They are in the Air

The team is in the air between Abu Dhabi and Chicago. They were delayed about 2 hours leaving Chennai, India. Fortunately they had a two hour layover in Abu Dhabi and Etithad Airlines held the flight. Their flight from Abu Dhabi to Chicago is 14 plus hours. They should be on time arriving into Chicago and then for their arrival around 7:30pm tonight in Kansas City.  The team must get their bags and clear customs in Chicago. Fortunately the process is fairly easy, although sometimes busy.

Keep them in your prayers as they work up enough energy to make the last bit of the journey. In a nutshell, the teams leaves India at 6:30am on Thursday, January 10 and arrives home to KCI at 7:30pm on the same day.......30+ hours of travel later. Having an extra 12 hours in a day is tough on the body. (they are flying American Airlines from Chicago, (AA 4041)

Short Message from Brother Henry

Recieved a short message from Brother Henry Bhasker in India.

"Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I hope you all are doing well. We are all fine at Good Shepherd Mission. We have been very busy conducting programs for Christmas and also with New Year Programs. Many beggars and gypsies have received food and clothing, these programs are because of financial blessings from people like you, and also many widows and children were also able to receive food and clothing. The Missouri Team is here with us now and we are conducting many programs. They will be here until 9th of month. "

One more Day!

The team is beginning their preparation for their return home. This is a time of mixed emotions, travelers have enjoyed the trip and have made many, many friends. The experiences have been awesome. Then at the same time our "delicate Western" bodies and emotions have taken a beating and we are looking forward to come home to family.

Past travelers speak of the crying as they say goodbye to new friends and to the orphans. The emotions of seening the kids smiles and seeing their waves can really tug at one's heart. Going home never felt so good, but they cry anyway.

Rev. Scott put it well after one of his past trips, "India was dusty and dirty, the travel was hard and arguous, your western sensibilities take a beating and ......I cannot wait to go back.

Safe Journey to our travelers, our prayers are with them.

Update from the team

From Vicki: "We are having one of the most God-touched trips ever!" Pictures have been difficult to get sent due to the technology issues.

The brother of Henry's late wife Viola passed while they have been there and a majority of the Mission staff has traveled the 50km to be with her family. The team was left "home alone" for the day. They used the quiet time to do some much needed processing. They read, journaled and knitted (Vicki, not Scott, Mike or Cooper).

The had the opportunity to watch the boys play cricket in the commons area. The team will be traveling to Kollodam, the village of Henry's brother,Prassad. There they will be attending church Kollodam and then also worshiping at the church built in memory of David Miller.

God is good and faithful!

Technology Troubles

The team has been struggling with technology issues on this trip. Internet and data access points has been much more limited on this past trip.

Suffice to say, the short messages we have gotten from them have been very positive.

Bags Have Arrived

The Team has reported that their suitcases have arrived. Yeahhhh!!!

Finally Computer Access, No Bags (or deoderant...ehhh)

Here is the Latest Update From Vicki Gentzel.

Praise God, I finally got to a computer at Rathna's house. We are doing very well. We have had some long worship services. New Year's eve was 4 hours & New Year's Day at the Lutheran Church was 4 hours! Makes ours seem much more reasonable!  

Scott baptized about 7 people at the HIV Serenity Pool on New Year's Eve! Then he preached at both services. It was very moving time. Michael & Cooper are doing very well. It has been such a blessing seeing our friends after more than 2 years.  

It has also been great to see Scott experience the changes that have occurred since he was here 10 years ago! Yes, the kids have grown some! Yes, we have a hospital! No, I was wrong, the roads are NOT better! We had our first medical clinic today. We saw 222 people & I gave 44 Hep B shots. I know 'cause I had to sign the ledger.

Now, for the bad news! We still have no luggage. It seems it is in Chennai, but we cannot find out why it hasn't made it to Good Shepherd! Henry is beside himself! Apologizes hourly. He bought the guys premade shirts & pants. Cooper is not "India" size. Henry says if the bags are not here this afternoon, he will have the tailor do "speedy project." Mary had the seamstress work all night to make me a Chudeedah. Hey, Susie, it is a cotton one! Hah!  

Henry got us some soap, shampoo & towels, but a couple more days without deodorant might not be pretty! We worship in a village tonight. I think I will speak the Word.

Hey, Linda, we had Iddlies & samba for breakfast! (...steamed rice dumplings with a spicy thin "soup" to dip into)

Hope the St Joseph weather is not too bad. It is delightful here! 

PS mosquitoes are eating me alive...bug repellent in my bag!

Sorry, no pics today!

 

Please post that God is Good! All the time!

 

Leviticus 15:27
Anyone who touches them will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

Just a quick note from India! Here is a quote from Vicki!

We are having a wonderful time. I think our luggage is too, but it doesn't seem to want to join us! Keep us in your prayers! We love you all!

