Weekend

Last weekend I went to a prayer meeting at the Bible College.

It was the culmination of 3 days of fasting and prayer

before the launching of a new project.

Believers from all main denominations got together for prayer.
There was preaching of the Word, worship
and prayer.

The meeting lasted two and a half hours longer than expected.
Sitting on the hard un-padded bench I felt sorry for these
mothers with infants.

This little girl right next to me fell asleep on her mom 's knee.
And when she got hungry, mom covered herself with her sari and nursed her! The kids were so quiet and patient. it seemed older people
like me were wriggling in their seats.
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Last week there was a wedding in our neighbourhood.
These are people from a lower economic group and having no place
to hold their reception they had it across the street on the pavement.
I took a photo of the dinner buffet
outside my gate.
Could have gate-crashed!!!

Happy - Happy

Thank you Mrs Mac for giving me this gift. You are a special lady , wife, Mom and grandma and blogfriend. I admire the way you look after Nathan and give him so much love and care.He is such a sweet boy. You make all us smile so much.
You asked me to list 6 things which make me happy.
Let me see
1. My name is written in the Lamb 's book of Life.
2 My family and friends, specially little children.
3. The way Sheeba (my dog) welcomes me when I return home from a
trip out of doors.
4. The day when there are no electricity cuts.(LOL)
5. The day when there are no bills to pay.(LOL)
6. My blog friends , my growing family of God which gives me much joy.
_________________________
My friend Rebecca
asked me write some quirky things about myself. Sorry Rebecca it took me so long. First of all on my old keyboard the letter Q was not working so I couldn 't type the word and then I got caught with other things.
So here goes.
Some Quirks I have:
1. The pinky of my left hand is slightly crooked because of arthritis, but it doesn 't hurt.
2. I always remember the clothes and shoes I was wearing when something bad happened to me or around me and many times I can 't wear them again if the association is very strong, so I give them away.
3. I use both hands to eat.
I eat finger food with my left hand and use the spoon with my right.
I am sure I have lot more quirks, I am as quirky as one of the characters of The Pickwick Papers, but I have to re-read the book to find matches. LOL.

Now its your turn pals. Give us a list of your quirks and your haps (not mishaps).

God is Able

Took a blogging break and enjoyed visiting other people 's blogs.
The past week began with a visit to a sick church member.She had very high fever over the weekend and couldn 't come to church but she was up and about on Monday.
Its been very humid and rainy all week.I 've not been well. My mother 's cough didn 't get any better and she developed other problems. So I got her some new medication and nourishment.
My fixed phone went dead last Sunday and Internet was very unstable. I made complain calls with my cell phone to various offices and no one came to my rescue. So I called up the General Manager of the Telephone Company. And yesterday my phone and Internet was restored.
The High Point of the week was to hear that my younger sister Namrita has Internet on her cell phone, we can communicate much more freely now.
They have a computer but have not subscribed to Broadband as it would be a distraction to her grade -school going sons.

Another high point of the week was that an Indian boxer and wrestler won Bronze medals at the Olympics.These 2 athletes come from very humble backgrounds and do not have many facilities, yet their hard work won them their medals
Prem and Anju sent us pictures from New Brunswick.. Prem is a leader in his church and fills in when his Pastor is away. last Sunday he spoke in the morning and evening services, in spite of being unwell.He also takes part in outreach programs and travels to nearby churches to preach.

He is an engineer by profession but where ever they have lived (India and Nigeria , Canada) they have been like part time missionaries hosting weekly Bible studies and being fully involved in church programs.

Mahima, Ashish, Anjali (Anju for short) and Prem

Here - Prem and Anju are with their Shri Lankan friends.

L-R Anju, Kumari, Ruan, Prem

In the front are Ruan and Kumari 's three children.

Please pray for Ruan. He is suffering from cancer and is undergoing chemo therapy.His faith is very Strong and he is trusting the Lord for his healing.He is witnessing to his Buddhist friends who marvel at his faith and trust.

Last night when our church security guard came on duty he reported that the padlock and chain from the front gate was missing. We were very disturbed as it seemed someone had stolen them.

Earlier thieves have broken into the church campus and have stolen things. Anyway we committed everything into the Lord 's hands and went to bed.

Our Pastor had a dream at night in which he saw the chain and lock hanging on the gate. In the morning he told his wife this and went out to examine the gate and sure enough there was the chain and lock intact on the gate.

The Lord God is our keeper!

Greetings

Since yesterday my Internet connection is on the blink. I just can' t do anything worthile on the net.

