It's hard to believe that we've already been in India for over 6 weeks now, Varanasi for over two and a half weeks and will be leaving to go back to Delhi in less than 2 weeks. It has been a busy time, but has been an amazing time and we've really seen God using us here.
The rest of our time in McLeod Ganj was amazing. We definitely picked up momentum the last half of our time there as we got more comfortable with our surroundings and activities and got to know people better. Matt Nicholson and I were teaching a conversation class that was held in a small monastery in McLeod Ganj and had an amazing time there with amazing results. The people there were so open to talk about religion, and we ended up basically preaching the Gospel there multiple times and gave out a lot of literature as well as some Tibetan bibles. It was amazing to see what God can do when you give Him room to move, even in a monastery! We even had one of the monks that was a regular at the conversation class come to send us off! It was definitely a blessing to be a part of, and it made a lasting impression on us and I know on a lot of the people that attended the class too. We even had one of the monks that attended our class come to see us off at the bus station.
On our last night in McLeod Ganj, we rented out the movie theatre in town and put on a showing of the Hope video, which is the story of the bible from beginning to end in Tibetan and using Tibetan actors and style of storytelling. We handed out flyers to people in our conversation classes and other Tibetans we had connected with and prayed that some of them showed up. It ended up being a huge success! The theatre was pretty much packed (of course it isn't very big, so that's only about 20-30 people), and people seemed to enjoy the movie very much. Overall, our time in McLeod Ganj was amazing and although we didn't see any radical conversions and it may have been different than we had expected, we definitely saw God move in that place and in people's hearts. We made many connections with all different kinds of people, and we definitely all had an amazing time and were amazed at how God worked in us and through us.
Coming to Varanasi, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard many different stories about this place, some good, some bad, and I felt that my highlight of outreach probably had passed and that I wouldn't like this half as much as McLeod Ganj. After spending half a month here, I can definitely say that I was wrong. In the time we've been here, I've definitely fallen in love with this city. It is a city like no other, and it's hard to even begin to describe it. The city can be a little overwhelming at first, mentally, physically and spiritually, but after a the initial shock wears off and you get a little more acclimatized to the city, you can really start to enjoy it. The city is definitely a barrage to the senses, to give you a bit of an idea of the city: there are people using the streets as a toilet (both #1 and 2!); there are cows, dogs and other animals everywhere, so you can imagine the sights and smells from that; there are people everywhere and half of them are trying to sell you something or to take you on a boat or rickshaw ride (which are absolutely everywhere); there seems to always be some sort of religious ceremony going on, usually with bells; there are bodies being burned 24/7 at a couple places along the Ganga (Ganges); you always have to be watching where you step because there may be a cow pie under your foot if you don't; and the city is essentially one big maze of small little side streets and alleys running off of some main streets. just to give you a bit of a glimpse of what the city is like. The spiritual atmosphere here is obviously pretty crazy with it being the holiest city of Hinduism, but for the most part, this causes a lot of the travelers to be very open to talking about spirituality and religion.
The main focus of our outreach here has been at the K Centre, which is located right beside the train station, and is basically a drop in centre for kids that live in and around the train station. These are kids that live in terrible poverty and are basically thrust into making money somehow from a very young age. The centre is run by an Indian man named Raul, who is actually from Southern India, but has lived in Varanasi for a while now. His vision and purpose for the K Centre is to give the kids a chance to be kids, to spoil them, and to possibly give them a chance to get out of the slums/train station. Three days a week the kids are given basic math, english and hindi classes (they haven't had them while we have been here though because the schools are on a break), and Raul also helps send 8 of the kids to school by paying for 80% of the costs of tuition and uniform and whatever else they need. On Tuesdays and Fridays, they just have free days where the kids can just play and have fun. The kids love to play cricket, carrom board, badminton, swing on the swings, and really whatever you are willing to do with them. It has been a huge blessing and an amazing opportunity to work at the K Centre, and we have all definitely enjoyed it.
