First of all I would like to share a word form Scripture for everyone who reads these updates. I know that some people think that there are those who only give these types of updates to brag about what God is doing, or to sound a trumpet before themselves and draw attention to their good works. Although I agree those situations do occasionally occur, that is not the intent of these updates. It is actually biblical for missionaries to bring updates to the church of all that God is doing. In Acts 14:27 we read that after Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch and gathered the church together, “they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the gentiles.” This is because there is an accountability to the senders (those who have been praying and giving financially to the work) to show them what is being done. Please be encouraged as you read about what God is doing in India.
We made the drive to Seattle on Sunday afternoon on bare and dry roads. Check-in at the airport went smoothly, and we were able to catch the first half of the Super Bowl before boarding the plane. We then enjoyed a 15 hour flight to Dubai, followed by a very short layover, whirring we found ourselves almost running to catch the next flight to Chennai.
Chennai greeted us withe the familiar sounds and smells of India, only this time we weren’t hit by a blast of heat as we stepped off the plane. The weather is much more tolerable this time of year. By the time we got our bags into Josh’s home, it was already getting to be 4:00 a.m.
Because of our long flight and the time of our arrival, we used most of the first day to rest and recover from jet lag. If you’ve never experienced flying for 20 hours straight, I can assure you that it drains a lot out of you. You’d think that after all that sitting around we’d be eager to get rolling, but it makes you feel like garbage. Hard to explain, but its real.
We went to a Bible study Tuesday night with about 25 young people between the ages of 18-25. We were pretty surprised how we all fit inside a 10×12 room, but it worked out just fine and we had a wonderful time encouraging them with some Scripture and doing some subject discussions based on issues that they are struggling with. We are going to be at a larger youth meeting on Saturday with most of these young people and we look forward to seeing them again.
Our last team member, who had to fly out a day later than us, arrived at the airport aroundmidnight, so the team is now complete and ready to hit the ground running tomorrow with energy and enthusiasm.