Enjoy!!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Pictures
For those of you who do not read this blog on FaceBook, here are the links for the pictures of the trip:
Saturday, April 10, 2010
My Time Back In Churachandpur
As I mentioned the last time, after we finished the work project in Hmarkawlien, I went back to Churachandpur again.
For the first week, a large part of my time was spent in the studio. I had mentioned in an earlier post that we were working on a recording project with Grace, Jerry, and Christina. They are from Shillong, but were in Churachandpur for a few weeks so we could finish the project. The' Evangelical Free Church of India (the church denomination that Dr. Ro and Mawii started) had its annual general assembly a week after I got back to Churachandpur, and the CD was scheduled to release there on Saturday morning. We worked hard in the studio all week, and by Friday morning we were down to one more song to record. There was only one problem... the musician who was making the soundtracks for all of our songs was busy and, even though he had bent over backwards to help us try to get the project done in time, he had no time to finish the final track. I finally found another musician who was willing to help us out. He dropped everything he was doing that day and recorded the final track for us. We went directly from his studio over to the other studio where we had been recording and did the vocals for that final song. We finished around 4:00 PM, and the engineer worked on the editing until 9:00 PM. The duplicating and printing company picked the master as soon as it was done. They duplicated and packaged all night, and we released the CD at 10:00 the next morning! And it didn't turn out too bad. We were able to do a full 14 song album. It will be released in the United States, hopefully around the end of May. I will let everyone know when it is available.
General Assembly started on Friday night and lasted until Sunday night. Watkin Roberts' (the missionary who brought the Gospel to the Hmar tribe 100 years ago) son and wife arrived in Seilmat on Friday afternoon and were given a huge welcome. The depth of appreciation and respect that the Hmar people have for the Roberts family is amazing.
The 2010 General Assembly was another huge celebration of the Gospel Centenary. Is was a great weekend of worship, singing, dancing, and celebrating. There was another huge feast on Saturday afternoon... 19 cows, 10 pigs, and 100 chickens were killed and cooked. Three hundred cooks worked for two days to prepare everything. They told me it took two pigs just to feed the cooks!
On the Monday following the Assembly was the Trinity College and Seminary graduation. Dr. Paul Robers (Watkin Roberts' son) gave the convocation address to the graduates, most of whom were getting ready to do one of three things... further studies, becoming a pastor, or going to the mission field. After the convocation, the school students from Seilmat Christian Higher Secondary School (Bibles For The World's largest school) put on a performance for all the visiting guests.
After Assembly was over, my time in Seilmat was pretty laid back... the kids were in school, so there was not a whole lot to do during the day. After school, I typically went to one of the kid's houses for the evening.
One highlight during that time was my visit to Northeast Children's Home there in Churachandpur. A friend had asked me to go visit the place. NECH is an orphanage... they have close to sixty kids who live there. They also run a school there at the campus. I had a wonderful time there with the kids and the staff of the children's home. The place seems to be very well run, it's one of the cleanest places I have seen in Northeast India, and the kids are excellent singers! NECH will definitely be a regular stop during my visits to India from now on.
I left Churachandpur on March 18 and flew to Calcutta. I spent the night there and then flew to Chiang Mai, Thailand the next day. A good friend of mine lives there, so we spent a few days in Chiang Mai and then took a 24 hour bus ride to Pnohm Pehn, Cambodia, where we spent another week. After leaving there, I spent another day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then arrived back in the United States last week.
It was another incredible trip... especially the India portion of it, and the experience of celebrating the coming of the Gospel to the Hmar tribe with the people whose ancestors were headhunters just a few generations ago, was something that I don't think my friends and I will ever forget!
Michael Esh
For the first week, a large part of my time was spent in the studio. I had mentioned in an earlier post that we were working on a recording project with Grace, Jerry, and Christina. They are from Shillong, but were in Churachandpur for a few weeks so we could finish the project. The' Evangelical Free Church of India (the church denomination that Dr. Ro and Mawii started) had its annual general assembly a week after I got back to Churachandpur, and the CD was scheduled to release there on Saturday morning. We worked hard in the studio all week, and by Friday morning we were down to one more song to record. There was only one problem... the musician who was making the soundtracks for all of our songs was busy and, even though he had bent over backwards to help us try to get the project done in time, he had no time to finish the final track. I finally found another musician who was willing to help us out. He dropped everything he was doing that day and recorded the final track for us. We went directly from his studio over to the other studio where we had been recording and did the vocals for that final song. We finished around 4:00 PM, and the engineer worked on the editing until 9:00 PM. The duplicating and printing company picked the master as soon as it was done. They duplicated and packaged all night, and we released the CD at 10:00 the next morning! And it didn't turn out too bad. We were able to do a full 14 song album. It will be released in the United States, hopefully around the end of May. I will let everyone know when it is available.
General Assembly started on Friday night and lasted until Sunday night. Watkin Roberts' (the missionary who brought the Gospel to the Hmar tribe 100 years ago) son and wife arrived in Seilmat on Friday afternoon and were given a huge welcome. The depth of appreciation and respect that the Hmar people have for the Roberts family is amazing.
The 2010 General Assembly was another huge celebration of the Gospel Centenary. Is was a great weekend of worship, singing, dancing, and celebrating. There was another huge feast on Saturday afternoon... 19 cows, 10 pigs, and 100 chickens were killed and cooked. Three hundred cooks worked for two days to prepare everything. They told me it took two pigs just to feed the cooks!
On the Monday following the Assembly was the Trinity College and Seminary graduation. Dr. Paul Robers (Watkin Roberts' son) gave the convocation address to the graduates, most of whom were getting ready to do one of three things... further studies, becoming a pastor, or going to the mission field. After the convocation, the school students from Seilmat Christian Higher Secondary School (Bibles For The World's largest school) put on a performance for all the visiting guests.
After Assembly was over, my time in Seilmat was pretty laid back... the kids were in school, so there was not a whole lot to do during the day. After school, I typically went to one of the kid's houses for the evening.
One highlight during that time was my visit to Northeast Children's Home there in Churachandpur. A friend had asked me to go visit the place. NECH is an orphanage... they have close to sixty kids who live there. They also run a school there at the campus. I had a wonderful time there with the kids and the staff of the children's home. The place seems to be very well run, it's one of the cleanest places I have seen in Northeast India, and the kids are excellent singers! NECH will definitely be a regular stop during my visits to India from now on.
I left Churachandpur on March 18 and flew to Calcutta. I spent the night there and then flew to Chiang Mai, Thailand the next day. A good friend of mine lives there, so we spent a few days in Chiang Mai and then took a 24 hour bus ride to Pnohm Pehn, Cambodia, where we spent another week. After leaving there, I spent another day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then arrived back in the United States last week.
It was another incredible trip... especially the India portion of it, and the experience of celebrating the coming of the Gospel to the Hmar tribe with the people whose ancestors were headhunters just a few generations ago, was something that I don't think my friends and I will ever forget!
Michael Esh
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Shillong and Hmarkhawlien
After leaving Churachandpur a few weeks ago, my group flew to Guwahati, the largest city here in Northeast India and then took a four hour taxi ride to Shillong, a beautiful city in the state of Meghalaya. We made a lot of friends in Shillong during our last visit there in 2008, and we received a warm welcome back from them. We arrived in Shillong on a Thursday evening and spent the next few days relaxing and hanging out with our friends there.
On Monday morning, my brother, Marv, Mahlon, and I went back to the airport in Guwahati and flew to Delhi. The next day, the three of us went to Chingrawli, a remote village a few hours from Delhi. Bibles For The World runs a school there, the only one they run outside of Northeast India. Ruth, a former India Children’s Choir leader, is a teacher there, and we went mostly to visit her. That evening, back in Delhi, we went to TGI Friday’s with some of our friends from Delhi. I really like Indian food, but it was great to have some good old American food again.
That evening Marv and Mahlon flew out of Delhi and two other guys flew in. Those two guys came to help out with our work project in Hmarkhawlien (more on that in a little bit).
I spent the next day taking the guys to do some sightseeing and shopping in Delhi and then we flew out that evening to Calcutta. We spent one night there in Calcutta and then flew to Silchar early the next morning. Silchar is a town in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. Our destination was a village about an hour from Silchar called Hmarkhawlien.
Hmarkhawlien is the home of the second largest school that is run by Bibles For The World. The school has almost six hundred students in Kindergarten through Class Ten. They are in the process of adding Classes Eleven and Twelve and for that they need expanded facilities, so my team went there to help with the building project for a few weeks.
The other three guys in the group had traveled directly to Hmarkhawlien from Shillong and had already been working for a few days before I arrived with the other two guys. We spent the next ten days working on the new building together with a crew of local guys. We even found some time to mix in some fun stuff like my group playing volleyball against some of the school teachers. We had a great time there in Hmarkhawlien.
From there, all of the guys except for me, left India and went on to Thailand. I flew back to Manipur, and after spending one night in the capital city of Imphal, went back to Churachandpur, my home away from home.
That will be all for now... I will let you know about my time in Churachandpur in my next post.
