Do not fear ANYTHING except the Lord our God

Hello everyone!

To pick up where my dear roommate, Chelsea, left off, I need to start this update by saying: “YES! I am alive and well!” Last week both Chelsea and I had suffered temporary sicknesses that set us on bed rest. But we are up and moving again with as much speed and enthusiasm as before the sicknesses. Please, as the Lord brings us to mind, continue to pray for us that our bodies would be completely restored——— OR that the Lord would continue to grow us spiritually and refine our characters to be more like Him as we cheerfully endure any internal pains.  …Ya know, the latter of the two is the prayer we would most prefer (I can speak on Chelsea’s behalf for that as well).

Friday night we had a gathering at the home of one of our dear church families. Though I was still recovering and “arguing with my intestines” (as Chelsea so kindly put it) I elected to teach during the Bible study. I had planned to speak from Matthew 21 on Jesus’ parable about two sons, but during the time of singing, the Lord directed me to His words from Matthew 28:5-10 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. We have no reason to fear death or continue to mourn for those who have passed on, because in eternity lies all of our hope and expectations. It is the fulfillment of all we’ve been longing for. I told how since I was young I’ve often thought of death and, through sicknesses as a child, wondered how long I would live and if I was ready to die. Instead of shying away, I am eager for the day when I will step out of this earthly self and enter my true, eternal home. I do not fear death; I long for it, because I long for the life beyond, with my Love and Lord: Jesus Christ!

I believe it was the Lord’s timing and wisdom for these words to be spoken. The family hosting the evening had recently lost a grandparent and many others there were also still mourning for loved ones. Also, they knew I was recovering from being sick and, as I do most times I’m sick, I had once again been thinking about the possibility of me dying. May we all look beyond the now and lose all fears in this life, save the holy fear of God. “Death has been swallowed up in victory!” (Isaiah 25:8).

Saturday was another day of resting and recovering for the most part. We did go “treasure hunting” with Suhasini and found another mosquito net for Chelsea and I to use (if you remember, we had received one twin-sized net from our neighbor, Premeela, over two weeks ago). We now sleep on our own cots again—each under her own mosquito net—and no longer share the unwanted body heat that comes from sleeping in such close proximity as one cot affords…though I do miss the extra closeness of our unbarriered slumber parties :)

Sunday morning I taught the children a cup/hand-clap game while we waited for all the kids to arrive. I think with practice, it will be a huge success!  This week’s lesson was on Jesus walking on water and Peter’s faith/doubt as he walked toward his Rabbi. We left the children with the clear message that if the Lord calls us to do something (instruction from the Bible, or special direction spoken to them) then He really believes we can do it through His strength. Our confidence should be in His belief in us and we should not doubt that we can do what He calls us to do.

On Sunday evening we traveled to a nearby village for their evening church service. Over the past several years, this little flock has grown from just a few people to several dozen. We were so glad to participate in their service at this little village building and be an encouragement to them and a demonstration to the small community of their value and importance. Because it was Sunday night and not too far away, we were able to bring many members of our host family (9 - including us). We all piled into the jeep and enjoyed a bouncy trip out and back to attend this gathering.  We arrived to hear enthusiastic singing coming from the little yard of the thatched-roof, in-ground church building.  I think we are finally getting used to the volume at which the Indian people routinely broadcast their events. The large megaphone speaker was setup in the yard, facing the building next door and cranked up to its loudest. I’m sure the bricks of the neighbor’s house were shaking in their mortar as the songs about our Lord and the message of truth were proclaimed to its plastered and whitewashed walls :)

Concluding the singing, Pastor David spoke for several minutes and then requested us to stand and encourage the believers. I gave a short introduction about Chelsea and me, expressing our deep joy at being privileged to fellowship with these believers. Following, we sang an English song and a Telugu song for them (the Telugu song is a newer one we had recently learned and we need a bit more practice with it…insert funny grimacing face…). Chelsea then poured out of her heart a message from the Lord about disciples and the power that true Disciples of Christ have in affecting their communities and the world. She exhorted them to be faithful in passionately seeking to be like their Lord, and she encouraged them in their potential to affect their entire village and even the surrounding villages.  Praise our Lord for these words. May His people turn their hearts fully to Him that a greater passion and witness may be birthed in them!

I believe this, my dear readers, is a faithful retelling of the major events (with a few added, silly details) from Friday through Sunday night. How often I am reminded that we are mere humans and have no idea what the future really holds. In this lies our greatest opportunity for trusting our Lord. Monday and Tuesday were full of more great adventures and experiences from which we both still have much to process …                 …but that is another story (for tomorrow, I hope).

