Sunday July 29th
There is no place like home. Yes, it is really good to get to Matthew’s apartment and a more regular life. For Matthew it is a home. For me it is a chance to see what his work is like at that home. There are so many advantages in being at home. It reminds me that it is just one week til I come home, God willing, and there is no place like home.
Saturday we started to make rounds in the districts of the BELC. Each day we will drive to a different district and present studies to the pastors of that district. DPaul expertly translates for all of them. Saturday there were about 60 pastors, normally about 30. They are eagerly attentive and appreciative. It takes about an hour just to get out of Chennai each day. So we spend 2-4 hours in the car before and after the conference each day. I am so thankful that it is not the buses of Nepal. But that of course is one of the advantages of being at home, our own transportation. Kumar, the driver, expertly ferries us through the maze of roads and crush of traffic each day in the CLC’s air conditioned Chevy. But without car and driver it would be impossible to visit the districts in this manner. But, oh my it is still a lot of time commuting, a whole lot of blasting horns, and a lot of bumps in the roads. It is astounding how we move from 6- lane well paved highways surrounded by gleaming high rise buildings to a dirt one lane road through a bazaar of rag-tag shops with, what at least seems like all the previous traffic trying to squeeze through it. Yet, there is more for now there are also the bicycles and pedestrians. OK, I am obviously not at home yet, but it is great to see how well Matthew handles it all, at home with it.
DPaul is amazing: translating, attending all the districts, pastoring his own congregation. All of the pastors are showing their love for the gospel, their dedication to the Lord.
May the Lord bless our work with the gospel here to bring many people to their heavenly home.
