Sunday afternoon the rain began. It rained all night and most of Monday. It was gloomy in H… We talked last night with Pastor W, his wife and daughter. They came by the hotel to visit andn see if everything was okay with us. They loaned us an umberella too. This morning we walked to the church in the rain. At 10:00 am, there was only one pastor present for the meetings. We waited and talked and drank chai. By 11:00 we started with four men and about six women. Gradually more pastors and more women came. The women were all church members as were a couple of men. Pastor W. said the rain was keeping the pastors from coming to the meeting. By 1:00 we had eight pastors, a couple of more men, and about 10 women.
I began the teaching with Rajish translating for me. The rain noise was amplified by the hard surfaces of the church building interior and the open windows. At least the rain kept things cool. Our lunch consisted of rice, egg curry, and cucumber slices with some flavored oil on them. It was pretty good if you like curry and cucumbers. It was filling. The afternoon session was better with a bigger crowd. The pastor says we will have a larger crowd tomorrow. We’ll see.
When the afternoon session ended, we were taken by the pastor, his wife and daughter to see a nature preserve where various wild animals may be observed- animals like elephants, leopards, and lions. However, the park was closed due to much rain that has been falling. So, we went to the locks on the Ganga (Ganges) River. The river is at flood stage and is a raging torrent with all kinds of debris flowing- logs, brush, gas cylinders, trash, and a lot of mud. It was a powerful site to see. It reminded me of God’s power in nature which man can never harness or control compltely.
When we got back to our hotel, we crashed a while. We are glad the first day is over. The ice is broken. We have had some good moments of connecting with the people. I recognize the pastors from last year. We have a sense God is working.
E3 Global Teams 