India Report #22, Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 8 a.m. in Lawngtlei, Mizoram
Dear family and friends:
I managed to get our computer recharged a bit in Biaka’s room before the driver left for his breakfast. I worked the sermon for tonight before that, so there is enough battery left to write this and have Mary Alice look over her health talk for tonight. The “fixed” outlet in our room is not strong enough to run the computer even with almost all the other lights turned off. May be a wiring problem.
The larger computer (desktop) at the Hall crashed yesterday and they are trying to get a replacement for some parts from Aizawl in time to continue here. They have patched something together to keep going. One video projector and screen is not at the Hall now (we are using only mine) so that Sabbathanga and his team can hold meetings in another part of town at the same time as ours. They are too far away to come each night to our Hall. So, the Word is getting out in a variety of ways.
I took our Internet connection plug in that was not working here, to have David at the Hall check it out. He did not get that done before we left after the meeting. So today I’ll try to get it back and take it with my computer to the Store here that deals with such things. Maybe there will be some easy solution. Otherwise, I’ll just forget about sending emails until we reach Aizawl.
On the way back from the Saiha church and school we visited yesterday we stopped at one house where a man was chopping wood. I helped him do some of the chopping and they were surprised. It turns out that the house is SDA and carries a sign over their front door telling that. They are the only SDA in the village where he lives. He told Biaka and the District pastor that they are watching our program each night via TV. We have heard that enough to know that very many are watching us on TV.
Yesterday at the Saiha church, one member gave us a bag of commercial raisons. The pastor said she is a very giving woman. She is always giving something to someone. He sees that as her “spiritual gift” of hospitality. Her happy face told that she is thriving on the benefits of giving.
I wanted to leave some personal money at the school to get something that all the teachers could benefit from, but the Principal said we might need it while still in India and refused to take it. I didn’t have the cash with me then and would have sent it later. They are hoping for another visit next year and maybe some help in growing the facilities at their school.
Saiha is a town of 20,000 and the people seem to be more energetic there than here even though their Mara tribe is considered lower than the Mizos in general. They are still above the Bru tribe we told about last year that we will be ministering to again this year in Tripura. So, there is a class system here of sorts in spite of government disavowal of the cast system.
We had a good group last night again at the Hall hearing “The Mark Of The Beast.” There has been no feedback from it yet that I have discovered. They listened intently. I assured them we do not have animosity against the Roman Catholic Church or Protestants, but are showing what Prophecy clearly foretells about the development of the Anti Christ. It will be interesting to see at the Judgment just how it all plays out.
Last night I got a good rest. The previous night I didn’t sleep at all. The bed in this new room had a very thin pad over wood. We took the mattress off the 3rd bed we are using only to spread out our clothes on, and put it under the mattress on my bed along with the extra blanket for under my bottom sheet. That gave enough padding to be able to find comfortable positions to sustain sleep. I had caught up a little sleep while we were riding and jostling along that road back to our room here. It says something when I could sleep in that “wrestling wild bronco” ride but not in the bed here without the alterations! We don’t put our clothing in the closet here but on the bed because the odors in the closet even after Mary Alice cleaned the shelves with “wet ones” are prohibitive. There is mold here in the room also. We saw it on the mattress we put under my other mattress. We are very glad for the sheets we brought from home that we use for top sheets to also shield us from the necessary blankets for warmth.
I had planned to add more before sending this but we are at the house of Sabbathanga and the Internet is working here so will send it now.
With love,
Dad and Mom (Glenn and Mary Alice)