Orissa - Well Accomplished!

Despite many challenges faced this week we have completed our clinic work in Orissa and finished strong. Today was our final clinic in this wonderful region of India and the completion of pastor training by Dr. Barry Creamer.

Barry has trained 30 pastors this week in Janla on the "Doctrine of God". He has seen a mighty work accomplished in the hearts of these courageous men. The pastors in Orissa face obstacles of which we cannot conceive in our cozy and comfortable Christian lives. These men of valor face real persecution & threats on their very lives for preaching the gospel and for ministering in the villages & towns of this state. Please keep these men in your prayers!

Today upon graduating from the week of theological training each pastor was given a case of bibles translated in the Oriya language. We should acknowledge the efforts of Dr. Allen Powell, who coordinated the funds used to purchase these bibles. This was a surprise gift arranged by Dr. Janet Merrill as a part of the graduation ceremony. Also, three bicycles were purchased by the Joy India team members and were presented to the three church planters working in the Daltala region of Orissa.

Our final clinic today was sponsored by the Bhubaneswar Rotary Club and serviced a small village in East Orissa called Delanga. As with each Rotary club clinic we began with an opening ceremony where Dr Sonya Merrill & Dr. Ide Trotter gave a short address and a presentation. Our clinic location for all five teams was a small hospital with well equipped rooms and crowd control gates.

Tomorrow we travel to Bangalore. Our flight arrives late in the evening and we start our clinics early Friday morning. Please pray for the hearts of those we will encounter in Bangalore, there we can openly share the gospel in the clinics. Also please pray for the health of the team, long days and short nights are beginning to take their toll on some members. Pray that our travel logistics are smooth and free from obstacles & difficulty.

Thank You for your faithful prayer support of our mission.

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The link below will take you to Today's photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/94059942@N00/sets/72157594471554321

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The link below will take you to the video updates for Joy India team (requires Quicktime): http://www.firstdallas.org/Missions/

Casting our Nets

This morning we started off a few minutes early due to the long journey to Puri. We are again excited about ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of the fishermen who live in these colonies just outside the city. Following yesterdays successful clinics, we were truly excited to spent the day ministering in another fishing village to the South. The inhabitants live in brick and mud huts with palm branch roofs on the edge of the beach, with sand blowing into every crack and crevice, no public sanitation, and few fresh water sources. The fishermen work hard, going out to sea around 5:00 am and returning in early afternoon; many of them live in chronic pain due to the highly physical nature of their work, and they often turn to alcohol to relieve their misery.

Two of our teams were located in a small church building, a third was set up under an open thatched roof adjacent to the church, and the fourth began the day at a local hospital but moved to the front porch of a building right at the water’s edge. Hundreds received medical help, and many had never before seen a doctor. With today’s patients we exceeded the 3000 mark after only 5 days of clinics. The teams continued to display resourcefulness and flexibility while we reshuffled team assignments in Ravi's absence.

Please continue to pray for good health and stamina for the team. The days that involve a long commute plus a full day of clinics are quite taxing on bodies of ALL ages. ;-)
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The link below will take you to Today's photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94059942@N00/sets/72157594469830181
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The link below will take you to the video updates for Joy India team (requires Quicktime): http://www.firstdallas.org/Missions/

Fishing for the Lost

Today we drove to the Puri region of Orissa (near Konark) to a new fishing village location for us called Chandra Bhaga situated on the coast where all five teams spread out through this active vibrant village and setup our clinics. We saw some of the most dire medical cases that we have experienced so far on this trip and people with the greatest health & personal needs overall. Days like this make us feel both rewarded and insignificant. While there were a number of short term needs that we meet, we had a sense that these villagers did not have access to even "less than" adequate care.

We were excited to learn that there was a church in this village (one of the teams used their facility as a clinic location) and that it had been in existence for 30 years. We pray that our medical work with this village exalted the name of Jesus and gave the local ministry a springboard for further outreach.

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The link below will take you to Today's photos:

http://flickr.com/photos/94059942@N00/sets/72157594467230640

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The link below will take you to the video updates for Joy India team (requires Quicktime): http://www.firstdallas.org/Missions/

A Day of Rest

We took a day off from clinic work today to support several local churches in Bhubaneswar. Some attended the Union Baptist Church and a small group attended a home church called Calvary Grace Fellowship in a village near our hotel. The Union Baptist Church was started by the father of Dr. Ide Trotter (or Gandhi as we like to call him), when he and his wife Lena lived in Bhubaneswar in the 1960s. Today this church is a hub for some of the mission work supported in this region. The CGF church currently meets in a home ministering to the immediately community around them and several slum areas that are nearby. They have purchased property and are raising the funds necessary to construct a church building. Dr. Barry Creamer spoke at CGF church and also administered the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.

