All About Chelsea! (And More)

Written at 6:30am, Saturday, February 05, 2011 (Indian time)

Good Morning! 

Oh! Shhhh… It’s early morning; I mustn’t wake Chelsea! Ooo, but I can use this to my advantage.  …I can tell all of the funny stories about what has happened to Chelsea in the last two days. Kee-hee-hee!

But! Before I do that, I shall tell you about Thursday:

Every month, all of Hebron Believers Assemblies’ (HBA’s) evangelists meet together here at the “headquarters” (aka: the church building here in Nellore) for encouragement/training, resources, instructions and updates, and to get their small ($20) monthly pay support (less than 1/5 of what they need to live on). Nineteen of the evangelists came on Feb. 3^rd (4 men missing) and we were introduced to them and informed of where they each were working. All but three of the evangelists were tribal Indians; the remaining three being from the Dalit cast. Dalit’s were considered “untouchable” people and the lowest cast in society for centuries. Through protests and government programs, Dalits are just beginning to advance socially, though there is still much work to be done for social equality. Tribal people were considered lower than the cast system. They were considered as equal to the dogs that skirt the outside of city limits, not welcome into the city. As the cities expand, the tribes are uprooted and forced to move further and further out into the jungle. Some of these evangelists had traveled well over sixty miles to get to this meeting (by foot for part of the way until they could reach a bus or “auto”). 

 

(The Evangelists gather for prayer, instruction and encouragement, and resources)

Very few people are reaching out to these tribal people. Who wants to travel 10 – 30 miles on bumpy dirt roads to reach a destination that only has 100 – 200 people living there? (The bumpy roads used to be even longer; it’s only in the last 5 – 10 years that any paved roads were laid in the outskirts of the city.)Yet there are hundreds and hundreds of these tribal villages all over the countryside. We rejoice that there are so many ministries and churches here in Nellore District reaching out to the masses of people living in or near the edges of the cities. Because there are harvesters here, we are able to turn our eyes elsewhere: where there are no harvesters yet.  Our hearts ache for the vast fields of people tucked in every corner of the surrounding jungle. They have yet to hear any good news; and we hold the greatest news of the world! HBA is devoting its resources to these people. That is one of the biggest reasons we are glad that the Lord has sent us this specific place.

All of the evangelists that gathered on Thursday are first-generation believers. This means that often their parents, children, and spouses are not believers and react in extreme ways to their relative’s conversion. One of the evangelists had his wife leave him and his son; another lost his home because of the landlord’s religious (Hindu) violence. These guys really are giving up everything! But, they know so little about the Bible, morality, and Christian living. In their ignorance they approve of ungodly acts like adultery and stealing; they don’t know how to pray or to love their neighbors; some can’t even read and so are at a loss for being able to learn truth except by traveling to hear it from us. That is why meetings like Thursday’s are so important.

Pastor David asked that Chelsea and I provide the spiritual instruction for the day and gave us about an hour each to do so.  We prayed and prayed about it for several days but the Lord did not give us directions on what to share until the day before (for me, Bethany, it was the night before). I think He does that just to remind us that it is “not by might nor by power, but by [His] Spirit” that we speak any good. Chelsea was instructed to share about the Holy Spirit and explain His role and work in our lives. I was told by the Lord to show what discipleship is and call them into such a lifestyle. Both of these teachings cut into the hearts of the evangelists (and Pastor David as well as ourselves were deeply challenged by these words from the Lord). We spent much time in prayer following each of the teachings. Thanks to the Lord’s work in Pastor David’s translating abilities, the evangelists really grasped the messages and were raised up another level in their knowledge and ability to serve the Lord in the way He instructs. Both of these messages have been recorded and once I discover how to upload long videos (1 – 1.5 hours each, we will post them so that you can likewise be edified and encouraged).

 

(10-book training series on Christian living, Bible study, and Church ministry; 

these books will be used by the evangelists and their churches until they fall apart, I am sure!)

