#7 It's Monday!

Monday, October 23, 2006

We went to bed with the sounds of explosions all around us. These Hindus definitely know how to celebrate the New Year! I thought America was bad around the fourth of July with all the wasted money blown up in fireworks. This place celebrated for several days. Every evening you could see roman candles and other fireworks displays going off around us contributing to the cacophony of noises around us. On their New Year’s Eve celebration (last night) the noise maker of choice was firecrackers. It was similar to the Chinese New Year in the States. They set them off by the string, continuing their explosions for minutes at a time. An occasional louder boom sounded like M-80 exploding. This continued well after midnight and to my surprise started early this morning (by 7:00 AM). It made great video footage. I can narrate a story line as though we were under gunfire and heavy artillery attacks!

We delayed our departure a little this morning because Gabriel, our interpreter, had to take the morning off because of allergies from the dust stirred up in last night’s dance. He was suffering some congestion in his chest that began to affect his voice. He is an incredible worship leader and interpreter, fully pouring himself into the conference. He would sometimes lead worship and singing for over an hour and then turn around and interpret the message for another 45 minutes to an hour. This is repeated in four services each day. It is no wonder that he is beginning to suffer some limitation. Another young man, Linus, from Ahmedabad was also able to play the guitar and lead worship today to give Gabriel a little more of a break. Pastor Oneal was asked to preach in the first session today so that Gabriel would not have to interpret in that session. It was appropriate to hear from Pastor Oneal. He is the brother of Pastor J.P. and is the local pastor in Anand. He was the emcee in most of the services and was a blessing in the conference.

They were also preparing for a baptismal service during the early session. Because of threats against conversions to Christianity by fanatical Hindus the church has had to be a little more secretive about baptisms. Hindu is the official religion in India. Official estimates for the percentage of Hindus vary. Some say 70 percent while others claim more of the population has embraced Hinduism. In Gujarat, a more radical form of Hinduism is practiced. The current political leader has tried to repress Christianity which has emboldened the attacks by fanatical groups. As a result of some of these attacks, the church does not announce the baptisms publicly. One on one and in small groups they spread the word that baptism will be given and they will be notified when things are ready.

The service continued while those that were ready for baptism gathered outside the tent. Initially, there were 17 that professed their faith and desire to be baptized in Jesus' name. We walked down the dirt road and onto the narrow paved road to a fenced lot that we passed each day coming to the conference. It was only about ¼ mile from the conference center. We stepped off the road through an iron gate leading to a small pasture covered with grass and several trees and bushes. The church men had built a rectangular baptismal tank of cement in the middle of the lot surrounded by trees. Though not completely hidden from the road it did provide the feeling of some seclusion where people could be baptized without fear of interruption. The lot was owned by a Hindu man that Pastor J.P. had met. He agreed to the use of his property for the baptisms. Afterward the men will destroy the tank and remove it from his property.

The tank stood about four feet tall and was large enough for the pastor and candidate to get into the tank and have room to baptize. Two step ladders were used to enable people to climb into and out of the tank. One by one candidates climbed into the tank to be baptized. Pastor J.P. performed the baptisms. Because of abuses by some pastors who have charged candidates to be baptized, some ministers now ask for a signed testament from the candidate that they received no compensation for performing the baptism. It is safest just to allow local pastors to baptize the converts. When all was said and done, twenty were baptized in Jesus’ name!

Young and old lined up for baptism. The youngest looked to be about 10 to 12, the son of one of the church elders. The eldest could have been a grandmother. Gabriel told us the story of some of those being baptized. One had left Faith Church for awhile and had been baptized in the titles by a Trinitarian church. Now that she has come back to truth she wants to be baptized in Jesus’ name! Another man was very poor. He had been to several churches but because he was unable to contribute they were shunned. Pastors would not come to pray in their home and they were not accepted in the congregations. When they came to Faith Church they found acceptance and love and a pastor who would care for them regardless of their ability to contribute. Another lady came for baptism. She had attended churches, but when one of her sons embraced homosexuality she was shunned by the church she attended. No one would speak to her. When she came to Faith Church she found welcome and acceptance, people who would love her and pray for her son. The final one to be baptized was a former Hindu man. He is lame in one leg and requires a walking stick to get around. He was warned by the Pastor that if he became a Christian he could lose his disability benefits provided by the state. He still chose to embrace Jesus and be baptized in His name!

In the service following the baptismal service Everett preached on the increase of God’s presence and the illumination of the Spirit. His sermon title was “It’s getting bright in here.” He talked about the difference in reflection, refraction, translucence, and transparence with respect to showing God’s light.

After the session we went down the way to our “favorite” lunch spot. However, it was closed due to the Hindu New Year. We crossed the median and went by another place across the street. It was also closed so we went on to a third. It was a nicer restaurant. They had an air conditioned dining room downstairs. Today seemed a little more humid and still in the 90’s so the A/C was most welcome. The food was tasty, but very spicy. I was concerned that it would not settle. Thanks to my Rolaids I think I survived it!
For lunch “Hindu New Year” we found a restaurant still open

Before the next service we had a meeting with all the pastors in attendance at the conference. There were about 25 pastors present. The group has at least 62 churches total but not all were able to come. Pastor J.P. had the three of us (Everett, Brian, and me) speak to these pastors. We each spoke words of encouragement. They are a wonderful group of men. Two of them lost their homes in the recent monsoon floods, yet they were at the conference worshipping God, smiles on their faces.

After Pastor J.P. talked for a little while we immediately went into the next session. I spoke on “Recognizing the Voice of God.” A disciple hears the voice of the shepherd and follows!

After having a cup of Indian Tea we went back to the hotel for a pit stop and refreshment and then returned for the evening service. Brian preached in the evening service, “Press on, Hold on, and Move forward.” There was a good response to the message this evening.

Everett left after the service to return to Ahmedabad. He has an office there for his internet company and he needed to get some work done before he leaves on Friday. One of the men in the church has a van that he uses for taxi service. He used to have an auto-rickshaw and Everett called him “Brother Rickshaw.” Now he calls him “Brother Van!”

His ride came by the hotel where we had a quick bite to eat from the room service menu. Between cheese omelets and grilled cheese sandwiches we made it pretty good. Even their French fries were good!