Have been preaching every day this week so far at all sorts of meetings retreats and devotionals. In fact I don't know how much longer this sermon will last! It was good to be back in Feba yesterday for their all day retreat of prayer and fasting. Met some people there from my old Feba days.

I'm at Campus Crusade for Christ this morning and then off to Asha Kiran School for a lunchtime event and then we catch a plane to Delhi to visit the Mt Carmel School there.

On Saturday we hope to travel to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and then fly back to Bangalore on Sunday night. We should be back home by midnight. But the good news is that Prem has cancelled both my speaking engagements on Sunday! (Brilliant a Sunday off!)

We got caught in torrential rain yesterday and Commercial Street turned into an ankle deep river in about 5 minutes! Discovered that there is something hairier than travelling through Bangalore in an Auto-rickshaw and that's travelling through Bangalore on the back of a motorbike!

Sunday 26th August
Preaching in Immanuel Church this morning. (Used to be called Immanuel Baptist but they seemed to have dropped the denominational tag!) We arrived at 8.45 am as we thought the service started at 9.00am but in fact it didn't start until 10.00am and there was no one there, so we went and had a cup of coffee and came back. Preached on the Marriage Feast in Canna and afterwards we had the usual coffee and tea outside. Nice folks.

Later that afternoon Lilian and I were out in the park and we heard a great din going on in the main road with a band playing and fireworks going off. When we went to investigate we discovered it was a Hindu funeral. It seemed strange to us to see the body of this relatively young man in plain view being carried down the main road in this bier covered in flowers while the band played and firecrackers were exploding all aver the place.

Phil Butler from Interderv arrived about 4.30 and it was good to hear about his work as we had lost touch since Feba days. Phil was also preaching that evening in the Methodist Church so it was good to go along and just enjoy being ministered to.

After church we were taken to a beautiful Indian restaurant called Caesar's. At the end of the meal, instead of an "After 8" such as we might have here, I was given something wrapped up in a betel leaf which I was expected to chew. It was a real explosion of flavours! So much eating.
Tomorrow morning I'm taking devotions at a ministry called TAFTEE. (The Association of Theological Education by Extension) I'm being taken there on the back of William's (the Office Manager's) motorbike! Hope I arrive safely!

Day off today and we all went to a National Park a little way south of Bangalore where we saw some lions and tigers. Then Rita, Lilian and I all took an elephant ride, actually a very comfortable form of transport! (Comfortable for us, I can't speak for the elephant!) Also got the chance to see some other examples of God's creation as well. Stayed pretty hot and humid throught the whole day and then we got a shower of rain in the evening. If it's going to rain here, it seems to come on about 4.30 or 5.00pm. Preaching again tomorrow and then meeting with Phil Butler of Interdev who has flown over from Seattle for some meetings in Bangalore. Phil used to be on the Borad of Feba.

Back speaking at the Bible Society today, this time in "The William Carey Centre" in another part of Bangalore.

After the meeting and tea with the Director we were taken up onto the roof. Some good views of Bangalore. That's me finished preaching now until Sunday. Went to the OM Bookshop and saw some amazing prices of bibles and books. May do some of my Christmas shopping here before I leave! They were doing some construction work around the building.

The scaffolding fascinates me!

Was speaking at staff devotions at the Bible Society of India today (Thursday). Am speaking again to another group in another building tomorrow.
Next to the Government of India the Bible Society of India are the biggest publishers in this vast sub continent. They publish bibles and scriptures in 200 Indian languages and dialects and they employ some 500 staff. This is the office I visited today on the Mahatma Gandhi Road in Bangalore. It's called "Logos".
Tomorrow I visit another one called "The William Carey Building". Lilian's maiden name is Carey and she is related to the famous missionary to India.

On the ground floor of the Logos building is an impressive Bible exhibition showing the development of the Bible as we have it today and I was conducted around it by a full time guide and curator. They have, as part of their exhibition, William Carey's first translation of scripture into Bengali in 1807 and some of his original letters as well as lots of amazing stuff. They have Bibles from all over the world there. Even saw a Bible in Irish, something I've yet to see in Ireland!

This is me being introduced to Dr. Pramanik, the director of the Bible Society in India, who runs a pretty tight ship! All the office staff stop work and stand to their feet when he enters a room. He keeps introducing me to his staff as the "Reverend Doctor Lindsay Allen"! I haven't had the courage yet to correct him!

I mentioned last time on Lindsay and Lilian's Blog watching the tight rope walker outside the cafe. We all sat entranced watching her and knowing we could never do it ourselves. Even if I could manage a few steps my walk would be filled with the fear of falling and I would lose the exhilaration that comes from walking fearlessly along a rope strung above the traffic.

