We woke up at around 9 and headed downstairs to the main part of the house. Everyone was suprised to see us up so early because of the long drive the night before, however, we were pretty bright eyed and bushy tailed.
John Bob, Gary (in his lungi), and Dharma getting ready for the day.
Gary met with his translator, Prabhu Doss, to make sure they were on the same page as to what they were going to be talking about to the preachers in Tanuku.
And I...
HELD BABIES!!!!
Jyosthna had been asking me what I wanted to do while I was in India and since I had never been there I didn't really know what I wanted to do. If you know me then you know I love babies and I get in these moods where I just have to hold a baby!!! Well, at this point I had been in Malaysia for almost 2 months and had not held 1 baby, so I asked her if there would be babies there that I could hold. She said oh yes there are sooo many! Well, she didn't waste anytime with finding me some babies to hold! Thank you Jyosthna!!!
At about 1 we left to head to Tanuku. We rode with John Bob, who tends to people with leprosy. He actually spent a lot of time with us during the week and drove us around so we called him the driver of the small car. Everyone thought it was funny because he isn't really a driver, by trait, but he was our driver most of the time : ). We also had another driver that drove the SUV, who was actually a driver by trait.
Play this while you read the next part:
Tanuku was a small village with many huts. As we pulled into the village we could hear singing. We then pulled up to this tent with all sides open except the one behind the speaker. The tent was located in the middle of the village where the preachers were gathered for Gary to speak to them.
He started off explaining his background and what he used to be like. I like when he starts off that way because it makes people want to listen to him more. He is completely transparent, therefore, allowing his audience to relate to him better. It also helps when he is training in SFT because if he can be the man he is today from the man he used to be by going through the program it shows people that it really works!
After Gary was done speaking they honored us with garland and cloth. I am not sure of the reason of the cloth, but we got a few of them throughout our stay.
The man on the left is a burn victim. I don't know the whole story, but he was a sweet man.
Check out the kid in the Native American head dressing in the background!! First time I noticed that!
Sorry it's a little dark.
Prabhu Doss, Dharma, Gary, and me
me and Jyosthna!!! The first day of a lifelong friendship!! She was my little sidekick all week. Whatever I needed or wanted she to got it for me. She has such a servant heart like Jesus.
Teja was Gary's sidekick. He is Sirisha's (Dharma's other daughter) husband. He also has a great heart!
Of course I had to hold a baby before we left : ).
We then went to the local prison:
Gary never ceases to amaze me. He had just done a great lesson for the preachers and then we came to the prison, which he had not really prepared for. Since these guys weren't preachers he knew he needed to do something a little bit more simple, but I was not expecting something like this.
He started off talking about people in the Bible who were in prison and were able to be content, which was totally fitting. Then he used Matt. 11:28-30 for reference and told this story:
At the age of 4 Jewish boys started school. At the age of 10 they left school and started learning a trade from their father, unless they were one of the really good ones then they would stay in school until 17. At 17 they could be chosen by a Rabbi to study under. If they weren't chosen then they went home to learn their father's trade. Each Rabbi would pick the boy they thought could be just like them. This boy would follow that rabbi around and do everything that rabbi did. They called this being yoked to your rabbi. The boy would always be dirty because he would walk behind his rabbi on the road and the dust from the rabbi would get all over the boy. Once they reached the age of 30 they were considered a rabbi and then they chose their boy that would be yoked to them.
If you remember when Jesus found Peter, James, and John they were tending their nets. Therefore, they were not part of the select few that went on to train under a rabbi, but Jesus told them to take his yoke upon them and learn from him. Jesus took the ones that the Jewish rabbis did not want. He taught them everything they needed to know for when He was not on this earth anymore.
I'm not as good at telling that story as Gary is, but you can get the jist of it. That was the first time I had ever heard him teach on that subject and I just sat their with tears in my eyes amazed at the man I had married. The prison manager was so grateful that we had come and invited us to come back next time we were in India.
This was a great way to start off our ministry in India. Going into this trip we really didn't know what to expect, but after this we knew it was going to be a great week and a great place for Gary and I to continue this ministry.
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