Lot of earth moving equipment in outlining areas
Widening of roads from 2 to 4 lanes, connecting large cities
More cars, more scooters, less bicycles
Public schools in the cities are now in English
Large concrete pipes line the roadside for drainage & sewage installation
Younger men wear western clothes like jeans; kurtas are mostly on older men, Muslims and wedding attire.
More gold jewelry stores (gold here is 22 karat!)
Rampant diabetes, most undiagnosed
Many are wearing face masks when outside in traffic
Basics of sanitation, food, safety and family are the priorities here
Pollution and smog seem to be worse than other years
Hindutva = philosophy that to be a true nationalistic Indian you must be Hindu and the aggressive suppression of Christian and Muslim activities and ministry
THINGS THAT ARE THE SAME IN INDIA (by Nancy)
Beautiful ladies in vibrant, colorful, flowing saris with matching scarves, bright white smiles, smooth perfect skin despite the pollution and dust, silky smooth black hair with no frizzes or stray hairs (thanks to coconut oil)
Village schools remain in native language Telugu
Terrible bathrooms, many without water, paper or lock
Christians pray fervently for hours
Head bob seems to have expanded meanings signifying “I understand”, “I hear you”, “yes” or “no” (with no commitment), or simply a greeting.
The need for preeminence among immature pastures
The continued assumption that all Americans are rich and have unlimited money to give away continually
Indian families are generally intact units, even in the slums
Generally most Indians (children & adults) maintain a high level of innocence. It is not a sensual culture
Public urination
No systematic removal of trash – it remains everywhere
Beauty is not about a woman’s shape but is about the color of her fabric
Critical thinking skills and problem solving is weak and lacking, even in the young educated population
Wedding orchestras are 12 piece brass ensembles dressed in band costumes reminiscent of those from “The Music Man” – quite interesting to see the 12 of them pile into the back of an open pickup truck!
(PS: Now you know what Nancy does with her mind while listening to the same conference talk for the 8th time! – Jerry)
ALSO BY NANCY: When you are full of yourself, there is no room for Jesus
When you are full of Jesus… you have plenty of room for others .. and no need for yourself
INDIA UPDATE: FOR YOU STATISTIC LOVERS (like me): Since we had a day off I worked on my recordkeeping for this trip to India. I need to know what I taught each group each year (and which magic I used) so I don’t repeat things when we return. That can be quite a juggling act! By the end of our teaching time here (3 days) we’ll have trained 900 pastors and 300 wives (2 day each, some for 3 days).
In the 10 years I’ve been coming to India I’ve trained 6,000 pastors and 1,750 wives (2+ days each), taught 28 seminary classes and 2 youth conferences and spoke at 175 church services. I’ve had a total of 145 conference days in India. I’ve been here 251 days (36 weeks) all total.
Even more amazing is my work with Pastor Moses. We totally know each other and work together very smoothly. Nancy comments on how well we do the sessions with me speaking and him translating so I counted up we have done 650 full teaching sessions together and 150 church services. That’s 800 messages I have given which he has translated. He did a couple sessions my first year, more my second, and by my third its just been us.