new Christmas video for Harvest India

Cory created a new video, highlighting Harvest India's Mercy Ministries. Happy Christmas and enjoy!! :)



Harvest India Mercy Ministries from Harvest India on Vimeo.

Friends In Tenali :: Nani

Meet Nani:

Nani has worked for Harvest India for a few months now and is a driver for school buses and other programs. He also helps take the other girls and me to the different schools we teach at each week. Talking with Nani in limited Telugu and limited English has been really fun. He is a very nice man with a great heart and an awesome smile. We laugh most of the drives home when trying to have conversations and learn more about one another. 

Last week was an especially fun week driving around with Nani. Last Thursday we taught at Quarry Junior College and were in the middle of a three day torrential rain storm that flooded much of Tenali town center. We had to drive a different route to head out towards Quarry, so we drove through a different part of the market. On the way Nani stopped two times. First, we stopped outside a corner store and met his older brother. We also stopped at the next corner and met his mother-in-law, who was roasting corn for purchase while sitting under an umbrella in the rain. She smiled and waved at us, then took three ears of corn off of the coals and handed them to me through our car window. It was so generous of her. Nani was really happy that we had met some of his family. He talked about them much of the drive afterwards. Before we reached Quarry, we stopped at Harvest India campus to drop off Carli who teaches 10th class (grades 1-10 have been moved from Quarry to campus now). Nani drove straight tot he Ashraya sewing center and called out to a woman to bring Brianca outside. One Brianca came out we were introduced to her as Nani's, "wife and life partner." They are a love marriage. Nani's face shone with love for his wife as he introduced us to her. He said he was very proud of her job at the sewing center. They also now live on campus next to Peter and his family. They have one daughter, Sweety, whom we met as we left campus. She is an adorable four year old.

Nani says that he loves working for Harvest India. He says, "It is because of God's grace that I am here with Harvest India. I am so thankful for this family and job." 

Nani, we are so thankful for you. It is also by God's grace that we all get to work together for his kingdom in Tenali. 

Friends In Tenali :: Rama Raj

Meet Rama Raj:

We love this man! His family lives on the top floor of the house we rent from Harvest India. Every morning he is there to say "Good morning before" he leaves for the day and we get to welcome home his kids from school most afternoons. If we hang laundry from the roof, we are usually ushered into his home for chai. Rama Raj and his family are incredibly generous and loving towards us and have welcomed us into their family. Last week, we celebrated Tony's birthday with the family and it was a blast! We love Rama Raj and his family.

Rama Raj is photographer by trade and works for Harvest India, as well as being a freelance wedding and function photographer here in Tenali. He has a very big heart, is great at helping us integrate and navigate Tenali and has a fantastic Mr. Bean impersonation. Anu, his wife, is a preschool teacher and an amazing cook. Her mutton leaf curry, chicken curry and coconut rice are some of our favorite Indian meals in Tenali. The girls on our team have also gone with her for eyebrow threading and sari shopping...fun girls only outings here in town. :) They have two sons. Tony is 13 years old and Funny is 11 years old. We really enjoy playing card games and computer/iPad games with the boys. It is pretty fun meeting their neighborhood friends also. A few weeks ago we watched The Avengers movie with their entire family and it was so fun just being together.

We are grateful for Rama Raj and his family and the way they have welcomed us into their home and how we get to live out a life of ministry together.

Friends In Tenali :: Gopal

Meet Gopal:

Gopal owns a wholesale fabric store in the Gandhi Chowk market area in Tenali. It is a shop where people can shop for personal purchase, as well as a wholesale store for local village store owners to buy material in bulk for their own reselling. Which means Gopal's shop is forever exploding with fabric. It is amazing to sit in his store and be surrounded by shelves and piles and piles of beautiful cloth.  I love being there when he unloads new shipments of saris (girls...this is when you start smiling and imagining how awesome this shop is). 

I first met Gopal during my first time in India on the ROCKHarbor two week trip in December 2011. He partners with Harvest India to provide the fabric and tailoring for women's punjabi dresses and saris. When we moved to India in October 2012, he visited our home with a few selections for dresses and saris also. This helped us a TON since it is important to dress culturally here and we were ready to be out and about, dressed in Indian wear, in a matter of days. Eventually, we found out where his shop was located and have made visiting him a weekly activity. Think of it as Indian window shopping meets our tiny monthly allowance "splurge fest" for the girls. :)

But, visiting Gopal is not just about looking at fabrics and choosing new clothes (which looking at saris is amazing here!! So much creativity and beauty in every cloth). We like to ask Gopal about his family, his children, his workers. He buys us a Sprite or chai from an outside vendor and takes a lot of pride in showing us all his "latest fashion, very comfort, very smooth, high class" cloth at "small, small cost." This really means that we can purchase a sari or complete punjabi outfit, with stictching, for under $6-$10, usually. He has brought over his daughter to our house when he delivered tailored clothing and we sat and chatted with his daughter in English for a while. We have become friends. He especially loves John. Gopal even called John on Christmas morning (a holiday he doesn't celebrate) to wish John a Happy Christmas. When we returned to Tenali in July, he called us a few days later and wished us a happy return. We simply enjoy his company and sharing joy and laughter with him, while being surrounded with beautiful material. 

