I stepped out of the airplane into 85 degree heat and nearly 100% humidity.  It was just after midnight on Sunday morning, November 27 when I walked down the steps to the tarmac and walked into the terminal at the Chennai International airport.  After a 26 hour flight, I was exhausted; however, I still had to deal with the Immigration and Customs officials.  Finally, after another hour and a half, I collected my luggage and was in a cab headed for the company apartment where I would be staying.

The purpose of my first trip outside of North America was to train a class of newly hired agents who would be working in my company's call center in Chennai.  During the weekdays while I was in India, I was able to successfully accomplish that task.  As it turns out, the Lord had other plans for my weekends and free time that made the trip successful in an entirely different way.

Many weeks prior to my trip, I had searched the Internet to see if I could find a Church of Christ that was meeting in Chennai, so I would have a place to fellowship during my visit to India.  I made contact with Brother Roy Knight, who is a missionary evangelist.  Brother Knight is Indian by birth.  Working as a gospel minister, since 1999 Brother Knight has founded congregations of the Lord's Church in 53 villages through out south eastern India, and one congregation as far north as Delhi.  In the past 6 years, over 700 have repented of their sins, confessed Christ, and obeyed the gospel by being baptized for the remission of sins.  The vast majority of these brothers and sisters have been converted from Hinduism.

On my first Sunday in Chennai, I called Brother Knight in the afternoon.  He came to the apartment to pick me up to attend the evening service.   I invited my colleague, Matt, to attend with us -- and he accepted the invitation.  We went first to Roy's parents home, where he lives with his father and mother, grandmother, sister, and brother.  We had a chance to get acquainted and had tea.  At 6 p.m., we walked across the street to the church building.  The meeting place where we met was in a small upper room, which is the upstairs of the building where Brother Knight rents a small office.  Inside the room where we met, there was space for about 18 people to be seated.  The door was left open, and about 15 others were seated on the roof.  The service opened with prayer and singing -- some songs in English and some sung in Tamil, the language of that region.  Brother Knight gave a simple yet powerful gospel message, and then introduced Matt and I to the congregation.  The reception was very warm and loving, and the congregation presented both of us with beautiful hand-made garlands of fresh flowers, and traditional shauls.  I extended greetings to the congregation on behalf of the East Henrietta Road congregation.  Worship concluded with sharing at the Lord's Table, and the contribution.  I felt right at home.  Lesson learned:  no matter where you are in the world, worship according to the New Testament pattern, in the Lord's church, is the same.

The next Sunday, I was privileged to preach three times.  At 8:00 a.m. I preached in the city of Chennai, in another upper room rented for services.  The practice in India is for all of the men to sit on one side of the auditorium, and the women sit on the other side.  After opening prayer and singing, I delivered a simple gospel message on the topic of "Jesus Only" from Matthew 17.  I presented the same message again in a village just outside of Chennai at 10:30, and then again in a very small village at about 2 p.m. in the afternoon.  The result of those messages was 6 decisions for Christ -- one at the first service, and five at the second service.  All of them came with us to the small village, where the brothers had built a baptismal pool (they are in the process of building a meeting hall as well), and we baptized all of our new converts on the same day in which they believed.  More than that, we baptized these converts from Hinduism within sight of a large Hindu temple  -- a clear victory for the Lord in the face of idolatry!

After the baptism, we held our third service.  This meeting was in a small hut, the home of one of the sisters and her mother.  I had to crouch down to go throught the small door of the hut, which was built on a frame of branches covered with woven palms and banana fronds.  The inside of the hut was about 8' x 10'.  Inside was 1 chair, a bed with a frame made of branches and a "mattress" of rope webbing, a few stainless steel containers and utensils for cooking -- and not much else.  A dozen or so people crowded inside the hut, with another 15 or so just outside the door.  These people are hungry for the gospel!

Life is very difficult for most people in India.  While I was there, a cyclone hit the city.  There have been so many cyclones this season that the region is totally water-logged.  The rain from the cyclone had no where to go, and the city was flooded.  There was about eight inches of water just outside my apartment door.  The water was knee-deep on the street where Brother Knight lives.  Out in the villages, many huts and all of the meager belongings of some people were simply washed away.  I had the opportunity to assist in distributing 200 bags of rice, each weighing 5 kilograms (about 10 pounds) to people out in the villages.  I asked Brother Knight how long that would last people -- he told me that they make a thin porridge from the rice, and that would last for about 10 days.  Other than that, all they usually have to eat are beans, or fish that they catch from the ocean.

Brother Knight's organization is called the "Arise Shine Church of Christ Mission."  Following the tsunami in December of 2004, the brothers and sisters worked together to help the many victims -- some of whom were members of the Lord's church.  They distributed clothing, cooking utensils, blankets, and the basic necessities to help people who had lost everything to start over.  For ten months following the disaster, the members of the Lord's Church distributed 40 tons of rice a month to the needy.  As a result of this demonstration of love, many people were won to the Lord.

Another ministry that the mission is undertaking is an orphange.  Over 40 children -- from 1 year old up to 18, are being housed, fed, and cared for.  They have three house mothers who cook for them and care for them, and two brothers who help supervise the young men and make sure that everyone makes it to school and back every day.  I had an opporunity to visit the orphanage -- and I have been adopted as "uncle" by all the children there.  They all introduced themselves to me, and sang me some songs in English and Tamil.  Some of the children were orphaned by the tsunami.  One small girl was orphaned just two months ago, when here parents were drowned in a flood.  Without the orphanage, these children would be out begging on the street -- or maybe something worse.  Without the orphanage, they would have no place to go.

Brother Knight is also starting a preacher's training school in Chennai, in order to equip the preachers who are working out in all of the villages at the many congregation.  One of the preachers has been nicknamed "Tsunami Samuel."  During the tsunami, he was washed out into the ocean by the second wave.  Out there all alone, Brother Samuel prayed, "Lord, I'm a preacher.  If you want me, I'm ready to go.  But, if you still have work for me here, I need some help!"  Well, the Lord sent a helicopter and Samuel was rescued. 

There are so many stories I could share about my experiences in India, and what I learned there -- too many stories for this newsletter article.  One of the things that touched me the most is a testimony to how the Lord works.  Long before I had contacted Brother Knight, he told me he had been praying for someone in the United States to come help him.  For many years he has been working, without really having a brother, another gospel minister, that he could confide in and ask for advice.  I am humbled to know that Brother Knight accepts my brief visit to India as an answer to his prayer.  I am committed to sharing the news of the wonderful work that God is doing through Brother Knight and the Arise Shine Church of Christ mission.  I hope to be able to return to India sometime -- perhaps even in 2006 -- to spend some dedicated time working with our brothers and sisters there.  Until then, I want to encourage my brothers and sisters here in the United States to pray for the Brother Knight and the work in India.  Perhaps, as a congregation, we will be able to find ways that we can help and support this powerful mission work.