CHURCH SERVICE IN INDIA

Jim with a guy he met

Kids we met at the church

An outdoor wedding we crashed

Savanna with a baby at church

Our group up in front of the church getting bibles in the Hindi language presented to us.

A guy we met at the wedding we crashed showing off his motorcycle

The church we attended

Eddie, Creig and I (Gary) each got an opportunity to speak at church

Tony with a little kid he met

Myself with Jordan Robin and his family who helped us set up coming to Agra to tour the Taj Mahal

TOURING AGRA, INDIA

DAY 6 - LAST MEDICAL CLINIC

A few notes about some of the pictures:

Protestors having a rally

One of our translators Vino asleep on the van. Twice this week she worked all night and came with us all day. If you ever call tech support at McAfee antivirus you might talk to her.

Creig with this elderly gentleman he was treating.

The "wear a helmet and be safe" sign is funny as very few wear helmets. They also have signs that say "follow traffic rules" which is also funny since they don't stop at stop signs or red lights and they make 5 lanes out of two lane road.

Picture of Karen with little girl that helped her make balloons all day today.

Cafe Coffee, is the Starbucks of India.

Leaves on the babies head was for good luck.

Lady doing her laundry on the sidewalk

A couple more traditional restaurants like in America.

The "use mobile and save paper" sign is funny. They do use cell phones as we got passed today by a guy riding on a motorcycle while texting.

This was our 6th and final day of medical clinics. We are heading out to New Delhi to see the Taj Mahal and other cultural sites of India. So excited that our Hosts could join us to see this amazing site.

Gary for the India Team

A NOTE FROM PASTOR EDDIE

We had another full day of clinic yesterday. We went to this very small concrete building that had a room about the size of our dining room. It is a church built along the side of the road. The pastor's wife told us that the government gave them the land and when they tried to build the building some groups opposed them. Every time they put a stake in the ground they would come and take it out. One man was killed when he opposed these men and put the stake back. He was not a believer, but died building the church.

The crowd was made up of very poor city people. Some were maids, drivers and street sweepers and I am sure lots with no or little work. The press to get into the clinic got out of hand from time to time and we would have to just stop taking people until they settled down. Needy people trying to get some help. Jesus dealt with the "press of the crowd" one day and when a woman reached out and touched Him she was healed. Jesus stopped and asked who touched Him and the disciples were bothered by his question because many were touching Him as the crowd pressed in. Jesus did not get angry but allowed the confusion and press because He wanted to be with the people. He didn't solve every problem but for this lady something special happened. So when it seemed a bit chaotic I remembered that Jesus would have stayed right in the chaos because He wanted to be with the people and that is what we did.

One of the saddest things for me to see are the desperate parents who bring in children with special needs or developmental delays. One lady carried in her little girl. She could not walk, she would kind of make eye contact with you. She was a beautiful little girl. And so she had come to the doctor with hope pushing her to try one more thing - maybe "this foreign doctor" could give her better news and show a way for her daughter to be healed. And then the doctor told her she had a beautiful little girl and that her love for her daughter was very apparent and a wonderful thing. But, and then a brief pause. Maybe parents of special needs kids all over the world have the same feeling when the medical professional says "but..followed by a pause". The pause is where your heart begins to sink back into the painful reality. The mother was given vitamins and the doctor on this occasion prayed for her. And when she walked out of the clinic she smiled with gratefulness and then brushed a tear away. So what good did we do? Well we said to the mother and child - you are valued. We honored the little girl with special needs with our time, attention, our smiles, our vitamins. We said to the community that Jesus really does love everyone.

Jesus in Matthew was talking about a judgment day that we all one day will face. His word are powerful - "I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me;...when did we see You sick?...And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." And so as we reached out in love to these children with special needs and their families, I think we made a difference.

Today there was a downs boy that came for treatment. He was about 14 and kind of small for his age and not too high functioning. I bent down to greet him and at first he cried because he did not not know what to do. As he sat there I tried to just smile at him and in the end got to get my picture with him. I kind of got to me. Just seeing a little guy like our James and yet they are so poor and desperate. I just hope somehow we honored this little guy that most probably get pushed aside. Somehow knowing I will see him in heaven made it better. I just pray that that little church will be able to reach many of those we treated with the gospel. Surely God is at work and will use our efforts to love people in His name by visiting the sick. And so we continue to LOVE GOD, SERVE PEOPLE AND REACH THE WORLD.

