The Place

I wanted to post this earlier this week, but, I’ve been slow in posting because, among other reasons, it’s about the island I’m on and now, in lieu of the events of the last post, the island is off limits to me (for the time being). The city is especially off limits to me (where I would spend most of my time if I could. See below). I haven’t left campus in nearly a week. So, I’ll post first on the island and then later the campus I’m inhabiting. I'll make this one a bit longer (lots of photos) since I haven't posted in a little longer than normal and people have been asking.

The island is called Ramesvaram on Google Maps, written as Rameswaram most places here and pronounced more like Rameshwaram. It has an estimated 100,000 people in 36 square miles. It has Rameswaram city as its main urban center and hundreds of fishing villages throughout the island. If you want to look for it on Google Maps, zoom in between the SE coast of India and Sri Lanka and the island in between is Rameswaram!



As you can see, if you look close and to the left, the island connects to the Indian mainland via a bridge. Here are some pics we took from the bridge.

Bridge to Mainland India.



The island is filled with fishing villages with Rameswaram being the main (small) city. So fishing is the primary livelihood for the people here.



Here are some pics of the island from the bridge, the highest point. You can see the beautiful palm trees and coconut-tree-leaf rooftops:



The island is very beautiful but there is a struggle to maintain its beauty. I have seen 3-4 garbage receptacles of any type anywhere in the country since I have been in India (from dumpsters to wastebaskets). I don’t think this is a testimony to the cleanliness of Indians, but the harsh reality of Western culture converging on theirs. For millennia, practically everything Indians ate or used was biodegradable so they would just throw their waste, like a banana peel, off to the side. From what I’ve seen, it all is very natural. The waste decomposes without being a detriment to human environments and the birds seem to do their part—it’s almost an expectation from both humans and birds with the birds waiting to the side of certain places when humans eat a meal. Now Indians have plastic to deal with. There isn’t a program in place to take care of the waste save for marketing campaigns like this:



"Say no to plastic." I’m a fan of this over trying to just find a place to hide the waste like we do. So for the time being the non-biodegradable waste just finds itself collected in large piles throughout the island.

Here are some shots of villages from ground level:



The village culture is fascinating to me. I’ve seen people sitting in a line picking lice out of each other's hair, random shops right in the middle of a row of huts next to small coconut plantations, and this scene:



Israel, our tour guide this particular day, said that he has seen people (women) lined up fifty-people deep to get water from these government-sponsored fresh water taps (much of the water on the island is salty). He says since there are only a few they will often wait for hours day after day.

A particular treat we were served was a chance to see the different places that Israel, his dad (the ministry founder) and his family stayed when they first got to the island several years ago. When they first arrived, Sarajin, Israel’s mom (also known as Amma Pastor, or “Pastor Mom,” to most everyone), was pregnant with his younger sister. They had nowhere to live and eventually some people let them stay in this fish-cleaning hut:

Israel in front of his first home in Rameswaram.

No one was in it this particular day so we asked some guys in a neighboring one if they’d let us see inside:



They would sit outside under some small palm trees for shade during the day while the fishermen worked but when it came time for Sarajin to deliver the fishermen were afraid the afterbirth would contaminate the hut so they asked them to leave. Moses, Israel’s father (“Appa Pastor”), was going to the local clinic and praying for sick people during the day and one guy was dramatically healed. That guy was so overcome with thanks that he just gave them a house to live in. It wasn’t much (it had a very leaky roof), but it was substantial for a homeless family. They lived in some other places in town over the decades and eventually had a house built for them (with a bigger ministries help, I think). They named it Bethel House (for those of you keeping score at home, that does mean “House of God House,” but doesn’t that sound much better in English than just “Bethel”?) and was my home for the first week here while I adjusted to the new environment. Bethel House has “God is Love. Love One Another” painted on its wall, which stands as a beautiful testimony in such a religious culture. Speaking of that…

Rameswaram is the second holiest place in all of Hinduism, the world’s third largest religion. There was a temple built here many centuries ago to a particular god and it is said that Hindus that bathe in the island’s waters are washed of their sins (like the Ganges, the first holiest site).


The Temple(s).


People hoping to rid themselves of their sins.



Pictures of Bekah, Mary, Grace, John Joseph, and I swimming a little farther down. While we were swimming I told Bekah, “Now we’re covered by two religions.” I was obviously kidding. It was cool to swim in the Indian Ocean. Super warm!!!

