On to Ahmedabad

We just finished our last day of training in South India. We are all really tired but it is a "happy tired." The group here did really well in picking up the training, perhaps the best of any group we have trained. We are really hopeful that they will spread the training to many groups. They all will be good trainers. We have many stories of moments of insight, good presentations and enthusiastic learning. We always learn during these trainings as well, not only about better methods of teaching, but from the Word of God itself.  What a privilege we have!

The electricity here goes on and off every hour or so. Each time it does they have to switch to a generator and then back again in the next hour. I have no idea why that is. Tomorrow we have a much needed day off, the first in the last two weeks. Our days are long, from early morning to late at night, training and preparing for the next day. Thankfully we are sleeping well most nights.

Sunday I preach in one of the churches here and then we leave in the afternoon for Ahmedabad. We are looking forward to another good week of training there.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support,

 

Al

South India, October 2012

Our time here in South India has gone very well so far. We were so excited to hear about the 6 trainings that the pastors had conducted since we were last here. It is such a joy to work with them because they are not only eager learners, but also enthusiastic to take the training on to others. They told us some of the pastors they have trained keep asking when they will get the next workshop. I am sure the men we are training will begin training others as soon as we are finished training them. They are bright, well educated and pick up the material quickly. In spite of the fact that many of them have bible school training, and several have taught in bible schools, none of them have actually been trained to study the bible itself. We find this to be the case everywhere we go.  

We have had a few challenges, as usual. Several men showed up who have not had the previous workshop and have had difficulty catching up. Two are not English speakers and have had difficulties understanding the teaching, although one man has been translating for them. We have worked these issues out so that everyone receives the previous workshops from the leaders here before they attend the next workshop. We also agreed that non English speakers will be better trained by the Tamil leaders here than by us. The three leaders here, whom we affectionately call the three amigos, are so cooperative and easy to work with.  

Edie and Linda have had a great time with the women. One problem they have had is too many women are coming. They had 20 women yesterday, way too many to effectively train with our method. We discussed that also with the leaders and I think we will have that solved next time as well. We will need the women to catch the vision for training other women. You can pray for that with us.

I am feeling much better, almost no back issues at all, and we are getting good rest at night. It is amazing how much better things go when you feel good. Thanks for praying for us. We feel your assistance through the Lord every day.  

Al

A Visit to Tea Country

Our time in Siliguri ended up going quite well. In spite of all the physical problems I experienced, the Lord saw us through and the students made remarkable progress. They began the week not understanding the most basic aspects of Bible study and ended doing a fairly good job of understanding assigned passages in II Timothy. We were delighted with how all that went. The training with the women went very well also. Edie thought they made amazing process and feels that the relationships she and Linda built will be lasting. We are not at all sure what the group will do in terms of passing on the information or who will continue with the training. That all has to be worked out here by February, the time for our next workshop.

During the course of the training one of the students gave an amazing testimony. He and his wife married without their parents blessing and were cast out to be on their own. They struggled to have enough to eat so he joined the Maoist army (they lived in Nepal). He was caught by the police and beaten so badly he was paralyzed. Somehow he was taken to a hospital and gradually improved. He had to flee to Cyprus to escape with his life. There a friend stole all his money and ran away leaving him destitute. He lived in a bathroom for a week. There a Irish missionary happened on him and started talking to him. When the missionary found he was from Nepal he started talking Nepalese with him. It turns out the missionary had served in Nepal for about 20 years. He was taken to a church, befriended, helped and eventually came to Christ. He returned to Nepal to his wife and they now serve as youth ministers in their church (the wife was one of the women Edie trained). He later told me that he had killed the father of one of the families in the church when he was a Maoist but that they had forgiven him. Is God amazing or what?

We left Saturday afternoon for Darjeeling, far up in the mountains, to visit one of the leader's churches. It was supposed to take 3-4 hours and ended up taking 6. We had 4 straight hours of winding, twisting, narrow mountainside roads. We all took car sick medicine but all still struggled to one extent or another. I, of course, got thoroughly sick and had to survive hours of miserable sickness in the car. For some reason the Lord has chosen to especially test me physically on this trip.  