A special thanks to all who gave during our Chili Supper Pie Auction last year. Those funds do help us take these trips. You all have a part in what we do this week.

Pastor Eddie

DAY 5 MEDICAL CLINIC

A few things about our pictures from Day 5 of our Medical Clinics -

The girl with tattoos on her arm, it is for a religious ritual, but thankfully it goes away in a week or so.

As you can see in several of the photos, they have the same restaurants we have. However, they use motorcycles to do pizza delivery instead of cars.

The couple in front of their church is Pastor Lingala and his wife.

Pastor Lingala praying with one of the patients.

Jim and I in the door to the building where we held the clinic. It took two of us to man the door as they kept pushing and pushing. Notice they were not smiling as they were not happy with us since we didn't let them in when they wanted. The only guy smiling is Prokosh our driver and translator. Today was the hardest day we have had as far as control and registering goes.

Pastor Eddie with down syndrome boy. It was very sad as he was not as happy and not as advanced as James.

The Kids at the Orphanage Sing us a Song

New Video from India Missions Trip

A FEW THOUGHTS FROM THE TEAM

PASTOR EDDIE: Today we went to our next clinic. It was in a storefront church in a poor area of town. It reminded me a lot of the poor areas in the Philippines. My job was crowd control and keeping everyone in line. That is always an effort. People are nice and I feel very comfortable here. It is a great thing to be able to do clinics for people who are in such need. We see all ages from babies to children, men, women, old men and old ladies. They each come hoping for some help. I love it when after a long wait to see the doctor they come walking out of the clinic with medicine in hand and they often smile so big and will some times reach out to shake my hand. We don't speak the language, but the communication at that moment is pretty powerful. What a way to be literally Jesus to them. The pastors and workers are so appreciative. It helps them gain favor with the people they are trying to reach. Two days ago a lady in the village who was very elderly and not well and asked if she would be allowed in the clinic in the church because she believed in another religion. She was welcomed in. And so her first time in the church building may just change how she thinks about things. The the message went out clearly that they were there for her too. Our prayer is that she will grow to understand that Jesus came for her too. God is at work.

TONY: The Orphanage, the kids, their faces, small places, Tent City, life goes on, food is hot and hotter, their willingness to share with all.

SCOTT: India, a country of contrasts. Obscene opulence. Abject poverty. Impatience for candy. endurance for relief of pain. Beautiful smiles. Rotten teeth. Women in their finest cloths; sitting in the middle of a dirt street. The ugliest dogs I have ever seen and I've seen many. Some of the most beautiful children I've ever seen. Greed and thankfullness. The Lord supplies.

CREIG: I have found the people very pleasant and the traffic better then the Philippines. Our hosts have taken us to very strategic areas to get the most from our medical ministry.

KAREN: Everyone loves balloons here. Babies to a 95 year old man. It still amazes me that such a simple thing can make people so happy. I love seeing them break out into a big smile when I hand them a balloon.

DAN: I'm amazed how desperately people attempt to make sure they cover all their bases. They have a dedication to attending temple every morning and offer to multiple gods, even thousands of them. Yet for all their differences they have the same aspirations in life we do. What is missing is the personal relationship with the One who satisfies and loves and seeks us. It also reminds me that in India with the thousands of gods that are apparent everywhere we have raised up our own gods in america of materialism, greed and selfishness.

JIM: One thing that I find as I have traveled is that people are much the same around the world. It doesn't matter whether it is in Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin or South America, people generally want to be accepted and loved. I have seen that in the Indian people, hopefully they have seen God's love as well as ours in our small effort to help them.

SAVANNA: Every street we turn on there is so much to take in about the culture here in Bangalore India and I’m trying to take every bit of it in. At first it was overwhelming because I can see so many medical needs that we cannot help them with, but I quickly came to realize that what we can do for them they are so thankful for and may not ever have gotten any medical attention at all. I was very struck by hearing that many widows are shamed because if their husbands die it is considered the woman’s fault. They are often abandoned by family and must shave their heads and cannot wear the shirt under their saree to cover themselves. Hearing stories like these and many more it’s easy to see that showing even simple gestures of love and caring can do so much for them. I’m so thankful to be here with this team; I have met so many amazing people and am learning so much!

