Indian baby!

Thought some of you might be interested to see Freya's (Indian) birth certificate! (I guess that means some of you might not... Oh well!). The next step is to get her a British birth certificate, and then passport, before we come to UK in June. Please pray for this to go smoothly. 

wrong end of the (body) stick

Alistair has begun potty training. Unfortunately he thinks this involves taking his pants off and putting them on his head. He then gets his favourite toys, and walks around with them in his potty!! OOPS! We love this photo. It is typical of Alistair's mischevious and comical personality. 

Bit of Gen

Hello all,
I'm at work, so I'll keep this brief.
We are planning to come back to the UK on the 10th June until 3rd July. We have provisionaly booked flights, and are very excited about seeing as many of you as possible.
News wise, We have moved flats now, and the new place is a real blessing. We are also able to put up a volunteer who is coming to India for 4 months from New-Zealand, as we have a little more space. We still have plenty of space for visitors though, so get in touch if you fancy a trip!

Work is getting busier all the time, but I am enjoying it.

Freya is doing very well, and has grown 10cm in 9 weeks! She seems much more mobile than Alistair was, and turns from front to back, and back again fairly easily now. she lifts her head right up to look straight ahead when she is lying on her front, and she easily moves several feet across the floor in no time at-all. I'm now pinning my hopes of a rugby international in the family on the women's team, not the mens!!!???

Alistair is such a good big brother. His language is also so good now. He uses 6 word sentences! My speech therapist wife tells me that he does not have good phonology though(which I think is pronounciation to the rest of us)!

Jo is sooo much happier in our new flat. It is much cooler, and the lift has a generator, so that Jo is not trapped when we have 3 hours of powercuts every afternoon! We have also found a lovely lady to come and help with housework and the children in the mornings (which seems extravagant by western standards, but is cultural here, and provides her with very valuable employment). Jo loves her, and as she doesn't speak any english it means that Jo's Hindi is improving!

Thanks for your continuing prayers,
Lots of love, Adam

New Flat

We successfully moved flats yesterday. Only one broken glass (we think!). Paul and Jean Dobbing are staying with us as of last night!, and we had 3 other people round for pizza last night. Was lovely. We still have carpenters and workmen around, but hopefully they'll finish today.
Will post some photos in a couple of weeks, once we are on-line in our new flat. I'm writing this at work, so Ill sign off now. God bless, Adam

House move

Just a short post to say that Jo and I are moving to a bigger flat today, then Paul and Jean Dobbing (friends from Glasgow) are coming to stay for a few days this evening! Hopefully we'll be ready for them arriving. It will be a very busy day. Pray for us to remain calm and focused!

Jo re: LIFE!

Hello all,

My folks were here for several weeks until 26th Feb and it was so lovely. Especially nice for Alistiar to have lots of attention. He really took to them and talked about Gran and Pop constantly (or more accurately 'dan an pop'!). I got to have a leisurely breakfast everyday! We had a good mixture of visiting places and just being around at home, chatting lots and drinking tea. Something i haven't done much of since getting here. It was really hard when they left but i wasn't in pieces which i thought i might be. An answer to prayer i think. Our new flat is another definite answer to prayer for us I think. The new place is much bigger and much cooler than our old flat. It also has a generator to work the lift so when there is a 3 hour power cut everyday i won't be trapped on the 11th floor! The development also has a relatively child-friendly play park and a swimming pool with 'clubhouse'! It really will make life with the kids a lot easier.

It will be lovely for us to see many of you in June. It will be nice to introduce you to Freya, and for you to see how Alistair has grown. We are definitely coming back! Our dates are 10th June to 3rd July. We plan to be in Scotland at the start and end of this time as our flight will be to Edinburgh. We will be at Queen's Park Baptist Church for 2 sundays hopefully. It will be so good to catch up with some of you there.

Freya is now over 9 weeks old! Can't believe it. She's come on so much and is so much more responsive now which is lovely. Alistair continues to be very good with her. It will be great when she is old enough for them to really play together. She looks quite different i think with blue eyes and lighter hair.

Loads of love to you all. Jo xxxx

Budding pals

The wee boy in the picture is the son of one of Adam's colleagues. Alistair and he had a great time at the dedication. Alistair is being held by Sudha, who is one of the nurses at Adam's work. 

