GCC India Team 2005

Gerry and Tharesa Bently

2005-10-03T17:58:00.001-07:00

To say that we were welcome in our church planters house and through-out the village would be an understatement. Their hospitality was genuine and heartfelt. We had the opportunity in the small frame of time granted to us to visit nine villages. In those villages we visited three to four houses each. When in the houses we would pray for just about everyone. Every house had their own small cell group and we would have a small service and be on our way. We did see one miracle where two women who had raspy voices, two men were cursed with short stature, and one girl who had seen something that scared her and from that point on she could not hear or speak. One of the women after we prayed for her one neighbor girl that was Hindu attended church on Sunday after saying they wouldn’t let her. Praise the Lord for the mighty works he has done on our visit.

Zach and Patrick

2005-10-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Zach and I spent several days in the rural village of Nadusurangodi. The people here have never seen any white person before! Much of our time has been spent visiting Christ followers homes and praying for their families while “Samson” interprets. We also invite the villagers to come to “Pastor Johns” home to hear “Good News.” We stayed in Pastor John’s home with his wife and daughter. The home is very clean, but small (the size of a large tool shed) with very few furnishings. We were grateful for “neighbors” who invited us to sleep on their roof to escape the heat.

Mary and Terrie

2005-10-03T17:57:00.001-07:00

We had the privilege of building a relationship with a family of enormous faith and devotion. From early morning through late at night – the church planters and family spent nearly every minute in prayer, worship or out in the village loving people and praying for them. They taught us about intense worship and prayer. So often we were asked to pray for them and the reverse seemed more appropriate. When we prayed for a young deformed girl who couldn’t speak, Mohan believed – 100% - she would be healed. We saw the fire and passion in his eyes – he has no doubt and when she is healed it will be the testimony that will bring more people to Christ. (Teaching us walk by faith and not by sight) It’s their way of life.

Sarah, Thane and Joyce

2005-10-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

As we sit at breakfast and reflect on the past 36 hours. A lovely Indian family entered for breakfast. This family was blessed with two beautiful daughters. My thoughts returned to the last visited village where female babies are drowned because they are a financial burden to families and boys make money, thus are spared. We shared the gospel with these people and prayed for them. We thought these people would be difficult to love, hard to talk to, but Jesus was strong with us and the Holy Spirit abounded mightily in this village. We prayed for what seemed like the entire village and by the time we left we had developed a special love for this village. As we drove away the village people crowded around our car, waving, grabbing our hands and smiling brightly. Driving away, Joyce, Thane, and I were exceedingly glad for Jesus had revealed himself to these people through us. There is nothing more thrilling than doing God’s work. This experience is just one of many as we visited many more people miracles here are not unusual people of faith who pray in the name of Christ see many miracles we have seen for example, we prayed for rain and it came even after a three year drought. But even more than the miracles, we were encouraged by the hearts and love of the Indian people.

Julie, Jeanna, Henrie

2005-10-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

We spent three days with Pastor Jeevaray in the village of Crawford, outside of Trichy. Pastor Jeevaray has three cell churches – one in his home, in a factory and in a village for the blind (Nagamongolum). There was a heavy feeling of evel, hopelessness and oppression and yet a true sense of community. We were humbled by the warmh, generosity, and hospitality of the people. One thing we will never forget are all the smells from curry to jasmine to cow dung. By the way, a cold drink is “da hamb.”

Linda and Noell

2005-10-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

Linda and Noell

From the moment we arrived in our village, our every need became our church planter’s priority. Food was more than just a means for survival. It seemed to be almost a necessary ritual, providing sustenance for the soul.

As we would discover, eating (taking nourishment) and worship consumed the greater part of our day.

The women of our village were the foundation of the family always planning, preparing and serving, taking little or no time for self indulgent, frivoulous activities.

The --- groups in our village were always delightful and joyful inspite of their circumstances. Their homes, I contrast to the environment surrounding them were emaculate, reminding me of something my mother used to say frequently. “It’s not a sine to be poor, but it’s a sin to be dirty.”

The desire for cleanliness flowed very naturally into their spiritual life. The cleansing of the soul to prepare a welcomed place for the Holy Spirit to reside was as common place as sweeping off the entry way to their home.

Strike Up the Band!

2005-09-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

While in Ghandi Nager (one of the villages outside of Trichy), the men on the team had the opportunity to witness a traditional Indian band playing Indian instruments. The drum was made from leather stretched over a wooden keetle, and the "flute" was made from both wood and metal.

Rock a Bye, Baby... Indian Style!

2005-09-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the way that most Indian families rock their babies to sleep at night. Essentially, they hang a sort of hammock from either a beam or hook in the ceiling of their homes, then place their baby in the nook of the make-shift cradle while swinging it around in circles while singing to it. The cool thing is, during the day, when the cradle isn't being used, it is simply unhooked and removed to be stored or used in some other fashion. Cool, huh?

Ladies and Gentlemen, we HAVE video!

2005-09-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Now that we're back, we're compiling photos, videos and notes from all the team members. What we're hoping to do from that is provide a more comprehensive view of the total experience we shared that is more than just one person's perspective (i.e. mine). As a result, you should notice the two following things:

1) Continued Entries: Hey, just because we're back doesn't mean the journey is "finished". Quite the contrary! The journey is just beginning! As a result, we'll continue to blog the August 2005 India team until it is no longer helpful.

2) Video Links: Several team members took not only "still" photos, but also video. Now that we have some of those videos, we will be going back through posts we have already done and adding video links where they are relevant. We may also continue to do new posts that incorporate them as well. You will notice when there is a video link because it will show up as words that are blue and underlined. If you click those words, they will take you to a Google video image platform. You may need to download the video "viewer" (it's small... no, it shouldn't crash your system), but once you do, you will be able to see all kinds of cool things. Want an example? Go to the post titled "Ah, the irony of it all..." and click on the blue underlined word "washing machine". It should take you to a link where you will be able to see a woman washing clothings "Indian style".

See what you think and then let me know. Use the "comments" posts to continue to interact. Again... we're back, but we're not finished! The journey is just starting!

Signing Off... Prepping for Re-entry...

2005-08-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

It's a little after midnight and this will be the last of my official posts from the field. From here, we will be getting up to leave the hotel at 5:30 a.m. in order to board the morning train to Chennai at 6:00 a.m. We should arrive in Chennai at about 11:30 a.m. or so, from which we will do a bit of shopping, stop at a Pizza Hut (yes, the genuine article! Except that all the pizzas are vegetarian), visit the tsunami zone in Chennai, and then climb the mountain where St. Thomas ("Doubting Thomas" was the first missionary to India and was martyred for his faith in about 90 AD, i think) is buried. From there, we will have dinner and then head to the airport. Our flight leaves at just after midnight, and then in another 18 hours or so (God willing), we will be arriving to O'Hare in Chicago. At this point, we are anticipating that we will be back to all our homes by no later than 5:00 p.m.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers and comments and e-mails and everything else. The team served well, loved well and did well, and we can't wait to see you all!

Signing off...
-samurai jack

Let's Rock!

2005-08-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

There is a famous Hindu Temple/Fort in Trichy that is usually simply referred to as the “Rock Fort Temple”. It is an elaborate network of hand-carved steps, temples, and walkways into the solid rock of a mountain that towers in the center of the city. From its top, you can see the vastness of the city spreading out before you, and it's also a beautiful climb up several hundred hand-carved steps. A couple of interesting things about it:

1 ) There are some temples (each is hollowed into the actual rock of the mountain) along the journey to the top that foreigners or certain castes are simply not allowed to enter. We are so spoiled by the concept that our God allows us such free and open access to him through the blood of Christ. Many people in India still labor under a theistic system that is exclusive to certain people or groups.

