Sunday in Chikhli

Yesterday I enjoyed a great time of worship with the Nazarene church in Chikhli. They invited me to share my personal testimony with them, which I did through an interpreter. Dolphy preached. They honored us with flower leis (not sure what they are called here) and also took a love offering for the field's new communication ministry and presented that to Dolphy. They even prayed for Colorado Springs and all those who are affected by the fires there last week.

After the service, we returned to the district center for a big family meal, eaten while seated on the floor which is a more common way of eating here. In the afternoon, Rev. Yangad took us with his family on a drive around the area, while a monsoon storm rolled in, cooling everything down. While we were out driving, we passed a number of ox-powered carts, which were loaded with people and objects. Rev. Yangad asked one passing cart if they would let me ride with them briefly. The family in the cart thought this was hilarious and agreed. I really enjoyed that experience.

We visited two families from the church in their homes and I got a first glimpse of their amazing stories. We plan to go back for proper interviews and I can't wait to find out more of what God has done in their lives. We also prayed with them.

After a typical Maharashtra dinner in Shada's home (Rev. Yangad's sister who lives with her husband and their son in another house on the district center property), we came back and I went to bed early.

It's Monday morning now and today we'll be going back for the interviews with the families and then at 3 p.m. we'll begin a two-day communication workshop here for about 20 people from the Central Maharashtra District.

The weather has been great -- very cool and not too humid, most of the time. My digestive system is still trying to adjust to bigger meals spread farther apart, and all the spices. But I'm enjoying the food a lot.

Well, time to get ready for the day. Thanks again for your prayers!

Friday India update

This morning we had our final session with the group of 18 new field communications team members. It was a great climax to the conference. They continued with their strategy plans, and also conducted interviews for putting together their first articles for their field news.

Dolphy chose to close the session by asking for evaluation and feedback from everyone so that she and I can learn how to improve the materials as well as the way the conference was conducted so that other fields or regions could possibly benefit in the future. The feedback was more genuinely positive than we expected. The new team members each expressed in turn how, before they came, they had no idea how much work goes into communications, storytelling and broadcasting, yet how much more they now believe in its importance in serving the Kingdom, serving the Church and reaching out to those who don't yet know Christ. They expressed dedication to carrying out the plans, while acknowledging they have a lot more to learn.

They surprised us at the conclusion by draping both Brian and me in enormous and aromatic fresh flower leis, giving us several beautiful gifts to remember the field by, and thank you cards. Then we had the opportunity to join Dolphy and the field strategy coordinator, Rev. Sunil, in handing out certificates of completion to each participant.

Following this, we had lunch and everyone began to go their separate ways. Just out in the hallway of the hotel, a Hindu wedding was taking place. Dolphy explained that due to the lunar calendar and other factors, right now is the last time that Hindu couples can marry until 7 months from now when the right conditions occur again. So there are weddings going on all over the city and the country. I stepped into the hallway to try to get some pictures or video. Despite the fact that there are millions and millions of people crammed into these cities, it is impossible for me to go anywhere here and photograph anything without being immediately noticed. The singing group of celebrating family members stopped what they were doing to pose with me for pictures on their own cameras. This has happened to me a number of other places; if they don't ask me straightforwardly, then they try to sneak up next to me and have a friend take their photo when they think I won't notice.

Well, I'm normally the one doing things like that to other people when I travel, so I suppose it's only fair that I become the object of a lot of photography with strangers now. :-) I guess this is what it feels like to be a costumed character walking around at Disney World. And I certainly don't mind it, just as I would hope others don't mind when I take pictures of them. Thankfully, the people here easily accept my snapping photos of them as a compliment, which is what it is. (People in the photo left wanted their pictures with me.)

This afternoon we had the opportunity to visit a campus on the outskirts of Nagpur where Mahatma Gandhi began his movement. It started in 1934 as his simple hut where he took in a scholar who had leprosy, and cared for him. There are a number of simple historic structures to look at as you walk through the history of the place.