Andariki Vandenalu

PS: Tomorrow night we will be leading the youth meeting that is held on Thursday nights at the local Baptist Church. They announced this Sunday that we would be coming. Please pray that our Lord would grip their hearts with a fascination for Him and a longing to know and be like Him. To our understanding, we have been given full control of the evening and I feel a great weight of opportunity from my Lord. May we be faithful to do all that He tells us, whether prepared beforehand or during the service.

"A whole week in one post?!.. How did she do it?"

Did you know: children of all ages love to act out Bible stories?

We have found this to be our most successful method for teaching Sunday School to a group of children ranging in age from 6 to 16 years old.

This week’s story: Jesus calling the first disciples – Mark 1:16-20

Bethany and I have been sharing everything in common (Acts 2:44) since we arrived – clothes, jewelry, food, thoughts, sleeping quarters, Bible studies, intimidating moments, cultural “ahs,” learning Telugu, looking foolish, and, this week, being sick. Praise the Lord, we made it 2.5 months (yes, this is the end of the 10^th week) on the mission field without actually being sick. For those of you who want the gory details: I spent most of Sunday afternoon and evening, Monday, and Tuesday in bed feeling very nauseous, running a slight fever, and being generally uncomfortable. I was feeling significantly better by Tuesday evening, so Bethany felt the need to take for me Wednesday by trying to faint as we walked to the weekly church fellowship gathering nearby. She spent the rest of the night and most of Thursday running a fever and arguing with her intestines. I am pleased to report that as of right now (part way through Friday afternoon), we are both doing very well, our bodies are regaining any lacking strength quickly, and we are praising the Lord for His faithfulness while we were dealing with changing climate or strange food or whatever caused this short interval of sickness.

While my bosom friend was lazing about in bed, I had to tromp around to the far reaches of the earth by myself! (Ok, we didn’t go that far, Pastor David was with me all the time, and I was also accompanied at times by one of the evangelists and his wife and Havilash and Nathan.) Here is the story of my adventures:

Wednesday night after the Cottage Prayer meeting, I checked on Bethany to make sure she had everything she needed and then piled into the jeep with David and Joshua (one of the evangelists) and his wife and we drove about 15 miles to one of the villages where HBA has planted a church. There we joined a Fasting Prayer Meeting already in progress. These meetings, where the believers gather in the evenings for singing, prayer, and teaching, some fast for a meal or day before hand, some do not, are fairly common in India. Because of the distance and the normally scheduled weekly gathering in Nellore, we were only able to be there for the end of the meeting, but it was well worth the trip. One of the highlights of this trip for me so far has been to meet so many of my dear Indian brothers and sisters. Though there is a language barrier and I am unable to communicate with most of them directly, it is a great joy to worship our Almighty God together and know that one day we will be able to speak and share the great things that the Lord has done in our lives! The overwhelming joy on the faces of these men and woman as they gave up not only food but also so sleep, the meeting when until about 12:30, filled my own heart with great joy. It was my great delight to be asked to sing in Telugu (something I have done many times now, but never without Bethany-EEK!), encourage them to know Jesus Christ – not only His name, but who He is – from John 16:23-27, and to pray for many of them. It was a wonderful and encouraging night, but I was very glad to go to bed when we arrived back at the church at 1:30am on Thursday.

The Fasting Prayer Meeting

The busyness of Thursday continued for me soon after I got up. On March 24^th the Baptist church here in Nellore celebrates a Missions Day. The Day commemorates the great work which has been done internationally, and focuses particularly on missionaries who have spent their lives working in India. I (as a missionary) was invited to sing a missionary song (meaning one in Telugu) and to share the story of how I ended up here in India, both of which I did heartily. In addition to my contributions to the program (which only lasted about 10 minutes), there was group singing, other special music, an opportunity to share about a missionary who the attendees knew of and light candle for them, and David brought a message.

After a few hours of rest, I was off again – this time to a “house opening party” (David’s words) with David, Havilash, and Nathan. In the States, we would call this a house warming, but the idea is a little different here. First of all, the family hasn’t moved into their new home yet, which is a good thing, because there definitely was not room for furniture with all the people! Second, there was a huge meal served – which was very delicious. Third (and most impressive), the new house owners where completely draped in flowers. I don’t know if this was a family thing (because I was told the flowers were gifts from the wife’s brothers) or an Indian culture thing, but it is very remarkable! Check this out:

Within ten minutes of arriving, I was adopted by a slew of girls. (Ok, there were only 6… or 8… or 10, I’m not actually sure how many there were.) I had a great deal of fun with them – telling them about my family, what I’ve been doing since I’ve been here, where I live in the United States, and such other information. Some of them didn’t speak English very well, so there were several times when I had no idea what information they wanted. One of the girls asked me at least 10 times if she could come home with me to America, she was only about 13, so I kept telling her she would miss her family. They also told me all about the food I was eating and made sure I had everything I wanted. While it was a little overwhelming, I really enjoyed meeting them and learning a little about their families.

