9-17-13 Update

We have had another incredible day at the School of Urban Missions in Trichy. The relationships are beginning to develop with the people here. We're enjoying some great cross-cultural interactions and we're also starting to figure out the teaching methods that are effective in this context. God has been so good to us so far.

Yesterday we learned about the foundations of incarnational ministry. Today we built on that foundation through learning about the theology of incarnational ministry. We learned about what God has to say about how we can live out God's ways in our modern context. We are orienting ourselves to live in God's Grand Narrative, based on the five acts of Creation, Separation, Israel, Jesus, and the Church. We are all living in the era of the Church. We talked a lot today about biblical characters who lived out incarnational ministry, including Nehemiah, Moses, Esther, David, Joseph, Jesus, Paul, and Peter.

In the afternoon and evening sessions, we learned about the four levels of incarnational ministry among the poor: The Model of Christ, the Method of Incarnational Ministry, the Message of Incarnational Ministry, and Incarnational Ministry as Spiritual Discipline. We looked throughout the Bible for examples of each of these dimensions of ministry. We ended our time together this evening by learning about the three gateways to transformation that are often experienced in incarnational ministry: Prayer, Praise, and Pain. Pain is the biggest gateway to transformation. When we enter into the pain of others, we gain a different perspective on God and studying the Scriptures. That theology drives the process of transformation in incarnational ministry.

Here are some pictures of events over the past couple of days:

Julie got to go shopping last night to add to her traditional Indian wardrobe...

We present information, and then we break out into small groups to learn more about what God has to say about these topics and how we can apply things we've learned to our lives.

Julie is an incredible partner in ministry and she's also a gifted teacher. I'm so glad she's here with me.

They're feeding us very well... spoiling us really. We've had different people join us for meals which has given us the opportunity to get to know each other. We now have new friends from throughout different parts of India and Sri Lanka.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We are trusting that this visit is making an impact for the kingdom of God. We are learning a lot as we go, and we are excited about the remainder of our visit.

9-16-13 Update Continued

Looks like jet lag has me awake, so I might as well give an update on our first full day here. The journey was long. We flew from Pittsburgh to Paris, Paris to Mumbai, Mumbai to Chennai, Chennai to Trichy. Our friend, Muthu, picked us up from the airport. The drive through Trichy was full of sights and sounds that we have never experienced before. It seems to be a tropical environment, warm and humid, and there are people everywhere walking, riding bikes and motorcycles, and dodging each other as they drive. This place doesn't remind us of any other place we've been... it's unique. We arrived at the School of Urban Mission in time to unpack our belongings and grab breakfast. Then, went right into our time with our new friends.

There are about thirty people who will be spending time in our cohort this week. Today we discussed foundations of urban ministry, including defining incarnational ministry, ministry with people instead of ministry to or for others, radical presence, calling from God, risk taking, relationship building, community development, and downward mobility. We broke out into groups to discuss practical applications to our unique ministry contexts. Julie did an incredible job facilitating those groups, bringing energy where I was lacking. Some entertaining stories about Homewood and the East End were shared throughout the course of the day. It is such a privilege to be able to share with the world about the great work that God is doing in the city of Pittsburgh.

Our new friends are from many different parts of India and Sri Lanka. We've been working on names and getting to know stories. Julie got to go shopping, and she is the proud owner of four new outfits that are culturally appropriate for this region of India. She now blends right in with the other girls who are here in their traditional Indian outfits. We celebrated a birthday of one of the people who are here this evening. Even though we were tired, we will remember a lot from this day... our first time in India. Today was a good day! I'm thankful that God gave me the energy to make it through. Now, it's off to sleep we go in the guest room of the S.O.U.M.

India Update 9-16-13

We officially made it to India! It was an incredibly long journey, but it was so worth it. We arrived at the Trichy airport at around 7am this morning, and we've spent most of the day with our friends at the School of Urban Mission. We have some time off in between classes, so I thought I'd post a quick update. I can barely keep my eyes open... I haven't really slept in the past 48 hours. I will share many more details about this incredible country and the people that we're having the privilege of interacting with once I get a good night of sleep under my belt. Much thanks to everyone who has been praying for us.

Bryan

We're Ready

We have both finally received our Indian visas! The flights are booked... Delta was so great to work with and they were very understanding of our situation. We leave Pittsburgh tomorrow evening at 6:50pm flying through Paris. We arrive in Mumbai late on Sunday night where we'll jump on a domestic flight from Mumbai to Trichy. We'll arrive in Trichy at 6:50am on Monday morning, and then I'll hopefully have enough energy left to invest at the School of Urban Mission.

After our time in Trichy, we'll be spending some time with Jose and Sarah Joseph near Mumbai. We're scheduled to arrive back in Pittsburgh on Thursday, September 26th. We're excited about the adventure that God has us on. Even thought this has all been very stressful, we're expecting that God is going to do amazing things.

I Have My Visa... Still Waiting on Julie's

I received my Indian visa in the mail today! We are now praying that we will receive Julie's visa in the mail tomorrow morning. Then, would head to the Pittsburgh airport tomorrow morning to try to track down two tickets to India. Thanks for your continued prayers! It's working!

The Latest on Our Trip to India

Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying for our trip to India. Here's the latest:

We were hoping to depart for India tomorrow. Our visas had been significantly delayed, so we were not sure if we would be able to do this trip in September. We did all we knew to do... ask people to pray for God to intervene! We were able to track down some information on the website of the company that processes visas for India. Their website says that my visa was processed and mailed out yesterday (Monday), and Julie's visa was processed and mailed out today! That means that, if that information is correct, we should receive our visas within 3 to 5 days of when they were mailed. If all goes very well, we should have our visas in hand by Thursday or Friday or this week. Once we both receive the visas, we then need to drive to Pittsburgh's airport to try to book flights with Delta.

A lot has to fall in place for us to still be able to go on this trip to India. Please pray for us! Pray specifically that our visas would move through the mail system from New York to Pittsburgh quickly, and for success in booking flights to India once we receive the visas. We are confident in God's timing, and so we are expecting that God is going to receive all of the glory for this whole situation. Our attitude is that we are completely dependent on God to come through in his perfect timing.

Thanks for the prayers and support!

Bryan

India Update

Julie and I had planned to visit India in August, but we had to delay our trip until the middle of September so that we would have time to get visas. We applied for our visas, and we should have received them last week if the 7 to 9 business days required for processing would have held true. Julie tried to call to check on our status, and the organization couldn't find our applications in the system. They said they would call us back within 48 hours with an update on our application status. Please join with us in praying for our visas to come through soon. We would like to fly out next Wednesday. Thanks!