Catherine's visit

I know that the chronological order of my blog has been all shot to pieces recently, but hey!

Catherine was here with us over easter. It was great having her here.

I thought I'd be really clever, and put postings about Jo's sister Catherine's visit on in reverse order (from below to above- fellow bloggers will understand what I'm talking about!) Basically when you make a posting it stacks itself on top of the others in reverse chronological order as you read it. Therefore, if you are reading someones blog, you must scroll down to where you want to start reading, and then work upwards. I thought it would be really clever to start posting at the end of Catherne's visit, and work backwards, so that you could all read the postings from top to bottom instead. (we did a similar thing for our Kerala holiday). I unfortunately got distracted, and so now my blog is more unperfect than before!! I realise this is far too complicated.

Basically...

...Read on, and see how you go!

Biker Girl!

After Catherine's arrival, I took her for a spin on my bike around the locale. She quite enjoyed the bike, and suggested her boyfriend Neil should get one for London!

I guess that she would join me in being entirely honest that the picture of her driving was staged. She said that she wanted a photo of her on my bike, to prove that she is as hard as Neil! ( there is an earlier posting of him actually riding my bike)

This photo Catherine took of Lok Hospital is actually the best I've got. They have recently put a new sign on top of the building, which makes it look more dashing in photos!

This shot below is of the local street where fruit and veg are available in the evenings. This is "real India".

A little work

Catherine was able to come with me to work one morning, and we went to visit a couple of patients in their homes in a neighbouring suburb called Mulund. There is one Church member there "Zane" who has left his full-time well paid job to volunteer with the Church helping be advocates for patients with HIV/AIDS. We have a small orphanage there- just 2 kids, with one lady who ceres for them. Here is Catherine standing outside.

I had actually never visited the area before, but it is built on a hill, and has a really nice village like atmosphere, and the neighbours are all very friendly. I think Catherine enjoyed the visits, and it was really encouraging for everyone for her (and I) to be there.

A day in Mumbai

Do't worry too much about the giraffe in the centre of the photo. He's quite tame.

We often go into Mumbai with visitors (we actually live about 1 1/2 hours from the centre, in a suburb). Catherine went for a day with her friend Jess to see the work with "Women's India Trust". Jo went the next day to meet them, and I babysat overnight, and then joined them the 3rd day! It was kind of a "Staggered assault" by the family on Mumbai. I'm not sure if the metropolis would have coped too well with us all arriving at the same time!!?

Unfortunately there was a nasty fire in a shop in the centre of Colaba. It was a shame, but it meant that Catherine was able to get some photos of firemen for her "India project". She is a primary school teacher, and wanted photos of lots of different professions.

We love to go for a trip around the harbour on a boat. It takes 30 minutes, and is great fun for the kids. In the background you can see the gateway of India.

Horsey Horsey Don't you stop

I've mentioned below the trip to Matheran, with the shots from the car, and the toy train, but here are some shots of our time actually IN Matheran itself. We were there for 1 night on good Friday

The town is a hill station about 2 hours from Thane. Uniquely, the town's council have maintained a motorised vehicle free zone in the villiage. This means that to get to the villiage, you can either get the toy train, or drive half way, pay to park, and then get a horse or hand pulled rickshaw the rest of the way to the villiage. It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "park and ride"!

The town also do not allow polythene bags. These create a huge pollution problem in the rest of India, and when monsoon comes they can create havoc with blocked drains. Part of the problem is with the attitude of Indians that as long as they are not directly littering their own driveway, there will be someone else less fortunate than themselves there to clear up their litter. Many of the women we treat work picking through other peoples rubbish, and they earn less than a pound a day!

Catherine, Jess (friend who is also doing voluntary work here for a womens charity) and I went for a 2 hour horse-ride the evening we were in Matheran. We all really enjoyed it in the end, once we had got the hang or the rhythm! We even galloped a short way!

This photo is of Catherine and I at "sunset point". There are many viewpoints in Matheran. It is a plateau type hill, which you can walk or ride all around, getting views in all directions. Most of the paths are in the shade of trees, which is definately a Godsend. We also went for a bit of a walk the next morning. It was very hot! However I think that Alistair and Freya had the right idea of how to travel, as you can see below!