Mini Me!

All dressed up for Freya's dedication. Adam's 'kurta' was a Christmas present from Jo and he found Alistair one to match in Mumbai. Aren't they gorgeous! 

Freya's dedication night

We had a party to welcome Freya to the world
the night before Jo's Mum & Dad left. An opportunity to thank God for our little gift. It was a great night - 50 folk turned up and we had a lovely Indian meal.
Jo's Dad said a few words and her Mum said a prayer for Freya and the family. It was really special for us that they were there. A couple of our friends from here also prayed, Dr Stephen Alfred and Andi Eicher who Adam works with. 

Chapati anyone?

Alistair LOVES chapatis! Here he is with Saroj, the lady who comes to help us, learning how to make them with playdough! 

Stars in our eyes

At Jeevan Sahara Kendra, they have a tradition of writing the names of every patient who dies onto gold star, and glueing those stars onto the ceiling. Currently we have 74 stars on the ceiling. It was quite emotional last week, as we had our first patient to actually die at the centre, as well as 2 others. I asked if I could be the one to stick the stars on the ceiling. When I first came to JSK I thought it was a bit morbid, but now I think that it is a sign of hope. Another patient who I had been heavily involved with died just a couple of days ago, and once his star is on the ceiling it will be quite meaningful every time I look at it.

Scaffolding

Even on posh buildings or skyscrapers, this is what the scaffolding looks like. Health and safety is not a major consideration here! 

Senior Citizen's Club

Jo's dad was 60 just before coming to India. We have been giving him a hard time about getting a senior citizens discount on the trains! 

Local market

The fruit and veg. is superb here, and so cheap! The tomatoes are soooo tasty

Local shop

Not just for local people thankfully! 

Freya update

Here's a more up-to-date picture of the wee darling! 

Meeting Gran & Pop

This is a photo that Jo's mum and dad took when they arrived at the airport, of us greeting them! Alistair is holding a sign which says "welcome gran and pop to India" 

Big School-boy!

Alistair is going to 'Toddlers Academy' 3 times a week, and wears this uniform, which is sooooo cute! He loves it. He gets picked up in a small minibus. They call this "going to school" here, and even from 1 1/2 years old some places can be very strict and start teaching a curriculum!! Thankfully Toddlers academy is run by a lovely Christian lady, who is quite laid back, and actually quite positive about allowing small children to have fun! (which is quite a liberal view here) 

TB,VCTC,Inpatient expansion

Here is a wee work update, as promised. There is a lot going on! Our patients often have TB, and at present they are referred to the government system for free treatment, which is great that there is that service, but means their care becomes more fragmented and complicated. Because of this Andi (who runs JSK) is keen to put a proposal forward for us to become a government funded centre for TB. This is still in embryonic stages, with not much on paper, but your prayers would be appreciated as to whether this is God's will. It would mean a rapid expansion, and sideways shift somewhat, as it would open our doors beyond HIV to the general public more.
Secondly, and related to the above, is the idea to also become a government recognised testing centre for HIV. We have positive feedback from one funding agency to help this move forward. If the first plan succeeds, and we stard treating for TB, then many of those people will need HIV testing, and it is a long way for people to go at present for testing. (It can be done locally, but is very expensive, so it is better resource management for people to go to the government centres).
The third thing we really need is more space, as already we have had to add another in-patient bed in our centre, which means I have lost my desk!!! I have drawn up plans for a first floor extension to the current premesis, and now we need planning permission. Please pray for this to go ahead quickly. We will get some of the current Lok Hospital premesis when we build the new Hospital, but our need is more urgent than that!

Jo speaking!

I really miss my work (never thought I'd say that!). It's quite a shift for me to not have a role as such and not to be using my skills at all. Hopefully once the kids are a bit older I will be able to do a bit at the hospital.