The rest of our time has mostly been spent reaching out to the many travelers that are here in the city. We spend many of our afternoons or evenings walking the Ghats along the Ganga or in cafes connecting with and sharing with travelers, who for the most part are spiritual seekers drawn to the spirituality of the city. We have connected with an amazing group of people that run a Christian ashram in the city that they use specifically for reaching out to travelers. It is really a unique place, on a beautiful property that gives them a place to meet travelers in a way that isn't intimidating because they are comfortable with the idea of it being an ashram and not a church, even though they make it very clear that it is a Christian ashram where Jesus is the "guru". It is run by an Australian couple named Brendan and Leaf and a German woman named Ute. They have had the ashram for about 5 years now, and run Christian meditation Wednesday mornings, as well as other social gatherings to reach out to the traveling community. Unfortunately, they left to go on a much needed vacation shortly after we arrived, but they have opened up the ashram for us to have social gatherings and outreach opportunities, which has been a blessing.
We are also speaking at 2 different churches every week (I'll be speaking this week), and have been involved with a youth group and a cell group from one of the churches through our friend Helga, who is a German woman who has been living in Varanasi for almost 10 years or so. It has been an amazing blessing having Helga around, especially since she lives very close to the K Centre, so we tend to go there for lunch after we finish, but also because we have been able to connect with a few children from her church that she plays a very active roll in their lives. She is an amazing woman, and is definitely an encouragement and blessing to our entire team.
When we first got to Varanasi, we started quickly and really hit the ground running. Since we got here right before Christmas, we had 2 Christmas parties to help with, one at the K Centre and one at the ashram. So our first few days here were filled with helping at the K Centre in the morning, then helping get the food ready for the party at the ashram, helping Raul prepare for the party at the K Centre, and anything else that any of them needed help with. It was extremely busy, but was definitely worth it. The party at the K Centre was on Christmas Eve and it was awesome! The kids were super surprised to see a big bouncing castle that Raul rented for them (especially since they had never seen anything like it), they had a lunch with chicken in it (which is a huge treat for them), and they all got to open a present (shoes and socks for the regular kids, as well as a toothbrush, soap, shampoo and a chocolate bar for everybody). It was so amazing seeing how thankful and happy they were with simple things that Western kids wouldn't care about, let alone be absolutely thrilled about. The party at the ashram was on Christmas day, and went amazing as well. We were all really busy running around and making sure that all the food was ready, that there was enough Chai, and anything else Ute, Brendan or Leaf needed, but that was awesome because it allowed them to go around and actually socialize with different people and to really be a part of the event instead of being crazy busy like most years. They actually said it was their best year yet because they didn't have to worry about the little things that we were taking care of, so that made all of our work worth it. We all had a great time, and once things settled down were able to connect with a lot of travelers and enjoy some of the music and fellowship that was happening around the ashram. Overall, it was an amazingly busy Christmas and was like no other Christmas I'd ever had, but it was one of the best Christmases ever! It was so rewarding to be able to give and serve instead of thinking of ourselves and being served.
New Years was a lot more low key and easier than Christmas. It ended up raining on New Years Eve here (which is very unusual for December/January here), so all of our plans were basically washed out, but we ended up having a great time anyways. We spent some of our evening, relaxing in the lodge, listening to Josh play the guitar and provide the musical entertainment for the evening, and then went to a restaurant close by and spent the rest of the night dancing with some drunken Indians. lol. After, we went to the roof of our guest house and watched the fireworks show (which was surprisingly amazing) which was put on by random people on different rooftops around our guest house.
Lately, we have really been focusing a lot of our effort on the K Centre, as well as reaching out to the travelers around the city. We have had some awesome conversations, and have made some amazing connections during the last few weeks. God has definitely been moving through us, and we have seen Him working in people's hearts and lives. Last night we held Kashipalooza, which was basically a hang out night with music and chai at the ashram. We invited a ton of people and just hoped and prayed that people would show up, and it ended up being a huge success! Everybody had a great time, and we had about 40 people come out. Having the ashram is definitely a blessing, and we hope to have another event there next weekend too. We also had a pancake breakfast for everybody staying at our guest house this morning that was awesome as well. We had just enough pancakes, and we ended up hanging around talking with people for at least an hour after breakfast. All in all, it has been an absolutely amazing outreach, and God has definitely been guiding it from the start.
I hope this post has all made sense since I kinda wrote it over a couple weeks. I hope and pray that you all had a fantastic holiday season, and that you are enjoying 2011. Please continue to be praying for us for protection and good health and that our outreach will continue to be a huge success. I miss you all, and can't wait to see you in March.