Wanted to reply to all your comments, but can 't.I 've got photos, will try posting them.
My arm is better today, except that I feel dizzy at times. Mom 's cough is better. I make tea with tulsi ( maybe its called Monk 's basil)its good for the throat.
Thank you for your prayers.

Relaxing Peacefully

This photo was taken about 20 years ago, when we had our German Shepherd- Lassie and Mixed Lab - Jackie.
Lassie was a good dog. Her previous owners (our family friends) were very rich people living in Kuwait.When they visited from there, they fed her dry fruit, which irked us quite a bit as they were too expensive to waste on a dog.Well, every dog has his day.
Jackie was a great guard dog. No one could enter our place without his permission.He used to walk our maid home, so as to protect her on the street.And when my English friend Ruth (birthday picture) visited, he walked her to her hotel every night.
Jackie prevented our place from being burgled.Some one who had mischief on their minds poisoned him.
__________________________
On Monday we did not have electricity for 5 hours, but it rained , so it was bearable.Sonia and I went shopping in the rain.
Yesterday we did not have electricity for 8 hours.I was sick by the end of it.The heat fries your brain.And when we can 't run our water pump our tank is depleted.
But I comfort myself by saying I am not the only one going through this -millions of my compatriots are reeling under the blow.Suffering means - I am a card carrying member of the human club.Maybe I 've got a gold card membership.
I wanted Sonia to stay longer but her hubby phoned her yesterday saying he is planning a holiday in Ludhiana (the Punjab) and Simla (hill resort), so she will leave a few days earlier.
Sometimes I wish for get a few days off where I don 't want to be responsible for anything - that will be my holiday. Just switch off my body and brain for a while - is that possible above the ground?
But I will hold on to the words from the Bible - Do not be weary in well doing for you will get your reward in due time. And Jesus said;In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world.
The second WORD is specially for when there is no electricity and water and the heats killing you.
P.S. Premission granted to use this as a sermon illustration. LOL

Much Better

By God 's grace I am feeling much better, altho I have short dizzy spells while Iam laying down and my head feels like jello from time to time.I have decreased my medication.

My TV is acting up.The humidity is getting to it. Had a part changed a month ago , but the problem 's resurfaced , asked the repairman to have a look. Have to replace my car (Maruti 800) battery.

Well this is life.

We are coping much better with Aunt S Sort of getting used to her behaviour.

In India the cell phone battery blast scare is going on.Nokia batteries are exploding like WMDs so report the paranoia inducing news anchors. And this evening somebody 's Samsung exploded in Agra. Mine is LG so I 'm safe.Whew!

A lot of TV news is panic inducing , I like to take it with a pound of salt, unlike Mom who swallows it like a tonic.(She would have chopped my head off if she read this).LOL. I am also wary of health police.It goes on and on.

Saw a lovely movie this evening "Just Like Heaven" *rring Reese Whitherspoon and an unknown actor (to me) Mark Ruffalo.After a long time saw a decent flick. But the enjoyment was overcast from time to time with my Mom trying to explain the storyline to our uneducated Muslim maid who had no idea what what going on.

Speaking of my maid I must tell you that she was invited to a family engagement celebration yesterday. It was her BIL 's SIL 's family. In India the extended family extends quite a long way.The SIL 's 3 girls, all cousins (complicated) were getting engaged.So 3 groups of suitors and their entourages came (sounds like The Merchant of Venice).There were the SIL 's family and friends too in all about a thousand guests.

Now these are ordinary working class people, but they are well off as they run a family operated catering business. The Indian caste and class system is complicated but its a part of our lives.Still the number of invitees is shocking, just for an engagement.How many will they invite for the wedding? We had a thousand guests for my sisters weddings.

I am reading a book by the late Mrs Billy Graham called 'It 's My Turn ' its a delightful book all about being a wife, mother, growing up in China before the Revolution, faith and facing the challenges of being the wife of a busy man.I recommend it to all my readers.Ruth Graham is one of my favourite women.

In a chapter called Dog Training she writes;

"Dear Journal,

Every parent should read at least one good book on dog training.Odd how,in a day when children are notoriously disobedient,dog training and obedience classes are increasing in popularity. Basically the rules are simple.

1. Keep commands simple and at a minimum. One word to a command and always the same word. Come, Sit, Stay, Heel, Down, No (I talk my children dizzy.)

2. Be consistent.

3. Be persistent. Follow through. Never give a command without seeing it is obeyed.

4. When the dog responds correctly, praise him.(Not with food.Remember don 't reward children materially for doing well. Your praise should be enough.)

