In the Slums

In our second full day in the slums, we were greeted with even more kids, brought in from another nearby school. Lack of a uniform kept them from coming the first day but that false requirement was addressed and on Tuesday, the number of kids more than doubled.

As on Monday, we started the day with worship. A couple of guitars and lots of praiseful voices made for an awesome experience as we sang Kushi Kushi Manao, Hallelu Hallelu, and the kids’ favorite so far Tutti Ta. The kids were then treated to a skit about the importance of courage.

After the skit, we divided the kids into 4 groups and rotated them through games, snacks, story and craft rooms. They spent about 30 minutes in each area. The game for the day was supposed to be a sponge toss relay and for the most part that’s how it started. However, the youngest group ended up turning the relay race into an all out water fight, flinging water from the sponges at the nearest person and laughing hysterically. We worked in a game of Simon Says after awhile but even that turned into a water fight.

We left for lunch and returned to the same mall that had provided us lunch (McDonald’s) the previous day. This time we dined at Ruby Tuesday. After lunch we drove to the section of the slums that had been inaccessible the previous day because of the heavy rains. When we arrived, we were greeted by the same smiling faces of the kids at the school as they welcomed us to their homes.

I’m not even going to try to describe the conditions but instead will let the pictures speak for themselves. Please continue to pray that more and more children living in this area will be able to receive an education and be given an opportunity to improve the conditions in which they live. More importantly, pray that they will place their trust in Christ as they learn about Him in this same school.

Our amazing God!

Our God is an awesome God! He continues to show us His mighty power, so many times during each day! Today began a little tougher than the previous few....with a few team members having stomach pains and feeling nauseaous (incluidng myself!)! While driving to the slums, there were 3 of us in one car not feeling well, with one of the team members on the verge of vomitting during the drive. We immediately prayed for God's healing hands to come over us, and any other team members not feeling well, so that we could continue to do His work in the slums. An hour later, we were ALL feeling much better - God healed!

Jason went to the local pharmacy to buy some supplies, but they had a limited number of supplies. Jason was concerned because he knew it would not be enough! Well, at the end of the day, we still had extra left over! It has been amazing!

Yesterday we were able to visit the part of the slums where "our kids" (those from the school we are working at) lived, and where the water pumps were instsalled. It was amazing to see where they live, and the conditions of their living. It made the previous day seem like "The Ritz". These home were made of thatch, not concrete. With the rain we've had, their area was a huge mud pit, filled with mosquitos and garbage. YET, the children and families were happy. We were greeted with many smiles, and laughter. In fact, the kids were running into their homes to put on their school uniforms so that we would recognize them (even though we already had recognized them). I even met a mom who had twins, and they were so beautiful! I then had to imagine her going through her pregnancy with twins, with no medical care, giving birth in her small thatch house, with no medical attention for the twins or her. No epidural. No pain killers.

Today was a great day, though the most emotional for me. A mom brought in her 11 month of daughter to the medical clinic and the baby was not doing well. She looked like a newborn, weighing no more than 6-7 pounds. She couldn not support her neck. Her legs were as thick (or should I say "as thin") as my thumb. When we lifted her shirt, you could see each rib! She was extremely malnourished and developmentally behind that my heart broke for her, almost losing my breath at the thought of her dying in the near future due to her malnutrition.

Through all of the emotions, I keep my eyes on Jesus! I KNOW that all I can do is continue to love the children, families, workers and people of India! God will take care of everything else!

Tomorrow, Thursday, is our last full day with the children of Shah Abad. I will be presenting the Gospel message to them during their story time, and ask for your prayers. I pray that the words of my mouth are those of God, not of me! I look forward to sharing tomorrow night, and posting more pictures then!

Delilah

Visions of another reality

Imagine waking up each day to temperatures in the upper 90's, not knowing if you will have food, or if the water truck will arrive with fresh drinking water! This is what we experienced today, as we visited the slums of Shah Abad. As we entered the slums, we had to park on the side of the highway, and walk in, since the road has been broken (we assume that it will be fixed, allowing for automobile access). I first noticed the pigs and dogs roaming, and a truck. It turns out to be a water truck carrying fresh water to the village. Unfortunately, not everyone will get the freshwater, only the fastest, and those with the largest buckets. I pray that each family would get at least SOME fresh water, but I do not know if that happened.

As we entered further, we were greeted with many stares, most never having seen a westerner before...especially a group of 20! The people warmed up to us, and were very willing to show us their homes and village.

