Pray for India

Wow! Sorry for this late late post! I will be updating this post with pictures :)

So in January, I was in Jalpaiguri for 10-11 days doing teaching ministry, leading bible study with the teachers, and just spending time with the staff there.

This was one of the holidays where the Sunday school children came and played games!

One of the classrooms at St. Paul School at Jalpaiguri

Susanna SGSN made some korean momo's (mandoo)!

Each morning, there is a layer of thick fog. My flight back to Bangalore was actually cancelled due to the thick fog so I returned a day later than planned.

From left to right: Susanna SGSN, Pastor James, brother Isaac, and me. Pastor James and Susanna SGSN were actually serving in Bangalore for 10+ years, until they started to serve in the ministry at Jalpaiguri about 5 years ago. Isaac is from Korea and was serving in Jalpaiguri for 3 months.

Transportation

Jalpaiguri's beautiful, green, spacious, and relaxing campus!

The teachers and staff at St. Paul School JPR.

A group picture with all the students. There are only nursery-I std. students here at JPR.

A selfie with one of the classes. The classroom sizes are also very small here!

Night market!

Fruit market!

On the holiday, after we played games with the children, we gave out children clothes!

Right before playing games!

During the weekend, I went up to Sikkim (a bordering state of West Bengal). There, I stayed with one of the AECS graduates and was able to tour parts of the state/city and visit the ministry work going on there. These type of vehicles are the main source of transportation up and down the mountain (Sikkim itself is in a huge huge huge mountain). These cars are fully packed, seating four to each row (and yes the front, too!!). unfortunately, I was seated in the front row coming back down the 4-5 bumpy windy road down.

A large Hindu temple that is located at the tip of a mountain.

Buying some meat for dinner

Namchi City, Sikkim

This is Pastor Ramesh (AECS graduate) and his wife. Samuel, the boy in the green, is one of the church member's child and is staying with Pastor Ramesh for a few weeks during his vacation. Solomon, the brother in the back, is an AECS student and a staff at the St. Paul campus JPR who came along with me!

Sunday service at Pastor Ramesh's church where I was asked to share a message.

During my stay here for the weekend, Samuel and I were not able to communicate through words because he couldn't speak English and only spoke Nepali, which I can't speak. So we bonded a lot through facial expressions and just goofing around. He is so helpful around the house!

The house/church!

If you look closely behind the clouds, you can see the snow covered, white peak of Kangchenjunga (the second tallest mountain in the world!).

Another view of Namchi

Now after my return to Bangalore, the following weeks have been busy! There was the Students for Christ Conference, AECS graduation, and the St Paul High School and PU College graduation. Here in this picture, I am sharing a congratulatory encouragement to the graduates of St. Paul High School and PU College.

Moses and David offered to wash my scooter if I paid them, so I did (because my scooter was so so so dirty!).

Naomi and I enjoying some Lassi (which basically tastes like melted frozen yogurt!)

During SFC

Fun (and not-so-fun) story: My scooter got towed.

Being a part of the choir during a revival meeting of three Korean churches here in Bangalore.

AECS graduation

Eating ice cream with David and Moses

I believe I wrote about starting up the new Special Education classroom in my last post. This is during the last few days of preparation. The class has now started and the students are enjoying this new classroom atmosphere and environment!

Putting up the whiteboard with the scholarship students.

PU College graduation!

High School graduates

And... I got less than two weeks left here. These next two weeks will be hectic and chaotic as I will have to make final preparations going home, saying bye to the people here, and finishing up the ministry work I have been serving in. Please pray for an effective, efficient, diligent last two weeks! :)

Wow, it has been over a month since my last update. A lot has happened since then! To those who are continually reading this blog and keeping me in your prayers, thank you for partnering with me during this season! :)

Early December, I made a trip back to the states for a week due to an unfortunate reason. My girlfriend's (Lynn's) father passed away during the first week of December. So after praying and talking to my parents and pastors (here in India and back at home), I decided to go back for a week to attend the memorial service and to also comfort and encourage Lynn. Please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers that God would continue to comfort and guide them!

After a week I came back to India, I went to Korea for two weeks. I originally bought my plane tickets to Korea last year when I bought my tickets to India. Since I am a foreigner, each stay cannot exceed 180 days so my parents and I decided that I would go spend St. Paul School's winter break in Korea. Since I made the last minute trip back to the states, I technically didn't have to go to Korea. However, the tickets that I purchased were nonexchangeable so I decided to go.

During that week in between my trip to the states and to Korea, I went caroling a few times here in Bangalore with the AECS students. It was the first time I had gone caroling and it was quite an experience! We walked around the neighborhood and village kids would join us and sing a long. We would stop by each house and sing Christmas songs, and then hand the St. Paul School calendar and a bible.

Now I have been back here in Bangalore continuing serving in the ministries I have been involved with. One thing God has been teaching me recently is to diligently obey. Whenever there is a need, I am reminded to obey with a joyful heart and not with an attitude. Running errands, being told to teach a class last minute, taking the official school class photos (with my phone), sharing messages during morning service, leading teacher trainings, and teaching my English and discipleship classes has been filling up my schedule these last few weeks. I have to constantly remind myself why I am here and what I am doing here. It simply comes down to this: to obey God. To obey God diligently, to obey with a joyful heart, and to obey because of His unconditional, never-ending, and indescribable love for me and for His people.

From 1/20-1/29, I will be making a trip to Jalpaiguri which is in the state of West Bengal. There is a St. Paul School campus headed by Pastor James and his wife. I will be mainly going up there to hold teacher meetings and trainings. I will also be sharing my testimony during the Sunday church service. Please keep me in your prayers and that more than teaching strategies and techniques, that I would encourage the teachers to portray God's love and presence in their classrooms.

After I come back from Jalpaiguri, I will be making another 3-4 day trip to Berekai sometime in February. I will be also leading teacher training and meetings in Berekai. When I come back to Bangalore from Jalpaiguri, my main ministry and focus will be on heading and leading the special education program with Pastor Abraham. I will only teach my fourth standard classrooms when we write back to their pen pals back in the states. The rest of my time will be devoted to the special education classroom and the discipleship class with the PUC students.

I have less than two months left here in India. Please pray for strength and passion that I would continue to do the work that God has given me here and that I would serve diligently and wholeheartedly. The following week coming back from Korea was a tough transition for me, as making trips to the states and Korea has been a bit comfortable and refreshing since I was able to spend some time with my close friends and family. Although the transition was a little rough, the time to adjust back was a lot shorter than it took me to adjust back when I first came. Please pray for St, Paul School, the pastors and their families, AECS, and India, that God's presence and love would continue to be magnified here.

*Interesting story: This story isn't too exciting or thrilling, but here in India, (money) bills that are even slightly ripped or torn are rejected. So if you receive torn bills for change, you are allowed to give it back and ask for another bill. So what cashiers do when they receive torn bills (and counterfeit bills) and don't realize that they have, they store them in a separate pile in their registers. I've been realizing that since I am a foreigner, I see cashiers reaching for that side pile (of torn and counterfeit bills) when giving me change. I immediately give back the torn and fake bills and ask for new ones. Just thought it was quite interesting that they take advantage of foreigners like this!