Chendu Sekhar thoroughly applying himself to his studies (8th grade)
[Click Image to go to our picasa page for a hi-resolution download]
dil i gence 1 |ˈdiləjəns| noun careful and persistent work or effort.
I need to write a little bit about how Indian kids study. It's quite amazing, even somewhat entertaining to watch them. The amount of time they spend studying is simply staggering. Some kids start studying at 4am and continue until it's time to go to school about 8:30am. After school ends at 3pm, most will remain at school and continue studying until about 10pm.
Basically the entirety of every day of the week except for Sunday is spent on education.
While our school's level of performance is right up their with the best of them, our strategy has been to utilize better teachers in order to adequately compensate for less study time. Even so, they often study from 6:30-7:30am, and again in the late afternoon from 5-7pm, and finally from 8:30-10pm.
Regardless of how much time is spent studying, diligent is perhaps the word which best describes the ethic and effort of the average Indian student.
Inspired?
Soli Deo Gloria,
Josh
Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text
A few days ago, I saw some city workmen and a city work woman breaking up a drainage ditch near the ministry. So, as usual, I grabbed my camera and captured it.
It's really amazing to see that without the aid of a jackhammer, or gloves, two men and a woman broke up the whole ditch in a single afternoon's work. And even more so since it was pouring rain.
(UPDATE: I think the idea here was to replace the above ground sewage ditch with one that would run down the street below the surface of the road. And since the men were wearing construction hats (off and on), I have to assume the city government is responsible for the work.)
A famous Telugu Christian artist recently wrote a song in tribute to our late chief minister, YS Rajasekhara Reddy. His team produced a video to go along with it.
By watching this video can get a sense of the ethos that has pervaded the nation during the last few weeks.
On Saturday afternoon we held a type of art day for the Children's Home kids. About one hundred and sixty children drew scenes featuring Christian based themes and Indian landscapes.
It was a lot of fun watching the children diligently creating their drawings. Some of the smaller children created some surprisingly creative scenes.
I made this short video to commemorate the occasion. I guarantee it will be worth your time to watch it: (Also, more pictures below)
Mostly Original Artwork:
Using Portrait From School Book For Reference (8th Grade)
Indian Village Scene
Local Mountains, Sky, Birds, Trees and Housing Style
Local Fruit Tree and Bird (6th Grade Student)
It was a great afternoon. The children really put a lot of effort into their drawings. The took special care with every pen, marker, and pencil stroke. We will have to do it again.
I think everyone can see that the world has changed quite a bit since 9/11; The social media revolution being one of the biggest changes. As far as I can tell, no where in the history of the world has global informational connectivity been as readily accessible as it is today.
The possibilities for Christians to make much of God on the Internet are endless.
The resurgence hosted this short clip a few days back.
A Skilled Indian Carpenter Installs Our Door Latch
skilled |skild| adjective having or showing the knowledge, ability, or training to perform a certain activity or task well : a lab technician skilled in electronics | skilled draftsmen. • based on such training or experience; showing expertise : skilled legal advice. • (of work) requiring special abilities or training : a highly skilled job.
(See 1 Corinthians 3:10)
Last week we were blessed to have a door latch installed on our door. During the previous five or six years there were only two possible positions the door could be in;
1. It would hang wide open. 2. It could be dead bolted shut.
To solve this, we sought out a skilled carpenter to install a door latch. (spring door catches are still new here in India) It was quite interesting to watch the carpenter working with the door to get it the way he wanted it. He did a great job, and it was noticeably different from the typical Western approach.
For your enjoyment and viewing pleasure, I made a quick video of the process. It's Indian carpentry in action!
Here at the ministry all the doors are locked with padlocks. From time to time keys are lost. Today was one of those days when all the keys to one room were lost.
To share the unique experience of what re-opening a room in India looks like, I am posting a video.
Even though the door was locked, it was not that difficult to open, unlike the doors the Lord shuts. Providently our door was opened in short order and Lord willing it won't become 'shut' again. When God shuts a door, it's shut. When He opens one, nothing anyone can do will close it again. God is the sovereign gatekeeper of every event.
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens...