2) The temple employs a beautiful 16 year old trained elephant named Lakshmi, who, for a mere 5 Rupees, will bless your head by touching it with her trunk.

3) You're not allowed to wear shoes as you climb the steps. Bare feet (or socks) only.

It's definitely one of the cooler things to see and do when you're in Trichy. If you ever come with us on a team, we'll do our best to make sure that you have the opportunity!

It's Like Graceland... Except in India.

2005-08-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

Ever wanted to go to the house of "the king"? We did! After TBL HQ, we made a short stop at Raj’s house for refreshments. Did you know that Raj’s name (actually, it’s “Rajendran”) means “king”? We can now all say that we have visited a king’s domain! And I’ll tell you something, Indian generosity never ceases, nor ceases to amaze us all. Upon crossing the threshold, we were all downing cookies, hot and cold drinks, as well as receiving a gift from Raj and his family for each team member. The gift included a box of Indian tea, and a beautiful ancient ceremonial lamp (much like the ancient lamps found in Palestine). The picture here is of Raj's wife (Prema) and daughter (Carlinda).

The Next Wave!

2005-08-15T09:33:00.001-07:00

Before dropping in at Bible League HQ, we stopped quickly to meet the next wave of church planters who are currently enrolled in The Bible League's "PDT" training curriculum. PDT stands for "Purpose Driven Training", and until this group, all the training has been handled by GCC pastors and staff. 57 planters recently graduated from this training (finishing all modules, 101 - 401), and now this new 50 are completing 101 today. We had the opportunity to thank them personally for their dedication, effort, and faithfulness as they learn about how to help their churches grow, and were warmly received and greeted before we left them to head to our next destination.

TBLHQ...

2005-08-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

After our brief period of debriefing, we headed down to meet Raj to visit The Bible League Headquarters for Tamilnadu. Pictured here is the “big board”, which accurately tracks strategic progress and the efforts that TBL is making in the region. All of the TBL staff greeted warmly and were working diligently away. That would be normal for a Monday, except that today is Indian Independence Day (the equivalent to our 4^th of July), so these guys are REALLY dedicated! Truly, if every Christian in the world worked as hard as these men and women work, I’m quite certain that we’d already have that Great Commission thing taken care of.

A Bit of Debrief Time...

2005-08-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

We met today for about 90 minutes of “debrief” time, just us Americans. During that time, we began to piece together the mosaic of our experiences, analyze common threads, and celebrate uniquenesses of each of our sub-teams. It was a great beginning, I think, to a process that will need to continue for some time to come as we all begin to piece through what God has and is doing in us through the experience of this trip, and we will all look forward to having more such periods of discussion and analysis even after we get back to the States.

Fuzzy Fruit, Raggi and... Snails.

2005-08-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

I’m going to spend a little time here because the experience was so unique and I thought you would enjoy hearing about it.

Before leaving Pondicherry, Jason Aquila and I were taken to a family’s house for a late lunch after church. Like most cities in India, you can drive five minutes outside of the urban proper and instantly find yourself in a 5^th Century BC environment. People in this suburban village still harvest rice by hand, still scatter seed by hand, still make their food “fresh” (i.e. they probably just killed, found or picked whatever it is that you’re eating).

At this particular house, the fare for the day consisted of the following:

First, the food is served on a palm leaf. According to Indian custom, if you are served poisonous food on a palm leaf, the leaf will turn black. Even in many restraunts, the food is served on a palm leaf. Also, to show friendship, when finished, you never fold a palm leaf toward someone other than yourself.

Palm Fruit – Palm fruit grows abundantly on palm trees, looks a bit like the love child of an egg-plant and a coconut, and, when cracked open reveals a very fibrous yellow fruit that is rather tasteless and nearly impossible to eat well. I was picking “hairs” out of my teeth for hours.

Snails – As we entered the family’s “yard”, I saw the grandmother shucking what looked like snails on the ground. “That’s weird,” Jason and I remarked to each other, “I wonder why she’s doing that?” We soon found out. The snails were served in a piping hot and “muay caliente” Indian curry sauce that was almost too spicy to eat.
Chicken – Recognizable the world around, this chicken was killed only a few minutes before it was served as seen here curry-style.

Raggi – Apparently grown as an indigenous crop throughout the Middle East and Asia, Raggi is a hard grain which is grown and then baked into small, purple, chewy, semi-hard cakelets that you see here. Indian tradition states that it was Raggi that Jacob gave to Essau as a side dish to the “stew” that Essau traded for his birthright in the book of Genesis.

Arnusami and Family!

2005-08-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Arnusami and most of his family are pictured here (Arnusami is second from the left, and his son, Amarnath, is at the far left. Daughters Aruna - in white - and Saomia, are at the right). Arnusami’s wife (Anbuvathi) was ill with a chronic condition in her right leg, and Arnusami consistently had difficulty finding jobs that paid well enough for him to bring in the income that they needed. Because of Immanuels persistence, friendship building, and prayer, the entire family began to listen more to Immanuel’s presentation of the Gospel. The entire family now follows Christ under Immanuel’s ministry, and Anbuvathi has been able to have an operation to heal her leg. The family still struggles financially, and is beset with other obstacles (the eldest daughter had to leave school to help her father support the family), but I will tell you, they were the most fervent in prayer at the church service on Sunday, the most joyful during worship, and the most intense in their faith.

Can I Get a Witness?!

2005-08-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

Here is our very own Jason Aquila sharing his testimony during a church service in Pondicherry. Careful not to try to steal the limelight, but rather use our influence as Westerners to lend credibility to the ministry of the church planter, GCC team members are careful not to “preach” during services, but rather use the time up front for testimony and pointing back to the ministry of the church planter. Jason did a great job!

Bible Alive!

2005-08-14T21:28:00.000-07:00

These men are mending their nets after a long day of fishing. Remind you of Bible times when Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, came across fishermen who were doing the same thing?

In this picture (below), Raj points to a “resting stone”. Because people still manually carry (either on their heads or backs) incredible burdens to get things from place to place, you will periodically see these concrete or natural “resting stones” in villages. Raj explained that Indian culture and Jewish culture are very similar in many respects, and that it is things like this that make Matt 11:28-30 (“Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest… for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”) come alive to Indian people when they hear them in the Gospels.

Jimminey Cricket!!!

2005-08-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

This group of kids was seen playing Cricket (the Indian national sport, residual from British colonial days) while in Pondicherry, and they all recognized (and quickly surrounded) Immanuel, who is kind of in the middle of this photo. Cricket is a bit like a baseball, except that you get to carry the bat with you when you run, the field is round, and the games can last for days rather than hours if the teams are very evenly matched.

Ah, the Irony of It All!

2005-08-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

What does an Indian washing machine look like? This young lady is washing clothes like most people do in India. Step 1: Find a big, flat rock. Step 2: Lather up your clothes. Step 3: Scrub the dickens out of them. Step 4: Rinse and repeat. Interestingly, Pondicherry is the India HQ for appliance manufacturer Whirlpool… bet that this young lass would freak if she could see a washing machine.

Yanking My Heart Strings...