Next to the area where people are bathing themselves, there is a memorial to a radical Hindu leader that was killed. This same leader once told Israel, “I’m going to crucify you!” Israel calmly, seriously replied, “OK, I’m ready.” That made the guy pretty mad. Later that night he sent some of his followers to burn down these Christians gathering place (made out of coconut trees). He also told Moses he’d bury him. When we drove by another place in the city limits of Rameswaram, Israel pointed out a place he had been brutally beaten by some radical Hindus when he had attempted to engage people in conversation about God’s grace. It makes me think we should pray for violent men, who don’t know a love-filled, just God they can trust so they have to take matters in their own hands. Pray that they can find a sublimated vent for their passion in the love of God. Otherwise their violence always comes back on them from somewhere and only causes pain to those around them - like it did with this leader. The myth of redemptive violence is a lie whose day needs to come.

A couple, last cool things about the culture here. The city proper of Rameswaram is strikingly similar to what I’ve read of New Testament cities. That obviously doesn’t make it more holy or anything, but it is very enlightening. It is probably only a few square miles with fairly narrow streets, buildings no higher than three stories, and sewage ditches running in front of many of the shops and houses. Strikingly similar to the cities of the NT and gives a cool visual of the context of Acts and the NT epistles. My favorite part is in the evening, as it cools off and people are done with their daily duties, they just walk out on the street and hang out and talk with their fellow city-dwellers. During the day people are often hanging out inside shops and such, as well.

And a really cool thing I like about Indian culture is their rhythmic music. It is in the Christian worship but, I fear from connections to Western Christianity, some Christians here are leaving behind the organic drums for drum machines, guitars, and keyboards. But they still have Indian rhythm and they can play that drum machine like beasts. I’ll leave you with a video I took of a roving Hindu worship circle that came down our street a few times when I was staying at Bethel House. I didn’t get the best video because I was used to hearing random noise so it took me a moment to realize I should get my camera out. (There are loudspeakers everywhere in India with Hindu worship songs and all kinds of banters about this or that god. You just drown it out after awhile.) The audio on this vid is good, though. Check it out. These guys were getting down with their drums and they were dancing with such passion and synergy with each other (unfortunately you can’t see this in the video—it’s in one I shot in the street that didn’t turn out). What a cool way this would be to worship—to point your heart toward God with passion, synergy, and fun like this would be an incredible experience. (In a way, the synergy did remind me of some of our Zoe worship sessions, though.)



If you look close through the trees you can see people walking. They would roam and then stop every couple blocks to get down in a big dance-groove-mosh. It looked like a cross between cool tribal dancing and a Krump scene from Rize.

Urgent Prayer

Friends,

I knew that eventually my posts would turn towards having more serious subject matter, more often. I didn't expect it to come so soon. Please read these reports below and pray. These reports were forwarded by Abbie, an American sister and good friend who is joining us here, too and will be here until after I leave. She was just in the Indian state of Orissa and made it out hours before these events took place. A radical Hindu nationalist leader, Sarawati, was murdered on the 23rd. Though there are no suspects, his followers are blaming local Christians. The attacks are on everybody--World Vision, Catholics, Orphanages, Pentacostals, and local village churches. Some pastors have been nearly beaten to death and many Christians are hiding in the forests with nowhere to go. As you read, keep in mind that Orissa is in North India and Tamil Nadu (where we are) is in the South.

[UPDATE ON MY AREA: I was just informed that these events are affecting the area I am in to the extent that I, and the other few foreigners here, are in sort of lock down. There haven't been any threats or anything nearly that serious but locals have started asking about us after hearing about the events in Orissa. The staff here are taking extra precautions based on their past with these radical Hindu groups (The groups responsible for burning down the gathering place here twice, beating the founder so many times that he can't sleep on a mattress any more, and many other run-ins). The staff has asked that we send somebody else to the market to buy things for us and not to leave campus on a motorcycle (one of the main ways I've been getting rides) or a public bus. They will try to arrange to have us go to Ramnad or Madurai, the closest big cities (within a few hours drive), once a week to remain anonymous.

The main reason for the local suspicion of us is that the Hindu Nationalists are blaming Christians for the murder of their leader, as written above. The reason I've been given for this is because he murdered Christians and his followers assumed local Christians paid someone to kill him and put an end to his hostility. Based on this, some of the media has reported that the followers are suspecting "Christian Missionaries."

