Archive for November, 2008
Rested
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
It has been over a week since returning to Kansas and believe it or not I am planning my next trip. Thankfully I have help this time around, a good travel agent, a finance person and a smaller team to take.
For whatever reason the recovery time physically has been more challenging and the adjustment period a little tough; thank the Lord for drugs as they certainly have helped me sleep through the night. I hate waking up at 2am, then 3:30am, then 5:00 – why can’t I just sleep like everyone else? The price to be paid for traveling to India.
December 7 is going to be a big day in Tuni, unfortunately I won’t be there to enjoy it. Many people have asked me about events happening in Orissa and Madaya Pradesh, states north of Andhra Pradesh where violence is erupting and national Christians are being killed and yes those things are taking place and yet I want to report that the opposite is also taking place. Christian leaders/pastors are coming together and enjoying the freedom of worship and religion that does exist within India and on December 7 it is anticipated that over 10,000 people will gather and celebrate their faith and its freedom as well as pray for those in their country that need a touch from God. It’s too bad that there won’t be any media attention but hopefully I will be able to see the video of this event when I return in February.
I just saw a post that the airport in Bangkok has been swarmed and taken over and that flights are disrupted and order has yet to be restored; just another instance of the possible perils that exist when one leaves the country but in my mind just creates all the more excitment for international travel – Oh how I love it!!!!
So what’s on the horizon for Wells for Life? More projects. I need more funding to drill more water wells. Right now people are waiting for me to come and bring water and I can’t because I don’t have the money, your help though can make it possible to change lives – hundres and thousands all with the stroke of a pen and a check. Go to my website to give at www.wellsforlife.org and visit the How to Give page.
More later…..
Flying home
Sunday, November 16th, 2008
The trip back to the US officially began almost 24 hours ago (its morning in Bangkok and evening in the US as I write) when we loaded up the car and started driving for the airport. Before reaching Visak airport, (their building a new one which should be open in January 09 and if it is anything like the new airport in Hyderabad, it will be awesome) we stopped at New Life and said our good bye’s to the children and it was amazing what makes you get choked up – I said good bye to one of the fellows who always drives Dr. Premdas around until I show up, then I take over the driving duties, anyway, I hugged him, slipped him 500 RS and started crying; man this place grows on you.
The children at New Life are so loving and caring and hungry for love. Looking in their eyes and seeing them smile and say I love you in sign language was enough to convince me that this was the real deal and not just some response to a white guy. These kids, all 164 of them are truly grateful for the place they have been given and are thriving in this new environment.
I write from the EVA airline lounge and thankfully we had 4 hours of precious sleep in a day room here at the airport. Traveling with Betsy and Katie has been a lot of fun, they are flexible, reliable and like a sponge – taking everything in and most importantly enjoying most things they are experiencing. I think if the food was a little better they would have begged me to not take them home. These ladies remind me of my friend Bob who always comes to India with syrup, picante sauce, an assortment of M&M’s and peanut butter crackers. He dislikes the food so much but loves the people tremendously so his stash keeps him going. When I mentioned this to Betsy and Katie they lit up and were lamenting that Bob wasn’t with us. Maybe next time.
I have asked both Betsy and Katie to write some things for me concerning the trip from their perspective and I hope to have a newsletter out before year’s end with their insights.
So what’s it like flying home you might wonder; not bad provided there isn’t a screaming baby who seemingly can’t be quieted (1am this takes place), full flights on airplanes which aren’t the most comfortable, and yet there is alwasy the occasional opportunity to spring for an upgrade provided the space is available and the price economical which suprisingly can take place on international airlines. Then there is the airport time; 8 hours in Hyderabad between flights, 7 in Bangkok, almost 3 in Taipei and 1.5 in Los Angeles, so a grueling schdule if you aren’t prone to sleeping on planes. The good news is that it will be over soon and I will be back home in cold Kansas which is somewhat refreshing as it has been rather warm in India.
I better close as the flight is going to be called soon…….sleep tight everyone.
