As a follow-up to last weeks post- here are the reflections of one of our lead pastors, Todd Tamura, who traveled with our team on the mission trip to the orphanage we are helping to build in Motipur India:
India is an all-out assault on the senses. From the moment we hit the ground in Delhi, we were bombarded by the sights, sounds and smells of the city. People are everywhere and packed into tight spaces – over 18 million in this city alone. Smoke and fumes from countless fires and motor vehicles hang heavy in the air. Traffic is a symphony of chaos. The sound of honking horns is constant as cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws, pedestrians and animals all vie for the road. It is impossible to venture anywhere on foot without being accosted by beggars. Images of Hindu gods adorn vehicles, homes and places of business. Temples and mosques are woven into the city’s grid at frequent and regular intervals. Everywhere there is filth, abject poverty, hopelessness and despair.
Yet in the midst of this dark landscape, we visited one of the Christian “slum schools” run by Global Action on the south side of Delhi. The children greeted us with beautiful smiles and sang joyfully of Christ. Some blessed us with Scripture they had memorized, and we prayed for them. When school was dismissed, many of the children escorted us to our vehicles, waved goodbye and then disappeared into the neighborhood. God is at work here.
Later that evening, we attended a Glomas graduation ceremony for over 100 graduates of Global Action’s 10-month training program for pastors. Sundar Singh Moses, who preached at Council Road this past February, has left his pastorate to become the National Director for Glomas training in India. Reverend Moses gave the graduation address and exhorted the graduates to remember the Lord’s call on their lives as children of the Father, ambassadors of the King, servants of the Master and shepherds of God’s flock. The atmosphere was exciting and celebratory. We enjoyed worship with these Indian brothers and sisters. Some of the songs we knew, some we didn’t, but it didn’t matter because the Spirit was the same. And I am reminded of one of the great designations of the church as the “communion of saints,” a phrase dating back to The Apostles’ Creed regarding the communion of all Christians that is rooted in Jesus.
Our constant escort and companion from this point on was Abhishek Subhan. Abhishek’s father, Daniel, is the Director of the India Hope Center, the primary focus of our trip. “Abhi,” as we call him, is Chief of Operations for the center which includes the orphanage, school and church. An overnight train ride brought us to Lucknow, another bustling city of over 11 million. We met Ahbi’s wife, Jessie, at their home. They are expecting their first child in January.
The five-hour drive from Lucknow to the India Hope Center in Motipur defies description. We share the road with thousands of motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, and an assortment of animals including cows, water buffaloes, goats, dogs and monkeys. There is no concept of “your lane” as we know it in the U.S., and nose position determines right of way. The result is that you end up playing a constant game of “chicken” with oncoming and merging traffic. Not that you ever become accustomed to it, but eventually you realize that no matter which way you lean in the backseat, it has no effect on your driver. Never before have I seen people so reckless with their lives. Abhi tells us that in India there is not the same value placed on human life: “They think, if I die, I die, and I no longer have to struggle.”
On the edge of the north Indian jungle, not more than 15 miles from the Nepali border, stands a small collection of buildings called the India Hope Center. Fifty-three boys and girls have been rescued from unimaginable circumstances and call this place home. The children sing of Jesus with all their hearts, and their smiles tell you all you need to know. They are genuinely happy in this place!
They have so little here compared to what we are used to in Oklahoma. But they have a bed to sleep in, a roof over their heads, three meals each day and foster parents who love them. They go to school and worship together. They help each other and relate to each other as brothers and sisters. And somehow it is enough.
There are four couples who act as foster parents, as well as teachers. They are devoted followers of Christ and called to this sacred work. They must be. This is an up at dawn, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year call to a very arduous life with very few comforts and no luxuries. The heat and humidity must be unbearable during the summer months. The commitment as a foster parent at the center is a minimum of 10 years.
What a joy and privilege to play with the children and help teach in their school. They are so bright and love to learn. I taught fifth grade math. We multiplied and divided fractions. The children kept asking me for more problems. We also helped the contractor pour concrete for the footings of new family units that are under construction.
One week in India is really not enough to be of much practical help. The real benefit of a short term mission trip like this is mutual encouragement in the faith and the changes that take place in one’s own heart. We came to India hoping and praying that we would be of some blessing and benefit to our hosts. Instead, those of us who went were the ones who were overwhelmingly blessed. Despite the darkness of this country, God is rescuing children from the brink of disaster, and we have seen it with our own eyes. What long arms of grace our God has! He is raising up leaders from among His people to minister to this land in spite of persecution and great spiritual resistance. Clearly, those of us who went on this trip have a responsibility to be advocates for our brothers and sisters in India.
