It’s been a few days, so we’ll try to catch up here. The hours for the internet café are not always fitting into our schedule of when we can get there to update the blog.
On Wednesday, we spent some time in a town near Goa, experiencing the culture. It is very warm here! We all received our driving lesson to use the scooters here, too. It definitely takes some getting used to. They drive on the left side of the road here and there are also cars and other random things (people, pigs, dogs) to watch out for. Everyone is doing a great job with the driving!
In the evening, we also had the opportunity to spend time with Dan and Karen Deyhle and Cam and Hephzibah Deyhle and their team at their praise, worship and prayer meeting. They have a ministry here called “Everybody Ought to Know” (EOTK). They have been blessed with a facility (All Nations Center) to have all of their services. They have various services throughout the week. They also have a tailoring class and a photography class they have started to teach the people here. After the service, we shared an Indian meal together in the home of the pastor. It was a great time together.
On Thursday, we went back to the All Nations Center for a few hours of sharing. The leaders of this group shared with us about their ministry here in Goa. People here are beginning to grow as amazing leaders. It’s a wonderful thing to see. They also asked us to share about our roles in the mission office and the things we are doing in the States. It’s so exciting to see God at work all around the world.
In the afternoon, we were part of the “Kids Up” ministry that the Deyhle’s have put together. It is a ministry for children in a poorer section of town and it is done on the beach. This particular time, there were 50 children! They are so beautiful! Time is spent singing, hearing a Bible story and playing games. We helped out with the game time. There were several things going on at one time. Frisbees were being thrown, soccer was being played and they taught us a game that is very similar to “duck, duck, goose.” We taught them “red light, green light” but realized that they have no idea what that would even mean. There are no traffic lights here at all, so, we changed it to just say “red or green”. They had fun with that game.
On Friday, we visited a local school where they provide free education for children ages 16-17. They have classes six days a week. They Deyhle’s have been partnering with this group while they have been here. After visiting the school, we went to a local spice farm where the spices are grown. At one point in the tour, they showed us how they climb the tall palm trees and swing from tree to tree (like a monkey!) to harvest the fruit. They gave us an opportunity to try this as well. Bruce did an awesome job! In the afternoon, we went to Cam and Hepzie’s home for Cam to give us a “test run” of some of the material he is planning to use in the STEP India program later this year. The STEP program is for anyone from the ages of 18-30. It’s an internship where they can choose to either go to Honduras or India. The team spends 3 months in discipleship training in New York and then spends 6 months in the field, either India or Honduras. This year is the first time for the India program.
We appreciate your prayers so much. The team is doing well. We have been blessed with safety in all of our travels and now, safety in the scooter driving. This weekend, we would appreciate your prayers as we travel by bus, van and scooter (the group is splitting up and traveling various ways) to Karnataka. We’ll be traveling on Saturday afternoon and coming back on Sunday night. While we are there, we will take part in sharing with the churches, and offering encouragement to their leaders.
Thanks so much for joining us on our journey!
No comments:
Post a Comment