We awoke this morning to a beautiful, sunny, cool day in some of the most picturesque scenery you can imagine. The place we are staying is on the edge of Darjeeling and the whole area is a tangle of steep mountains and deep valleys. There is almost no flat ground at all. People here must be hardy because the walking is something else. We are at about 8,000 feet and we walked a mile or so up the road to catch a ride to the church. We could tell we were at a higher altitude. The church is over 9,000 feet up and and the view from there was spectacular. I felt my sermon was very flat (I suppose I could use the excuse given for Obama that I had not acclimatized myself long enough). It was good to see the people in the church, many are new believers and four were announced as having been baptized this week. They were each given a new name. The idea is that they are all former Hindus or Buddhists and they needed Christian names.  I thought it was a pointed reminder that we are new creatures when we come to Christ.

Darjeeling is world famous for its tea. There are tea plantations all around. We were to tour a tea factory  today, but when we arrived a regional manager happened to show up and he felt the workers were not wearing the proper safety equipment and would not let us tour. They did give us a package of tea though.

Tomorrow we have to be off at 5 am to head back to Siliguri in order to catch our flight out to Trichy. We fly all day with three stops arriving around 9 pm. It should be a grueling day. I plan to take two of the car sick pills to be prepared and hope that works better. We will see. 

Thanks for your continued prayers,

 

Al

India October 2012, #2

We arrived safely in Delhi on Sunday night. We had  good night's rest before heading to Siliguri on Monday morning. Unfortunately I came down with significant back problems. I was fine when I got up in the morning but later noticed a slight catch in my back which progressed rapidly into a major problem. It got so bad that I could not walk well and had to eventually get a wheel chair to make it to the gate and onto the plane. Edie was able to get me some ice and it was slightly improved when we arrived, enough so that I could walk down the stairs from the airplane and into the airport. Fortunately, I did not have to teach on Monday but even yesterday, Tuesday, my back was so tight that I could not stand up straight. I walked like an old man, which I guess I am becoming. I taught most of the day sitting. This morning, (it is around 3:30 am, we have not gotten over the time change yet), my back feels better so I am hopeful for a better day. Your prayers would be appreciated.

The students are mostly young and bright and a delight to work with. They come from about 4 or 5 different countries and almost all them speak English quite well. We were delighted with their progress yesterday. They all need to learn how to discuss and interact in the classroom, something they have never had experience with before. We are not sure that they fully understand what our vision for a training network is and we will need to work further with them on that. It is essential for them to take the training to others if we are going to have a successful network.  

Only 3 women showed up for the training. Edie and Linda were planning on 10. But the ladies are connecting well and are learning the material quickly. It has been a good start for Edie and Linda as they are learning how to teach together and how to use our training materials with women. So far it has been a joy for them to work together, even though they are very different in personality and gifts. God is good.  

We have a challenging week ahead as we present two full workshops in one week, twice what we normally do. We can accomplish this only because it takes less time to train when we can do it in English without translation and because we are limiting our electives. Still it is a lot for them to be introduced to in such a short time. We felt it was necessary to do two workshops in order to catch them up with the two other groups we are working with in India. We are praying that all of us will  have the energy to accomplish what God has put before us. Thank you for your help in praying for us. We know that is one of the reasons we can make it through some of the physical and spiritual battles we face. Our Internet access is limited but we will try to keep you posted as we can.

Al

India, October 2012

I have had multiple problems getting hooked up to the Internet, so I am using someone else's computer today.  We arrived safely in Delhi, India on Sunday night. Unfortunately on Monday morning I had some pain in my back that started with a slight catch and gradually became more intense, to the point that I had to get a wheel chair to make it to the gate at the airport.  Edie got me some ice and I improved slightly by the time we arrived in Siliguri.  I was able to walk into the airport and to the car.  But I have struggled with a lot of pain and tightness in my back so that I can not fully walk upright.  This is challenging for my teaching and I have had to sit during much of the training.  It is better a bit each day but I have a ways to go.  We have all experienced quite a bit of different types of opposition in preparation for this trip so we think this is one of many strategies by the enemy to discourage us.  It has been more apparent than usual for this trip, so we feel the enemy must not want us here.  That is all the more reason for us to press on.  Please pray for us in these regards.