And what is also neat is that his shop has become a great place to meet other women in Tenali and have small conversations in broken English and Telugu. Shyness and language barriers seem to crack and break when local women and me and the girls are all sitting on the ground, admiring a sari that is draped over all of our laps. Choosing saris and punjabis together is really fun. We learn more about culture and continue to feel more at home in Tenali, a little bit more a part of the community and town.

Friends In Tenali :: Simon the Cobbler

Hi friends! This will be a new weekly post showcasing some of the incredible people we know here in Tenali. Some are Harvest India workers and some are friends we have made along the way while living in town. Each person has a story and has encouraged us in different ways.

Meet Simon:

Simon is a cobbler who works in Gandhi Chouk (aka the market area here in Tenali). Rain or shine he sets up his shop street-side and fixes shoes with a smile. We first met Simon when we were exploring the market last fall. As we walked down the street, we heard someone shout, "Praise the Lord!" When we saw Simon, he raised his hands and shouted, "Praise the Lord!" again and waved at us. His smile is infectious in the best possible way and the joy that the Lord has given him is radiant. Every time we see Simon he is sitting surrounded by his tools, either fixing shoes or reading his Bible. We've never once seen him without it. He does not know much English and we know very little Telugu, but we've struck up a friendship anyways. He is so encouraging to see and his joy is contagious. Visiting Simon is one of our favorite things to do in the market and we always head home with a brighter outlook and a shared smile. So today friends, we are thankful to God for Simon.

Freedom Reigns :: post by Kacie

We have been in Tenali for about three weeks now and have been a part of the English service at Emmanuel Prayer Tower for three Sundays now. This past Sunday was a great evening.

The youth of the church have begun playing volleyball in the church compound during the afternoons so there are quite a few people still lingering around the church building when we arrive. It is really fun having this opportunity to interact with regular Emmanuel Prayer Tower church members, practice a little bit of Telugu (and laugh at our own pronunciation a lot), and spend time with the worship team that has developed for the English service, especially the girls as they spend time inside the church during volleyball. The Indian worship team members are amazing! One young man has naturally taken a leadership role by choosing the songs to sing, setting up the microphone stands and working with another young man for microphone sound check...not to mention rounding up all the team members for team sound check, which can be a bit challenging.

A few new exciting things have happened for the service. First, we have asked that the youth worship team greet the people at beginning of service and to pray before and after the worship set. That is a big step because it can be intimidating speaking in English to such a crowd. Moses gave greetings at the beginning of service and Mounika prayed for our time together. I was really proud of their courage and how they stepped out of their comfort zone for God in those moments. It is just one more way we are trying to encourage and empower the youth leaders of the service. Secondly, there are a few local pastors who attend this English service and and the youth worship team wanted a way to incorporate them more into the Sunday gathering. One opportunity they came up with is for one of the pastors to pray the blessing for the church at the conclusion of service each week. This happened on Sunday night and those few minutes were really powerful. I would love to hear the local pastors preach one Sunday. I know it would bless me immensely, as well as the church congregation.

Lastly, this past Sunday we introduced a new song to the worship set. During offering time, we sang "Freedom Reigns." Cory played guitar and I sang by myself for the first time. I had been listening to this song sung by Jesus Culture on my iPhone for a few weeks and felt really strongly that we should teach it and sing it on Sundays. I was nervous to sing alone, since I don't take great confidence in my voice, but I have to say since moving to India and being asked to lead worship, God has gifted me with a much improved singing voice. To that I am grateful and happy to be used. As I sang, it made me so happy to sing this song to the Lord. After the second verse I felt shivers in my entire body and felt my voice becoming more powerful and at the chorus I began singing like I have never sung before. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and the freedom in the Lord that I was singing about...the freedom to let go of everything and find joy in worshiping Him alone. It was SO COOL. After service a young man approached me in a pretty shy way. He told me that the song blessed him so much and touched his heart. He said that he had never before experienced God the way he did during the offering song and thanked me for singing. I was so touched and gave the glory to God because I knew I sang the way I did because of Him, for Him. The young man's encounter with God was such an amazing ending to a really great night.

So, praise the Lord! More of You, God!

Returns and Changes

We've officially returned to India after a three month sabbatical that has taken each of us to different places around the world, but was mostly spent serving in Bethlehem, Israel. A ton has happened in the last three months and we hope to bring you up to date with this quick little blog post.

