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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.