Where will we be?

According to Rob Wegner's blog, the Medical Team will be holding its medical camp in this community center, next to the local marketplace, in the village of Thirumalaigiri. On Wednesdays, ~3000 people come to the marketplace to buy & sell their goods. We should be quite busy!

The link in the blog below doesn't seem to work, so here is another one to try: http://entermission.typepad.com. I have doublechecked this one & it does work. Rob talks alot about the work GCC is doing in India, the pastors they are training & working with, and lots of pictures!

Discovering my life mission

In the 401 Class @ Granger Community Church, we begin to discover our mission in the world. The challenge of this class is "to commit the rest of my life to being a messenger of God's Good News to other people, and using my time, talents, and treasure for His kingdom, regardless of where it leads or what it costs." The church's pattern is to be witnesses of God's kindness, mercy and grace to our family & friends, to our community (Monroe Center, Feed the Children are examples), regionally (Son City Kids in Chicago), and to the world (India, Mexico), following the pattern of the New Testament: "You will be my witnesses-in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world." Acts 1:8b (NIV)
I took this class 4 years ago. In reviewing the materials from the class, it is helping prepare for this mission. Since we may be asked to share our testimony, it is reminding of testimony themes, of finding common ground, of being able to share God's story and how it has impacted my life. May practice my testimony here at some point before going.
Will end this post w/ this verse: "Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind." Psalm 67:2 (LB)

Rob prepping for our trip

Here is another interesting link to follow about the area of India we will be going to. Rob Wegner, Pastor of Life Mission at Granger Community Church, & his family is in India right now, doing some preparatory work for our mission trip in August. The pictures of the baptisms are especially impressive! Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/n3vuwr.

2nd team meeting

We met on Wednesday, June 10, for our 2nd meeting as a team. Barb Blechl, one of our team leaders, prepared a wonderful supper of some traditional Indian food: Chicken 65, rice, and some vegetables & fruit. We had to sit on the floor and eat with our fingers (using the right hand only of course). Very tasty & quite the experience! Afterwards we were shown photos of some of the types of things we will experience on our trip. In the villages, we may be staying in a church or we may be in someone's home. We will likely be sleeping on the floor, could be dirt or concrete, with only a blanket underneath us, and without a pillow. Toilets will be just a hole in the ground or we may be going behind a bush. Showers will only be in the hotel, which will be the first night we arrive, perhaps mid-week, and once more before leaving for home. For women, clothing will be a long skirt (long enough to cover the ankles), a cotton short-sleeve shirt that covers the shoulders (no v-neck or scoop-neck shirts, or shirts with writing on them), and slip-on closed-toe shoes. Must be modest. If we have time, we may be able to purchase some traditional Indian clothes when we arrive, like a sari. A woman who had been on this trip previously, recommended going to Goodwill to purchase some inexpensive long skirts, which seems like good advice.
I have finished all of the DVD's as part of the training and am looking forward to our next team meeting.

Indian Food & eating customs

I do love Indian food. There is a new Indian restaurant in Mishawaka, the India Garden, which is across the street from the Bonefish Grill. Great food, plus they have a grocery store in the back. Not food you can find in Martin's Supermarket! At our team meeting last Sunday, we had some fried or baked lentils (we weren't sure which) -- it was quite tasty &, I am guessing, nutritious, since they were lentils. Kind of reminds you taste-wise of potato chips. Training DVD's reviewed some eating customs & warnings:
1) do not drink water from a pitcher, jar or unsealed water bottle. One of the physicians at Goshen Hospital (where I work) who is from India warned me against buying bottles of water from kids at the train stations, as they are not sealed bottles. Also, one should try to drink by pouring the water into your mouth without your lips touching the rim. Try that without getting wet!
2) Chai tea or other hot beverages are usually safe to drink.
3) cooked foods should be safe to eat, but steer clear of salads and fruit without peels.
4) eat only with the right hand. The left hand is used for wiping oneself after using the bathroom, so it is considered quite gross, rude, and/or uncouth to eat with the left hand, to shake someone's hand with the left hand, etc. Thank goodness I am right-handed!
5) the families we will be visiting will feed us well, even if some of their family members go hungry. I don't like this, but that is their culture and not much I can do about it. We also have to eat everything they give us so that we are not considered unmannerly, & we are told they give us alot to eat, especially rice. And we are told that we may be visiting 1-6 families an evening and that we will be fed at all of their homes. I can eat alot, but once I am full, I am full; not sure how I am going to handle that.
6) it is recommended to bring Gas-ex, because the amount/kind of food will make us bloated, and to bring Pepto-Bismol chewables for the potential of diarrhea.
Will be interesting to try the different foods!

We had our first team meeting on Sunday evening. First, we had to leave our shoes/sandals at the door. Next we sat cross-legged on the floor, ate a snack with our fingers (Only the right hand! More about that in another blog) and talked about the first 3-4 DVD's we had to watch as part of our training. Our leaders (a physician & his wife) discussed what we might experience in India, based on their experiences as part of a medical team last year. I may get to put my dietetics training to use, which I am quite excited about! HIV/AIDS is alive & well in India, and I may be able to provide diet education on what types of Indian foods would be best for them to eat to help build their immune system & prevent wasting as part of their treatment. May also be working on diet planning for women with families, considering pregnancy & breastfeeding as well. This will take some research on my part, to become more familiar with the different foods available in India, but again, I am quite excited about this!
Must tell you, sitting cross-legged is not comfortable if you haven't done it in many, many years. Something else to add to my exercises.