Pray for Abishek Subhan and his wife, Jessie. Pray for the pregnancy and the health of mother and child. What great respect and admiration I have for Abhi. He is so gifted. He could be and do anything, but he has answered his call to the India Hope Center. In addition to the day-to-day operations of the center, Abhi also oversees the construction of six new family units. These units are fully funded in large part because of the fund-raising efforts of those in our church and in our local business community. Future plans include a dairy farm, medical clinic and vocational training center. As if this were not enough, Abhi also has a heart for the surrounding community. The local town is Muslim, but secularized and practical in their thinking. The people are very curious about the center, and they see the improvements that are being made to the property. We were able to host games for the local children, and our men even played cricket with men from town. The mayor hosted our entire team for dinner one evening. Some of the town children joined us for Sunday night worship where the gospel was shared. Pray that the India Hope Center would be salt and light to this Muslim community.
Pray that God would raise up more foster parents to staff the center. With the six new family units scheduled for completion in six months, the limiting factor for expanding the center’s operation and taking on more orphans is the identification of more foster parents. Pray for Global Action’s slum schools. Pray for the young pastors who are graduating from Glomas training and are returning to their cities and villages to minister in the face of persecution. Pray for Sheeba Subhan, Abhi’s sister, and Director of Global Action Projects in India. These projects include Glomas training for pastors, the slum schools, the India Hope Center, and blanket distribution. Pray for Lars Dunberg as he directs Global Action on an international level. Pray for a great outpouring of God’s Spirit across the land of India.
When our pastor returned from India last year he said, “I think I have seen genuine Christianity for the first time.” I understand now what he meant. The Christian leaders God is raising up in India are completely sold out to Christ. They have forsaken all that this world has to offer for the sake of the cross. Here in America we are so tied to our comforts. We consider them “necessities.” We want all the spiritual blessings in Christ, but we hedge, not wanting to miss out on anything this life and this world has to offer. We want it all, and I include myself in the indictment. But what we saw in India were believers who embrace the sufferings of Christ just as readily as they look forward to sharing in His glory.
We have seen great darkness, and we have seen a bright light, and the light has a name.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 NIV
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
putting worry in context
Our team that has traveled to Motipur India to help with the orphanage we are helping to build there is making their way back to the states as I am writing this. We just got a note from one of our lead pastors, Todd Tamura, who is on his first trip to the orphanage and who, as a former fighter pilot with the United States Air Force (insert your favorite F-150 joke here) has seen a lot of the world and has had his share of adventure. He wrote in part:
It's around midnight Wed night/Thurs morning. We just drove 5 hrs from
Motipur. There are no words to describe how dangerous the roads are
around here: thousands of people walking on and along the road, cows,
monkeys, dogs, water buffalo, trucks, buses, cars, bicycles, rickshaws.
They drive on the left side of the road around here, but really noone
owns any lane. My pics will never do justice to the head-on games of
chicken that they play around here.
The Hope Center and the children were absolutely awesome. Over fifty
children who have been rescued from unimaginable circumstances. Now in
school, in a Christian environment, with food to eat and people that
love them. It's amazing what God is doing there. It gives you a sense of
how big our God is and His love for all people. The children have such
joy even though they have so little. The foster parents have 10-15
children each and they are the limiting factor in terms of expanding the
operation. It's a 10 year commitment and huge because of the remoteness
of the location and the austere conditions.
Here at home, we obsess over elections and stock markets and who will win the next football game.
It is a good reminder that in most of the rest of the world, the part of the world where transportation likely means a donkey or moped and the burning question of the day is not where I will eat lunch today but IF I will eat lunch today- that part of the world where (as it is in Motipur) the nearest medical clinic may be 60 miles away and you and your loved ones have no way of getting there- the rest of the world where 18,000 children die every single day of starvation- and where 2.67 billion people have never heard the gospel or own a Bible...
...people in the rest of the world don't have the luxury of worrying about the kinds of things that give us stress.
I have a feeling that when our team comes back, we will notice that something about them has changed- and I am not just talking about their renewed enthusiasm for American cheeseburgers- I have a strong sense that "worry" will have a different context.