Today is Saturday…
Saturday, November 15th, 2008
Today is Saturday, I think, it must be because we start the long journey home. As I type my laptop is saying its Friday but that’s because it is set to Kansas time so it’s really Saturday and I am waiting for the roosters to start crowing and the boys to start making noise. I am sleeping in Dr. Premdas’ office here at Light of Love and in the adjoining room are Betsy and Katie, sacked out and most likely will only awaken if I go in there and rouse them from their slumber. I am jealous of them as I certainly can’t sleep like they can even with Ambien.
I don’t know how many hours of flight time and airport layover time we have but it is a bunch, probably 2 days worth. My foot is swelling again thanks to the stress and air travel and according to Dr. Sonya I need to keep my foot elevated; who knows maybe I will score an upgrade on the trip home. Friday was our final day of work; we visited the New Life Children’s Home property and dedicated the Leesa cottage which is appropriately named after Leesa Endicott the wife of my good friend Gary. The two of them are wonderful people and supportive of the work here in India and of Wells for Life. Unfortunately Leesa is struggling with cancer and with every gain it seems there is a setback but she is a fighter and keeps going despite the pain from the disease and the treatment. Saying cancer sucks doesn’t do it justice, it more than sucks, it’s downright nasty or whatever other adjective you want to use but just make sure it implies misery because that is what her body feels like to her, miserable. Anyway, not to dwell on the bad, Leesa has tremendous fortitude and Dr. Premdas felt this would be a wonderful way to honor her by naming the 1st constructed building on the New Life property in her honor and as a point for everyone to remember her in their prayers.
In addition to dedicating Leesa’s cottage, around 600 women from the nearby areas assembled under a tent, don’t think camping, but a rickety metal platform with steep shallow stairs to ascend and descend upon and moves and sways with every step. Now picture large and I mean large sheets of cloth which are multi colored and numerous patterns. These are the roof and are supported by long polls which are somehow tied off to a tree or branch. On the ground are tarps or more of the same sheet material and when I say sheet don’t think of your bed sheets as that is certainly not what it is, think some old movie like Lawrence of Arabia or The Ten Commandments and you would see these tent structures well that is what it is here in India but in a larger scale. Back to the women, there were a lot and they were there as part of our micro finance work. Several women shared how a small loan of less than $100 enabled them to get the start in business that they needed to end the cycle of poverty.
One amazing story was a woman who with her loan was able to have an auto rickshaw and now some 10 plus years later has an entire fleet of them for which drivers pay her a lease payment. There were many other stories, too many to list, but the end result is micro finance works. Capital is the only thing these women lack. We want to end that lack and so were going to start raising awareness and funds and see a micro finance program started in the Visak district.
If you want to read more about this, purchase A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and The Business Solution for Ending Poverty. Of all the books out now on this subject, for the purposes of India, this is the best, practical work and is easy to understand.
My next trip to India will be in February sometime, exact dates to be revealed later but in the interim I promise more entries and hopefully it will be great content!
Some brief snapshots of our time here in India….
Friday, November 14th, 2008
We arrived in Tuni at Light of Love Children’s Home around 9pm, about 8 hours later than desired but after 3 days of traveling we finally made it. I really do enjoy flying west on EVA from LAX to Bangkok but because of flight timings from Thailand to India, going west takes about an additional 14 hours(compared to flying through Europe) which consists of air time and airport time provided you want to fly south into a place like Chennai or Hyderabad. If you are asking why I keep going West, the answer lies in the fact I am hungry for more EVA miles and I enjoy the lounge access in the various airports thanks to my accumulated miles.
Tuesday the entire day was spent traveling from village to village dedicating just 3 water projects. Normally this shouldn’t take all day but for some reason it does. Maybe this is because each village is separated by a long bumpy, crater filled dirt road for which you have to drive slow and this joined with the influx of animals and other vehicles vying for road space make travel a little slow. Each village visited was unique in that the faces were all different except for the fact that upon our arrival they displayed their joy and excitement at our arrival and presence. It is really evident that our being here is special for them and it is evident that they truly are grateful for the gift of water.
