We arrived back home safely last night. Came back to a wonderfully clean and tidy home which was a lovely welcome back. Also came home to two prepared meals - what a blessing. Thanks so much.
There were no glitches in our travels which was nice. Thank you for your prayers for us.
There will be some redjusting back into life in Sydney - our learning never stops. But God is good and does good and we love him.
Home Sweet Home. But India was also sweet.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Maybe our last blog entry
Our plans have changed slightly for the last 2 days here. This afternoon we will be driving down to Delhi from Dehra Dun, rather than catching the overnight train this evening. We will be traveling with two relatives of the Bhandari family who work in Delhi but have been visiting here the last few days. They will also be helping us get to the airport on time on Tuesday evening for our flight back home.
It has been a really nice time for us here in India, but we are looking forward to being back in our familiar surrounds again too.
Thanks especially to those who have left comments on this blog for us. We have enjoyed reading them.
God Bless,
Love S&L
It has been a really nice time for us here in India, but we are looking forward to being back in our familiar surrounds again too.
Thanks especially to those who have left comments on this blog for us. We have enjoyed reading them.
God Bless,
Love S&L
Friday, August 12, 2011
Our visit to the Himalayas
Okay, first a lesson in pronunciation: How do you say HIMALAYAS? In Australia we pronounce it (emphasized syllable in bold type font) "Him-a-lay-as" (say it out loud before you read on). But the Indians pronounce it "Him-al-ay-as" (again, say it out loud before you read on). Got it?? Good, we can proceed.
We got back from a very adventurous trip into the Himalayas (did you say it right??) on Thursday evening. We visited the village of Bareth, which is the village Papa grew up in. Papa set up AGAPE 31 years ago to reach his village with the good news of Jesus. If you type Bareth into Google earth... you won't find it, it is that remote!
We left from Rishikesh at about 3pm on Tuesday for the anticipated 7 hour journey. Everything went smoothly until we heard that there had been a landslide and some of the road we needed to travel on was blocked. This happens every monsoon season here, and so was no surprise. Babu, who was driving us there said "she'll be right" (maybe not those exact words, but to the same effect!!) and we kept going. After inspecting the road block, we took a short cut along a secondary road - 40km that took us 2 hours. It was a short cut, because if we'd stayed waiting in line we would have been waiting at least a day!! We didn't make it to Bareth that night, but stayed in a guest house along the way.
On Wednesday morning we had to take another secondary road to get to Bareth because the main road there was also blocked from a land slide. After an hour on this road, and only 8km from Bareth we came to another landslide. We couldn't drive to Bareth. So, we parked the car, picked up our gear, walked across the dirt/tree/rock/boulder pile on the road, and took a Taxi jeep the final way to Bareth. We arrived a bit before midday on Wednesday.
AGAPE partner with Compassion in Bareth and run an child development centre there. We enjoyed seeing the children and meeting friends we'd made last time.
The mountains are so beautiful. I wish we could show you them. They are far off the tourist trail - I wonder how many Aussies have set eyes on these mountains. Such steep valleys all terraced with rice and wheat growing. We are astounded at how God created these mountains with his fingers!
We keep praying that those living in the mountains would bow down and worship their creator. It is a place where very few people know Jesus. It is so remote and few people are willing to venture there with the Good News.
We got home safely - a quick trip of six hours. The road was open, praise God!
We got back from a very adventurous trip into the Himalayas (did you say it right??) on Thursday evening. We visited the village of Bareth, which is the village Papa grew up in. Papa set up AGAPE 31 years ago to reach his village with the good news of Jesus. If you type Bareth into Google earth... you won't find it, it is that remote!
We left from Rishikesh at about 3pm on Tuesday for the anticipated 7 hour journey. Everything went smoothly until we heard that there had been a landslide and some of the road we needed to travel on was blocked. This happens every monsoon season here, and so was no surprise. Babu, who was driving us there said "she'll be right" (maybe not those exact words, but to the same effect!!) and we kept going. After inspecting the road block, we took a short cut along a secondary road - 40km that took us 2 hours. It was a short cut, because if we'd stayed waiting in line we would have been waiting at least a day!! We didn't make it to Bareth that night, but stayed in a guest house along the way.