The rest of the afternoon offered many options including resting, shopping or touring the many temples of this city. Bhubaneswar has more temples than any other city within India and Orissa also makes this claim among the states. This evening most of the team visited the home of Dr. Patra for a time of fellowship and dinner. The Patra clan were gracious hosts. They served an authentic Orissan meal and we enjoyed their hospitality. We have a few team members that are suffering from sore throats, congestion and mild flu symptoms so please keep them in your prayers. We will also reshuffle the teams a bit this week as Dr. Ravi Vallabhan and his wife Sheryl will be visiting family for a few days in Mumbai, pray for their journey. They will rejoin us in Bangalore.
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Below is a picture archive of today:
http://flickr.com/photos/94059942@N00/sets/72157594465170648
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The link below will take you to the video updates for Joy India team (requires Quicktime): http://www.firstdallas.org/Missions/

Long Commute but Eternal Impact

Today our journey to the clinic location North of Bhubaneswar was a considerable distance. Our commute was a lively rough and tumble two hour & thirty minute journey each direction to the Dhen Kanal region of Orissa. Here we served a wonderfully affectionate group of people from area villages. Our venue once again was a school compound and here all five teams (again working together) had much room to spread out and to setup our medical camp.

There were many children to be seen and because we were a great distance from the nearest town some of the cases were a bit more severe. Our Bhubaneswar-based translator team was top notch and we were also assisted by local village pastors and their families.

Tomorrow we will support several local churches in Bhubaneswar and the entire team has been invited to a dinner at the home of Dr. Patra tomorrow evening.
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Below is a picture archive of today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94059942@N00/sets/72157594462882139

A Significant Answer to Prayer

Wow, the Lord has given us a terrific first clinic day here in Orissa. All five teams combined in a remote village in the Daltala region at a high school compound. Our friend the Hindu holy man, the Sadhu, was on hand to greet us and to direct a brief opening ceremony. Dr. Sonya participated in this special occasion for the villagers by lighting an oil lamp then we all went to work seeing over 750 patients collectively.

The people of this village were extremely genuine and friendly. Their medical needs were much greater than those we saw in Delhi but we know their spiritual needs are of paramount importance. Through your prayer support the crowds were very manageable today which kept us organized. It is so exciting and humbling to know God has placed us in this region for a specific purpose. We were excited to meet the three new church planters who are working in this region as a result of the Joy India 2006 team "Opening the Door" last year. It was also amazing to hear our friend, the Sadu, actually make reference to the Lord. He is seeking the God we serve, please keep him in your prayers.

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Below is a small picture archive of today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94059942@N00/sets/72157594461068875

Arrived in Orissa!

One of the most thrilling moments on our mission trip is to hear reports of how God’s hand has moved among the people in the areas where we have conducted medical clinics in the previous year. This evenings report was no exception. Soon after we arrived in Bhubaneswar a meeting was held to discuss the mission plan in Orissa, here we were reunited with Dr. Satyananda Patra (our local coordinator here in Orissa). He is General Secretary of the Orissa Baptist Association. He gave us a terrific report that brought tears of joy to many eyes. Last year in the Daltala-Dinger region of Orissa we worked in the village of a Hundi Religious leader, a "Sadhu". This was an area that had not been accessible to local Christian work for many years. Since last year through the power of God’s amazing providence three church planters are now permanently placed in this region and 21 prayer groups (each with around 10 families) have been started as a result of their work. PTL!!!!!

We are also equally excited about the opportunity to begin a pastor training conference that will be conducted simultaneously here in Bhubaneswar for 30 area ministers that have been specially selected by the local Baptist Association. Dr. Barry Creamer, our fabulous Joy India team pastor, will lead these daily sessions.

We had a delay departing Delhi this morning but arrived safely this afternoon in Bhubaneswar airport to a wonderful greeting from our hosts in Orissa.

For tomorrow please pray that the number of people will be manageable and that we remain sensitive to what God has in store this year. Crowd control was a logistical challenge for us last year in Daltala but God still moved in a marvelous way.

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Below is a small picture archive of today:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94059942@N00/sets/72157594459452672