Dolkan village

Yesterday John (pictured above, a Nursing lecturer from Carlisle) and I went to Dolkan village, 2 hours from Thane, to visit a remarkable man called Abraham. The village has no good doctor, and many people suffer without good medical care. The photo above is of the main villiage centre, which has a good number of small shops. Below you can see the local shoe shopping precinct!

For many years Abraham has been serving the community in grace and selflessness, to try to bring better health-care to the village.

It was humbling and satisfying to see the relationships that Abraham has now built with the locals. They all love and respect him, and he jokingly confiscates money that local children were gambling with, and a chewing tobacco box from a young boy, and they love him for it. You can see him below standing to the left of the tree addressing the youth.

Abraham is a small man, not reaching my shoulder, but he has such a big heart, and a matching smile. He has remarkable enthusiasm in a difficult task, and he gives all praise and honour to God.

Until last year he was living in a small shack smaller than your garage, but last year with the help of Lok hospital, a beautiful home was built for him, with an inside toilet (the first he's ever had), and 2 bedrooms. He cannot believe God's goodness to him, but the truth is that he deserves so much more!!

A few months ago he was bitten by a viper, and went to a hospital an hour away, received no treatment, and went home to begin fighting the effects of the bite. He was expected to die, or at least lose his leg, but he has survived, with only some swelling remaining in his affected leg.

Funnily enough, there are some bible verses about this;

Mark 16:18 "they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

Luke 10:19 "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you."

However we shouldn't just let ourselves be bitten for the fun of it, as we are also warned in scripture!!

1 Corinthians 10:9 "We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes."

People in the village have told him that he should not be alive, and that his God must be very powerful. Perhaps he was also able to survive because he is so fit. Fitter than me certainly- at the age of 52. He regularly walks 20km per day to visit outlying villages/farms. He has a scooter, but finds it a bit daunting using it. He recently fell from his scooter in fact, and so it sits with a broken brake-lever unused at the moment, while Abraham walks 20km on his swollen leg.

I am very moved by his courage and determination, and so I'm planning to go and visit him once a month, and help him with his medical work. He doesn't speak much English, but my Hindi is now just about good enough to get by!

Adam

"Right" to carry arms?

A US shooting rampage at the Virginia Tech university has left 33 people, including a suspected gunman, dead.

The US constitution says that all men have a right to carry arms. In the film "bowling for columbine", Michael Moore opens a bank account that gives a free rifle as an incentive to new customers.

Is it not wrong in todays world of screwed up youth and terrorism that people should have an automatic right to carry murderous weapons?

I know that Americans are very proud of their constitution, but are so many young lives worth it?

Is it ever "right" to carry arms without good cause?

From the car

As we were travelling to Matheran we saw some interesting scenes from the car.

1) Washer women

2) The 'toy train' that takes about 2 hours to cover a distance you can do in the car in about 1/2 hour

3) Children pumping water, and women carrying water from the well

The easter message

Catherine brought us real easter-eggs for the kids, all the way from the UK. The reason for the easter eggs in the UK is that it is suppoesd to symbolise the stone being rolled away from the entrance to Jesus tomb when he raised himself from the dead.

I'm not sure that Freya and Alistair fully appreciate the easter message, but I know they appreciated the chocolate!

The easter story

A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem.

While they were there, the wife suddenly died.

The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her shipped home for $5000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150.

The man thought about it and decided to have her shipped home. The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5000 to ship your wife home, when it would be so wonderful to be buried here and you would spend ony $150?"

The man replied, "Long ago, a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

Who needs a truck

I have had a couple of postings before with the title 'who needs a truck'. This is a continuation of that series!

Who needs a truck? Not yours truly!

I've given mattresses to a few patients now. Sometimes when they are very thin it can help them to rest, and not get pressure-sores. The mattresses are thin, and stuffed with cotton, sort of like a 3-4 inch thick quilt. They are quite cheap- about £5. I've delivered 2 mattresses in this way on my bike! It's not as impressive as some of the other loads you see, but I thought It'd be fun to show you.