One of the big changes for our team is that Kevin and Angela have decided to stay in Bethlehem to continue serving the people of Palestine with their gifts and talents. They are still figuring out all of the details in what that looks like exactly, but you can read more about their story and how they came to this decision by reading their blog HERE. We were really sad to have to say goodbye to them in Israel, but we are excited to see what God has in store for them in the Holy Land.

Renee is also still in Bethlehem working with the Diyar Consortium for a few more weeks. She is choreographing and helping their dance program prepare for a performance that will be traveling to San Francisco in September. She will be joining our team in India in mid-August to continue teaching dance and helping with teaching English at Harvest India's colleges.

The Clanton's are beyond excited to return to Tenali and the work we are doing here with Harvest India. Kacie is really looking forward to diving back into teaching English at both KSK College and the Harvest India Junior College. The HI staff spent the Summer promoting the presence of foreign English teachers which has created an influx of new students at both schools. John is eager to get his feet back on the ground in the community of John Babu's Church and reconnecting with the people he has formed relationships with. He will also begin walking alongside another Harvest India Pastor named Samuel that is working in some really strong Hindu communities here in Tenali.

We have gained a new teammate in the marriage of Cory & Carli Hill! Cory flew home in early June  to get married to Carli, see his brother Taylor get married, and spend a little bit of time with friends and family before heading back to India with his new wife. You can see photos of their wedding by clicking HERE. Carli is jumping right in with both feet teaching English alongside Kacie and Renee, and she will also be helping IPP with communications and production needs. Cory is hoping to get the Aquaponics project off of the ground and running in the next few weeks, and will continue helping Harvest India with logistics, media and communications needs.

The entire team will also continue serving and leading the English Church service that we helped start a few months before we left for Israel. The service continued through the Summer while we were away and has continued to grow and develop as a church body. We are so encouraged by the local people that have stepped in to lead and carry this ministry on in our absence, and it's so exciting to see how God is working in this community!

Below is a new promo video for Harvest India that Kevin and Cory created from footage shot in our first six months here. Enjoy!

Israel & Palestine :: by Cory

So, we've done a pretty terrible job of updating this blog since we left India. We arrived in Bethlehem seven weeks ago and pretty much dove right into adjusting to another new culture, figuring out where to shop for food and other necessities, learning about our new jobs, making new friends, learning about the conflict here, and doing some site seeing. It's been amazing, difficult, fun, challenging, eye-opening, relaxing, educational, emotional, thought provoking, and beautiful. Living in the West Bank/Palestine is not something everybody gets to do and it's an incredible opportunity to see a side of this conflict that most people in the West hear nothing about.

For those of you who didn't know... we had to leave India for at least two months for visa law reasons and Israel is where we felt God leading us to spend our time away so that we could continue volunteering our time and gifts. Kevin and I were fortunate enough to visit Israel last year and in our time here we met some incredible people doing some amazing work in the middle of a conflict that goes back thousands of years.

So, we've been working with an organization called the Diyar Consortium in the heart of Bethlehem. It is an organization that was started by Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb who pastors a local Lutheran Church that we've had the privilege of attending a few times over the last few weeks. Diyar has a number of different ministries and is one of the largest employers in all of the West Bank/Palestine. They focus on the arts in helping the people of Palestine express themselves and search for peace in non-violent ways. They do this through the Diyar Academy that focuses on the youth, the Diyar University College of Arts & Culture, young adult leadership training programs, and elderly programs. It's incredible to see how they are impacting the lives and the communities in the Bethlehem area.

We're all chipping in with our individual skills, gifts, and passions and the staff has been incredible about making us feel right at home. The people of Palestine are absolutely amazing, welcoming, and hospitable. Everywhere we go we are invited in for tea or over for dinner. We have loved the beautiful people of this beautiful land!

Kacie & John in front of the Garden Tomb

Orthodox Easter on the Via Dolorosa

Orthodox Easter 

Kacie, John, and Renee at the Church of the Pater Noster 

Cory in front of the Church of the Masses: Garden of Gethsemane

The streets of Hebron

The ruins of Masada

Kacie & John at the Dead Sea covered in mud

Peace Rally at the Cremisan Monastery

Kevin & Angela at the Cremisan peace rally

The Herodium

Angela

Kevin in front of the Mar Saba Monastery

Cory with the Judean hills behind

Farewell at Quarry School :: by Angela

As we conclude our last month here in India (before our 3 month furlough) we are saying goodbye to those we have worked with, taught and loved. The schools and colleges in the Harvest India network are beginning their exam season and no longer need the daily touches of spoken English on campus.

We have already bid farewell to the students at KSK Girls College and H.I. Nursing College; but the most difficult goodbye, by far, was to the H.I. Quarry School 10^th class.

The 9^th class students put on a big farewell party for their 10^th class friends. There was dancing, singing, emotional speeches and tearful goodbyes. We were so blessed to be a part of their year, and encouraged to witness, first hand, the wisdom, training, life skills, friendships and support HI has provided for these wonderful kiddos! We wish them the best in the future, and can’t wait to continue these relationships on our return.