I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name." Revelation 3:7,8
So what to do about closed doors? Seeing if a door is truly closed/opened by God is often difficult to see through the fog of human events. If we have a sincere desire to put God's will first (both decreed and commanded will) and sanctified reasoning coupled with prayer says 'it can and should be opened', I say go for it, and God permitting it can and will be opened since heaven has directed it. Otherwise, if God in His infinite wisdom decreed it not to be opened, all the pounding away will not budge it. And regardless if the door is open or closed our attitude ought to be,
'not my will, but yours, be done.'
Soli Deo Gloria,
Josh
Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text
I know this is a little bit dated already, but I think this video really demonstrates how we can take advantage of the passing of our American Idols for the purpose of the kingdom. In so doing, even the "untimely" death of superstars like Michael Jackson have purpose, design, and aren't wasted.
Thank you for praying. By God's grace the trip went well yesterday. It was a trip with a single purpose, to fellowship with and encourage our dear brothers and sisters who are serving faithfully in the remote mountain areas of the state.
We started first thing in the morning with several brothers and drove for about an hour on level ground before reaching the mountains. From then on our trajectory was vertical. We wound our way up though the mountains for two hours before arriving at the village which was tucked away in a small valley.
The mountain driving portion of the trip was slightly harrowing since following the road meant the vehicle's direction would change constantly as we zigzagged our way up the side of the mountain as fast as we could - all the while dodging oncoming traffic because the road was one lane wide.
That was pretty exciting stuff, and consequently one of the brothers lost his lunch a few times on the way back. After the last time he was moved to the front, and I ended up taking his seat and discovered that the seat was still yellowish and moist since all the mess hadn't been cleaned up.
I faced it like a man, and after an hour or so, it reminded me (in an incomparable way) of my sin, which reeked infinitely more, yet Christ valiantly took it upon Himself and bore it on the Cross, along with the sin-stench of countless multitudes of others whom He died for. In life sometimes taking up my cross has meant taking the seat no one else wants to sit in. It's messy business.
Christ Came To Take Our Filth To Himself
The time at the village was wonderful. The director was blessed to fellowship with a few pastors and their wives from the area. I really enjoyed seeing them all as well as breathing the relatively fresh mountain air and soaking in the majesty of God's creation.
I was basically along to pray, take pictures, and smile at the people. And I definitely consider it time well spent.
For your viewing pleasure, I created this four and a half minute youtube video which will rapidly take you all the way though yesterday's exciting journey in less than five minutes. I am still experimenting with Google soundtracks, so please bear with the audio selection.
10th Class Boys From Our School Salute The Indian Colors During Their March Today
It was sixty-two years ago today that India became an independent nation. This morning our school held a celebration in honor of this event. [Video at bottom of post]
10th Class Boys Demonstrate Their Acrobatic Skills
10th Class Science Project Award Winner
8th Class Science Project Award Winner
Indian Airforce Maneuvers
Here is a little video I put together from the event this morning;
India has advanced considerably since their independence from the British empire in 1947. No longer a third world country, they haven't suffered from major famines since the early 1970s which even then was averted by emergency foreign aid.
During the middle ages famines were so bad that entire provinces of India were depopulated. Famines continued to rage through the centuries claiming millions of lives up through the time India was incorporated into the British empire.
India was and still is (to some extent) heavily dependent on massive amounts of rainfall for a good harvest. However this year has been a dry one for several regions of India. I have been told that millions of dollars of crops have been lost already, and that there has been some talk of famine. By God's grace it does not appear that this year will be anything like the famines India has experienced in the past.
Famines are pretty sobering experiences, the bible has a lot to say about them. It is natural, even healthy for us to ask ourselves why they happen. Ultimately God says that He is sovereign over all things, including rain (Jer 5:24, Amos 4:7) Jesus points out that it is really amazing that God ever allows rain for those who don't believe in him. (Mat 5:45)
We can't say that anyone deserves drought more than another. Ultimately none of us are innocent - as Christ says about those whom the tower of Silaom fell on (Luk 13:4) - they were no more deserving of that terrible fate than any others. None of us are innocent, we all (Americans) deserve a 9/11, a hurricane Katrina, a Southeast Asia Tsunami, an Iranian Earthquake, and ultimately the greatest disaster of all, the second death that awaits everyone who's lives are not hid in Christ.