2005-08-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

The little girl being held in this picture is named Nehe (Nay-huh). Believe it or not, she is a US Citizen. Her father moved from India several years ago to the US, was naturalized as a citizen, and then returned to India to marry Nehe’s mother. However, shortly after Nehe’s birth, the father disappeared, returning back to America without either his wife, his newborn daughter, or any record or indication of his whereabouts. After nearly 2 years, they still have yet to hear from or locate him, and so little Nehe struggles in poverty as a US Citizen in India simply because they cannot find her father. This one was a tough one for me. I wanted to just scoop her up and take her home with me, but I’m sure there’s a smarter way to do that kind of thing. For starters, we got copies of her father’s naturalization certificate, Nehe’s consular proof of birth, and passport to see if we can find him. Nehe and her mother came to the church service that Immanuel conducted on Sunday morning, and there were indications in their home that they are Roman Catholic.

It's Not Wrong... It's Just Different!

2005-08-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

This is an official “squatty-potty” as commonly seen here in

India

. Many models do not feature porcelain as this one does, and in some instances, one simply goes outside the village and finds a tree or a rock or whatever and takes care of business “the natural way”. The second picture is of an Indian shower. Basically, one bucket fills while you use a cup from the other to dump water over your head.

Kharthi and Lakshmi!

2005-08-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

While visiting family contacts that Immanuel had already made in the sub-villages along the coast of Pondicherry, we met Kharthi and Lakshmi, a young couple with three children who survived the tsunami and are followers of Christ. They are an exceptionally bright and kind family, but are currently enduring some significant persecution from their neighbors. They practice their faith in secret right now because they would be forcibly removed from the town if they proclaimed their faith freely. Immanuel visits them several times a week, prays with and encourages them, and they are looking forward to the day when they can worship freely together with other believers. Their home is a 9x16 bamboo and thatch hut with concrete floor. They have 3 children. When the tsunami came, the water reached the level of the pictures in their hut. Their youngest (featured here), clung to the bamboo walls for life and was found still clinging there when Kharthi finally managed to get back to the home. Pretty tough kid, eh? He was only 12 months old at the time.

Great Things Come in Small Packages!

2005-08-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

The church planter Jason Aquila and I spent most of our time with is a hero of the Christian Faith that you will most likely never hear about other than in this blog. His name is Immanuel. Immanuel came to Christ after the healing of an incurable disease that doctors told him would plague his entire life, and now has successfully planted 2 churches and a dozen small groups (cell-groups) in hostile regions in Pondicherry. He conducts Sunday services in a 12x20 thatched hut with a dirt floor as about a dozen of his congregants listen carefully to what he says. Immanuel is humble, unassuming, and thinks little of the credit for the work he has done. Just being around him made us want to stand taller, walk stronger, and act with greater conviction. Immanuel, like all of the TBL church planters with whom we work in India, is bringing the Kingdom of God to earth in a very powerful way! Below is a picture of Immanuel's newest church plant. It's about 12 people, including at least 2 families.

Pondicherry... Not "Pound of Cherries".

2005-08-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

Jason Aquila and I were assigned to the area known as Pondicherry. Sitting on the eastern coast of the country and about 5 hours by car or bus from Trichy, its urban center (picture on the right) boasts nearly a million people, but like most Indian cities, much of it is actually quite rural in more ways than one (picture on the left). Whether through lifestyle (Biblical era agrarian existence) or economic status (urban poverty manifests itself much as rural poverty would in some critical areas). Pondicherry was actually hit fairly hard by the tsunami last December, but due to the foresight of the city officials, a large rock burm (picture below) had been constructed several years before to ease just such a catastrophe. Many of the people who live in Pondicherry are fishermen (see boats along shore below), and have only just recently been able to return to their livelihood due to the fact that the tsunami destroyed so many boats, homes and lives.

"The Descendents of Cain"...

2005-08-14T21:12:00.001-07:00

I couldn’t snap a photo quickly enough on this one, but I hope it’s still worth reading. On the way to Pondicherry, Solomon (our guide, and one of the TBL staff) pointed quickly out the window and said, “Oh, look there! There are the descendents of Cain!” Since that’s just not the kind of thing that one hears regularly in the US, Jason and I strained to see what we could of whatever Solomon was pointing at. To our right was a large group of people out in the open just doing “average things” like cooking and congregating. Bewildered, we asked Solomon to explain. He said that these people are a nomadic people called the Nari Kuruvan people (from which, we get the term “caravan”). He said that they are very primitive, very rough, and very difficult to engage. They move around constantly, eat ants, squirrels, and whatever they can find, eschew living in cities, and never get sick… ever. They survive by hunting, gathering, and making some hand-made crafts which they sell as needed. Solomon referred to the passage in Genesis where God indicates that Cain and his descendents will not be welcome among other people, and yet will be left alone because of God’s protection.

Don't Try THIS at Home, Kids!

2005-08-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

I think that if the GCC Shuttle-buses were here in India, we’d be packing LOTS more people onto them than they are currently used to holding. Incidentally, virtually every piece of transportation hardware here carries nearly 4x the recommended max passenger allowance, whether human or otherwise. Yesterday, Jason Aquila saw six people on a motorcycle (the father was driving, the two eldest were in front of him, the wife was behind him and was carrying a child in each arm). We packed 8 grown men into an “autorickshaw” (a small, 3 wheeled ATV that is used for urban taxi travel) for most of the day yesterday. The general rule of thumb, therefore, seems to simply be, “You can fit more than you think you can”. I guess with 1.2 billion people, you do what you have to do.

Buying Sawars...

2005-08-14T21:11:00.001-07:00

GCC ladies featured here purchasing traditional Indian Sawar-Kamis (a 3 piece traditional garb that features long pants, a long, caftan-style top, and a “scarf”) at a local shop.

Where Chaos and Order Clash!

2005-08-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

Driving in India is a frightening proposition that generally serves as one of the most significant “sticking points” for most people who travel here. Why? Well, because in the US, we have laws, lanes, police, and a general agreement to conform to all of those things. In India, they have all of those things, but they just don’t mean anything. Lanes are suggestions. See this picture? Notice that we are going in the opposite direction to these people and yet sharing the same lane. Laws? They exist… but no one follows them. And no one expects them to. The police stand helplessly by pretty much just waiting to clean up any accidents that may occur. And yet, bizarrely, Indians are remarkably calm about the whole thing and there is actually an element of gracefulness about the whole thing, terrifying as it may be to be playing chicken at 60 mph with a fully loaded truck carrying gasoline only to swerve at the absolute last instant into the other lane for a miss within 6” of our own vehicle. Think Slam Dancing meets Tango.

Holy Cow, Batman!

2005-08-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

Featured here is a picture of one of the bazillion cows and other livestock that simply roam free throughout every city, town and village in India. Because of the Hindu belief system, many people own cattle for work purposes, but they do not, of course, slaughter or eat them. Rather they are simply allowed to roam freely (yes, even in urban environments), eat freely, and wander through traffic freely. Think Chicago traffic on Lakeshore Drive, but with every third car being a cow, ox or water buffalo.

Preparing to Run Silent...

