Kerala Baptist Bible College & Seminary Bible Conference

Kerala Baptist Bible College & Seminary Bible Conference

Monday morning came bright and early (John and I are still struggling with Jet lag) and HOT!!!! Every day is hot! The usual High temperature is 98 to 99 degrees with the low in the middle of the night around the mid 80’s. Every room has a ceiling fan but there is no air-conditioning.  The Bible Conference started at 10:00  AM and John did two 45 min. sessions  with a 5 minute tea break between them. They had a fan set up on the stage and they set up a desk fan next to where I was sitting. They are so hospitable here! They are always looking for some way too make us comfortable!

John and I have been very anxious of how it will be to speak with a translator. John’s translator, Beju, was great! He made every effort to make sure John was comfortable! What we found out was that we use many little “idioms” that we do not even consider as idioms and these just do not translate! For instance: “beach head” did not have a meaning for them. Also the term “meism” that John used was a problem. The term “self-centeredness” took 30 seconds to figure out. And “hotdog” was totally unknown! But all translators that were used were absolutely great! Think about it. They have to listen to what you say, take it apart and put it back together in a different order (adjectives, adverbs and nouns are in a different order in the Malayalam language) and then convey the correct thoughts to the audience.

Students Bring Special Music

They started with music. When they sing here they sing! Everybody! No hanging back! They sing with “gusto” (Now there’s a word that won’t translate!) They do not have much here. One guitar that they pass around to each other and a small electronic keyboard. The evening before the high e-string on the guitar broke while they were singing but they just kept on going as if nothing had happened. I noticed that it was still broken but that didn’t stop them at all and the music is as sweet as any I have heard! I think it is because they are all singing from their hearts.

To all the sound guys: They work with very little and if you think the things I cobble up sometimes are weird you should see what they come up with. And all using 220 volts!

Pastor with Beju translating

They would have two or three special numbers each session and they were all unique and just made your heart sing along with them. One young man who was sitting next to me did a special number. It was in Malayalam and he had the lyrics hand written in his notebook. After he finished I asked about the song and he said it was his “Auntie’s song”. I think many of the special music was original or from some one close to them.

John did a really good job with the first messages in his Series on Galatians 5 and figured out right away that with a translator he would have to cut down each message more than he thought. Sometimes it seemed that when he would say a 4 or 5 word sentence the translator would go on for 15 or 20 seconds. All this cut into his time some.

After lunch at Shaju’s house we went to a meeting of all the Pastor’s form Kerala State that were there. They get together a few times each year as an Association and Shibu asked John to bring a “short” message to them. We are both learning to be ready in season and out here! John gave them a great challenge and afterward I heard from Shaju that they were really touched by it.

John got done just in time for us to walk back to the Conference and I did my message. Because the “outside” Pastors were not present in the afternoon sessions I did not need a translator as the faculty, staff and students all spoke English. I didn’t know this and had “pared” my message down to account for translation so it was not as long as it probably should have been but I think it was well received.

After that we went back to Shibu’s house for a short rest and some dinner and then it was back to the evening session where John continued with his series. The evening service had the entire faculty, staff, students and all the Pastors from Kerala along with many of the families of the staff and faculty. So it was the biggest of all the crowds and totally filled the place.

After that, we returned to Shibu’s house and both John and I were very tired so we went to bed.

Graduates Dinner at President Shibu's House

Sunday Evening: Graduates at Shibu’s house

Graduate Boys on one side of the room

Girls on the other side of the room

On Sunday evening Shibu and Julie had all the graduates come for dinner. They all came and we all sat in the living room, which had a lot of plastic chairs set up all around the room. One young man had a guitar. There are four ladies graduating this year. We sang some songs and the singing was just great! Then Shibu asked some of the students to reflect on their time here and what might be one important thing they received. There were many answers – Some really appreciated the doctrine that they learned and how it related to their faith. Shibu remarked that now they were going out like lambs with wolves on all sides. One example was one of the ladies who were graduating, but her Hindu parents didn’t really know about her faith in Christ. She had not told them over the years she was here. They just know that she is going to college. When she goes back and tells them of her faith she will more than likely be expelled from her family. These students here are amazing. It is not easy to go to School here. They have to sacrifice a lot. And the life is very simple and the conditions not plush. But there is tenacity in these young people and a desire to know God better which overcomes all the trials they face.