It's very sobering.
Here are a few photos that tell the stories of famines past in India.
Relief in Bellary, Madras Presidency 1877; more than 5 million died in India
Drought was a major cause of famine
Terrible
The 1876-1878 Great famine was tied to increased taxes and drought
Binnamungalum Relief Kitchen Bangalore 1877 same place as above photo
December 28th, 1943 Famine relief. Royal Air force airman hands out food.
As I write this article all I can think is how merciful God has been to withhold famine from our land for so long, and how great a warning the previous famines stand to instruct us not to turn away from Him. I pray also, that we will see the goodness of God in sending Christ to die for all our sins, and will live accordingly, by His grace.
I think there is a helpful connection between these two verses:
learn to do good; seek justice; correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause
"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow." Isiah 1:17,18
Soli Deo Gloria,
Josh
Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text
Well it has happened - the first month is over. It went by quickly, and now it is time to reflect on some of the Providences of God at work during this period.
Ministry:
God has blessed every day with much joy in Him, it has been fruitful. Fellowship with brothers in Christ has been excellent. One of the fruits has been this Blog. It has been a joy that I look forward to every day. I pray this grace continues and improves.
The interview series has been a challenge and a joy at the same time. I have some new ideas that I am planning to implement in the future interviews. I have at least three more scheduled at this point. Lord willing I will be able to take them and get them online this month.
Study:
I have been blessed to eat richly from the word and observe the transforming work of God on me. That has been wonderful.
While I have certain books I am studying, I am pursuing a special study of the Gospel and the effects and implications of the Gospel on the Christian life. I am hoping to write about some of this in the posts to come.
Culture:
Since I arrived I have been living on a diet consisting mostly of fried vegetable curries with a weekly meal of chicken curry.
As it turned out I experienced a few ugly encounters with rogue goats - you might be able to tell that I am not particularly fond of them - I think they despise me. However, one thing is certain, I do enjoy eating them. Curried goat on rice, mmm, tasty.
Got Goat?
Weather:
It has been raining sporadically. The weather has been warmer than usual for this time of year. It was only a few years ago this time there was so much rain that the streets were flooded.
The monsoons have a cooling effect that brings the temperature down into the 80s and 70s. But if the sun comes out the day after a hard rain the temperature skyrockets and the humidity reaches an insane level.
As I write this post it is 9:45am and the temperature is already 84 degrees even though the sky is overcast.
Lots of rushing water in front of the home base
Thank you for your prayers. I appreciate your support, it has been good, and I encourage you to continue to pray for the ministry and for me also.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Josh
Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text
A few years ago I visited the cemetery of a major church in Chennai, India. Cemeteries are located sparsely in India since the vast majority of the deceased cremated. Cemeteries are mainly used by minority populations of Christians and Muslims.
This particular cemetery was an old one that the British established back in the late 1700s or early 1800s. I was struck by the heroic epitaphs which revealed how they lived and died a few centuries ago. So many long forgotten stories.
One epitaph in particular caught my attention and so I decided to see if I could find out more about the guy.
John Noble's Resting Place
NAT 1779 OB XVI. July 1827 AET 48
Here Rest The Earthy Remains Of John Noble C. B. Founder Of The Corps Of Horse Artillery On The Madras Establishment
Distinguished By All That Adorns The Soldier The Citizen And The Christian The Ardour Of A Chivalrous Spirit Tempered By Sound Judgment And Sustained By A Just Confidence In His Own Resources Generous And Warm Affections Regulated By Strict Integrity And The Crown Of His Other Virtues Unaffected And Humbly Piety
After A Brilliant Career Of Military Service He Returned From The Short Enjoyment Of His Well Earned Honours In His Native Land To Lay His Ashes In This Theatre Of His Former Glory
G.552
Royal Horse Drawn Artillery
A few days later I googled him and found some hits that revealed more about his life. I discovered that most of the resources on his life are available in Google books. Apparently Noble was a good friend of the Duke of Wellington. You history lovers out there will remember him as the able British commander who defeated Napoleon at the decisive battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Duke of Wellington
Here is Col. Noble's obituary;
THE LATE. COL. NOBLE
We have to add another to the long list of distinguished individuals whom this present year has taken from amongst us, in recording the demise of Lieut.-Colonel John Noble, of the Madras Artillery, Companion of the Bath, in his 48th year: which event took place during the night of the 16th instant, on board the Roxburgh Castle, when she had just completed her voyage from England.
