Arrival

After three slightly delayed flights from Columbus to New York, to London, and to Bangalore, followed 6 hour car ride through India, Kyle and I have made it rather successfully to our room at Sharon Gardens, the compound for India Gospel League. It is 10:45 PM India time, and the accents are FANTASTIC. 

Some highlights of the trip so far:

• We had a chat with an employee at JFK named Immanuel, who is from Haiti. We talked about the earthquake and the efforts that have taken place to rebuild. He told us that the damage done was the worst that he's ever seen, but that people have been "doing their best" to help out the community. We hope to visit Haiti sometime in the near future!
• Heathrow Airport in rainy grey London…HUGE.CROWDED.LOUD. Our terminal alone had three buildings for departure gates. We ran across some interesting characters, including a giant pig mascot and a steel drum band playing in a Duty Free (video). One of our converters got fried when we were trying to charge our gear, so we needed to fork out 19 pounds for another one (UGH). We found a SUPREME sitting spot hidden behind a couple vending machines by a quiet wing of the airport. Perfect for some well-needed recharging of bodies and electronic devices. Kyle may or may not have taken pictures of me sleeping. Creep. 
• Kyle met a dude who works at Heathrow Airport - name was too hard to understand to even try and spell - who is from Goa India. He saw Kyle's tattoo and said, "Praise Jesus! Because one day He is going to return and put an end to the devil and then we can go home (paraphrased)!" I asked him if he believed in Jesus and he said "Yes, I am a Catholic." Kyle asked Him if he knew Jesus and he said "Jesus died for my sins, and that I know." John 5:17 "But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” 
• Our first introduction to Indian Cuisine has been wonderful. We stopped along the highway for breakfast at a vegetarian restaurant, and had a dish called Dosa. Dosa is a kind of crepe which is made from rice (formed into a giant cone), and served with coconut chutney, fiery chutney, and sambar (a spicy vegetable stew). Far superior to the McDonalds which was right next door.
• We arrived at Sharon Gardens in the early afternoon. We haven't seen much of the campus yet, but the guest houses are nice and quiet, with some great gardens and four rather fantastic dogs; a pregnant Great Dane, an attention-seeking Dalmation, a wiry Greyhound who is known for stealing slippers, and a rather crazy Rottweiler. We were welcomed by Anand Stephens, one of Sam Stephens sons. He is 25 and manages the guest house at Sharon Gardens.

This weekend has in store for us our first church service and our orientation on the campus, as well as a Children's program, where you can be certain of seeing pictures of adorable little Indian children. 

Pray for:

• The church service Sunday 4 August 2013. We will be giving our testimonies.
• Sustained health
• That God would use us to encourage and build up the body of Christ here and then bring those experiences home to mobilize others

Here are some photos we took (some en route to Salem). Many more to come.