We're doing ok here. It's hotting up now (not that it ever felt cool) which I find particularly difficult. It makes everything more tiring and it is harder to entertain Alistair in the heat. If you need a specific prayer point for me it would be this - that I would have the strength to cope with the heat on a daily basis and be able to find ways to entertain Alistair depsite it - he is so energetic! He is so lovely just now. Such a wee character - quite a comedian. He adores Freya which is such a blessing. Freya is doing really well. She is sleeping on my lap as I write this. We are so chuffed with her. Especially as we were convinced we were having a boy!
Our flat faces due South, and we have a powercut between 3-6pm, so we have no fans to keep us cool. Also we live 6 floors up, and the flat we are in doesn't have a generator for the lift, so it is very difficult to get out of the flat in the afternoons, so I feel a bit like a prisoner in an oven!Because of this we prayed 2 weeks ago about whether we should move, and the very next day were offered (out of the blue) a very large flat on the 11th floor. It is close to here and faces West with views over the hills. It's nice and cool and has a generator for the lift. It will cost a bit more than our current place, but has a communal swimming pool and a play park, which is ideal. It will also be better for visitors.

Our church in Glasgow is having a "global focus" weekend on Sunday and we are going to do a live video-link call over the internet to the whole church! We're really looking forward to it. We miss our church back home. The church we are going to here is very different from what we are used to, a brethren style church.

We are planning a visit back to the UK in June (10th - 3rd July approx). Would be great to be able to meet up with you all then. God bless. x

Partnership

Last week Andi and I attended a meeting with some other Christian organisations to discuss the possibility of all starting to work in greater unity to combat the threat of HIV/AIDS. The prospect of us all becoming one large conglomerate with common strategies and protocols was discussed, which would give us more unity and cohesion. It would also make it possible to apply for larger sponshorship deals, from larger international organisations. We are still quite a way off that kind of thing, but have agreed to pray about it, and to seek greater unity, and see how God leads us. Please pray.

REAL NEED

One of the problems with working with those with AIDS is that their lifespan is limited. Tied to this, only 20% of Children contract the disease from positive mothers. This means that there are inevitably a lot of children left parentless.

In India there's not really a provision for these children, and so at JSK we try to help them. Our policy is to try to place children with their extended families where possible, as family is so important. Other than this JSK has historically referred Children to established Orphanages, run by the Catholic Church in the main. However these can also be quite large and impersonal.

Andi, who I work with, has been thinking that there is a need for us to start some work among orphans for some time, however I was not aware of this. Independantly I heard of someone who was wanting to start an orphanage in the North of India for children from HIV infected families. When I heard this I felt that it was such a great idea, and really felt enthused to do something similar. When I next spoke to Andi, (when we returned from Mussoorie), he told me that he was planning to have a meeting to discuss provision for orphans. That meeting was in November.

Shortly after that, there were 2 orphans who were placed with family, but there were already grandparents, parents, and children living in one room, and family said they just couldn't cope with 2 more children. We therefore arranged for the children to go to an orphanage, but they ran away twice. 2 weeks ago they moved into a room with a guardian who is another one of our patients, and it is going really well.

The latest is that 500 pounds was recently put into my bank account by someone in the UK, who my sister had spoken to, and who was keen for the money to be used in work with orphans!

This is just the start. We have 15 other Children who will be in a similar situation soon. It has been amazing what God has done so far in this area, and I look forward to the future with confidence. It is just great to see God working so much in all things. I've never experienced anything like it before in my life. I think I was probably just too self-reliant and comfortable in the UK. There isn't any REAL NEED in the same way in the UK(although I know there is need), and so you don't rely on God the same there (or maybe that was just me!!).

Anyway, I'm not saying all this to illustrate how wonderful I am. I'm not. (honestly). I have many faults. I really just want to communicate how great GOD is.

Thankyou for all your support. Lots of love, Adam

God's pulling the strings!

I have been back at work for a week, and have lots to say about that. there is enough really exciting stuff to talk about to fill several postings! So I think I will just write several postings on different topics over the next few weeks!

However, this is just a short note to tell you of an amazing co-incidence, or as I like to call it a 'God-incidence'.

Jo's parents arrived here on Saturday, and we all went to the airport to meet them. As we waited outside the airport I looked to the right, and was absentmindedly scanning the many A4 signs saying such things as "ACME TOURS WELCOMES MR. & MRS. N.E.BODY". Suddenly I did a double take, as I saw a sign saying simply "PAUL AND JEAN DOBBING". For those of you who Don't know, Paul and Jean are a couple from our home Church in Glasgow. Jean has lived in Nepal before, and had connections with a school there that Jo volunteered in for 6 months in 1997. Jo was actually in a prayer support group for Jean in Glasgow!