The military career of Lieut.-Colonel Noble, C. B., was equally brilliant and useful. He participated in most of the principal services of the coast army, during the last 32 years, and was, on all occasions, distinguished for judgment, spirit, and decision. He formed the noble corps of horse artillery, both European and native, for which command he was selected in 1805, by Sir John Cradock, on the recommendation of his Grace the Duke of Wellington, whose confidence on service, and whose friendship in private life, Lieut.- Colonel Noble enjoyed and merited.
An obituary notice is, generally speaking, of all things the most difficult to pen. There are the many to conciliate and the few to satisfy; but, in the instance of Lieut.-Colonel Noble, the suffrages of most men will surely be united ; for while few have attained a more honourable distinction as a soldier, still fewer have acquired an equal degree of love and esteem as members of society. He had the happy talent to command without severity, and to preserve discipline and good order without losing the affections of his officers and men. He ruled through the medium of attachment, and those who served under him were professionally efficient and privately happy. He may, in word, without out disparagement to others, and without the fear of envy, (for envy dwells not in the tomb,) be held out as an example to the generality of those he has left behind him. His abilities were of the first order; and his tact and observation, aided by experience, had gained for him an unusual knowledge of his profession. He was pious without ostentation, just from principle, friendly from feeling, generous from the nobleness of his nature, brave and enterprising from a chivalric spirit, decided from an excellent judgment and consequent self-confidence. Character distinguished him, truth guided him, and honour accompanied him. He is gone! and his fame is the comfort and consolation of his surviving friends.—Mad.Gov.Gaz. July26,
Madras Horse Artillery in Action
It seems to me that this man was a Christian, a warrior, and a gentlemen. A lot has been recorded about his military career, I wish more had been recorded about his walk with the Lord as he served in Southeast Asia. It was once said, "how often faithful work is forgotten, and forgotten work is recorded above."
SoliDeo Gloria
Josh
Reform your life and doctrine, meet with God in the text
Four days ago as I was grabbing a cup of coffee from my percolator I noticed a sparrow perched on the ledge outside of the window. It was chirping and seemed distressed. As I began to watch the creature it started moving about rapidly, chirping and glancing about now and then. Suddenly it dawned on me that this was the first time I had really taken time to examine an Indian sparrow.
It's appearance was not much different from the American Midwest sparrows that live where I come from. In fact I couldn't discern any difference without googling for a photo of one from back home.
It didn't take long before the idea came to get up really close and take a detailed clip of it. I find it helpful to every now and then examine and meditate on God's creation as an aid to seeing the majesty and glory of God.
Here is the clip,
(Hint: I made this one available in High Quality, You might want to switch to 'HQ' to see all the clarity possible.)
It's time for some action footage. In this clip some Nagaland boys demonstrate their traditional spear kicking contest by using a sandal instead of an actual spear. As far as I can tell, the idea here is to see who can kick the spear the highest. The higher it goes, the more popular he will be with the Nagaland ladies.
If you have been tuning into the interview series, you might have noticed that the sky has been overcast in every interview. Monsoon season is in full swing now, and we have been the recipients of some serious cloud bursting carnage over the past few weeks. It has actually been a challenge to find a slot for our outdoor interviews in the small windows of opportunity between rains.
This video is a collage of clips from around the headquarters typifying the Indian monsoon season. Enjoy! ...oh and the lightning strike is for real.
I am a bit tired, but I am going to take a crack at this anyways.
5AM Thursday, July 30th I had a great 24 hour day yesterday. Shortly after the five O' Clock AM prayer meetings, we drove to the airport and picked up our director. From there we had a short time of thanksgiving and debriefing.