On Monday morning, my brother, Marv, Mahlon, and I went back to the airport in Guwahati and flew to Delhi. The next day, the three of us went to Chingrawli, a remote village a few hours from Delhi. Bibles For The World runs a school there, the only one they run outside of Northeast India. Ruth, a former India Children’s Choir leader, is a teacher there, and we went mostly to visit her. That evening, back in Delhi, we went to TGI Friday’s with some of our friends from Delhi. I really like Indian food, but it was great to have some good old American food again.
That evening Marv and Mahlon flew out of Delhi and two other guys flew in. Those two guys came to help out with our work project in Hmarkhawlien (more on that in a little bit).
I spent the next day taking the guys to do some sightseeing and shopping in Delhi and then we flew out that evening to Calcutta. We spent one night there in Calcutta and then flew to Silchar early the next morning. Silchar is a town in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. Our destination was a village about an hour from Silchar called Hmarkhawlien.
Hmarkhawlien is the home of the second largest school that is run by Bibles For The World. The school has almost six hundred students in Kindergarten through Class Ten. They are in the process of adding Classes Eleven and Twelve and for that they need expanded facilities, so my team went there to help with the building project for a few weeks.
The other three guys in the group had traveled directly to Hmarkhawlien from Shillong and had already been working for a few days before I arrived with the other two guys. We spent the next ten days working on the new building together with a crew of local guys. We even found some time to mix in some fun stuff like my group playing volleyball against some of the school teachers. We had a great time there in Hmarkhawlien.
From there, all of the guys except for me, left India and went on to Thailand. I flew back to Manipur, and after spending one night in the capital city of Imphal, went back to Churachandpur, my home away from home.
That will be all for now... I will let you know about my time in Churachandpur in my next post.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Churachandpur (My Second Home)
A lot has happened since I last posted here, but I will attempt to give it to you in a nutshell...
The last post ended with us flying into Imphal, the capital city of Manipur. From there we made the hour and a half drive to Churachandpur, or more specifically, to Seilmat, one of the many villages that Churachandpur is made up of. Seilmat is where Partnership Mission (the India side of Bibles For The World) has its headquarters. It is also the location of Seilmat Christian School (Bibles For The Worlds largest school) and Trinity College and Seminary and Seilmat Christian Hospital (both run by Bibles For The World). But that is not the biggest reason why Churachandpur is my "second home."
It's because of the people. You see, approximately 90% of the former India Children's Choir kids live in this general area. Obviously, that makes it a very special place for me. Add to that their families and the many, many other friends I have made their during my trips to India... every time I go there, it's like a homecoming of sorts. I get excited when I land in Imphal airport, and then more and more excited during the drive down to the Churachandpur area. We alway have a wonderful time, and this time was no exception.
I won't bore you with all the details of what we did during our time there, but I will mention a few highlights.
As usual, as soon as we arrive, I start getting invitations for meals. So on a typical day, we would have our morning meal at one of the kid's houses and then spend some time with the family there. We spent quite a bit of time in the market... either shopping for ourselves or taking our sponsored kids shopping. So after the morning meal, and on most days a short shopping excursion, we would return to Trinity College (we stayed in the guest rooms there) and spend a few hours either relaxing or spending time with kids who showed up to hang out. Then it was time for the evening meal, again, usually at one of the kid's houses. After the meal and some time spent there, we would return to Trinity, and usually the kids were waiting for us. On a typical night, thirty or more kids would come there to hang out. Activities ranges from football to looking at pictures to sitting around talking to singing. It was a lot of fun.
A few days after we got there, Jerry, Grace, and Christina, the three former ICC kids from Shillong that I recorded a few songs with last year, came to Churachandpur, so we spend the next three or four days in the studio doing some more recording with them. We are planning to put together a "mini" album, so I will let you know the details on that a little later. Stay tuned... :)
On the few days that we didn't have invitations for a meal, we went out to one of the three little local restaurants that are in Churachandpur. And most of the time, there would be at least a few kids with us.
Our time to Churachandpur came to an end on Thursday. I will be returning there in a few weeks, but other guys in the group will not be, so there were some tearful farewells. A lot of the kids really got attached to them in the few weeks that we were there.
My group is in Shillong now, another city here in Northeast India. We all miss our friends from Churachanpur, but we are having a good time with another set of friends here in Shillong.
By the way, I know I promised some pictures early on in the trip, but the internet connections have been a little inconsistent, and I have just not had a chance yet. I am still planning to post some pictures, even if it has to wait till I get home.
Michael Esh
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Rock Barack River Trip
The Rock Barack River Trip was organized to recreate the a route that Watkin Roberts used to take back in the early 1900’s. He traveled the Barack River by boat and delivered rice and preached along the way.
Before I get into that, one huge highlight of the Centenary for me that I left out of the last post was when I got to represent Watkin Roberts during the carrying in of a page of the 1898 of the Gospel of John. That was the edition that Watkin Roberts first sent to the Hmar tribe. The grandson of the native missionary who accompanied Watkin Roberts, along with some other relatives, and I carried it to the front of the assembly hall and then handed it over to the grandson of the man who was the chief of Senvon at the time of Watkin Roberts. It was a neat experience.
After arriving at our campsite on Monday evening, we set up our tent and ate our dinner. The evening service was already in full swing by the time we got there.
Each day’s schedule was basically the same. The morning service was followed by the morning meal, and then we would load up the boats and head out. There was usually one scheduled stop during the day and then we would arrive at our destination.
Notice that I said one “scheduled” stop. I always knew that Dr. Ro and Mawii were well known and well respected in this region, but I had no idea that it was to this scale. In many of the little villages we passed, people would stand along the banks, just to be able to see Dr. Ro and Mawii pass. And some of the villages wanted them to stop. So we would stop and Dr. Ro would talk to the people from the boat. So besides the scheduled stop each day, there were also a few other stops. And they got a well deserved hero’s welcome at each stop.
On the second night, we camped out at a beautiful spot along the river, and one the third night we stayed at people’s houses in the village of Ankhasu. Our hosts there were awesome, and after two nights of sleeping in a tent along the river, a bed felt really good! On the fourth and final night of the trip, we had a big final service in Hmarkawlien.
Again, words don’t do justice to the experiences we had on the river trip. It was an amazing time with old friends and a great time of meeting new ones.
The next morning (Friday) we flew from Silchar to Imphal and then drove here to Churachandpur where we are now. Churachandpur is when most of the former India Children’s Choir children live and we have been having a great time hanging out with all of them.
Michael
Before I get into that, one huge highlight of the Centenary for me that I left out of the last post was when I got to represent Watkin Roberts during the carrying in of a page of the 1898 of the Gospel of John. That was the edition that Watkin Roberts first sent to the Hmar tribe. The grandson of the native missionary who accompanied Watkin Roberts, along with some other relatives, and I carried it to the front of the assembly hall and then handed it over to the grandson of the man who was the chief of Senvon at the time of Watkin Roberts. It was a neat experience.
After arriving at our campsite on Monday evening, we set up our tent and ate our dinner. The evening service was already in full swing by the time we got there.
Each day’s schedule was basically the same. The morning service was followed by the morning meal, and then we would load up the boats and head out. There was usually one scheduled stop during the day and then we would arrive at our destination.
Notice that I said one “scheduled” stop. I always knew that Dr. Ro and Mawii were well known and well respected in this region, but I had no idea that it was to this scale. In many of the little villages we passed, people would stand along the banks, just to be able to see Dr. Ro and Mawii pass. And some of the villages wanted them to stop. So we would stop and Dr. Ro would talk to the people from the boat. So besides the scheduled stop each day, there were also a few other stops. And they got a well deserved hero’s welcome at each stop.
On the second night, we camped out at a beautiful spot along the river, and one the third night we stayed at people’s houses in the village of Ankhasu. Our hosts there were awesome, and after two nights of sleeping in a tent along the river, a bed felt really good! On the fourth and final night of the trip, we had a big final service in Hmarkawlien.
Again, words don’t do justice to the experiences we had on the river trip. It was an amazing time with old friends and a great time of meeting new ones.
The next morning (Friday) we flew from Silchar to Imphal and then drove here to Churachandpur where we are now. Churachandpur is when most of the former India Children’s Choir children live and we have been having a great time hanging out with all of them.
Michael
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Gospel Centenary Celebration
Wow... where to begin???? I was planning to keep a journal of sorts during our trip to the hills, but there was so much happening there that I didn’t get it done. The experiences we had on this leg of our trip were incredible and I will try to describe some of them to you...
We left the city of Aizawl on the morning of January 20th and drove all day, then spent the night at in a little town called Sawkardai. Even though we were driving through some very mountainous terrain, the roads were not that bad. We stopped at one little village along the way where Merlin got to meet the child he sponsors.
The story with the roads the next day was totally different. They went from bad to worse and then to even worse. We probably average less than 20 miles per hour the entire day!
We finally arrived in Senvon around 4:00 that evening. Senvon is the place where the young Welsh missionary, Watkin Roberts, first preached to the Hmar people in 1910. At that time they were still fierce headhunters and one of the most feared people groups in that whole region. With the help of a missionary from Aizawl, Roberts travelled to Senvon to share the message of the Gospel with these people.
