From one extreme to another...

Today was my fourth day in wonderful city of Delhi, India. This city of extreme contrast is the perfect backdrop for the extremely different experiences I am having here. Despite all the extreme poverty the country is extremely beautiful, with tropical flowers trees and rivers all around. 

The people are extremely poor or extremely rich. They are often extremely non-compassionate to each other and yet they are a beautiful, warm and inviting people.
It was a Sunday, time to go to church. Ananthi the founder of Good Samaritan Schools opens the school site in Madanpur Khadar to be used also as a church location to serve the local community and the families of the students in the are. Currently there are about 50 -75 people in attendance. The free standing building they hold church in  is normally used for the 5 & 6th graders, church was just getting under way as we arrived. I was thrilled once again to have to sit on the female only side of the room while the men all sit on the opposite side. 
In general I have observed that females are hardly ever seen. Around the city, walking, driving, shopping, even in the schools it is mostly all males. Traveling through the city, at first glance, you would think it is an all male population here. Women in public are rarely seen by comparison. But for once the women showed up at church and were a mighty sight. 

The converted room normally highly populated with boys and just a few rows of girls for school, was now a Church sanctuary occupied my 4 times the women than men at the Sunday service. There was even a three lady worship team !

 Today I was proud to be among such women !

The church service was in both Hindi and English. If you did not go to school your English is very rusty. All educated Indians speak fluently booth English and Hindi. Many of the Good Samaritan studnets come from uneducated homes so their parent do not speak English well. The kids love practicing their English on us. 

They did a church service format very similar to any of ours.  Worship time, announcements, and offering with a guest singer. The young lady who sang at offering was a 15 year old student form the school, her parents are this school site caretakers. I recognized her mother as being one of the women that escorted us into the slums yesterday. The young girl sweetly sang an 'American' worship song, "Come, Now is the Time to Worship".

Our team had been asked to prepare a message to the congregation that morning. Our team is blessed to have Abner and Amanda Ramirez with us, a talents couple from the up and coming band Johnny Swim.  Abner is a great man of God and a gifted speaker he delivered a powerful and encouraging message about Gideon. The night before he had allowed me the privileged to work through the sermon with him. Working with him reminded me of my work back home at BCCC. Abner was a full of energy, very similar to working with Pastor George. God was with him as he delivered a perfect message with heart and humor. The we were all blessed that morning by the "living" God. 

At the end of the service the congregation was invited to come forward with their prayer needs, our team was asked to pray with people. Many came forward. I prayer with about 10 ladies. The young girl that had sung earlier in the service was my translator, she was so pleased to use her very proper English. Our team altogether must of prayed for most of he people at the church. Many had prayer request for success at school, jobs, for raising their kids and everyone asked for some type of healing. I was wishing the entire time I had more knowledge on how to pray for healing, I should of payed better attention to Dotti. So included in all my prayers was an apology for not knowing the best way to pray for healing. I had noticed, this seems to be a theme here in India, the need for healing prayer. I had spent some of my awake hours the night before reading about all the healing Jesus and the disciples had done. This gave me the boldness I had lacked the day prior in the slums when people requested healing prayers.

Then it was time to serve we helped clean up the church. We swept, cleaned and pulled weeds. Ananthi wanted us to influence the congregation to take better care of the church and property. Ananthi had announced to the congregation this is what we did in America, everyone pitched in and cleaned up after church. I though well actually we have a janitor, but we could and probably should pitch in more to clean up ?! The hand duster / broom I was given to use was made out of some dried grass. I think it made more mess as I cleaned with it. It felt humbling but oh so right to be down on the ground with the teen girls and ladies of the church cleaning and pulling weeds. Then everyone was given tea and biscuits. Maybe that is what we do after church clean first then refreshment time...!? Just a thought.

After service the young girl that was translating for me, showed me around. Her family was very eager to invite us into their one room home there on the property, they were so very proud of their clean Christian palace compared to the slum homes of yesterday. The girl told me how she loved American Worship music, biographical novels and her pair of Love Birds. 

And now for something completely different, we go from one extreme to another. After cleaning a slum neighborhood church, we are driven to one of the nicest hotels in India for lunch. Getting in was an experience in it self. We had to go through intense secutiry to get through the gate to the Hilton. Along with ourselves, our bags and our vehicles we all had to be checked over by security for bombs... oh how nice I feel so safe now? 

The Eros Hilton Hotel was as fine and fancy as the Las Vegas Belagio. Which was kind of ironic for me as this was the weekend the for the past 4 years Scott an I spent in Vegas for the CHP softball tournament. 

Ananthi took us to the four star Empire Chinese restaurant for lunch. Since India is so close to China they have some very good authentic Chinese food here. No Mexican food here though. The food, the service, the place, was all delightful. As we left I felt terrible as I realized our drivers had to sit outside in the car the entire time and wait for us. Okay God were is the extreme discomfort for ME. This mission trip is serving me more than I think it should. From the beauty and opulence as we leave to return to our flat, not even a block away from the Hilton the shanty towns and impoverished naked children appear along the road. From one extreme to another...