Most of the homes in this section of the slums are brick structures. The homes had only a thin mat serving as a bed, and a line of rope to hang the family clothes, no other furnishings.

The children, especially, loved having their photos taken, and being show the preview on the digital cameras. I found a group of women that were very happy to have their photos taken, and one ran into her house to bring out a 15 day old baby...she just became a grandma! Even in the deepest of poverty, with little to no food, very little fresh drinking water, unbelievably hot temperatures, the joy of a grandmother's love was seen!

As we walked further, I was struck by a large water hole filled with trash, human and animal feces, and covered with swarms of bugs! As a mother, I wanted to move all of those children away from pending illness!

Overall, my heart was breaking for the people of Shah Abad. God has allowed my heart to break, reminding me that He has called me to come here to share His love, and that He will take care of them,

I am here only to serve!

Reality of half a world away hits...

As we spent our first day out in the city of New Delhi, we struggled through extreme heat as we worshipped, played games and did crafts with the kids. They were so happy to see us, they had already come up with songs to sing us with smiles and hugs, it was right then that I knew God had sent us to the right place.

In the afternoon, we visited the slums outside of New Delhi, this is a site I could never imagine has a place on our earth, until you see it upfront and personnel. In the photo you'll see that a water truck pulled up to the slum area and as the locals heard the sound of the truck, they all came running. In a matter of 5 minutes, there were about 175-200 men, women, children trying to get as much fresh water for there family as they could. I thought to myself, I cannot believe this is happening on our planet in the 21st century. A feeling of taking things for granted overwhelmed me like no other. I pray that our trip here can complete the tasks of bringing Jesus to all that will hear us and fresh drinking water to the incredibally wunderful and greatful poeple of the Slums.

8.11.2008 - Billy Z.
God's Speed!!!

Guitar Broken and Infected Eye

Visited a Christian school today. I was tuning up my guitar to co-lead worship with my team and my one of my guitar gears broke! So I could not tighten a guitar string. We are going to try and find a shop to fix it tonight.

Also, while we were at the Christian school my right eye got infected and turned very red. Thankfully we have a doctor on our team, and Jason fixed me right up. Put some ointment in my eye and it cleared right up.

Saw many poor people in the city and the slums. There were so many beautiful kids! They are very precious. Could not believe the living conditions. No clean drinking water, and no proper disposal of sewage. It was hot and humid probably over 85 degrees, so there were a lot of awful smells.

Please pray how we can really make a difference for these people who the LORD Jesus Christ loves and cares about so much.

Edwin

Our first full day in India

After nearly 30+ hours of travel, we arrived in Delhi. The sights and sounds reminded me of New York City! We were greeted by Uma, our trip guide, who had arranged for all of our transportation. After arriving at the hotel, we got to our rooms, and had a traditional Indian dinner at the hotel. The food was DELICIOUS! We had lamb, black bean lentil, squash with corn, chicken, flat bread (called namm -which is absolutely delicious), steamed rice, and many other foods, I can't remember the name of. The foods are rich in flavor, with curry, cumin, coriander and various other spices! After eating, we went to bed, and at nearly 1am, it was easy to fall asleep. The jet lag is a little tough today, our first full day, but we pray that everyone is on India time by tomorrow. Today, Sunday, we went to the Delhi Bible Fellowship, a small Christian church, about 5 minutes from our hotel. It was absolutely amazing to worship with fellow Christians, in a country that has only a 2% Christian population. There were about 50 other people in the service, and they welcomed us immediately! Much of the afternoon was spent preparing our supplies for bringing to Shah Abad tomorrow, as well as resting and shopping. This evening we met 3 of our translators, and were able to share dinner with them, while getting to know them better.

Tomorrow is our first day at Shah Abad, and everyone is excited to get there, though we are trying to prepare ourselves for what we will see. It will be a stark contrast to what we are used to seeing, and how people live. I expect to be reminded of our generous, gracious and abundant God has been in our lives!

Please continue to pray for our team's health and safety, for the hearts of those we come in contact with, and for us to be obedient to what God has planned for us to do.

On the funnier side of this day, I would like to add that our team has already share much laughter together! 3 other team members are putting together one-liners....read them, and enjoy!

Jason and Delilah

Experiences

Delhi is an interesting city, I love it! The food has been great, the people have been very friendly for the most part, and it is HOT! The driving though unnerves me. CRAZY driving.
-Quimby