Anyway, Both Jo and I only knew Jean as "Jean Weir" which was her maiden name, but last week a friend from our Church sent me an Email saying that they had a service to say goodbye to Paul and Jean Dobbing who were going to Nepal! I emailed back saying that I wasn't sure that I knew who they were unless that was Jean Weir as was, and got a prompt reply saying this was the case.

Then amazingly it turns out that they arrived at Mumbai International airport 5 minutes after Jo's parents, and I happened to see the message for them being held up, and I only heard their new names a few days before, otherwise the sign would have meant nothing to me!!

It was sooo nice to wait and meet them. They are doing 2 months training in a Place called Pune which is only 3 hours from us by train. We're thinking of visiting them for a weekend, and they're planning to visit us for a few days at the end of March.

Here are some words from the start of an email that I recieved from them today:
" Hi Adam and Jo, it was really great to meet you at the airport on Saturday. We thought that was amazing and that it was such an encouragement to us. Thank you for waiting in the heat and sorry you had to wait a while. It really helped us though to come off the plane and see you all there. I thought God did that - it is a kind of assurance that He is going ahead of us - that is what we feel. "
That's also what Jo and I feel, as God is repeatedly sooo faithful to us here.

I'll be back in touch again soon, with more news about some interesting developments at work.
Lots of love, Adam

Clanblack!

 

Especially for Penni

I guess this photo has to be especially for Adam's big sister Penni. She was great, and sent the carseat, bouncy chair, and the wooden toy on top of the television!! Thanks Penni!
It's actually fairly typical for Alistair to be hovering around Freya. He likes to lie with his head resting on the bouncy chair at Freya's feet, stroking her tummy, and kissing her feet!

A little word in your ear!

Freya is actually hungry in this photo, and trying to eat Alistair's ear. I'm not sure he knows quite what to make of it!! 

Besotted

Hello again, thanks for reading our blog!
We've had a good week and feel like we are starting to settle into a bit of a routine now. Freya is feeding really well and sleeps for long spells between feeds which is good. Last night Jo fed her at 11.30 and then she only woke up for one more feed at 4 which was fantastic. She doesn't seem to be as sicky as Alistair was at this stage. She is just adorable - we love her to bits and still can't believe we have a daughter!! Alistair continues to be really besotted with her and loves to kiss and cuddle her. Went out for our first shopping trip with her yesterday which all the Indians thought was horrfying! Traditionally new mums here lie in bed for a month and have everything done for them! They seem to treat childbirth as an illness. They also have lots of definite ideas about how to dress (warmly), hold, feed the baby etc. I just smile and inwardly disagree!

People here have been so kind to us this week. God has blessed us with a meal every day! Folk from church and neighbours have popped in with stuff and been really sweet. It's amazing, being so far from friends and family and yet having folk who hardly know us looking out for us. God is good.

Adam has taken 2 weeks paternity leave from work, which will work OK, as Dr. Sheba is there in the mornings, and there are no in-patients again this week. It has been amazing how God has provided busy spells when the team is at full strength, and quiet spells when we are depleted!

Close-up and personal

Here's a close up of Freya Ann Black. All in family are well. Mum and Dad are a bit tired, but the 2 kids are sleeping 'like babies' as I type. If you wish, it is possible to save these pictures to your computers, and even print them to show them to your friends!! (maybe that's just something an overenthusiastic father would do?!)

Big brother is watching you!

Hello all. Good news at last, for all you poor
people who have been desperately waiting for
news!
Jo gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby girl at 12.40 indian time. Her name is Freya Anne Black.
She was 2.83kg which we think is about 6lb 3oz. Small and perfectly formed.
Alistair was a total star (as always). He was very excited, but very gentle. He kept saying "baby, mummy, baby, mummy".
I'm looking forward to getting mum and baby home later.

Pally Festive Posting

Happy new year when it comes. This is a fairly pally post for the festive season, so it doesn't contain much news about work!

