Adventures in India, Pt. 2

Grand Gospel Tour

One of the things we did in India, that I especially enjoyed was a tremendous trip with my brother-in-law Binoy Thomas, to visit, encourage and share in various cities in India. In 5 days, we had the chance to visit three large cities, with a combined population of over 30 million people, covering almost 4000 miles, preaching a combined 7 times, sharing many Bible discussions, meeting many brethren and both encouraging and being encouraged over and over. 

We took 4 different flights (3 different airlines). India has an excellent domestic air network at great prices.  

 Our first stop on the trip was the city of Mumbai (Bombay) which has over 20 million people, in other words, there are about the same number of people in this city as in the entire country of Cameroon! You can imagine the traffic was pretty heavy. 

We enjoyed being able to meet with brethren, and discuss scripture with people from all over. Our goal was to be an encouragement and a spark, but we were also encouraged ourselves. We were shown tremendous hospitality. 

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Mumbai was such an enormous city!

The "Gateway of India," a landmark of Mumbai. 

Our next stop was the lovely city of Chandigarh, in the north of India. This city of over 1 million is very well laid out, as you can see in the picture above. 

Our goal in Chandigarh was to attend a Preachers' Seminar and to make connections and build faith. It was great getting to meet many brethren, and we both had an opportunity to preach as well. Binoy made such an impression, he was asked to speak again at their graduation ceremony following the seminar. I enjoyed tag-teaming with Binoy. 

 We made sure to only eat in the very best restaurants. :D The whole trip was planned at the last minute (due to my medical checkups), so we had to rough it a little. 

We stayed in dorms with others who were attending. Interesting Note: In India, lights and noise are not considered an impediment to sleep, so turning on all the lights and singing at 3 AM is not considered rude at all. 

We made the journey for the sake of connecting with brethren we had never met. In this regard, it was a huge success, as we were able to make friends and build relationships with many brethren. 

From Chandigarh, we flew out to the city of Bangalore (Bengaluru) which has a population of around 9 million people.  

We arrived in Bangalore on Saturday, and the next day, we both had the opportunity to preach twice, visiting three congregations between us. It was encouraging to see the faith of these people, sometimes in the face of opposition and persecution.  

Once again our goal was not only to speak and preach, but also to connect with people personally and establish and strengthen the bonds through which we can encourage them. We had some very encouraging conversations and hope to build faith. 

Late Sunday Night, we flew back in to Cochin, and returned home. It was a great trip, and I really appreciated the opportunity to see more of India and to meet so many people. Binoy is very zealous for God and striving to be used by him to impact a huge country. It was good to see. 

Well, this post is running pretty long and I STILL have more to share, so I will go ahead and share this with you all, and Lord-willing, get one more post about India out before we are out of Internet range on Thursday! Thanks again to all! 

Adventures in India- Pt. 1

It is hard to believe that 4 weeks have almost passed since we arrived here in India. Time has FLOWN by in a whirlwind, but we want to take a minute to share about our trip before we head back to Cameroon on Wednesday (where the internet is still shut off in our town due to continuing social unrest). We hope you will be encouraged, as we have been. 

Kerala Christian Academy

We have enjoyed being able to help out with the Christian school here, and our kids have been blessed to be back in the Learning Center. Schools remain closed in Cameroon, so it was wonderful getting to participate in Kerala Christian Academy. Binoy and Rebecca have done a great job running their school and we have been able to pick up on some ideas of theirs to apply in our school once it is up and running again.

 Our kids got to be back in a Learning Center finally after 2 and 1/2 months off (due to strikes in Cameroon). 

 Carys, as usual, is part of EVERYTHING. She worked very hard on her "PACES," even scoring her work, which was pretty cute. 

 The kids had Red Day and Green Day. The later bears no connection to a band. 

 Chemistry is the one subject I had in High School that gave me nightmares. I got good grades, but I was always surprised when I did. So naturally, I got to help someone figure out Valence Electrons. I think we got it sorted out. 

 I got to help out doing openings at 8:30, teaching songs and giving devotions. I also helped out some in the Learning Center when needed. 

 Brittney is a really gifted and amazing supervisor. It was fun to see her back in action. 

There were lots of fun activities for the students as well, such as a cooking day and creative office competition. Here was a winning entry. 

Getting Doctored Up

India has considerably better medical care than Cameroon, at quite reasonable costs (about 1/8th of the United States). We had over a dozen doctor visits, dental checkups and fillings, MRIs, extensive lab work, Ultrasounds, Xrays, Colonoscopy, Endoscopy, Medication, and even Surgery done, all for less than $2000! We are so glad that we were able to get some medical issues that have been nagging us sorted out. 

I had so many tests done, as I have had recurring nausea, vomiting and general ill-health for over 5 months. Test after test turned up negative, which was good, but finally, an endoscopy revealed that I have an H. Pylori infection along with Gastro-Esophageal-Reflux Disease which has corroded my Esophagus. I am on medication for the next six months to hopefully repair the damage, and will need to make changes to my diet and lifestyle. If you could pray: 1- The medication I will be taking makes me more susceptible to stomach infections such as Typhoid, which is rampant and widespread in Cameroon, so please pray for protection from that, 2- Pray that I can make adjustments to lifestyle and diet... I am supposed to avoid Tomatoes, Onions, Garlic, Spicy Foods, Fat-Heavy Oils, and Citrus Fruits amongst others. These are things we eat pretty much daily in Cameroon as almost every Cameroonian meal contains some or even all of these ingredients. Your prayers are appreciated, and we are very grateful to finally have a diagnosis and are trusting God to continue to heal. 

Fun Family Times

Everything has not just been hospital visits and shots and needles. We have really had a lot of fun, refreshing times with our family here, enjoying the flavorful food, wrestle times, beautiful countryside, and great family outings. Our hearts are refreshed and renewed to return to Cameroon!

Well, this post has already run pretty long, and I've got around 50 more pictures to share! So, I will wrap it up here for now and God-willing get the second part up in the next day(s). God bless and thanks so much to all who have helped with the cost of this trip and who have prayed for and encouraged us, and especially to our hosts, the wonderful Thomas family!