We were greeted in Senvon by quite a few familiar faces. The sleepy little remote village of 3,000 or so people had been transformed into a busy place with people coming from miles and miles around to be a part of the celebration.
The opening service of the Gospel Centenary Celebration was that evening, so after eating dinner and getting cleaned up a little, we went to the service. The opening was so beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes. First they turned of all the lights. The grandson of the missionary who helped Watkin Roberts get to Senvon brought in a torch from the back. He lit the torch of the grandson of the chief of Senvon. He then lit the torch of the pastors, who used their torches to light the candles being held by the people. That little ceremony ended with singing and a mass prayer. Considering the fact that there were probably 1,500 people there with candles, plus the torches, it was an impressive sight.
The next few days were filled with worship services, one in the morning and one in the evening. Every service lasted for three hours or more, and one lasted for four and one half hours!
The highlight of the second day there was the arrival of Dr. Ro and Mawii. For those of you who don’t know, Dr. Ro’s father was one of the very first Christians from the Hmar tribe. Dr. Ro is the one who translated the Bible into the Hmar language. Besides that, he has had a tremendous impact on Northeast India in other ways. He and his wife planted over 300 churches and many, many schools in the Northeast. They are very well respected and well know in that region.
Dr. Ro’s health has been declining over the last year, and travel over the rough roads was basically impossible, so they flew in by helicopter. Now, that may not sound like of big deal to you, but most of the people in Senvon, even the older ones, had never seen a helicopter before in their lives! So it was a really big deal! Not only were Dr. Ro and Mawii arriving, but they were arriving by helicopter! Thousands of people gather around the makeshift helipad on the outskirts of the village to welcome them and then lined the street that led to the village.
Another big highlight came on the third day... the big feast. Now I have been part of feasts in Northeast India before, but they were only for 500 people or so. But not this one... over 11,000 people attended the feast in Senvon! 37 animals were killed for the feast! It was an impressive gathering to say the least! And, keep in mind that this is a village of 3,000 people.
Other events during the celebration included unveiling the Centenary stone, beating the Centenary drum 100 times and ringing the Centenary bell 100 times. After the final service was over on Sunday night, people stayed and sang and danced for another two hours or so. After having told their story hundreds of times during my time with the India Children’s Choir, it was a huge honor for me to celebrate this event with them. One afternoon we even got to go see the very place where they used to honor the men who would go and fight and bring back heads during the headhunting days. There was a stone there that the warrior would stand on and they would all dance around him.
We headed out of Senvon on Monday morning with a caravan of vehicles and a lot of people... including Dr. Ro and Mawii and some of the other head people from over here. We visited the villages of Parbung and Lungthulien, two villages where there are Bibles For The World schools, and at each place they put on a grand reception for our group.
We worked our way down to the river, but before we got there, we were stopped in another village where the people had planned a reception for Dr. Ro and Mawii, but we didn’t know anything about it. We finally arrived at the campsite around 6:00 that evening.
I will write about our trip down the river within the next few days.
Michael
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Headed To The Hills
Hey everyone,
Just an FYI. My group and I will be heading for the the interior hills of Northeast India tomorrow morning, and that means no internet access for the next ten days or so. I will be keeping a "journal" of our time there so I can share it with you when we get back.
We will be celebrating the 100th year anniversary of the Gospel coming to the Hmar tribe with hundreds, if not thousands, of descendants of former headhunters. It is sure to be an amazing experience.
Michael
Monday, January 18, 2010
Our Time In Chandigarh
It's not often that I pull an all-nighter. In fact, I have not done that for years... that is until last night. I am sitting at the Delhi airport typing this, and it's about 5:15 in the morning.
We arrived back in Delhi last night after our six hour train ride from Chandigarh. We never got back to our guest house until almost 2:00 this morning, and with the repacking that needed to be done, their was just no time to sleep.
But enough about that.
Our time in Chandigarh... in one word... WOW!
Backing up a bit... the main reason I decided to go to Chandigarh on this trip was to see Amethyst, one of the girls who was supposed to be in the 2009 India Children's Choir. She is a very sweet, outgoing girl, and I got to know her pretty well during our time in India last year. I had heard about the work going on there, but didn't know much about it and didn't know anyone else who lived there.
Amethyst's parents are missionaries who work for Bibles For The World doing Bible distribution and church planting. Her father is an incredible man with a heart for ministry and the people he is called to minister to. Our group and the family hit it off right away.
We arrived in Chandigarh on Friday and were received at the train station and then spent the rest of the day getting to know the family and settling in at their house.
On Saturday is when the "WOW" happened. Soon after our arrival in Chandigarh on Friday, Thanga told us that their was a lot of literature from Bibles For The World that was being delivered to a town about an hour and half away and wondered if we wanted to go and with him there. Of course I jumped at the chance since Chandigarh Bible distribution was one of the projects we promoted while I was on the road with the India Children's Choir. We arrived in the town just after the truck had been unloaded and had lunch with the local pastor there. There are a lot of new converts in that area and a growing church, primarily among the religious group of Indian people that wear the turbans. They are not Hindus, but a movement that broke away from the Hindus.
We met some of the other people there, and were just getting ready to leave when our missionary friend, Thanga, told us that some people had come and wanted to pray for two of their children... twins who were crippled. We prayed for them, and then someone else brought their elderly mother who was sick, and we prayed for her. We prayed for a few boys who were getting ready to take an important exam in their schooling. It was a neat experience.
And then it happened... we were just finishing up praying for the people, and as usual, a small crowd had gathered. Thanga came and told us that a family in the crowd, from the "turban" religion, wanted to become Christians! Father, mother, and a teenage son sat and listened as Thanga explained the salvation of Jesus Christ to them. He prayed with them and then we prayed with them. It was an amazing experience! Pray for this family... they cannot read or write. I don't know their names, but pray that they could grow in faith and knowledge. These people, like a lot of the others who have come to Christ, have no knowledge of Christianity whatsoever.
On Sunday, we attended a small church house service at Thanga's house and then spent the rest of the day relaxing there. On Monday, Thanga took us out sightseeing in Chandigarh. First we went to the mall and spent a little time there. We went to the lake... a beautiful man-made lake on the edge of the city, and then visited the Rock Garden, and incredible masterpiece of man-made rock formations and designs made with trash... literally. Broken toilets, plates, cups, floor tile, old bracelets, etc. It was quite intriguing.
Later in the evening, we said goodbye to our new friends and boarded the train back to Delhi.
Well, I've got a flight to catch.
Until next time,
Michael
Friday, January 15, 2010
Greetings from Chandigarh
Hello everyone,
Greetings from the city of Chandigarh in northern India. We arrived here yesterday after a four hour train ride from India's capital of Delhi.
Our two days in Delhi were spent getting over jet lag, meeting some friends who live there and getting a taste of the local culture by going out to one of Delhi's biggest markets for an afternoon.
Connaught Place is an interesting place with anything from sidewalk vendors to fancy shops to McDonalds, KFC, and Subway to movie theaters and about everything that you can imagine in between. Oh, and thousands upon thousands of people, about half of which seem to be trying to sell something to the "foreigners" for about five times what it is actually worth. But with a little bartering skills you can usually get a few good bargains.
We went there by metro... Delhi has a very clean and efficient metro system. It is actually nicer than most of the trains in New York City. The biggest difference though... the sheer masses of people who were riding it. For those of you who have been in New York, imagine the fullest train you have ever been on, and then double it, at least! You literally could not move. We thought the train was full, but the officials kept telling people to get on. At every stop, a few people got off and a LOT more people got on.
Delhi is a city of over ten million people. Hinduism is the major religion here, but there are also quite a few other religions too. The hopelessness and despair in the people's eyes is something that is hard to forget.
And that is why it is such a breath of fresh air to meet with Christian people here in this country and to see that God is working in the lives of these people... and that is exactly what we witnessed last night after our arrival here in Chandigarh.
We were greeted at the train station by one of Bibles For The World's missionaries here. He and his family have been here for at least ten years and God is doing a great work through them. There have been thousands of Bibles distributed here in this area and God is at work. We had the opportunity to visit one family who came to Christ a few years ago and through their witness, eight more families have renounced their old religions and become followers of Jesus! Amazing things are happening!
Well, that will be all for now. More updates will follow, and hopefully some pictures too. We appreciate and ask for your prayers as we continue this trip.
Michael
Greetings from the city of Chandigarh in northern India. We arrived here yesterday after a four hour train ride from India's capital of Delhi.
Our two days in Delhi were spent getting over jet lag, meeting some friends who live there and getting a taste of the local culture by going out to one of Delhi's biggest markets for an afternoon.
Connaught Place is an interesting place with anything from sidewalk vendors to fancy shops to McDonalds, KFC, and Subway to movie theaters and about everything that you can imagine in between. Oh, and thousands upon thousands of people, about half of which seem to be trying to sell something to the "foreigners" for about five times what it is actually worth. But with a little bartering skills you can usually get a few good bargains.
We went there by metro... Delhi has a very clean and efficient metro system. It is actually nicer than most of the trains in New York City. The biggest difference though... the sheer masses of people who were riding it. For those of you who have been in New York, imagine the fullest train you have ever been on, and then double it, at least! You literally could not move. We thought the train was full, but the officials kept telling people to get on. At every stop, a few people got off and a LOT more people got on.
