Siliguri Young Life

Last Thursday I met with a Nepali pastor in our city: Enos Simick.  He is one of the jolliest people I know (although you might not be able to tell from the picture. haha!) and is so genuine and passionate about Jesus.

I met with him to cast the vision of Young Life and its mission to reach high school kids by going where kids are...cricket fields, neighborhoods, high schools, etc.  Earning the right to be heard, to tell them the greatest news they could ever hear.

I had been praying for Siliguri YL for the past 5 months, with Enos on my heart as a potential leader.  I was a little nervous about the meeting because this kind of "incarnational" youth ministry (older people humbling themselves to become friends with high school kids) is RADICAL for a place like India...or anywhere really.  But I felt confident that God had called me to share and knew He would give me the words.

Even before I began to tell him about YL, he was telling me all about different youth who were inspiring to him and who God had allowed him to mentor and form relationships with.  They call him and text him and joke around with him.  Wow!  I was immediately put at ease, with the confidence that God had gone before me to prepare Enos' heart.

I shared this video:

In the World of Kids

And told him about Jim Rayburn, the founder of YL, and leaders in Nashville who are loving kids for Jesus...like Ross Barnes (youth pastor) and Wendy Kerr (a doctor)...

I also told him what India YL looks like and how, honestly, it's not much different from the US...because kids are kids everywhere you go.  Maybe songs in a different language or eating dinner with a kids' entire family instead of just them (b/c of the cultural importance of the family).  But ultimately, kids have the same hopes and needs and desires.

Then I told him my vision for Siliguri YL over the next 5 years:

*Oct - May: Meet with potential leaders and share what I shared with Enos

*May 2011: Vision casting meeting with representatives from different churches who are passionate about youth coming to Christ

*June or July 2011: More formal training about Young Life - leaders from Bangalore (south India) and US would help

*August - December 2011: Have at least 10 committed leaders who are assigned to local high schools going out and building relationships with students

*December 2011: First YL club in Siliguri
*By 2015: 3 clubs in Siliguri area

Finally, I asked him (an extremely busy and important pastor) a crazy question...

Enos, will you pray about being a Young Life leader?

Will you leave your rightful place and meet kids where they are?  Will you be an example to other leaders?

It was like he was already on board, though, saying things like, "This is the time."  He said he knows so many college students who are ready to share their faith; they just need the opportunity and direction to do it.  He prayed at the end of our time and asked that this seed would grow and that God would continue to reveal things to us about this ministry in Siliguri.  Will you pray with us?

*For open doors into high schools.

*For God to connect me to potential leaders.

*For softened hearts for lost teenagers in Siliguri.

May Buckri Whoo!!!

I AM A SHEEP!!!!!!
(In Hindi, literally, "I am a goat!"  This makes more sense to them because many of their families own goats.  Not many people here have sheep)

Imagine 10 Indian children screaming this in Hindi as loud as they can, in a small shack by the river.  You can only imagine the crowd they drew.  I saw almost every neighbor in the village peeking out of their house to see what was going on.

These children were hearing the gospel.

That God had come to rescue them, to save them.  Because we are lost sheep and God leaves the 99 to look for the one who is lost.

There was so much jolly laughter when Sophie (the woman I go with to share) picked up one of the little boys as if he were the lost goat she had found.  They laughed so hard.  And when we were leaving, they waved goodbye and I said, "Bye Buckri's!"  They laughter just couldn't stop.  That is the kind of joy our Father has when his little sheep are "found."

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent." (Luke 15:7)

A Day in the Life...

A lot of people ask me what a normal day is like for me here in India.  Well, I'm warning you, it's not very exciting and doesn't vary much.  But here goes...at least for today...

7 am - wake up, take a cold shower to stop sweating (even if only briefly)

7:30 - read the Word, read a book, check email, eat breakfast - not always in that particularly order

9 am - start school - this means talking to Victoria for about 30-45 minutes to "help her wake up" - she claims it helps her get going.  we drink tea around 9:30...that kinda helps the process but sometimes she has lots to say :)  i share a short passage of Scripture and we pray together.

9:30 am - Menuka comes and says, "Which one?"  This means, What kind of tea...green, red, or milk tea?  I usually choose green and Victoria usually says, "I don't care"...although I remind her she would care if Menuka brought her green tea :)  I think I'm the only person in india who drinks green tea.

10 am - i check her math and other notes while she writes a short journal

10:30 am - we go over all the math problems she got wrong and then go over the next lesson (lately we've been doing 2 lessons a day, though, so it takes longer)

1 pm - lunch...rice, dahl, and Nepali-style vegetables

2 pm - usually a Worldview (her philosophy, literature, history, religion subject) discussion that lasts an hour...sometimes Chemistry discussion (usually only twice a week)

3-4 pm - lesson planning for the following week

4 pm - frisbee or soccer...today it was frisbee with Victoria, Kari, and Trish :)  so jolly.



4:30 pm - went to share the Zacchaeus story with a family I've been praying for...I met the little girl, Nedu, on an auto ride to our village.  my friend Sophie went with me to translate.  we're gonna try to go once a week to share a story about Jesus with them.  please pray for this family, especially during this time - for the next month there are Hindu festivals where they worship different things each day/week.  pray that Jesus would reveal that He is the only one worthy of worship.