Its a fine kettle of fish when our dogs are better trained than our children."

Well behaved Sheeba waiting for her 'goodnight biscuit/cracker ' a tradition established by my Dad.

The Salon Comes to the House

Mama, Aunt Sybil and I needed hair cuts so we called our door to door barber over. He did the job for a fraction of what we would have to pay at the beauty parlour.When my sisters and niece were here last summer they went to a swanky salon and paid Rs 250 for a haircut. I tipped the barber just Rs 25 for all of us. I 'll put the pictures out once I 'm done with the film.
There was a time I could afford the stylish salon, but now I can 't so what 's the big deal.Paul says be content in whatsoever circumstance you 're in...whether it be plenty or little.Hurray!

BEAT THE HEAT Part 2
We have other homemade concoctions to keep cool in the summer.There 's a mango drink called panna. You wash and boil green mangoes, with the skin on. After they are soft. Cool them. Discard the skin and seed and put the soft flesh in a pan, add a little water , sugar according to your taste, roasted cumin powder, little salt and a few mint leaves and simmer for a while . Make sure the mango pulp is well blended with the water. The liquid should be of a thin consistency.Strain the drink. Cool and chill. Serve with ice. Its really refreshing and energizing. Try it people. Its a hit here.If you can 't get cumin powder don 't worry you can leave that out.Try Indian shops.
The other drink is called sattu. (Hope I 'm not boring you) Comes from the Hindi word saat which means seven. Its a drink made from the powder of 7 grains. You take equal amounts of wheat,barley,millet,oats (cereal),chickpeas,corn and soy beans and grind them in a heavy duty food processor.We get the sattu powder ready made in the shops so we don 't have to grind it. In the West the Indian shops might have it.
If you want to have it as a breakfast dish, you can mix the sattu with milk or water ,the consistency should be thick. Add chopped fruit and dry fruit of your choice and honey or sugar and dig in. You can chill it too.I 'd like a little lemon juice with it.
Sattu can be had like a sherbet. Just add enough water , sugar or honey and I 'd put in lemon juice for added flavor chill, top with ice cubes and serve.
Its good for health too and they give it to nursing infants.Later on I 'll tell you about lassi, a cool drink made with plain yogurt.
Today the electricity is playing hide and seek. In the past 3 hours we 've had 4 or 5 outages. Very frustrating as I have to shut down the system and restart it each time. Flintstones where are you?
They are airing the Indian version of "The biggest Loser" show on one of our channels.There are 2 Christian heavy weights on it. One is a professed atheist and the other Robin Solomon is a born again believer.
They had the Indian version of Big brother too, which I found rather distasteful most of the time, specially when people got into each other 's faces and under their skin.They were the worst examples of humanity according to me and I think children and teens ( anyone of an impressionable age) should not be allowed to watch it.My mama has great sympathy for a disgusting cabaret dancer called an item girl in
India. I feel she is the lowest form of human life. Look what the show did to my nice mama!

O give me a home where the buffalo roam and the power supply won 't leave me alone

I tried so hard to write this post.

I had just stated writing when Pastor S came to discuss church affairs just as he was leaving the lights went out. Our power supply is very erratic.There are about 170 million people living in my state of Uttar Pradesh and only 35% have electric supply out of which only 6% have regular supply. We are among the fortunate ones. Sometimes I feel I am trying to run my computer in the Stone Age.We have become slaves of technology and that has messed up our lives.Apart from the power playing truant the voltage is so low that I can 't run my PC at times. India is a fast developing country but the infrastructure cannot keep up with the increasing population.We have the latest technology and expertise and resources but still we can 't cope.

It was a heat stroke that I had. Survived on a porridge of rice and pulses called kichrie, boiled potato and homemade plain yogurt.Have to re-hydrate myself.Thank you my friends for praying for me and sending me your good wishes.Oh Ruth I would love your chicken soup.

Pastor S went to see the lawyers. Our opponents have put in false statements , just plain lies.This morning Mama and I searched church records for important documents to support our case. We found plenty.Have to retrieve some from the state court. Please pray for all this . Our opponents are like Goliath and we are like puny skinny David. I feel like Esther before Haman. I ask God to give me the spirit of Esther.

Tomorrow I will go with Pas. S to see the lawyers to discuss the case.

This is the Lord 's battle and He will make us victorious.

I am posting a picture of me with my parents in our living room. This was taken 3 years ago just before my Dad passed away.