It's around midnight Wed night/Thurs morning. We just drove 5 hrs from
Motipur. There are no words to describe how dangerous the roads are
around here: thousands of people walking on and along the road, cows,
monkeys, dogs, water buffalo, trucks, buses, cars, bicycles, rickshaws.
They drive on the left side of the road around here, but really noone
owns any lane. My pics will never do justice to the head-on games of
chicken that they play around here.
The Hope Center and the children were absolutely awesome. Over fifty
children who have been rescued from unimaginable circumstances. Now in
school, in a Christian environment, with food to eat and people that
love them. It's amazing what God is doing there. It gives you a sense of
how big our God is and His love for all people. The children have such
joy even though they have so little. The foster parents have 10-15
children each and they are the limiting factor in terms of expanding the
operation. It's a 10 year commitment and huge because of the remoteness
of the location and the austere conditions.
Here at home, we obsess over elections and stock markets and who will win the next football game.
It is a good reminder that in most of the rest of the world, the part of the world where transportation likely means a donkey or moped and the burning question of the day is not where I will eat lunch today but IF I will eat lunch today- that part of the world where (as it is in Motipur) the nearest medical clinic may be 60 miles away and you and your loved ones have no way of getting there- the rest of the world where 18,000 children die every single day of starvation- and where 2.67 billion people have never heard the gospel or own a Bible...
...people in the rest of the world don't have the luxury of worrying about the kinds of things that give us stress.
I have a feeling that when our team comes back, we will notice that something about them has changed- and I am not just talking about their renewed enthusiasm for American cheeseburgers- I have a strong sense that "worry" will have a different context.
Monday, October 13, 2008
reasons i'm not worried
Someone asked me last week if I thought the latest financial crisis was a sign of the second coming?
I gave him all the reasons I believe the Bible seems to speak more to the advancement of the gospel around the world as something to look for than it does to any particular socio-economic or political event when it comes to the coming Parousia.
The last few sands in the hour glass will not be shifted as much by these kinds of crises as they will by the darkest corners of the planet being reached by the light of Christ and every nation language and tongue having access to the message of Christ. I believe that is what we are to look for more than anything that happens on Wall Street or the White House or on some foreign battlefield or inner workings of an earthly kingdom.
So, in short, I didn't think what were experiencing last week was more than a blip on the radar screen in the total scope of human history. It feels unsettling and is definitely a troubling and dynamic financial crisis- but I certainly don't see it as having much escatological significance.
Of course, that was before Texas beat OU and OSU beat Missouri in the same weekend.
That aside, the current political and economic upheaval does raise some important theological questions I would like to briefly address. How do we as Christians respond when the foundations begin to shake?
We need to keep in mind these three key promises of scripture:
1. For the Christian, the worst things that happen to us in this life are used for good.
All things work together for the good of those who love Christ and are called according to HIS purpose (Romans 8:28).
Those of us who have been around more than three decades would attest to the truth that the bad things that happen to us in this life God has used effectively to grow and shape our character in Christ. It is helpful to remember that God is more interested in our character than He is interested in our circumstances.
2. For the Christian, the truly good things in this life can never be taken away.
Scripture teaches that there are really only certain things in our life that are truly good. By that I mean there are some things that are good to the core and many things that seem good but are only a mirage. There are only certain things for instance that will last forever and consequently will truly matter to you a hundred years from now.
Everything else is just chaff in the wind.
The Bible teaches that the truly good things you possess in this life- God's love, His joy, His peace, His salvation - can never be taken away.
When the Bible speaks of the "glory of Christ", it is using a very important and specific word in defining the lasting nature of what is truly good. The word "glory" means literally "weight". It is where we get the English word "matter". The only things in this life that really have weight, that really matter, are those things that last.
When you drop paper in a stream it floats with the current, but when you drop a stone in the current, it sustains it's position despite the water flowing over it.
In the same way, the truly substantive things in this life that are promised us by Christ can never be taken away.
It is important to remember in times of change and turmoil, that there are things in our life that have enough substance to withstand whatever is thrown our way.
That is what we mean by the glory of Christ.
3. For the Christian, the very best things in this life are yet to come.
Christianity is the only religion that is truly escatological and futuristic. Every other religion either looks backward to a law and tradition or spins the adherent in endless cycles or reincarnation and reinvention.
