Wednesday 15 December 2010

Angels at our doorstep

Last night after dinner I was washing up while Mama watched a serial about a widow 's struggle to look after her family. Suddenly Sheeba started to bark and someone rang the doorbell. Opening the door I found a group of carol singers with lighted candles standing at our door step. They were David and Diana' s Bible study girls. Remember I told you about them earlier. I had been to one of their Bible studies.

Sing we now of Christmas
Noel sing we now.

We were so delighted to see them.

Since the past two days I was thinking about

carol singing during my healthy younger days.

It was an exciting Christmas activity.

Much planning and preparation went

into it. Practicing the songs and informing

families when we would visit them. Many times

it was a surprise visit and people didn' t mind.

After we sang for them people offered us Christmas cake

and goodies. So it was a series

of parties. Once I remember we went to

rich aristocratic Christian homes

and each one of them tried to outdo

one another other with the goodies they placed before us.

We had a gala time.



David and Diana on the right side of the picture.
Diana is an American lady.
David was our youth fellowship leader and mentor.
He went to study in Prairie Bible College (Canada)
Lived in Canada and the US for 25 years or more.
He is a professional photographer and graphic designer
among many other things.
Both of them have a heart to reach out for Christ.
The young ladies are really
enjoying themselves.


Most of these girls have recently come to Christ.
We hugged each on e them warmly.

David had a word of encouragement for
us from Psalm 2 and Diana prayed
for us.
We were so blessed by this surprise.
All our loneliness vanished.


Diana' s beautiful girls.
On the extreme right is a visiting friend.
*********
I have loads of work to do in the house
and I am doing it slowly . My knees are bad these days and I get tired
with the normal housework.
********
Its wonderful how God fulfills our desires.
Mama wanted to have both our church
gates painted, but we did not have
any money for it.
I told her to wait and see what we could do.
Good old semi- barter system worked.
Our head painter Pradeep wanted to buy
a couch and 2 chairs which we did not want anymore.
They were in good condition,, but we
sold them to him for a very low price and
some fuel wood too. And in exchange he
will paint both the gates for free.
As a thank you present he
brought us fresh river fish
which I fried for dinner tonight.
God is good.
All the time.
*******************
Its past 11 pm.
I hung up the living room curtains while watching TV.
I like watching social dramas or situations I can
somewhat relate to.
I am watching serials based on the
life of a physically disadvantaged girl,
a woman fighting for justice and empowerment
and a family comedy about a girl married
into a family of just men (5 of them) and
no women...a lone woman
in a man' s world.
I prefer the
whole drama to end in one episode, but
that seldom happens.
*********************
Please pray for us.
Mama has some important business
at a bank. Three times we have filled
forms but they got rejected - some minor glitch.
I am trying afresh.
I will first show the papers
to the manager and get his approval,
then I will take Mama to sign them before him.
I also have take Mama to a government office
which is on the 6th floor.
They have an elevator but Mum can' t climb the steps leading up to it
Fortunately the officials are very kind
and they agree to come down and
meet her in the parking lot.
Please pray that it all
happens smoothly.

11 Fertilize my soul:

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful blessing to open the door to carolers...good memories too.....I caroled alot as a girl too...and was in a glee club where we sang for nursing homes and clubs....sang in the choir at church too....
The Lord always provides....the praise report of your barter is very encouraging....God bless!

Terra said...

Now that is a beautiful scene of caroling and fellowship and sharing the love of Jesus, that you paint here with your words and photos. How good the barter worked so well, for the church gate painting.

Amrita said...

Dear Terra an d Dani, God bless you for your kind words.

monsoon dreams said...

i love your carol story and the snaps.Glad to see such happy faces.
I haven't seen even a single carol this time.In india atleast two groups would surely come home for carol singing.I miss them.

Nadwrażliwiec said...

I wish I could see that in real, not only in photoes :)
I will pray for You and Your Mum. God bless You.

Anonymous said...

What a blessing for the Bible study group to pay you a visit and sing some great Christmas carols.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.

~Ron

Felisol said...

Dear Amrita
I certainly will pray for your Mama and yourself. I am familiar with how exhausting these situations can be. Bureaucracy is the same all over the world, and my mother often is so tired of having to cope with all new rules and forms.
The singing girls are a blessing to whoever they visit. It's fine that they also have some joys in return.
Lovely Indian report once again.
From Felisol

N Abram said...

Dear Amrita, I love carol singing too and I am glad to hear you had such a good time. I will pray for your Mama and you as I find bureaucracy so tedious still it has to be done. Blessings x

Simply Shelley said...

Very heart warming post Amrita...how very nice to have carolers at your door...and I was so blessed to hear how God moved on your behalf to have the gates painted...he is truly a good God indeed....I can relate to the knee pain. Both my knees are bone to bone and it is painful to walk. Today I am not feeling well..down in my hip as well...I desire your prayers...asking God to bless you and your dear mama....Shelley

Constance said...

I remember as a Youth Leader my husband and I taking kids to sing Christmas Carols. I often wondered how they would be received as well as if their hearts were into it. I never should have had any concerns! Everytime, we were a blessing and in return, we were blessed in serving others!
Merry Christmas!
Connie

Kathryn said...

What a sweet story, Amrita, of your carolers. :)

I visited Prairie Bible College when i was a teen. Think i even debated trying to get my parents to let me go there to finish high school. I remember, at that time, they had their own dairy, but they packaged the milk in plastic. You used a sharp straw to pierce the plastic and drink the milk. I didn't like the flavor of the milk in plastic. One of my few memories of that trip, except it was cold! I think it was January when we went there.

Praying for your physical discomfort and your business dealings. I hope it all goes well. (A cream with capsaicin - hot peppers - might help your knee. It does wonders for my aches and pains. http://osteoarthritis.about.com/od/painrelief/a/capsaicin.htm BTW, i recommend no more than .025% or .035% because more, like this recommendation for .075% can burn a lot.)