We had a lovely Christmas with my (Adam's) family, who are with us until the 5th January. Jo and mum did an amazing job of dinner, with 2 roast chickens cooked in a combination microwave oven! This was accompanied by perfect roast potatoes, greens, carrots, and gravy!! This was followed by apple crumble, which was delicious. NO COMPROMISE! It was extremely nice to have family with us, and there is already the prospect of some of Jo's family coming out next year!! The day was also spent with a medical student from London, who really fitted in well. He was extremely generous, and bought me a webcam as a present!! Unfortunately he subtley tried to find out if I already had a webcam first, and I thought "that's a greeeaaat idea", and promptly went out and bought myself one on Christmas-Eve!!! OOPS

The webcam means that we can now show people live footage via SKYPE, which is a web based telephone/videolink service, which is free to download, and costs the price of your internet service provider's calls to use. This means that it is effectively FREE if you have broadband. Visit http://www.skype.com by clicking on this link to download the software (make sure you download the latest version (2.0) which supports webcams). It is very user friendly, so don't be scared! and takes only a few minutes to set-up. In order to find us on SKYPE, our username is 'adamclanblack', and our region is 'India'. Once you have sent us an invite to skype you, we will each be able to see when the other person is on-line, and we can call with the click of a button! Alternatively you can call our landline to ask us to go online (0091 22 25399949) It is such a great tool for those abroad!

Andi and Sheba Eicher have gone to Mussoorie for a week to visit his parents, and attend a wedding. This means that I am holding the fort at JSK until the 4th of Jan., and my family leave on the 5th. God has been very gracious by providing a particularly quiet spell at work. We have no in patients at the moment, which means that I have the possibility of a lot more free time. Please pray that this will continue, so that I can spend as much time with my family as possible.

Amazingly Jo and I have not actually been to visit Mumbai proper since we arrived 3 months ago! this means that we are planning to enjoy exploring the Bazaars with my family. They left today to stay In Mumbai for 2 nights, and we plan to join them tomorrow for new year's eve in a hotel.

Cameron has also offered to babysit for Jo and I one night, so it will mean that we will be able to go on a date, which will be the first since arriving here (and probably the last for a while, given that the new baby will be arriving very soon!). We have been fairly careful to protect as much 'family time' as possible here, but it will be nice to have some 'A&J time' as well.

Please pray for us to make the right choice as to where we choose to settle for 'Church'. (I put this in inverted commas because we are all 'Church' all the time, aren't we! What I mean is that we could settle in the right body of believers on a Sunday, in order to share fellowship, worship, serve, grow, and be held accountable!!). At present we are really torn between a Baptist Church which is a Rickshaw drive away, but is more what we're used to, or the Brethren Church which meets in the Hospital. This is a great group of people who we love and respect, but the brethren ethos is a little different to what we are used to. I think that we could maybe be used more at the brethren Church, and it would be great to go to somewhere local.

On the baby front, Jo now only has 24 days to go before her due date! Added to this is the fact that Alistair came 8 days early, so it is fairly likely that we will have another addition to the family in only a couple of weeks!! Are we prepared? Probably as well as we can be, but your prayers would also be appreciated on that front as well. Pray especially for a quick, pain-free delivery, as they do not offer any pain-relief in labour here!!

Anyway, I generally try to keep these letters brief, so that people don't tire of reading them, so I think I'd better sign off now!

God bless, Love Adam, Jo, Alistair and Bump

Christmas Eve

Here we are in an outdoor pool on Christmas Eve! Inga (Adam's sister), Alistair, and Adam's mum are in the foreground. Adam's brother Cameron is catching a frisbee in the background, and Adam's arm is to the right of picture. It is strange being in such warm weather at Christmas. It makes it seem very un-Christmassy! There is also very little consumerism here which is nice.

Christmas Shopping!?

Here's dad and Alistair out shopping for christmas lunch. Mum's just phoned to remind me not to forget something or other. We had some "real good chicken". It was the first time Jo had cooked Christmas lunch, and she did a great job. We had My mum and dad, brother and sister with us, as well as Duncan, the medical student from the UK. A few of us weren't that well on Christmas day, but it was a great day! 

Thanks Duncan

Christmas greetings to you all.

There is a medical student from London here at the moment. His name is Duncan, and he has his own blogger website called Bombay Nights. His first degree was English Honours, and so I have borrowed a piece he wrote on his website about Lok Hospital (with his permission). I think it hits the nail right on the head, and is so much more eloquently put than I would have managed!!:-

"Lok hospital does treat the poorest Harijan (untouchable) caste, or Dalits (oppressed) as they are also known, and it does treat those who cannot afford treatment, as well as link with the aids and village healthcare work. But there is more to it than that.