When we returned to our hotel for the evening, another Hindu wedding was unfolding outside, as the happy couple rode to the door in a silver-plated, horse-drawn carriage. I joined the group's photographers and videographers for some pictures, and unfortunately attracted a lot of attention. A man -- perhaps a father of the bride or groom? -- shook my hand to thank me for photographing their happy moment. Really, it should have been the other way around. So, I think I will leave the weddings alone from now on.

I am still having digestion problems today, but am thinking it will iron out in the next few days. My routine eating patterns have been happily but very extremely disrupted, so I think my body just doesn't know what to do with it at the moment. I am also more tired today than I have been since I arrived.

Tomorrow, we will rest in the morning, then depart around 11:30 to begin a 7-hour drive to an area called Chikhli. We will be there for several days to enjoy worship with a Nazarene congregation, spend time with people there doing interviews and hearing stories, as well as to conduct another short storytelling workshop. Please continue to pray with me that God will direct us to the stories He would want us to tell, as well as to bring the right people to the training. Please also pray for our safe travel. As you can imagine, the drivers here are a bit less organized than I'm accustomed to.

And praise God with me for the great things He has already done in India during the past week!

Thursday conference update

Hi everyone,

The conference is winding down in a great way. The team is now working really hard on a field-wide strategy representing 13 districts, setting goals and outlining a detailed plan of how to achieve those goals. They are talking about lots of exciting ways to use media to both serve the church and reach those outside the church.

For myself, my first stomach issues are making themselves known. :-) I was prepared for this to happen and brought stomach and digestion medications. I also got my first migraine this afternoon on the trip, and was able to take some medication that is effective in stopping these in their tracks. It is not recommended to use this medication more than 2 times in a week, so I am hoping I won't have another migraine this week. Fortunately I was not teaching today, and so I was able to slip away and rest and have been able to relax while listening to the group's planning and strategizing sessions.

Tomorrow morning we leave this conference center around 7 a.m. to wrap up the training at another venue, since this one was previously booked for Friday through the weekend. We'll do a morning session there, have lunch and then everyone will head their separate ways.

I continue to appreciate your prayers for the great people taking up this critical ministry in India, and also for my health and energy as I travel in the next 12 days.

Training conference update

We had a long and packed teaching day on Wednesday, but we managed to finish up all our lessons on both radio broadcast and journalism. I even came up with a 15-minute impromptu lesson on photography basics.

We threw a lot at them, but they stayed engaged all the way through, asked excellent questions in each section, and even put together three 60-second radio spots with the radio broadcasting equipment. The group is smart and savvy about this stuff.

Their homework was to interview one another and get notes to each write one story by the end of the week. Then we’ll critique and help polish them up and our hope is to have 18 stories ready for publication in July.

This morning morning they’ll do one more radio practice session, finish up their interviews and begin writing. In the afternoon they’re going to begin working as a team on their overall field communication strategy, starting to tie together all the skills and techniques we introduced this week so far.  It’s really neat to see all the individuals beginning to think and work together in teams and to exhibit a growing sense of ownership over what their field will do.

We’ve mostly stayed inside the conference center this week, so while it’s warm and humid, there are fans blowing and it’s really not bad. I probably won’t really go outside much until Friday, when we need to move to another location, and when the conference ends at lunch.

I am happy to report that I have had a high energy level, not a single migraine or even the hint of a headache, and no major tummy problems. The food is delicious. While meal times are far more spread out than I’m accustomed to, with my routine 3-small-meals-and-3-snacks eating schedule, it’s not a problem.

At the end of the day today, the group took about 10 minutes to pray for our families and friends and our home city, Colorado Springs. I was really touched by their impassioned prayers in four different languages on behalf of the city, the firefighters, those who have already lost homes, those who may be experiencing fear or distress at being evacuated, and for our families’ safety, as well as Andrew’s and my peace of mind as we are so far away from what is happening. They also prayed for the Christian ministries affected, since Compassionate International – which is near the evacuation area – is well known and has strong impact in India.