At the gathering, Pastor David was also able to put into each of their hands a stack of training material that will greatly benefit them as Christians and pastors, and will aid their churches as well. Those couple of evangelists who can’t read at all will be aided by their “nearby” evangelists or by a child or spouse who can read. HBA has a small literacy program in place that some of the evangelists and/or their spouses can participate in. We hope that soon all of the evangelists will be able to read their own Bibles and books such as these that were provided.

(Praying over and handing out the literature)

Friday (yesterday), we visited a nearby evangelist who lives just outside the city limits. HBA has just this month begun supporting and partnering with this evangelist and his church. They have only a small gathering in the “home” of a poor family. We met to encourage them and pray for them. This village has the old-fashioned wells that use buckets to draw up the water. Chelsea became a “woman at the well” and I caught it on camera! Because we loved the place and people so much, Pastor David teased us by trying to locate an available hut-with-well in the village. I wouldn’t put it past the Lord to do such a thing! For years Chelsea has said there is a hut somewhere in the jungle with her name on it. I begin to wonder if I’ve got one too: sort of a “home-away-from-home” place. But, no purchase was made yesterday so we moved on…

(Chelsea draws water...she's a natural!)

We then visited the home of a ministry leader in town who oversees an orphanage and occupational training school. The family was so friendly and spoke English! What a relief for us! They served us watermelon and tea and let us just rest for a while with them. We spent that time being good disciples and studying the scriptures together. Their daughter was putting a form of Mundi (called by some other name, though) on her hands and it was BEAUTIFUL! Though she was shy, she let us take a picture of it. Chelsea and I are scheming and think that we might use a simple pattern like this on our hands for my wedding…what do you think, Patrick?!?!

(Isn't she cute? ...What do you think about the art?)

We also admired the décor of their house. The light violet walls and orange and peach curtains made for one of the nicest places we have yet been pleasured with relaxing in. For those of you with art or interior design gifting, the mix of colors which Indians find pleasing would be quite difficult for your senses to take in.  Fortunately, Chelsea and I lack just enough fashion that we find many of their styles quite wonderful!  Speaking specifically to Chelsea’s mom, Ashlyn, we thought that you, of all people, would greatly… um, what’s the word I want… appreciate growing in these tastes. Therefore, it is decided that Chelsea shall have a guest room in her home that is specifically for you! And it will be colored in this way: bright pink walls with vibrant green curtains and a soothing blue bedspread. Oh, and you shall have a swan-shaped lamp to read by :).  We hope these accommodations will be to your satisfaction! 

Oh! And that family gave us a wonderful gift! Kaleidoscopes! The daughter had made them in school and brought them out to show us. We were just like children! David has decided that should we ever look sad or tired, he needs only to hand us these toys and we will stop crying ;). Apparently we are becoming too “childlike”. The daughter surprised us as we were leaving by giving her Kaleidoscopes to us! Thank you, thank you! We shall treasure them.

(Kaleidoscope Madness! ...and Happy Chelsea!)

On a more serious note (or not so serious) we were asked today what our education level was and what we were still studying. The newspapers reported that we were students visiting here to study the culture. We have discussed it among ourselves and decided that we are indeed "studying abroad" for a half-year term (two semesters, if you please!).  We are studying to achieve our Masters in Inter-universal Communications in order to become Ambassadors. Our current courses include:

• TSL (Telugu as a Second Language)
• Communication – Public Speaking and Group Dynamics
• Music Training – Chelsea: classical studies; Bethany: Indian rhythm and composition
• Cultural Studies
• Art / Interior Design
• Fashion
• Cooking
• Native Customs
• Bible Training - Old and New Testaments
• Evangelism 101
• Organizational Management for Faith-Based Operations

The course load is quite intense and exhausting requiring many late nights and constant performance evaluations. We are gaining incredible knowledge and skill, however, and are extremely grateful for our professors: the Holy Spirit, Pastor David, Havilash and Suhasini, and many, many guest “speakers.” We shall be highly and properly educated upon our return!

I do believe that with all that said, we have brought you mostly up-to-date on our adventures here with the Lord. As ambassadors-in-training for our King, I say to you:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (Jn. 14:27)

Andariki Vandenalu
(Thank you so very much!)