(Wednesday, November 10, 2010)
Dear Family and Friends:
Who would have guessed we would find time to write this many “recollections” day by day? It will help us to identify our photos and the places we have been. You are just looking over our shoulders in case you have that much interest.
Well, Satan did his thing again last night during the meeting. He sent some rain as we were just getting along in the sermon on the Change of the Sabbath from Daniel 7. Interest was high with all the beasts etc. illustrating. Jun, our Korean Volunteer, found a cardboard to put over the video projector which was fully exposed to the rain. The computer on a table under the canopy was partially protected but was also getting mist. And the electrical cords and boxes were out in the open too.
As the people started to head for cover, we thought it best to stop the meeting and pick up again on the same subject tonight. But the pastors were in groups praying for it to stop and it did. Some were already gone but many remained. We had to close off the equipment except the sound system that was under a tarp. Glenn finished without visuals and without notes, but the people were carefully listening. Interest is very high.
In the meeting with pastors afterward they requested that Glenn preach on Baptism rather than the announced “What Happens at Death?” So he will do that tonight. The photos we took yesterday at the baptism in Vadlim village will be included to show the audience how it happens. This will bring high interest for sure.
Today we are to visit three villages because time is running out and we cannot get around to them all if we stay through the baptisms. Paulson says the people will feel very left out if we do not come to their village and greet them and talk with them. So it seems the best approach considering everything. We don’t feel that our presence means that much, but the Indians feel very differently about it and we want to meet their expectations if able.
Also the pastors and Volunteers will come by our room today as able to get their photo taken. So we need to make use of all the early hours to get done what we need to for meeting preparation. Glenn fell back into his USA habit of waking up early (3 a.m. today India time) to get the computer work done for the meeting. And now this bit of added detail for this current email report.
Mary Alice finds it challenging to get the laundry done in between things when the weather permits drying on the rope we stretched between pillars on the porch to our apartment shared by the pastors.
There are four young ladies in this building now who come from afar to help with medical things here in Pitlam. They may be nurses or aides. So our pastors who had been using that room had to move in with the rest up on our floor. He invited the nurses to attend our meeting last night and they accepted. So they came in the car that takes us to the meeting. Glenn was delayed after the meeting so they left with the car and Mary Alice earlier and we did not find out how they reacted to what happened at meeting. It is all in the hands of the Lord. We can only pray that the seed will sprout and produce a harvest without Satan’s destructive forces preventing it. At least one of them is Moslem. The others are probably Hindu.
NOVEMBER 10, Thursday: The four girls did attend the meeting again last night and came forward for prayer, including the Moslem. So we will see what comes from it all. Today we will be visiting local people’s homes here in Pitlam. Paulson has to go back to the office to do some things and will have the car with him. Last night’s meeting was well attended again and as predicted, the people really responded to seeing the baptism photos on screen which we had taken the day before. We can’t do it for each baptism but the subject was baptism last night and the photos brought recency and connection.
We enjoyed visiting the three villages yesterday and talking with the baptismal candidates or in one case, after they had been baptized. We enjoyed giving out the Bibles and seeing how they appreciate them. Even in the villages they garlanded us with home-made ones. We appreciate that because it does not cost them rupies to do it. And, as usual, we gave them away to those in the audience who may not have had that privilege of being garlanded before. Glenn was not wearing a white shirt so the marigolds didn’t do much damage.
In former visits we would take digital photos of people and they would clamor around us to see them in the viewfinder. Now the younger set may have cell phones and take our picture with them and come up to show us what they have taken. Yes, times are changing.
One other change is that with the rising standard of living, many more schools have come into being and people with money are choosing to send their kids to schools that have more amenities. This reduces the enrollment potential for our schools and they are struggling. Even if we had more SDA schools it would be hard to find SDA teachers for them. So some of our schools have Hindu teachers for some subjects. It is a mission school for them, but we wonder what emphasis the students get from a Hindu. I’m sure they do not teach the Bible classes.
Our graduates from Spicer have good training and some of them choose to teach in the schools where they get more remuneration. That contributes to the shortage. It is something like MD graduates from Loma Linda often feel they cannot go to the mission field and still pay off their school debt. There is no easy solution. Loma Linda does very much for the Mission Field anyhow. One of their graduates gave the $2500 (at the last minute—the money was already in India) that provided 1000 Bibles so we could give one to each person baptized in our meetings plus some previously baptized and have some for future evangelism.
We have not heard yet how many have been baptized from the series and previous preparation. The numbers are smaller than in some series and we are glad for the emphasis not on numbers but on quality preparation. We are not here to make a name for to help reap a genuine harvest.
Jun has found a way to recharge his computer email capability without going to Hyderabad and we may be able to use that to send (and get) our accumulating reports rather than struggle with the local Internet or waiting till we reach Hyderabad.
Time to get breakfast around and be ready for visiting at 9 a.m.
With love,
Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Glenn and Mary Alice