On Wednesday morning we had to take another secondary road to get to Bareth because the main road there was also blocked from a land slide. After an hour on this road, and only 8km from Bareth we came to another landslide. We couldn't drive to Bareth. So, we parked the car, picked up our gear, walked across the dirt/tree/rock/boulder pile on the road, and took a Taxi jeep the final way to Bareth. We arrived a bit before midday on Wednesday.
AGAPE partner with Compassion in Bareth and run an child development centre there. We enjoyed seeing the children and meeting friends we'd made last time.
The mountains are so beautiful. I wish we could show you them. They are far off the tourist trail - I wonder how many Aussies have set eyes on these mountains. Such steep valleys all terraced with rice and wheat growing. We are astounded at how God created these mountains with his fingers!
We keep praying that those living in the mountains would bow down and worship their creator. It is a place where very few people know Jesus. It is so remote and few people are willing to venture there with the Good News.
We got home safely - a quick trip of six hours. The road was open, praise God!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Lyd's day: Malaria test and a Hit and Run...
Sounds more sinister than it actually was but we've got your attention now...
First: Lyd is fine. Promise!
On Sunday we looked up what the symptoms of malaria were and found that Lyd was experiencing a number of them. Papa said that symptoms of malaria and of a 'regular' virus are hardly distinguishable, so on Monday morning Lyd braved an Indian Pathology clinic and had a blood test. The results came back as negative for Malaria - for which we praise God. Lyd woke this morning feeling much better too. Thank you for your prayers.
We were in Rishikesh all yesterday visiting the two schools that AGAPE (the ministry Papa set up 30 yrs ago) run, as well as the Child Development Centre they run in partnership with Compassion. After visiting the centre we went for a walk along the road towards where the children live so that we might see their homes and villages. As we walked a motorbike with two 16 yr olds came past us, too fast and too close, and clipped Lyd's right leg. Lyd cried out, mainly from surprise, and our Indian friends called out after them to stop. When the bike didn't stop they chased after them and soon were out of our sight. This did cause a bit of a scene, with lots of people coming out and gathering around us. It was a little comical actually! We could tell from the old women's gesticulations that they were scolding the two teens - some things you don't need language to communicate! The two teens ended up fleeing into the near by jungle, but our friends found out where they lived and spoke to the relatives. Lyd had ended up with a couple of bruises from it. We were picked up and went back to the house we were staying in. A couple of hours later the teens and their families came to where we were to apologise. They were all quite fearful because if charges were laid againt them the family would loose the bike and the boys would be in big trouble with the police for riding wihout a licence. It was an opportunity for the gospel. Lyd offered her forgivness and explained that we all do wrong and need forgivness and so how can we who have been forgiven so much by Jesus not extend that same grace to others. It is our prayer that this deonstration of the gospel will bear fruit in the lives of these teens and their families.
First: Lyd is fine. Promise!
On Sunday we looked up what the symptoms of malaria were and found that Lyd was experiencing a number of them. Papa said that symptoms of malaria and of a 'regular' virus are hardly distinguishable, so on Monday morning Lyd braved an Indian Pathology clinic and had a blood test. The results came back as negative for Malaria - for which we praise God. Lyd woke this morning feeling much better too. Thank you for your prayers.
We were in Rishikesh all yesterday visiting the two schools that AGAPE (the ministry Papa set up 30 yrs ago) run, as well as the Child Development Centre they run in partnership with Compassion. After visiting the centre we went for a walk along the road towards where the children live so that we might see their homes and villages. As we walked a motorbike with two 16 yr olds came past us, too fast and too close, and clipped Lyd's right leg. Lyd cried out, mainly from surprise, and our Indian friends called out after them to stop. When the bike didn't stop they chased after them and soon were out of our sight. This did cause a bit of a scene, with lots of people coming out and gathering around us. It was a little comical actually! We could tell from the old women's gesticulations that they were scolding the two teens - some things you don't need language to communicate! The two teens ended up fleeing into the near by jungle, but our friends found out where they lived and spoke to the relatives. Lyd had ended up with a couple of bruises from it. We were picked up and went back to the house we were staying in. A couple of hours later the teens and their families came to where we were to apologise. They were all quite fearful because if charges were laid againt them the family would loose the bike and the boys would be in big trouble with the police for riding wihout a licence. It was an opportunity for the gospel. Lyd offered her forgivness and explained that we all do wrong and need forgivness and so how can we who have been forgiven so much by Jesus not extend that same grace to others. It is our prayer that this deonstration of the gospel will bear fruit in the lives of these teens and their families.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Please Pray
Dear Family and Friends,
Lyd's cold from the other day has turned into something a bit more significant and has wiped her out for the last day or so.