It's a metaphor of our walk with God, isn't it? Legalism, the fear of falling out of God's favour, can rob us of the exhiliration and joy of walking free with the Lord. Psalm 19:32 says, "I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free."

Sunday Morning. Had breakfast and then left about 9.30 as we are all going to church together where I am preaching! It's called the "Revival Church" and is led by an elderly pastor who is 82;- a lovely old gentleman who tells me that his late wife's father was Irish!
Nice church service which ran for about two hours. Communion was about half way through and a mixture of hymns ranging from the very traditional using "Redemption Hymnal" to very contemporary ones thrown up on the screen using PowerPoint.
These are a few pictures of us outside the church including one of Lilian and me with the pastor and me in the baptismal tank which was outside. You can't keep us Baptists out of a baptismal tank! As soon as we see one we just have to get in it!


Afterwards Prem and Rita took us all for Sunday lunch to a fabulous hotel called the "Royal Orchid". More amazing food served as a buffet.

Came back home and Lilian, Dean and I went out for a walk and had an iced coffee as it was getting pretty hot. When we came back the to American girls were getting ready for the wedding by having their hands and feet painted with henna which is a custom here. A girl from the school was doing it for them.Dean caught a flight to Dubai at 5.00pm for a week's break before he goes back to school.

After he left, Prem and I went for a walk in the park outside the house. By a walk in the park he means half a dozen circuits of the park at a pretty sharp pace! Lots of people taking exercise which an Indian orchestra and singer sing and play classical Indian music.

As mentioned earlier, we had all been invited to a wedding of a member of the school staff. Indian weddings are big! William, the office manager tells me he had 1600 guests at his! So the school bus collected us at about 7.30 and we headed off to the reception. Lots of people seated in a big hall when we arrived. Prem and Rita are obviously fairly high status in Indian society and when you are with them you are treated like royalty! We were ushered up to the front seats past everybody else with everybody fawning round us. A bit embarrassing for Lilian and me as we don't even know the couple's names!

Eventually the bride and groom enter. He in a suit and she looking beautiful but very nervous in a sari.
It's at that point that Prem tells me that as a special guest I have been asked to open in prayer and pray for the couple and their families! The usual 30 seconds notice you get in India!

So I end up standing on the platform with them, without a microphone praying at the top of my voice to try and drown out the Indian music which apparently can't be turned down and in front of a congregation, most of whom don't speak English!Afterwards we are led downstairs to pride of place at another Indian meal!

As I leave the reception I am handed a bag containing a coconut a betel leaf and a packet of betel seeds. The water in the coconut represents joy and the betel leaf and seeds represent growth and prosperity. Unfortunately I can't bring them home with me as I'm going to Los Angeles after this and there's no way American Immigration is going to let me into the country with them!

After it is all over we all get into the bus and come home. It's the Americans' last night, they leave to catch their flight at 4.00am and so it's all good byes and exchanging email addresses. Collapse into bed after another long day!

Went to school on Friday. the Asha Kiran School Bus picked us up at 8.30 and we travelled through the Bangalore rush hour stopping from time to time to pick up groups of students and teachers.

When we got to school, Lilian was given the job of helping in the accounts department and I was given the job of supervising the children's play area outside as some of the teachers were off! As this is a special needs school many of the children require to be closely supervised. In between times when things were quiet it gave me the opportunity to catch up on some of my reading which had fallen behind, so it worked out well for me.

Had lunch at the school and got to know Albert the cook and his wife Beena.

After school we all travelled home again by school bus dropping people off on the way.

Got home about 3.15 and Dean Lappin and I went out for a cup of coffee and a chat in one of the posh coffee houses where a cappuccino costs a scandalous 50p! Dean is a schoolteacher from Auchnacloy and has been working at Asha Kiran School for the past 5 weeks. It turns out that he is a member of Knockonny Baptist and his girfriend is the sister of John MacDermott's girlfriend! John McDermott is a former member of our church and is doing some of the preaching while I'm away. Small world!

Lilian went off to school today. She will be working in the accounts department and doing some admin. There is a lot of government bureaucracy here in India and lots of forms to fill in for pupils. I stayed behind in the Interdev office here where I have been given a desk and Internet access. Eventually got finished by 4.00pm and went out for a walk before Lilian came back. By about 4.30 the light here is beautiful, very soft and warm and the air temperature is a little cooler.