INDIA TEAM UPDATE FROM PASTOR EDDIE

Nothing is heavier than the truths of evangelism. As we have been here in India I find myself at times overwhelmed by the need of people for the gospel and the great barriers that exist in evangelism. There are language barriers, cultural barriers and the strong religious barriers. Most people who have not ever really known about the Creator who sent His one and only son Jesus to pay for us and save us. In a lot of ways we are trying to do the impossible when it comes to sharing Christ here. And yet the essence of faith is believing God enough to attempt the impossible. We are here because we have been commanded to take the gospel to every nation. So faith and obedience are both accomplished by our team's efforts.

As I was thinking about these things I spoke with one of the men who is a part of the local team. He told me that he was a follower of Jesus and a believer. I asked him how that happened and he told me that his wife went to hear a lecture and then invited him. He began to read the Bible, listen to preaching and over time he was convinced and accepted Christ. He commented that as he tried the things taught in the Bible he noticed that they worked. He and his wife are the first to become Christians in their families and so he said, they pray for his parents. All it took was the faith to try the impossible and the obedience to take the gospel to every nation and this man's life an eternity has been changed. He now carries the truth with passion and conviction and works to spread the word. Many are coming to Christ in this place.

We have had the great privilege of lending a hand and adding to what God is already doing here. This has been a great week to put our mission into practice -"LOVE GOD, SERVE PEOPLE AND REACH THE WORLD".

Pastor Eddie

Just thought I would share a few thoughts with you about our trip so far. Over the next few days we will try to share some experiences of other team members as well.

It has been a very rewarding trip so far and worth the sacrifice those on the team make to come, but also the sacrifice our families make that allow us to be able to minister to these very poor people through medicine.

Obviously compared to us they are all poor, but yesterdays clinic was the poorest. Being located 2 hours out in the country, where no one ever comes out to hold clinics and they cant afford to go see the doctor unless they are dying. We had a very old man yesterday that could not walk and had to be carried in to the clinic. He used to be able to walk with a big cane, but about one year ago he no longer could do this. Since he is so poor he has had to wait one year to even talk to a doctor about why he can no longer walk. It was sad, since he has gone so long without treatment and not walking, there is nothing that can be done for him now.

One thing that stood out to me was that even though they are poor their style of dress makes them look like they are not so poor. But as you look closer many of their outfits are torn and tattered. The bright colors of cloth they use cover that up a lot.

Another thing is their smiles - they have beautiful smiles and are just beautiful people. Even though they age very hard and fast here due to their hard lifestyles they still come across to me as beautiful people. Many of the older are missing teeth but still have beautiful smiles. Many older ones have disfigured hands and feet due to not being able to go to the doctor when they get cut or have an injury. We have even noticed a few that have lost toes due to being diabetics and no money to buy the medicine they need. I think that is why I have taken so many head shots than I normally due on this trip. Not to take away from the wonderful and beautiful people we have seen in other countries, but for some reason the people are standing out to me on this trip.

One big difference they have here from the US is that pubic affection between men and women does not exist here. So when we meet people that are working with us, if they are ladies we shake hands like we do the men. In many countries we hug them good bye at the end of our trip when we are leaving. Here that is not allowed as they look on that as the same as if you have committed adultery.

We have ate at some great restaurants if you like good spicy Indian food. I have loved them all of course. Even when we ate Chinese food we had curry. There is something Indian in every meal you eat. Last night we ate at a place called BBQ Nation. They put a BBQ pit at your table and keep bringing out shish-kabobs of meat. It was awesome as we had shrimp, fish, chicken and all kinds of vegetables, but of course they had Indian spices in all the meat. They then brought all kinds of indian side dishes with it as well.

I also want to say that our "host" have been awesome. We have enjoyed working with them and getting to know them better. We are praying that these medical clinics have opened the door for our host, that God will be able to use this as a way to reach the people here in India.

Today (Wed night for you, Thursday for us) we are holding a clinic in the Tent Cities that we showed you in our last post.

Thank you for letting me share a few things I have observed so far. Look forward to hearing some thoughts from our other team members soon.

Gary for the India Team

DAY 3 MEDICAL CLINICS

A little information about the pictures:

1) Creig and Savannah standing with an Indian Doctor far left, an Indian nurse next to her and their translator between Savannah and Creig.

2) Elderly ladies sitting were talking about the medicines they have received.

