Another Team Member's Blog

Be sure to read Leigh Ann's blog for more perspective on our trip.
WWW.Leighannswords.blogspot.com
There are plenty of photos on her blog, so you will get a much better idea of the stories we are sharing with you.

Window of The Soul

As we visited one of the outreach centers on Friday we were allowed a glimpse into a ladies soul thorugh her eyes. Those eyes I can not forget. After we finished a service , a lady was brought to us for prayer of healing. Her son had been born blind and she was also a widow, she desperately sought God and his healing touch. We layed on hands and prayed for her and her son. I caught a glimpse of her as we prayed. She was wringing her hands and her eyes were frantically scanning for any sign of her son's restored sight.God did not chose to perform a miraculous healing, at least not instantly. One of the pastors explained to her that God works through many ways. He told her maybe healing would be through an eye donor, a miracle, or other means. She was very grateful for our prayers and concern, yet those haunting eyes.......they showed a soul desperate for God and for His intervention.Looking into her eyes, i could see a troubled soul. The thought hit me, aren't we all like this lady? We long for God and for that moment when we connect with Him. It was so obvious as to why we were here. When people have seen us they immediately know we are in India to represent God. They come to see us knowing we can help show them more how to connect with God.I'm not saying that to brag, instead more out of shame. How many of us really expected the boy to be healed instantly? Were we just being courteous and hoping God would work, or did we really expect a miracle? I can't speak for any other team member, however I have asked myself these questions many times. Just this one encounter has led me to many self inspecting questions.We are here to offer hope and love through God's word and our own stories of how God has worked in our lives. My prayer is that we can let everyone see God and not see us.One thought I had about the prayer for the 8 year old blind boy. Had God chosen to heal him on the spot, who would have the glory gone to? Would the lady have thought we healed him or would she have known it was God and NOT us?? God knows what is best and He will chose to work in whatever way best brings glory to Him, as it should be. I pray we NEVER take credit for anything God has done.

Palm Trees, Cotton Fields, and Rice Patties

These are not the sights I expected to see in India. Some of the fields actually have cotton, palm trees, and rice patties. That is so surreal to see. Just for an update, we didn't resort to eating the rat and it appears he has been removed from the building ;)

We saw some amazing people yesterday in the villages. Many had physical needs as well as spiritual needs. Seems they all wnated to see us, shake our hands, or talk with us.
A lady came up to Laura for prayer and quickly a line formed behind her. The people were prayed for without a translator being used, however it was enough for them to knnow God understood what was being said.

Some of the villages we drove through and visited were very poor rural areas. The people we saw were very busy and hard at work. It's been interesting and eye opening to see. There are many people here, very crowded and very busy streets.

Yesterday, Leigh Ann and Nelson shared at two of the churches and it was amzing how the people hung on to each word spoken. The last outreach center or village church we stopped at met in a hut that looked as if it should be on Gilligan's Island. That was a very cool experince. I have enjoyed getting to visit among the people on their turf and seeing what their lives are really like.

We are leaving now for another day of long travel and visiting at many villages. Hope to have some time tonight to update a little more on what we have seen and experienced.

Dinner and Rats

Four of us are sitting in the conference watching a cute little rat run across the floor. We are waiting for our food to arrive and I guess our little friend is too ;) You know, if the food is not here soon , Mr rat looks quite tasty!

Today was a very busy and interesting day. We left this morning at 7:30am and are just now returning, it's 8:37pm We spent the day visiting villages. The fun part of the day was experiencing the India NASCAR experience as we traveled. Yes, I do have video LOL
Seriously , we did see our first incidents on the road. A guy was knocked off his scooter by a rickshaw started a fist fight in the street. Later we saw a huge crowd of people standing around a person that had been hit by the side of the road.

I'll try to update more on what we saw and learned today. The food is here and I'm straving!! LOL

Down to Business

This will be short. We will be leaving in a few minutes to visit one of our first villages. This is a village that has one of the outreach centers. We are not exactly sure of what we will encounter, so we are flexible LOL I need to run to breakfeast, will update more on this and last night's dinner when we return.

The Eagle Has Landed

We finally made it after 26 hours of travel and some late flights. We checked into our hotel rooms around 2:00am Wednesday morning after a royal greeting from Sarah's brother David and some members of Baptist Church Hyderabad. Around 4:00am we attempted to get some sleep. However, sleep did not easily come for any of us. I finally drifted off around 8am and was up at 9:15am None of the team slept very much. We had a meeting at 11am and then we were off to meet with Pastor Samuel and his family at the church.

