Open House!

You are all invited to an open house, Sunday, March 21 from 1-2:30pm, in M2 at Cubberley, to hear more about our recent trip to India and what God is doing there. Light lunch provided (please RSVP to the church office so we know how much food we need). We’ll share stories, pictures, thoughts, and news from our trip and discuss possible future involvement. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Answering my support letter questions...

Before I left for India on this trip and in our support letter, I raised some questions that I wanted to go find answers for - "How does Christian ministry and outreach bring the love of Jesus to the poor? What do we have to offer that is good news? How can we partner with the local Indian Vineyard and be an ambassador for the gospel?". To be sure, these are weighty questions and through our trip, I found one way this is done. I am sure there are other ways to minister and partner.

John Christian and Acts of Mercy works to uplift and empower the poor. The school and Acts of Mercy are Christian organizations but not in a preachy way. As the team was debriefing, we felt like John does not explicitly preach the gospel, he instead lives the gospel. There are local churches along the coast that John partners with. The local pastors do not have the resources to help people materially and bring them to Acts of Mercy. The pastors are committed to the work that Acts of Mercy is doing as was evidenced when we were at the Happy Homes. A local pastor is helping oversee the main building construction and we had a chance to meet him (see picture).



In some ways, Acts of Mercy in Mahabalipuram is similar to InnVision here in the bay area with the main difference being that Acts of Mercy does not get any government help and so is not tied down that way. InnVision is a large non-profit organization on the peninsula that we partner with to provide meals to the homeless twice a month. Of course, InnVision provides many other services as well. And just like we do Bible studies at hot meals, we can/and did Bible studies/circulum at the school with the kids and teachers.

There are many opportunities to partner with Acts of Mercy. But that will be for another blog entry. Stay tuned.

The Bus on the Way

FROM ANGHELIKA

It was Friday, February 12, 2010: field trip day to Planetarium, 10am

I'm sitting in the very bouncy back of the bus. Even though there is a lot of activity on the bus-  dancing, music and singing, (no stay-in-your-seat safety rules here) I am looking out the window. So much to see, and always something new. It is such a visually dense place: in any one square inch you can see the hem of a one-of-a-kind sari, a part of a cow, a bare foot, a tiny shop with tiny yellow cakes, and a thick plastic bag. I am trying to block out the noise on the bus.

Inside the bus, snack time is announced and the kids dig into their packs for food. As kids peel wrappers, you hear Teacher Deborah shout out, "Don't throw trash out the window! Don't throw trash out the window! It goes in the trash bag." Justin, the school's caretaker and minivan driver, pulls out a big blue plastic bag from the overhead shelf and ties it to the pole at the back door of the bus. One by one, kids stumble to the back of the bus to put their scraps in the bag.

From what I have seen of Chennai and Mahabalapurim, trash is thrown out anywhere and everywhere. Your eye cannot avoid it. Cows are often seen rummaging through roadside trash with a plastic bag stuck in their teeth. It makes me gag every time I see it. Yet here, 55 kids are learning to throw their trash in a trash receptacle, not outside on the ground.

Not only are these kids barreling along on the bus against such bad habits, but these kids are barreling against the culture in other ways too: just this week we observed how they are learning to think differently from the culture. 

At the academy we saw lots of progressive thinking. Out with rote memorization, in with the empowerment of making discoveries. Out with confusing idols, in with Jesus Christ. Out with restrictive social systems and limited opportunities, in with understanding we are God's own creation made in his image and made for his purposes.

The previous four days, I had the pleasure and honor of teaching these children and teachers that each one of them is a beloved creation of God, that Jesus came to reconcile them to God by forgiving sin and offering God’s perspective to life, that He is their good shepherd and teacher who watches over them for all time, and that they are empowered to do God's work by the Holy Spirit!

How will they turn out?

India will take generations to change. It will take the Gospel and much more accessible and forward thinking educational ideas to change its habits and old, suppressive belief and value systems that harm people, animals and the environment. 

However, these 55 kids on this bus, they are at the beginning of it.

More to come

Just a brief note to say Aida and I have arrived home safely. Aida will be sharing briefly about our experiences in India at Vineyard on Sunday, 2/21.

Rajesh is still visiting with his parents in Kerala; Mark is visiting Bangalore. They will be returning to the US within a week.

We have many good stories to share, some will come out here on this blog, please stay tuned!

-Anghelika

Valentine's Day

The beach in Chennai is the second longest beach in the world...fyi.

Sunday we each shared some of our thoughts and experiences at church.

John then taught a great sermon on what a Christian marriage looks like, and how it needs to be a testimony to friends and neighbors. Did you know that in Indian culture, if a man shows care or affection for his wife in public he is considered a woos? He needs to show more care for his mother than his wife, even on his wedding day.