Only Christianity sets the future on a linear plane and points to a glorious conclusion.
Christianity teaches that our future will be so glorious and complete, in fact, that whatever we go through in this life cannot even be compared to is as far as it's value and importance.
We all know that when a person has lost only one of his senses, his life is changed dramatically. Imagine having thousands of senses! Imagine seeing millions of colors and having your taste sensation multiplied exponentially! The Bible seems to imply that this is what we will experience in our future.
I think of the words of C.S. Lewis as he reflects on what all of us will one day be:
Remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet if at all only in a nightmare. (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).
Think of it like this- our future glory will be so overwhelming that comparing our present self to our future self is a little like comparing a tomato or squash to our present self.
The apostle Paul put it like this in Romans 8:18:
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
These are the important Biblical truths that every Christian has access to- the worst things in this life Christ will use for good- the truly good things can never be taken away- and the very best in this life is yet to come!
I gave him all the reasons I believe the Bible seems to speak more to the advancement of the gospel around the world as something to look for than it does to any particular socio-economic or political event when it comes to the coming Parousia.
The last few sands in the hour glass will not be shifted as much by these kinds of crises as they will by the darkest corners of the planet being reached by the light of Christ and every nation language and tongue having access to the message of Christ. I believe that is what we are to look for more than anything that happens on Wall Street or the White House or on some foreign battlefield or inner workings of an earthly kingdom.
So, in short, I didn't think what were experiencing last week was more than a blip on the radar screen in the total scope of human history. It feels unsettling and is definitely a troubling and dynamic financial crisis- but I certainly don't see it as having much escatological significance.
Of course, that was before Texas beat OU and OSU beat Missouri in the same weekend.
That aside, the current political and economic upheaval does raise some important theological questions I would like to briefly address. How do we as Christians respond when the foundations begin to shake?
We need to keep in mind these three key promises of scripture:
1. For the Christian, the worst things that happen to us in this life are used for good.
All things work together for the good of those who love Christ and are called according to HIS purpose (Romans 8:28).
Those of us who have been around more than three decades would attest to the truth that the bad things that happen to us in this life God has used effectively to grow and shape our character in Christ. It is helpful to remember that God is more interested in our character than He is interested in our circumstances.
2. For the Christian, the truly good things in this life can never be taken away.
Scripture teaches that there are really only certain things in our life that are truly good. By that I mean there are some things that are good to the core and many things that seem good but are only a mirage. There are only certain things for instance that will last forever and consequently will truly matter to you a hundred years from now.
Everything else is just chaff in the wind.
The Bible teaches that the truly good things you possess in this life- God's love, His joy, His peace, His salvation - can never be taken away.
When the Bible speaks of the "glory of Christ", it is using a very important and specific word in defining the lasting nature of what is truly good. The word "glory" means literally "weight". It is where we get the English word "matter". The only things in this life that really have weight, that really matter, are those things that last.
When you drop paper in a stream it floats with the current, but when you drop a stone in the current, it sustains it's position despite the water flowing over it.
In the same way, the truly substantive things in this life that are promised us by Christ can never be taken away.
It is important to remember in times of change and turmoil, that there are things in our life that have enough substance to withstand whatever is thrown our way.
That is what we mean by the glory of Christ.
3. For the Christian, the very best things in this life are yet to come.
Christianity is the only religion that is truly escatological and futuristic. Every other religion either looks backward to a law and tradition or spins the adherent in endless cycles or reincarnation and reinvention.
Only Christianity sets the future on a linear plane and points to a glorious conclusion.
Christianity teaches that our future will be so glorious and complete, in fact, that whatever we go through in this life cannot even be compared to is as far as it's value and importance.
We all know that when a person has lost only one of his senses, his life is changed dramatically. Imagine having thousands of senses! Imagine seeing millions of colors and having your taste sensation multiplied exponentially! The Bible seems to imply that this is what we will experience in our future.
I think of the words of C.S. Lewis as he reflects on what all of us will one day be:
Remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet if at all only in a nightmare. (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).
Think of it like this- our future glory will be so overwhelming that comparing our present self to our future self is a little like comparing a tomato or squash to our present self.
The apostle Paul put it like this in Romans 8:18:
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
These are the important Biblical truths that every Christian has access to- the worst things in this life Christ will use for good- the truly good things can never be taken away- and the very best in this life is yet to come!
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