10^th class is the last stop in education for some. Completion of 10^th class in India is comparable to High School graduation in the U.S. (even though the students are 15-17 years old). Some students will begin looking for jobs but most will remain in the Harvest India community and either attend Quarry School Jr. College, KSK Girls College, or Nursing College.  Next year will be the first for boys to have an option in HI schooling; they can either choose Quarry Jr. College or Nursing College. HI has just received permission to begin male education at the Nursing College (Hooray!).

All in all, we are sad to say goodbye, but, SUPER excited to see them flourish on our return next school year!

An Update on College Outreach :: By Kacie

The Residency Team in front of Emmanuel Prayer Tower before the first service.

Since starting our time here in Tenali, one of our team focuses has been on college outreach and making relationships with the youth of Tenali. The town has several colleges and the youth are a huge population that Harvest India is beginning to reach out towards. We began our college outreaches with a program at several different colleges in the area…a few songs, a few games, a message on God’s love from John, and prayer for the students. Our first round of events was mainly to be a presence on campus and promote our “Tenali’s Got Talent” event at the end of December. This was a huge event that we invited all of the colleges to, in which they submitted two teams for performances that were judged and at the end of the night one team won a grand prize. The plan was to have fun and get many different colleges represented under one roof to share the love of God and Harvest India’s intention of starting college ministry. It was on December 28^th and had over 1000 people attend. All in all, it was a great event and a great start of our college ministry efforts. To see a video of our team performing for the event as well, click here. Enjoy :)

After Tenali’s Got Talent, our team went back to the drawing board, reevaluating our main goal of reaching the youth and how best to move forward…after this first round of ministry, what was the best next right step to keep momentum going for a future college ministry at the HI church still being built on the HI campus. How could we go deeper with students and be more intentional in our remaining time here? The answer came a few days after our team meeting. Pastor Bonuprasad from Emmanuel Prayer Tower church (aka HI Town Church) approached Bishop Suresh with his desire to start a Sunday evening English only youth service at his church and would like the Residency team to be in charge of worship and occasional preaching. When Suresh told us we all agreed it was an answer to our prayers of the next right step for our team. 

The first English service in Tenali was on the first Sunday evening in February. We had no idea what to expect. Harvest India was very excited about the potential of this service, but we had no idea how far word had spread about an English speaking service beginning in town, who would come, and really, if anyone would come. We moved forward expectant of what God would do with this new service. Thirty minutes into worshiping together during our first Sunday night service, we had over 100 people in attendance. Cory and Kevin led worship while Angela and I sang back-up vocals. John explained the meaning of one of the songs we chose with scripture and then taught the words to the crowd. The song was, “Set a Fire.” It is a song we love from ROCKHARBOR’s new worship album and has been an anthem in my life lately as we live in India. Here are the lyrics :: “Set a fire down in my soul, that I can’t contain, that I can’t control. I want more of you God. No place I’d rather be than here in your love.” John spoke of how God sets a fire in our souls, that can’t be contained for only ourselves, but that we can’t help but speak of him and his love to others. He illustrated this with the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 20:9 in which Jeremiah speaks of even when he tries not to tell the words of God and wants to deny himself as a prophet, God puts a fire in him and he must share. He can’t help but speak of the Lord and His righteousness. Likewise, there is no better place than the center of God’s will for us, at the center of his love for us. It was amazing watching faces light up when they sang the two short verses in English with us, trying to say the words and beginning to understand what they mean. I had so much fun making eye contact with girls in the crowd as I “caught” them singing and we would smile at each other. There was eagerness in the room for God and an eagerness for English, as strange as that sounds to me. I thought we would have maybe ten people come and God’s design for this service blew my meager expectations out of the water.

The second service happened last night. We passed out English New Testament Bibles and an English songbook of 12 songs our team has chosen for worship songs. It was so fun and so amazing to sing the same songs we sang during the first service and this time have everyone reading the words. The clapping was missing that is such a huge component of Indian worship due to holding songbooks, but it was replaced with everyone’s eyes inside their songbook and huge concentration on singing along with us. I have never had so much fun in church and felt the happiness of God bridging two cultures together. A Pastor visiting from Sun Valley Church in Arizona preached the sermon and it can be summed up in that there is no one greater than an Indian to bring the good news of Jesus to India. He spoke on empowerment through the Holy Spirit and that even one person can be used by God to change the face of India for generations to come. It was incredible sitting in the audience alongside Indian girls ranging from 14-30 and listening to a message about how important they are in the eyes of God and the advancement of His kingdom in India.

