Staff

We had a staff meeting in our home this morning, complete with samosas and tea. Throughout the years that we have been here, there are constantly people coming and going from this place. Some have been here for years, and some only a few months. Most of them are from Northeast India, though others are from other parts of the world.

We try to have staff meetings sometimes so people can share their hearts and so everyone can kind of get the big picture of what is going on in our base as we have several different ministries operating at the same time. It is encouraging to hear what is happening and to know what different people are learning and going through.

Several people left before I took this picture, but here are most of the people that are on staff here with us now. (There are also a few on outreach right now.) They are quality people and Aunties and Uncles for Baby Kate these days.

Playing

I bought Kate this little toy from the bazaar yesterday and she loves it to pieces. I took quite a few pictures of her today playing with it because she was making so many cute faces. Her life is well-documented with copious amounts of photographs. We want to make sure that our friends and family across the world get to see her grow up and cross milestones.

She got another round of shots on Saturday and didn't even cry! She is now 8.2 kg (a little over 18 lbs) and healthy and strong.

Family Outing

Dave will be leaving soon for a Leadership Development Course that will take place in a city about three and a half hours away from our home. He will be gone for about 6 weeks and Kate and I will join him for two of those weeks. Since Kate hasn't travelled much since we arrived here, we have been trying to take her out some to get her used to the sights and sounds and hopefully prepare her for the travelling we will have to do in the next couple of months. On Sunday, we went on a short journey to where the old base used to be in this city, about 25 minutes away from our home. Dave has always wanted to take me there as it was his first home here, and it was a nice little outing for our family to go on. People don't use car seats here and Dave ended up holding her in her little carrier on our way there and back again. She was really surprised watching everything going on outside and seemed to enjoy the ride.





These are a few pictures of where Dave used to live. The second picture is where some of the boy staff and Dave used to stay. The last picture is of Dave's old room which is now vacant. Everything seems to be falling apart as there is no one living there right now. However, the general area is very lovely and quiet. On the way there we passed many beautiful fields where they are growing potatoes, cabbage, and lots of other vegetables. One of the downsides of living there was that there was no running water. There was a well sort of thing on the property where they had to draw water and then they used to go on a walk to a nearby stream to do their laundry. Where we are now, we have to have water delivered every day, but it is put in a tank and then able to be used in faucets throughout the house.




As we were walking around on the property, we drew quite a crowd of children. Actually, they were most interested in Kate and kept asking questions about her and they wanted to touch and kiss her. They also wanted us to take pictures of them and they were quite adorable. Some of them were very shy and so one would whisper a question they wanted to ask us and then the whole group would shout it out loud.

Kate and Anna

Yesterday, Sanni and Anna came over to our house and it was so much fun to watch Kate and Anna Joy play. The last few times that they have seen each other, there hasn't been much interaction between the two of them. This time though, you could tell that they are going to be friends. Kate was staring at her almost the whole time that she was here and was acting a little shy and reserved. However, when we placed them near each other on a blanket they were happy to look at each other and both reached out to touch the other one. Kate started laughing a lot and it was so much fun to see her interact with another baby. Anna is about a month younger than Kate and it is amazing to see how much they have both changed in the past few months. It is also good to have Sanni around so we can talk sometimes about being moms and share what we are going through. It will be fun for Anna and Kate to grow up together.

Orissa

In late August, a prominent anti-Christian leader was murdered in Orissa (a state in Eastern India). Since then, Anti-Christian attacks have intensified into an organised campaign. Although Maoists have claimed responsibility for his death, it has become an excuse for anti-Christian fundamentalists to incite violence against the believers there. It has also spread to several other states in India and we have been receiving weekly, sometimes daily e-mails from different people that have been affected by this. We had a prayer meeting last week praying for all that is going on, and there was hardly a dry eye in the room. This will be a long post as I want to share just a little of what we know.

It is estimated that at least 60,000 people in Orissa have been affected by the violence. 300 villages have been "cleansed' of
Christians, with hundreds still hiding in forests. Countless homes and over 100 churches have been burned or destroyed. 45 Christians are confirmed dead with more still missing. This is affecting every denomination, but it seems as if the Catholics have been attacked the most.

Here are a few excerpts from e-mails received:

"Empart leader, Johnson, says "A brother from one of our churches
called me today. He had been forced to watch his sister being
viciously raped. While his faith is still strong, his heart is
breaking for his precious sister. What can I say to him? How can I
encourage him? Rape of the Christian women has become a weapon they
are using against us." Philemon, one of our Church Planters, also
called Johnson to say that he has 30 believers with him and they are
in great difficulty, they do not have anything left to eat and don't
know where to go or what to do."

"Runima's husband was murdered when he left the relief camp to check on
his sick father in his home village. She said they had been warned by
extremists not to return to the village as Christians, but her husband
was desperate to see his elderly father again."

"Here is a summary of the facts in Kandhamal district, the worst
affected area in these recent attacks, as shared to me by Rajesh
Nayak. Rajesh is originally from Rattangia village in Kandhamal, but
now lives in Bhubaneshwar and leads the YWAM work in the city.