Everybody here seems to be working all the time. India's streets are a cacophony of sound;- a hive of activity a great symphony of hammering and sawing, welding and chopping, buying and selling, building and repairing. Everybody, young and old is doing something! Traffic is constant and mobile phones are everywhere. The latest high technology seems to be able to blend naturally with ox carts and a decaying infrastructure. Labour is cheap here so every store has lots of serving staff, security men and people to simply open the door for you coming and going. Lots of people earning a pittance doing mind numbingly boring jobs and very long hours. It really made me grateful for what we so easily take for granted and the opportunities open to us in the west. It also helps you appreciate the need for authorities to enforce the rules and regulations we find so frustrating at times. Otherwise things we take for granted just don't get done and things deteriorate.

I'm preaching on Sunday, (at least once, I don't know yet) and then one of the staff at Asha Kiran school is being married on Sunday and we have all been invited to the wedding. William the office manager here, tells me that when he was married a couple of years ago there were 1,600 guests at his wedding! Some older friends and relatives don't like to receive their wedding invitation through the post, they find that insulting, and so you may have to travel hundreds of miles to invite them personally!

Independence Day!

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Indian Independence and there are flags and street celebrations everywhere!

Yesterday at Asha Kiran School it was a very special day as the children put on a concert with a variety of items, a drama, a pageant representing the different States within India, some dancing and some singing! A Colonel from the Indian Army whose daughter was there with his wife and supervised the flag raising ceremony outside and the children provided a display before we all went indoors for the rest of the programme! Everyone was dressed up in their best clothes and the orange, white and green of India were everywhere. Lilian opened the programme in prayer, the Colonel made a speech and I (down on the programme as the Chief Guest!!) made a speech/sermon on Freedom. I used the passage from Galatians, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."

Then the children all got off school early and we stayed and had lunch. Trying to learn to eat Indian style eating with my fingers but a two year old makes less mess than I do!

Today, the school is off so I went for a walk to see what was going on. As usual, there was more action with the poorer people in the back streets but I wasn't sure what sort of reception I would get as a European.

However someone took me by the arm and brought me through a few places and I discovered that I was to be the guest of honour at a flag raising ceremony! There was a big picture of Gandhi and to the sounds of Colonel Bogey!! the Indian flag was raised while firecrackers went off and everybody clapped. Then I had a brooch of the flag of India pinned to my chest like a medal, and I was given all sorts of delicious Indian sweet cakes to eat! I shook hands with everybody and left to much applause! Should apply for a job in the diplomatic corps!

Having some internet problems, so sorry for the delay in posting. Luggage arrived today about 10.00am. Got sorted out with some clean clothes etc and set off for the school. Had lunch with the children and got to know some of them. They are rehearsing for Independence Day celebrations tomorrow. An Indian Amy Colonel is coming to supervise the flag raising ceremony. I was given a programme of the school celebrations and it was pointed out to me that I was down as the Chief Guest and I was to make a speech on “Freedom”! I was also to pray for two of the new teachers and welcome them into the Asha Kiran family. A couple of hours notice here that you are required to make a speech or preach a sermon seems the norm!
When we came back from the school Lilian and I went out for a walk round a few shops. Met Rita on the way back just as it was getting dark. Just trying to cross the road here takes a special skill. Pedestians have no rights here, traffic rules!

Well, we arrived in Bangalore at about 4.30 am on Saturday morning, but our luggage didn't! In fact I've just come back from another trip to the airport, 11.00pm Sunday night and we still haven't got it.

Traffic here is crazy!Absolutely crazy! You are taking your life in your hands trying to cross the road.

Was at my first church service this morning in the Methodist Church which started at 7.00am. Excellent service and a good sermon from the Assistant Pastor on Jeremiah 33. Time for a quick cup of coffee afterwards and then whisked off to another service in another part of Bangalore at 9.00am where I was the preacher and an India for Christ Ministeries Covenant Church. Birthday party with a cake cutting afterwards for two of their young people.

Yesterday we were taken to a special flower show to mark Independence Day in India. Tens of thousands of people were there and magnificent displays of flowers, fruit and vegetables.

Rain suddenly came on at 6.00pm in a torrential downpour. We headed back into the city centre and had a cup of coffee. In fact we had 3 coffees and 3 samusas, (little filled pancakes) and I tried to pay with a card and the guy wouldn't take it because he didn't accept cards for anything less than 100 rupees. Which meant that the 3 coffees and 3 samusas was less than £1.20. Bought extra food until I reached the 100 rupees! Took an autorickshaw ride back to Prem's house. It's like playing dodgems in real cars! Told when I got back that we had to be up at 6.00am to be at church for 7.00am. Had been told on that (Saturday) afternoon that I would be preaching the next day! Looks like being a busy month here in India!