Please pray for a few specific things as we move forward. Our heart, from the very beginning, is to train and equip Indian youth to take our place in leading worship. This is especially necessary, not only for empowering them, but also because our team leaves for Israel and our furlough April-July. We will be holding weekly meetings of some sort soon in order to teach the worship songs to interested people and maybe start some sort of small group through it out of this night service, but we especially need a few boys and girls to lead worship on Sunday evenings. Someone who can play guitar would be awesome to find. Please pray that God brings forward Indians who we can train to work alongside us and take our places. In addition, please pray that God raises up interested youth to serve as leadership for this service. Our heart is really to hand this service back into their hands once we find those who would love to serve. There are several amazing people from Emmanuel Prayer Tower who serve with the small bits of set up and tear down, but finding and walking alongside those interested in leadership would be really great. Pray for the youth to continue to come. We are expecting great things for this service, no matter how much or how little English the people know, God is going to use this service in some mighty ways for His kingdom. I can’t wait to see how He continues to use English as the language with Western worship songs, but also makes this service completely culturally relevant as well. The bridging of two cultures is really fun to be a part of. We are stoked to play our part!  :)

  

Time with the ROCKharbor 2-week Team

We were fortunate to be a part of something new to end 2012.  Our home church is ROCKhabor and all of us came to India for the first time with our church on a two week mission trip.  This is how we all came to fall in love with India and Suresh's far-reaching ministry.  Now that we have been living here for 3 months, living and breathing this ministry, we had the opportunity to welcome 26 people from our home church for the same two week trip we have all experienced.  This was a new experience for our church; to have members already here in India to walk alongside a mission trip from home.
We are close with several of the team members, so it was refreshing to see some familiar faces and to experience the ministry we love with these friends.  All the new faces we didn't know were a joy to be around as well.  Seeing them experience India for the first time and watching God working in and through them at each of the ministry events was awesome.  Since the Residency Team does not usually do the two-week trip ministry stuff, it was a great reminder of how incredible Harvest India is and how God works through each ministry.  The team spent half of their time in Tenali and half in the town of Peddapuram (4 hours north of Tenali).  
Some of the ministries we did with the team included: food/clothing distributions, red light district, leprosy camp, sending time with the IPP women, visiting KSK college and seeing the new construction there, visiting elderly homes, HIV hospital, small crusades at villages, and going to village churches together.  We also spent New Year's together with with the ROCKharbor orphans and HI staff that included communion, cake, dance parties, and fireworks.
We had been looking forward to the team visiting ever since we landed in October... praying, worshiping, and just being God's church together all the way over in India was such a blessing to the six of us.  It was like we never left home.  We all laughed together, cried together, sang together, ate Indian food together, made new friends and had an overall great time.

Thank you Jesus for bringing our friends here and back safely.
Thank you for blessing us with their joy and love for India.

Here are some photos from our time with the team:

The Team

At the food distribution

Food distribution

Angela and one of the sweet elderly ladies

Clothing distribution at Thota house

Talia using her nursing skills to assist at the Leprosy camp

Food distribution

At the construction for the future site of KSK college

Worshiping at a village church

Suresh and Christina with the "Mother India" railway kids.  The team served them a meal.

Rockharbor orphans praying during New Year's celebrations

Tenali's Got Talent Dance

For those of you who need something to make you smile today... please enjoy this video of white missionaries dancing in India! 

He Hears Our Prayers - By Renee

Last weekend, we had a crusade in the Bapatla area.  Cory and Kevin documented the event while the rest of us prayed over the people as they stood with bold proclamations. The entire Harvest India staff was there along with a choir from the HI Nursing College and some talented students from the Quary School who helped spread the Gospel through dance.  Many people heard the the Good News, were healed, and experienced Christ in a new way. This wasn't just limited to the people in the surrounding village; the Harvest India staff were changed as well (I LOVE that we are considered staff now!).

As I'm sure many of you heard, Ravi wasn't at the Crusade on Sunday night. He was in a motorcycle accident earlier in the day. Here in Tenali, motorcycles are much more common than cars and helmets are a rarity. After being thrown to the ground, Ravi got up and brushed himself off assured that he was fine. Moments later, he collapsed and was taken to a local hospital in Bapatla. Recognizing that they did not had the facilitates to care for him, he was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit in Guntur.

It wasn't until Monday morning that we caught wind of the news. In an instant, the room was shattered. We were told about the accident, the hospital admittance, and that Ravi was unconscious and paralyzed on one side of his body. This news literally rocked me. God has used Ravi in huge ways in India. I first met him 2 years ago on the RockHarbor two week trip.He is the director of the Harvest India Children's homes. Ravi is such a man of God and his love for His people is so evident. He's a quiet one, but a powerful servant of the King!  Two months ago, I had the privilege of meeting Ravi's sons and aunt at a local church service. His aunt had recognized me from a picture they have on their refrigerator. Ravi told me that they had been praying for me since our 2 week trip had left nearly 2 years ago. What a blessing!

After hearing the news, we cancelled our teaching schedule and instead decided to fast and pray for Ravi. Suresh came over to our house with Danny and as a team (along with Ramaraj) we prayed like I've never prayed before. We were broken and scared. Our prayers were honest and desperate. And the good news is, God heard them!