Traffic here is entertaining. Driving is a favorite sport of most people. Think of New York City traffic on steroids LOL it's wild, most people either drive rickshaws, motorcycles, or bicycles. There are plenty of cars and buses to throw into the mix. I'm looking out the window right now as I type watching people almost get ran over, it's entertaining to say the least! ;-)

We also went to get some supplies for the lunches we will be packing a few days this week. We had a few meetings planned for tonight, then we will have dinner with the executive team from Baptist Church Hyderabad. After dinner I am sure we will be heading straight for bed. Tomorrow should be an early day that is very full.

I'll make as many updates as I can.

Zero Hour

Hey, Do you think I should begin packing? We have to be at the airport in 2 1/2 hours lol
Actually, I have packed and I'll be heading out in a couple of hours for BNA(Nashville Airport). It'll take us about 23 hours to actually be in Hyderabad. We leave Nashville then connect in DC , have a slight layover in Frankfurt, Germany then it's onto Hyderabad, India. Local time will be 12:20am Wednesday morning (they are 11 1/2 hrs ahead) so a few hours sleep , then off to the races lol

Alright, need to get a few last minute things taken care of before I leave.

Official India Team Blog Site

Just letting you know you can read post from other team members at our team blog site which is located at www.2008BBCIndia.blogspot.com
Enjoy the reading :)

Just So You Will Know

During the India Adventure there may be other team members using this blog to post their accounts of our trip. I'm not sure if they will be able to post under their own names or if they will use my account and just sign their name at the end of the post. Be sure to check to see which of your favorite team members gives you the latest updates ;-)

Roger

Flexibility: The Battle Begins

Well, you guessed it.....the little stick-man (Satan) has reared his ugly head. He's making attempts to disrupt our team before we even leave. The team learned a few nights ago that an integral member of our team will not be traveling with us. Seems Sarah , the daughter of the pastor we will work with, has a problem with her visa. This is sad because of all the work that she has put forth to help make this trip happen and to make sure we are at ease in India. She and the team feel she has made the right decision and that God has other plans that require her not to be on the trip this time.

The same night we also learn that Jeremy has been sick and battling a bug, while in Texas. Hopefully he is feeling better now and will not be miserable on the flights over. Anyway, it's obvious the spiritual warfare has already begun.

Wow, this trip is 2 1/2 days away, unreal ! It seems we have been meeting together as a team forever. We have gelled well as a team thus far. I think this is a perfect number of people for this type of trip and it's amazing the collection of personality types and spiritual gifts that are represented. It would have been difficult to hand pick a more well rounded team. It's definitely a God thing.

We are all sad Sarah will not be able to join us, however she is still an important member of this team. She has worked so hard for us and now it's up to us to carry on this phase of her kingdom goal. Actually, I think this will help us to work even harder to do all we can to help her father's congregation and the villages we will be visiting.

I learned afterwork tonight , that 3 of us guys will be doing a reenactment of scouting out the promised land for an audience of 400 children, yes costumes and all. This is beginning to seem more like Moldova everyday LOL

Saturday is my final day of work, then it's time for last minute supplies and packing.
I'm so excited about this opportunity and think this will be a wonderful experience!!!

Namaste ( Hello and Goodbye in Hindi)

The Countdown Begins

Wow, I can't believe that in eight days I will depart for India. After three months of study and meetings it is almost here. This will be the inaugural BBC trip to India. Seems I always wind up doing the inaugural trips. New York, South Africa, Gulf Port, and now India.

This trip will provide many unknowns. We really do not know exactly what role we will be playing. The main thing is flexibility. If my count is correct this will be my sixth country to visit. We will be connecting in Germany, so my second trip there. I believe I have been to Moldova 4 times, it may be 5. Yes, the ol passport is getting quite the workout.

Monday and Thursday will be spent shopping and last minute preparations for this trip.
I should have many photos and maybe video clips for MySpace and facebook.

Speaking of video, I still plan to work on some footage for the story/miracle project I plan to produce. Although the original plan has now changed, I realize it still is a great idea and must be followed through , just unsure of what form.

More to follow....hopefully a day by day account will be posted of the trip.