Here ends the record of my adventures for this week.

Needless to say, after all the excitement in the last day and a half, I was very thankful that today has been pretty relax before we dive into another whirlwind next week (check the post about the schedule if you need clarification-click here).

Grace and Peace to you all!

Born into Heavenly Citizenship

Two little Indians!

A small journal thought from my (Bethany’s) mind:

March 18, 2011: “The Lord is absolutely AMAZING! Such small understanding I have of Him, yet I must know more. Teach me what it means to be like You, to fully enjoy Your company, and to know Your ways with assurity and delight. Last Sunday I spoke to the church on the inheritance of the saints—prayer and communion with God. Oh, what a joy of my heart to walk out this blessed gift from my Father and Lord, who grants me such a rich and overflowing gift. The more I use it, the more I find that I have. I am learning to ‘spend’ this bottomless inheritance with delight and without restraint. In this one thing will I be frivolous and wasteful. ‘Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!’ (Romans 11:33).”

We are learning to delight in the presence of the Lord to a degree which we have never comprehended before.  Almost every activity of our day is centered around our great God. In constant prayer together and alone, in memorizing and meditating on the scriptures throughout daily activities and cleaning, in reading out loud the Bible or other writings which dwell on the magnificence of Him, in discussing the world around us and our experiences in light of His nature, in preaching and encouraging the believers about the goodness of our Lord and Savior, in journaling and telling stories to people back home about His faithfulness, in our dreams and when we wake again; through it all, we find Christ and the wonder of God growing in our minds continually.

When we are dragged back to earth by people talking about their worries or about perishing worldly desires, we are so reluctant to engage in these conversations. It is our great longing to take the hands of those who are so concerned and focused on such temporary wants or needs, and pull their eyes and hearts into heaven and the incredible communion with the One who sees and knows all things. How can we worry in His presence? What do the temporary wants matter in the dwelling of the eternal One? 

Eating a completely American breakfast!

We fear that even as we learn more of the customs and language of these people, we are becoming more and more strange in their eyes. What will those who know us well think of our strangeness when we come back home?  May the Lord give us all grace to be patient with one another and may we challenge and build one another up in the faith and anticipation of our Lord’s return and our eternal inheritance.

How well our Indian family takes care of us. We are beyond blessed by the love and care that is continually poured out upon us and we simply do not have any means of repaying them for this great gift which they are giving to us.  Over and over we pray that our Great Father in Heaven would bless them to a great extent in return for the kindness they are showing two of His small children.  “Father, pour out great blessings of strength and health upon our Indian family; give them the greatest gift in return: that Your presence would dwell in and among them in an ever increasing measure. And, Father, would you provide for their great financial needs which ministry and service to You has brought such burdens upon them.”

This past week were several momentous sightings for us: First, we saw a live camel!!! …Right at the end of our little street (approx. 100 feet away from where we live). A very smily man had it all geared up and was giving camel rides to the little children of the neighborhood (for a small fee, of course). Nethan and Havilash both greatly enjoyed climbing up the great height and swaying back and forth to the awkward motion of the camel’s pace. Chelsea and I got to hang out with the camel as well! (No, we did not ride on the camel. You may call us chickens if you’d like; we prefer to attribute our declining to the fact that two white girls riding through the streets on a camel is enough to bring out the press and create a parade of children long enough to shame even the highest officials.)

Hello Camel!

Last week we took a night on the town (in the best sense) with our beloved Indian family.  First we visited a building expo (where some of the sellers misunderstood, thinking we were the primary buyers, and directed most of their talking points to us) so that David and Suhasini could look over options for the parish and church building the Lord has laid on their hearts to build. The parish is already 75% built, by the grace of the Lord, though they still need finances to finish it; the family is currently living out of two small, rented rooms and sleeping on the floor of the current church.

Following that, we all went shopping: new cheppulu’s (sandals) for their family, petticoats (underskirts for Saris) for Suhasini and us, nighties (girls nightgowns that go from shoulder to floor with sleeves) for all us girls, and a few treats and fruits for everyone. We closed the evening by going to a delicious and not too expensive restaurant where we were treated to a chicken and noodle dish, a rice/vegetable/multi-meat dish, and a small dish of Indian-style ice cream. YUM!  At this restaurant we had amazing sighting #2: A whole group of 5 or 6 white women!!! We think they were European and weren’t able to talk with them, but, they smiled at us so friendly and made our hearts very happy to see them.