A couple hours later, we arrived at the hospital to learn that Ravi had recently woken up and was able to move both sides of his body! His brain was hemorrhaging, he wasn't out of danger yet, but God had brought him a long way. Angela and I were the first of our team to in and see Ravi in ICU. I had no idea what to expect. When we approached the bed, Ravi simply looked like he was sleeping with a breathing mask; there were no visible signs of trauma. His wife gently shook his arm, whispered a few words into his ear, and Ravi slowly opened his eyes. We could literally watch his eyes focus as he took in the world around him. His first words out of his mouth were "Praise the Lord!" Yes Ravi, Praise the Lord that He has you in His hands! Praise the Lord that He is good and just! Praise the Lord for how He has already healed you and will continue to heal you! Praise the Lord that you are safe in his hands! Yes Ravi, Praise the Lord!

It was a hard day, but in the midst of pain His sweetness reigned.

We were able to pray for Ravi as a team in that hospital room in Guntur; but the beauty of prayer (and God for that matter) is that it is not limited to a moment or a room. Within a few hours, literally hundreds if not thousands of people around the world were praying for a single man in India. The news quickly spread via Facebook, emails, and texts. RH pastors, life groups, and the India community as a whole were lifting up Ravi in prayer. That is what we are called to do as the Church. To love and uphold one another. So beautiful!

Ravi is still in the hospital but is out of the Intensive Care Unit. Praise the Lord! We traveled to Guntur yesterday to find the hospital room in much higher spirits. Ravi was more alert with complete feeling on both sides of his body though he was complaining of an intense headache (naturally). His wife was able to smile and tell us that after asking about their father for nearly a week, his boys are able to go see him--- they may even be with him as I'm writing this.

Last we heard, Ravi is scheduled to have another MRI to assess the progress of the hemorrhaging in his brain. After witnessing God's healing hands over this past week, I'm expecting to hear more good news. Please continue to pray for Ravi: for healing, for comfort, for His story and His plans to be revealed.

College Outreach

Performing at Amedkar College

One of the main reasons Harvest India asked RockHarbor to send a Residency Team to Tenali is to help them grow their college ministry. Harvest India is an organization that basically has ministry covered from birth to death, but they really felt like they were missing out on the college age kids. Recognizing that RockHarbor has done a fairly good job of attracting the twenty-something crowd, they approached our church about helping out.

Jump forward a year or two... now you have six Americans living in India trying to connect with the youth. How in the heck do you do that? By exploiting the allure of our "western-ness", and playing American pop songs and Minute To Win It games of course!

We've visited Ambedkar College, St. Peters College, KSK College, Harvest India Nursing College, and next week we'll be visiting JMJ College. We've spent the last few weeks performing songs, playing games, and connecting with local colleges all over Tenali. It's been a great way to spread the word about what Harvest India is doing in Tenali as well as inviting the kids to become a part of a larger community.

We've also been inviting the schools to join us at an event and competition that we are calling Tenali's Got Talent this December 28th. We are formatting it in the American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and America's Got Talent type of competitions with judges and prizes for the winner. Each of the schools that we've visited will send two teams of students to perform a song, dance, or drama at the competition. Our team will also be performing some songs and dances to make things extra interesting. The winning team will receive a cash prize and the pride of Tenali!

Aside from all of the fun we've had, it's been a really encouraging and exciting process to see our team grow through this experience. We are all being stretched to step out of our comfort zones by getting up on stage to sing and dance, act silly, and speak in front of large crowds when those things may not necessarily be one of our strengths. It's been an a process that has really brought us closer as a team and forced us to rely on each other for support and encouragement. More than anything it's forced us to really rely on God to get us through each event. It all seems to fit the theme of "being called to be uncomfortable".

Here are a few images from the events so far:

Suresh welcoming students at Ambedkar College

Renee, Kacie, and Angela with students at St. Peters College

Students at KSK College

John encouraging the students to engage their community

Thoughts on Teaching - By Angela

Teaching in India is a very different experience than teaching at home.

There are a few reasons for this:
1. India is a collectivist society.  They consider the group before thinking for themselves. As an American educator a lot of the habits they have formed in school- things like sharing answers, shouting out an answer for another student, looking at one another’s papers- seem like cheating.  It is taking great effort for me to understand how they collectively have class, without assuming that they are not individually learning, or otherwise cheating.  
Some aspects of the collective approach to teaching are fun; they are very good a choral response.  When I say or write something on the board for them to repeat, the room rumbles in a rhythmic beat of syllables, it makes me feel powerful, like a high ranking military officer. They also genuinely want to help each other. I see no pride or arrogance in ones efforts. This is both good and bad for me, as a teacher. I like their humble and caring hearts; but, at the same time, I really do not know who originally came up with the answer written on everyone’s paper across the row.  I want them to understand that at this point I could care less whether or not the answer is correct, I just need to know who is getting it correct and who is not, and what I need to go ever again.

