Kakdwip.....WE MADE IT!!!

"What good is it my brothers if someone says he has faith but does not have words? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and of you of you says to him, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."  -James 2:14-17

WOW......what a journey this has been just to get to this village.  We have been on 4 different airplanes (for a total of 20-ish hours actually in the air), flown through a few time changes (India is 10.5 hours ahead of Central time zone) and had a 3-hour car ride/race down the streets of Eastern India.  When we arrived for worship tonight, we were greeted by some of the children that are cared for by the ministry we will be working with and they gave each of us some precious flowers and a big hug when we arrived.....what a wonderful welcome!!

We were able to worship tonight with the children that we'll be spending the rest of the week ministering to and trying to build relationships with.  Michael delivered a great message to them about the conversion of Saul to becoming a Christ-follower, so this is a great place to set the stage for the rest of the week.

The plaque on the wall as you enter the worship room....I have no idea what it actually says, though.

When leaving tonight, we were told that we were going to ride the "village Harley Davidson" back to the place where we are staying.  Well.....um......I thought to myself, "I don't so much do motorcycles, can't we just walk?"  But, what I didn't know (because it was already dark) that by "village Harley Davidson," what he really meant was motorcycle propelled truck bed that we were all going to sit on.  Only after 1 person fell off of it (he wasn't hurt, though) and we had to stop about 3-4 times because something had to be adjusted underneath it, did everyone else realize that walking sounded like a great idea.  I sure am glad I brought that head lamp I had bought when I went to South Sudan last year.

We did finally get back to the place where we are staying and were able to discuss the day tomorrow and what our plan was.  In the morning, we'll spend time with the school children (grades 7, 8, and 9), then we'll have lunch, and in the afternoon, we'll visit a hand-pump site and them have some more time to spend with some of the children from the schools or other young evangelists in this village.

The building where the church worships, the kids have school and the boys' hostel (the place where we stayed was actually the girls' hostel).

It's going to be an event-filled day and let me just go ahead and tell you all that IT IS HOT!!!!  And, by hot, I mean HOT!!!!  We were blessed with a little surprise when we arrived, though.....we have power in the place where we are staying, so there are fans!!  I didn't know that they would be available, so this was definitely a welcomed pleasure.

Hoping to spread His Name and Renown this week while in India!