Other memories:

Sunday morning last week was a lot of spiritual and physical fun. We taught the Sunday School about Paul and Silas in prison and the way we can praise God in all situations. We had them act out the story including a live jail door of children who launched themselves across the room when the “earthquake” came to the prison. Acting out the stories is a great way to overcome the culture and language barrier; and it helps the children remember the different stories and the truths in them.

 

During the main service, as mentioned above, I spoke on the inheritance we receive now that we have been born into the family of God. Being born into God’s family, we have received the eternal inheritance of knowing Him. We know Him here on earth through prayer and the Word. This is confirmed by Him creating all of us in the church to be “a kingdom and priests to our God” (those allowed to approach the Lord in His holy place). If we shirk off our responsibility and gift of prayer, then we are “selling” our birthright (I used the example of Jacob and Esau). Don’t sell your birthright or give away your inheritance!

 

The after-church youth meeting included some worship in Telugu, a short practice of the “hip-hop dance version” of the song Our God is an Awesome God, and a brief but clear message from Chelsea explaining why we pray “In Jesus’ Name.” Names in the old Jewish culture embodied the purpose, character, and identity of the person. When we pray “in Jesus’ name,” we’re not only adding His “signature” to our requests, we’re also checking our requests against the very character and purposes of Christ. Those things we ask which don’t match with Christ’s character and purposes are not going to happen, no matter how many times we say, “in Jesus’ name.”

Playing with Nemo under the mosquito netting

I believe this is a faithful retelling of most of our main experiences in the past several days along with a little explanation of our spiritual journey.

We hope you are blessed, encouraged, and find enjoyment in the things we share.

Andariki Vandenalu
(Thank you all so much for reading!)

We’re real missionaries now! We’re sleeping under mosquito netting! :)

Last week, Bethany told you all about what we will be doing in the upcoming weeks. Today, I thought I would fill you in on what did happen last week. We have had a pretty quiet week here at home base in Nellore. The weather is beginning to get warmer (it has been consistently above 90 degrees Fahrenheit for the last week) and people are slowing down in proportion. David had to be away from Wednesday evening until very early Saturday moring visiting a village that is some distance away. He felt it was best for us to remain here because he was concerned for our health in this particular village. So we have spent our time in worship and prayer, scripture memorization, reading, and sewing. We particularly enjoy combining these last two, and we have spent many hours with Bethany reading out loud while I (Chelsea) sew. (If you’re wondering what we have found that requires so much needle work, we still have clothes which were given to us in need of alterations and I have been working on those – to my great satisfaction and with significant improvement in my skills as a seamstress.)

The book of the week in our industrious book club is “Growing in the Prophetic,” by Mike Bickle. We have been learning a great deal both from reading and from our discussions. We have also been enjoying his perspective; those of you who know who Mike Bickle is (the senior pastor at IHOP-KC : International House Of Prayer-Kansas City) may not have realized that he is from a very conservative evangelical background and for the first few years of his ministry was anti-charismatic before being “ambushed by God.” (For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, please feel free to email Bethany or myself and we will do our best to answer your questions or point you in the right direction.)

Our reading and discussions revealed an interesting paradigm we have both held concerning prophets, the prophetic, and the work of the Holy Spirit. We are in the process of revaluating our thoughts on the place of prophetic ministry in the modern-day church. We thought we would share with you part of our discussion and let you come to your own conclusions. Please feel free to comment with your opinions.

NOTE: I have summarized only one chapter of "Growing in the Prophetic," this post is not intended to be a full summary of the book. I have done my best to clearly represent which thoughts are mine/ours and which are Mike's, but please do not judge Mike Bickle based solely on my words here. Also, these are topics that Bethany and I are still discussing and wrestling with. If you desire to learn more about any of the things mentioned here, I recommend that you read "Growing in the Prophetic." I believe it is valuable and worth the effort to read and understand the points made; I also recommend you read the last chapter first, and then read the whole book.

Old Testament Prophets vs. New Testament Prophets

Mike Bickle states, and we have come to agree for ourselves, that most people when they think about prophesy picture Old Testament prophets. “When people first hear of someone being called a prophet, they might think of a man with wild hair and fiery eyes crying out against sin and calling fire down from heaven” (pg 93) like Elijah and Moses. However, he argues that New Testament prophets have a different role, operate under a different set of instructions, and should be evaluated according to different standards than Old Testament prophets.