2. India is a respectful society.  Like in Spanish, the Telugu language has set apart words for respected people: elders, teachers, mothers, fathers and respected people in society.  It is a wonderful tradition and aspect to language that I feel we have let slip in our society. Never do I hear, “ma’am,” and the only time I hear children calling adults Mr. or Mrs. is in class to their teacher. 
When I walk into my classroom the students all stand and say “Good morning madam”  (I have been called madam more than I care to count-it makes me feel like an old woman or a brothel spinster).  Anyway, it is a sign of respect here and I appreciate it!  If a student is late to class they do not speak, they only stand at the door and salute until you invite or wave them in.  These are two simple examples of many that show the utmost respect these students have for adults, teachers, and education as a whole. 

3. Indian boys LOVE to dance.  Not much to say on that, other than that I have never seen a SINGLE boy in America as eager to dance as EVERY boy is here.  The kids, boys and girls alike, are truly enjoying Renee’s dance classes.  She is so good at simplifying the choreography to counts that language is not an issue. 

4. India is a society hungry for education.  Many students at home roll their eyes when they are assigned homework, dislike going to class, dislike their teachers, complain about the long days, fake illness, find any excuse not to attend school….I know, I was one of them! 
Schooling in India, in this area, for this caste of students is a PRIVELEDGE!  The students look forward to coming to class, they are as a whole eager to complete their work, and they appreciate their teachers. At home, even teaching kindergarten, I struggled trying to make the learning fun, relevant and entertaining.  Here, we have a chalkboard and crappy white chalk; no technology, no manipulative, no cool art supplies, and the students are enthralled with learning. Simple strategies like charades are a welcome break from day to day class work, and even then I feel that at home charades might not be enough entertainment for some. 

All in all, I love teaching here and I have a lot to learn!

Thoughts on Holidays and Diwali

In America, we have weekends.  The rhythm of the work week says that we work Monday through Friday and we don’t work on Saturday and Sunday.  Indians don’t have weekends.  In India, you will see children going to school six days a week.  During exam times, they will go to school every day of the week to prepare for the exams.  People who own shops go to work every day of the week.  Some workers will work 6 days a week.  Churches start late because people need to work in the morning on Sunday and then will come in at 12 or 1 PM.  

During one of the first meetings with Suresh, he asked whether we wanted to have weekends.  We said that we did.  This seemed like it would be important for our sanity.  Some of the Harvest India staff will ask us to do something on Saturday, but then will stop and say, “Oh wait, you have holiday.”  The staff members refer to our weekends as holidays.  

I wondered how Indian workers keep their sanity without weekends.  One important thing to note: the people I work with are very depend on their daily wages.  If they don’t work, they don’t make money and they don’t eat.  Weekends wouldn’t be helpful for that.  Another note: they have so many national holidays in India that they don’t need weekends.  We’ve been here six months, but there is at least one large festival every month.  October had Dusserah and November had Diwali. 

Hindus celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, as a very important festival to worship the goddess of weath, Lakshmi.  The Hindu celebration focuses on the victory of darkness over light.  Hindus will say special prayers and go to special services on this day.  They celebrate Diwali by buying new clothing or jewelry or automobiles on this day.  In effort to make Lakshmi feel welcomed in their home, they will light small clay lamps and set them up outside their house.  They will also clean out their entire home and repaint it if they can afford it.  It is the beginning of the fiscal year for financial businesses.  Finally, they will light off fireworks (also called bombs) all over town to scare away the evil spirits.  To learn more about the celebration, please visit the Wikipedia page.

Our team got to celebrate Diwali.  Christians don’t really celebrate Diwali, but Suresh invited us to eat a nice dinner and shoot off some fireworks for Diwali.  I had to think about why we would be celebrating Diwali.  We don’t want to impress upon other Christians that we are acting Hindu.  We also don’t want the Hindus to think that as well.  I asked Suresh why we were celebrating Diwali.  He said that every year, people will just give him a ton of fireworks for free.  He won’t waste them, so he lets his kids and the house workers light them off.  He does it for his kids.  Thinking about it, it seems similar to Non-Christians celebrating Easter or Christmas with gifts.  If you use Diwali as an opportunity to light off fireworks and spend time with family, then how is it different than the Fourth of July?  Anyways, from my experiences here in India, I think that Indians will choose any opportunity to light off fireworks.  

Before we went to Suresh’s house, we checked some prices on fireworks.  Fifty Rupees (about $1) bought a package of 10 boxes of sparklers.  Twenty Rupees (less than fifty cents) could buy a bag of 100 small fireworks that look like mini sticks of dynamite.  Fireworks are CHEAP and legal here.  

