Thought on fundraising

This is the most difficult part of working towards this mission trip for me: fundraising. I don't like asking other people for money. However, I believe there are @ least 2 reasons why GCC wants us to ask others to help fund this trip. 1). It makes us humble. I like to be self-sufficient, but asking others for money is a humbling experience, which I think can be a good thing. 2). GCC wants us to have support. This is probably the most important reason. People tend to have a more vested interest in something if they put money towards it. Therefore, people may have more of an interest in the mission work being done in India. We can be their eyes & ears. Plus, each of us going on this trip needs the spiritual support of others. From the training, this really isn't something we can do on our own. I have procrastinated long enough and have sent most of my fundraising letters as of today. It is now in God's hands!

Barnabas

One of the training DVD's talked about the difference between encouragement and edification, using the story of Barnabas in the Bible as an example. (See Acts 9, 11, 13 & 14). Encouragement is what you say to someone to lift them up. Edification takes encouragement to the next level; to see the good in someone and build them up to others. One of the purposes of this mission trip is to edify the Indian church planters in their community. Paul would not have been as successful in his ministry to the Gentiles without Barnabas. Barnabas actually means "Son of Encouragement". A quote from my Bible notes: "Barnabas was drawn to people he could encourage, and he was a great help to those around him. Is is delightful that wherever Barnabas encouraged Christians, non-Christians flocked to become believers." He kind of paved the way for Paul. Barnabas would encourage people to listen to Paul, and Paul would speak. Our role is to be Barnabas. Something to reflect on!

This a picture from Google Earth. I am attempting to show where Salem is located in India.
Raj, who is a GCC staff member in India, & Prema, his wife, are here visiting in the US. Tonight we met with them at a picnic/reunion at GCC, both for us newbies traveling to India to meet, and for those who have traveled before to catch up. Lots of fun and sharing of stories! Hopefully will have pictures to share later on.

This is an interesting blog to follow from Indian church planters: http://lifemission.typepad.com.

Training/DVD's

We are required to watch a series of 12 DVD's as part of the training for our trip to India. Completed most of them this week since I have been on vacation. Some interesting facts I have learned:

• India has ~1.2 billion people, ~20% of the world's population
• The most popular religion is Hindu, but you would also find Muslims & Sikhs
• Hinduism has >33 million gods. Your whole life is all about pleasing the gods.
• <3%>

Even though Ghandi did a lot to help promote laws to protect people and decrease discrimination, the caste system still has a strong influence on how Indians treat each other.

Tamil Nadu, where we are headed, is in southern India. It is of the Dravidian culture, which has historically been a nomadic/gypsy culture. In fact, gypsy cultures around the world can trace their beginnings to the Dravidian culture, which originated in India. An interesting tidbit is that Indian gypsies are called "Sons of Cain" in their language (remember the story of Cain & Abel and how Cain was sentenced to wander the earth?)

Tamilians are an apostolically gifted people. GCC trained pastors in India have planted >67 new churches, brought ~14,000 people to Christ in the past 6-9 months and 10,000 have been baptized. It is quite hard for Indians to convert from Hinduism to Christianity. Hinduism is just part of the culture. Therefore, if you’re a Christian, you have turned your back on your cultural heritage (or so most people think) and are essentially just as much of a traitor to your country as to your faith. In addition, most of our church planters are poorly educated (most have not been to college or had formal education beyond a basic level), lower caste, and lower status. The result is that if you’re a church planter in India, people dismiss you quickly as a “nobody with a foreign worldview that only traitors subscribe to”. In the Hindu culture, we (Westerners) are held in higher esteem. Our mission purpose is not only to bring training, expertise and muscle, but to provide support, build the Indian church planter's status in the community, and connect them to a network of love and support.

As Jack Magruder, Director of Life Mission for GCC, put it to me: "At the end of the day, what happens when we go to India is that the local church planter begins to be perceived as someone who can leverage power, partnerships and relationships for the benefit of the community. Because of the work and relationships of the pastor, clean water, health, justice, medical attention, education, etc. arrive on the scene in the village. The extension, then, is that the local church begins to be perceived as a basis around which transformation happens, and people then begin to ask deeper questions about the nature of this “power” that is bringing about such substantial change in their lives. Our participation in that DOES bring some things to the table that the church planter would not be able to bring on his/her own, but more than anything, again, it’s simply the nature that the perspective of how people view the local church as a player or 'nobody' in their community fundamentally begins to change."

Am certainly learning alot. Keep you posted as I make it through more of the training!

I have been offered an opportunity to join a team from Granger Community Church (GCC) to go to the tsunami zones in Southern India (Tamil Nadu region), from July 30 – August 9, 2009, as part of a community health team/project, and I would like to invite you to join me in being a part of my team!

While in India, our team will work with the Bethel Agricultural Fellowship Center in Salem, to provide community health support. In Salem, many families cannot afford for one reason or another to raise their infant daughters when they are born. As a result, they quietly allow the children to die so as to “spare” them the pain, trauma and shame of living in a world where they cannot be well cared for. Our team will partner with local trained church planters and ministry partners to help in the following fashions:
· Medical-Bethel Agricultural Fellowship Center is a ministry partner who operates a hospital and orphanage for girls whose parents have surrendered them rather than kill them. Our team and local church partners will be trained to aid GCC and Bethel physicians to administer basic medical care for these girls.
· Micro-Enterprise-Because financial destitution is one of the primary reasons that families choose not to allow their daughters to live, our team will be trained to help provide new business training and start-up support to local families. These families will continue to be served by local church partners.
· Education/Conversational English-our team will be trained to provide basic Bible study curriculum for Salem area families and local church partners regarding God’s plan for the family and His design for their health and function. We will also provide Conversational English basics to the girls currently under the care of Bethel Agricultural Fellowship Center.
In the process, we will also have opportunities to develop relationships both with the local church planters and with the people in their villages in order to build their status in the communities and open doors for further ministry and for sharing the Gospel of Christ. If you want to track the training and progress of the trip, you can check our blog at http://gccindia2009.blogspot.com/.

The cost to be a part of this team is $3,000.00 (plus an additional $200 for the necessary vaccinations), and we are encouraged to raise this money by building a team of families and individuals who are willing to join the opportunity to participate with us through both financial support and dedicated prayer. Any financial contributions should be mailed to GCC to Jeanna Tripp’s attention. GCC’s address is 630 East University Drive, Granger, IN 46530. An on-line giving account has been set up for me. If you would prefer to contribute to this trip on-line, click on the following link & follow the instructions provided: www.gccwired.com/missiontrips.

I am excited to be a part of this opportunity to further God's kingdom by bringing "Up There Down Here"!