Firstly, the primary vision that Dr Alfred has is underpinned by an understanding that it is God who ultimately blesses us with healing through the physician, not simply the physicians skill, and this is his witness to the patients – that they will only get better by God’s grace.

Secondly, in India, most of the healthcare access is through GPs, who refer a patient for secondary health care, like in England. However, supposing a treatment the patient 1000 rupees at the hospital – the hospital will take around 600 of that and the GP will take around 400 rupees. This leads to a lot of endemic corruption, with GP’s requesting unnecessary procedures and investigations at the patient’s expense to line their own purses. This has the inevitable consequence of making healthcare unaffordable for the poorest Indians. But more significantly it leads to a 2 tier system of care since it is not in GP’s interests to help the poorest gain access to the overstretched and limited state-run medical care since they do not receive the same remunerations.

Lok hospital does 2 things to counteract this. It will not take referrals from GPs but sees people directly. It provides the best level of healthcare services to paying residents of Thane without deceiving them or recommending unnecessary care. Thus it has a growing reputation spreading by word of mouth, for excellence and integrity in the local community. It uses this revenue from wealthier patients, who come because of its reputation for honesty, to reduce its own overall running costs so that it can maintain a free healthcare service for those who cannot afford it. This model has another major cultural significance: if it were only to treat Harijans, apart from making it difficult to maintain financially, it would also mean that it was looked down on as a second-rate hospital by locals of higher caste helping to perpetuate a 2 tier system. What Lok is doing is giving the same quality of care to the higher caste individuals as to the Harijans, but significantly they see the same physicians, wait in the same rooms and are not segregated off into separate wards. Thus it is culturally more effective at promoting equality of treatment.

Thirdly, and most importantly with respect to the gospel, Lok DOES take referrals from other Christian NGOs (including their own Aids project) working amongst the poorest and most needy in the community. This opens vital doors for these workers – they are able to go into a household, and as well as sharing the gospel and ministering in their own capacities, they are able to see potentially sick people and offer referral to Lok for free assessment and treatment. This makes many people more willing to open their homes to Christians, and thus many more hear about Jesus than otherwise might. Additionally, not all the staff are Christian, so there is the witness to them – there is a meeting every Sunday night in the basement of the hospital for patients, where the Gospel is preached directly and clearly. Dr Alfred invites all the patients who are able to come, and many do, perhaps hearing the gospel for the first time. On his ward rounds, I frequently hear him entreat patients to give God thanks for their recovery or encourage family to ask the Lord for blessing on their loved ones or give thanks for blessing already received.

So I hope that gives you a better picture of what is going on here – it might, at face value, seem less worthy than simply using the hospital for the poorest Harijans, but it is a much more thought-through, culturally and spiritually aware strategy. In fact, plans to expand the hospital to over double it’s current size are well underway, with a new site and building plans already in place – work commences in February. The total funds needed for this work are £2 million GBP with payments being made on an instalment basis during the building work. Half of this is planned to be met from the hosptial’s own funds, but half will need to be raised from benefactors and charitable giving."

If you are interested in giving to this, please email tony.sergeant@icc.ac.uk. He is principal of ICC in Glasgow, but is also a member of the Thane trust board, the British arm of the charitable organisation which supports Lok hospital. He will be able to provide you with details of how to give.

On a personal note, we are all very well, and especially excited about my parents and brother and sister coming to Thane for Christmas and New-Year. On the baby front, Our bump now has it's head pointing in the right direction which is a real blessing. We did not want to contemplate a C-section here in India!! I think that we are getting a little excited now, as the last two friends of ours who had babies delivered 8 and 4 weeks early respectively. We now only have 5 weeks to go (OR LESS!!)

God bless, Adam, Jo, Alistair and bump

Not so different here!

As you can see, things here can often be very similar to things back in the UK!! 

Conversation stopper!

This is Rani, who helped with Hindi conversation in the afternoons. Hopefully our Hindi wasn't too much of a conversation stopper!! 

Our first meal out. It was cold in Mussoorie when the sun went down! 