A few additional prayer requests:

• I have also been told that there is a team leaving in a few days for a village outreach and I'll be on it if everything seems ok. I really hope I get to go. The outreaches are what I may have looked forward to most.


• Maybe the saddest thing about depravity is that is assumes depravity of all others and can't easily understand simple Kingdom things like meekness. Pray for these radical Hindu groups to find deeper life--life in the hope of the Gospel of God's loving grace and restoration of this world.


• Safety for all of us missionaries as well as the local believers here.


• Chances to actually witness (or hear about) some of these radical hostile groups being changed.


• Protection and guidance for Abbie's trip down here today.


• Wisdom or a "sharp mind" as Israel, the staff member who informed me of these things, said we should be prepared to have if for some reason we end up in a sticky situation.]

Pray for these believers to find their strength in Christ and for protection for them. Here are some of the reports of the events in Orissa I've received from Abbie:

1) NUN BURNT ALIVE: A nun was burnt to death on 25th, Monday, after an orphanage was torched in at Phutpali in Bargarh district in Orissa during a bandh called by Hindu nationalist parties.Twenty children, who were at the orphanage, managed to escape but a priest suffered serious burn injuries in the attack.
2) RASANANDA PRADHAN TORCHED ALIVE: Another person, Rasananda Pradhan, was burnt to death when his house was set ablaze at Rupa village in Kandhamal district.
3) INFLAMMATORY SPEECHES TARGET CHRISTIANS: During the bandh inflammatory speeches spreading hatred against the Christian workers and the community were given by the VHP leaders. To gain the mass support,the activists have also carried the body of Swamiji throughout the town.
4) CHURCHES BURNT ALL ACROSS ORISSA STATE: Churches were attacked in Khurda, Bargarh, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Koraput, Boudh, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Kandhamal districts as also in the state capital, police sources said, adding 40 houses were set ablaze in Phulbani town.
5) BUSES AND VEHICLES TORCHED: Mr. Mishra Digal was beaten up, while the motorcycles of Mr. R. K. Digal and Jitendra were burnt. Several buses at Gee Udaigiri in Baliguda were burnt.
6) PULBANI CHURCH RANSACKED: The Church at Phulbani,and several other churches at Phiringia were attacked and ransacked. Pastor D. Tatson's house was vandalized and his property burnt.
7) KAKRIGUMA CHURCHES VANDALISED: Churches in Kakriguma have been targeted by the mob that reportedly damaged the Assembly Of God Church and the Philadelphia Church.
8) WORLD VISION STAFF FLED FOR SAFETY: World Vision India office ransacked and the Staff has also fled to jungle for protection.
9) CHRISTIANS TAKE SHELTER IN FOREST FOR PROTECTION: A police camp at Barakhama was also attacked by the Hindu fundamentalists. With several houses being burnt down and people being made homeless, many Christians,particularly from Nua Sahi, Munda Sahi and Suna Tonga have fled into forests for their lives.
10) NUN RAPED: A young Catholic Nun of the Cuttack Bhubaneswar diocese working Jan Vikas Kendra, the Social Service Centre at Nuagaon in Kandhamal was reportedly gang raped on 24th August 2008 by groups of Hindutva extremists before the building itself was destroyed.
11) SENIOR PRIEST AND NUN INJURED: Fr Thomas, director of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre in Kanjimendi, less than a kilometer away from the Social Service Centre, and another Nun were injured when the centre was attacked. They were taken to the police station in a disheveled state as the armed mob bayed for their blood. The Pastoral centre was then set afire.
12) BALLIGUDA CHURCH BUILDINGS DESTROYED AGAIN: On 24th August 2008 evening lynch mobs at the block headquarters of Balliguda, in the very heart of Kandhamal district, which had seen much violence between 24th and 26th December 2007, attacked and destroyed a Presbytery, convent and hostel damaging the properties.
13) CHRISTIAN BOYS HEADS TONSURED: The mobs in Balliguda caught hold of two boys of the Catholic hostel and tonsured their heads.
14) PHULBANI CHURCH DAMAGED: On 25th august 2008 morning followers of the late Lakshmanananda Saraswati damaged the Catholic Church in Phulbani, the district headquarter town.
15) MOTHER TERESA BROTHERS ASHRAM ATTACKED: Mobs attacked the Mother Teresa Brothers' residence and hospital in Srasanada, destroyed once before and rebuilt two months ago, and beat up the patients.
16) BHUBANESWAR BISHOP'S HOUSE ATTACKED: On the morning of 25th August 2008, violent mobs made several attempts to enter the compounds of Catholic Church and Archbishop's house in the heart of the Capital of the State of Orissa. They could not enter because of the police presence. They threw stones at the guesthouse of Archbishop's House, damaging windows.
17) DUBURI PARISH: Another group of fundamentalists entered presbytery in Duburi parish, managed by the SVDs and destroyed and damaged property. Two priests of the parish are missing.
18) Mr. Jamaj Pariccha, Director of Gramya Pragati, is attacked and his property damaged, vehicle looted and burnt.
19) A Baptist Church in Akamra Jila in Bhubaneswar is also damaged.
20) Christian institutions like St. Arnold's School (Kalinga Bihar) and NISWASS report some damage.
21) BOUDH DISTRICT [Adjoining Kandhamal]: Fundamentalists enter the Catholic parish church and destroy property. People are fleeing to safer places. But nothing seems safe.
22) MUNIGUDA: Muniguda Catholic Fathers and Nuns' residence have been damaged.
23) SAMBALPUR: HM Sister's residence (Ainthapalli) has suffered damage.
24) PADANPUR: One priest is attacked and admitted to a hospital. Hostel boys and the in charge have moved away from the place.
25) MADHUPUR: Madhupur Catholic Church currently under attack.
26) SMALL CHURCHES: Attempted violence on small churches in various districts, including Padampur, Sambalpur near GM College, Talsera, Dangsoroda, Narayanipatara, Muniguda, Tummiibandh, Tangrapada, Phulbani, Balliguda, Kalingia, Chakapad, Srasanranda.
27) VILLAGE CHRISTIAN HOUSES ATTACKED: Houses attacked on forest hamlets of Balliguda, Kanjamandi Nuaguam (K.Nuaguam), Tiangia (G.Udayagiri), Padangiri, Tikabali.
28) KALAHANDI DISTRICT: Houses burnt even though the district is more than 300 kilometers from the place where Swami Lakshmanananda was killed.
29) PASTORS' HOUSE BURNT: Pastor Sikandar Singh of the Pentecostal Mission beaten up and his house burnt in Bhawanipatna.
30) KHARIHAR: 3 Christian shops were looted and burnt. Pastor Alok Das and Pastor I M Senapati beaten up.
31) AAMPANI: Pastor David Diamond Pahar, Pastor Pravin Ship, Pastor Pradhan and Pastor Barik beaten up and chased away with their families.
32) NAKTIKANI: Mob surrounds village to attack Christians.

