Just some quick corrections to the original post:
1. The police woman who came was not the "SI" (sub inspector) but rather she was the full deal, an Inspector.
2. The recent aggression started in Kandamal, not Karnal. Karnal is a place in Haryana (nearby here, which is why I accidently mixed those up)
Sorry for the mistakes!
] /EDIT [
The last few days have just been awesome!
Medical Camp:
I'll start with the Medical Camp on the 6th of November. The camp is sponsored and staffed mainly by a team from a church in America. They have about 10-12 people from PA and a woman from California with them. Most of them are doctors or nurses, but there is even restaurant owner and a librarian among them. I have to say, they are one very dedicated group of people. They buy most of the medicines from India itself, but bring things like multivitamins from the US. Each day they set up camp in different location and run it from 9 - 5. Basically, the doctors assess the patients, then the makeshift pharmacy gives the patient the medicines the doctors had prescribed, and then the patients are prayed for.
So anyway, the day that I went, things went smoothly. There was lots of people wanting medicines and there were some pretty serious cases. Like one man had TB and wounds all over his body. But since he had a very low protein diet, his wounds were just not healing. Now mind you I'm talking about the wounds on his arms and legs. Then came the worst part- a bedsore on his behind that was just... wow, a hole, I guess you can say? I would say a fist would easily fit into that wound. I helped the doctor who was going to bandage up the guy. I have to say that was a very ... interesting experience. I have a picture of the guy (the wound) but its VERY graphic and disturbing. You can see it here if you really have to see.
But so we cleaned out the wound with Iodine and then filled the cavity with some petroleum-something pads and just covered it up. Unfortunately in cases like this, I was told, the bandaging was a temporary solution. If they family didn't do the same thing everyday till the wound healed, he would return right back to this state. They sent that man home with a huge bag full of bandaging materials.
Some pictures:
Convention in Hatras, UP:
Next up is the 3 day convention in Hatras, UP. The story of the family doing the work of God there is pretty touching. So the work in Hatras has been going on for about 3 years. The pastor there was at one time working in Saudi Arabia. But God called them for full time ministry and so he left all the comforts of his life and came to this (God-forsaken...) place. He barely knew the language and he had two young children. They are now 8 years and about 10 years old, so you can imagine how much trouble the family must have gone through when they first got there.
The meetings were great. With the sound system, they arranged two very large speakers on the roof on addition to the rest of the sound system. This way, the entire colony was able to receive the word of God. Ever since the Orissa and such problems, people all over India are scared about attending such meetings so this was a good way to get the word out. We had gone as a team, as our people would be leading the praise and worship. So we had a guitarist/lead singer, pianist, bass player, and support singer. The support and lead singers switched roles for alternate meetings. The meetings were a great blessing and one person received a miraculous healing too!
Some pictures:
The pastor and Family:
The man who was healed. He was brought to the meeting unable to walk and now look at him after:
The worship team (and me) from left: Piano, Bass, Guitar/Lead, Guitar/Lead:
Second Medical Camp:
So then on Monday we drove back from Hatras and on the way back we stopped at the Medical Camp again. This was in a different place than the first one. So we got there around lunch time and already problems were brewing. Apparently a woman had come and gotten medicines. And as they do for everyone, they prayed for her too. Well a bit later her husband came asking why they prayed for his wife. Turns out this guy was an RSS member. I'm not sure exactly what RSS stands for, but its definitely not something good like Real Simple Syndicate =P. Anyway, they are a radical Hindu organization very much opposed to Christians and pretty much all other religions. They are responsible for a lot of aggression towards Christians and they wouldn't think twice about hitting and killing. So basically this guy wanted to get rid of us. First he complained about them praying for his wife. Then they started saying that the organizers didn't tell the people in their colony about the Camp. They even went as far as making up terrible lies saying that we said "Ram was dead and Jesus is alive." Now mind you, while we have a different set of beliefs, we too value our lives. No one in their right mind would say anything that would in the least sense be offensive. So for these guys to be making up lies like this is ridiculous.
Thankfully my uncle has some good connections. So he called some people up and soon the police and some of the higher ranked police people came. I don't know what all the letters are that they use to refer to the police, but the
Not looking for any trouble though, we immediately packed up and got out of there. By God's grace no one got hurt, but this was definitely a close call. The area is a red-zone now for the pastors and others ministry workers there so please keep them in your prayers. The situation in India is such that one of these radicals could break into a person's house, kill everyone there, and it all would just go unattended and unnoticed. So please pray for their security and safety.
Some pictures I took there:
(click the picture to view the album with some more from there)
As of now, the next event on the calendar is the open-air meetings and youth camps in Katihar, Bihar and Sahibjang, Jharkhand. That leaves about 2 weeks in Delhi. Good time to catch a small break from all the traveling =].
Not much other news. I caught a little cold in Nepal and its still lingering so I figured I'd start on an antibiotics dose, even though I know it wont help me in the least. Otherwise all is well.
I know I didn't write this in the previous posts, but I have been getting the chance to drive occasionally. They are scared, and very reluctant to let me. And I don't want to force the issue. But the fact still remains that if I go to Kerela without enough experience to be on the road, it could end up being a very long two months...
So keep praying for me. Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharhkand, Punjab, and Nepal (and other places traveled through) already down and a few more to go, and it's only your prayers that are keeping me going.
Thanks and God Bless
THE ENTIRE ALBUM of pictures from all three events can be seen here:
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7, 8, 9: Medical Camp 1, Hatras UP convention, Medical Camp 2 |
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