The morning ended with a community lunch that to my surprise included liver stew.

Then off to do some shopping.

The day ended with a wonderful dinner of chicken and fish kebab with worship leader and Kontagious founder Saroop, his wife Smitha, and their son Judah, and also Sheba and Teenu- who happens to be on the Kerala state cricket team- and their 2 year old Jonathan. We had a very animated talk about Love and Logic parenting techniques, and we have been invited back to teach the techniques at Vineyard and to the community that is at the Unwind centers - Unwind centers are a music based social gathering place that also provides music lessons, creates a safe, drug and alcohol free place for youth to play and enjoy concerts, and in the midst of this, testify to the transforming love of Jesus through relationships.

More later... 

Saturday with John

Listening to John is like drinking from a fire hose. There are so many stories he has and lots of passion in all he does.

We spent our day Saturday with John Christian. We stopped by the Sparrows of Splendor tailoring unit and met with the widows again. We picked up a bunch of beautiful Indian ethnic bags that we plan to bring to the US to sell for the widows. The widows were beaming with pride as they packed it and gave it to us. What joy it gives to make something and be able to sell it and feel worth. Anghelika and Aida provided the widows with feedback on what works best for the US , or at least our church market :). The widows already started incorporating some of that into their work. We would like to find more markets/distribution channels for their tailored goods. Ideas on this are welcome!





We also went back to the Happy Homes site (see Mark's previous blog on this) and Mark took some video footage of John explaining his vision and direction for that place. We hope to edit the video and bring it back with us to show a glimpse of his heart for the widows.

In the evening, just before returning to Chennai, we stopped by a fishing village where Acts of Mercy has built relationships and goodwill over the years. We were welcomed into a villager's home and got to meet an Achievers Academy student in his home environment. We were welcomed so warmly and treated to a cup of South Indian coffee.

On our way back, we were treated to more stories from John while Anghelika mostly closed her eyes :). It is great to see his heart for the poor.

Field Trip

Friday was the first outing for Achiever's Academy this school year so it was much anticipated by both the children and the teachers. The youngest kids stayed home, so we had about 56 kids out of the approximately 120 students. We started the day about an hour early with the usual assembly then boarded the bus. A few minutes into the drive and the music started -- with teachers, kids and Rajesh in the isles dancing. What a crazy scene!

The first stop was a planetarium and technology exhibits at a college in Chennai. Possibly the first planetarium visit ever for these kids. Lots of waiting around (no surprise there) and we finally got in for our turn. The lights go out and some intro slides are put up and the kids all cheer! One surprise was a gruesome depiction of one of their local myths where a man is punished by the gods for eating some of their food so his head is severed, but he doesn't die since he already had eaten some. So his head floats around in the sky eating up the sun & moon every so often, but since he doesn't have a body, he has to spit them back out again. This explains the occasional eclipses we see. After the planetarium we watched a 3D movie with the special glasses and then toured through a very dusty and neglected collection of random technology exhibits. These must have been built by students of the university since they didn't have any consistency.

After the technology center, we went to a kids park and mini-zoo. The park was likely the highlight of the day for the children. Each child brought their own lunch. Notice the towel they placed on the ground to make a clean place to eat. Though I don't think any of them washed their hands. The teachers had asked our team if we would please share their potluck with them. When we accepted they were very happy. So we enjoyed some of the best food we've had here so far.

After the playground time we toured the mini-zoo. Lots of snakes, alligators, some birds and a few other random animals. On the ride home we stopped to get the kids some snacks. Then the music began again! Did I say how loud it was? Fortunately the teachers had had enough so that ended quickly. The parents were expecting us by 5:30, but nobody really worries if you're just a bit late. Maybe they would have started to call if we weren't there by 6:30. The kids were all marched right past their parent and into the school yard where they were released properly to their parents. Anghelika thought that was well done.

So the kids had a great day, and so did all the adults. We were very lucky to have happened to be here for their first outing. This was a great ending of our time with the school. I don't think the kids really understood that we were saying goodbye. The teachers did and they were sad. We spent some time with them in the office, sharing some parting words. Aida started it off with some very kind words that also got us all a bit emotional. We had brought some gifts for them (chocolates) which they were happy to receive. It was obvious they were all very moved by our time with them. We had bonded so quickly in such a short amount of time. They kept asking if we would be coming back. We hope so.

Day 4 - last day at school

At the end of our day, Anghelika commented 'this seems like 3 Thursdays rolled into one'. I think the other 3 echo that sentiment. It has been exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. Today was our last day at Achiever's Academy. We still have Friday but we are going on a tour with the kids and teachers to a planetarium and kid's park in Chennai.

