February 13th, 2009
Well, after a 16 hour flight from San Francisco, our team just landed in Hong Kong @ approx 4 am our time and 7:30pm (on Friday) Hong Kong time. It has been an adventure!
So far, Cathay Airline’s quality of service and food has destroyed all hope for US airline companies! We each enjoyed our own media center with over 100 movies, 888 cds, and 300 tv shows…plus games of course!
We had a few mishaps with our luggage claims in San Francisco, but after some cross-cultural communication, we figured it out…And props to the nationalities that speak multiple languages!
No matter how nice the plane ride, 16 hours is still 16 hours. Time change, muscle soreness, cabin fever…traveling over the whole Pacific Ocean and wondering if you are in an episode of Lost. We all feel like we’ve been hit by a double decker bus! Next up a 5 hour flight into Chennai, then a 7 hour train ride to Tenali!
Its amazing being overseas…a first for several of us on the team. A total change of smells, sounds, interactions and voltages (bring a transformer!). Its exciting and also intimidating…It reminds me how small we actually are and how diverse our world is.
We serve such a diverse God who speaks to all nations! Our purpose as a short-term team is mainly to experience and witness what God is doing in other areas around the world, provide needed support to the long-term organizations we partner with, and relay the news back to our home areas. We have the most influence among our own friends and families due to our life-time of established relationships. We may feel that our purpose is mainly to “help others” when we venture out but I believe our main purpose is to serve as witnesses to what God is doing…of course we help others and share the Gospel, but as a short-term team most often we are the ones who God grows the most. We are excited to observe and partner with Saresh and Harvest India and to relay the amazing things God is doing back to Chandler, Az.
February 11th, 2009
So the Cornerstone India Team consists of: Marty and Mary McIntire, Danielle and Ryan Axtell, Kara Cox, Heather Nyhart, and Niall McSheffrey.
Our iternerary is as follows:
14-02-09 – Saturday Early Morning at 5:45 A.M. Arriving to Chennai by Cathy Pacific #631.
Afternoon at 1:30 P.M. leave to Tenali by Pinakini Express Train.
15-02-09 – Sunday at 11:00 A.M. Sunday Service at Local Church.
Evening at 5:00 P.M. visit to Mercy camp, Medical Center and Nursing Training Center.
Night at 8:00 P.M. Outreach Meeting at Peddalanka.
16-02-09 – Monday at 10:00 A.M. Visit to HI Orphanage & School, Vision Center (Bible College),
Ashraya Building (Former Prostitutes Project) and Hiv/Aids Awareness Camp at HI Campus,
after visit to our new Dalith School Construction.
Evening at 5:30 P.M. Drinking Water Well Dedication at Betasthapuram.
17-02-09 – Tuesday at 10:00 A.M. First day of VBS Program at HI Campus
Afternoon VBS Section at 3:00 P.M to 5:00 P.M.
18-02-09 – Wednesday at 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Second Day of VBS
Afternoon VBS Section at 3:00 P.M to 5:00 P.M.
Evening at 5:20 P.M. visit to Red-Light area at Tenali.
19-02-09 – Thursday at 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Third Day of VBS.
Afternoon Final VBS Section at 3:00 P.M., after VBS Big Rally from HI Campus to Vadlamudi.
7. 20-02-09 – Friday at 9:00 A.M. Medical Camp at Peddalanka, after visit to one of our Elderly Home at
Teppalakatta. Afternoon at 2:30 P.M. Leave back to Chennai by Janashabdi Exp.
8. 21-02-09 – Saturday Early Morning at 3:15 A.M. Fly back to Home by Cathy Pacific #632
We leave tomorrow morning around 7am…Excited!! Keep us in your prayers and check in with us daily! Its gonna be a diverse and crazy trip!
January 22nd, 2009
Tonight was a good night of worship…nothing special from an outward perspective, but I felt God speaking to me. I felt a freedom in the songs, a certain level of confidence in the technicality of the music which allowed my mind to wander elsewhere and LISTEN. I was reminded that God gifts our every breath. 2 of the 4 student center ac units where down, but the stifling room didn’t stop God from moving. I could see others in the same place, and its always a good thing when you as a worship leader are able to bring others on the journey you are on. In almost every worship session I lead I find myself tuning in to a specific person…that person often serves as an instrument to help gauge the feeling in the room but on a deeper level I find myself working to lead that specific person…worshipping with them and focusing on how to take them deeper. Its just a mind game but it seems God always provides someone who has something to teach me. Tonight is was a younger man who was sitting by himself. It was his first time tonight at Camber and even though he was new to the community he was abandoning himself in worship. His tattered D’backs had was clutched in his hands as he shouted out the lyrics with an unrivaled passion. I was observing an intimate conversation between him and God. I don’t how to describe my reaction, but it put a lump in my throat and reminded me that God moves in his own way and time, regardless if we are set up or ready for it. He moves in rooms of 10 and rooms 0f 10,000. I was reminded that the living God was in our presence, and touching lives in front of my face.
The most powerful moment I remember was when I was leading at a winter camp in Mammoth Lakes, Ca. It was the last night and I glance out on the group of high school students during a song and see my brother on his knees. In the next moment, my mom, who was volunteering on the trip, with tears in her eyes, kneeled down with him. In that instant I shared a connection with my mom and brother that I can’t explain but is still with me till this day. It taught me a great deal about family, humility, and legacy. Sometimes when I am having a rough rehearsal, or am fighting off technical difficulties, I remember these people and these moments and remind myself what I am really working towards.
Pay attention to those around you…God may have a lot to say.
December 26th, 2008
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I wrote the song “What I Have to Give” for a benefit CD used to raise money for Cornerstone Church’s flood campaign. The message of this song is very simple: What we do to others, we do to Christ. Inspired by the styles of Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson (The Band).