Please pray the God would restore her health in time for our planned travel to Bareth on Wednesday [EDIT: We are actually doing this travel on Tuesday not Wednesday.... oops]. It is a 180km, 7 hour drive through windy Himalayan roads.
Thank you,
Our Love
S&L
Lyd's cold from the other day has turned into something a bit more significant and has wiped her out for the last day or so.
Please pray the God would restore her health in time for our planned travel to Bareth on Wednesday [EDIT: We are actually doing this travel on Tuesday not Wednesday.... oops]. It is a 180km, 7 hour drive through windy Himalayan roads.
Thank you,
Our Love
S&L
Plans for this week
We've discovered our plans for the next week. We'll spend tomorrow and Monday in Rishikesh (a city an hour drive from Dehra Dun). Our friends run two schools and a church.
From there, we'll go to Bareth - a little village in the mountains we've visited twice in the past. We thought we couldn't go because it is monsoon time but it seems we'll venture out there. Please pray for safety as rain can cause lots of problems and make things a little unsafe.
In Bareth there is a child development centre that Agape runs - through the organisation Compassion (through whom we sponsor Kunal). We hope to sponsor a child from this project - which is exciting! We'll get to meet our child before we even start sponsoring them!
We will be back in Dehra Dun by Thursday and then spend a few days here. We'll go visit the Presbyterian Bible College. And we'll also be tourists for once - to spend a day in Missorie - a famous town in the mountains. And maybe also to the forestry Institute where Lyd's great grandfather worked before he died.
Not sure how much we will be able to post while we're in Bareth but we'll try give an update when we are back. Love to you all!
From there, we'll go to Bareth - a little village in the mountains we've visited twice in the past. We thought we couldn't go because it is monsoon time but it seems we'll venture out there. Please pray for safety as rain can cause lots of problems and make things a little unsafe.
In Bareth there is a child development centre that Agape runs - through the organisation Compassion (through whom we sponsor Kunal). We hope to sponsor a child from this project - which is exciting! We'll get to meet our child before we even start sponsoring them!
We will be back in Dehra Dun by Thursday and then spend a few days here. We'll go visit the Presbyterian Bible College. And we'll also be tourists for once - to spend a day in Missorie - a famous town in the mountains. And maybe also to the forestry Institute where Lyd's great grandfather worked before he died.
Not sure how much we will be able to post while we're in Bareth but we'll try give an update when we are back. Love to you all!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Introducing the Bhandari family
In the following blog entries we'll be referring to different members of the Bhandari family - our very dear Indian friends here in Dehra Dun. We first meet them in 2005 when we came to India with a team for three weeks. It is a long story how we came to be in contact with them, a story that begins back in 1953, and a story for another time...
But for now, the Bhandari family:
Rev. Vachan (pronounced: 'watch-an') Bhandari is the father. We call him Papa. Firoza is the mother. We call her Mommy.
They have three married sons, Bikku, Babu, and Pandit (that is what they are known by, rather than their offical names: Vikram, Vikrant, and Vidush). They are 3-4 years older than us. There are also 5 grandchildren.
This family is the main reason we came to love India. We love them dearly. Our reunion with them this afternoon after our train trip from Gorakhpur was very sweet. It is like we never left (Babu actually 'rebuked' us for the length of time between our visits!!!)
But for now, the Bhandari family:
Rev. Vachan (pronounced: 'watch-an') Bhandari is the father. We call him Papa. Firoza is the mother. We call her Mommy.
They have three married sons, Bikku, Babu, and Pandit (that is what they are known by, rather than their offical names: Vikram, Vikrant, and Vidush). They are 3-4 years older than us. There are also 5 grandchildren.
This family is the main reason we came to love India. We love them dearly. Our reunion with them this afternoon after our train trip from Gorakhpur was very sweet. It is like we never left (Babu actually 'rebuked' us for the length of time between our visits!!!)
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