“The animals went in two by two. Harrah, hurrah!” Sound familiar? Yes to Lorna and I, and anybody else who attended church holiday clubs or SU camps from a young age, this song will probably bring back fond memories of your childhood. For us however it is a reminder of our lives over the past few days. As I’ve described in the previous entry, for most of our day on Thursday we were standing in front of hundreds of children imitating elephants, birds, crocodiles and all sorts of other weird and wonderful creatures. We were telling the children of Kennedy school about Noah and how he had to take the animals into the ark. Little did we know that the poor children may be traumatised because literally days later we are enjoying our very own flood. Today is Sunday and all festivities have been momentarily put on hold because of the monsoon that is currently flooding Chennai. So we are imprisoned in our wee hotel until it stops, although judging from the weather forecast it doesn’t look set to stop until the 14th of Dec when indeed the monsoon period ends! So I thought I’d take this opportunity to say hi and let you know what we’ve been up to the past few days.
Before the rain interfered with our schedule (yes we have a timetable and we have to stick to it. Can you believe it! Those of you who know Captain Thacker will be able to imagine what our timetable may be like) Lorna and I had the opportunity to visit some of the homes in a slum area here in Chennai. We are being very well looked after by two churches: Christ the Rock and Mount Zion. Both churches do a lot of ministry in the slums and most members of their small congregations come from there.
So after a hectic day with the children in the schools we were told that we were going to visit these homes. Although a little nervous, having been to these areas in daylight and slightly tired we were excited to visit the homes of the women we had had been sharing and praying with; the women who had been looking after us so well. They too were equally as excited about showing us where they live and us meeting their families.
So we left the church (Mount Zion) and set out. Weaving in and out of the dusty stalls and homes we saw rats, children, men and women sitting. Yes just sitting. Some of them in silence, some talking to the children flung on the road in front of them, playing with old pots and pans or twigs. Some of the women lit fires, presumably to cook and men huddled in shop doorways chatting and smoking. All eyes were on us. Two large white girls. I say large, no not because we’re bigger than you but because we are definitely bigger than the average Indian. The women are very petite and dressed in the most beautiful saris. They actually add colour and a little life to the darkness that dampens the streets. As we pass, the hustle and bustle of the stalls stops. People stare. Some rush towards us gesturing to their mouths hoping that we can feed them. They groan in a language we don’t understand (Tamil) but their actions are crystal clear and we are left in no doubt of what they mean. They are hungry and we are obviously well fed. They need something to eat now. Discreetly both Lorna and I try to give the little money we have on us but our chaperones discourage us and whisk us into one of the little stone houses. The houses are like flats: stacked up high and between them ropes, laden with clothes being hung out to dry, are strung. I was actually concentrating so much on where I was putting my feet that I hadn’t looked up until pastor Sebastian joked that they had put the flags out for us coming!
Inside the homes we are met by large families. All desperate to meet us and most importantly pray with us. It was such an enriching experience to talk to these people. To hear of how God is at work in their lives. Yes I’m talking about now as you read this he is changing their homes and communities. To them God is real. He is someone they talk to, not just on a daily basis but all day everyday. They rely on him for things. We have learned that when they pray to him, like we discovered in Africa, they actually pray with confidence. They pray expecting things to happen. One family told us of how the mother had been in bondage for seven years; she had been "possessed by evil spirits". By this I presume she was in some sort of depression. At home she may have been prescribed a drug or worse still told to get on with things but here they prayed to God and he provided, as he always does. During that time her family home was a horrible place to be. The children told us about how it was always dark and no one was every happy. They said that now God is in their home they are happy and have joy. Who wouldn’t want that for their family!
Another home we visited consisted of only one room. This was home for the family of six. In it they all live by day and sleep by night, yes in that one room. They huddled between four cold stone walls on a stone floor. In one corner was a small water bucket and another empty one. Another part of the small room was partitioned as a kitchen from where they produced some fizzy juice for us. Time and time again we are overwhelmed by little they have and how willing they are to give. In the first home I mentioned they actually gave us money as a blessing for our ministry. It was probably their monthly salary. Yes we did take it! I know it sounds awful but they found it terribly offensive when we refused. And yes we will make a donation to their church so they get it back!
Finally we visited Solomon’s home. Solomon is a young man (25) who is hugely excited about God. He lives there with his mother (a stunningly beautiful woman) and his brother Moses. Solomon told us about how they, along with another younger brother whom we didn’t meet, used to live in “platforms”. When talking about that time in his life he was visibly distressed and so naturally we asked what “platforms” were. “They are the gutters or I think you call them pavements,” he answered.
“Yes I think we do.” I replied embarrassed. And so he went on to tell us of how God had provided them with a home and how he and his brothers are now all in fulltime employment. He then proceeded to show us round his home. It had a small kitchen, a prayer room (cupboard) and one bedroom. Awkwardly edging my way round the one double bed squeezed into the room, I asked, “Who sleeps here?”
“We all do. It’s a big bed isn’t it?” He replied looking at me as if I had asked a stupid question, which of course I had!
These are just some of the homes we have visited in the few days we have been here. Over the next few weeks we will no doubt visit many more. And so please continue to pray, not for us or even our safety here but pray for these people. Pray that our visits would be fruitful and that what we see would lead us (as in you and me) into action; into doing something for justice because this is simply unjust! To have two grown men sharing a bed with their mother is unjust. To be given money from a family who have barely enough to feed themselves is unjust and to see all of this and do nothing unthinkable. I say this every time. You can do something. Even if you can’t come to India you can do something. Everything starts with prayer. Whether it is prayer for wisdom, prayer for energy, prayer for motivation, prayer for finances. You can’t do anything but God can do everything through you!
No comments:
Post a Comment