1PM Thursday Got in some good reading and much needed prayer.
4PM Thursday Later in the afternoon, the director asked me if I wanted to go with him to the 5th anniversary meeting at a church five hours drive South of here. I accepted his offer and we left at 4Pm. Thankfully we drove at only a moderate speed, even then we narrowly escaping death with each passing moment. Check out Peaceful Insanity to get a faint idea of the experience.
9PM Thursday By the time we reached the meeting it was 9PM, and I had a smashing headache. And yet in spite of a three day journey across the world, the director still looked very much at the top of his game. (The meeting had been going on for a few hours by the time we arrived)
We walked from the car past the meeting into the house where we were served delicious fried snacks that tasted something like a doughnuts with a sweet honey filling. (Sorry no pics)
9:30PM Thursday Beyond all my wildest expectations the director produced a type of headache relief pill from his briefcase. Amazingly, it didn't seem to help at all. I was not able to feel one ounce of relief the whole night . "There must be a design in this headache" I thought to myself.
About this time, our director joined the meeting, and I went out and sat down with the crowd. I whipped out my camera and took this video.
Sadly, that would be the first and last video/picture I would take. The freshly overnight-charged battery was dead after a few seconds. I reminded myself that God was in control, and thankfully my spirit remained at peace.
11:15 Thursday The meeting was over and the believers dispersed for dinner. For some unknown reason my energy level was well depleted by this point.
Since the meeting was over we walked over to the parsonage... hm, before I go on, I should mention something about the meeting ground. It was situated on a plot of ground in the middle of a rice patty bog and was about 150 yards long by 75 yards wide and thankfully was raised up about a foot and a half above the bog that it was situated on.
I estimate conservatively that the surrounding rice field held just shy one million croaking frogs that night.
These little guys croaked up a storm
They fed us a delicious meal of fish, chicken, rice, curd and chilled monkey brains. I opted for just the rice and curd. I was surprised to see the director still going on strong after a three day round the world trip + a five hour drive + speaking for more than an hour at this meeting.
Dinner is Served
(just kidding about the monkey brains, to this day I have never encountered anything of the type)
12:00AM Friday After finishing dinner, our merry band hopped in the car and we raced back to home base narrowly avoiding death every five minutes or so.
2:00AM Friday After driving for some time it became apparent that our rent-a-car driver was having a hard time staying awake. This came to my attention after I noticed that he would stop the car every fifteen to thirty minutes to get out walk around and then come back and sit in the car and sleep for five minute power naps. I really wish I had been able to take a video of this. It was one of the more notably odd experiences I have had. Anyhow because of all the stops our homeward progress slowed to a crawl even though the roads were almost completely empty.
Somewhere about this time our director fell into a peaceful slumber.
5:00AM Friday
Hooray! By five in the morning we had made it safely back to home base and I silently gave a prayer of gratitude for our safety.
5:30AM Friday
I took a short nap and then woke up to write this blog post.
One of my desires for the use of this blog is to bring at least two worlds together. Though we are one body in Christ, believers all across the world are still very much separated from each other both geographically and culturally.
While our unity is in Christ, His word and the truth it contains, (things we hopefully have come to terms with) we could all do better to understand the contexts in which Christian ethnic groups all around the world live the Christian life.
In a small way I will contribute by utilizing this blog for that purpose. It should also be fun and exciting while informing us and bringing about a better understanding of God's world.
Today I am posting some photos from a good friend's wedding which took place last month. Brief Background Bios
Jeevan has been based in Sweden working for ST-Ericsson for the last few years and has a strong desire to support ministries back in India. He is a really fun guy who loves the Lord, and it has been my privilege to be his friend. Paulina comes from a strong Christian family that has been involved in gospel ministry for several years. She also has a desire for ministry.
The Bride: Paulina
The Groom: Jeevan
The Message
Exchanging Rings
The Rings (Accidentally smaller than the ring finger)
Come, rejoice with me in the glorious truth that death died in the death of Jesus Christ! Everyone is now welcome to come and freely take the water of life. (Rev 22:17)
