India Report #24, Friday, November 18, 2011, 7 a.m. at Lawngtlei, Mizoram
Dear family and friends:
Attendance last night was fairly large in spite of yet another death in the village the night before. (7 now) The deceased was a near neighbor to Sabbathanga living down the road a little and one tier higher up the mountain. He was a drunkard and was going to do something to the TV right by an open window without bars. He misjudged and fell headlong down to the ground below, tearing open his chest. They took him to the hospital but he died on the way or just after arriving. So, many were absent again due to the comforting process.
We learned more about the Mizo reaction to someone dying. Churches are supposed to close during the morning when there has been a death, but they may have an evening meeting. And when there is an extraordinary event like the man who drowned trying to swim across the too swift river, the whole town including many women spend up to seven days searching for the body.
Biaka did not preach after our sermon, night before last, to those waiting for steam bath. He was not feeling well himself and went right to Sabbathanga’s house and went to bed by 9. He slept until 12 when he heard the drums in the night and the announcement about the death. Now awake, he got up and went looking for the house. Finally he saw the people and figured out which house. Then he spent the rest of the night until sunrise with the family comforting them and preaching about the Second Coming of Jesus and the Resurrection. The family is Pentecostal but appreciated his visit and vigil with them. Thus, today Biaka was lacking sleep once more. He made up some of it during the day before we got there for lunch at 1 p.m. and went over the sermon for last night together.
At the meeting there was a touching moment. A lady was brought to me sitting on the couch where we await our part in the program. She had noticed that I look tired and brought two raw eggs plus some fresh vegetables to give me more strength. It was a gift of love. I could not refuse it, but I did not get a good look at her. I want to acknowledge the gift better tonight. They are so eager to be helpful. I didn’t promise to eat raw egg (the Mizo formula to gain strength) even though Ellen White prescribed raw egg in “domestic wine” (grape juice?) for Dr. Kress who was afflicted with pernicious anemia. I don’t have anemia and am not at all interested in that cure even though it worked for him.
In a previous letter I apparently mentioned that the Cable TV stations would carry these sermons over the entire country, meaning the state of Mizoram. The sermons are in Mizo and would not help much elsewhere with Telegu or Tamil being the predominant languages.
Last night the lights went out just at the time to begin the meeting and we had to wait until our team could get power going again, cut back from the usual amount needed to run the program. It will be interesting to see what happens tonight when I preach on “Why I Am a Seventh-day Adventist”. That is usually one of the best attended of the series.
Yesterday when we went to town to get more bottled water we saw in the store a box of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and couldn’t resist. It only cost Rs 130 ($2.70), about what it would be in USA where we don’t buy them often. It was a touch of home and a change from the biscuits in soy milk we have used rather than bread this last part of the trip.
This morning is very chilly again. We have had breakfast and read several of the readings from our MW books on computer. The Sabbath School lesson materials are the same, so we should be up to date when we get home.
Mary Alice plans to do some laundry again and will be on the roof in the sun to dry them. After getting the sermon and health talk visuals ready for tonight, I may just crawl back in bed fully clothed except for shoes, and listen to good things on the IPod until time to leave for lunch. We are invited to another SDA home for lunch today. Masiam, our hostess, is a second generation SDA and has helped Sabbathanga’s prepare food, so we should be safe on most things..
While our video projector is still being used at the Hall, we have put our food from home into the video case so it fits nicely into the mouse proof cabinets. If we can head him off at the pass it will be a very good thing. I wouldn’t mind at all being bypassed by his kind.
We are the only ones living in the building now during renovation, except possibly for a caretaker who is out of sight most of the time. They seem to have drinking problems too. It is rather common around here. At the meeting it is a bit disheartening to present the dangers of smoking and then see some after the meeting lighting up their cigarettes. Lifelong habits with strong addictive properties are hard to break. The man who fell out the window to his death would still be with us had he not been intoxicated and confused.
I could not get out on line again this morning, so will just save this until we can. It would be nice to have notice when they are not feeding the signal from the towers. Solomon wrote “Time and chance happeneth to them all.” (Ecc. 9:11) We have found it so here.
2:17 P.M. We just got back from the lunch. It was very good with enough choices for us to be able to avoid the fresh salad and two kinds of greens. The father is the first SDA in this town. He learned it by taking a Voice of Prophecy correspondence course. Members from up north had covered the town with cards inviting people to send in for the lessons. He did and followed through. He was an elementary teacher and just retired last year at age 72. He has lived in the town for 30 years. He was the first “Best Teacher of the Year” in 2008. His son who lives next door to him was Mr. Mizoram for l985 and had been a boxer. He was the one we had wear the High Priest robes for the sermon last Sabbath without knowing any of this. He seems to be a faithful member here now. The father told his daughter that they have come from around the world to be with us and we should have them over for lunch at least once.” He is a very hospitable gentleman with good health and energy. His daughter, Masiam, said he has always been slender. That helps. They live just a short walk from the Hall where we are holding the meetings.
Biaka had a phone call today from the Bru village where we visited and saw 35 baptized last year. Zosiama wants us to visit it again this year. They are hoping to have a church there with us funding it. We will have to tell them that we do not have money this year to do that, and hope that in the future we can. We do the best we can with what we get and try to meet the most urgent needs.
It was good to hear from Biaka that the Tlangsang church we helped raise up is now sending about $2000 tithe to the Mizo Conference each year. That is big for here. It is also a center for evangelistic outreach in Tripura. We feel good about that initial investment of time and money to help them come into being as an SDA church.
Still not able to get on line today but will try again tonight or tomorrow morning. Then we may be out of touch because our contract for the on line attachment runs out Nov. 20 when we are on our way for the long trip back to Aizawl leaving at 4:30 a.m.
We just learned (4:50 p.m.) that I will have a different translator tonight. Biaka came over and we went over the sermon, but something must have come up for him. Both are good translators so it doesn’t matter to me except there was no time for the second one to go over the material. I have all the texts in Mizo already and there are only 3 quotes in English that I think the new one knows already. He just will not have the background of the stories and relationships that I will tell about tonight. The accumulation of prayers for us and the series is much appreciated and needed as you can see. I also learned that I have the Sabbath sermon tomorrow morning in the little church. It is nice to know that before I am announced as the speaker.
We have had our pour before Sabbath and some things packed already to save time on Saturday night after the meeting or Sunday morning before we leave.
With love,
Dad and Mom (Glenn and Mary Alice)