WHAT A DAY!!
It started with breakfast and devotions then off to church where the action started! The whole team was engaged and amazed as the place filled up and was packed out with the poor, the rich, the middle class, all from different casts, and classes here in India. The young and the old, 100 boys from the hostile that the church runs and a selection of young people from all over the community.
Trudy was asked to pray for the sick and requests that were given on paper, she started of by leading the whole congregation in ALELUIA'S.
Tony played his guitar and sang "Mighty to Save"
Christine shared her testimony and challenged the people in their relationship with God.
Ian preached on Exodus 15:22-27 and Pastor Samuel said it was exactly what they needed to hear and how it encouraged him.
The worship was complete with the drums, guitar, keyboards, and a sound system. Raja, pastor Samuels son lead the worship. They also had a team of boys sing a special song and then 4 girls sang a few songs in English. In Hindi they sang "How Great Thou Art" and as we sang the words in English it felt like a taste of Heaven.
The team also broke out into 3 groups and spent 40 minutes each with three different groups of various ages. Each group had about 25 or so for each class. They taught them, sang with them, played with them and connected in an amazing way.
After church we spent 30-40 minutes with about 30 of the young people in the church just getting to know each other and asking each other questions, it was a very cool cultural exchange.
Then after and amazing lunch with the leadership of the church, we headed over to the hostile where the 100 boys live that have been taken in by the Bethel Church. This is where the energy really cranked up. Let me have Steve Cooper fill you in on his perspective!!!
An Afternoon of Joy, Salt & Light.
We visited this Boy's home the day before for an hour or so. 100 Boys ages 6-18 live, eat, and go to school at this home. So the "ice" had been broken the day before and we were greeted this afternoon with big smiles, songs, and every kid wanting to say hello and shake our hands.
JOY is the best word I can think of to describe the afternoon. About half the kids had on the soccer uniforms Mike Gordon brought the day before and were very excited to go out to the soccer field to play. Ian was obviously a "pro", and Steve, Mike, and Tony provided comic relief for the kids at our attempt to keep up with 14 year olds (our team lost), the 10-12 year olds (we lost a heartbreaker 2-0 again), the 8-9 year olds (I think we lost), and the youngest group where we finally managed to win 2-0. But the thing was that no matter the score, both we and the kids had a few hours of absolute Joy. This was in spite of the periodic cow wandering onto the field and balls hitting cow pies on the side of the field. Imagine 100 handsome boys and 8 American Adults smiling like idiots for an afternoon and into the evening. While soccer was going on Marty, Trudy, Christine, and Georgie kept the other fifty boys at a fever pitch of excitements playing with a single 17 foot rope. Jump Rope, Limbo and several games invented on the spot were a Joy both for the boys and us. 61 year old Pastor Samuel got so excited he wandered through the soccer game taking pictures started jumping rope with the kids. He commented at the end of the day, that this was one of the most wonderful days for the kids he had seen. All it took was a ball, a cow pasture, and a single rope.....and oh yes 100 kids with an attitude of gratitude who had been given the basic care we take for granted back home.
It is stunning to see what a simple Boys home, decent food, caring staff and teachers can do to turn children from very very poor families into healthy kids we would all be proud to call our own. They are all polite, inquisitive, hard working in their schoolwork, diligent in their chores, growing devoted Christians, and full of life. On the way to the Boys Home we passed by miles of families housed in straw sided mud floored huts smaller than an American bedroom crammed together side by side housing a complete family along with livestock. Most of the boys in the home come from those families. What a difference!
After the soccer and rope games we walked back to the Boys Home. We were supposed to depart as the sun was going down. We were all having so much fun (us and the kids) that spontaneous games and activities broke out back at the Boys Home. Mike started lift up 2, then 3, then 4, then 5 kids as 40 others shouted and crowded forward to get lifted up by Big Mike. Tony engaged about 30 screaming kids in some sort of shouting march from room to room and throughout the courtyard. The rest of us played various games made up on the spot, took pictures, sang songs (Indian Hindi and American English) complete with pantomime for most songs. I am pretty sure the whole thing would have looked ridiculous to a stranger watching from the side, but for that afternoon and into the evening we were all filled with JOY, just being together. JOY JOY JOY was the excited comment each of us had on the ride back to our hotel. Georgie commented, "I felt like I was 12 year old again". I wonder if Heaven is a bit like our afternoon? I think so.
Ian & Steve