God Bless!!
The rest of our time in McLeod Ganj was amazing. We definitely picked up momentum the last half of our time there as we got more comfortable with our surroundings and activities and got to know people better. Matt Nicholson and I were teaching a conversation class that was held in a small monastery in McLeod Ganj and had an amazing time there with amazing results. The people there were so open to talk about religion, and we ended up basically preaching the Gospel there multiple times and gave out a lot of literature as well as some Tibetan bibles. It was amazing to see what God can do when you give Him room to move, even in a monastery! We even had one of the monks that was a regular at the conversation class come to send us off! It was definitely a blessing to be a part of, and it made a lasting impression on us and I know on a lot of the people that attended the class too. We even had one of the monks that attended our class come to see us off at the bus station.
On our last night in McLeod Ganj, we rented out the movie theatre in town and put on a showing of the Hope video, which is the story of the bible from beginning to end in Tibetan and using Tibetan actors and style of storytelling. We handed out flyers to people in our conversation classes and other Tibetans we had connected with and prayed that some of them showed up. It ended up being a huge success! The theatre was pretty much packed (of course it isn't very big, so that's only about 20-30 people), and people seemed to enjoy the movie very much. Overall, our time in McLeod Ganj was amazing and although we didn't see any radical conversions and it may have been different than we had expected, we definitely saw God move in that place and in people's hearts. We made many connections with all different kinds of people, and we definitely all had an amazing time and were amazed at how God worked in us and through us.
Coming to Varanasi, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard many different stories about this place, some good, some bad, and I felt that my highlight of outreach probably had passed and that I wouldn't like this half as much as McLeod Ganj. After spending half a month here, I can definitely say that I was wrong. In the time we've been here, I've definitely fallen in love with this city. It is a city like no other, and it's hard to even begin to describe it. The city can be a little overwhelming at first, mentally, physically and spiritually, but after a the initial shock wears off and you get a little more acclimatized to the city, you can really start to enjoy it. The city is definitely a barrage to the senses, to give you a bit of an idea of the city: there are people using the streets as a toilet (both #1 and 2!); there are cows, dogs and other animals everywhere, so you can imagine the sights and smells from that; there are people everywhere and half of them are trying to sell you something or to take you on a boat or rickshaw ride (which are absolutely everywhere); there seems to always be some sort of religious ceremony going on, usually with bells; there are bodies being burned 24/7 at a couple places along the Ganga (Ganges); you always have to be watching where you step because there may be a cow pie under your foot if you don't; and the city is essentially one big maze of small little side streets and alleys running off of some main streets. just to give you a bit of a glimpse of what the city is like. The spiritual atmosphere here is obviously pretty crazy with it being the holiest city of Hinduism, but for the most part, this causes a lot of the travelers to be very open to talking about spirituality and religion.
The main focus of our outreach here has been at the K Centre, which is located right beside the train station, and is basically a drop in centre for kids that live in and around the train station. These are kids that live in terrible poverty and are basically thrust into making money somehow from a very young age. The centre is run by an Indian man named Raul, who is actually from Southern India, but has lived in Varanasi for a while now. His vision and purpose for the K Centre is to give the kids a chance to be kids, to spoil them, and to possibly give them a chance to get out of the slums/train station. Three days a week the kids are given basic math, english and hindi classes (they haven't had them while we have been here though because the schools are on a break), and Raul also helps send 8 of the kids to school by paying for 80% of the costs of tuition and uniform and whatever else they need. On Tuesdays and Fridays, they just have free days where the kids can just play and have fun. The kids love to play cricket, carrom board, badminton, swing on the swings, and really whatever you are willing to do with them. It has been a huge blessing and an amazing opportunity to work at the K Centre, and we have all definitely enjoyed it.