Delhi is a city of over ten million people. Hinduism is the major religion here, but there are also quite a few other religions too. The hopelessness and despair in the people's eyes is something that is hard to forget.
And that is why it is such a breath of fresh air to meet with Christian people here in this country and to see that God is working in the lives of these people... and that is exactly what we witnessed last night after our arrival here in Chandigarh.
We were greeted at the train station by one of Bibles For The World's missionaries here. He and his family have been here for at least ten years and God is doing a great work through them. There have been thousands of Bibles distributed here in this area and God is at work. We had the opportunity to visit one family who came to Christ a few years ago and through their witness, eight more families have renounced their old religions and become followers of Jesus! Amazing things are happening!
Well, that will be all for now. More updates will follow, and hopefully some pictures too. We appreciate and ask for your prayers as we continue this trip.
Michael
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Back In India
OK... this is gonna be a short one for two reasons:
1. I am in an internet cafe and paying by the minute for the use of the computer.
2. The spacebar on this computer doesnot work properly andit's apain to type.
Anyway, we are in Delhi. We arrived here on schedule a few days ago and have been having a good time exploring the city and meeting up with some of my friends that live here.
It is so good to be back in this country again! I am enjoying Delhi, but what I am really looking forward to is heading to the Northeast in a few days. I can't wait to see my kids and all my other friends again.
Michael
1. I am in an internet cafe and paying by the minute for the use of the computer.
2. The spacebar on this computer doesnot work properly andit's apain to type.
Anyway, we are in Delhi. We arrived here on schedule a few days ago and have been having a good time exploring the city and meeting up with some of my friends that live here.
It is so good to be back in this country again! I am enjoying Delhi, but what I am really looking forward to is heading to the Northeast in a few days. I can't wait to see my kids and all my other friends again.
Michael
Sunday, January 10, 2010
India Trip
Hey everyone,
It has been eons since I last posted here. As you all know, the India Children's Choir never did make it to the United States in 2009 due to complications with getting their visas, and so this space went unused.
But... in less than 24 hours, I am planning to board a flight back to India! And... I am planning to be there until the middle of March, and I plan to put this space to good use... hopefully pictures, maybe some video clips, and lots of narration of our trip.
2010 is the 100th year anniversary of the Gospel coming to the Hmar people. Big celebrations are being planned, and I and my group will be a part of a few of them. It is sure to be an exciting time, so stay tuned.
If you know of anyone else who would be interested in reading about this trip to India, please feel free to let them know about this blog.
Michael Esh
Friday, March 13, 2009
The NEW Hearthunters.org Is Live!
Hey everyone....
Just wanted to let you know that the all new HEARTHUNTERS.org website is now up and running.
And, like I promised during the "Live From India" blog posts, pictures and video of the trip are on the site. On the homepage at www.hearthunters.org, you will find a link to "Michael's India Trip." On that page you can watch videos of some of the kids singing and a 30 minute video documentary of our trip to the hills. There is also a photo journal of the trip with over 200 pictures, and the entire blog from the trip is there, too... just in case you missed anything or want to read it again.
In addition to the India trip page, on the site you can find out more information about Bibles For The World and the India Children's Choir. Be sure to check it out.
And I know you have all been wondering about the choir because we have not been telling you much...
Well, to be honest, there is still not much to tell. We are still waiting on an answer back from the State Department. Please keep praying... we are still expecting God to work.
As far as me personally... I am (and have been for awhile now) back at my house in Pennsylvania while we are waiting this thing out. I am trying to stay occupied as much as possible to keep from being bored out of my mind. Some days it works, and some days... well, some days I'm bored out of my mind!
I have been working on some choir stuff (like the website), helping out in my dad's business here and there, and sleeping a lot. :) But, I am so ready to get up and do something, and I really, really miss those kids! Please pray with me that they will be able to come soon.
Blessings,
Michael Esh
Just wanted to let you know that the all new HEARTHUNTERS.org website is now up and running.
And, like I promised during the "Live From India" blog posts, pictures and video of the trip are on the site. On the homepage at www.hearthunters.org, you will find a link to "Michael's India Trip." On that page you can watch videos of some of the kids singing and a 30 minute video documentary of our trip to the hills. There is also a photo journal of the trip with over 200 pictures, and the entire blog from the trip is there, too... just in case you missed anything or want to read it again.
In addition to the India trip page, on the site you can find out more information about Bibles For The World and the India Children's Choir. Be sure to check it out.
And I know you have all been wondering about the choir because we have not been telling you much...
Well, to be honest, there is still not much to tell. We are still waiting on an answer back from the State Department. Please keep praying... we are still expecting God to work.
As far as me personally... I am (and have been for awhile now) back at my house in Pennsylvania while we are waiting this thing out. I am trying to stay occupied as much as possible to keep from being bored out of my mind. Some days it works, and some days... well, some days I'm bored out of my mind!
I have been working on some choir stuff (like the website), helping out in my dad's business here and there, and sleeping a lot. :) But, I am so ready to get up and do something, and I really, really miss those kids! Please pray with me that they will be able to come soon.
Blessings,
Michael Esh
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Latest News About ICC 2009
I'm sure a lot of you have been wondering what the latest news is on the 2009 India Children's Choir visa situation.
The reason that you have not heard anything from me for a while is because nothing really new has happened... no good news, no bad news.
So the kids and leaders are doing the same thing that those of us on the United States side of this thing are doing... waiting.
I talk to the leaders in India every day or two, and they and the kids are doing fine... playing, eating, sleeping, and of course, rehearsing.
So, not much of an update, but that's what we know. Keep praying!
On a more personal note, since this is my personal blog, my brother, Marv, and I have been here in Colorado Springs since Monday. We have just been doing odd jobs around the office... everything on the ICC side of things is kind of on hold until we get word that the kids are on their way.
We spent Friday and Saturday in Aspen, Colorado, taking in some of the events at the Winter X Games. We even got to see live, in person the first ever double backflip on a snowmobile. It was incredible! A lot of fun in the mountains!
The reason that you have not heard anything from me for a while is because nothing really new has happened... no good news, no bad news.
So the kids and leaders are doing the same thing that those of us on the United States side of this thing are doing... waiting.
I talk to the leaders in India every day or two, and they and the kids are doing fine... playing, eating, sleeping, and of course, rehearsing.
So, not much of an update, but that's what we know. Keep praying!
On a more personal note, since this is my personal blog, my brother, Marv, and I have been here in Colorado Springs since Monday. We have just been doing odd jobs around the office... everything on the ICC side of things is kind of on hold until we get word that the kids are on their way.
We spent Friday and Saturday in Aspen, Colorado, taking in some of the events at the Winter X Games. We even got to see live, in person the first ever double backflip on a snowmobile. It was incredible! A lot of fun in the mountains!
Friday, January 16, 2009
KEEP PRAYING!!
OK, here's the latest news, as of just a few hours ago, on the ICC visa situation.
After a few days of redoing medical checkups and waiting for those results and getting together all the documentation that the Consulate was asking for, our leaders in India went back to the Consulate to meet with the official once again.
After a long interview, the official there decided to refer our case to the State Department and wait on their recommendation before making a decision to issue our visas or not.
What does that mean? Looks like more of the waiting game. The Consulate, as well as the State Department, is closed on Saturday and Sunday, and Monday is a holiday. That means it will be at least Tuesday before our case even gets looked at again.
We are still hoping and praying that God will work in this situation, and that most of all, His name would be lifted up. And we would appreciate if you would do the same.
After a few days of redoing medical checkups and waiting for those results and getting together all the documentation that the Consulate was asking for, our leaders in India went back to the Consulate to meet with the official once again.
After a long interview, the official there decided to refer our case to the State Department and wait on their recommendation before making a decision to issue our visas or not.
What does that mean? Looks like more of the waiting game. The Consulate, as well as the State Department, is closed on Saturday and Sunday, and Monday is a holiday. That means it will be at least Tuesday before our case even gets looked at again.
We are still hoping and praying that God will work in this situation, and that most of all, His name would be lifted up. And we would appreciate if you would do the same.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST
Dear Friends,
As you know from reading my India trip blog, the 2009 India Children's Choir group is currently in Calcutta, where they have been meeting with the US Consulate to try to get their visas issued.
Usually, this is a fairly easy process and is approved in a day or two.
However, this year, it has been a different story. Since I have arrived back home, here is what has happened...
The visas, which were supposed to be issued yesterday, have still not been approved, and three of the leaders have had their visas denied. The consulate has been making almost impossible demands of the group, all of which they are trying to accommodate to the best of their ability.
The choir was supposed to start the trip to the United States tomorrow, but those plans have been put on hold.
Please pray the God would soften the heart of the lady at the consulate... her name is Deborah Diller... and that the visas would be issued tomorrow, and that the choir could be on their way as soon as possible.
Our people in India are also planning to make a special appeal for the consular to reconsider at least the one leader's visa.
Pray that God would work in this situation, and if your church has a prayer chain, please consider passing this on to them. We need as many people as possible to pray.