Beautiful (and the views)

Views of the Himalayas from just above our flat in Mussoorie 

White Knuckle Ride!

rickshaw is a great inexpensive way to travel. Alistair loves it, and says "Hi....Bye" to everyone as we pass! 

WWJD?

Last night Jo and I spent about 3 pounds on our first meal out since arriving in India (please pray for our insides!!). Beside us as we ate, Alistair played with 3 other small children in the street. They had a board as a cricket bat, and HALF a tennis ball which was very dirty and worn. I wondered how long he had been playing with this ball as his prized possession. I bought him a new tennis ball, which cost just 50p, 1/6th the price of our meal. He was amazed. His face just lit up, and I was filled with joy.
Hopefully just this small thing will bring that boy much joy, and that ball will become very worn before it too falls apart.
It really makes you think how something so small and insignificant can make such a big difference.
There was a lady here who contracted AIDS from her husband, and will probably soon die. She has 2 small Children. Her husband, who gave her the disease, is already dead. Her children will soon be orphans. There is no doctor in this area who will treat a woman with AIDS. Even Christians. The man who we are staying with has taken her to a Christian Ashram in Delhi who will care for her, and school the children when she dies. I paid for the Taxi, which was about 30 pounds.
In contrast, I'm stressing at the moment because our computer has packed in. We will not be able to fix it here in Mussoorie, but I expect it will not be beyond repair in Thane. The main issue is that we now are unable to listen to our language learning CD's.
These stories illustrate one thing to me. There are 2 worlds, but they both co-habitate. The issue is trying to bridge the gap, and knowing how to react in every situation we find ourselves in.
The wristbands WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) have always amused me. In the West it seems fairly simple; Don't commit adultery/Murder etc. (I realise I am over-simplifying things here). Here in India things are much more difficult. You can't help everyone all the time. We also have limited resources of time and money. You have to care for your family. You have to remain sane. (even Jesus withdrew to a quiet place to rest). You need a lot more wisdom to be able to answer the question "what would Jesus do".

In Mussourie

New email address for those that don't already have it: adamATclanblackDOTcoDOTuk or joATclanblackDOTcoDOTuk. You may receive emails from adamblackATdoctorsDOTorgDOTuk. All 3 of these accounts will send emails to the same place. Our aol account is closed as of today.

It was recently a 9 day festival here. Multiple shrines spring up all over the place with idols of a particular God, and people dance to loud music late into the night. At the end of the 9 days the idols (which cost about £6-700) are taken to a lake, and ceremonially immersed and allowed to sink to the bottom. I drove past the ceremony on my way home from work, and it really struck me how crazy it is for so many people to get so excited and worked up over what essentially to my eyes was the drowning of a particularly gaudily made-up mannequin with too many arms. I wondered if the worshipers really thought that such waste would help lift them out of poverty. Do they really believe that the wood and bright cloth in front of them is a God. I wonder. I think many of them simply enjoy the party atmosphere which helps them forget momentarily their hard lives. I expect Guy Fawkes night probably used to be a similar atmosphere in the UK, with everyone turning out to watch the burning of the Guy. Now everyone simply sits at home on the Play-Station, or watching TV. Are we more enlightened?

We are now in Mussourie for 4 weeks language learning. It is a lot cooler, which is ideal for Jo being heavily pregnant. There are amazing views of the Himalayas all around us. The family we are staying with are lovely. We found a great babysitter so that we can try to get as much studying in as possible. Alistair loves her, which is a real answer to prayer. (In the same vain, Andi and Sheba who run the HIV work have just lost their maid, who looked after their 2 small children during the week. This will make work very difficult for them if they do not find a replacement. This is particularly an issue with me also being away for the next 4 weeks. Please pray.)


Here are some unusual things about India;
1) It is a prerequisite that to drive an auto-rickshaw you must be a complete maniac and chew tobacco.
2) All kitchen worksurfaces are made of marble. This confuses me as it is a relatively expensive material in the UK. It must be much cheaper here, and I am thinking of starting an importing business to the UK (not seriously).
3) even horrifically poor slums with no running water or sanitation often contain 26" TV's
4) Brown bread is actually white bread dyed badly!
5) Oranges are Green.

God bless you all. Adam, Jo Alistair and bump.

Weight loss programme!

Hello all again,

Still not on line, so stil accessing web at work, so no photos for you yet I'm afraid.