Psalm 5:3
In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

Good Shepherd Mission Building where team is staying

Home in India!

The team has arrived safely to their "Indian Home". After 30+ hours of travel the team has arrived to Good Shepherd Mission. Pictures and text will be posted as the information arrives from India. Keep the team in your prayers.

Evidentally their luggage has taken a bit more of a side trip.....let the adventures begin!!!

Proverbs 1:33

^"but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

The India Team has left familiar soil!!

Our India team for four intrepid travelers left this afternoon and are headed to Puttur, Andra Pradesh and Good Shepherd Mission. They are beginning their two weeks of travel with a "short" 30+ hours of continuous travel before arriving in Chennai, India. The team will travel from Kansas City to Chicago, and then off to Abu Dhabi, UAE, and then a flight into Chennai. They should arrive after 1am in Chennai, very excited and very exhausted.

For Vicki this will be her sixth or seventh trip. She will be leaving "familiar soil" and arriving to "familiar soil" and close friends. Rev. Scott Killgore is making is third trip to Good Shepherd but is first in over 10 years. Mike and Cooper Herrington are good friends with Dean Mausolf. Mike and Dean were involved in Boy Scout Troop 45 where Cooper earned his Eagle Award.

Please keep the team in your thoughts and prayers as the begin an awesome journey. Your help and support of the mission is invaluable.

 2 Timothy 2:15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

At Frankfurt Airport

As we are waiting to board the final leg of this incredible journey, we would like to share with you a few final thoughts and laughs that will always bond our group-- -always knowing when the shot ladies have begun the inoculations because the screaming begins -the introduction of Sister Sue and Sister Sue who always seemed to sit next to each other for introductions so Pastor Paradise called them Double Sue -when Sue Yoch was no where to be found you just looked for where the children had gathered -the men took longer to choose the material for their shirts and pants than the women did for their chuttidahs -chicken for every lunch & dinner -children screaming when they saw a white woman then you knew they had received a shot already -Sam knew how to fix John's watch such as turn OFF the alarm and set all the functions so John gave it to him -the man in red at the Kolladam camp who was the clinic caretaker gave Jay a scoop of water from the bucket (not so clean!!!) to rinse a patient's mouth -Jill's overflow moment after listening to the stories at the HIV/AIDS clinic -the GP (husband of the gyn doctor) thought Helen was 70 years old because she dyed her hair blond-excuse me, it's gray!!

-watching the eyes of the newbies on the first two days when driving in the van -the competitiveness of Diane & Vicky in the lion & goat game -the men had something thumping above their ceiling tiles and Henry said,"oh yes Brother, it is a squirrel.". The next morning they told Praveen about the thumping and he said, "oh yes Brother, it is a rat!"

-Joy told Vicky that she had small hair

-Steph and her counting of mosquito bites-71 -Sue Werner's personal eye appt with the hospital eye doctor --and last but not least, Sagar shared with us that there is a God called Murgan-the God of stink!

We will be home soon!!=

Passage John 3:16:
¹⁶ “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

At the Chennai Airport

Good-bye at the airport!

Last Day in India

Last night the girls decorated our hands and feet with henna. It was a very late night. We struggled to get up but the girls were bright eyed!!  We learned that sleep for them is maybe 6-7 hours.

 

We left the mission after Mary's wonderful breakfast and chai tea.  All the children and staff were there and we prayed!!  Everyone shook our hands knew some of our names, and said, "safe journey sister or safe journey brother.". Amidst tears we boarded the van to Bro Paradise's church. What a celebration!!  The congregation really worshipped with their voice and lots of energy!!



Saturday

 We went to Vadamala Pet, John Wesley's church for worship. Pastor Daniel brought some of his parishioners.  Pastor Daniel's son was amazing on the drums!!!

Pastor Bern has become quite animated in his messages!! 

We then played with the children in the afternoon. Lots of fun!! 

In the evening, gifts were distributed to the children. The older children received clipboards and pens from Pastor Bern & Vicky to use for their exams.  Sue Yoch, Morgan, & Stephanie brought all sorts if gifts--bubbles, pencils, note pads, balls, hair ties, hair clips, puzzles--the children had fun picking from the suitcase!! 

 The children and their gifts!!

We helped the children make Jesus bracelets. Each color represented symbols of Jesus' love. Red is Jesus' blood, black is sin, white is purity, green is growth of the spirit, and yellow is for heaven. The children had a blast!! 

Jesus bracelet 

Celebration

This picture was taken from the balcony of one of the ladies' room. Preparation for the big celebratory meal in which the role is reversed--we serve (over 200 people) rather than being served(even though the meal was prepared by staff). This practice has been occurring now for about 6 years. I have participated in 3 of those servings and it is truly a blessed feeling to give to those who have enjoyed giving to us this visit. The people at GSM are a true representation of what God's servant hood is all about. 