Old Testament prophets were chosen by God primarily to correct God’s people when they were sinning, to offer guidance for the kings, and to predict the future. Men like Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah were set apart from God’s people to speak the “very words of God.” Old Testament prophets had significant influence over the direction of God’s people, and because of their responsibility they also paid a high price for failing to precisely relay God’s words to His people; they were stoned to death for misrepresenting God’s words even once (Duet. 18:20).

New Testament prophets operate under very different circumstances and direction. The biggest difference between God’s people in the Old and New Testaments is that in the New Testament all believers have the Holy Spirit and therefore have the ability to judge between right and wrong. So those who prophecy, or speak out the words and/or impressions which they hear from the Lord, today are treated very differently than before the Holy Spirit was available to all God’s people. Rather than being instructed to listen to and obey the all the words of the prophet and kill the messenger if the things they foretell do not happen (Duet. 18:18-20), we are told “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast to what is good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (1 Thess. 5:19-22). Mike sees the primary role of prophecy today as directed toward the church for the “purpose of encouragement, exhortation, and comfort” (pg. 96, 1 Cor 14:3). He also believes that we see fewer persons in the role of “prophet” and more who have occasional, or regular, prophetic words, or that “the gift of prophecy, the prophetic ministry and the word of the Lord are diffused and distributed throughout the entire body of Christ” (pg. 95).

For those of you who are still uncertain about what we mean by prophecy in New Testament terms, let me clarify. We are talking about everything from the subtle impression to pray for someone without having a specific reason to a word of encouragement or correction for a local church body or community to a prediction of future events followed clearly miraculous signs in the heavens or on earth.

“Usually people have no problem with the woman in the prayer group who feels a burden to pray for someone, who senses the Holy Spirit leading her prayer, and who states that God is ‘impressing’ something on her hear. All of this is in a package that most people are familiar with and understand. But if she speaks up during the Sunday morning service in her non-charismatic church and loudly proclaims her revelation interspersed with ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ she could get a significantly different response. Here are the same message, but delivered in a very different package” (pg. 101) While we are not advocating everything that this book says, we

So the question Bethany and I have been asking ourselves and each other is: what role does God intend for prophecy to play in local churches today?

We are instructed “not to despise prophecy” and told to “…be eager to prophesy,” (1 Cor 14:39), but this rubs against much of our (Bethany and my) traditional evangelical training. Is the evangelical church at large missing out on hearing from the Lord in a powerful personal way? Or are Mike and others like him way beyond the bounds of what is Biblical?

BTW: my summary of Mike's definition of the essence of prophecy is, revealing the heart of God to His people and to unbelievers.

What do you think?

Happy Birthday Zooie!!

We have decided that we should not be given access to computers, cameras, the internet, or the world at large, because we are slowly descending in a state of consistent silliness! Since for some unknown reason these necessary steps have not been acted upon, we will continue to bombard you with our jovialities (Bethany's word of the night).

On a more serious note ...lalalala... (or not), Zooie's (Chelsea's sister) birthday was March 12. Having offhandedly mentioned that fact to Pastor David, we "celebrated" Zooie's birthday today as a church. This included a special prayer during the service, and cake for the youth meeting after service.

Since Zooie was not here to officiate her birthday party, I (Chelsea) was the "surrogate" birthday girl. My duties were:

1) Receive the birthday card and song
(they sang all three verses twice while I was fulfilling the second duty)

2)

3)

4) Display photo of the real birthday girl and her family

5) Extend birthday greeting and wishes for a blessed year to Sister Zooie from:
the Hebron Pray House Believers (our Indian church)
Pastor David and his extended family
all the HBA evangelists and their families
and from us

We would also like to extend the same greetings and blessings to Bethany's sister, Shannon, who birthday was on March 10th.

The only reason that your birthday was not celebrated at the same time was because it did not come up in conversation.

Upcoming Schedule

Hi family and friends!
For all who are wondering, "What have those crazy gals been up to and what are they going to do next?", I can answer at least one of those questions for you!  Below is our plan for the remainder of March. *Disclaimer: Plans are subject to change without notice according to the will and guidance of the Lord as outlined in James 4:13-15.


For most of the mentioned events, we will be doing a combination of speaking, singing, praying, and other ministerial pleasures. Feel free if the Lord lays it on your heart to pray for His presence to go before us and dwell with us and fill all who open their hearts to hear Him.