The government has sent forces, it is reported. A delegation of Christian leaders under the leadership of Archbishop Vincent Concessao, the President of National United Christian Forum of CBCI, NCCI and EFI, met the Home Minister Shri Shiv Raj Patil and submitted a memorandum. The Home Minister assured the delegation all necessary steps have been taken to maintain peace and harmony and protect the innocent. He also expressed his helplessness by stating that police protection cannot be given in all villages.
[This list is compiled with assistance from Archbishop's House, Bhubaneswar, John Dayal, Light Foundation and EFI News reporters and other sources]

Culture Shock

“Culture shock” isn’t so much the experience I have found myself having adjusting to an Indian way of life. Maybe it’s in part to being a fairly adaptable person. It’s definitely indebted to many conversations with people who have been to India. Still, I am unmistakably experiencing something like waking up in a house thought to be my own and fumbling around in the dark. It’s like being in escalating surprise as I find things where they shouldn’t be and things missing from where they should be. But, I am saved before panicking thoughts set in of somehow being abducted in my sleep and put in another house or being the butt of some demonic joke involving the rearrangement of my furniture. The difference is that, as the cloudiness of sleep wears off, I remember that I am not in my own house but a guest in somebody else’s and should expect things to be different. With that in mind, what follows are some interesting peculiarities of my host culture that I am having to adjust to.

