Missionary Relief Services - June 2010
Here is the latest update from Steve and Janeece England - the missionaries we support through Missionary Relief Services...HOWDY! Steve preached his last sermon here at Kulpahar, India today. Next Sunday we will be in Delhi, India preparing to fly back to the States where we'll only get to stay for 19 days before leaving on our next missionary relief assignment to South Africa. ...oops! It's past midnight, so I guess today is yesterday. Ha… I sang an Indian song in Hindi with 3 other couples during morning worship. One of the 6, wrote the song & the words while another one took all the dots, lines & squiggly marks in which the Hindi language is written & wrote it phonetically for me using our alphabet. It was terrible trying to learn! We sang it at the All India Christian Convention last month & I had forgotten so much, it was almost like starting from scratch. We practiced in the chapel Saturday afternoon & when walking back to our compound, an Indian lady was walking the same direction except on the other side of the road. I have seen her on several occasions while walking with Steve to the volleyball games in the boys' compound. I crossed the road to walk by her. She grinned & I could see her gums were all red from chewing bittlenut, the India version of tobacco. (They also have cigarettes like in the States.) I said, "Salaam," which is the Hindi greeting & patted her back. She started talking Hindi to me and would stop every once in a while for me to answer. I would shrug my shoulders, shake my head "no" & repeat some of the words she had said. I finally caught her name was Maria, at least, that is what I started calling her. I told her my name which she repeated & grinned. We got to a small road that also serves as the driveway for a government school & she stopped & continued jabbering. A motorcycle with 3 grown men came up & stopped. I thought they had come to pick her up as Steve & I have seen as many as 5 people on one motorcycle! I was wrong. They just stopped to see what was going on & listen to what was being said….(…and they say women are bad at that…!) Very little of what one does here, goes un-noticed or is done in private! We parted company knowing we'd probably see each other again next week & I continued to walk past our "neighbor's" house.
About 4 months ago, these Hindus moved into this shabby, 2 room, mud-brick dwelling that had no roof & looked like it hadn't been lived in for years. Scraggly shrubs, weeds & piles of rocks surrounded the place. In front was a large open well that also served as a Hindu shrine & had six or seven red cloth flags stuck in the ground around the well to show it was a Hindu temple. Before they moved in, Steve & I peeked over the edge into the well. About 10 feet down & dug into the side of the well, is a shelf on which there is a 3 to 4 foot stone idol of their "monkey-god." There is room in front of the idol for a person to stand & place offerings. Behind the idol is a large hole that looks like it goes into a cave which we were told tunnels back under the house & was hand-dug. Every evening walking to the church compound, Steve & I would wave to the Hindu man who was the only one "cleaning up the place." He slept on a wooden frame criss-crossed with rope for his mattress. Several times, Steve & I were busy talking to each other when walking past & we would hear someone yelling, "Salaam." It was our Hindu neighbor making sure we greeted him. Even when I walk past without Steve, he often acknowledges me first by waving. I guess I'm old enough & my hair white enough for that to be allowed.
Little by little, they are acquiring more & more possessions, two oxen, three dogs, a clothes line tied between trees, a tile roof on the house & just last week, a metal front door that can be locked. They've come a long way from when they first used the house in which to store harvested wheat stocks!
After church, the young people had Bible competition between the girls and the boys which took the place of Sunday School. Three church members acted as judges for the skits, solos, personal testimonies, poems, pantomimes, and choreographed dance to a taped song about Christ's resurrection. Wearing their white Punjabi suits with flowing sashes made the graceful dancers look like angels. The competition ended with a spirited question & answer session on Bible knowledge. We were all blessed, not only by Steve's sermon, but from the young people using all sorts of talents to honor God. Love & Prayers, The Englands