February 15th, 2009
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.
February 13th, 2009
Sat, 3:57am
So we just arrived at our hotel in Chennai, India after approx 30 hours of travel! Due to the time changes, we only spent 2 hours of Friday in Hong Kong before jumping ahead to Saturday. Crazy!
The aromas immediately thicken upon exiting the plane. The airport was crammed with people coming and going. We were definitely the odd ones out for a change. It definitely is humbling. I never really noticed how white I really am!
The taxi ride from to the Hotel was probably the craziest thing I have ever experienced. Let’s just say we all made sure we were right with God once we saw how the Taxi drivers maneuvered…but hey we made it! Let me tell you how invaluable car horns are…They saved our lives at least 3 times. And check out these sweet rides! I felt like Dick Tracy:
.
The 30 minute drive to our hotel was our first chance to absorb our surroundings. The strangest, smallest, jerry-rigged automobiles cluttered the streets, along with pedestrians and the occasional cow. Even though it was early in the morning the city was alive. It was definitely a 3rd world environment. It broke my heart to see people sleeping in the gutters and the sidewalks…especially the elderly. They remained completely ignored by everyone except the large rats who could be seen rummaging through their blankets and belongings.
We met up with Saresh at the hotel and were greeted with big hugs. Culturally, you are not supposed to say “sorry” or “thank you”, or use your left hand to eat or greet. Additionally, our nods for “yes” and “no” mean the opposite so we are still figuring out how to interact, but hugs are okay! Oh yeah and men hold hands as a sign of friendship.
Saresh said he’s excited for us to be here partnering with Harvest India. He said India is a very dark place spiritually, with millions of different deities and gods worshipped. We are excited to see the amazing things Harvest India does!
We are all currently in our hotel rooms, trying to shake the time change (its 4 am Saturday here and 3:43pm Friday in Phoenix) and catch some sleep before our 6 hour train ride tomorrow at 1pm. Thank you all for your prayers! I’m not sure what what kind of internet access I will have after the train ride, but I’ll be blogging everyday and upload it all as soon as we have the opportunity!
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!
February 7th, 2009
Hello friends and family!
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
Here is a map showing our location:
Please keep us in your prayer!