In the early hours of October 24, the attackers invaded the village of
Rattangia and burned 4 houses, all belonging to pastors. The last
house to be burned was Rajesh's. His family had already left the
village and his mother was able to flee as soon as she heard the group
coming. From there they moved to the villages of Kakamaha, Gresingia
and Telingia. Other villages that were on their 'way' were Malikapadi,
Nuasahi and Kanbageri, all around G. Udayagiri town.

Their 'modus operandi' is to move in groups, like an organized army,
targeting villages where the Christian live. They usually attack in
the nights. As they enter a village, they first damage / destroy the
telephone towers to completely cut off all communication. The
situation is out of control and there is already a lot of fear in
people's hearts. So when they reach the village, they make a lot of
noise, shouting slogans, burning firecrackers, etc. The Hindus close
their homes in fear, but the Christians, under the threat of being
killed, simply abandon their homes and go on hiding in the jungle.
They don't even bother to lock the door, but keep them open in the
hope that there will be less damage.

Rajesh told me that they are well organized and have several meetings
planning their next steps. Some people have filed FRI's but most
Christians are afraid that if they file a case and disclose the names
of the attackers (which sometimes they know, though most of the times
they don't know because it's night of because they have already fled
into the jungle) they will be possibly killed. This is what happened
yesterday, when 7 more Christian houses were burned as an act of
revenge and to further spread fear among the people. Many Christian
government employees have life threats and are afraid to go to the
villages to work in schools. The government is threatening to suspend
them to make their lives even more miserable.

In the midst of this crisis and personal loss, he and the other 10
Oriya YWAMers are playing a pivotal role in connecting with the
churches outside Orissa and particularly Mumbai. He will host a
delegation from Mumbai Transformation Network and help survey the
Kandhamal area and identify the needs. Ramchand is another of our
'heroes' who has taken the initiative to shelter up to 200 people in
AP. He is also trying to give some international media coverage along
with a foreign journalist and an Indian lawyer."

These are just a few stories. You can read a lot more here.



ORISSA ATTACKS in numbers:

DISTRICTS AFFECTED: 14
NUMBER OF VILLAGES AFFECTED: 300 and counting
NUMBER OF HOUSES DESTROYED: Over 4,400
PEOPLE AFFECTED: Over 50,000
HIDING IN FORESTS About 40,000
IN GOVERNMENT REFUGEE CAMPS: About 12,000
IN PRIVATE CAMPS AND HOMES: about 1,000
DEAD CONFIRMED: 51
KILLED IN POLICE FIRING: 4
MISSING / ABDUCTED: estimated: 5
PRIESTS / PASTORS / NUNS SERIOUSLY INJURED: 10
INJURED MEN AND WOMEN: Estimated 18,000
WOMEN GANG-RAPED 2
CHURCHES BURNT: 39
CHURCHES DAMAGED: 97 and counting
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES ATTACKED: 11
NGOs ATTACKED: 4

These are just the numbers from Orissa. We have heard reports of similar things going on in Kerala, Karnataka, and parts of North India. Please remember these states and pray for all of the people affected. I heard on the news yesterday that this is starting to get international attention and so some pressure is being put on the Indian Government to do something. As of yet, the local police have being doing little, if anything to help.

The Little Scientist

"Your baby is busy playing the little scientist these days - experimenting with the world around her to discover how things work. Try to remember this as you're retrieving toys that have been thrown in every direction! If you feel like your baby is dropping her toys over and over again only to get your attention, remember that this is how she tests the world and she is fascinated to find that dropping an object, such as a rattle, will have the same result every time. She now knows the sound that the rattle makes and can anticipate it. If the rattle hits another toy or surface on the way down, she may look to see what happened and why the sound was different that time. She is also delighted to discover another predictable result: that you will pick it up for her. Have patience. I remember wanting to put everything on little bungee cords so my daughter could retrieve her dropped toys herself."

This is an excerpt from an e-mail I received yesterday regarding the developmental stage our baby is in based on her age and so much of what they said was so true! Just a couple of days ago Dave was walking past Kate and she launched one of her rattles through the sky and it landed several feet away from her. When we put her in her walker with some of her toys, she throws all of them on the floor repeatedly. It's interesting to know that little babies all over the earth the same age as Kate are going through the same things and beginning to explore their world.


We've continued to feed her rice cereal but I'm not really sure how much is actually making it to her stomach. It seems like most of it ends up on her face, her bib, and her clothes. She seems to like it though, and I'm sure that somehow she is receiving some nutrients from it.

Steven Curtis Chapman and Family

I came across these videos with Steven Curtis Chapman and his family appearing on Larry King Live after the recent death of the little 5 year old girl that they had adopted from China. These videos really touched my heart and I kept crying over and over as I watched this family as they shared their grief and struggles as well as the hope that they have. If you have the time, I highly recommend these videos.