The training is going well although it is not the group we expected.  Many of the leaders invited sent young people to represent them so our group is quite young and inexperienced, although there are several that are seasoned and mature.  We are not sure what this will mean for the future.  But we press on with who we have and they are making great progress.  Edie and Linda have only three women to train but that is also going very well. 

Hopefully I can send a more complete blog soon when I get my own computer hooked up.

Al

Conclusion of Training in Asia, Sept 2012

We just concluded our training time with ReachGlobal and national leaders. We had been worried how we would do with such a large group; around 50 participants with many different languages represented. However, we were delighted with the results, which were beyond our expectations. There were many blessings along the way. Some of the RG staff and most of the nationals have no bible or theological training. For all of them it was an exciting way to learn how to study the bible, and a fun and effective method for learning how to teach others. We foresee our materials and methods being used in many parts of Asia as the year progresses. Already the first workshop is translated into Mandarin, Hindi and Burmese, with work starting on Lahu and Thai. We had many requests for us to come and train pastors in new countries, Bhutan, Nepal, Japan, Mongolia, etc.  

On Thursday night we met with the leaders of the Lahu group we trained last week. It was such an incredible blessing to see how our training was already influencing their thinking and planning. We had asked for prayer that we would be culturally sensitive as we trained. They affirmed that we had come across humbly and lovingly. Thank you for praying with us. The Lahu have a growing vision to train pastors all over SE Asia with what they have learned. They also are thinking about how they need to change the way they teach in the bible school, learning to teach from the bible itself instead of just from books. I was overwhelmed again with the idea that God would choose to use me in such a strategic way to help so many others learn to study, apply and teach the bible. I continue to be amazed at His grace.

I leave for home tonight greatly thankful to the Lord. I am anxious to see grandchild #14 who was born last night: Levi Nathan at 9lb 12oz.

Al

Rainy Days in Thailand

It is another new day with rain, and clouds hanging low around the hills. This part of the training is over and we are having a fun day today. Yesterday we said our good-byes and were very encouraged with the feedback we received. Having the language barrier gave Linda and I (Edie) a huge challenge in communication. The Lahu don’t show physical affection and are quite shy and reserved. It took 3 days of slowly and carefully trying to say we love you and care about you, but in the end they really appreciated our teaching from the bible. Our translator, who was wonderful and skilled, said keeping it simple like we did was different but so effective. She also said teaching the women to read and study the bible on their own was a new concept for them and really needed. When we come back to do another training, Linda and I hope to have our own group of trainers, who will then go on to train other women.

The training with the men went well, although it had its challenges. The men were having a good time and all seemed free to talk and laugh among themselves during discussions. With about 50 in the room it was a little chaotic. Many have not had training in studying the bible. One of the projects we did was a case study of conflict in the church. They tried to solve it from culture and tradition instead of going to the text to find answers. We hope as we teach them how to study they will have a new resource for finding the answers to life’s questions. They also resisted a bit the teaching on marriage, not liking the idea of a husband sacrificing to serve his wife. But I think they finally got the idea that we were not trying to impose our views on them but just looking at what the bible said. How they apply it in their culture may differ from how we do. 

The group seemed very enthusiastic about starting a training network here early next year. We are excited to come and help them make good progress in seeing all their pastors equipped to teach and preach the word effectively. 

The days were quite warm and very humid as this is their rainy season. It seems we are literally watching the rice grow before our eyes. Standing water is everywhere and people are always fishing in the water canals. Today 2 of us are going to a Thai cooking class. I am really looking forward to it. The rest of the group are going to see some tigers. Tomorrow I (Edie) head home. Al will stay for a conference on church planting next week and then have a chance to take about 60 leaders through the first Pathways workshop. It will be a great opportunity for him to initiate training across Asia. 

Though we have really wondered if we were making any progress, as usual God was producing the fruit. We are so pleased with the prayers God has answered. 

Edie