The rest of our time has mostly been spent reaching out to the many travelers that are here in the city. We spend many of our afternoons or evenings walking the Ghats along the Ganga or in cafes connecting with and sharing with travelers, who for the most part are spiritual seekers drawn to the spirituality of the city. We have connected with an amazing group of people that run a Christian ashram in the city that they use specifically for reaching out to travelers. It is really a unique place, on a beautiful property that gives them a place to meet travelers in a way that isn't intimidating because they are comfortable with the idea of it being an ashram and not a church, even though they make it very clear that it is a Christian ashram where Jesus is the "guru". It is run by an Australian couple named Brendan and Leaf and a German woman named Ute. They have had the ashram for about 5 years now, and run Christian meditation Wednesday mornings, as well as other social gatherings to reach out to the traveling community. Unfortunately, they left to go on a much needed vacation shortly after we arrived, but they have opened up the ashram for us to have social gatherings and outreach opportunities, which has been a blessing.
We are also speaking at 2 different churches every week (I'll be speaking this week), and have been involved with a youth group and a cell group from one of the churches through our friend Helga, who is a German woman who has been living in Varanasi for almost 10 years or so. It has been an amazing blessing having Helga around, especially since she lives very close to the K Centre, so we tend to go there for lunch after we finish, but also because we have been able to connect with a few children from her church that she plays a very active roll in their lives. She is an amazing woman, and is definitely an encouragement and blessing to our entire team.
When we first got to Varanasi, we started quickly and really hit the ground running. Since we got here right before Christmas, we had 2 Christmas parties to help with, one at the K Centre and one at the ashram. So our first few days here were filled with helping at the K Centre in the morning, then helping get the food ready for the party at the ashram, helping Raul prepare for the party at the K Centre, and anything else that any of them needed help with. It was extremely busy, but was definitely worth it. The party at the K Centre was on Christmas Eve and it was awesome! The kids were super surprised to see a big bouncing castle that Raul rented for them (especially since they had never seen anything like it), they had a lunch with chicken in it (which is a huge treat for them), and they all got to open a present (shoes and socks for the regular kids, as well as a toothbrush, soap, shampoo and a chocolate bar for everybody). It was so amazing seeing how thankful and happy they were with simple things that Western kids wouldn't care about, let alone be absolutely thrilled about. The party at the ashram was on Christmas day, and went amazing as well. We were all really busy running around and making sure that all the food was ready, that there was enough Chai, and anything else Ute, Brendan or Leaf needed, but that was awesome because it allowed them to go around and actually socialize with different people and to really be a part of the event instead of being crazy busy like most years. They actually said it was their best year yet because they didn't have to worry about the little things that we were taking care of, so that made all of our work worth it. We all had a great time, and once things settled down were able to connect with a lot of travelers and enjoy some of the music and fellowship that was happening around the ashram. Overall, it was an amazingly busy Christmas and was like no other Christmas I'd ever had, but it was one of the best Christmases ever! It was so rewarding to be able to give and serve instead of thinking of ourselves and being served.
New Years was a lot more low key and easier than Christmas. It ended up raining on New Years Eve here (which is very unusual for December/January here), so all of our plans were basically washed out, but we ended up having a great time anyways. We spent some of our evening, relaxing in the lodge, listening to Josh play the guitar and provide the musical entertainment for the evening, and then went to a restaurant close by and spent the rest of the night dancing with some drunken Indians. lol. After, we went to the roof of our guest house and watched the fireworks show (which was surprisingly amazing) which was put on by random people on different rooftops around our guest house.
Lately, we have really been focusing a lot of our effort on the K Centre, as well as reaching out to the travelers around the city. We have had some awesome conversations, and have made some amazing connections during the last few weeks. God has definitely been moving through us, and we have seen Him working in people's hearts and lives. Last night we held Kashipalooza, which was basically a hang out night with music and chai at the ashram. We invited a ton of people and just hoped and prayed that people would show up, and it ended up being a huge success! Everybody had a great time, and we had about 40 people come out. Having the ashram is definitely a blessing, and we hope to have another event there next weekend too. We also had a pancake breakfast for everybody staying at our guest house this morning that was awesome as well. We had just enough pancakes, and we ended up hanging around talking with people for at least an hour after breakfast. All in all, it has been an absolutely amazing outreach, and God has definitely been guiding it from the start.
I hope this post has all made sense since I kinda wrote it over a couple weeks. I hope and pray that you all had a fantastic holiday season, and that you are enjoying 2011. Please continue to be praying for us for protection and good health and that our outreach will continue to be a huge success. I miss you all, and can't wait to see you in March.
God Bless!!