John learns how to eat with his hands

After this we all went in for dinner. They had a lot of tables set up and brought out the food. The only people who had silverware were John and I. They all eat with their fingers. It was a great meal and after dinner we sat around and talked. The students must think that we are celebrities or something because they all took turns having their picture with us. It was a really great evening and we really got to appreciate these special young people.

Independent Gospel Baptist Church

Sunday Morning: Church at Independent Gospel Baptist Church which Shaju Pastors

Independent Gospel Baptist Church

Sunday morning we were off with Shaju to his Church about 40 minutes away. It was a nice sunny day and hot even early in the morning! The drive was beautiful and interesting. We went through some more agricultural land with banana trees and tapioca trees and rubber trees. There are many rubber tree areas here. The ministry even has a small plot which generates some income for the ministry. It kind of reminds me of tapping Maple trees. They make a spiral cut around and down the tree and then suspend a “cup” to collect the rubber.

John Preaching with Shaju Translating

When we got to the Church they were holding their Sunday School. Most of the congregation is what they called “day Laborers” which means low paid workers, usually agricultural workers. Most walk to Church – some more than a few miles. One older man who finds it painful to walk still walks to Church and doesn’t accept rides. It was basically a one room Church and when we got there we were warmly welcomed.

90+ yr old Church Member 

As Sunday School ended and the service was about to begin, they started singing. The only instrument was a drum played very loudly. The singing was loud and passionate! Again the women were on one side and the men on the other. Children were in front and sat on the floor. After a number of songs they introduced us and John went up to preach. Shaju translated and the congregation listened intently. After the message they took a tithe. They had 2 plastic boxes on the table in front and first the ladies came forward and put their tithes in the box. Then the men. After this they had some singing and then took the offering. Again any who wanted to put something in the offering came forward and put it in the other box, first the ladies and then the men. These were all very poor people but almost all made either tithes or offerings. After the message we went to the back and everyone came by and shook our hands and welcomed us. One thing that is becoming very evident is that despite having very little, there is much worship going on here!

Happy Birthday!

Saturday Evening: Monthly Birthday Party at Children’s Home

Mercy Children's Christian Home

Part of the ministry here is the Mercy Children's Christian Home which is an outreach ministry to families and their children in Kerala State. It takes children to 20 ages of five and 18 and provides housing, education, and practical living skills for children who would otherwise not receive any. Each month they have a celebration for all the birthdays in that month. We were fortunate enough to be here for this lunch celebration. The children all gather sitting on the floor in front of the main table separated boys on one side girls on the other and they perceived to do songs, skits, Bible readings and memory verse reciting. It was really touching to see that!

Birthday Children

Then they called up the children who had birthdays which in this case one boy and four girls two of which were twins. Then each one came up to the table where there was a small metal coin box and bunch of coins and put the number of coins of the birthday into the box. After all have done that we were told that the coins would be sent to a missionary pastor of the children's choice. Then each one would come up and cut off a piece of cake. After this everybody went outside for refreshments.

Cutting the Cake!

Pastor and I got to tour the building. It had recently been added to which will give them more room. This will allow them to take in more children both boys and girls.

The living conditions every Spartan compared to what we are used to but the children seem very happy with it. The walls, the floors and the ceilings are all made of concrete and there is not a lot of decoration or pictures or things hang on the walls. The kitchen is an open fire kitchen in the main staple is rice. The plans are to build new kitchen adjacent to the building in the near future.

Shopping in Kottayam

John watches while Julie and Abby shop

Saturday: Shopping in Kottayam

Shibu and Julie and the children took John and I shopping in Kottayam. We had a great day seeing what a small city was like in India. It is very different from home. Most of the shops are small and crowded with their merchandise. Some of the larger stores have a huge number of employees. The one clothing store we went into had all kinds of saris which is the typical dress for Indian women. They had everything from everyday saris to wedding saris that cost a small fortune. The colors are indescribable. Every color imaginable!

I purchased a pair of sandals ($4.00) as that is the footwear of choice here and sin ce everyone takes off their sandals and leaves them by the door before they go into a building it made it so much easier.

Then we had lunch at an Indian restaurant, which was delicious! John couldn’t get enough of the buttered chicken!

We stopped at a Bible Book Store to get the gifts for the graduates – a commentary set. John browsed the books there (you know how he likes books!) because they had a large English section. Then it was home where we only had a half hour to get ready for the Saturday Evening Monthly Birthday party at the Children’s home.