I Love my India

We had a crack at crossing into Pakistan this afternoon, but unfortunately we were a little late in the day for all the necessary checks and paperwork to take place before the boarder shut. So perhaps tommorrow is the day, at any rate it means we spend another night in a country that has strangely grown on us… and perhaps we on it :)

The Greens @ Hebron

The short time we spent in Ooty really had a profound impact on us. Hebron School where we spent most of our time is a school that people say is the best kept secret in India. We can see why - great staff, good kids, lots of visiting teacher aids from overseas coming (new batchs every 6 months). There are also numerous outdoor activites on offer in the weekends that are not possible in other parts of India like kayaking, climbing or trekking, and others depending on the visiting expertise available at the time.

It was also good to hang out with Ian and the ledgendary “Dodsy”, chat about bikes, bike trips, the good Lord and the possibility of running a charity ride in India to raise cash for some of the work here.

We got to go to the famous carol service at Hebron and also witness the other equally famous staff drama where all the staff get dressed up and put on a show. But the idea that really touched us was the school spirit typified in the the attitiude of two of its ex-pat staff Eric and his wife ‘Mazza’ who had been at Hebron now around 22 years. When asked why they had remained there so long their attitude was simply ‘Where else would we be?’ We could think of a few places, maybe their homeland of England or maybe with their first grandson in Australia,
but when you witness them parenting the young girls in their dorm who regularly spread themselves over their living room so that you cannot hear yourselves talk save for shrieks and blaring music, you know the choice is simple.

If anyone is keen to get a taste of how schooling and mission works in India these guys run a volunteer program where you come for six months and lend a hand in the school and community. You do not have to be a teacher, there are many ways you can serve here. Check out their website at [url=http://hebronooty.org/]http://hebronooty.org/[/url]

Shouts to Cinders, Alex, Kev, Nursey, Megsee, Sarah and the crew doing 6 short-terms there a the mo’ - Cheers for the strawberry tea!

And the Rains came down-

There has been some serious rain in the south of India.  As we rode out from the mountains of Ooty we hit our first day of rain since we have been in India.  For us it coincided nicely with the purchase of some wet weather gear the day before. Many however were not in such a sweet
position. About 10,000 people were flooded out of their homes in the Tamil Nadu.  As you rode down the mountains you could totally see it, most of the houses were shacks made from thatched palm leaves lying on saturated plains, they didn’t really stand much chance.

Hipkins at Chennai-

Was sweet to spend some time with Grandma Brown’s friend Al - an Australian brother who’s married an Indian lass here by the name of Pam and become involved in some ministries with the local people.  We checked out where the Tsnami hit a year ago; looked like it would have
been pretty wild.  A special thanks goes out to Pam’s Mum who despite the wishes of Al, did a lot of washing for us on the sly;)

Brother Stanely and the crew at Hyderabad-

We rolled into Hyderbad feeling a touch short of time and unsure where to spend Chrissy.  We pulled up on a Sunday, it was 40mins before church was due to commence in a white-washed building connected to Stanley’s house. Stanley asked us if we were good to preach - “just 20-30 mins will be right” he said.  It was one of those questions you couldn’t say no too.  Thus began what was a full-on but enriching week of being fully immersed in the work here. These guys run a serious Christmas program in many villages surrounding Hyderbad - drama’s, late night caroling and dancing. Christmas day itself was hectic, church in the morning, replete with a ‘duet’ of once in Royal David City from the visiting foreigners. A quick lunch of famous Hyderabadi Birayani was follwed by a dash to some other villages to run some services there.

It seems as if Christmas here - at least with the crew we stayed with - is less of a time to relax with the relos (which is what we are used to) and more of a time to go hard preaching the gospel.  As we rode out in the matching shirts they given us for chrissy, we were wasted but
couldn’t have spent christmas in a better place.

So tomorrow we leave India after almost three months of what we thought would be a 5-6 week ride and has became a bit of three month epic. We are back to one bike now, after selling the enfeild as we went back past Dehli in what was a surprisingly pain free operation.  We’ve experienced some serious hospitality here in India, seen some amazing work the lord is doing, met some solid people and definately been challanged in certain aspects. One thing certainly stands - that God has been looking after us.

We are keen to head into Pakistan and are thinking that from here the pace might step up a bit, but we know that the good Lord will continue to ride with us.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

Hope Christmas and the New Year were sweet

Nath + Julie