A Joyful Noise

For  the   earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge of  the  glory  of   the  Lord as  the  waters  cover  the  sea
Habakkuk 2:14 (BIBLE)

The  evening of  Sunday  April 22 nd  saw a  fulfilment of  this  verse.We  had a Christian   music  concert by singer Vijay  Benedict  on  our  church   campus.
Vijay  was  a  pop and  film  playback singer . Several years  ago while seeking  answers  to  the   disturbing  questions of  life he  aacepted  Christ as  his  personal  Saviour. Since then  he  dedicated  his  music and  talents to the Lord and  travels  all  over  india  and  the  world singing  and  preaching  the  Gospel.
The  entertainment  world  has  tried  to lure  him  back  with  promises  of  money,fame  and  glamour, but  for  Vijay , its  no  turning  back.
We  were  fortunate  to  have  him  sing for  the  public  of  Allahabad. There  were  2500 people  present at  this open air  event on  this  warmish  evening. Many  heard  the  message  of Christ  for  the  first  time.
Let  the  photos  tell  the  story.

Preparations

Worship  team sending  out  rays  of  joyful music.

There   were  several TV  cameras  to film. This  month  a  new  Hindi Christian  TV  Channel  is  being  launched   and  they  will  feature  this  concert

Vijay Benedict

Rev. Dr. R.B. Lal delivered  the message

A  huge crowd  came  up front  for  prayer

Here  are  2  videos to let

you  catch  the  spirit.

Joy To The World

You  will  want  to  watch  this  video  again  and  again  and  show  to  your children

Peace  is  joy  resting
Joy  is  peace  dancing
- F F Bruce

This is the cutest Christmas video I have ever seen

Please please Please watch this.
It deserves an Oscar.

Three Street Children at the Stone Church

From Dec 23rd till the 27th

there was Christmas Festival

at All Saint 's Cathedral also called

Paththar Girja or Stone Church.(above-main entrance)

Each evening different groups presented

the Gospel message through music dance,

skits and the spoken word.

The cathedral is situated right in the city center
and since it was an open air event
it drew large crowds from all
walks of life specially non-Christians.



We went on the last night . There
was an audience of more than
five thousand people.People did not mind the cold evening air. The Cathedral is more than 100 years old and
is an important landmark of our city
It has been awarded the status of
a Heritage site.

Here we were under the impressive
facade of this magnificent building.

In the audience

Namria,Mishael, me

(front) Rayguel and Abner

This young man . a gifted preacher

and musician , captured

everyone 's attention.

He really has the gift of evangelism.

In the midst of this throbbing melee

came three street children.

Awestruck by the dazzling lights, music

in the electric atmosphere.

They walked right up to the

stage, spellbound by the display of

sound and color.

Mouths open,

black eyes aglow in wonderment.

Their thin tattered clothes

and bare feet provided no protection

from the chilly wind.

What is this

so far away from our slumdog world?

Dwarfed by huge TV cameras,

speckled by blinking digital cameras ,

confused by buzzing mobile phones,

they stood -

almost frightened and overpowered.

When Jesus walked on earth

people from the fringe of society,

the poor, outcasts, lepers,

people of ill-repute and

the downcast followed him.

He ignored no one.

He called out;

Who touched me?

Come down from that tree,

I want to come and eat at your house,

What do you want me to do for you?

Allow the little children to come to me.

He peeled away their tattered clothes of

disease, shame and sin and sent them away

whole in body and soul.

He still gives beauty for ashes.

(Abner and Rayguel riding a toy train)

Here are 2 videos from the Festival.

Sunday Blessings - All Nations Shall Sing

During morning service we received showers of blessings.

Ramplal , who is the only Christian from his village in North Western Indian,

delivered a Christmas message.

Rampal was saved through the ministry

of a student outreach our family has been supporting and been a part of for

the past 35 years. He worked with our mission

for 2 years and is now studying theology at the Seminary.

He is supported by the contributions of college students

and working people.

College students save from their pocket money

and educational expenses to pay his fees etc.

The Lord enabled Mummy and me to give him a small

sum for his travel home.

Please pray for Rampal as he witnesses

to his family and neighbours.

Our church is a training ground for seminary students.

Here they are with our Pastor and his wife.

3rd and 4th from the left are Rajendra and Gudiya

both belonged to a non-Christian faith but have accepted Christ.