March (remaining) schedule:
13th - Participating (and teaching) in our local church body (Sunday School, Service, Youth)
13th - Skyping with GECC (after their church service)
16th - Cottage Prayer meeting (weekly meeting)
18th - Women's Fellowship meeting (weekly prayer)
20th - Local church (Sunday School, Service, Youth) - "Let us not give up meeting together" (see Heb. 10:24-25)
21st-22nd - Pastor David is gone for a conference
23rd - Village meeting (Bavimitta)
24th - "Missions Day" meeting at a local Baptist church
24th - Village meeting (Kondaigunta)
25th - Woman's Fellowship meeting
27th - Local church (S.S., Service, Youth)
27th - Village meeting (Potaretty)
28th-29th - Overnight Village visit (Chitavelu)
29th - Village meeting (Walasa)
31st - Youth gathering at a local Baptist church

Deep Breath...

One of the coolest things (to us) about all these pictures and stories is that they're all mine and Chelsea's.  We took most of these pictures ourselves and we were there for all of these happenings. I never thought I would have such a collection of memories like this...Wow; Can't wait till Heaven when I can understand all the details I missed and all of the past and future events surrounding the moments in time that we were a part of.  Thank you, Lord.

Cultural overload!!!
(In the best sense of the words)

I have never experienced a tornado and hope that I never have to (…except maybe at a distance because I’ve always thought they look amazing and show the power of our God), but if I had to describe the feeling of my brain from this past weekend and week (and probably Chelsea’s too), I would say that my mind looks like a messy child’s room: some great windstorm has whirled in and scattered everything. I need a mother to come in and tell me, “Bethany, what have you been doing?!?! Clean up this mess this INSTANT!!! You’re grounded until everything is put back in order!”  Yes ma’am!  :)

Let’s see if I can sort everything out.  Care to help us out?

Hmmmm… first items; I believe they all belong to Saturday night’s Memorial Service.  Our host family’s father, David, is fourth out of five children. The oldest child, B. Evan Rufus, died last year on February 26, 2010. In the Indian culture it is customary to hold a funeral shortly after the death, and then to hold a public 1^st Memorial Service one year after the death (the following years will be small, family gatherings to remember the person). Rufus was well known in the community and highly respected by the Christian leaders as well as many of the famous musicians of India. He was a talented musician and a well known personality. The platform at the service was full of many dignitaries from various churches and several formidable artists also shared their talents in honor of Him. Chelsea and I were allowed to watch the program from the audience, but were not excluded from playing a part in this service. We were called upon to share from the Word a message of condolence and then asked to sing in Telugu and English. We spoke from Isaiah 57:1-2 and sang an old and well known song (even in India) called “I’ll Fly Away.” At another point in the service, I (Bethany) was also called up to sing a special memorial song which my father’s college friend, Jim Hall, had written after his wife’s death, called “Hallowed Be Thy Name.” We were greatly honored to be allowed to attend this cultural ceremony and the dinner which followed. We were introduced to almost the entire extended family and increased our understanding of Indian relationships.

Family Relations:

For example, they consider their grandparents’ siblings’ children and grandchildren to be their own cousins (this makes for a HUGE family tree). If any of their immediate or distant cousins are significantly older or extremely influential in their life, they will refer to that person as their Uncle or Auntie as a term of respect (this has resulted in Chelsea and me using terms like “Cousle” as personal clarifications of relations). In addition, since the English word “cousin” does not denote male or female, they say “Sister Cousin” or “Brother Cousin,” but when they are being lazy in their speech they will just say, “This is my Sister/Brother” causing us to believe that they have 6 more siblings than we originally understood.  It’s all very confusing and requires a great deal of clarifications (“This is your father’s brother’s son?”) if we really want to understand how the family is organized.  Feeling overwhelmed?  Us too :), but we’re glad to be getting to know all these people, regardless of their blood relationships.

Messages from the Lord:

Sunday afternoon was spent enjoying one of the largest family lunches we have yet participated in here. Grandmama’s 3^rd(?) sister and brother-in-law sat with us during the meal, telling us about a number of miraculously answered prayers which the Lord had granted them in the past few months. They told of fasting and praying for their needs to be met and the Lord answering without them having to tell any person. That Uncle repeated over and over how we must fully commit ourselves to turning only to God for our needs; then He will answer them to the fullest. But as long as we keep our eyes and limbs out to catch what resources we can on our own, God will not honor our “half-trust.” Following the meal, we sat with David’s oldest sister, Joy, who told us story after story about how the Lord had promoted and protected her from being slandered by the people of the world. She did not turn to any person in her sufferings and loneliness but only to her closet—behind the closed doors—where she met God alone and sought His direction and advice. From that place she watched as He shifted circumstances in order to meet her needs and to honor her in the presence of her enemies who were put to shame.  She encouraged us to not get full of the details of life while we are here, but to remember our big purpose is to know our God better and to do His will and tell others about Him. We definitely needed that reminder and were very much encouraged by both these believers.