A pot of rice.  And Jesus took 5 loaves and 2 fishes to feed five thousand. 

We purchased gifts for the children and staff but Bro Henry presented all of us with a stole for our work this week at GSM. You just cannot fathom how rich one feels from serving at GSM. We all thought we would be the givers after working hard to raise money for free medicines, gifts, and food and receiving monetary donations but WE are the real recipients!! 

 Henry and Sue Yoch

Sis Sue presents Mary with her saree. The staff and evangelists all received clothing-shirt & pants for men and sarees for women. Mary prepared many of our meals. Anitha, Praveen's wife, prepared some lunch and evening meals. 

Sue Werner helped present a plate, cup, and blanket to the children. 

Dr Chad presents to some of the older boys. 

Sis Diane giving each person a large plate for their meal.

Sis Morgan fills cups with water.

Dedications

 Bro Henry stands between 2 cottages at the HIV/AIDS Center donated by Dr Phyllis Wintz.

The dedication of Peggy's Place donated by Dr Phyllis Wintz in memory of her mother. Everyone from the HIV/AIDS Center came to pray in the room with us. They are so thankful to have a refuge after being cast out of their village. Sponsorship for an HIV/AIDS patient is $40/month. 

We dedicated the refurbished Charlie van. This vehicle is used so hard to transport not just guests but people and staff. The van needed a new windshield, wipers, all windows needed to be fixed, the inside was replaced, and update on the engine functions. 

We dedicated the 3 wheeler. This vehicle is used to transport people from town to the hospital. The government has stopped working on the passageway for people from town to use (a tunnel under the railroad tracks). The passageway is open but has filled with deep standing water which makes the opening impassable for pedestrians and vehicles. This 3 wheeler saves wear and tear then on the Charlie van.

Friday at Good Shepherd Mission

 The picture of India. Let me introduce Noel. He is Praveen's and Anitha's son. Noel was very shy and scared of us but not last night.

We almost made it to the rock to see the sunrise but it didn't matter because what we saw was beautiful. 

Morgan captured the rising sun. One of the boys from the mission sits in the background on another rock. Three boys came along to help us fragile Americans up and then down the rock. 

 Even though we were tired from last night, we got up early to hike the rock!!  We had challenged Sagar last night to hike with us and he came-Praveen drove us to the start probably 3/10 of a mile away.  We are so delicate!!  We also had 3 boys from the mission to help us up and down. Unfortunately, we didn't have chai tea on the rock because the boys broke the thermos.

The hostel girls just love Stephanie!!

Sue gets a complete eye exam.

 Isn't this boy precious?  He was at the clinic today with his mother.

We knew the nurses were doing the shots because we could hear the children screaming. In fact one little girl screamed in the hallway each time one of us looked at her!!

 Diane & Sam keeping order in the Hep B vaccine room.

 People waiting to see the GP.

Dr Jay triages for a potential extraction but the man was not interested in any extraction.



Clothes

The tailor is measuring Jay for his shirt and pants. 

 John getting measured by the tailor.

All dressed up in our chuttidahs!!  Yup!  We were allowed to choose between a chuttidah or saree as our gift from GSM so we chose the chuttidah!!  Look at Steph's beautiful gagra (half saree).  We hosted a meal for the hospital doctors and their family at a hotel in Thiraputhi.

Thursday

We began our day with a trip to the Bone Setter's Hospital. This visit is a necessity for our groups as it was a visit to the Bone Setter's that precipitated the idea of a clean hospital for the poor at GSM. The running of the Bone Setter's is generational with the mixing of herbs a secret. It was amazing what we saw. This woman was treated for a hip fracture by splinting her leg, however, they showed us her X-ray which indicated a complete fracture in the neck of the femur. In our society, the head of the femur would be removed and replaced with a titanium head. 

 Dr Jill explains to Praveen this young lady's options so he can translate the information to her.

Dr Jay begins to anesthesize this lady for an extraction.

Several people watched surgeries!

Kolledam Continued

Pastor Bern is being interviewed by the newspaper. 

Dr Jill talks with a boy who is terrified and was too afraid of the dentists. 

Vicky holds a patient's head and Praveen shines a light while Dr Jill gets ready to extract a tooth. 

Dr Chad shows Morgan where this patient had to have the lidocaine. 

Diane is our Distribution Manager. She helped package meds for the patients and give away toothbrushes and toothpaste. 

After camp, we went to Kolladam where Prasad and his family made us a wonderful meal. Right now Prasad has 14 boys that stay at the hostel. We toured the village amongst a throng of children wanting to shake our hands. 

Vicky & Steph have been playing clapping games with the children. 

We found baby goats are our town tour. 

Morgan having a good time holding her goat. 

Steph attracts the children everywhere she goes!!! 

Steph and her latest friend