Hats

Here in Shillong, the seasons change suddenly and we go straight from Summer to Winter. It started getting quite cold last week and we were trying to bundle up Kate to keep her warm during the night. A couple of nights she slept really well with a hat on, but then she learned pretty fast that she could take it off and now its hard to get her to keep them on. She's really cute wearing different hats though.

Kate is continuing to move around a lot these days. When I put her down in her crib or playpen for a nap, she is often in a different position when I come and get her later. She's a little wiggle worm now and is often trying to roll over. She used to be really content just lying down, playing with her toys, but now she wants to see what's happening in the room and looks around at everything going on. She's quite content when I put her in her walker or prop her up on her Boppy pillow so she can look around. She is a great joy to watch and play with. She squeals with laughter when I play peek-a-boo with her and her laughs are quite contagious. She is also much more aware of the sounds that are going on around her now. When we sneeze and cough or when the thunder rumbles deeply (as its been doing often lately), her eyes get really big with surprise. She really loves when we sing to her as well. It doesn't seem to matter how lovely, or rather how off-key our voices are, she is easily entertained and always smiles or giggles. I find myself making up all sorts of little songs to sing her, sometimes they rhyme, and sometimes they don't make much sense, but I find great pleasure in singing to her and making her smile.

Kate's First Picnic

We went on a picnic today with all of the students and staff from the SOFM. It was a really beautiful day, with a blue sky and some fluffy clouds. It's been raining a lot these days and so we were worried that we might be caught out in the rain, but we were ok. It started to sprinkle right before we left but we all stayed dry. Everyone played a few games and we ate some tasty lunch together.

It has been good to get to know all of the students better and to find out about the dreams and plans of their hearts. It's so encouraging to see what God is doing in the hearts of people from many different places and ages. He truly does have a plan for our lives and His leadership and ways are infinitely better than we think or imagine. I'm learning these days to trust Him more and more. Whenever I get discouraged, lonely, or weary, it has been good for me to remember His faithfulness in leading our lives and to rest in a place of thankfulness and trust. Sometimes this is easier than other times. He has always been good to me, and so often surprised me by His loving attention to detail, why should I ever think that all of a sudden, after so many years, He will forget me. This verse has had new meaning for me these days, "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have not compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me." -Isaiah 49:16 I know myself well and am well acquainted with my weaknesses and failings, but I can't imagine ever forgetting about our little baby. Every time she cries, day or night, I hear her and care for her. She is always on my mind. My love is so small and frail compared to the love of the Father for us. He knows the number of hairs on our head, numbers our wanderings, and puts our tears in a bottle. Oh God, please remind us again how much you care for us, how great the depths of love that are in Your heart for us. Remind us that You see us, that You know us by name, that Your ears are open to our cries, and that You see the desires and longings of our hearts.

One of our friends bought Kate the cutest little yellow outfit and she wore it today to the picnic. She was a bit sleepy as it was her nap time, but its hard for her to sleep when there is so much activity going on. As usual, she's quite a star and everyone continues to tell us that she looks like a doll. She has many "Aunties" and "Uncles" here who always want to hold and love her.

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Is. 26:3

Construction (by Dave)

Throughout my life, I've always noticed construction. It all started with my Dad, who has worked with excavation since before I was born. Whenever we would pass by a construction site, he would slow down, turn his head, and make assorted random comments like "those fellas are making a big mess", "they've got 4 CATs and a John Deere on that job", or "two 942s and a 952, all right!".

So, as much as we vowed never to be like our Dad, my brothers and I can't help but stare at construction projects and make our own random comments (half of which are just tribute to our Dad).

Anyway, the other day they were paving the road in front of our house. I couldn't resist going out and taking a few pictures. When they pave the street, they do one side at a time (even a street like ours where two cars can barely pass each other at the same time), I guess because it's really difficult for them to stop traffic from coming through. I noticed even why they put a log at the end of the street, people continued to walk over on both sides anyway. I usually have a mixture of sympathy and respect for the workers here. They really accomplish a lot with very little, and they do so much of it manually. At the same time it's sad how long it takes to do something that could have been finished so much quicker with more equipment. For this job, they broke the old pavement by hand, then set stones in place using wheelbarrows and shovels. After that, nothing happened for a couple of weeks, so we had just a muddy road with rocks in it. Then they paved the one side, and then the other. The only machine involved was the roller. The laborers work for usually a few dollars a day or less, so it's hard for those in charge to think of spending more money to be able to finish things faster.

They finished the portion in front of our house, but the rest of the road still has a ways to go. I think it was about this time last year when they started on the lower end, and it's been moving along bit by bit. As slow as it seems, Shillong is considered by many to have the best roads of any city in North East India.

Just for fun, the last picture is from our wedding day. From left to right: my brother Jeff, me, my brother Barry, my Dad, and my friend Phil Cunningham. The bulldozer just happened to be sitting on the beach where we had planned to take pictures. It wasn't there the night before during the rehearsal dinner. We couldn't resist.