5:30 pm - work out (elliptical) while listening to David Platt's new book Radical - would DEFINITELY recommend it!

6:30 pm - cool off while watching Hannah and "Aunty" Trish scare each other (they took turns).  hilarious.

7 pm - dinner...fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn

7:30-9:30 - lesson planning.  woohoo!

11 - turn the fan on and hit the sack!

***more pics to come***

What's the Purpose of School? Completion, Grades or Understanding?

Every public/private school system would want with all their being for the purpose of school to be understanding.  And yet, for whatever reason - efficiency, money, student-teacher ratio - the purpose of school has become simply completion and grades.

I think at the heart of the "No Child Left Behind" was this frightening realization: that we are creating robots out of our kids and not learners.  However, the government and school systems just couldn't practically carry out our belief that understanding is more important than grades and simply getting it done - however good or bad the work is.

To understand or NOT to understand!  That is the QUESTION!!!

Today Victoria and I had a discussion on the book The Plague (by Albert Camus - 1947).  Awesome book!  Reveals so much about nihilism, existentialism and the human need for hope and meaning in a fallen world.

Yet, as I kept asking questions about the basic subplots of the characters, it seemed that she hadn't read the book.  Now, I'm not her judge and can't say with 100% confidence that she didn't read the book.  However, the evidence just didn't add up.  So I asked her mom to come in and facilitate the conversation a little more.  This led to more frustration, reinforcement that she needs to take initiative if she doesn't understand something, and ultimately that her comprehension is much more important than completion of an essay, which she could undoubtedly BS.

I'm all too familiar with BS-ing schoolwork.  And I don't want to pass that on to Victoria.  I want to engrain in her the importance of comprehension, the satisfaction of discovering truth in a novel, and ultimately of doing things with excellence, as to the LORD and not to men.

SO, all that to say, I've decided to make her read the book again and summarize each part (5 parts in all). I'll let you know how all this plays out.  Hopefully in the long run it will give the desired effects.  For now, we gotta get down to the dirty work.

(drink in hand)..."here's to you, school!  you WILL be conquered!"

Good Friends and Pizza

These are a few of my American friends who live in Siliguri...Nick and Emily Whistance and Pete.  As you can see we're all about the same age and living through lots of the same things here in India.  Trying to live as "bideshi's" (foreigners) and share the love of Christ.  Last night was a sweet night of sharing the joys, sufferings, and fears of living here.  I'm grateful for this particular part of my community because we are in similar stages of life (although Nick and Emily are married and Pete is engaged).  And we have a unified vision of wanting to see Indians come to know Jesus, whether that be through church planting or building relationships with college kids and sharing Jesus.  We all desire that God's kingdom would be made known to others, that they'd know there's a different way of living and profound meaning to life other than materialism, being "happy," or self-gratifying/self-seeking love.

As we sat drinking coffee and then eating Domino's Pizza (I know, such a luxury here!) and then praying together, I was so thankful for people to share life with.  They spur me on to keep going, toward "love and good deeds." (Hebrews 10)

"Community is the way that God confronts and redeems our desire to give up." 

(Pastor Pete from Crosspoint Community Church)

LINKS! Pics, Wards, Commonwealth Games

Here's some pics as of the past month...I need to start taking better pictures, but it's hard because I don't want to be like a tourist.

http://picasaweb.google.com/moogsmullet/BackInIndia?authkey=Gv1sRgCOPU_trUq-rmMQ&feat=directlink

Here is the Wards (Jeff, Trish, and Victoria) Blog:

http://wardswordsindia.blogspot.com/

What's going on in India?  The Commonwealth Games are supposedly going to be held in Delhi in October...we'll see if that actually happens:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11101288

Earaches and Frustrations

I finally went to an Indian doctor and got ear drops and antibiotics for my ear ache

Living in a foreign country is difficult:

I know the past month this frustration has been elevated particularly because I just got back from the US and I have also had an ear infection and cold the past week.  However, Satan uses being a foreigner in many ways, including fear.  Something as simple as fear of going out to the market or to talk to someone because we can't speak the same language or they might not fully understand my Hindi or we don't have anything to talk about.

Another recent frustration:

I am so tempted to be complacent because sometimes I think that nothing I'm doing really matters (maybe we all feel that way sometimes). I've noticed that when I'm not doing something well or I'm putting it on the backburner, it means I have come to believe that it doesn't matter.  This past week God gave me a reality check on many aspects of my life - from teaching Victoria to relationships with Indians.  I hate half-assing my life...pardon the language. Not because I want to please other people, but because it means that somewhere along the way I've come to believe the lie that "it" doesn't matter.

Victoria matters. Jeff and Trish being confident that their daughter is learning matters.  My friend Chhokey, who isn't a Christian, matters. My friend Munnu, who is a Christian, matters.  Indians knowing Jesus matters.

Your story tells everything about you...your materials, actions, and words.  I want to live my life like I really believe those things matter.