Namaste!
I have just spent two weeks with a youth mission team in Dwarka, SW Delhi, India, wor
king with the women's empowerment and children's education projects at Anusaran. I have returned with a fresh insight into how those who put God first and themselves second can achieve great things. It has been inspiring to learn how John and Abha David gave up their corporate lives and household with swimming pool to invest in two schools, both in slum / poor areas in the outskirts of Delhi. It is also inspiring to see the opportunities for not only education, but also community, love and respect that they themselves and their projects offer. I can't help wondering what a poorer place in social and spiritual terms that these areas would be without them.
The City School, where their Grace Bible Church is also based, has been running now for four years, with BMS action teams working alongside John and Abha David from October - March each year, with other smaller length teams participating in between.
The Village School has been running for one year in more challenging conditions. Monsoon floods block the entrance to the school on both sides. Whilst safe paths can be found on stepping stone bricks and surrounding muddy edges, these are slippery and we witnessed children simply wading through the mosquito covered water pools to get to the other side.
Power Cuts create h
ot and sticky conditions in both schools but these were overcome with a "getting on with it" attitude. Studying continued as if the temperature had not changed, motivated by the desire to learn, and dancing continued, albeit with a few more beads of sweat than there previously have been. (It was reassuring for us ill accustomed westerners to see the well accustomed locals also showing signs of physical strain under the heat!).
I have a lot to learn from the poorer nations and their faith. Whilst they rely on God for everything and see Him in every good thing, to which they offer Him praise and thanks, I have a tendency to fall into the trap of fitting Him into my schedule, and often not relying on Him until I see a need. My relatively easy material life and busy schedule seems to become an obstacle to walking with Him. How then is my faith in God to grow? Perhaps it is for this reason that James 2 verse 5 states:
"Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
However, in Hebrews 13:5 we are offered guidance in our path towards greater faith:
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." "
I have just spent two weeks with a youth mission team in Dwarka, SW Delhi, India, wor
king with the women's empowerment and children's education projects at Anusaran. I have returned with a fresh insight into how those who put God first and themselves second can achieve great things. It has been inspiring to learn how John and Abha David gave up their corporate lives and household with swimming pool to invest in two schools, both in slum / poor areas in the outskirts of Delhi. It is also inspiring to see the opportunities for not only education, but also community, love and respect that they themselves and their projects offer. I can't help wondering what a poorer place in social and spiritual terms that these areas would be without them.The City School, where their Grace Bible Church is also based, has been running now for four years, with BMS action teams working alongside John and Abha David from October - March each year, with other smaller length teams participating in between.
The Village School has been running for one year in more challenging conditions. Monsoon floods block the entrance to the school on both sides. Whilst safe paths can be found on stepping stone bricks and surrounding muddy edges, these are slippery and we witnessed children simply wading through the mosquito covered water pools to get to the other side.
Power Cuts create h
ot and sticky conditions in both schools but these were overcome with a "getting on with it" attitude. Studying continued as if the temperature had not changed, motivated by the desire to learn, and dancing continued, albeit with a few more beads of sweat than there previously have been. (It was reassuring for us ill accustomed westerners to see the well accustomed locals also showing signs of physical strain under the heat!).I have a lot to learn from the poorer nations and their faith. Whilst they rely on God for everything and see Him in every good thing, to which they offer Him praise and thanks, I have a tendency to fall into the trap of fitting Him into my schedule, and often not relying on Him until I see a need. My relatively easy material life and busy schedule seems to become an obstacle to walking with Him. How then is my faith in God to grow? Perhaps it is for this reason that James 2 verse 5 states:
"Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
However, in Hebrews 13:5 we are offered guidance in our path towards greater faith:
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." "
No Complaints
You are dripping with sweat,
Yet you pack in tighter.
You sing out of tune,
Yet you sing out louder.
You don't know the song,
Yet you clap with more fervour.
You know not how to complain,
Or to bring dissatisfaction again
By letter.
You just look to God
And praise His name,
Bringing prayers of thanks
That your water
Is cleaner.
Copyright EH 2008. All rights reserved.
2 comments:
Great to read some of your thoughts. Catch up on Sunday.
Love this poem, it really reflects the consumerism we've fallen into. Especially love "by letter"!!!!!
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