Thankyou for all your prayers and support...we're not sure our trip could have gone much better really! There were so many prayers answered and the whole experience was such a dream come true and has really encouraged us to keep stepping out in faith in the things we feel God calling us to, (even if we're not sure we can afford it! :) )
God was really with us every step of the way. Our first night was spent in a budget hotel with a tiny rickety wooden lift, a 'Mickey Mouse' mattress, dirty sheets and a small woollen bedcover not quite big enough for the both of us. However, outside was the dark early hours of India, and we had this real sense that God was with of us, a sense of 'pilgrimage' and being taken out of our comfort zones into a place where we will quite possibly hear Gods' voice clearer than ever before!
We didn't sleep too well in the heat, and were woken up by the huge sound of traditional Indian music being blasted, (from somewhere?) echoing throughout our hotel. It was somehow both annoying and yet truly magical and wonderful at the same time!:) I got up and looked out of our hotel window and below and above I saw the busy streets of Chennai bursting with colour and life to an Indian soundtrack. Women carrying barrels on their heads, men in sarongs hammering away on rooftops, autorickshaws beeping past, a man dancing in the street, beautiful sari dresses soaring by on motorbikes.
We spent the next two nights settling in at a beautiful beach resort...our first holiday in a hot climate!
RECORDING...We then returned to the city where I spent the next two days recording traditional classical musicians in a studio run by two guys, Timmy & Sean.
This was a real dream come true and at times I couldn't believe it was actually happenening! Can't wait for you to hear it when its all finished!
PROJECTS....For the rest of the time we were driven around Chennai to 'minister' to various projects linked in with the church out there.
Each place we visited we told them that there were people in London (you guys) praying for them and this deeply encouraged them! So please pray for these places!!
ARUWE - whose motto is... 'To Live Is To Love'.
We met the 2 women who set up this project after they finised their degree in social work, and were amazed at their strength, courage and love for the people they passionately care for. The project looks after local destitute elderly women, who have been left by their families, single mothers, women who are abused by their husbands and feed and care for 130 slum children. It was a pleasure meeting them all, and it was clear that Jesus lived and breathed in this place of calm, peace and at times, real joy.
Please pray:
They have very limited funds to keep this vital project going (they do not receive money from the government etc) and at times the staff have gone for months without pay. Pray for God's provision over this place and for all the people there.
As well as this, they need a new building to house the women and children - there are dangerous iron spikes sticking out of the wall and the roof is made of asbestos, which is dangerous, especially in the summer when heat becomes unbearble and the women and childen can't shelter in that room - they sleep on the roof below.
COLLEGE ASSEMBLEY -
To stand in this college at see over 200 students looking at me as I was sharing my testimony was rather alarming, but also a great experience as it was clear there is a hunger for God's truth and love in these young people's lives. JOn and I were really nervous about this part of the trip, as we didn't really know what was expected of us - we just did what we thought best and God did the rest! I was amazed to see some of the girls eyes were filling with tears as I shared how God healed me from a binding pain in my teen years and learnt how to love myself through Him - and they are all from families of different faith = Hindus, Muslims etc. But I guess this was something they all could relate to.
We later found out that a pastor in that area has been leading 5 assemblies a day in schools across the city - sharing Jesus' love and truth with them all! This is amazing, as most of the schools contain non-christian students...last year the pastor and his church set up a prayer event for students before their exams - and 10,000 turned up! We saw a short film clip of this event, and saw thousands of students coming forward for prayer, tears running down their faces - again, there is a real hunger for God out there, and is starting to spiral out of control!
Please Pray:
This pastor (Gabriel) is desperate for more volunteers to help out with the growing 'demand' to go into schools, and he is building a 'Hope Centre' for all christian students, who will most probably have to keep their faith a secret from their families due to strong Hindu beliefs and will not have the support to help them grow in their faith. The centre will have counselling rooms, a library, a prayer room, accomodation, a multi-media room etc and he asked for prayer that it will be ready in time for June 2008 and for more workers!
The principal of the college JOn and I lead the assembly in, is a christian and set up the college off his own back, which is now very successful and helping young people who would not have had an opportunity for higher education before. He is building a full-on chapel in the grounds of the college, where we had the opportunity to pray around - again, he has many visions for this building and hopes that it will be ready by June 2008.
Please pray:
For all of the above! For the Principal and paster Gabriel, for the students who have found Jesus, for the students who are looking for him and for strength for those involved in this whole project - the threat of persecution is ever present...
CHURCH IN THE SLUM -
Getting out of the car, I could hear women and children's voices singing with passion from a room above, a drum beating and a tamborine tingling...walking into a small room that was filled with God's presence was overwhelming and very humbling. Again, the passion for Jesus could be clearly seen in the women's eyes as they sang to Him, their children crawling around or clapping, or just gazing up at us in wonder at our strnge faces. We had a translator with us, but at times, especially when we prayed together, we didn't need translation as it felt like we were all crying out in the same voice...We shared what we felt God wanted to say, mainly to encourage their amazing work and faith and found out that the women have been praying for a bigger space/room to worship/pray in, and invite the rest of their community to share their faith with them. PLEASE JOIN THEM IN PRAYER FOR THIS.
They love the lost with astounding strength - loving those who persecute them (for example, most of the husbands are hostile to their faith and are at times beaten)and simply loving their neighbours. We were asked to pray for 2 men in other rooms in the slum who were suffering from injuries - one of them has clearly demonstrated his anger against the women's growing faith...please pray for this man's healing (a trapped nerve in hisright leg) and for the other man - pain/deafness in one ear.
Please pray for this beautiufl church, for the men, women and children - for protection, for God's provision, a safer, cleaner environment to live in and for their church to grow beyond their wildest dreams...
I also performed to about 200-300 at an event called Crossroads, where I was able to air the songs I had been recording earlier that week to an Indian audience.
We then led worship and gave a talk at Powerhouse church http://www.powerhousechurch.org/
We shared about our community (you guys!) and a bit about what the Kingdom of God meant to us, leading into the song...Let Your Kingdom Come! It went really well, though I must admit we feel quite convicted about what we shared now, having been so well looked after out there, so humbled by the churches' hospitality and outreach to the poor!
The trip as a whole felt like an introduction to us, of places and people we are praying we will visit again and be able to give ourselves to more, having a bigger picture now of what each of the projects are about. This is a place God has really put on our hearts, and already we can't wait to go back!