They come to our church regularly with their little daughter.

We have Bible studies in their home too.

Suchit, John and Pastor Shay.

Suchit and John are visitors from Kolkata (Calcutta)

Suchit 's grandparents (both deceased) were

faithful members of our church some 30 years ago.

This is a very illustrious family

and they held top government posts.

As their children lived far from them,

my (then young) parents were their caregivers of sorts.

When Suchit 's grandma (Mrs Shome) died

there was no one in the house.

My family informed the relatives and

arranged for the funeral etc.

Suchit works in a top ranking pharma company.

He was here on a short business visit.He gave our church a generous donation

which will go into our wall fund.

God is faithful.

Suchit and his friend John sang a worship song for us.

In the evening I went to a Christmas service at the Seminary
The congregation at prayer in the Chapel
80 year old Aunt Joy.
She was the church organist for several years in her church.
The senior couple on the far right
also are friends. We were all members
of the Allahabad Choral Society
Dr Dutt was the Head of the English dept.
when I was doing my Masters.
He is a great tenor, his wife sang alto with me.

These are children from the Sunday School outreach group
80 kms outside the city
in a rural area.
I have their video too.
It is remarkable to see how the love of Christ has touched their lives.

This young lady CC is the daughter
of a seminary professor from Mizoram (NE India)
She was the lead singer in the children 's choir.
Watch the video which I have posted.
She has great talent for Christ.
Children smiling at being appreciated.
The message was delivered by Wing Commander Immanuel
of the Indian Air Force.
He is a young man from South India with
a lovely family.
He studied in Karunia University in Coimbatore and did
M.Tech from IIT Kharagpore, both reputed institutions of the sub-continent.
Later on I introduced myself to them.
Choirs comprising of seminary students sang in all the major languages
of India. Here is a Qawali, which is a poetic song in Urdu
sung in the Arabic/Sufi tradition.
The qawalls dress this way too.
This was a Christmas qawali.
After the service was over we all gathered in the courtyard
to sing carols by candle light.
I am posting some videos.
Hear the Chin song from Myanmar.
The Burmese people escape to India
fleeing the repressive junta regime of their country.
There is a Mizo and Hindi song too.

Kid 's Day Out

Welcome to Kidz Fest 2009
Friday morning dawned bright and clear with a light
breeze blowing.
But by 9 am heavy rain clouds gathered
and it began to pour.
We took it as an answer to prayer
because we had been praying for
pleasant weather.

The rain really brought the temperature down
And everybody was ready to make a joyful noise unto the Lord.


It rained steadily the whole day.
And a cool breeze made the sanctuary seem
air conditioned.

Over 200 children
and 50 volunteers from
various Allahabad churches participated.
People represented a good mix
from all sections of the community.
I was surprised to see a mentally and physically
challenged boy which is very rare.
Because such kids are usually kept at home.

Bishop Dr. J M leading in prayer
and giving the opening word.
Under the church porch Operation Paet Pooja
was going on.
Paet Pooja literally means
Tummy worship!
Above you can see hot pakoras being fried.


Ouch Potatoes (boiled)

Onions are essential to Indian cooking.

Bhaturas sizzling in the wok.

They are very similar to

Mexican tortillas

except that they are made with

flour or maida.

Spices are being sauteed.

This is a chick pea curry called chole

to go with the bhaturas.

There were gulab jamuns for dessert.

Dumplings made with flour and milk and

soaked in sugar syrup.

The Paet Pooja Team (volunteers)

serving the food.

A petrol (gas) run generator was

hired to provide relief during

the power outage.

Projecting song lyrics on a screen.

The Bishop 's wife ,Auntie Clara

putting her grandson to sleep.

His Dad, Dr Justin, a young college

teacher was the organizer of the Fest.

Come along and sing with us.

Simran (remember her?) and her

brother Ayush learning action songs.

Little Miss Muffet suddenly felt

peckish in the midst of all the activity.

So she fished out a bag of chips from

her bag and polished them off!

A group enacting a skit.

The skits centered around the Fest Theme

What Would Jesus Do?

I took these videos

to show you the enthusiastic singing.

Justin told us when he was visiting

another church the kids tugged at his shirt

and asked him"Uncle when are we going to have a Kidz Fest?"

Pray that this day may leave a long lasting

effect on the lives of these children.