God bless,
Michael Esh
As you know from reading my India trip blog, the 2009 India Children's Choir group is currently in Calcutta, where they have been meeting with the US Consulate to try to get their visas issued.
Usually, this is a fairly easy process and is approved in a day or two.
However, this year, it has been a different story. Since I have arrived back home, here is what has happened...
The visas, which were supposed to be issued yesterday, have still not been approved, and three of the leaders have had their visas denied. The consulate has been making almost impossible demands of the group, all of which they are trying to accommodate to the best of their ability.
The choir was supposed to start the trip to the United States tomorrow, but those plans have been put on hold.
Please pray the God would soften the heart of the lady at the consulate... her name is Deborah Diller... and that the visas would be issued tomorrow, and that the choir could be on their way as soon as possible.
Our people in India are also planning to make a special appeal for the consular to reconsider at least the one leader's visa.
Pray that God would work in this situation, and if your church has a prayer chain, please consider passing this on to them. We need as many people as possible to pray.
God bless,
Michael Esh
Monday, January 12, 2009
Home Again!
I am writing this post from my house in Pennsylvania! I arrived at JFK airport in New York this morning around 7:30 after a flight from Calcutta to Dubai and then and then another fourteen hour flight to New York.
Backing up a little... after arriving at the Calcutta train station on Saturday morning, we got six taxis to take us and all our luggage back to the guest house where we were staying. We spent some time getting settled in and then I went out to the mall for a little while. I ate my lunch at Subway! Even though I really enjoy Northeast India food, there's still nothing like good old American food. One difference in my Italian BMT though... it was made with chicken ham, lamb salami, and lamb peperoni. The Hindus do not eat beef, and the Muslims do not eat pork, so the menus are a little different. But it was still good!
It just happened that Saturday evening was the evening of Joyce's (ICC 2008 leader) wedding, and the wedding was being held in Calcutta. I had thought earlier that I was going to miss the wedding by a few days, but with my schedule being changed, it just happened that I was there at the right time, so I put on my brand new suit and tie... I had one made in Churachandpur by Jenny's (ICC 2008) dad... and took a taxi over to the church where the wedding was being held. The ceremony was at 4:30 and then the reception at 7:30.
Even though the festivities were still not over at 9:30 PM, I headed back over to the guest house, and slept with the mosquitos.
Sunday morning, I hung out with the kids for a few hours and then went out to the market to grab a few things I needed yet. I was thinking all day that my flight was at 10:30 PM, but around 6:00, I actually looked at my ticket and the flight was really at 8:30. I made it to the airport at 7:30, but still made the flight.
So, I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and "joining" us for our trip through India. This will be the last post for the "Live From India" part of the blog, so if you wish to unsubscribe, please feel free to do so.
If you stay subscribed, the posts from here on out will be random thoughts from on the road with the 2009 India Children's Choir, which should be arriving in the United States later this week. The kids are finishing up visa interviews in Calcutta tomorrow. Pray that all would go well, and that the visas would be issued without any problems.
Blessings,
Michael Esh
Backing up a little... after arriving at the Calcutta train station on Saturday morning, we got six taxis to take us and all our luggage back to the guest house where we were staying. We spent some time getting settled in and then I went out to the mall for a little while. I ate my lunch at Subway! Even though I really enjoy Northeast India food, there's still nothing like good old American food. One difference in my Italian BMT though... it was made with chicken ham, lamb salami, and lamb peperoni. The Hindus do not eat beef, and the Muslims do not eat pork, so the menus are a little different. But it was still good!
It just happened that Saturday evening was the evening of Joyce's (ICC 2008 leader) wedding, and the wedding was being held in Calcutta. I had thought earlier that I was going to miss the wedding by a few days, but with my schedule being changed, it just happened that I was there at the right time, so I put on my brand new suit and tie... I had one made in Churachandpur by Jenny's (ICC 2008) dad... and took a taxi over to the church where the wedding was being held. The ceremony was at 4:30 and then the reception at 7:30.
Even though the festivities were still not over at 9:30 PM, I headed back over to the guest house, and slept with the mosquitos.
Sunday morning, I hung out with the kids for a few hours and then went out to the market to grab a few things I needed yet. I was thinking all day that my flight was at 10:30 PM, but around 6:00, I actually looked at my ticket and the flight was really at 8:30. I made it to the airport at 7:30, but still made the flight.
So, I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and "joining" us for our trip through India. This will be the last post for the "Live From India" part of the blog, so if you wish to unsubscribe, please feel free to do so.
If you stay subscribed, the posts from here on out will be random thoughts from on the road with the 2009 India Children's Choir, which should be arriving in the United States later this week. The kids are finishing up visa interviews in Calcutta tomorrow. Pray that all would go well, and that the visas would be issued without any problems.
Blessings,
Michael Esh
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The Rest of the Story...
Continued from the last post...
After not getting to watch the Penn State game, we slept there at Joseph's house for a few hours and then went back to TCS for a little bit. From there we went to Jenny's (ICC 2008) house for lunch.
While we were in Shillong the first time, Jerry (ICC 2006), Christina, and Grace (both ICC 2007) sang together a few times. They are really, really good and we wanted to get a good recording of some of their songs, so right after lunch on Friday morning, we headed over to a local studio and spent five or six hours recording two of the songs. Keep an eye out for the videos... I hope to post them on www.hearthunters.org in a few weeks. I'm sure you will agree that these kids are great!
From the studio session, we went straight back to Seilmat and to Eunices's house for dinner. Eunice is a girl that my brother, Marv, sponsors. We spent a few hours there and then went back to TCS for the night.
On Saturday morning, we went to Christina's (ICC 2007) grandparent's house for lunch. Christina's whole family was there from Shillong, having spent the Christmas and New Year holiday there.
At 12:30, the ICC reunion started. We had planned this event to bring together as many of the former ICC kis as possible. And a bunch of them came... right around 120 former choir members came together for a time of games, singing, and food. It was a lot of fun. If you want to hear some good singing, try putting over 100 former ICC kids in a room and have them sing together. It was great!
Since our days were winding down and we were out of time slots for meals, we started getting tea invitations, so after most of the kids had left arond 7:00 PM, we went to Angelyn's (ICC 2008) house for tea, and then to Christina's (ICC 2008) for, guess what, more tea!
On Sunday morning, we went to Seilmat church for the morning service, and then to John Mark and Lalnei's (ICC Leaders) house for lunch. From there, we visited the school hostel for a few minutes to see some kids there. Dinner was at Esther's (ICC 2008) house. Remember what I said about tea. Well, it was the last night for Marv, Kramer, and Herm to be in Seilmat, so we had tea at Jasper's (ICC 2007) house at 8:30 PM, Joseph's (ICC 2006) house at 9:30 PM, and tea at Elva's (ICC 2006) house at 10:30 PM!
On Monday morning, we had breakfast at Jacob and Zingi's (principal of TCS and his wife) house, and then spent an hour or so with a bunch of kids that came over to say goodbye to the guys. The three guys left around 10:30 and went to the airport. My plan was to stay for a few more days and then travel to Guwahati, meet the 2009 ICC kids, and the travel with them to Calcutta by train.
That all went according to plan for the first day. After the guys left, I went and had lunch at Fat James, and did some shopping. That evening I had dinner at Paul and Joyful's (ICC Leaders in 2006) house. Paul just received his PhD., and the dinner was in celebration of that. After that it was tea at Fred's (ICC 2001) house, and then tea at Beauty's (ICC 2005) house.
Tuesday morning, I went to Rengkai to eat lunch at Celia's (ICC 2006) house, and there is where the "plan" fell apart. While there, I got a call saying that my Manipur permit expired that day, and I needed to leave the state that day yet. I thought it expired a few days later, but not so. There were no flights available that day anymore, so they made an exception, and said that I had to leave first thing the next morning.
That evening, I had dinner at Mary and Esther's (ICC 2005) house, and then went back and did my packing. A bunch of people came over to say goodbye.
The next morning, after eating breakfast at Paul and Joyful's house, about 15 kids and I piled into a jeep-like vehicle and left for the airport. First we said that we had room to take six kids, but so many of them wanted to come, we piled all of them in. We drove to the airport and I made the flight to Guwahati. Instead of staying there with not much to do for a few days, I decided to make the 3 1/2 hour trip to Shillong. And so that is how I ended up there.
I spent two nights there and had a lot of fun with the kids from there again. On Friday morning, we headed back down to Guwahati, where I met the ICC kids. We boarded the 12:45 train and spent the next 18 hours traveling to Calcutta. We arrived here this morning around 6:00 AM.
After not getting to watch the Penn State game, we slept there at Joseph's house for a few hours and then went back to TCS for a little bit. From there we went to Jenny's (ICC 2008) house for lunch.
While we were in Shillong the first time, Jerry (ICC 2006), Christina, and Grace (both ICC 2007) sang together a few times. They are really, really good and we wanted to get a good recording of some of their songs, so right after lunch on Friday morning, we headed over to a local studio and spent five or six hours recording two of the songs. Keep an eye out for the videos... I hope to post them on www.hearthunters.org in a few weeks. I'm sure you will agree that these kids are great!
From the studio session, we went straight back to Seilmat and to Eunices's house for dinner. Eunice is a girl that my brother, Marv, sponsors. We spent a few hours there and then went back to TCS for the night.