Un-Holy mess

This is a picture taken of Alistair and I after a recent festival called Holi (Hindu festival of colour).
Most Christians here choose to seperate themselves from such occasions, and stay indoors. Of course, many of them are from a Hindu background, and so it is important for them to have closure on the old way of life.
I understand this view, and I feel it is important for Christians to be set-apart, and willing to stand for their faith. However I decided that it was a good way to make friendships and build bridges to take part. It reminded me of paul in athens. He first found out about the local ways, and then told the story of their "unknown God".
I asked some friends what Holi was about. Apparently there was a boy who did something and the people wanted him destroyed, so they put him in the arms of a woman who was impervious to fire and tried to burn him. However, because his heart was pure, and he had been wrongly accused or something (sorry the details are a bit sketchy) he was spared but the lady was burned. On the eve of the "festival of colour" people burn bonfires. I was able to share with a few people the story of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego.

The next day is when lots of people go out with coloured powder and water-pistols, and get rather messy!
As we are white we were everyone's target, although we were only outside for 1/2 an hour, we were messier than most!

Mobile Phones

I would like to say a big thankyou to those of you who answered my email asking for mobile phones. We received 15 phones, 12 of which we have received, and we will collect the other 3 in the summer. So far, 8 are working, and 5 have been sent to good homes!

The biggest advantage is that I have given 3 phones to colleagues who work as social workers. I bought lifetime validity for their sim-cards, so it means that they will be able to get incoming calls always. It is a great "productivity multiplier" as Andi who runs the AIDS project said. He often comes out with some pretty cool turns of phrase using long words!

Footprints

You'll see in the next posting after this one, that I am also quite a poet! however, seriously, this is a great poem, and it doesn't rhyme either! One of my favourites.

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low periods of my life,

when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life

there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,

“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,

is when I carried you.”

Mary Stevenson

Oh me oh my!

I think many f you know the situation with my eye- basically alistair badly scratched my eye in July 2006, and until December I had had 15 spontaneous recurrences. Very painful and debilitating actually. At the beginning of December 2 of the leaders from our church prayed for my eye, and I had no further problems for 3 months, and was pretty chuffed. However at the beginning of March I had another recurrence, and I was feeling really sorry for myself.

Later that day I went into work, and there was a man there who has AIDS, and no house, and pneumonia. (we have now treated his pneumonia, he is taking medicines for AIDS, and we have also found him a house). When I saw him it put my problems into proper perspective, and I was filled with hope and joy as I counted my blessings, and stopped focusing on small problems!

I think it is a good lesson to try and focus on our many blessings at at times.

I once wrote a poem, so I thought I'd give it a go again; Jo says that I have no talent, but I'll let you be the judge of that. I'm quietly confident in my abilities-

"I had a sore eye
Oh me oh my
I think I'll die
What a disaster
Pass me a plaster

Why do poems mostly rhyme?
Seems to me a waste of ..."

I expect the publishers will be queing up now?...
...Anyone?

On line again!

We have not had internet for a couple of weeks at home.

There are two reasons for this
1) We didn't pay our phone bill on time- oops! This meant that our outgoing calls and internet were stopped. However, it took them 10 days to reconnect us, even though they said it would happen the evening I paid my bill!
2)And here begins my weary tale...
...A couple of months ago my hard drive packed in, and was replaced. We had all our stuff backed up thankfully. Anyway, I gave the guy in the shop my discs to load my pukka copy of windows XP, but he decided that he'd load a pirate copy for me. I don't know why! Maybe I have the look of a lawbreaker about me!? anyway, I asked him to remove the illegal copy and put my copy back on. He did this, and all the internet settings on my computer were lost, and I had not taken a copy of them. We had to get someone from our ISP to come and reconfigure the settings on our computer, then we were back on line again....
...then we got a virus on our computer designed to infiltrate computers that do not contain service pack 2 for windows XP. My disc did not contain service pack 2. I took my computer back to the shop, and they said they would load SP2 from disc. I left the computer with them, but the next day they explained that they had needed to download the software from windows update...
...To do this, they had obviously changed all my internet settings so that they could go on line in the shop with my computer! And you've guessed it, they didn't think to take a note of my original settings!!...
...Therefore we had to get the man to come from our ISP to reconfigure our computer again...
...That happened yesterday, and so we are back on line again.

