Missions: India

  • Conclusion - The Purpose of Our Trip to India
    Sunday, March 7, 2010 - 4:56pm

    To conclude, Howard and I would like to share with you what we perceived to be the purposes of our going to India:

    • To represent our church by reinforcing Media Presbyterian Church's support for the three Indian ministries that we provide financial assistance to - this support comes from our Mission Budget and other funding opportunities such as the Alternative Gift Program and the program whereby various church members sponsor some of the boys being raised by Pastor George and Lisya
    • To see, first-hand, how the money from Media Presbyterian Church is being spent
    • To be updated on the current status of the various programs each ministry is involved with

    To briefly re-summarize, the three Indian minstries that we provide financial assistance to consist of:

    • Pastor George and Lisya - They have a home for 42 boys and Pastor George is cultivating 7 branch churches.
    • Arun and Shobha Massey - They have a home for 67 girls, and create and support children's programs and churches in the local villages.
    • Gabriel and Suzana Massey - They have a sewing program, education programs for the villages, Gabriel's Pastoral Training Conferences, prison ministry, ministry through Christian English College, ministry through Friends Church, ministry through Christian Hospital, and medical ministry.

    We feel that, given our objectives, the trip was a great success.  We hope that the spirit of the trip has been conveyed by the blog entries.  We are honored for the opportunity to serve as representatives for Media Presbyterian Church, and we thank all of you for your support and prayers.

    DaveH
    India, Missions
  • Christian Hospital and Departure
    Sunday, March 7, 2010 - 4:36pm

    On Thursday, March 4, Howard and I attended morning worship for the Christian Hospital, which takes place in its chapel.  There was a large turnout for worship, which consisted of the trainees and staff of the hospital.  The worship lasted for about thirty minutes.  I shared a message of encouragement with the staff during the service, and I spoke from Matthew 25: 34-40 (The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats) and Luke 10: 25-37 (The Parable of the Good Samaritan).  After the worship service, Gabriel introduced us to some of the staff and briefly showed us the rest of the hospital.  Before he entered into ministry full-time, Gabriel was a pharmacist, anesthetist, X-ray technician, and chaplain at the hospital.  He is still respected there and has plenty of opportunities to speak to the staff.  Following our visit to the hospital, we returned to Gabriel’s house, packed, and left for the airport in Khajuraho to begin our journey home.

    DaveH
    India, Missions
  • Christian English College, Friends Church, and Khajuraho
    Sunday, March 7, 2010 - 4:22pm

    On Wednesday, March 3, Howard and I got to actually visit Christian English College, the school that Gabriel is the Business Manager of.  I explained Christian English College in detail in my blog post describing Gabriel’s and Suzana’s ministry.  We also got to visit Friends Church, which is the name of the church where Gabriel is a Bishop.  The church and the hospital that Gabriel is involved with are part of the same mission association – Immanuel Hospital Association of North India.  The association is headquartered in Delhi and includes more than 20 Christian hospitals.  Seventy percent of the members of Friends Church also work at the hospital.  While talking with Gabriel at the church, we learned that he is a Bishop of The Federation of Evangelical Churches of India, which has churches all over India.  Friends Church is a member of The Federation, and since Gabriel is a Bishop with The Federation, he is a Bishop at Friends Church.  Gabriel used to be the Director of The Federation of Evangelical Churches of India, but he retired in 1996 and was then consecrated as a Bishop.

    In the afternoon, Gabriel and Abhishay (his grandson) took Howard and me to the city of Khajuraho, and while we were there we admired the Western Group of Temples.  Gabriel and Abhishay explained that the temples were primarily built to honor Shiva, the fertility god.  The temples were all carved out of stone, and whereas the designs are erotic, one can’t help but admire the intricate detail of these ancient structures.

    DaveH
    India, Missions
  • Gabriel's Farm
    Sunday, March 7, 2010 - 4:03pm

    On Tuesday, March 2, Gabriel took Howard and me to see his farm, which consists of 4.5 acres of land on the outskirts of Chhatarpur.  While at the farm, we were able to see the site and frame for the new house being constructed there.  This is the house where Gabriel and Suzana plan to hold the sewing classes and the clinics that they normally have in the villages.  They plan on holding a different class in the house each day, and the classes will deal with topics such as sewing, agriculture, cooking, nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation.  Gabriel also plans on holding some Bible teaching sessions at the house.  As I mentioned in my blog post on the descriptions of Gabriel’s and Suzana’s ministry, having classes at the house will allow them to avoid the open environments of the villages, and as a result will hopefully help them avoid the persecutions of Hindu extremists.

    Gabriel also plans to hold meetings at his farm for farmers to attend in order to discuss topics such as the importance of good seeds, proper planting methods, the use of manure, etc.  In addition, he said that he plans to visit his neighbors to give them some of the produce the farm produces or to see if he can do anything in order to help them out.

    DaveH
    India, Missions