Team India

Winding Down...

2010-01-23T03:01:00.000-08:00

Today as I write this we have just completed our last day of classes at St Paul's Lutheran School. The kids are so very enthusiastic and we've had a wonderful time teaching them bible stories and songs such as: The Hippo Song, Awesome God, Read your Bible, and their favorite Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah-try singing that at the top of your lungs! Quite the experience to say the least! In the afternoon some of us have gone to the school to play cricket with the students. On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday we have Gospel meetings in the evening and on Tuesday we will be having a farewell service at the school and then we will be going swimming in the Bay of Bengal. Then on Wednesday we will be travelling down to Chennai on the train and leaving on Thursday in the wee hours of the morn.
We have been amazed at how hard they all work. Some of the grade tens will work from 9:30 till 5:30 on their school work, then in the evening they have study time at the school, not to mention all the time they spend at home. The construction workers across from where we are staying carry cement on their heads for hours on end as well. It seems that heads are the choice mode of transporting materials, whether it is straw, wood, bricks, or produce for the market. Another thing we noticed is that at the Gospel meetings the people are so much more thirsty for the Word. The meetings can go on for many hours and they are just content to sit on the ground listening, the kids are especially surprising. They will sit there the whole time without one ounce of complaining and when they get tired they simply lay down and fall asleep under their shawls.
Well, our time in India is drawing to a close and we as a team, are so thankful for everything God, has shown us and the people we have been blessed through. I do not think we are going to soon forget the amazing people we have met here and the amazing things God has shown to us. Everyone of us will come back a changed person from this trip. There is not a single person that has not had some part of themselves changed. We have all learned something and we praise God for that.
Elizabeth

It's about time!

2010-01-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

Hello World! It’s been a while since we last blogged, for which I’m very sorry, but things have been pretty busy over here and the internet’s been fussy. Curtis, Haley, Elizabeth, and I, along with Joel Stromberg, Heidi Pinno and her father Al Pinno have been here in India for a week and a half now. Past our half way point!

Here’s a taste of India, as we see it….. cement buildings, motorcycles, stray dogs, hot and humid, dirt, garbage, bicycles, small roads, cows wandering town, three-wheeled cars, palm trees, dark skin and white smiles, goat herds, rice and curry, grapes, bright and sparkling clothing, ‘everybody’s got a water buffalo’, rice paddies, cow driven carts, stick fences, palm branch roofs, chickens, LOUD music, people everywhere! We’d describe the atmosphere here as laid back yet busy. People are always on the go!

The hospitality in India is overwhelming! We had been staying under the care of Dr. Anand and his family in Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Anand works there giving preventative medicine for pregnant and lactating mothers and children. Praise God for Dr. Anand and his nephew Joseph without whom, we’d be geographically and linguistically lost. We do a lot of travelling, which we’re finding to be very different from Canadian driving. It’s said that ‘All you need to drive in India is a loud horn and good breaks!’ and O’ how true we’ve found that to be! A drive which would take us 3 hours to make on a Canadian road, took us close to 9 hours! Talk about exhaustive driving.

This past week and a half, we have 1 to 3 different meetings to attend; ICDS meetings, gospel meetings, church services, etc. We share songs, and one or two of us will share our testimony (through a translator). We have each shared at least two times.

We arrived in Chirala today. We’ve had a relaxing afternoon and have a gospel meeting tonight. Tomorrow we start teaching at St. Paul’s Lutheran School. We teach in the mornings and in the evenings there are gospel meetings to attend. We are all excited to spend time with the kids!

Praise God none of us have gotten too sick! We are enjoying the food and are already eating Indian style…. Just hands!

A couple days ago we got to swim in the Indian Ocean! It was beautifully warm and us girls swam in our Punjabi’s because that’s what the women do here. We got to see an Indian Museum and have gotten a little bit of shopping in too. It’s all been a blessing and God is working in our hearts. We thank God for Pastor Al and the inspiration that he is.

Please pray for Pastor Al for continued energy and wisdom as he shares 2-4 messages each day! Also keep the Indian believers in your prayers that many would come to trust more deeply in our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for keeping us in your prayers!

Second years around the globe… WE LOVE YOU! Take heart in God’s word. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, so take risks. We’re thinking of you and praying for you!

Your sister;

Sara

WOO HOO INDIA!!!

2010-01-10T02:38:00.000-08:00

hello Canada and other English speaking persons.
Team India is now in India!! (WE WENT FORWARD IN TIME!) We left Edmonton bright and early and flew to Toronto to meet Pastor Al, Heidi and Joel. We then flew to Brussels and then Chennai. We made it safely and managed to catch all our planes. We met Elizabeth in Chennai (it was hard to miss the only white people and Elizabeth waving wildly).
The roads are crazy here! So many cars and honking and COWS!
We stayed at the YMCA hotel the first night and the next day we went out for lunch (yum!) and walked around the city. Then we caught the train to Bapatla. It was a plesant train ride. There was lots of leg room and lots to see!
We stayed at Dr. Anand's house for a couple of days and went to Bible studies that Pastor Al led in the mornings and the first day we went on a walk around the town and got to see what it was like. We went to an ICDS meeting and then a gospel meeting in the evening. Curtis gave his testimony and we sang a few songs. At the end of the Gospel meeting we prayed for the people. It was a neat experience.
The next day (9th) we had a meeting with the Salvation Army officers. Heidi gave her testimony there and we also sang some songs. It was raining in the morning which was a nice change from the heat. Then we drove 9 hours to Hyderabad (it would have taken us 3 hours in Canada). It was a long drive and we were cramped in the vehicles. But, we got there safely!
We are staying in Hyderabad for 4 days. This moring we went to a church service a 5 minute walk from our hotel. It was a long service and we sang songs again and Joel gave his testimony and Pastor Al spoke. Tonight we are going to another gospel meeting.

Please pray for energy for all of us (there are long, busy days!), that we don't get sick (so far so good!), food that Curtis can eat (lots of nuts here in India, kind of scary [not just us]), over all safety of our team and the places we are going, and courage to step out of our comfort zones.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!

love,
Haley

(Curtis is not here at the moment, but he wanted us to say that he says "India is good" (he said it in Telagu, but I don't know what it is) He is quite the popular one amongst the people here)

2010-01-04T19:25:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow we leave!!

That is crazy. Please pray for safe flights and that we will be able to find Elizabeth in the Chennai airport easily.

Thank you!

~Haley

Our Team

2009-12-10T14:05:00.001-08:00

Sara Chappell

from: Outlook, SK

excited about: working with the children

what I want God to do: reveal himself in new ways

random fact: I love basketball

Haley Christenson

from: Edmonton, AB

excited about: being with the kids and the food.

what I want God to do: to stretch me and use me and teach me new things

random fact: I love music and art

Elizabeth Engen

from: Pincher Creek, AB

excited about: seeing India and finding my purpose

what I want God to do: reveal himself to me through the people

random fact: I love the opera

Curtis "CMIDZ" Middleton

from: Edmonton, AB

excited about: meeting the people, swapping stories and learning about and embracing the culture

what I want God to do: to make me humble and rely on him for rest and spiritual discipline

random fact: I'm my younger sisters #1 cheer fan

Meatballs For Missions

2009-11-21T22:25:00.000-08:00

The CLBI Cross-cultural IMPACT Teams will host a meatball dinner Sunday November 22, 2009 from 11:00am - 2:00pm at the CLBI Dining Room.

Please come out and get a taste of what our second year students will be experiencing in January when they leave on their IMPACT trips.

A free will offering will be received at the door with all proceeds going to the cross-cultural IMPACT experiences of:

COME!!!!