Wordless

Hi I 'm back. Today when I started to open my account I found my keyboard was not working. So I was rendered wordless.Took it to the cyber shop in the evening and it worked perfectly well there. It was playing a game with me it seems. I got it connected again and I 'm back in business.On the way back I saw a 50% off sign outside a shopping MAUL . I call them MAULS as they can maul your pocketbook if you are not careful LOL.I watch out for bargain offers.The girls try to sell me cosmetics but I move on saying I 'm allergic to them.I bought some veggies, mustard oil for cooking, melons and mosquito repellent.
Please pray for pastor Shaylendra and me. We are going to see our lawyers tomorrow (Sat. evening) to get some documents which will support our case.Those documents are pretty old, hope they still have them in their files.
On Thursday night Mama and I watched Gothika on Star Movies. I usually don 't watch spooky flicks but saw this one because of Halle Berry.If the criminal justice dept. worked like that in real life them all murderers would be caught...the victim 's ghost helped. Anyway I like Halle, except in the Flintstones...that role did n 't suit her.

Henna Hair Treatment

My hair needs conditioning and colouring so I have prepared henna paste and will apply it to my hair tomorrow morning.
For this you need to buy a packet of henna powder , it has various herbs mixed in it already. There are a variety of brands available. To start off you boil some tea leaves and coffee ( I add powdered tobacco) in water and cool it.Then add the henna powder, white of an egg and some lemon juice to the mixture and stir it well. It should make a thick gooey paste.Leave it overnight to mature. For extra effect people put this mix in an iron pot. I had an iron frying pan for this purpose but gave it away so I 'm using a steel bowl.
The next day you can apply this paste to your hair with a brush ( it stains the hands) just like hair colour and leave it on for three hours at least.The minimum time should be one hour.
After that rinse off the henna. Do not shampoo.Some women oil their hair to keep it soft, like I do. You can shampoo your hair on the second day.
So how about it ladies are you ready for the plunge?
My friend John Cowart www.cowart.info/blog/ has tagged me for a meme and I will comply, but i don 't know how to add links to my posts.You people out there are so clever at all this .Can someone tell me how to add links.
Some days I may not be able to blog due to electricity cuts, my battery last only for 5 minutes.Its very frustrating.

Introductions

I have two sisters, I am the middle one. My Papa died 3 years ago at 75. he lived a Christian life and served the Lord well. My Mom a retired teacher will be 76 in June "07.

Both my sisters are Christians and their families too.
Older sister Anjali and husband Prem have two children Ashish (21) and Mahima (14) (pronounced Maheema). They live in New Brunswick, Canada where they migrated 5 years ago having lived in Nigeria for 17 yrs. Prem is a textile engineer and Anjali, a homemaker and sub. school teacher.In Nigeria she ran her own pre-school which was very popular amongst the ex-pats.

Younger sister, Namrita is a teacher and her husband Sengrak is a Commerce professor. They live in North East India close to the Bangladesh border (very far from here). they have 2 sons Mishael (10 and Rayguel (6).

I have another sister whom my parents rescued and adopted as a small kid. She was abandoned by her parents and was working as a domestic help with people who were not treating her well. Our tailor told us about her and my parents took her in. She grew up with us and became a part of our family.Her name is Sonia. She is married , has a 5 yr old son called Abner, who is like an unguided missile.Her husband Avinash is a computer programmer in the Lucknow University, where they live. Sonia is a SAHM. She is an excellent cook.
Let me add that most of my close relatives are dedicated Christians.Thought I 'd introduce everybody. I 'll be posting pictures. I 'm just having trouble operating my scanner. I 'm not very computer savvy you know.

24 hr supply

These days because of election time we are getting a 24 hr. supply of electricity. Otherwise we have a 21 to 20 hr supply if there are no breakdowns.Friends in the West will be shocked to read this I know.

India is a huge populous country and power generation does not match up with the demand, specially in North India where I live. Everybody who can afford it keeps a battery run or gas (petrol) powered generator hooked up to their mains. We have a battery run one.

The rural areas are the worst hit. The farmers get enough to run their well pumps etc. There is very little domestic supply.People are going in for alternative means of generating electricity like solar units and waste recycling.

In India the east has met the west.You will see the rich man 's mansion and Lazarus lying at the gate.Cyber cities and illiteracy exist side by side.There are fashion designer competing with their western counterparts and people who don 't have enough clothes to hide their nakedness.luxury shopping malls and children scrounging around in the garbage looking for a morsel to eat.

Questioning the question

Indian society is advancing in leaps and bounds but the attitude towards women is rooted in the dark ages. I am a single woman and when I seen by friends at a Christian or social event or shopping place all by myself they ask me "Have you come alone?"