Big kudos to Anghelika - at the end of the day, she had finished teaching 18 Bible lessons over 4 days! Talk about marathon teaching. The kids loved the time with her. She has planted many seeds in the hearts of the children.


Over the last 2 days, I got a chance to teach basic computer skills to the 1st and 3rd graders. It is great that the kids have the opportunity to be exposed to computers at this young age and experiment and not be afraid of technology.

After school, Aida led a Bible study with the teachers on the prodigal son. The discussion time was rich and we learned more about each other. They are a fun bunch and the study went very well.

In the evening, John took us to a short concert that Unwind Center sponsored - the main and only act was a rock band, Avial, singing Malayalam rock :). Fun. Anghelika (mainly) and Aida had a harrowing time in the car as John navigated through cows, people, cycles, lorries and other cars. I was cracking up seeing Anghelika's face :). She said it was like a roller coaster ride except your life was at stake :).

Our God is good. Thank you for your prayers, support and comments on the blog :).

Happy Homes

As if John wasn't busy enough with being a pastor of the Chennai Vineyard, overseeing five Unwind centers, managing Acts of Mercy and running the Achiever's Academy (did I miss something?) he's also directing construction of a new facility for young widows called Happy Homes. The plan is to build 32 small homes that will provide a safe place for widows to come and live while they learn new job skills and develop the self confidence they need to become self-sufficient. Happy Homes is being built right now on a two acre property located just a short distance from Mahabalipuram, where the Acts of Mercy office & Achiever's Academy are located. Providing safe homes is critical to the success of the rehabilitation for these widows because of the extreme social pressures on these women. Basically in this part of India, if you are a widow, you are cursed: your parents won't take you back, you are insulted constantly when people see you on the streets, nobody will hire, and you have no place to go. The first building to be built is the 'volunteers house'. This will ultimately be three stories, but the goal is to quickly finish the first floor and put it to use as the new home for the Sparrows of Spendor tailoring shop, and a small apartment unit for a construction project manager.

The biggest challenge right now with completing Happy Homes is raising the remaining capital to do the construction. Each home will cost on average US $5K, and they only have raised enough for about two homes so far in addition to the funds to complete the first floor of the main building. But John has big faith. He passionately believes that God is for this project and the money will come. So how about you? Wanna be a part of this?

Soccer Madness

When planning this trip we tried to think of different ways we could engage the kids at Achiever's Academy in addition to the academic lessons that Anghelika was planning. One idea we had was to bring some soccer balls and play with the kids during recess. So we found a great deal online for a bulk purchase of 10 soccer balls and also brought along a pump and a handful of pump needles. Over the past few days we kept thinking about how we would work in some soccer play but with such a small playground and so many kids out during recess it just wasn't looking good. Then we finally had an idea -- ask the teachers. Doh! They were more than happy for us to take kids out of class for this. So today Rajesh and I took about a dozen boys out of an afternoon class, grabbed two balls and headed out to play. (1st thing to remember -- just take one ball) We setup the goal posts out of whatever rock and bricks were lying around in the sand, formed two teams, picked out goalies, lined up the teams and pretended that we were going to play soccer. (2nd thing to remember -- assess the kids abilities before jumping into the activity) Then we proceeded to have chaos. We tried really hard to get our teams to pass the ball to each other, but were just happy that they could manage to kick it in the right direction. Two crying boys later Rajesh had the idea to have the boys take turns kicking the ball towards a goal guarded by an energetic goalie. Great idea Rajesh! Now what to do with all the extra soccer balls?

Story Time

Tuesday afternoon I got a chance to read to some of the older kids. We are looking for the unique ways that a team from the US can serve at the school and the teachers all felt that if we were able to spend time speaking and reading with the kids it would be a great help with their English skills. These kids are pretty good readers already so this was a chance to work with them a little bit on their pronunciation of some of the blended sounds (th, ph...). So I read a phrase then pointed to a child to repeat it. If they struggled some then we repeated a few times. This was a lot of fun and would quickly get loud as all the kids kept jumping in with the child I picked. So we laughed a lot and I would shush them all, have them sit back down again and continue reading. Later in the day I learned that we were heard in other classrooms. Oops!

If you've been enjoying the photos, I managed to upload a handful here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.aubin/VCFPTeamIndia

Sparrows of Splendor

Monday afternoon Rajesh and I visited the Sparrows of Splendor tailoring shop located across the street from the Achievers Academy in the Acts of Mercy offices.