Friday afternoon we may get to visit a leper colony that Mahatma Ghandi founded in this city. And hopefully Saturday morning we’ll get to see a bit more of the city before we head on to our next stop.

Thank you again for all your prayers and support. It’s such an encouragement to me, and I believe you are part of what we’re doing here through your prayers.

First report from India communications conference

Hi everyone,
I'm taking some down time at the India Field communications conference today to give you all an update on what's going on so far.

I arrived without any travel problems on a direct, eight-hour flight from Zurich to Mumbai (Bombay) on Saturday night. Here we are 4 1/2 hours later than Switzerland, and 11.5 hours ahead of Central Standard Time.

Dolphy Biswas, the India Field communications coordinator, was there to pick me up. Brian Utter, a volunteer missionary with World Mission Broadcast, based out of Olivet Nazarene University, did not arrive as scheduled that evening. His flight from Chicago to Newark was delayed due to a technical problem and when he finally got to Newark 10 hours later there was a severe thunderstorm and also a fire at air traffic control that delayed things further and he missed his flight to Mumbai. They could not get him on a flight for 24 hours.

That left Dolphy and I in Mumbai, a city of 20 million people, for an unplanned free day. She was kind enough to give me a tour of this coastal city on the western side of India. The city is very modern and growing more so. There is immense wealth in Mumbai, as well as poverty. We passed a 25-story highrise that is actually the house of one four-member family; the man is the owner of the Reliance Group. The sixth floor is an indoor pool. There were high-end stores selling recognizable brand names like Levi

Anyway, we saw the main tourist stops, including the Victoria train station, Gateway of India, the Marine Drive, the Sea Link bridge and a famous mosque. I really enjoyed getting a feel for one of India's most famous cities and a first taste of the flavorful culture.

It wasn't as hot as I had expected and weather forecasts had predicted. The monsoon rains are late in much of India, including Mumbai, and the rain is what cools down the 100+ (F) weather. The rains came briefly and intermittently and so it was nice.

Brian made it in last night, not too much the worse for wear after a night in the Newark airport. He brought three backpack radio studios with him, as the field hopes to launch radio broadcasts in five major languages, and he plans to provide training not only on how to use the equipment but how to accomplish field and district goals for reaching people with radio.

Today we flew from Mumbai to Nagpur, which is in the center of the country. Nagpur is a developing city, with a population of 2.4 million. We are meeting in a small Christian conference center that we have to ourselves.

Everyone who is going to make it has arrived. Eight people did not get reservations on the trains and were unable to come. So we have 14 here. We started the orientation and introduction this afternoon and broke the participants into groups of three to talk about what their hopes and objectives are for being here and what they hope to accomplish as a result of what they've learned.

Thank you for your prayers for this time. It is really important to us that the group here will take the subject matter seriously, that they will develop dreams and visions for what God can do through them in communications in their districts and in the field, and how they can begin to make their voice and stories known more widely in our global church family. And we pray that we can be a resource to equip them to do achieve those visions.

-- Gina

How summer is shaping up

Things are moving along in lots of ways for us as summer begins.