2005-08-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

This will be my last post for a couple of days as we're preparing to leave Trichy and join Bible League church planters in their villages. I will not have Internet access, therefore, so will probably not be able to post again until at least Sunday night.
I still owe you an accounting of yesterday's (Thursday's) phenomenal activities and experiences. The quick summary is that we divided into mens/womens teams and did two separate work projects. The men went to a small village of about 150 people (about 20 miles from Trichy proper) called Ghandi Nager Colony (near Manikandam if you're looking at a map) and painted doors, distributed food and clothing, school supplies, and prayed for the townspeople, all of which was "preparatory" to a new church planter entering the village and was capped by a magic show (one of the TBL staff is an amateur magician) and Raj sharing his testimony. The women visited a clinic/orphanage operated by a Roman Catholic sisterhood that caters to Lepers, HIV/AIS patients, and orphans (many of the oprhans were "left" to the orphanage because their parents died of AIDS, or have Leprosy, or were killed in the recent tsunami last December). Both were incredible experiences and i will work on describing them in better detail as we will all have some "car time" getting to our villages.
Next up, we will meet with the 9 or so church planters that we will be visiting for a brief introduction to their ministry and how we can best help them. Afterward, we will be travelling with them to their villages for three days and two nights to do what we can to serve, help and lend credibility to their ministry. Many people are fascinated by us as novelties since we are Americans, and it sometimes helps to open doors for a planter if we serve as his students along the way. If you would like to pray for each of the team members and where they will be going, here is a quick list:

Gerry & Tharesa Bentley - village just outside of Trichy
Henrietta Cobbins & Jeanne Tripp - village just outside of Trichy
Dave & Peggy McKee - Salem
Thane Rulli, Sarah Posick & Joyce Nagy - Madurai
Patrick Spaulding & Zach Allen - Vitudhunagaer
Jason Aquilla & Jack Magruder - Pondicherry
Noel Boren & Linda Petersen - Raniper
Mary Boatman, Terri Hoofnagle, Julie Minne - Arumbakkam
Josh Bramer & Mike Price - Kalavai

That's about all i have time to post for now. See you again in a couple of days! Know that the team is doing exceptionally well, that we miss all of you back home, and that we continue to value and treasure your thoughts, comments and prayers. Also, thanks to all of you who have commented on the blog. The comments have also been a great encouragement!

Engaging the Friendlies…

2005-08-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

After checking in quickly at the Hotel Sangam where we are staying while in Trichy, we loaded back up and went to join the 57 church planters who are currently going through the first module of training in GCC/TBL modified CORE class ideologies. Each of these 57 is currently planting or operating at least one church, and the CORE class modules teach them how to multiply their congregations healthily and with balance. The 10 female church planters who are going through the training are pictured here with some of our team ladies. Upon arriving, we sat cross-legged on straw mats on the ground for about an hour and worshipped with the planters under a starless but exceptionally pleasant evening. We heard the testimonies of two of the church planters with whom our group will be visiting/traveling, and then went to enjoy a truly Indian dinner. The dinner consisted of “Chicken 65”, Rice pongol (a mixed rice dish with rice, peppers and spices), and chicken curry, as well as tiny but extremely tasty bananas the Raj simply called “damage control” for when you eat something that is too hot and need to quickly cool your mouth. After eating and talking for another hour or so, we returned to the Sangam to get to bed at around 11 p.m.

“Welcome to Fantasy Island!” Okay, Not Really… But Kind Of.

2005-08-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

Upon arriving at the Trichy train station, we were greeted by Rajendran (aka. “Da Man!”) and some of his Trichy office staff. Immediately, in addition to warm hugs and handshakes, we were each given these gargantuan “lais” (or whatever you call those Hawaiian necklace thingies). Each of these weighs about 5 pounds and the odor of fresh roses is positively but substantially almost overwhelming. Whew! The picture to the right is of Rajendran and Solomon. Solomon very carefully safeguarded us throughout the entire train journey, and made sure we both got on and off where we should have along the way. Finally, we were also able to meet Raj’s son, Bruce for the first time. Bruce has been studying at a boarding school for several years, but just this year wanted to come back home to study in Trichy.

Leavin’ On That Mid-day Train to…uh… Trichy?

2005-08-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

After our time with “The Guys”, we loaded up and headed to the train station to catch a mid-day train to Trichy. The train ride lasted about 5 hours and was a phenomenal experience from start through finish. It’s not impolite to stare in

India

, so 20 Americans disembarking spontaneously from the side of a large bus certainly drew some attention. One Indian man proudly compared tattoos with Josh Bramer, and we enjoyed a quick survey of the melee of human existence before fording the people flood of bodies attempting to board trains on the ramp.

We sat in a Class-B Air Conditioned Car, but most of the team didn’t stay there. You should be so proud of your team. Within minutes, most of the team was traversing each car (most of which were non-air conditioned), striking up conversations with very eager Indians, praying with people, enjoying the countryside from open side-doors, and engaging everyone they saw. The train was also extremely culturally diverse. There were Muslim women dressed from head to toe in full black with only their eyes showing, Hindu families fresh from the temple with fresh cow-dung ash smeared on their foreheads, and we even ran into a few people who were Indian-Americans just home visiting family and friends. One young man was a 10^th grader from California named Sid who was born in India but comes back every five years or so to visit, and the lady that sat behind Gerry and Tharesa Bentley was a woman named Vidya (pictured here). Vidya is a culturally anthropologist at the University of Washington at Seattle and is specializing in using indigenous music and folklore as method for teaching arts and sciences. She is fluent in both Tamil and English, had 7 children with her who were students, sculpts, paints, sings, and shows the children how to go into the forests and jungles to select wood for making “drones” (a common Indian instrument kind of like a guitar) and other instruments. Needless to say, we had no shortage of things to talk about, and other team members had similar experiences with the people they met.

The Guys!

2005-08-11T21:52:00.000-07:00

After breakfast, we spent about two hours with many of the office staff from The Bible League. They taught us a Tamil song, some Tamil words (for instance, “Stoteerum” means “Praise the Lord” and “Kali Wanakum” means “Good Morning”), and two of their testimonies. As always, the TBL staff are amazing people, both anticipating our needs and being eager to help us to serve better. They are remarkable people and it is a privilege to serve with them.

Back Off! I know Chai Ti!

2005-08-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

One of my jokes about teaching Tai Chi (the Chinese Martial Art that emphasizes intrinsic internal energy focalization as a conduit for maximum potential destructiveness in combat) backfired and some witty team members have now made the phrase “practicing Chai Ti (er… that’s Chai Tea)” a running gag within the team. Seen here is breakfast at the YWCA, complete with British Colonial style/Indian treats ranging from scrambled eggs to Odivvy (rice-pancakes) and, of course, real Indian "Chai Tea".

We’re Not the Village People, But We Like the YWCA…

2005-08-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

We may not BE the Village People, but we get looks from many of the nationals that would make you think we might as well be. The pictures here are of the Chennai YWCA, and it’s quite a nice establishment. The rooms are clean and simple, the service is excellent, and they also have conference room capability, which is a significant plus when working with large groups.

Quick Note...

2005-08-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Well, i was trying to keep very close track of the date and time of my entries, but it is proving difficult due to the infrequency of my ability to post. As a result, i'll be qutting with the whole Star Trek Captain Kirk "stardate thing" that i've been doing.

Officially "On the Ground"!

2005-08-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

08.10.05 - 0030 hrs - We arrived into Chennai airport just after midnight and were glad to finally be on the ground. As all 700 or whatever passengers disembarked from our Lufthansa Boeing 747-400, India helps the immigration process by posting signs to help you out if you are unsure whether or not you are actually an Indian or a Foreigner. See Patrick Spaulding here posing one of his more playfully satirical looks as the sign just to left of his face says in VERY distinct letters: "Foreigners". Yep, that's us all right!

To the immediate left of where we were standing was a traditional Indian wall mural that sported the following phrase in both Tamil and English: "Seek to perform your duty, but lay not claim to its fruits." I thought that was particularly profound, especially since we view that same wisdom through the lense of Christ, where so long as God receives the glory, we are each to be content with our part in the work.

After passing through Customs and taking a quick "bio-break" (Ron Vandergriend's code name for a "pottie stop"), we headed down to gather our luggage, exchange our money, and then meet our Indian friends.