This is where widows are being trained in tailoring and design to give them an opportunity to make a living for themselves. On a previous trip to California, John Christian brought a handful of their bags to see how they would sell. Maybe some of you bought one. These ladies are making some beautiful products, but they are not sure how to get them out to market. So we are thinking of ways that we could assist them in putting together a website with pictures and a way to order them. Or another idea would be to connect them with existing 'fair trade' distributors so that they can get their products into existing outlets.

Big Day

After a wonderful Indian breakfast and prayer time on Bengal Bay, we head to Achiever Academy.

I spent the day doing exactly what I expected: teaching. I taught my prepared lesson 5 times. A bit different each time, adjusting for attention spans and language comprehension. The three-year olds did not understand hardly a word. But hopefully the message of God's love came through. They sure are a cheery, polite, enthusiastic, eager group of kids.

We spent an hour at the end ot the day meeting the teachers: Annu, Deborah, Karavi, Parkavi, Padma, Meena and Kristy. We had a great time joking and laughing and opening up about our lives. We wanted to let them know we were here to support and help them any way we can. The top issue academically is belending letters ( putting together letters - as in "t" and "h" makes a whole new sound!). Mark and Rajesh will be taking on small groups of kids tomorrow to practice these. Also, we opened the door for teachers to ask for tips in classroom management and routine issues that arise in the classroom setting. It was wonderful to see how much they all love each other and love being teachers at the academy.

Achiever Academy is such a special place and making such a difference in this area. Everyone is so proud to be a part of it.

Chennai Vineyard Sunday Service

Yay! We are in Chennai now. We got into Chennai last night around 10pm. Sijo met us at the airport. We got a taste of 'Indian confusion' when we got to our hotel and our reservations did not exist. Many phone calls later, we got our rooms and settled in.

This morning, we joined the Vineyard Chennai for worship and lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed the worship service. It was the first time I was in India and in a Vineyard service - very sweet. The services here and in Palo Alto are strikingly similar. John's message was full of practical examples of living a faithful Christian life in the Indian context. At the end, Mark and I got to pray for some folks who came up for prayer. Praise God that we are part of a larger church body.

- Rajesh

Waking up across the world to go to a Vineyard church was really special, but singing familiar songs with a group of people and feeling so much like being at home was more than precious. The Chennai Vineyard is full of friendly and welcoming people. Anghelika got invted to work in Sunday School and I decided to help her out. A group of seven childeren kept us busy and charmed us with their beautiful smiles. At the end of the class both of us were "Aunties" to the kids that made us feel like we connected with them.

After the church service, all stayed for lunch and we got a taste of Chennai cuisine. What a great way to end a Sunday service!

Now, we are sitting at the Hotel entering this blog and waiting for John to pick us up for the drive to Mahabalipuram. I can't wait to be on the road again! ---Aida

Singapore Chilli Crab

Singapore Chilli Crab! What a great way to spend our 8-hour layover in Singapore. We were met at the airport by my friends Tze Lin (Z) and May Anne, and they took us on a quick tour filled with lots of local knowledge and history. A few highlights include the famous Raffles Hotel (Raffles was the founder of Singapore), a drive by view of the Singapore Flyer (worlds tallest ferris wheel), and a walk around The Esplanade, which is a center for the performing arts that resembles large durien fruits. We ended our time with a local favorite, chilli crab. Thanks Z & May!
--Mark

Lounging in Hong Kong

After 15 hours of flight here we are in Hong Kong waiting for our flight to Singapore where we will be meeting Mark's friend for a city tour. The trip until now is nicely uneventful. The ladies got quite a bit of snooze on the flight.

12 More Hours

Almost done packing! I wonder what I will forget? I guess all we really need are passports and a credit card.

Made arrangements with a former co-worker living in Singapore to pick us up and show us around during our 8 hour layover.

Here is a Google map of the places we will be visiting. I don't yet have the location of the Achievers Academy, so check back in a few days and hopefully I've added it. Or if you know the location, ping me and I'll add you as a collaborator and you can add it yourself.

Packing and Counting

I am stacking and packing Bible study curriculum and supplies to teach the 120 kids at Achievers Academy. (Cotton balls, tissue paper, scissors, paper plates, masking tape and flannel boards to name a few.) This Sunday 1/31 the team will be collecting donations of children's used or outdated computer games that can help kids with learning to count and read, also worship CDs, and games -yahtzee, boggle, tic toe -things like that. If you got some you are willing to part with lying around the house, bring them Sunday!

In the meantime, please pray for health protection for all of us. We are counting down to take off on Friday at 12:05am!

16 days to go!

We are in the midst of our preparation and planning for our trip to India. The team has already had 4 training sessions and we are feeling good!

There has been email and phone conversations with folks in India as well as with other mission workers who just visited Acts of Mercy (from the Vineyard in CO).

Excited!