Its OK for them show their concern about my safety and well being but somehow they make it sound like an abuse in Hindi we call it gaali. It leaves you devoid of your minuscule ego and self esteem. One is already feeling rather lost in crowds of happy families when one is hit by this crippling salvo.

I am planning to answer their question like this:

Have you come alone?

No
With whom
If I am in a pious mood...I 'll say Jesus.

On a philosophical note I 'll say:
With my shadow

After playing VirtualCop, I 'll say
With my double barrel gun

If I 'm sick and depressed I can say
With my eyeglasses, hearing aid and orthopedic cane.

They 'll know I 'm kidding if i say
With my troop of bodyguards.

Friends any ideas?

Election Day

May 3rd is election Day for some districts of our state. since the past one month we are going through the slow process of electing a new governing body (called the state legislative assembly) for our state (Uttar Pradesh) headed by the Chief Minister or Governor. U.P. is the largest state of India and the most densely populated too, and our politics has a large role to play in the forming of the central or federal government.

Several political parties are in the fray. Some right wing religious fundamentalist, secular,leftist,backward caste supporters and independents. A good number of candidates have criminal backgrounds.
Our future is in the hands of the mafia to say the least.

Pray that the Lord may cause good, honest and just representatives to be elected. I will not be able to exercise my franchise as I was not issued an I-card. They took our photos 3 times and still no card. They do that to Christians as they know we vote for the secular Congress party.

You can 't have a wedding without a band

Our house-help 's granddaughter is getting married today, she 's Muslim. In India this is the auspicious wedding season (like the open hunting season) fixed by the priests. Don 't know why the priests want to torture people in the heat.

They fixed the wedding party to arrive at noon, but had to change the time to later as the wedding band was booked at another place.

Lesson:Tune your wedding time to the band otherwise face the music!

A Wedding!

Today is the engagement ceremony of our church night watchman, Rakesh, who is around 25 years old. He is a chauffeur by day and guards our campus at night.

A group of people from his bride 's house will arrive at his home this afternoon (sans the girl) bearing gifts. They will go through some Hindu rituals and later on have a vegetarian lunch and return. The wedding solemnizes on Sunday April 29th.

The groom"s party will go to the bride 's house on Sunday where a long and complicated wedding ceremony will take place sometime in the middle of the night, depending on the auspicious time determined by Hindu priests.The farewell takes place the next day.

The bride will stay in her new home for a couple of days and her brother or a male relative comes to take her back to her mother 's house where she will relax for a few days after which her husband will come to take her back. This takes place in the more traditional families, many modern couple skip all this.

In Rakesh 's case the initial coming and going will take place after which the bride will live with her parents for a year until the gonna. The gonna is the final settling down with the husband. This gives time to the couple to get used to the idea that they are married and the man to establish himself. The gonna procedure usually takes place among the peasants.

So we are congratulating Rakesh and I will send his wedding gift (cash).
Its too hot to attend the afternoon ceremony as the temp. is 110 or 45 degrees!

End of Canine Discrimination in our Home

I used to own two dogs till April 10, 2007. Jimmy my German Spitz died of unknown toxic poisoning on that day. now I 've got Sheeba my mixed Spitz and Lab.(Jimmy was 5.4 yrs, Sheeba is also the same)

My Mom adored Jimmy, Sheeba she just tolerated. Jim had a very distinct personality like a retired army general. Very staid and serious, extremely picky about food. Give him something new to eat and he would examine it forensically. He had his moments too. he would do the bamboo dance, when i would twirl a bamboo stick in front of him and he would jump up and down trying to grab it. Fate snatched him from us ans left us very lonely and sad.

Now my Mom has taken up Sheeba our frivolous, playful pooch.She pets Sheeba and allows her to lick her.Sheeba was my Dad 's darling until he passed away 3 years ago. Sigh, so now Sheeba you have found a friend in Mummy.

Watched Boris Yeltsin 's funeral on the Beeb. A historical man for Russia and the world

Large,Medium or Small

I love the current Airtel mob. service advertisement.It has individuals coming on and making statements like giving instructions to a particular place, a show and tell in school and inviting someone over. People with the large talktime overstate their thing and seem to go on forever, the medium folk elaborate their speech slightly and the smalltalk people express themselves in very concise and frugal sentences. I tend to fluctuate between the medium and small talktime. Don 't know what this blog will make me do.

Cry...cry while posting this entry i managed to scorch my stir fry veggie of cabbage and potatoes i was making for lunch.