Immanuel and several of the office staff from The Bible League showed up in true Indian hospitable force, greeting us with warm handshakes, hugs and smiles, and then led us to the bus that would take us to the YWCA where we will sleep for what remains of the night. While there, they got us "squared away" with rooms, fresh (and cold) bottled water, and the most beautiful "welcome shawls" that you will have ever seen upon our return. Truly, when it comes to hospitality, Indians are definitely "dialed in"! After making quick calls to home to let loved ones know we have arrived safely, most of the team disappeared to their rooms to catch up on some much needed shut-eye.

At the moment, it is currently 0420 hrs in the morning, and your faithful field correspondent is bushed. There are monkeys howling outside my window (no doubt, they are intimidated at my formidible computer hacking skills!), the occasional auto-rickshaw zooming by in the distance, and the machine-gun cutting of the ceiling fan blades in my room chopping through the thick and humid air. Tomorrow will be an exciting day, and as Mark Beeson says his mom used to say, "Tomorrow is too good to miss by spoiling it today"... or at least that's how i remember it. Anyway, the point is, i'm going to bed.

“Head ‘em Up! Move ‘em Oooouuut!”

2005-08-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

08.09.05 – 1045 hrs – We were officially on our way and on schedule as we were supposed to be from the Frankfurt airport! Off we go! Incidentally, Frankfurt Airport is a fascinating place to just hang out and “people watch”. We saw an entire group of Japanese school-girls all clad in EXACTLY matching pink outfits. There was a group of 20 Ukrainian kids all under the age of 10 (and a VERY flustered teacher) waiting to board a plane to Minsk (now THAT’S a field trip)… and then there was this really cool, very dynamic group of Americans that everyone kept referring to as "a dashing group of individuals" who were going to India to do some really cool stuff with some really cool people... oh wait! That was US!!!

“Warning: Objects in Photo Are Larger Than They Appear!”

2005-08-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

08.09.05 – 0845 hrs – Having arrived in Frankfurt pretty much on schedule, we tromped to our gate (B42) and set up camp as we waited out our 4 hour lay-over before boarding THIS big honkin’ aircraft to head to Chennai, India. How do you wait out a 4 hour lay-over in Germany, you ask? Some of the team went to see if they could get a German stamp in their passports. Some hunted for bottled-water refills and a decent bathroom. Some checked out the highly overpriced items at any of the various Duty-free shops and kiosks. One team member attempted to try out his rusty German by deciphering the graffiti in the bathroom (incidentally, according to said team member, the German word for “graffiti” is…er…”graffiti”). And at least one geek sat at his laptop and hacked out nifty titles to his blog entries for when he would have the opportunity to upload them. The flight leaves at 1045 hrs, will take approximately 10 hours, and should land us in Chennai at just past midnight Indian Time.

Gesundheit!

2005-08-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

08.08.05 – 1700 hrs – Flying Lufthansa offers the added benefit of a sort of hyper-specific “Berlitz” language course while flying on the aircraft. For 50 points, see if you can figure out the German WITHOUT reading the English below. Hint: If you get to the point where you actually NEED a “Schwimmweste”, you are probably no longer “Sitzen”. The flight is supposed to take approximately 7.5 hours, and land us in Germany at approximately 0730 on 08.09.05.

The Last Supper… Sort Of…

2005-08-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

08.08.05 – 1400 hrs – Having been effectively deployed from our shuttles by our faithful drivers (Judy and Wayne), we arrived at Chicago O’Hare just in time to check in, go through security, and then gorge on a good American “Last Supper” before departing. The favorites among the team ranged from McDonalds to Chilis-to-Go, and all were suitably sated before joining the ¼ mile long line to board the plane.

We Have Lift-off!

2005-08-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

08.08.05 – 1000 hrs – Is this a great looking group or what!? Having thus established that we are indeed “Cocked, locked and ready to rock”, the team departed GCC on schedule for its trek to Chicago O’Hare. Thanks to the expert driving skills of Judy and Wayne, we took a route that remained “below the radar horizon” of all the construction on the toll-road, and thus were able to deploy as planned by 1330 hrs in time to check in and get to our gate.

Hakuna Matata... Or Something Like That!

2005-08-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, so even if you don't like the movie, you have to admit that the "Hakuna Matata" song on Disney's The Lion King is really catchy. And why, you say, is it particularly pertinent at the moment? Well, because "it means no worries", of course! And here's why.

Many of you have been watching the news and noticing that there has been yet another natural disaster issue in India with the flooding in Bombay (Mumbai), and have been wondering if it will affect our team at all. The answer to that is that it really shouldn't.

India is diverse not only culturally, but geographically, and Bombay is quite a significant distance away from where will be in the South. When i spoke with Ron this morning and asked him to tell me if there was anything i could relay to you to comfort or allay any fears, he said, "well, actually, there's been a drought in Tamilnadu for the past 3 years, so lack of rain would be more likely than torrential rain". As a result, while we're not meteorologists or anything, and certainly won't want to be held liable if it rains in India while we are there, please just note that we will not be in any immediate danger from the flooding in Bombay, and that we will be well clear of any of the residual effects that the flooding in that region might have.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road!

2005-07-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Remember the Wizard of Oz? Remember that as long as the little crew stayed on the Yellow Brick Road, they were sure to get to the Emrald City? Well, you have been raising support, preparing your heart and mind, and generally feeling like you've been "caught in a Twister" only to hopefully end up in a really beautiful and exotic new land. As a result, i thought that it might be a good idea to post your "yellow brick road" for when you will be in India. Here's the general outline of times, dates and locations for where you will be and what you'll be doing:

Itinerary:

Aug 8 Monday

11:00am Meet at GCC[a1]

Depart for O’Hare Airport

o For international flights you must check in at least two hours early.

o Make sure you have nothing in your carry-on luggage that will fail the security checks.

o Dress comfortably[a2] .

o Airplanes can be cold[a3] .

o Pick a pocket for your passport and put it in the same place EVERY TIME so it will not get lost.[a4]

3:45pm GCC Team leaves Chicago for India via Frankfurt

o Try to get some sleep. If you have a mild sleep aid, use it[a5] . Avoid caffeine and drink lots of water[a6] . It is more important that you sleep on the first leg to Frankfurt than on the second leg to Chennai.

Aug 9 Tuesday

Transfer in Frankfurt – stay together

11:45pm GCC Team arrives in Chennai[a7]

1) You must fill out an arrivals card and customs declaration. The cabin attendants will give these to you on the plane. Your purpose is tourism[a8] . Your address in India is the YWCA International House, Poonamalie Rd, Chennai

2) First step is to clear immigration – you need your passport and the customs card. The officer will tear off a portion of the immigration card and leave a portion in your passport. You will give part of this to the customs officer, but another part (it may be called the departure card or emigration card) YOU WILL NEED FOR YOUR DEPARTURE NEXT WEEK[a9] .

3) If you were unfortunate enough to check luggage, you now get to wait while they wrestle it off the plane. If you have only carry-on, go change some money at the bank counters at the far end of the luggage-pick-up area. $50-100 will do [a10] – enough to get you to a hotel if needed. Count your money before stepping away from the window (it is not rude or mistrustful). You will get about 40 Rupies to the dollar. Ask for bills no larger than 100 rupies. Most places cannot make change for the 500 rupie bill. Think of the 100 rupie bill as about $2.50.

4) Exit the airport through customs. (Make sure you have no map of India with you – if it happens to have the wrong representation of the border with Pakistan or China customs will make a big hairy out of it and probably take it away.) YOU MUST GIVE THE CUSTOMS OFFICER THAT LITTLE SECTION OF PAPER AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR ARRIVALS CARD.

5) Immanuel will be outside to meet you.

