Monday, November 9, 2009

What a week!

I cannot believe that it has been a week since I posted last, but it has been very busy and have the week has flown by.
We had an amazing time in Kochi. We taught at the S.O.E.P school(school of evangelism and pioneering) . There were around 12 students and we had a great time together. Rob did most of the teaching in the morning, and I would teach , do worship and minister in the evening. We were able to get to know the students very well. It was great to build the relationships with them. They were so humble and so greatful to us for coming to teach them. I can honestly say that I will never forget their faces or their names for the rest of my life. I made 12 new friends from across the world this week.
We had a day off on saturday and we went to the "beach". I was quite surprised to find about 10 km of beach and about 3-4 foot waves with 85 degree water! It started to rain , so Rob and I just embraced it, and body surfed the day away. We followed an amazing day in the water , by eating a fabulous meal overlooking the sea. It was a much needed break after a very long , busy week.

Sunday we went to a church about an hour from the base in the heart of a village. Usually those churches are around 10 people, but this one had 40! I preached on Matt 6:19, and 33 about our treasure in heaven and seeking Him first. There were many "hallelujahs" and "praise the lords". It was awesome. We were definitely shown honor from the pastor and all of the beautiful people there. After a cup of chai with the pastor and his family we were off to the base for a quick lunch and to pack for the airport.
We arrived last night in Hyderabad. We knew we were going to meet with 2 of the national leaders today, but we ended up speaking and doing worship for all 20 of the national leaders of YWAM India! God totally opened the door for this, and it went really well. The connections were making for Harvest Frontier and personally are priceless. God is working in so many ways.

We will be here today and tomorrow before we leave on an overnight train tomorrow night to Arangabad.( I am pretty sure my spelling is way off)....

Please pray that we will be able to finish strong. We are both a little worn, but everytime God does something, we feel revived and fired up to keep going.

Thank you for your prayers and your support, and I will try and post a couple of more times before I am on U.S soil again. One week left. One week to be touched and to touch others. Amen....

Monday, November 2, 2009

So much to say

Well, We have made it through another day in what I like to call " the ends of the earth". If you have never been here, or a place like this, it is really hard to understand it through a blog. It is a completely different world over here.
We are currently in Kochi, which if you look on the map it is on the east coast towards the very south tip of India. We were in Bangalore for 48 hours, and 24 of those hours were not too thrilling.
Rob and I ate the same things, drank the same "bottled" water(but for those of you who have seen slumdog millionare, you know bottled doesnt always mean its the first time....), and around 10 pm of the night we got there , "it" began... I will spare you the details, but let's just say I almost moved my mattress into the bathroom for the evening. Praise God though, I am well, and we are having a great time.
We arrived here(Kochi) last night, and were picked up at the airport by an "ambassador" . I guess its one of the few good things the British left here. It is a taxi, but it looks like an old Jag or something. The a.c was a surprise and a blessing, because the humidity was an even bigger surprise. It is way hot here, and stankin humid! God Bless the high mountain desert of Idaho!
We are working with YWAM here in Kochi. We are teaching/leading worship for the S.O.E.P(school of evangelism and pioneering). We had class this morning and service tonight and it has been "so good". (ps i just cocked my head to the right one time as I said so good.. When in rome:)
We are staying with a Jewish family from Colorado who have welcomed us very graciously. We will be here until Sunday night, when we leave for Hydrebad .
Rob and I are clicking very well, and working awesome together. It is like we have known each other forever. The worship and the teaching is seamless, and it is only by God's grace that this is true.
I know I am forgetting so many things. I wish I could have a camera follow me like Man vs Wild so you could see the adventure we are on. Actually a huge beattle just flew in the room and landed next to me as I was typing that. I guess we could have had some footage of "dinner":) .
I will hopefully post soon, but in the meantime, please continue to pray for us. Pray for the students to receive all that we have brought and prepared for this week. Pray for continued unity for Rob and I. Also, health and protection are always a need.
I leave you with this verse as my request....
"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth , words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should. " In His strength, power and grace, Chris

Friday, October 30, 2009

On to Bangalore!

Well our first leg is completed , and it was a great way to start! We were able to meet with 3 pastors 2 church planters and with ywam mumbai.

Yesterday we went to the red light district where the church we working with has a daycare ministry. Sharmilla has around 10 kids that she watches everyday. I already love kids and yesterday was a confirmation. They were so precious and so beautiful!

We had lunch in a home there and then headed to the slums. Like I have said before, all of my senses were shocked. We were able to pray with 5 different families and share the gospel with them. We prayed for a crippled man and I believe he is going to be healed. He spoke Hindi , but we had him calling out the name of Jesus over and over.... Hard to put into words, but trust me, it was incredible.

We did a service at ywam mumbai last night, where i led worship and Rob spoke. It was so powerful worshipping in so many languages. There were over 8 countries represented.

Overall we are doing great. Continue to pray for protection, direction, and favor. We have already seen Gods hand so evident here, and we expect nothing less for the next leg. We are doing another ywam service tonight and church on sunday ....

I miss you all , and thank you for partnering with us . God is alive in INDIA!

Humbly in His service, Chris

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Made It!

Well, after 22 hours on a plane and a few "pat downs" from the security we are in INDIA! We arrived last night around 12:30 am. I had an issue with my passport here at the Mumbai airport. The security / customs guy said my passport was "damaged" because the cover was coming off a bit.....he took me back to the boss/interrogation room.

After about 20 minutes and 20 different men coming in and out , staring at me, laughing, speaking Hindi, I finally made it through. Thank you Jesus! The enemy is already working o.t. The main customs inspector looked at me and said "I am going to send you home right now!" It is already obvious that we are supposed to be here.


They said I must go to the American consolate today and see if I can get a new passport. So we are off to do that and buy train tickets for next week.

We were picked up last night by a local pastor named Peter. He is a very humble, kind, Nepalese man. We are going to spend the next couple days with him and visit his church and their ministries. They have one that ministers to prostitutes children while the girls are working. The "daycare" is in the slums, and we will have a chance to go be a part of that this evening.

Please continue to pray for us as we pursue God and all of the things He wants to do in and through us here. It is definitely hot, and the smell of India is one that nothing compares too, but I love it!

Until I post again..... Chris

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Headed out !


Well, the time is already here. By the time most of you read this, I will be on a 12 hour flight to Amsterdam on my way to Mumbai. This is officially my first time "blogging" so here goes nothing. I want to thank all of you for your prayers and financial support.

Pray for travel mercies and logistical mercies for the next 24 hrs or so. I will try and update as much as I can, but it is a little uncertain how often I will have access to the online world:).

I will update an itinerary as soon as possible with our schedule(ish) :) and some more prayer points. Thanks for checking this out and for your prayers.

In Him, Chris