Brief Report with More Promised

We place our trust in the Lord, not technology!

I am very disappointed that I cannot get my laptop to connect to internet, but we go to Praveen's house or use Henry's laptop. We just cannot communicate as much as we would like to. Last night (Thursday evening US time) we worshiped in Kakavedu in a street service. We all spoke the message & prayed for the people. It started to sprinkle a little while Praveen prayed. The internet would not load up so we could not send. Today (Friday) we visited several schools and Linda & Deb loved seeing the children learning. We shopped at K&L textiles and had a lot of fun.The current went off for a short time. Long enough to make us appreciate it when it came back on. We laughed & praised the Lord for the fan.

Friday evening worship at the Ashram was beautiful. I prayed the Power of Protection message as Praveen translated my words to Teligu. We prayed for the evangelists and for the children. I think we are going to the Hindu temple at Tirimula tomorrow morning. We will keep you posted.

In Christ's Love,
Vicki Gentzell

Spreading the Word

We worshiped last night at another church in Kakivedu We worshiped in the street with a medium gathering of mostly women & children. We sang with the praise band. Vicki shared a message about teaching the word to our children & family. We should share the stories morning & night, coming & going. If we don't share the good news we are not pleasing Our Lord! Last night we shared & pleased the Lord! Linda taught the Five Finger Prayer, as only a teacher can. She had the crowd counting on thier fingers & praying for others. Debbie taught from her Bible on her Kindle (Henry is very interested in it!) that we would never stop praying for them! There were chickens on piles of straw & dogs wandering throuh the crowd and we had a great evening!

On Thursday morning, we began our Beth Moore Bible study. We all listened to the CD & followed in our work books. It was a very revealing, we prayed for God to open our hearts to understand the Word. Beth taught that though we think we are persuing God, actually He is persuing us! He wants to be with us and care for us. We are excited about our study!

We just returned from morning worship in Appalayagunta. This is an area that Pastor John and his congregation had to fight for the right to worship! Back in the late 1990's, Jeanette and others in a Mission team tried to worship in the village, but were threatened by non-believers and had to leave before they could meet. The villagers cried & begged them to stay. Today they have a thriving church group that meets on Wednesday mornings, Friday evenings and Sunday mornings! The Lord is greatly pleased with the people in Appalayagunta! A village that is difficult to spell, impossible to say and easy to love!

Linda (finally) made a new friend of Noel, Praveen's youngest son!

We are planning to go shopping at K&L textiles this afternoon.

First Day Medical Camp from Sister Debbie

Good Morning All,


What a glorious day in Puttur. God has blessed us with being able to attend our first medical camp. I had no idea what I was getting into, but this day has opened my eyes and my heart. We were welcomed into the hospital with an opening ceremony by Brother Henry. He introduced us and the doctors that would be providing care at this camp. We were then given the 'royal treatment and tour' of the facility. We spent time working with people who had just had eye surgery. The bandages were taken off and we were allowed to help them put their dark glasses on for the first time. This was a very special time for me since my mother has lost most of her eyesight and has had numerous eye surgeries. We were introduced to a Muslim woman who had just had eye surgery. We need to remember that our God is the God of all, specific religions don't matter, God loves all. After the eye clinic tour, we finished with the rest of the hospital and watched the drs. work with their patients. What an awesome experience to see how WPCC impacts people half way across the world.


Debbie


"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed..."~Luke 4:18

News from Sister Vicki and the Travelers!

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

Our adventure so far has been all about the journey, not the destination! God pulled out all the stops to move us where we needed to be. We have met some very nice accommadating people along the way. Linda seems to always find a teacher to share experiences, Sleeping in the airport at New Delhi was much the same as sleeping in the airport at Newark, except they let you stay all night in Delhi. I went a little bonkers when we were without water for a couple of hours. It shames me that I can take my eye off of Jesus for just a moment & sink into the sea, just as Peter did. He provided us with water just a little later. We must be strong in our faith, for He is true & kind. We are just a little tired, but excited to be here.We stopped somewhere in Chennai for an Indian Continental Breakfast. Picture corn flakes with hot buffalo milk. TISI (this is so India) then back to our long ride to Puttur. Mary had fixed us a "Sunday" lunch. Red chicken legs & cooked carrots & peppered potatoes.

We have just finished at the Ashram saying hello to the children who are back from summer holiday and to the families & staff at the Mission. I have guessed so many people incorrectly, it is not funny! The kids change so much in 2 years! Everyone is tall & strong. Today is Edward Samuel Joel's 10th birthday, so, of course there was cake to be fed to us all! Whoops, probably given Sister Deb the head's up on that one. We are having dinner at Anitha & Praveen's house, so I am using Praveen's laptop, since I am having laptop power struggles. I will bring my laptop to Praveen's house daily to post.

In Christ's love!
Vicki Gentzell

"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." ~Psalm 9:10

We are in India, Sister!

Just spoke with sister Vicki via cell phone call to Brother Henry. They are all well, all their bags came through just fine and they are with Brother Henry and the Good Shepherd staff on their way to the mission where they will have time to rest and recover from their trip for a little while. I asked if it was hot and Vicki said "we are in India Sister, it is hot!" but they are delighted to be there and begin to serve with our brothers and sisters at Good Shepherd Mission. Thank you for your prayers!!

"The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice!" ~Psalm 97:1

Delhi Update

We have a report from Vicki. They are in the Delhi airport.....it is 1:30 AM on Tuesday and they have found a spot to wait until their flight at 6:45 AM to Chennai. Everything is closed but they are all doing fine and anxious to get their final flight. Please pray for their safe travel and for their luggage! The phone call was very short but Vicki wanted us to know that they are all well after their 15 hour flight from Chicago to Delhi. We will keep this updated!!

"O my Strength, I watch for you; you, O God, are my fortress" ~Psalm 59:9

Flex and flow

Our sisters missed the connecting flight in Chicago due to weather and have been re-routed on a flight directly to Delhi. Sister Vicki told the airline representative that an upgrade to business or first class would be acceptable :) if they could work that out. Once in Delhi they will spend the night in the Indira Ghandi airport and then catch an early Tuesday AM flight to Chennai arriving at 9:20 AM.

Please keep them in your prayers! It is always an adventure and each trip is unique. We pray for their strength and flexibility as the journey has taken an unexpected turn.

Check out the first post by clicking on "older post" to see our team at the KCI airport!

Three Musketeers Leave for Good Shepherd

A new adventure and mission trip for Good Shepherd got off to a spurting start this afternoon. Linda Swope, Vicki Gentzell and Deb Sherard left KCI 2.5 hrs late for Chicago then to India via Brussels. Hopefully all connections will be made and they arrive safe, on time and with some energy left.

Keep tuning in for the latest updates from Vicki, Linda and Deb. Your prayers for them and for those that they will encounter are greatly appreciated and sought after.

"the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121:8