When we got to Suresh’s house, there were a ton of fireworks and bombs.  Bombs are an appropriate name because when they light off they explode and make loud noises.  There were small sparklers that came in boxes of 100.  They were great, but short so some of the arm hairs feel singed.  There were some fireworks that went into the air and exploded.  There were some rolls of fireworks that were hundreds of small stick fireworks that when lit would set off a chain reaction of lighting up and exploding.  There are spinners that are attached to sticks similar to sparkers.  There are fountain fireworks.  All of these are really fun to use.

The Canadian team joined us as we lit fireworks.  It was amazingly fun yet super dangerous to American standards.  Bombs were lit and exploded a little closer than they should probably have.  Fountain fireworks were lit by other fountain fireworks.  I had a close encounter one time when I lit a fountain and it didn’t look like it lit up.  The whole thing was caught on video that can be seen here.  Cory also had a problem with a fountain firework.  You could light the fountains and then hold them as the sparks came out.  One Cory had exploded in his hand and burnt it.  We put ointments on it and prayed and it was healed within two days.  

Renee, Angela, Mercy and Kacie with sparklers.

I had so much fun lighting bombs with some Harvest India staff and then running the opposite direction for cover laughing the entire time.  Looking around, there were scenes of fireworks going off.  There was joy on everyone’s faces.  Suresh’s wife, Christina, looked like a little kid lighting off some of the fountain fireworks.  Suresh’s children and house staff were so excited and having so much fun.  During it, I realized why Suresh celebrated with fireworks for his kids.  It was a wonderful time celebrating together as one big family.  We weren’t celebrating Diwali with family, we were celebrating family with fireworks!

The Team and the Kumars

Tour of the Thota House

Here's a fun video we put together that gives you a quick tour of the house we'll be living in for the next year or so. Enjoy!

Then and Now - by Kacie Clanton

I came to India for two weeks last December with RH church. It was an amazing experience filled with joy and huge feelings of being overwhelmed with the new culture, experiences and the thought that India would soon be my new home for over a year. I applied and was accepted on the India residency team before I had been to India. I just knew that this was what God had in store for me and I wanted to be obedient to his calling. At the end of the two weeks I wrote a letter to myself to be opened at a later date. The letter was meant to remind me of what I learned about myself and about God during my time in India. I brought the letter with me to India to remind myself now what it I know to be true about myself and about India that God has already revealed to me. It is overwhelming and a lot to take in being here and settling in to a new home in a new culture. This morning I reread my letter and smiled at some parts since they totally came true and felt refreshed at other truths that were written. 

Here is the letter I wrote to myself. May God continue to reveal His truth to me as we live in Tenali and as we try to assimilate to this new culture and people in order to do His work. I want to be a burning fire for God with a heart and voice of boldness and conviction. First step is reminding myself of what I already know to be true. 

January 7, 2012

Dear Kacie,

     You are God's beloved child. He has made you, redeemed you, restored you, and created you new in Christ. He has placed on your heart to step out in faith and to serve him with all that you have.      Remember how God worked through your fears, anxiety, and being overwhelmed. Remember He gave you the fruit of the Spirit of joy, faith, and boldness. Don't be afraid to continue to step out in risk for His kingdom. Remember the ways he has dissolved the last few walls around your heart to help you love as he created you to. Remember the God-given sheer joy of dancing with the kids during VBS. God is bringing you back to India for them and for a unique purpose. How are you being bold in prayer over the residency? How are you looking to God expectantly?

     You are slowly falling love with John. The spirit of fear and trepidation is gone. God has clearly written this story and had his hand in it the entire time. Step forward prayerfully, with boldness, expectancy, and with OPEN hands hands and freely given heart. In whatever context, God has chosen him for you. Continue to go where God leads. 

     Remember how each day in India, God began to grow your heart for the people and the country. Pray for those you interacted with and those who touched your heart. Prepare for the residency with expectancy of God to move mountains. Don't let Satan sneak in with thoughts of timidity and fear. God gave you the capacity to love greatly and love well in his name. You have the gift of getting down to the people at their level and being used by God. LEAN into the Spirit. God is faithful. Remember bursting with joy at the elderly home, the way God used the darkness of my past to shine his light to other women, and the ability of the voice God has given you. Trust in his gifts for yourself. Do not be afraid. Remember Psalm 91.  

     God loves you. You've been given a divine appointment. Prepare with gratitude and joy. The adventure is with God. What a joyful way to live your life. 

Love, 

Kacie

As I reread my letter, I was reminded that each day I should be praying expectantly about how God was going to work in this day. We've been here four days now. The work begins soon. For now we are settling in and trying to figure out how to live everyday life in India....laundry, cooking, cleaning, walking the neighborhood. This time to try and adjust is a gift from God and I am praying expectantly for the time when our work begins. As of right now, teaching, aquaponics, and outreach events will start November 1st, India timing of course. ;) I'm trying to use this time to prepare my heart with the posture it needs to be used by God in these ways to further his kingdom and not lose sight of what I have already learned about God and myself while I try to adjust to my new normal life in Tenali.