On Saturday morning, we went to Christina's (ICC 2007) grandparent's house for lunch. Christina's whole family was there from Shillong, having spent the Christmas and New Year holiday there.
At 12:30, the ICC reunion started. We had planned this event to bring together as many of the former ICC kis as possible. And a bunch of them came... right around 120 former choir members came together for a time of games, singing, and food. It was a lot of fun. If you want to hear some good singing, try putting over 100 former ICC kids in a room and have them sing together. It was great!
Since our days were winding down and we were out of time slots for meals, we started getting tea invitations, so after most of the kids had left arond 7:00 PM, we went to Angelyn's (ICC 2008) house for tea, and then to Christina's (ICC 2008) for, guess what, more tea!
On Sunday morning, we went to Seilmat church for the morning service, and then to John Mark and Lalnei's (ICC Leaders) house for lunch. From there, we visited the school hostel for a few minutes to see some kids there. Dinner was at Esther's (ICC 2008) house. Remember what I said about tea. Well, it was the last night for Marv, Kramer, and Herm to be in Seilmat, so we had tea at Jasper's (ICC 2007) house at 8:30 PM, Joseph's (ICC 2006) house at 9:30 PM, and tea at Elva's (ICC 2006) house at 10:30 PM!
On Monday morning, we had breakfast at Jacob and Zingi's (principal of TCS and his wife) house, and then spent an hour or so with a bunch of kids that came over to say goodbye to the guys. The three guys left around 10:30 and went to the airport. My plan was to stay for a few more days and then travel to Guwahati, meet the 2009 ICC kids, and the travel with them to Calcutta by train.
That all went according to plan for the first day. After the guys left, I went and had lunch at Fat James, and did some shopping. That evening I had dinner at Paul and Joyful's (ICC Leaders in 2006) house. Paul just received his PhD., and the dinner was in celebration of that. After that it was tea at Fred's (ICC 2001) house, and then tea at Beauty's (ICC 2005) house.
Tuesday morning, I went to Rengkai to eat lunch at Celia's (ICC 2006) house, and there is where the "plan" fell apart. While there, I got a call saying that my Manipur permit expired that day, and I needed to leave the state that day yet. I thought it expired a few days later, but not so. There were no flights available that day anymore, so they made an exception, and said that I had to leave first thing the next morning.
That evening, I had dinner at Mary and Esther's (ICC 2005) house, and then went back and did my packing. A bunch of people came over to say goodbye.
The next morning, after eating breakfast at Paul and Joyful's house, about 15 kids and I piled into a jeep-like vehicle and left for the airport. First we said that we had room to take six kids, but so many of them wanted to come, we piled all of them in. We drove to the airport and I made the flight to Guwahati. Instead of staying there with not much to do for a few days, I decided to make the 3 1/2 hour trip to Shillong. And so that is how I ended up there.
I spent two nights there and had a lot of fun with the kids from there again. On Friday morning, we headed back down to Guwahati, where I met the ICC kids. We boarded the 12:45 train and spent the next 18 hours traveling to Calcutta. We arrived here this morning around 6:00 AM.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
All Alone, and Back In... SHILLONG!!!???
Sorry for the long silence from here... the last week and a half have been busy, busy, busy. Going to houses for meals, entertaining kids almost every waking minute that we were at TCS, add into that a sporadic internet connection... I think you get the picture. I just didn't have time to write.
I am writing this blog from no other place than Shillong... you know that place that we were supposed to be at once during the trip, and this is my third time! More on that later.
As for the all alone part... my brother, Marv, along with the two friends that were traveling with us on this trip all left India a few days ago... Marv should be arriving in the United States as I am writing and the other two are in Thailand, where they will be spending a few more weeks.
Let me start where I left off the last time, and once again give you a rundown of our activities each day...
Saturday morning... that would have been December 27, I took all of the 2009 ICC leaders to the local restaurant, Fat James, for lunch. We had a great time getting to know each other a little better and talking about some of our dreams for the 2009 ICC tour. We spent some time that afternoon back at TCS, and then had dinner at Jasper's (ICC 2007) house. Jasper's family, especially her mother, was one of the families that bent over backwards to make our stay in Seilmat enjoyable, and her house was one of our frequent late-night tea stops.
Sunday morning, we made the twenty minute walk back over to Rengkai where we had breakfast back at Romila's (ICC 2006) house, and then went to the church service there in Rengkai. We spent the whole day there in Rengkai, and then went to Calvin's (ICC 2007) house for dinner. We arrived back in Seilmat just after dark, and spent the evening entertaining our many "little" friends.
A few weeks ago, we visited the little village of Tingcham, about an hour ride by auto-rickshaw, a three-wheeled motor bike designed to carry two or three passengers. Immanuel Lalsanhim (ICC 2007) lives in this village, one of the poorer villages in Churachandpur. When we visited there, the family invited us back for a meal, and so on Monday, we made the trip back there again and ate lunch with them. The family is extremely poor, but they went all out for us. It was quite humbling to see this family most likely sacrifice just to have us there for a meal.
We arrived back at TCS around 2:00 and spent a few hours there. The evening meal was at the house of Mary and Esther (ICC 2005). I sponsor both of the girls.
Tuesday morning, we went to the village of Khawmoi... about fifteen minutes by auto-rickshaw... to Mesak's (ICC 2008) house for lunch. His sister, Dorothy, will be in the 2009 choir. We ate there, and then walked down to the nearby river, where we met Hallelujah, who was a member of the 2005 choir. We went back to TCS, spent a few hours, and then it was back to Khawmoi again, and Rita's (ICC 2006) house for dinner. Priscilla (ICC 2006) joined us for the meal. We arrived back in Seilmat just after dark and spent the evening at TCS.
On Wednesday morning, we went to Rachel's (ICC leader) house for lunch. Rachel has traveled with a number of choirs, the most recent being 2006. She got married in early 2008, and has a baby that is only a little over a month old. Rachel and I were very close during her time in the states and it was really good to see my "sister" again, along with her new family. From Rachel's house, we went to the market and did a little bit of shopping and then returned to TCS for a little while. We ate the evening meal at Joseph's (ICC 2007) house. His sister, Abigail, is a member of the 2009 ICC.
We had tea at Esther K.'s (ICC 2008) house and then went back up to the church to join the midnight service, a service put on by the local youth group. There was a lot of singing, and then the new year was welcomed by the singing of the "Hallelujah Chorus." It was really neat. We went back to Esther's house around 1:00 AM for some food, and then finally got to bed around 3:00 AM.
On New Year's day, we went to a little tiny village just about a thirty minute drive from Seilmat call Tingkangpai. I had been asked to preach the sermon at the New Year service at the small church there. It is a Meitei church, and a lot of the people are new Christians. They fed us a big meal before the service.
From there, we went to Rengkai, where we had been invited to join the New Year celebrations. They played a lot of games, and we had a lot of fun joining them for some of them. We also joined them for their New Year feast.
We returned to Seilmat a little later that evening and had tea at Mary's (ICC 2006) house.
Now, here is a story that those of you who are college football fans will appreciate. All of us (those in my group) being from Pennsylvania, and all being huge Penn State fans, naturally, we wanted to see the Rose Bowl. We checked the local listings, and there it was... Penn State vs. USC... live at 3:30 AM on January 2nd! We were thrilled. We started making plans to go to Joseph's (ICC 2009 leader) to watch the game. Fat James came in and cooked food for us, even though it was New Year's day, and he was closed. He had even turned down a request from one of the local government big shots to cook that day. But he opened up and cooked up ten orders of spring rolls and a bunch of hamburgers just for us.
Next step was to make sure that the cable would be on. You see, in this part of the world, the power is only on for a few hours a day, and it is usually shut off during the night and with it goes the cable TV. Joseph knew the guy who owned the cable company, and we stopped at his house to see if he could run his generator to keep the cable system on during the night. He said that was not an option, because his generator was too big and the neighbors would complain if he ran it at that time of the night. But he and Joseph came up with another plan.
Here's where it gets good... around 11:00 PM... remember, this is New Year's day... this guys and his team of three technicians, pulled one of the satelite dishes that receives the signals for the cable, brought it over to Joseph's house, and set it up there. Here's the kicker... when they pulled that dish, it left a good part of the town without cable... and they did it just for us! Only in India!
We all sacked out at Joseph's house till 3:30 AM. We got up only to discover that game was not even on the channel that it was listed to be on. So we all fell back to sleep and slept there until around 7:30 AM. We were all a little bummed that we didn't get to see the game, but we sure did all that we could to try and see it. And Penn State lost anyway :(. Oh, well. It's just a game.
I am going to stop with that... for now. I am very tired. I will try to post again tomorrow, and then I'll fill you in on the rest of the details of our time here and tell you the about why I am back in Shillong.
I am writing this blog from no other place than Shillong... you know that place that we were supposed to be at once during the trip, and this is my third time! More on that later.
As for the all alone part... my brother, Marv, along with the two friends that were traveling with us on this trip all left India a few days ago... Marv should be arriving in the United States as I am writing and the other two are in Thailand, where they will be spending a few more weeks.
