June 10, I join a team of Cornerstone Young Adults on a mission trip to Erkrath, Germany. We will be partnering with a local church and Lead 222 to evangelize, run day camps for youth, and serve the city through various service projects. Please pray that God would prepare the way for us and give us the courage and ability to share the gospel.
I just returned from an awesome trip to Peru with our high school group. We joined forces with Food for the Hungry to bring relief aid to several communities in Chincha. I had the awesome opportunity to lead some Spanish worship and befriend some amazing leaders…all before coming down with the flu. After 3 days of isolation, daytime television, and plenty o’ meds, I rejoined the team to finish out the trip. Here’s a little video I sent to the Cornerstone staff. For more info on our Peru trip click HERE
Today was an incredible day and will be so hard to capture with words and even pictures. We had the chance to visit and participate in several of Harvest India’s outreach programs. I will do my best to sum up each of today’s events with a few words and pictures. Just know that God is moving in absolutely incredible ways here at Harvest India and their incredible organization and strategic planning has created a sustainable, long-term ministry.
A quick recap. Our team of 7 includes Ryan and Danielle Axtell, Marty and Mary McIntire, Heather Nyhart, Kara Cox, and Niall McSheffrey. They will be able to read any comments you leave so feel free to share this experience with us!
Church Service
Our team helped lead a service at one of the local churches. I played a few songs, Marty and Mary shared their testimonies, and Niall shared a message on how to reach the next generation of Indians…all through a translator of course! Its amazing to hear God’s name glorified in other languages! The congregation also sang several songs in their state language to the accompaniment of a tambourine and pitched drums. Men and women sat in separate areas and their were many more women than men. Suresh told us that getting women to come to the church was the key to getting the families to come to church as they had the “real power” in the household. Christianity is a stark contrast to Hinduism, which worships over 330 million different gods with the highest deity being the cow. The church leaders go to great lengths to communicate that Jesus is THE ONLY GOD, and not another deity to add to the collection. Suresh’s ministry has planted over 1400 churches in India over the last 42 years and train up in their Bible Colleges over 100 new church planters a year!
Food distribution/Medical Center
The team helps the Harvest India Staff pass out food.
Below, Saresh shows us the Medical Center Harvest India runs a Mercy Camp food distribution every Saturday, which provides food to the street children and beggars who otherwise have to beg or steal their food. We had the privilege of passing out bananas, eggs, and bread to roughly 500 people. It was incredibly emotional to stare such depravity in the face, yet be a part of the solution. Additionally it was amazing to see so many joyful and excited faces among the children who lived every day struggling to find food and water.
Harvest India also runs a free health clinic as part of the Mercy Camp, which supplies free medical care and supplies to the “Untouchables” who would be turned away from the government hospitals. Christian’s are part of the lowest caste system along with the Untouchables due to their belief in the “poor man’s God.” Fellow Indians do not normally help others for fear of getting involved in that person’s Karma: they believe that your life situation is a result of your past life and must be carried out until you are reincarnated into a better situation. Christianity is spreading incredibly fast among the lower caste systems because of the love and care the Christian Indians show to the lowest of low who are normally neglected. An incredible example of how God can work through the darkest situations!
Well Dedication
The village President helps dedicate the well.
Immediately after our visit to Mercy Camp we drove an hour out of the city to a local village to dedicate a well. This particular village had no fresh water and the villagers had to walk 3 miles to the next village. For $1000, Harvest India constructed a well (far superior to the government ones) that provides fresh water for 300-500 families! Now that is value! The village was so joyful for the prayer from “Pastor Marty” and the blessings from our team members…it was truly a joyful experience, complete with drumming and a ribbon cutting!
Nursing School
The school’s dormitory.
The nursing students. On our way back to Suresh’s house we visited one of two nursing schools in Tenali. This school provides nursing training to the women of the Untouchable Caste System so they can good jobs and stand on their own two feet. The two schools currently house 120 nurses in training, who will graduate in 6 months. Several of the students shared their stories and expressed how thankful they were for the opportunity to study and grow and value in society. Several team members including myself then spoke encouragement over them (translated) and Danielle prayed over them as well. An amazing night with an amazing group of young women! Due to Harvest India’s reputation and recognition of their superior teaching methods, the government helped fund the building of the schools and the educational program. They are still in need of mattresses and fans for the dormitories, nursing uniforms, school materials, and examination fees. You can find out how to give towards these needs HERE.
At the end of the day, the girls were taken to pick up their traditional Indian dress, called Saris, which they will wear the rest of the week when in public. They were incredibly beautiful and the girls were very excited! Thank you for your prayers and we look forward to sharing the rest of our time here with you.
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.
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!
Cornerstone is getting ready to send a team down to Tenali, India (in the Guntur District) and this will be the place for you to stay up to date with what we are doing! Please feel free to pass this link on to friends and family and check back for pictures, videos, and journal entries during our visit! We will be working with Dr. Saresh and Harvest India
Harvest India runs a Mercy Camp food distribution every Saturday, which provides food to the street children and beggars who otherwise have to beg or steal their food. We had the privilege of passing out bananas, eggs, and bread to roughly 500 people. It was incredibly emotional to stare such depravity in the face, yet be a part of the solution. Additionally it was amazing to see so many joyful and excited faces among the children who lived every day struggling to find food and water.
On our way back to Suresh’s house we visited one of two nursing schools in Tenali. This school provides nursing training to the women of the Untouchable Caste System so they can good jobs and stand on their own two feet. The two schools currently house 120 nurses in training, who will graduate in 6 months. Several of the students shared their stories and expressed how thankful they were for the opportunity to study and grow and value in society. Several team members including myself then spoke encouragement over them (translated) and Danielle prayed over them as well. An amazing night with an amazing group of young women! Due to Harvest India’s reputation and recognition of their superior teaching methods, the government helped fund the building of the schools and the educational program. They are still in need of mattresses and fans for the dormitories, nursing uniforms, school materials, and examination fees. You can find out how to give towards these needs 
