Dear Friends and Family Around the World,
Greetings from Guwahati, Assam. I'm currently here for six weeks for a training called Leadership Development Course (LDC). It is a YWAM training course designed specifically for growth in people who have been involved in leadership for 5 years or more. It is a great program, and I'm learning a lot. The mixture of people among the 35 students and 15 staff is amazing. There are students with more than 30 years of experience in YWAM and staff who oversee regions and nations within our organization. The humility of each one is truly challenging.
Many of you may have heard or read about bombings taking place here about two weeks ago. I'm used to writing about things that happen in India and then say that although it was in India it was very far away from where I was at that time. In this case, I was only a few miles away, I had no idea about it until some people called their friends here after seeing it on the news. Last weekend I walked past several shops that were gutted by one of the blasts in an area I have passed through many many times over the past 9 years. In total, there were around 9 blasts in the city and 18 throughout the state, which killed around 60 people. It is assumed to have been planned and carried out by an insurgent group demanding a separate state or country for their people. It was shocking to hear, and we continue to pray that God would heal the wounds of this area of the world.
I've also received e-mails from several of you regarding the situation in east and central India, particularly the state of Orissa. There has been an outbreak of persecution there due to the death of a Hindu leader. Although Maoists later claimed responsibility for the murder, there was a rumor that it had been carried out by Christians. Attacks on Christians became widespread, and the situation went completely out of control. Fanatics started organizing mobs and planning attacks, and thousands of people have had to flee and many have lost their homes and some even their lives.
I have never been to Orissa, and I don't personally know anyone who has been affected by the violence, but some YWAMers have been displaced and at least one YWAM family has lost their home that I have heard about. We got reports on different forums within India almost every day until the past few weeks. To be honest, it's hard to keep up with as the stories often overlap and I'm unfamiliar with the areas where it has happened. I did meet a few people who came from the areas and heard some of their stories. It is unimaginable. We've had prayer times in our base as well as many churches around our city are having prayer times often.
In our lives we are facing our own struggles, which pale by comparison to all that others are facing in the world around us. It was kind of hard at first for us to come down to Guwahati for this training (Summer didn't stay with me the whole time so that she could take better care of Kate, but it was a blessing to have her here with me for some of the time). This was the first time I've traveled to do a YWAM training since I did my DTS in L.A. in 1995. I did another school there in 1999, and two more in Shillong in 2003 and 2006. So I've had to adjust to community life again in some ways. Kate will be 7 months old on November 24th. Time sure goes by fast. She has had her first falls and bruises, but other parents assure us it's all normal. She is such a joy to us, and everywhere we go she attracts a lot of attention and people saying that she looks like a doll.
We want to thank you for continuing to stand with us and for all your gracious support in our lives. We love knowing that people are praying for us.
We would love to have prayer for continued protection over our lives, for good health, for breakthroughs in the staff and students in the Shillong base, and for clear direction for our next few months of ministry.
May God bless each of you in your journey with Him.