The most obvious is the language difference. Most people here speak a few words of English. A few speak well enough to have a conversation, but still struggle some. Some words in Tamil (the main language around here) are taken straight from English. A Hindu guy I met in a shop called that “Tanglish.” Abbie taught me the word for younger sister, which I have referred to her with for the last several months. When I got here I learned that “thangai,” the word she taught me, actually means “coconut.” Tangacci was the word we were looking for! I’m still calling her “thangai.” Huh, Thangai? (if you’re reading this)

Clothing is a fun subject here. I really like how women’s clothing here is pretty dang modest and yet beautiful. Guys either where western-type garb (usually slacks and a button-up or polo) or a Lunki (a skirt-ish type thing. See below).



There are also some tricks for keeping cool in the heat. 100% cotton instead of any synthetic is the way to go, even if it is a long-sleeve vs. a short-sleeve. Also, the men wear undergarments called banyans. They help absorb sweat. I found a really special banyan the other day. Check it out:



It seriously says “For Super Hero” on the tag area. I asked the owner about it and told him what “Super Hero” meant in America. “Like Superman or Batman.” We had a pretty good laugh.

Last note on clothes, did I mention we wash them by hand? That has been fun. I do actually kind of like it. This is the area outside my temporary room.



It is a remarkable thing how the Indians keep their clothes so clean and presentable. I actually look pretty shabby next to most of them most of the time.

Oh hey! You know what else we clean with our hands? Our… uhhh rectus externi… OK, we use them as toilet paper. Seriously. I had my first Left-Hand Experience yesterday (I’ve been using TP the hotel in Chennai gave me). It went about as bad as it could. Usually, there is a little faucet near the toilet and a can (or just a hose). Basically, you fill the can with water and pour with the right hand while scrubbing away with your left. Well, yesterday I somehow chose the only bathroom in India I’ve seen without the water-can option. I just had to wipe… if you want to call it that. I’m not sure it helped more than it actually just made two parts of my body grody. I spent the next half-hour looking for a stall with a can and trying not to touch anything.

All-in-all, once I finally was able to, heh, rinse, I found the experience rather enjoyable and much more thorough/speedy than TP. It also helps you understand all the emphasis on the right hand in ancient texts like the Bible. I remember hearing an interpretation on Mathew 5’s “turn the other cheek” taking into consideration the significance of the right/left hand as well as Rome ¹. Initially, I struggled with wondering if that was a superfluous factor. Now I know, it isn’t. People here do everything with their right hand. When I was still using TP I’d eat with my left hand sometimes and get some pretty strange looks.

Which brings us to food. I think Ralph said it best, "Tastes like burning..." Outside of that, it is pretty good stuff! There is rice in every meal including breakfast and some kind of curry. We often have been eating fried eggs with breakfast, which has helped us Westerners. The best part is that we totally just eat with our hand (only the right hand).

A very peculiar part of Indian culture is the driving. It’s nuts. The only rule is to honk a lot. Seriously, sometimes drivers will pass people while those people are passing people (on a two-lane road!). The first thing I noticed is that they don’t associate the horn with emotion like Americans do. They honk like a blind man waves his cane around to find his way. Many vehicles read “Please Honk” on their rear. So the M.O. is to go straight, pass at a whim, and honk while trying not to hit anybody. And “anybody” includes buses, (small) cars, auto-rickshaws, motorcycles, ox-carts, bicycles, cows, and walkers.



And sometimes you get to witness scenes like this.



That is a guy on a motorcycle. He has a mobile shop he takes from village to village on the island. His head probably came up to the green jug in the middle. It’s straight out of a Dr. Suess drawing.

Lastly, for those of you that mused I’d find an Indian wife here, Indians definitely have arranged marriages. It actually sounds kind of cool. The parents search for a woman for their son and they submit a profile to her parents (no joke). It sounds like something from a dating site: interests, photo, basic run-down. Apparently they do give the man and woman the final say in it. In the cases I’ve heard so far, they will even meet several times or spend a couple months talking on the phone to see if their life directions match. But since the parents first found the prospects they tend to be much more of a support to the marriage. As a result, the Indian divorce rate is something like under 1%. They also seem much more concerned with partnership towards a mutual goal than just being attracted to the opposite’s personality. So, Mom, if you’re reading this, get busy. JOKING.

I have one more post planned. It will be on the actual particular place I am in. After that, I hope to just blog on day to day experiences and unique things that come up/could use prayer and encouragement with!