Let’s see what else is tucked in the corners of my brain and need sorting through…

Sunday Morning at Church:

Sunday morning dawned bright and warm (as every day has done since arriving), though it came a bit too early for our liking after such a late night on Saturday. Due to the heat of the afternoons and the onslaught of mosquitoes in the early evening, most Indian events do not start until 7pm (meaning that they actually get underway closer to 8pm) and—with meals and all—finish around 11pm or later.  But! The Lord graced us with strength to complete our responsibilities for the day with joy and energy. 

Morning Sunday School was a dizzying affair as we taught about Joshua and the Israelites’ “battle” against the powerful city of Jericho. As has become our style here, we had the children act out the events of the story. Chelsea fortified herself in a walled box of chairs and called out insults on the parading Israelite Sunday Schoolers. I appointed one pretty little gal to be the angel of the Lord and a young man to be Joshua. Several others were priests with “trumpets” and a parade of little desert nomads following behind. Following the instruction of the angel (as prompted by Joshua 5:13-6:5), little Joshua led his band of misfits around the imposing city and its defender. On the “seventh” day they marched around the city seven times, thanks to the careful counting of our translator, and then blew their hand-horns and gave a loud shout. Down came the ancient chair-walls and poor, defenseless Chelsea was overrun with eager Israelite invaders. We closed this memorable capture with reminders from Hebrews 11:30 (the great city was taken by faith; not the stamping of their feet) and from Psalm 105:43-45 (God granted them these clearly unique miracles and gave them all the blessings of a place to live so that they might keep His commands).

During the church service, Chelsea shared about the true meanings of Grace and Peace and why the Apostle Paul prayed this over the recipients of every single one of his letters. Briefly, but clearly, she explained the freedom to serve Christ that comes from living by grace rather than works and the way that God meets our deepest needs through His kind of peace (not the world’s kind of peace). My two favorite quotes from her message were:

“Grace is the opposite of works. As long as we think we can earn salvation,
we will only think about ourselves. Once we understand that there is nothing
we can do to earn God’s favor and we are only saved through the love of God,
then we will stop thinking about ourselves and begin to think about God.”

“Peace is untroubled, undisturbed, well-being and rest; not from the
world—based on possessions, money, status, and success—but
from Him and being in His presence.”

Sunday, after church (from Chelsea’s perspective):

Sunday morning came a little too early after a late night on Saturday, but we set about getting ready with hearts glad to be alive and serving the Lord.

For the youth meeting, we were the cultural overload. Since arriving we have sung many songs in English on various occasions. One of the favorites has been “Our God is an Awesome God,” so Bethany made up a hip-hop style dance for the youth since they really enjoy “action songs.” When we asked the kids if they had ever heard of hip-hop, the answers were all “no,” except for one. When asked if they had ever heard of rap music, there were a few more “yes.” Given their previously uneducated state, you can imagine the teenagers had an amazing 40 minutes learning a basic “drop step” and the actions to the chorus and first verse. While Bethany was busy teaching (and sweating) in 90+ degree weather, I was being challenged in another way, since I was the vocals for this great dance class:). Anyone who knows me, knows that while I have a decent voice, pitch and rhythm are not my strong points, so this was definitely a growing experience since I was mostly without even a drummer. Praise the Lord that the Indian’s don’t appear to care much about pitch – that has definitely been God’s grace on my life.

I’m glad to report that everyone enjoyed learning the song and dance (including David’s eldest sister, Joy), but I’m sad to report that because we were both occupied with the teaching we don’t have any pictures of Bethany while she was instructing the dance class. Here she is though, looking cute and flushed, afterward as she asked the youth a few questions to make sure they were not just dancing around, but were also understanding the power in the words they had been singing and dancing to.

Official Indian Betrothal Ceremony:

Sunday night we attended the betrothal ceremony for a young lady in our church. After a few months of prayer and discussions between the two families, they have finally determined that this is a good match for their children.  Since fully arranged marriages are so foreign to our American minds, we have been asking many questions as well as processing what it would be like to be a young woman whose marriage was arranged. How would I feel to be committing my life to someone who I barely knew anything more than basic facts about?