• Andrew and I are both taking up side projects to raise extra money for when we need to start paying for Andrew's tuition at NTC Manchester, and for my hoped-for German-language classes this fall. My project is a missionary book for children about a school in Lebanon where children are learning how to put Christ's love and forgiveness into action in their relationships with people from other religious backgrounds. Andrew is writing a section for Living Mission, a mission education curriculum used in many Nazarene churches. Both of our projects are due this fall and will take up a lot of our spare time this summer. It looks like we'll also start babysitting twice a month in September for a moms group who need childcare, and possibly for a friend, as well. These odd jobs will also help us stretch our dollars, as our Mission Corps account right now is empty. I continue to enter photography contests and investigate freelance travel writing to earn a little extra, as well.
• I am just a week away from leaving for India. I have all my shots now, and my plane ticket. I am starting to purchase things for my trip, like snack food, some basic medicines, wet wipes and things like that. I am also putting the finishing touches on the curriculum for the writer's conference. After starting to write this in September, I CANNOT WAIT to be finished with it and see how it works in a real training setting. I am also very excited to meet all the great people there and to see and experience a culture I've only heard good things about from others.
• I have an appointment with a neurologist in the middle of July regarding my continuing battle with chronic migraines. I would appreciate prayers that this specialist can finally get to the bottom -- if there is an identifiable cause -- of this problem so that I can prevent migraines much more often. After five years of reading about migraines, talking to many others who have them, cutting out many of my favorite foods, trying homeopathic remedies, drinking more water, taking lots of expensive multi-vitamins and supplements, regulating my sleep patterns, limiting stress, doing deep breathing exercises, exercising regularly, trying a variety of painkillers and now two preventive daily medications since last fall, I am still getting migraines anywhere from one every two weeks to 2 and 3 in one week, in addition to regular headaches. I would appreciate prayers also that this will not be a big problem while I am in India.
• Two trips that we were trying to plan for capturing powerful stories on video have fallen through this summer. I am trusting in God's timing for these and hope we can reschedule them later in the year.
• Two interns are joining the communications team June 19 through mid August. This is great timing for us, as Laine and I are busy with trips to India and Tiki is taking a break from communications work to study the German language through an intensive, 8-hour a day program. It will be great to have them on board, continuing our story writing and publishing throughout the summer.
• The campus that was formerly European Nazarene College is alive again with students and faculty from MidAmerica Nazarene University. Most arrived late last week and are coming and going throughout the summer in a cultural immersion experience that will take them around Western Europe. Another set of students are anticipated to arrive this fall for a semester of on-campus studies. It will be interesting to have them around and be our neighbors!

I think that's all the big news. We always love to hear from you as well. Feel free to drop us a line when you can! And if you did not see our May newsletter, let us know and we'll be happy to send it to you.

Thank you again for all your support and prayers and encouragement. You are a critical part of our lives and ministry here through your quick emails, whispered prayers, Skype calls, donations and care packages. Thanks for joining us in the adventure.

The Engage team is growing

Some of you who have been following me for a while know that I've been praying a lot for God to send more people to help carry the load of Engage magazine. For a long time, it has been me and a missionary in Kenya named Amy who do most of the work of gathering content and publishing it on the website day to day. Amy focuses her story-gathering on the Africa Region, but also contributes lots of interesting and creative ideas to improve the publication as a whole. She has been a huge asset.

I have been praying for more help with the load we've been carrying. Some of you were praying with me. Well, God is answering.

A few months ago, a young woman named Mandie, living in Kansas, answered our ad seeking a volunteer assistant editor. She is devoting herself part-time -- without pay -- to write articles, manage and streamline our production flow, and to post and edit stories in the Engage system. I'm so thrilled that her heart for missions is leading her to give so generously of her skills and talents in journalism and storytelling!

Just a few weeks ago, another person answered our advertisement seeking someone with skill in designing PowerPoint presentations. Sondra, who is a local NMI president in Pennsylvania, is joining the team as a volunteer dedicated to producing quality PowerPoint presentations based on stories in Engage. We will make them available to people who want to share in their church or small group a powerful and compelling story from a fully-assembled, pre-packaged presentation with accompanying script.

It's exciting to see how God is bringing the right people to fill a very great need.

Right now we are advertising for another part-time volunteer editor who is a native Spanish speaker. Ever since we launched Engage in 2009, we have wanted to incorporate other languages. We want to find someone who will be able to translate existing articles into Spanish, but also to be a reporter who can conduct interviews and research and write quality articles in Spanish. Keep praying with us for this door to open for making our awesome publication more widely available in other languages.

Thanks again for all your support in helping to carry our needs to God in prayer.