In each village I had the opportunity to remind the villagers that just because they are Indian and of the Dalit community, they have value and worth as people, individuals created by God with a unique calling and purpose. They are not to just live, exist, consume earth’s natural resources, but they are to seek after their creator God and discover for themselves who He is and what He has for them. A message of hope and value; something they don’t hear a lot of. The Dalits live lives of oppression and marginalization by the upper caste Hindus. When you hear their stories and know their plight it really does make you sad. I wish I could do more.
I finally got to see the kids at Light of Love, they were saying their evening prayers and as soon as I walked into the hall, the place erupted and immediately 2 girls ran to me. One couldn’t have been more than 3 and the other 5 and for whatever reason they each grabbed a hand and wouldn’t let go. These are 2 young, precious souls that I haven’t seen before and don’t know why they picked me but you talk about feeling loved and wanted – these 2 little ones showed me that and it made me cry, in fact just thinking about it brings the tears again. When was the last time a little young stranger ran to you and grabbed your hand and didn’t let go?
God is big and is working. That is about all I can say. The media has all sorts of things to say and portray and yet God is alive and working and it is evident as I travel. If you are a Christ follower and have any interest in India you have probably heard and read reports about the persecution taking place in the central northern parts of India, specifically Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The reality is that this type of thing takes place in other places and it just isn’t reported but by reading the reports it would make you think that the Christian church is running scared from the Hindu nationals throughout India and this just isn’t the case. You probably didn’t know but the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh is a Christian, his son in law, younger than 30 is taking a strong stance with the Christians and is personally underwriting some large events in which Christian pastors are mobilizing and showing their solidarity for the cause of Christ. One such rally is going to take place on December 6 and it is estimated that over 10,000 pastors will gather, this is just the pastors and doesn’t include their wives, fellow church members or their immediate family who might chose to join them, but in any event there is going to be a gathering with the purpose of bringing praise to God for all that He is doing in the land. Yes, they will pray for those suffering in the bordering states but to assume that India’s Christians are fleeing and under intense attack is simply not true. It may be true that some are suffering, yet this shouldn’t surprise us because scripture tells us this will happen; notwithstanding this, I don’t want you to believe that it is all evil here as it isn’t.
I traveled to Trichy which is in Tamil Nadu, a southern state on the eastern coast and here I met with Father Dhana and we dedicated 7 projects of which 1 was for a government school and another on a farm for which water would be made available for 1500 students and orphan children. Of these projects, 4 were carried out in response to an elected official who is responsible for approximately 12,000 lower caste and Dalit people who have been suffering terribly because they lack water. Wells for Life is responsible for bringing 13 projects to villages in which he is responsible for and requested another 10 for which I hope to raise funds. In any event, this fellow received the highest service award possible from the State government because of his work for the poor and providing for their basic needs. Wells for Life was the main component of this man’ effectiveness in his villages and for which recognition was given to the point that the ruling officials are suggesting to all of the village leaders that they follow this fellows lead and utilize private NGO’s like Wells for Life to meet the basic needs of the villagers. An honoring thought yet hopefully not the breaking of the dam as far as project proposals go; yet if it is then God must have something big in store for us financially as it will take a bunch of money to meet the tremendous needs that exist.
I am in Tuni again and will be leaving for New Life Colony, a place where a good friend of mine is still working on raising $13,000 which will meet her pledge of $30,000 towards building homes for 21 families who were displaced in Tuni because they were Dalit and lived in an area that the upper caste people wanted to re-occupy. Funds are still needed yet construction is on going and many homes are completed and occupied. Wells for Life in partnership with the Children’s Ministry of Westside Family Church have brought water to this place and all are enjoying their new found fortune which is based in the love of God towards them and is being demonstrated tangibly through water, land acquisition and home construction. Lest I forget, another good friend, Bob Gettemy from Santa Fe NM has also contributed funds for food and other household items which have helped these 21 families make the transition from homelessness to home owners.
That is all for now, hopefully I can wrap this all up and include a link to some pictures and video from our numerous water project dedications; until then God’s blessings on each of you.