Kitchen Dancin' and Book Quotin'

So I've become a little too uptight lately...maybe burned out, maybe stressed out, maybe thinking too much...maybe ALL OF THE ABOVE!  I'm gonna go with D.

Sometimes you just have to let loose.  I haven't been able to be by myself a lot lately, but this evening I had the house to myself for a few hours.  So after I worked on a Chemistry lesson plan, I did the dishes (this is letting loose for me...I know, weird) then danced in the kitchen to a Brooke Fraser song called "Jack Kerouac"  I imagined I was in the middle of a big dance floor wearing a beautiful, flow-y dress.  Of course there was a live band :)  Jolly times of not being self conscious.

What helps you loosen up?  

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On a different note...

I am an active reader, meaning I can never read a book without pen in hand.  Underlining and writing in the margins characterizes my books.  That's why it is extremely difficult for me to read other people's books.  I'm afraid I'll forget something because I can't underline, etc.

In order to further ingrain the serious truths or funny/silly/jolly lines I read in books, I compile the things I've underlined (which can end up being quite a lot) in my book of quotes.  So far in this particular little red moleskin, the books I've written from are:

*So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore? (Jake Colsen)

*A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (Donald Miller)

*Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire (Rafe Esquith)

*Jesus for President (Shane Claiborne)

I just finished the last book...it only took me 2 months.  That's ridiculous.  I want to be a more dedicated reader, but I just get so distracted sometimes.

My next read:  The Hobbit

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ps - there are ants EVERYWHERE.  they are currently crawling on my computer, my bed, the wall, and even me (i have bites to prove it, as well as the many bodies i've murdered).  i loathe these creatures. 

Pitchas from the Past Few Days

Sweet baby Esther...this was after house church on Sunday.  Chingmi was being a good big brother and toting her around on his back, acting like a horse.  She's the most fun little Indian child.

Pete showing off his new, Indian-made suit.  One of his national partners gave him the material for a wedding present.  Pete's getting married in January (after serving as a journeyman in India for 2 years) and will probably wear this nice grey suit to the rehearsal dinner.  Pretty schnazzy!

Since Jeff and Trish are both gone (Jeff at language school but now with Trish in Delhi, where she's having tests done), me and V have had lots and lots of parties :)  Just kidding!  However, we have had lots of fun.  On Monday night Adam came over to help make a Southern dinner.  Yes, Victoria's crazy in this pic, as usual.

Barbeque chicken, fried okra (next time we'll use a little less breading) and cinnamon carrots.  And a pumpkin in the background.  Jolly.

Tuesday night's sunset - a beautiful end to a surprisingly hot October day (about 101 degrees)

The fruit stands at Darjeeling More (the intersection close to our house) - what's in season, you ask?  Good ole Apples and Bananas...oh, and Pomegranates!  But they're pretty expensive so we don't buy them often

The Puja holidays have officially started and these kinds of "pandels" (places to house their gods) are everywhere, big and small.  I'll post more pics later.

Most Hindu's don't even realize what they are worshipping or why they are worshipping (besides to try and keep evil/curses from their house).  Pray that people would have eyes to see and ears to hear the gospel, and that the believers here would share with boldness the good news of Jesus.

Who is my neighbor?

Sunjeet Tamoung

My friend recently told me about this sermon:
http://www.2pc.org/resources/audio/




So I started praying.  God, how can I be a neighbor to the neighborless?  Please give me that opportunity and show me what to do.

Well, God never disappoints, and He does things in the least expected ways and times.

I was in Gangtok, Sikkim this weekend (hill station in northeast India) with some friends for a mini-vacation.  On Sunday, my friend Brittany and I and a Nepali teenager (Priyanka) went to the market to roam around.  We stopped for ice cream and sat down, when a homeless man came up to us to ask for money.  Brittany and I both had the same thought, "He's just asking us b/c we're white."  I told Priyanka to ask him if we could buy him medicine (he said he'd been to the hospital) or food, but he said no.  Then he said he wanted some ginger tea.

So we went to a nice coffee shop and bought the man a cup of tea.  We started asking him questions like, "Did you grow up in Sikkim?"  "Where is your family?"  "How were you injured?"  "What do you believe in?"

And we found out (thanks to our 16-year-old Nepali translator) that Sunjit Tamoung has lived in Gangtok all his life and was in a car accident last year, when his wife and son died.  His daughter and son-in-law (a pastor) live in Gangtok but ran him out of their house (admittedly, I don't know the whole story...a lot can get lost in translation, but it definitely made me question what had happened for them not to take care of him).

We were shocked when he told us he believes in Jesus and wanted to find a church.  He basically told us the gospel, including John 3:16 (he's read a lot of the Bible, given to him by a man in Darjeeling) and how much God loves him.  He said that Jesus spoke to him in a dream when he was still a Buddhist, telling him to follow Him.  So he's been praying for a church to go to.

He didn't realize we were believers until I said, "Jay-ma-see" (Hindi for "Praise the LORD"...Christian greeting) and his eyes got wide and he started crying.  It was like we were God's messengers.  He couldn't stop looking up and thanking God.  When we asked if was a believer, he pounded his chest and raised his hand to the sky and said, "I would die for Jesus."  Wow!  Well, there ya go!

Another sweet moment in that coffee shop (while waiting for a Nepali pastor) was when he started singing a Christian Nepali worship song.  He didn't know all the words, so Priyanka started singing it with him.  He was SO HAPPY!  It was such a jolly time of praise, thanksgiving, and laughter with God's family.

People with no neighbors.

Jesus saw those with no neighbors, like sheep without a shepherd.  So the God of the universe came to the earth to be a neighbor to the neighborless.  As Christians (little Christs), we're called to do the same.  Be neighbors to people with no neighbors. (see Luke 10 and Proverbs 19...the word "friend" is literally "neighbor")

I didn't mention this at the beginning, but the day we met Sunjeet I was having a horrible attitude b/c my "vacation" was not going as I had pictured.  I wished Priyanka was not with Brittany and I because she was getting on my nerves.  But we wouldn't have been able to speak to Sunjeet, find out about his life, connect him with a Nepali pastor, and help with a few days of his hotel and food if she hadn't been with us to translate.

I say that because God doesn't use perfect people.  He uses sinners, screw-ups, the least likely.  It's crazy.  It's ridiculous.  It's kinda dumb...to us humans.  But you see, God gets more glory like that.  If we were perfect, it would all be attributed to us.  When we love our neighbor as ourself, we reflect our Savior Jesus, who was merciful and compassionate and gave His life for the neighborless.

Who's your neighbor?  I encourage you to just start praying for God to show you and lead you to act when He does show you.

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!"