in amazement as we recognized the most unlikely course of events that God had chosen to lead us to the exact place he wanted us to be... fully recognizing that HE IS TOTALLY IN CONTROL and He's got this all under control. Hysterical, humbled and having just had our minds blown Kallie and I headed back to the hotel... In tow... new friends, a leather factory partner, and deepened faith in Christ's leading as we move forward in this Kingdom advancing work.
IN SHORT::
Because Premanadam responded when he was called by Christ Jesus to plant a church in Chrompet in 1996 Bani Patrick came to know Christ's love in his life. Bani Patrick got a job working in a leather factorry and used his influennce to get us a meeting with George. George is the exact person 31 Bits needed to meet before they left India on October 2nd at 5:30AM and at 7:30PM on October 1st Kallie and I sat at George's dest sipping chai and building a partnership... ALL OF WHICH IS BECAUSE JESUS IS WONDERFUL!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Hand Block Printing Factory, New Friends, Peddapuram and Waiting on the Bride!
During IPP's recent visit we spent time launching their expansion of 30 women, ransomed out of prostitution, and given HOPE, DIGNITY and FREEDOM in both our Ashraya and Freedom Centers. In preparation for their fall line of Punjammies we got to visit the block printing factory where the organic Kalnkari [Call-N-Car-E] fabric is skillfully transformed from a boring cream color into detailed paterns in vibrant colors and shades. 
The process is exquisite to watch as trained craftsman carve wood blocks, mix colorful dies and then hand press the dipped blocks onto the cloth, revealing a pattern that takes hours to complete. 
Often the fabric is multiple shades requiring that the worker wait for the preceding color to fully dry before applying the remaining colors in the design. We had the opportunity to spend some time watching the craftsmen at work, poke around the factory and even take home some cool Kalnkari creations.
The process is exquisite to watch as trained craftsman carve wood blocks, mix colorful dies and then hand press the dipped blocks onto the cloth, revealing a pattern that takes hours to complete. 
Often the fabric is multiple shades requiring that the worker wait for the preceding color to fully dry before applying the remaining colors in the design. We had the opportunity to spend some time watching the craftsmen at work, poke around the factory and even take home some cool Kalnkari creations.
Later in the week we traveled to Peddapuram to check in with our ministry projects, love on a new group of men and women afflicted with leprosy and encourage some of our church planters. While we were there we met some of the kids in the area. In the morning, before school, a few boys would come to the gate of the house and wave, staring in amazement at the "white people," but by day three we were all friends... they would bring their classmates over during lunch break, I would pray over them and ask them questions about their studies and their families and then they would be back off to school.
We rounded out the week at the union of Anand and Sirisha. Both are foster children of Suresh and Christina and they have both been with Harvest India for quite some time. I have had the opportunity to get to know both of them over the last few years and can say with confidence that they are equally yoked in their love for Jesus and ministry. I was thrilled to be a part of their big day! The wedding was schedule for 10:30am, but when we arrived at the Harvest India campus to collect Suresh and Christina we were told that there would be a delay (Indian time) and the wedding was being pushed to noon. At noon we got a call that the cultural traditions surrounding marriage had run long and the bride had still not left her village to travel to the wedding location. We arrived at the ceremony at 4:30pm and neither the bride or groom were ready. We laughed that weddings rarely start on time but this was getting ridiculous. Many of the guests had been waiting at the church since 9:00am. At about 6:00pm the couple arrived. The pastor conducting the ceremony and everyone who spoke at the service joked about the delay of the marriage and by about 7:00pm it was official. The longest wedding day I've ever experienced, but hey you only get one so I suppose they made the most out of it!
Thanks for all your continued prayers!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Southern California to Southern India
Well I've made it! After 30+ hours of traveling by plane, train, and automobile I've arrived safely back to the place that has captured my heart. As I exited the plane in Chennai the thick stench of Indian air filled my nose and as I started to gag, I laughed smiled and thought, "I'm home." After an overnight in Chennai's finest Royal Paris Hotel,(HAHA) we were off to the train station for a six hour extravaganza of screaming babies and hot rail cars. When we arrived in Tenali I was overwhelmed to see 12 of my favorite faces. Greeted by the bulk of the amazing staff I am privileged to work with, I was welcomed by floral lays and a 3 pound floral bouquet... it was unnecessary but AWESOME nonetheless! Everyone here thinks I look fat; well it's actually just their way of saying that I look good, and healthy but you can't beat the verbiage on that cultural discrepancy. :)!
Kick starting my 10 weeks on the ground, we are currently wrapping up a mission trip with Revolution Church, visiting us from Long Beach. Yesterday, we attended VBS with the team and today we are headed to Church service at Harvest India's newest Church building, right in the heart of downtown Tenali.
Thank you for your continued prayers! I love you all
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