Let me start where I left off the last time, and once again give you a rundown of our activities each day...
Saturday morning... that would have been December 27, I took all of the 2009 ICC leaders to the local restaurant, Fat James, for lunch. We had a great time getting to know each other a little better and talking about some of our dreams for the 2009 ICC tour. We spent some time that afternoon back at TCS, and then had dinner at Jasper's (ICC 2007) house. Jasper's family, especially her mother, was one of the families that bent over backwards to make our stay in Seilmat enjoyable, and her house was one of our frequent late-night tea stops.
Sunday morning, we made the twenty minute walk back over to Rengkai where we had breakfast back at Romila's (ICC 2006) house, and then went to the church service there in Rengkai. We spent the whole day there in Rengkai, and then went to Calvin's (ICC 2007) house for dinner. We arrived back in Seilmat just after dark, and spent the evening entertaining our many "little" friends.
A few weeks ago, we visited the little village of Tingcham, about an hour ride by auto-rickshaw, a three-wheeled motor bike designed to carry two or three passengers. Immanuel Lalsanhim (ICC 2007) lives in this village, one of the poorer villages in Churachandpur. When we visited there, the family invited us back for a meal, and so on Monday, we made the trip back there again and ate lunch with them. The family is extremely poor, but they went all out for us. It was quite humbling to see this family most likely sacrifice just to have us there for a meal.
We arrived back at TCS around 2:00 and spent a few hours there. The evening meal was at the house of Mary and Esther (ICC 2005). I sponsor both of the girls.
Tuesday morning, we went to the village of Khawmoi... about fifteen minutes by auto-rickshaw... to Mesak's (ICC 2008) house for lunch. His sister, Dorothy, will be in the 2009 choir. We ate there, and then walked down to the nearby river, where we met Hallelujah, who was a member of the 2005 choir. We went back to TCS, spent a few hours, and then it was back to Khawmoi again, and Rita's (ICC 2006) house for dinner. Priscilla (ICC 2006) joined us for the meal. We arrived back in Seilmat just after dark and spent the evening at TCS.
On Wednesday morning, we went to Rachel's (ICC leader) house for lunch. Rachel has traveled with a number of choirs, the most recent being 2006. She got married in early 2008, and has a baby that is only a little over a month old. Rachel and I were very close during her time in the states and it was really good to see my "sister" again, along with her new family. From Rachel's house, we went to the market and did a little bit of shopping and then returned to TCS for a little while. We ate the evening meal at Joseph's (ICC 2007) house. His sister, Abigail, is a member of the 2009 ICC.
We had tea at Esther K.'s (ICC 2008) house and then went back up to the church to join the midnight service, a service put on by the local youth group. There was a lot of singing, and then the new year was welcomed by the singing of the "Hallelujah Chorus." It was really neat. We went back to Esther's house around 1:00 AM for some food, and then finally got to bed around 3:00 AM.
On New Year's day, we went to a little tiny village just about a thirty minute drive from Seilmat call Tingkangpai. I had been asked to preach the sermon at the New Year service at the small church there. It is a Meitei church, and a lot of the people are new Christians. They fed us a big meal before the service.
From there, we went to Rengkai, where we had been invited to join the New Year celebrations. They played a lot of games, and we had a lot of fun joining them for some of them. We also joined them for their New Year feast.
We returned to Seilmat a little later that evening and had tea at Mary's (ICC 2006) house.
Now, here is a story that those of you who are college football fans will appreciate. All of us (those in my group) being from Pennsylvania, and all being huge Penn State fans, naturally, we wanted to see the Rose Bowl. We checked the local listings, and there it was... Penn State vs. USC... live at 3:30 AM on January 2nd! We were thrilled. We started making plans to go to Joseph's (ICC 2009 leader) to watch the game. Fat James came in and cooked food for us, even though it was New Year's day, and he was closed. He had even turned down a request from one of the local government big shots to cook that day. But he opened up and cooked up ten orders of spring rolls and a bunch of hamburgers just for us.
Next step was to make sure that the cable would be on. You see, in this part of the world, the power is only on for a few hours a day, and it is usually shut off during the night and with it goes the cable TV. Joseph knew the guy who owned the cable company, and we stopped at his house to see if he could run his generator to keep the cable system on during the night. He said that was not an option, because his generator was too big and the neighbors would complain if he ran it at that time of the night. But he and Joseph came up with another plan.
Here's where it gets good... around 11:00 PM... remember, this is New Year's day... this guys and his team of three technicians, pulled one of the satelite dishes that receives the signals for the cable, brought it over to Joseph's house, and set it up there. Here's the kicker... when they pulled that dish, it left a good part of the town without cable... and they did it just for us! Only in India!
We all sacked out at Joseph's house till 3:30 AM. We got up only to discover that game was not even on the channel that it was listed to be on. So we all fell back to sleep and slept there until around 7:30 AM. We were all a little bummed that we didn't get to see the game, but we sure did all that we could to try and see it. And Penn State lost anyway :(. Oh, well. It's just a game.
I am going to stop with that... for now. I am very tired. I will try to post again tomorrow, and then I'll fill you in on the rest of the details of our time here and tell you the about why I am back in Shillong.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas in Northeast India
A belated Merry Christmas to all!
Before I tell you about our Christmas celebration here in Northeast India, let me back up a few days and give you an update from where I left off in the last post.
On Monday of this week, we started off the morning by taking some of the kids to Fat James, a local restaurant (and one of the only ones) here in Churachandpur. They serve some western food like cheeseburgers and pizza. It is pretty expensive by local standards, so most of the kids never go there on their own, so it was a real treat for them to be able to go with us.
We have been quite busy ever since we got here with invitations to kids houses for meals. We ran out of days long before we ran out of invitations.
Now, I don't mean to bore you with all the details, but this blog is kind of my personal journal, too, so I am going to tell you whose house we went to on each day. It's mostly for my benefit... and if the names and places mean anything to you, great.
On Monday for lunch, we went to the next village over from Seilmat, called Hmarveng. It was Denish's (ICC 2008) birthday, so he invited us to celebrate it with him.
We came back to TCS, where we are staying, for an hour or so and then went to Elva's (ICC 2006) house for dinner. Her family lives here in Seilmat.
Tuesday, we went back up to Fat James for an early lunch, and then spent the morning and into the early afternoon here at TCS. We kept the morning open because there were some kids who had not seen us yet that wanted to come for a visit.
In the afternoon, we went to Esther's (ICC 2008) house for tea. She also had some sibling in previous choirs... Kevin in 2006 and Daisy in 2002. Then we stopped at Joseph's (ICC 2007) house for another round of tea. Joseph's sister, Abigail, will be a part of the 2009 ICC.
Dinner was served at Rohny's house. Rohny is the superintendent of education for all of Bibles For The World's schools. He spent three years in the states getting his master's degree from Denver Seminary, and as always, we had a great time with him and his family. He even cooked dog meat for us, a delicacy over in this part of the world. Believe it or not, it was really good.
On Wednesday, we left bright and early in the morning, and went about an hour from here to a little tiny village called Tingcham. Immanuel Lalsanhim from the 2007 choir lives there. The village is a very poor village, and one of the more needy in this area. We spent some time visiting there and then came back to the village of Molnom where we ate lunch at Priscilla's (ICC 2006) house. Priscilla is the one whose father died while she was here in the States, if any of you remember that. After the lunch, we went to the next village over, Khawmawii, to visit some of the former ICC members from there. We stopped at Canaan's (ICC 2004) and Mesak's (ICC 2008) houses.
We came back to TCS and spent an hour or so and then walked over to the village of Rengkai and at dinner at Margaret's (ICC 2006) house. After dinner, we attended the Christmas eve service at the Rengkai church.
Christmas is a big deal around here, and part of that big deal is a big community feast at the church. On Christmas morning, we were awakened nice and early (around 5:00 AM) by the sounds of banging pots and people's voices just behind the place we are staying. They were beginning to prepare the feast which would be served later in the afternoon. They had killed the cow the day before. They dug a long ditch and built a fire the whole way along it. Then they placed all the pots... probably at least 20 of them on top of the fire. There was pork and beef and fish... some spicy and some mild.
For breakfast that morning, we went to Jasper's (ICC 2007) house. The morning service was at 10:30. Right after that, we went to Elva's house for tea, and then back to TCS to rest for a little.
The feast started around 2:30. Along with the stuff they were preparing earlier, everyone brought enough rice for their family. The put all the rice in a big drum... think 50 gallon drum... and it was full to the top! The food was very good.
Right after the feast, we went to Esther's (ICC 2005) house for a visit. I sponsor both Esther and her older sister, Mary.
The evening service at the church started around 5:30, so we attended that, and then they have a special time of singing right after the service, so we attended that for a little while.
It was an interesting time... the first Christmas I have ever spent wearing short sleeves! But that is not the only interesting thing. It was very special to experience the Christmas celebration in a different culture. Even though we don't celebrate it the same way, we are celebrating the same event... an event that changed the world... forever!