6) The ride to the YWCA [a11] takes about 30 minutes. You will have to show passports to check in. Note the ancient system of logging in each visitor. An introduction to Indian bureaucracy. About the time you get into your room, you will suddenly be wide awake and unable to sleep for the rest of the night – welcome to jet lag.

Aug 10 Wednesday

Breakfast at the YWCA[a12]

Morning rest time

Early afternoon train to Trichy[a13]

Check in at the Hotel Sangam[a14]

Come to the training center to meet the church planters.

Night at the Hotel Sangam

Aug 11 Thursday

Raj has asked for help on two projects while we are in Trichy. These involve a bit of physical labor in helping some of the poorest people in India. We will do one project on Thursday before leaving with the church planters and the other project on Monday after we get back.

PANCHAPUR PROJECT

There are 23 families living in this area, one member in each family is affected by leprosy. Among the them 3 are believers.

What we can do to help?

-10 houses can be pained or white washed. They are small, thatched house.

- Roof changing

- They need a water can for each families to store water, since they do not get water everyday.

- Gathering the sand and mud around their walls to support the wall.

- Provide a lunki [a15] for men and saree [a16] for the women.

- Repairing the temporary road and cleaning the area

- We can share the gospel [a17] with them

Night at the Hotel Sangam

Aug 12 Friday

Breakfast [a18] and devotions at the Hotel Sangam

Mid morning: meet with the church planters for orientation

You should have a small backpack packed with enough to take you through the next two nights[a19] . You will need only the shoes you have on, toiletries to wash up (bucket bath), a towel, and a couple of changes of clothes. It will be hot[a20] , so an extra shirt or two might be wise.

Team members leave in groups of 2 or 3 to spend 2 nights with the church planters

Night w/ church planters

Aug 13 Saturday

Day with Church Planters

Night w/ church planters

Aug 14 Sunday

Worship Service[a21]

Return to Hotel Sangam

Night at Hotel Sangam

Aug 15 Monday

Breakfast and devotions at the Hotel Sangam

FATHIMA PROJECT .

- This is a catholic center

- There are 200 in patients ( AIDS / HIV, TB, LEPROSY [a22] ), out-patient 50

- 15 girl children who are affected by Tsunami[a23] .

What we can do to help?

- We cannot take Photos are Videos so leave cameras at the Hotel Sangam

- Some can do the DRESSING for the people and visit bedsides.

- We can do CLEANING up the areas.

- We can share the gospel with them

- We will pick up some food and personal items to leave as gifts.

- We will also spend some time talking with the girls who lost family members in the Tsunami and leave some help for their continuing their studies.

Return to the Hotel Sangam

Night at Hotel Sangam

Aug 16 Tuesday

Early morning train to Chennai

Day-rooms at the YWCA for rest and a shower[a24]

Time for some shopping at Spencer Plaza

9:00pm depart by bus for the airport

We need to get to the airport at least 3 hours early. (1) you must show your passport and ticket (e-ticket documentation) to the guard in order to get into the airport. (2) Check-in baggage must pass through the x-ray machines and get security stickers. Note: they have to go through the machines labeled for your airline. (3) Check in and get your boarding pass. Look for the little luggage tags at check in for your carry on luggage. Each piece of carry-on luggage, including purses have to have a tag. You do not need to write anything on the tag, but it will be stamped and checked each time you go through the several security check-points ahead of you. (4) Change any rupies you have back into dollars.

(5) Pass through immigration – give the immigration officer your passport, that little departure card (if you lost it you can fill out a new one), and your boarding pass. (6) Get your boarding pass stamped at the customs desk (they are really there so that Indian nationals can register cameras and computers on departure. (When they return they will not have to pay tax as if they were importing new electronic goods). (7) Go to the departure area and pass through security with your carry-on luggage. This can take a long time so do not wait till the last minute.

You are now good to go!

Aug 17 Weds

1:45am GCC team departs Chennai for US

You arrive in Terminal 5 (not the same one where you left). No cell phones allowed in the immigration area. At immigration the officer may ask about your trip and will put some marks on your form. YOU WERE NOT NEAR FARM ANIMALS. If you check yes on this one you will get the detail treatment at customs. Pick up your checked luggage (if checked), clear customs giving the officer your arrival form.

The bus should be there to meet you

[a1]Please be here PROMPTLY!!! Rob and others will want to join us to pray for us, but we will be making it an expedited experience. There will also be final checks.

[a2]SERIOUSLY!!!

[a3]Layers are good. The following are things to avoid:

1) shorts

2) tank tops

3) sleeveless garments

4) anything without socks

[a4]Many of you have seen those “pouches” for all your international travel gear. Those are okay so long as you actually use them, and they can be kind of clunky.

[a5]Some possibles:

1) No Jet-Lag

2) Melatonin (XXXX!!!)

[a6]2 things:

1) Most of jet lag is due to dehydration, not lack of sleep.

2) Getting up to go to the bathroom is actually a good thing in a number of ways. It not only relieves your bladder, but increases your circulation.

[a7]Chennai is a cool place. On the way from the airport, you can see the dark shadow of the mountain where (supposedly) the Apostle Thomas is buried.

[a8]ALWAYS Tourism!!!

[a9]Seriously.

[a10]This depends on how much you are going to bring with you total. Generally, you will get a better transfer rate at the airport than you will at a hotel.

[a11] The YWCA is a nice place. There is an international phone on campus.

[a12]Meal is a combo of West and Indian. You’ll be introduced to Chai tea and Colonial breakfast foods. You’ll want to make sure you have water to take with you. Bottled water is both plentiful and necessary, so stay hydrated.

[a13]AWESOME experience! You’ll see many little villages, jungle and water buffalo.

[a14] This place is NOT roughing it. There is a pool, two great restraints, and two excellent curio shops.

[a15]A kind of wrap-around skirt for the men.

[a16]The beautiful adornment of the women. Varies with region and actually identifies it.

[a17]Give some consideration as to what you would say here. Keep it simple, precise and transcultural. Example of me at the concert in Elgin.

[a18]Depending on what we do and which restraint, breakfast will rock!

[a19]Keep in mind that in a village culture, most people don’t have multiple changes of clothes. You want to look nice and presentable, but keeping absolutely clean is nearly impossible.

[a20]“HOT” is an understatement.

[a21]Indians know how to worship! It’s part of their culture. Here’s a tip that I learned from Rob. Don’t worry if you don’t know the words. Sing anyway. And try to learn. It endears you!

[a22]Experience at Karigiri. Stigma is multiplied infinitely in Indian culture, and works against itself. Tamil Nadu is the 2^nd highest at risk region of India for HIV/AIDS.

[a23]Recollection of tsunami sites.

[a24]Showering at the YWCA:

1) No shower curtain

2) No separation from the rest of the bathroom, so shower shoes aren’t a bad idea.

Rajendran... Meet "Da Man!"

2005-07-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Team:

I want to introduce you to a special person who will be hosting us in India. Rajendran was a devout Hindu. India is called a place of 30 million gods. We would probably call these spirits or even demons. Hindus worship these spirits, but they are also afraid of them. If you offend a spirit, bad things will happen to you or your family. So to please the spirit, you make offerings of food and money, or give yourself to be possessed by them.

Rajendran was possessed. The spirit would cause his body to be horribly twisted and he would thrash about hurting himself. One day he called on the name of Jesus - Raj will tell you how he came to know that name - and the spirit came out. When his family saw that he was in his right mind - they were amazed. But when he shared that he had been delivered by Jesus, they locked him up in his room.