3 & 4) The tent city are all over this area and are very sad. This picture is actually just behind our hotel. We will be seeing many people that live in these tent cities tomorrow (Thursday).

5) Hard Rock Cafe, Bangalore

6) Our sign up area, medicine area and ballon area under the tent. Notice how fancy it is. We had the Doctors and Nurses set up in a 12x12 area in a building right next to the tent. We had 10 to 15 people in this 12x12 area at all times.

7) A lady working in the field.

8) A lady carrying big load of items

9) Ladies beating and working the beans to get them ready to eat

10) Notice the straw on the highway they want cars driving over it as it gets the seed out for them to harvest. Then they bail the straw to feed the animals.

11) An ant or termite mound that was was taller than me so it was about 6 1/2 feet tall.

12) Our Hotel in Bangalore the Twin Tulips

13) A family of 4 on a motorcycle with one asleep

14) Sunrise this morning from the rooftop of our hotel

It was a long but very productive day today. We had a 2 hour bus ride to get to our location for our clinic today. Then once we arrived we had to set up our work areas and get organized for the clinic. We saw around 100 our first clinic, 175 our 2nd clinic and about 200 today.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we will be holding our clinic in the areas they call the Tent Cities, which is a very poor very sad area as you can see in the photos.

Hope you are enjoying the pictures and the brief updates. We hope to share some of the teams experiences with you tomorrow. It isn't always easy to get pictures and information sent when you don't always have Wi-Fi available!

Thank you for praying! Continue asking God to use us to share His love with the people here in India.

Gary for the India Team

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DAY 2 MEDICAL CLINICS

Here are just a few pictures from our 2nd Day of Medical Clinics.

1) Pastor Eddie has found a new talent, he made the balloon zebra all by himself!

2) The lady that I (Gary) have my picture with is 91 years old and has 57 grandkids

3) Can't say enough about Karen and her balloon characters! She is our crowd control when we get to the clinic and have hundreds of people coming to see us and they have no idea what lining up means! It is great to have something to entertain them while they are waiting to see the Dr.

4) The ladies on the street by the clinic are playing some kind of shell game

Tomorrow we will be a 14 hour day for our team. Pray for a good nights sleep and for the team to be refreshed and energized for the long day ahead of us.

We are 11.5 hours ahead of you (at least those of you in Springfield!) so when you are eating dinner we will be getting up and starting our day.

Once again I can't thank you enough for praying for us. Hopefully in the next couple of days we can share some stories from our team about the people we have seen at the clinic.

Gary for the India Team

FIRST DAY OF MEDICAL CLINICS

Here are a few pictures from our first day of medical clinics at a MANNA Orphanage/Feeding Center. A few interesting things to share:

1) Notice the little boy in the picture in the top left corner with the Green Branson T-shirt on, just thought that was funny

2) The older ladies we met (some in these photos) did not know how old they were

3) Most of the people do not look poor by the way they are dressed, but they are very poor

4) The picture of the group of kids with the guitar are kids that live at the MANNA Orphanage. The little boy in the blue shirt with the yellow on his sleeves lost his father a year or so ago, his mom was so poor that she brought him to the MANNA Orphanage, then she died just a week or so ago. So sad, and the stories like this just go on and on and on.!

We were exhausted yesterday after the long, long trip to get here and then just having a few hours of sleep before we began our first clinic. Thankfully last night we had a good nights sleep and are refreshed and getting ready to head out to our 2nd day of medical clinics.

Thank you for praying for us, we do feel your prayers. We will try to keep you updated with photos and stories when we can.

Gary for the India Team

THEY MADE IT TO INDIA

Thank you for praying for the team! They made it to India Sunday afternoon our time. After a few hours of sleep they will be getting up early and start organizing their medical clinics they will be holding.

Continue praying for their safety as India is a restricted country where the Gospel is not welcome.

Keep watching for updates of the progress of their trip!!

HEADED TO INDIA

The team left this morning for India and Germany (- one who is meeting them in Chicago). Pray for safe travels and for their 8 bags full of medicine to arrive with no issues!

THANK YOU KINGSWAY

Well all the medicine is packed and in just a few days the team will be on their way to India thanks to the amazing donation from Kingsway Charities. We would not be able to take this much medicine without their organization donating it to us! Thank you Kingsway!

PRAY that there are no issues with the 9 bags of medicine they are taking and that it all arrives intact in India!!