Christmas celebrations last for two days around here... mostly the same on the second day as the first. Today, we ate breakfast at Paul and Joyful's house, and then attended the church service. After resting for a little, we walked to Rengkai and joined the feast there. It was pretty much the same deal as Seilmat, except for the fact that the kids and the adults eat separately because they are a larger congregation and do not have room for everyone together. We ate with the kids, and then went to Celia's (ICC 2006) house for a rest and guess what... more tea.
We attended the evening service and singing time at Rengkai and then came back to Seilmat where the singing was, and still is for that matter, going on (it's 11:30 PM).
Before I tell you about our Christmas celebration here in Northeast India, let me back up a few days and give you an update from where I left off in the last post.
On Monday of this week, we started off the morning by taking some of the kids to Fat James, a local restaurant (and one of the only ones) here in Churachandpur. They serve some western food like cheeseburgers and pizza. It is pretty expensive by local standards, so most of the kids never go there on their own, so it was a real treat for them to be able to go with us.
We have been quite busy ever since we got here with invitations to kids houses for meals. We ran out of days long before we ran out of invitations.
Now, I don't mean to bore you with all the details, but this blog is kind of my personal journal, too, so I am going to tell you whose house we went to on each day. It's mostly for my benefit... and if the names and places mean anything to you, great.
On Monday for lunch, we went to the next village over from Seilmat, called Hmarveng. It was Denish's (ICC 2008) birthday, so he invited us to celebrate it with him.
We came back to TCS, where we are staying, for an hour or so and then went to Elva's (ICC 2006) house for dinner. Her family lives here in Seilmat.
Tuesday, we went back up to Fat James for an early lunch, and then spent the morning and into the early afternoon here at TCS. We kept the morning open because there were some kids who had not seen us yet that wanted to come for a visit.
In the afternoon, we went to Esther's (ICC 2008) house for tea. She also had some sibling in previous choirs... Kevin in 2006 and Daisy in 2002. Then we stopped at Joseph's (ICC 2007) house for another round of tea. Joseph's sister, Abigail, will be a part of the 2009 ICC.
Dinner was served at Rohny's house. Rohny is the superintendent of education for all of Bibles For The World's schools. He spent three years in the states getting his master's degree from Denver Seminary, and as always, we had a great time with him and his family. He even cooked dog meat for us, a delicacy over in this part of the world. Believe it or not, it was really good.
On Wednesday, we left bright and early in the morning, and went about an hour from here to a little tiny village called Tingcham. Immanuel Lalsanhim from the 2007 choir lives there. The village is a very poor village, and one of the more needy in this area. We spent some time visiting there and then came back to the village of Molnom where we ate lunch at Priscilla's (ICC 2006) house. Priscilla is the one whose father died while she was here in the States, if any of you remember that. After the lunch, we went to the next village over, Khawmawii, to visit some of the former ICC members from there. We stopped at Canaan's (ICC 2004) and Mesak's (ICC 2008) houses.
We came back to TCS and spent an hour or so and then walked over to the village of Rengkai and at dinner at Margaret's (ICC 2006) house. After dinner, we attended the Christmas eve service at the Rengkai church.
Christmas is a big deal around here, and part of that big deal is a big community feast at the church. On Christmas morning, we were awakened nice and early (around 5:00 AM) by the sounds of banging pots and people's voices just behind the place we are staying. They were beginning to prepare the feast which would be served later in the afternoon. They had killed the cow the day before. They dug a long ditch and built a fire the whole way along it. Then they placed all the pots... probably at least 20 of them on top of the fire. There was pork and beef and fish... some spicy and some mild.
For breakfast that morning, we went to Jasper's (ICC 2007) house. The morning service was at 10:30. Right after that, we went to Elva's house for tea, and then back to TCS to rest for a little.
The feast started around 2:30. Along with the stuff they were preparing earlier, everyone brought enough rice for their family. The put all the rice in a big drum... think 50 gallon drum... and it was full to the top! The food was very good.
Right after the feast, we went to Esther's (ICC 2005) house for a visit. I sponsor both Esther and her older sister, Mary.
The evening service at the church started around 5:30, so we attended that, and then they have a special time of singing right after the service, so we attended that for a little while.
It was an interesting time... the first Christmas I have ever spent wearing short sleeves! But that is not the only interesting thing. It was very special to experience the Christmas celebration in a different culture. Even though we don't celebrate it the same way, we are celebrating the same event... an event that changed the world... forever!
Christmas celebrations last for two days around here... mostly the same on the second day as the first. Today, we ate breakfast at Paul and Joyful's house, and then attended the church service. After resting for a little, we walked to Rengkai and joined the feast there. It was pretty much the same deal as Seilmat, except for the fact that the kids and the adults eat separately because they are a larger congregation and do not have room for everyone together. We ate with the kids, and then went to Celia's (ICC 2006) house for a rest and guess what... more tea.
We attended the evening service and singing time at Rengkai and then came back to Seilmat where the singing was, and still is for that matter, going on (it's 11:30 PM).
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Having The Time Of My Life
That is exactly what I am doing... hanging out with some of my best friends in the world all day, every day... and loving every minute of it.
Yesterday (Saturday) we had lunch at Jenny's (ICC 2008) house. Unlike most of the ICC kids her family is Meitei, a tribe here in Northeast India that is predominantly Hindu. A lot of her relatives are not Christians. My brother Marv and I sponsor Jenny through the Bibles For The World sponsorship program, so it was a very special time for us to be able to spend time with her and her family.
After having lunch and spending some time there, we came back to Trinity College and Seminary (TCS) for a few hours. Almost every minute we are here, there are kids her hanging out with us. In fact, when we leave, they are often waiting for us when we come back.
In the evening, we attended a dinner event for all the doctors and staff at Seilmat Christian Hospital, which is run by Bibles For The World, and then immediately after, we attended the church service at Seilmat EFCI church, and I had the opportunity to preach the sermon. They asked me to preach something about Christmas, so I spoke about "Missing The Messiah"... about all the people in Jesus day who missed the King of Kings, and then spoke about how many people even today miss Jesus Christ and what He wants to do in their lives.
Right after the service, we went to Edwin's (ICC 2006) house for yet another meal. It was his birthday, so he invited us to come and celebrate it with him and his friends.
This morning, we met Rohny (superintendent of education) and Isaac (principle of Seilmat School), and they shared with us some of the visions and dreams they have for the local school as well as some of the other school under their umbrella. We ate breakfast at Rohny's house, and then attended the morning service at Seilmat Church, but we went to the kid's Sunday School instead of the adult service. There are many, many former ICC kids that live here in Seilmat, so it was good to see a lot of them today.
We spent a few hours back here at TCS this afternoon and then went to Romila's (ICC 2006) house in the neighboring village of Rengkai for dinner. Sylvia (ICC 2008) is Romila's niece and was there too. We had a wonderful time with them.
Here is NE India, church choir's are a big part of the local churches. The EFCI Central Choir is a choir made up of some of the best singers from EFCI churches all over NE India. This evening, they were doing a taping for a new video they are releasing, and they invited us to come over and be with them for awhile. There are a few previous ICC leaders and a few young people the will be ICC leaders in 2009 that are a part of the Central Choir. We spent a few hours listening to them... they are very good.
Yesterday (Saturday) we had lunch at Jenny's (ICC 2008) house. Unlike most of the ICC kids her family is Meitei, a tribe here in Northeast India that is predominantly Hindu. A lot of her relatives are not Christians. My brother Marv and I sponsor Jenny through the Bibles For The World sponsorship program, so it was a very special time for us to be able to spend time with her and her family.
After having lunch and spending some time there, we came back to Trinity College and Seminary (TCS) for a few hours. Almost every minute we are here, there are kids her hanging out with us. In fact, when we leave, they are often waiting for us when we come back.
In the evening, we attended a dinner event for all the doctors and staff at Seilmat Christian Hospital, which is run by Bibles For The World, and then immediately after, we attended the church service at Seilmat EFCI church, and I had the opportunity to preach the sermon. They asked me to preach something about Christmas, so I spoke about "Missing The Messiah"... about all the people in Jesus day who missed the King of Kings, and then spoke about how many people even today miss Jesus Christ and what He wants to do in their lives.
Right after the service, we went to Edwin's (ICC 2006) house for yet another meal. It was his birthday, so he invited us to come and celebrate it with him and his friends.
This morning, we met Rohny (superintendent of education) and Isaac (principle of Seilmat School), and they shared with us some of the visions and dreams they have for the local school as well as some of the other school under their umbrella. We ate breakfast at Rohny's house, and then attended the morning service at Seilmat Church, but we went to the kid's Sunday School instead of the adult service. There are many, many former ICC kids that live here in Seilmat, so it was good to see a lot of them today.
We spent a few hours back here at TCS this afternoon and then went to Romila's (ICC 2006) house in the neighboring village of Rengkai for dinner. Sylvia (ICC 2008) is Romila's niece and was there too. We had a wonderful time with them.
Here is NE India, church choir's are a big part of the local churches. The EFCI Central Choir is a choir made up of some of the best singers from EFCI churches all over NE India. This evening, they were doing a taping for a new video they are releasing, and they invited us to come over and be with them for awhile. There are a few previous ICC leaders and a few young people the will be ICC leaders in 2009 that are a part of the Central Choir. We spent a few hours listening to them... they are very good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
