Developing...

I keep reminding myself this is a DEVELOPING country. You forget in a moment as you see a civilized government, beautiful modern buildings, Jaguar car dealerships, nice shops and restaurants, fast internet and cell phones everywhere. Then you broaden your gaze to see in the same moment people urinating on the street, cows walking through traffic, women walking around covered from head to two in 100 degree weather, neighborhoods on every block of families living in one room makeshift tents sleeping on mats on the dirt ground, people cooking on the curb, muddy unpaved road ways full of put holes and litter. 

A team member of mine brought a Polariod camera. Watching a Polariod picture develop is a slow process, initially you can see just the outline of something good, eventually the haze begins to look promising that this just maybe an amazing picture. You hope beyond hope  in time it will fully develop into a picture that is crystal clear. Everything is under development here in India, even me.

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-5

The inspired words of James gives me comfort in the hope that God is the one in the process of developing India into a great mighty country to his honor and glory. 


This journey has held up in front of me a photo of myself as a fuzzy underdeveloped Polariod. I pray and seek for development to be more Christ like through my experience here.

We returned today to the smaller primary grade school in the Madanpur Khadar area. We were again warmly welcomed by the teachers and the students. 

The children knew us a little better now and we a bit more comfortable and rambunctiousness. We rotated through the class rooms sharing Christ love gently with the children. They come form all different backgrounds Muslim, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Bahlai, Hindu (mostly) so we must be very thoughtful in how we approach the children with the truth about the Christ, so as not to offend them. 

Autumn did a craft with them that thought them that their names are known in heaven by the "Living God". Abner and Amanda continued to reach them in a profound way with their music. I told each class the story from Max Lucado's children's book 'You Are Special'. We were refreshed along the day with fresh tea and water bottles delivered to us by the staff. In one class there was a delightful little girl that I recognized from seeing on the streets in one of the slum areas we visited. She came up to me out of the blue and gave me a beautiful hand made card. Her name was Chandi. She was nine years old and had just lost her mother two months ago to an illness.At our break time,  I felt the call to sit and do some grief counselling with her. I am no expert but here something is better than nothing. The school librarian helped me translate so nothing was missed in our conversation. I was able to pray with her and encourage her to keep a journal of pictures and writings about her feeling. This was one moment I felt Christ using me to show his deep love for his poor lonely child.

Chandi is the girl in the middle

After we said our good byes and prayed with the teachers there, we returned to the main school in the Jasola district. Once again we had an amazing lunch of delicious Indian food, although I still have no apatite for food I can appreciate the flavors and aromas around me.

After lunch we are sent off to have a game of cricket with the 7th and 8th grade boys. This  is probably one of the hardest challenges yet. First they are boys, then then are middle school age and CRICKET... I have never even seen it played much less know how to play. This was the perfect time for me to be a good audience. I sat on the grass and watched the game unfold. It was the heat of the day and the shade was little comfort from the heat in the air it even seemed to be coming off the ground. I was over joyed to see the boys so engaged and happy.

 As I enjoyed them having so much fun it drew my memory  to the contrasting seen I had observed walking in today. Just on the other side of this tall protective wall was a random row of tent dwellings made of tarps. The boys out there running around out in the dirty street playing catch with a balled up piece of garage.

What a mighty work God is doing at this school for these children !

After school we were blessed to have some one on one time with some of the remaining students that were part of the beginnings of this school. 10 years ago, these original kids were in the slum were first school started in a room adjacent to the toilet complex in the their slum community.  Through they years they have had to over come so many obstacles to continue going to school and be educated. At one point their slum homes and the school location was  destroyed they lost the little they had. The school continued for awhile teaching the now homeless kids in the streets until they where able to build their new permittee school location. Eventually they had to walk 10 km to get to the schools new location, which they did gladly!  They now are all believers and have big plans for their futures. God is good !