To make a long story short, when Rajendran was finally freed, he began to share about Jesus with everyone he met. He walked into a church and wanted to tell all these people that he too was a believer in Jesus. That's when the pastor tried to lock him up – almost literally. The pastor told him he could not teach about Jesus unless he went to seminary.

When Raj tells his story, you will see how all his life he has been fighting to tell others about Christ. It is a message that burns so brightly in Rajendran's life that he cannot be silenced.

You will meet Raj when he comes to GCC next week!.

Here, I've attached a picture - its not a very good picture. He is really a warm and smiling man. Be praying for him as we get ready to go.

- Ron Vandergriend

I Like Curry Powder On My Hot Dogs!

2005-07-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

Crew! No, the picture is not of me. Yes, this guy certainly looks like he belongs at the upcoming American Style Family Picnic on Wednesday, July 20th, from 6 - 8:30pm at St. Patrick's Park in South Bend.

"But Jack," you say, "why would i want to come to an All American Family Style Picnic?" Because THIS American Style Family Picnic will be YOUR opportunity to introduce the India Bible League staff to American culture, food and fun. Pretty soon, you'll be experiencing Indian culture, so this will be a great opportunity to not only meet the people with whom and for whom we'll be working, but show them some great American hospitality while they are here!

If you can attend, please plan to bring your family, a favorite salad, vegetable, dessert or snack. We'll provide the hotdogs, beverages and dinnerware.

In addition, we'll have horseshoes, volleyball, bocce ball, frisbee and other outdoor games to play, so wear comfortable playwear.

St. Patrick's park is located at 50651 Laurel Road in South Bend. If you are planning on being able to attend, please let either myself (jmagruder@gccwired.com) or Val Qualey (vqualey@gccwired.com) know in advance so we can plan for you.

We look forward to seeing you there!!!

-samurai jack

A Little Nitro for Your Engine!

2005-07-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

Crew! I'm not a car fanatic or anything, but one thing that i've heard of is what Nitrous Oxide does to an engine. For your average "street legal Ford", a blast of NO2 turns it into a street-eating drag machine. A dose into a muscle car makes it almost a missile on wheels, and a dose into a higly refined race car... well... you get the idea. As you prepare for India, i wanted to let you know about an upcoming opportunity to gather some spiritual NO2 for your "engine". What is it? I'm so glad you asked!

On Thursday, July 21st, during New Community services here at GCC, the following things will be happening:

1) Your very own team leader (Ron Vandergriend) will be the featured guest speaker that evening during the New Community service.

2) Rajendran, Immanuel, and the Bible League India staff with whom you will be working closely will also be present and introduced to the congregation as they spend some time with us here in the States before we travel to India to join them in their work.

3) YOU will be introduced to the congregation as the next round of representatives travelling on behalf of GCC.

4) YOU will also be prayed for publically during the service! Yee-ha!

It will be like having a dose of Nitrous Oxide for your spiritual engine! Make sure you scope out your calendar to be present so that you can avail yourself of the opportunity! See you there! -samurai jack

Typhoid and Malaria and Shots, Oh My!

2005-04-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

1) There is a shortage of Typhoid immunization at this time, due to the huge needs after the tsunami. The St. Joe County Health Department is working hard to get a shipment in for our group, and will keep us posted if acquiring the immunization becomes impossible.

2) Ron Vandergriend recommends that for Malaria medication, the common antibiotic known as Doxycycline is preferred over other possibles. The reason for this is that it operates well against Malaria, but also doubles as an intestinal deterrent against parasites while in India. No one who has traveled with GCC and has been taking Doxy has contracted Malaria (though that's not, of course, to say that it's not possible) so far, and the side effects of Doxy are significantly less than the potential side effects of other meds such as Larium or other commonly prescribed anti-Malarials. You will need to have your physician prescribe Doxy for you as the Health Dept will not be able to do so.

3) You may pay for the shots "per dose" rather than all at once. In the instance of the Twin-Rix, you can pay $45 each dose when you receive it, rather than $135 "up front" for all three doses, even though you will receive them spread out over a 7 month period.

And Now, Reporting Live From the Field...

2005-04-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

I asked Ashley Evans (our liaison to good health with the St. Joe County Health Dept) to jot down some good things for you to be aware of as you prepare to go to India, and she responded with the following information. Enjoy!

**************************

Welcome to the healthy traveler page. The following information will help you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy while traveling in India. Remember, there is more information available then can be discussed at this site. Please visit the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/indianrg.htm for complete information, or contact the St Joseph County Health Department at 245-6656.

When traveling, we often think about the exciting new experiences we may have in a foreign country. At the same time, we have to remember that there will be some health risks that we do not face in our normal daily lives. Becoming knowledgeable about these risks give us a better chance of avoiding them.

Points to Ponder:

Begin preparing for travel far in advance of when you actually leave. Two to three months is a general estimate to give you ample time to receive vaccines and necessary medications.

Food and waterborne diseases are the number one cause of illness in travelers. Drink only bottled or boiled water, or carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles. Avoid tap water, fountain drinks, and ice cubes, along with unpasteurized dairy products.

Expanding on the above point, it is a good idea to bring an over the counter antidiarrheal in case of stomach illness (i.e. Imodium).

Eat only thoroughly cooked food or fruits and vegetables you have peeled yourself. Remember: boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it.

Take with you enough of the medications you take daily to last throughout the entire trip. These should be in their original bottles, and you should bring a letter from your physician stating which medications are prescribed to you.

Be cautious with ground transportation. Motor vehicle accidents constitute the greatest threat to traveler’s health. Travel only when necessary, and try to avoid travel at night when a greater number of drivers are impaired. Walk and drive defensively and always use seat belts.

Protect yourself from insect bites.

Don’t swim in fresh water. Salt water is usually safer

Don’t eat food purchased from street vendors.

Don’t handle animals (especially monkeys, dogs, and cats), to avoid bites and serious diseases.

Vaccines that are recommended for this trip include:

Tetanus-diphtheria (if no booster within the last 5 years)

Polio (if no booster since age 18)

Hepatitis A and B (if never completed the series)

Typhoid (if none in last 2 years (injectable) or 5 years (oral).

MMR (if have not had 2 vaccines or the disease)

An antimalarial is recommended due to a higher risk of malaria transmission. The recommended antimalarial is mefloquine.

References:

Centers for Disease Control (2005, March 24). Health information for travelers to the Indian subcontinent, accessed April 16 from http://www.cdc.gov/travel/indianrg.htm

Lange, W. R. (1997). The doctor’s guide to protecting your health before, during and after international travel. Greenport, NY: Pilot Books

Creature Feature: The Blog That Ate the India Team!!!

2005-04-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

Blog? What's that? It sounds like something that rampaged through a terrified metropolis during a Saturday evening "Creature Feature" when you were a kid, right? Well, we might rampage a bit, but our purpose will be entirely different from leaving a wake of chaos and destruction. And we're going to use this nifty new tool called a "Blog" (short for "web log") to do it. Here's how it works, why it's useful and where you fit in:

How it works:
Basically, this web-site will operate as a sort of bulletin board for posting information and interacting about things that relate to and about you as a member of GCC's next India team for 2005. We will use it to post interesting articles about Indian culture, health and safety, packing, support raising, and anything else we think that you might find helpful before you leave.

In addition, once you're overseas, we will continue to use this tool to interact with our friends and family to let them know what you are doing on a day to day basis. We'll be able to post photos from the day's events, list brief paraphrases of what the day's events held, and see comments from our friends and family who are praying for us stateside. We tinkered around with this tool last year when the Lifeline students went to Mexico, and it was a phenomenal way to help friends, family, supporters and onlookers actually feel engaged with the ministry that was going on overseas.