(update: did I mention the power goes out all the time... like just as I was posting this... lol)

¹ If you haven’t heard the contextual commentary on “turn the other cheek,” Here ya go. Essentially the Gospels give many examples of Jesus trying to dissuade the Jewish Zealots from rebelling with violence from the Roman oppression. Scholars point to this verse as being a prime example of Jesus giving constructive advice for them. A Roman soldier who was going to hit someone he felt was inferior to him would generally slap with his left hand (which would land on the right cheek). This was a disgrace. But, Jesus told them to turn their left cheek to someone who would slap their right. If the Roman hit them again in response, they would be forced to use their right fist, and simultaneously admit acknowledgement as equals.

Whoa India

It has been almost a week since I flew out of Portland International Airport to embark on a three-month visit to Rameswaram, India. 22 hours in the air, a night in a questionable hotel, 12 hours by train, and a 12 ½ hour time change later, I arrived. To be honest, the journey was tiring, but decently enjoyable. I had a great travel partner, Bekah and the airline made cross-country flights in the US look like an overnight road trip with nothing to eat but cabbage (mmmm, you can smell it now can’t you?). We flew coach and Lufthansa still brought us full meals, free beverages every hour (from OJ to Baileys), and hot towels… just cuz.

Bekah and I chillin' in style.

Remarkable Northern Canadian sunset from the plane.
After we changed planes in Germany, the new plane even had personal screens built into the back of the following seats. We could choose from 12 movies and several TV shows from the touch-screen menu. Ridiculous, but I enjoyed it! Our new friend Gokul we met while on a layover in Franfurt. He was visiting his hometown, Chennai, from his new home in the US.

After arriving in Chennai we could immediately feel the humidity, even at midnight! The airport windows looked like the side of a greenhouse. Abraham, his wife Ruby, and their daughter Ziona (named after the biblical Zion) met us outside and helped us get checked into a hotel. The hotel was a 3 star in India and maybe comparable to a roadside motel in the US—with less bugs, surprisingly. Not complaining, just sharing the experience. I had my first bucket shower, watched some really funny Indian music videos, got a few hours of sleep and went exploring when daylight hit. Chennai was busy, dirty, and full of bustle. We shopped around a bit for snacks and a few other items. Contrary to many other experiences westerners have shared with me, all the prices we were given seemed to be inline with what people informed us we should pay for certain items.

Some pictures of Chennai. They don't do the bustle, or even grime, justice. But they do capture the unique culture decently.

The train ride was fairly pleasant. We had a sleeper section for the overnight journey that we shared with 6 other passengers. Before we boarded Ruby warned us, “Don’t give anything to anyone and don’t talk with anyone.” To which Bekah reacted, “Are you listening, Justin? You’re the one always talking with everyone.” I tried to obey, but those Indians in our section were just so darn cool. After the train ride I was starting to get used to people staring at us. Since leaving the airport I have only seen 3 other Caucasian people so I can understand. I think I even made a little kid cry yesterday just by my sheer whiteness (it’s like a superpower!). We arrived in Rameswaram at 5:15am on Saturday. We have been treated with beautiful hospitality and patience as we adjust to our new surroundings. There have been some pretty funny moments—moments which I hope to blog about soon—but the most constant experience I find myself having is questioning. I have had so much to do in preparing to leave that whenever people asked me if I was getting excited, I couldn’t honestly say. I hadn’t had time to think about it. In general, the secret that I’ve told few people this last few months is that I have felt less spiritually and emotionally prepared the closer the time of departure got. It wasn’t a psychological thing, but more a pragmatic divergence of energy from a balance of inward and outward disciplines to purely outward. I am so thankful for this journey, for God’s gracious love, and for anything that my life here may lend to seeing God’s dreams for this place become more realized. Simultaneously, I am doing all the self-examination, mediation, reflection, and, though not enough, intentional prayer that I have been missing these past few months. Why exactly was I called here? What steps and decisions do I need to make to draw the divine energy needed to engage this mission with excellence? How do I need to grow? I can’t wait to share more of Rameswaram with you: the people, the food, the environment, the culture. I also have relish to share my experiences and activities since spending time with this wonderful place. There is already so much to share. We are finally getting the internet situation worked out so I should be able to update this blog more frequently. For now, would you please pray for my time here, for God’s loving guidance? Thank you for all the wonderful, multi-faceted support that has gotten me this far. Know that I am often praying for each of you whenever I think of you.