The ceremony opens (late at night as usual) with the young man and his family arriving at the girl’s family’s home, the yard of which has been decorated for the occasion. He sits in a decorated chair at one side of the front table. The young lady (early twenties, usually) is escorted out by her sister(s) and close friends and sits at the other side of the table. She is dressed in a beautiful sari with many traditional jewels and flowers on (remember, it is a sign of womanhood to wear a sari and many girls aren’t allowed to until they are about to become betrothed).  Songs (for which we joined the stage), prayers, and messages are a part of the program and then gifts are carried out from the man’s family and placed on the table. Among them is a gorgeous sari which stands as the official offer of marriage. The girl stands and receives these gifts (with the assistance of her girl friends and family; we also assisted in carrying her gifts into her family’s house) and then she departs into the house. More music serves as the interlude during this dramatic time (“Will she accept the marriage???”). And then, from out of the house emerges the beautiful young woman, now dressed in the offered sari, signifying that she has accepted the match. An exchange of rings and elaborate floral garlands and the ceremony is over. The next hour or two is devoted to feasting and pictures (of which we happily participated in both). The newly betrothed couple is now considered essentially married in the commitment level of the word, though they will not become married as we understand it (living, sleeping, financial, etc.) until the solemnization of their marriage in a few months (which we will also be here to witness…and probably be a part of).  What a lot to think about and process coming from our culture where we’ve understood all our lives that we get to chose our marriage partner and the timings for everything.

 

Women’s meeting in a village:

Monday evening we traveled out to a village south of Nellore where they had arranged a special women’s meeting just for us. On the trip out there we spent time in prayer and worship asking the Lord that His presence would be in our hearts and come out through our words and actions. We felt so insufficient speaking to a bunch of married, village women whose lives were so much different than ours. But, through the faithfulness and wisdom of the Spirit, we were able to deliver an appropriate, encouraging and convicting messages about misunderstandings of Jesus and the need to fully repent and open ourselves up to His leadership. The message came out of John 4 in the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman.  Though we understood that we were speaking primarily to believing women, many of the women clearly responded to this message in their lives and we also felt great peace from the Lord that we had spoken as He guided. Following the meeting, we experienced another cultural awareness moment: visiting homes. Because the meeting went late, we were unable to visit all the homes that requested (Lord, please guard their hearts from being offended by us not visiting and so destroying the message they received), but we did stop in a few houses for a meal, snack, and times of prayer for the families. I have never been in a culture that is so quick to give hospitality in exchange for special prayers and blessings. This is something that I am still processing with the Lord and unsure how He views this type of “exchange.”

Final thoughts to be processed before this mess in my brain is all cleaned up:

Wednesday was spent at the home of one of our church members here who owns a sewing machine (it’s foot operated, which absolutely amazed Chelsea…if you’re looking for a unique, antique gift for her…). They helped stitch some of our donated clothes that needed resizing, fed us lunch, gave us trinkets and other little gifts, and overall, blessed us to an entirely overwhelmed state. After spending most of the afternoon at that house, we stopped in for a short visit to another church member’s house where they also covered us with many more gifts; we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. Again, in both of these homes, they did all these things in exchange for our prayers. We gladly prayed that the Lord would bless their homes with His presence and that He would provide for their needs and give an abundance in accordance with the measure of which they in turn bless others with the gifts they receive. As we walked back to our house from these visits, we examined ourselves and realized we had been showered with “Bangles, Blouses and Bouquets.” We felt that we had been sufficiently “Bejeweled, Bedecked and Blessed.” (Catchy phrases compliments of Miss Chelsea Arnold).

Thursday (yesterday) was spent in an Evangelists’ Meeting here at the church (HBA). All of the 23 evangelists are working under HBA and receive training and minimal support from the organization. For this meeting, they had brought in a teacher from Global LEAD, which is a Christian organization that seeks to train Pastors and Christian leaders to properly handle the Word of God and live out their Christian responsibilities. Because many Christians across the world are like these evangelists—ignorant of much spiritual truth and unprepared to balance their relationship with God, their families, and their ministry/organizational responsibilities—Global LEAD provides material for free and training for reduced fees in order to build up strong Godly foundations in newly Christianized areas.

 

The Windstorm has been taken care of!

Whew! I think my mind is clean! Horray! Thanks for taking that journey with me. In addition to my mind being clear and ready for more, our home is also a little cleaner. Chelsea spent the morning washing laundry and doing dishes while I was being lazy and typing (big smile). We love that we can share these responsibilities of communicating abroad and taking care of our own household needs. Now we are off to participate in a brief literacy program meeting and then to the Women’s Fellowship (prayer meeting) this evening.

Until next time:
Andariki Vandenalu
(Thank you all so much for reading all this)