So, by now, you should most likely have received a user name and a password from Skip Dodge (the Missions Ninja!!!) to give you access to this site. When you read an article and want to give your opinion, interaction or thoughts about it, or ask questions, or anything else, you can simply go to the bottom of the article and click the "comments" link. It will take you to a login spot where you fill in the name and password that Skip has given you, and then write away! Enjoy! Interact! Have fun!

Why it's useful:
In addition to communicating valuable information to you about what is coming up, the blog will also be a great way for others to see what all is required in the process of applying and going to India. Someone may not be "quite there yet" in their desire or willingness to actually go, but the blog will help them get a better handle on what a team does and how it forms so that if they DO decide to participate in another team in the future, they will have a better idea of what to expect when they do.

Plus, this blog site will form a sort of living "archive" of the entire track and execution of the team. It is like an on-line diary complete with pictures and other people's interaction about the trip, and will be available long after you have returned to remind you of the experience and what it was like, how it impacted you, and what you learned from it.

Where you fit in:
As a member of the GCC India Team, you are encouraged to use this site as a forum to ask questions, offer thoughts, and interact with other team members and supporters. However, a tool is only as good as the degree to which it is used, so don't be bashful about stepping in and dropping a note into the mix. You never know, your question may be the same one someone else wants to ask too!

If you have any questions about any of this, feel free to ask! Also, we will try to make a few minutes available at the next India Team training to go over any procedures or questions you might have regarding the blog and its use and function.

In the mean time, happy blogging! We'll see you here!!!

T-minus 115 Days and Counting Until Lift Off...

2005-04-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

Wow! Believe it or not, it's just a little less than four months until you are going to be on your way to India! As a result, we wanted to make you aware of some general timelines and events that you should be aware of so that you can make sure that you have prepared your calendars beforehand. We will, of course, continue to alert you to the critical events via e-mail, letter and voice shot, but in the mean time, check out what's coming up next:

April 22 - Shots Information Due to Jen Hazel
You should have all your information for which shots you want/need to Jen Hazel so that she can source the required vaccines to Ashley Evans (St. Joe Cnty Health Dept.).

May 10 - India Team Training
Tuesday, May 10
7 - 8:30 p.m.
Heir Force Room
GCC

June 1 - Passports Due to Jack Magruder
You need to have your passport to me here at the church office by no later than June 1st, along with your filled out Visa for entry into India and 4 "passport photos".

June 17 - Half of Your Support Due
You should have at least about half of your financial support in by this point.

June 30 - Shots Series #1 (date is tentative)
Ashley Evans from the St. Joe Cnty Health Dept will be at GCC in the Meeting Room (in the office area) at 6 p.m. before New Community to administer immunizations. If you are receiving the Twin-Rix immunization against Hepatitis A&B, this will be your first dose.

July 12 - India Team Training
Tuesday, July 12
7 - 8:30 p.m.
Heir Force Room
GCC

July 23 - India For A Day Vision Trip
On Saturday, July 23, you will be spending the day in Chicago's "Little India" district with the Southeast Asian Friendship Center (one of GCC's long standing ministry partners). During the day, you will learn about Indian culture, participate in an Indian cultural "scavenger hunt", eat Indian food, and get to know your team mates better. The trip is an all day event (plan to be at GCC around 6 a.m.), so come prepared to have a blast!!!

July 28 - Shots Series #2 (date tentative)
Ashley Evans from the St. Joe Cnty Health Dept will be at GCC in the Meeting Room (in the office area) at 6 p.m. before New Community to administer immunizations. If you are receiving the Twin-Rix immunization against Hepatitis A&B, this will be your second dose.

August 1 - Financial Support Due
All of your financial support for the trip should be in by this point.

August 8 - Lift Off!!!
You will officially be on your way to an awesome adventure in one of the coolest cultures on the planet!!! And you will go with the hearts, thoughts and prayers of over 5,000 people here at home whom you will be representing well! Hoo-yah!!!

Also, you should begin to expect regular e-mails (about once a month) to let you know the status of your support. The e-mails will let you know who has contributed to your costs, how much they have contributed, and how much you still have remaining to raise.

We are so excited that you are joining us this year! Can't wait to see what God does in and through you!

You're In Good Hands!

2005-04-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

US Navy "Blue Angels" in action

Have you ever seen the Blue Angels? As a child in the 1980's, i attended an air show in Arkansas where the US Navy's elite tactical fighter team performed stunt after amazing and death defying stunt at speeds so fast that i could see the aircraft racing in front of me long before i could hear them, and gasped in amazement as they rocketed toward one another only to turn, barrell-roll or loop away from each other nano-seconds before colliding. They were, in my mind, the absolute apex of the aerobatic world, and i can remember going home and perusing page after page of my air show program thinking that one day it would be awesome to get to fly an F-18 (well, at the time, they were flying A-4 Skyhawks, but that's another story) and do the kinds of things that i saw them do. But did you know that for the 7 or so officers who actually get to pilot the beautiful blue and gold Hornets, there is a team of over 100 men and women who commit their lives to ensuring that every aircraft, pilot, nut and bolt remains in pristine flying condition 365 days per year? You never see those people, but the amazing acrobatics wouldn't be possible without them. Without the crew chiefs and the fuel techs and the medical officers and the ABS systems engineers and the turbine specialists, the Angels would be grounded.

And so, as each of you prepare to go to India this year in August to be one of GCC's version of the "Blue Angels", soaring high and far and representing the rest of us well, i thought that you might like to know that there is likewise a team of very hard working, very committed and very diligent people working on your behalf right now to make sure that everything from plane tickets to shots to team training to visas and passports are taken care of so that you can focus on your mission, and i just wanted to introduce them quickly to you so that if you saw them or recognized them or their name on a piece of correspondence, you would know who they are.

Jen Hazel - Jen approached me recently after one of our Volunteer Expo orientations and mentioned that she would like to help with the administrative components of the trip. Since then, she has been "running point" on the logistical components of planning and interacting with travel agencies, the Health Dept (for shots) and getting your applications together. She is immensely capable as an administrator and has a huge heart for India and for you! If it's being done to get you ready for India, chances are good that Jen has her hand in it somewhere.

Linda Presswood - Like Jen, Linda approached me about after one of the Volunteer Expo's to help with the administrative components of the India team/trip. Working in tandem and closely with Jen, Linda has been an integral part in compiling and sending much of the correspondence that you have all been receiving to keep you updated on various team related items. Linda has a great heart, a warm smile and a ready attitude, and has a huge heart for seeing each of you do well in India and for being as prepared as possible beforehand.

Beda "Skip" Dodge - Skip is quite simply one of the most significant people in our Missions Department as a whole. She operates frequently as "the Missions Ninja", carrying out covert or overt operations for everything from the Construction Team to Son City Kids, and helps Rob and me with executive level administration tasks on a daily if not hourly basis. She has been extremely capable with every application or project with which she has been given, executes with consistent and intense precision, and has a generous heart and spirit for the cause of Christ. I joke around the office that "she's on staff... we just don't pay her... YET!!!"

Erica Felix - Erica is a long time friend who has a passion for helping out and a great heart for learning. She is attentive to detail and volunteers her time generously with whatever is asked or required of her. There have been many time when Erica has rescued me from tight spots where i have needed an extra hand, and has been willing to come in to help well beyond her normal schedule of volunteerism.

If you see one of these amazing ladies, please take a second to say "hi" to them and thank them for all that they are doing. They are working diligently and ferverently on your behalf, and are praying for you at the same time. You coudn't ask for a better "flight crew", and i just thought you should know.