I have taken a note of our internet settings!

these sorts of things happen all the time in India. I'm actually not that bothered any more. You learn pretty fast that everything will take 10 times as long as in the west, and that nothing will be straight forwards. The story actually had a couple of other twists in it, but I've kept it simple!

And she's off!

Just to prove that she IS walking, here's a great shot of Freya on the move! She is so happy to be upright and spends all day pottering round the flat. Here she is, delighted to be let loose from her buggy in one of the local shopping centres.

A parting shot... I really like this photo of the kids with my Mum and Dad outside Mumbai airport, just before we said goodbye. It was hard to say goodbye but we have plenty of happy memories and good photos...

A visit from 'Gran and Pop'

My (Jo's) Mum and Dad came to stay in February. It was a short visit, 8 days for Mum and just 4 days for Dad (who came to us after visiting other places in India). It was worth every minute though and especially nice for the kids to spend time with them. They are growing so quickly and we miss having family nearby to enjoy them with us.

We spent one afternoon at our 'local' beach (about 1hrs drive) which Alistair particularly loves going to. Even better when you've got Pop to build sandcastles and play bat and ball with!

There was plenty of time for me and Mum to catch up on chat too!

By "Godincedence"

A good friend of mine recently said something to me in an email about coincidence. The following is a bit about what brought Jo and I to India, and the reply that I sent him in an Email. I realise that I don't think I've told this story on the Blog before, and it is an important tale to us.

I started using the term godincidences instead of coincidences when we were thinking of coming to India.

Jo and I were coming here on holiday, and a few weeks before we left the UK by "godincidence" someone spoke at our church about Lok Hospital. We therefore decided to fit a visit to the hospital into our holiday.

We were only in Thane for about 36 hours, but the only evening we spent there properly Dr Stephen (who runs the hospital) by "godincidence" had organised a meeting with about 15 local church leaders to discuss setting up an AIDS project

By "Godincedence" I had worked in an AIDS project in Chennai during the summer of 1998 as a medical student, and so I went to the meeting with Stephen.

So by "Godincidence" I was a few thousand miles away from home and part of the first meeting to discuss setting up the project that I am now attached to.

The first person in the UK that I spoke to about my thoughts of going to India longer term by "Godincidence" had just finished reading a book that had a chapter in it about a hospital in India, and he suggested that I read the book. By "Godincedence that chapter in that book was unbelievably about the same hospital that I had been to visit. (and now work in).

We then visited a Church we had never been to before to say goodbye to a friend of my sisters who was emigrating to Canada. By "Godincedence" a man there who We had never met stood up and prophesied that Jo and I would be going overseas on mission, and that after 18 months things would be starting to come together. By "Godincedence" 18 months later we were booking our flights.

Once we had decided to come for sure, a friend suggested we look for an organisation to help give us some support while we were in India. By "Godincedence" the first organisation we approached was EMMS (or Emmanuel Healthcare as they are now known), and by "Godincedence" the week before we saw them they had signed a cheque to pay for the construction of the AIDS project I now work in!!

I had always told Dr Stephen that I was most interested in the AIDS work here in India. However, when I arrived in India Dr. Stephen had still not told Andi who runs the project that I was coming. I was therefore a bit nervous the first time I visited the AIDS project. Incredibly, by "Godincedence" Andi and Sheba had decided that they needed another Doctor, and so they had prayed and asked God to provide someone within the next 30 days. 30 days later I walked through their door!

Yesterday I was having a game of pool with one of my friends who lives in the same apartment complex as us. He had recently been given a new job, and he asked me "do you believe in things happening for a reason?" I replied "I believe in God"! "That's a good answer" he said.

Adam