It's official. I can confirm after our first bout of 'delhi belly' that diarrhoea CAN help aid weight loss as part of a calorie controlled diet! It was really sad for Ali to have the runs, because he didn't understand what was going on. We told people here that it was the first time he had been unwell, and they could not believe it!

We are all well now thankfully!

It was amazing the first day that I came to the AIDS project in the slums. The day I arrived I was told that the couple running the project had been praying for another doctor, and that they had given God a 3 week deadline. They were becoming really discouraged as the time was nearly up, when Dr. Stephen Alfred Phoned them to tell them that I was in India, and wanting to get involved. They were overjoyed, and feel that my presence here is a real answer to prayer. I was quite emotional when they told me this. God is so faithful.

The project operates almost exclusively in Hindi, and while I can work with a translator reasonably effectively on a professional level, I miss a lot of the conversations which is frustrating.

We have decided to go to a language school in the north of India. Amazingly (although not much surprises me any more!!) the parents of Andi Eicher who runs the HIV project lives in the same town as the best language school in all India, and is delighted to have us to stay, as Andi's mum had been really praying for another Doctor (she is a real prayer warrior apparently). Even more astounding, is that Jo's dad also knows them from his trips to India! It's encouraging to see God's hand weaving such an intricate patchwork.

I have started the training program at the hospital for the junior doctors. The first meeting seemed quite positive, and I am looking forward to getting to know them well. They are mostly not Christian.

We feel really at home now in our flat. It has a Lounge/Dining room, a kitchen, 2 good sized bedrooms, and 2 shower-rooms. Our room has an En-suite, which is exciting. There is room on 2 balconies for hanging washing, which is totally indespensable, as things get so dirty so quickly here. We have a Fridge/freezer, a washing machine, a microwave, a toastie machine, AND a blender!! So we're not slumming it too much ourselves. Maybe this will encourage some of you to visit? It really brings it home how blessed we are to have so many home comforts, when those around you have so little.

We have been to 2 Churches so far, but are planning to visit another 3 when we get back from the language school. Please pray for us to know God's will for where we should worship and have fellowship, and especially what would be best for Alistair.

Missing you all. Spread our love around back there! God bless, Adam, Jo, Alistair, and bump.

GODSTRONG!

We are all well. Have been very busy since arrival. moved into flat 2 days ago, and things starting to reach normality (kind of!). Alistair has been a total star, and everyone loves him. He has been so good natured through all the changes, which is a real answer to prayer. He said "chapati" the other day! He was dancing during the worship at church on Sunday, and was really very cute.

Jo had a very short-lived tummy upset, but is well. I think that she feels very happy here now that she has a home, and our flat is really quite comfortable, although a lot smaller than we were used to in Glasgow. There is another flat here which is empty most of the time, and can be used for guests. It would be very comfortable for 4. Jo was a little worried that she would be isolated once I start work full-time, and we thought there may not be mums + toddlers etc., and it may be hard for her to make friends. However there are quite a few nurseries around, including one called "Kangaroo Kids" which a girl from Church works at. We will have a look around for a suitable place, and hopefully Alistair will make some friends, and so will Jo! This was a real answer to prayer.

I will be working with the junior Doctors in the hospital, and helping with their training. Their skills are very basic. When I arrived here, I was also very excited about being able to show God's love to people suffering from AIDS. Stephen Alfred spoke to Andy, (who runs the project) this week, and he is very open to my involvement, which to me confirms God's plans for me in this area. I will also go and visit some tribal villages in Dolkan, and probably go there about once a month. (75km away).

We have had some really encouraging answers to prayer. I went to collect some boxes from customs that we had shipped to India. Usually many bribes are paid, but I said that my religion meant that I wanted to do things right. One official helped me through the whole process free, and the customs officers waived most of my duty, as I was coming to do voluntary work. One man saw my "GODSTRONG" wristband (visit http://www.godstrong.org/), and told me that my God was very strong as everything had gone so well for me. I left there very tired by all the beurocracy, but also with my heart singing.

The second answer to prayer was that I lost my keys, and went out with a small umbrella and torch at 10.30 at night, and found them!!

Dr. Steven Alfred used these 2 things in his sermon on Sunday, as they were so noteworthy!!