Sunday, January 25, 2009

Church Dedication Day!!!

Church Dedication Day!!! 24 January 2009

I got up early this morning because I needed to prepare the message for the church dedication. The local church pastor & someone representing the local conference will handle the actual dedication service, but I will deliver the sermon for the day. I also will have the privilege of leading the congregation in singing my favorite Indian hymn “Gee Wha Nah Denee.”

The wife of the Boys’ Dean/Pastor of the school, Sunita, cooked us an Indian breakfast this morning. I don’t remember the name of everything we ate, but we had purri, coconut chutney (too hot for me!), dohsa, potatoes, rice & fresh fruit—grapes, papaya, & tangerine. After breakfast she dressed Sharla & me in our saris. Vilma had another lady help her with her sari.

About 10 am we took off for the church—7 of us plus a driver in one vehicle! The roads weren’t too bad, but there was a lot of animal traffic—very large flocks of sheep & goats, along with water buffalo, monkeys & oxen. The school is located in sort of a valley, with bluffs around the perimeter. There were many beautiful rock formations that bore evidence of the flood. Huge boulders arranged at random made the road very narrow in places. Part of the way we sang hymns together.

We came to a place where there was a dirt side road, & a man was on his motorcycle waiting for us to come by so he could lead us back to the village where the church is located. That road was filled with potholes. At the end of the road was the village.

Pastor K.R. Jones, the President of the Cuddapah Section Conference of Seventh-day Adventists greeted us & welcomed us to Chelekompalli. The church members had hired some drummers & a dancer to lead us in a procession walking to the church. We followed them, greeting townspeople & church members as we walked down the street. When we got to the end of the street, the church was set back on the left side of the street.

More of the church members were waiting there to greet us, including Pastor Sahadevudu, the pastor of the Chelekompalli Church & a number of other churches in this area. We had some pictures taken outside the church with the congregation & then Pastor Jones welcomed us again & had prayer. I had the awesome privilege of unveiling the plaque on the side of the church & then to cut the ribbon. We walked into a festively decorated little church.
When everyone was inside, the singing began with Pastor Sahadevudu playing the tambourine & leading the hymns—all sung in the local language of Telegu. All of us were called to be seated on the platform & then some of the young girls brought garlands of Jasmine & put them around our necks. Vilma read the Scripture reading, Sharla played her violin, Paul had prayer & Kevin shared a few remarks. Before the actual dedication ceremony, Pastor Jones asked me to share with the congregation the story of how the church came to be built. During the ceremony the members joined in some responsive vows.

Just before I was to give the sermon, I led the singing of “Gee Wha Nah Denee.” I preached about Jesus as the Light of the World & how we are all called by Him to reflect His light in this dark world. I told them that now my heart will have a home in India—in the Chelekompalli Church. I closed with an appeal to meet all of them in Heaven. Sharla played another solo while they took up the offering, & then I presented the church with the picture rolls I had brought them. I had the prayer for the offering & closing prayer combined. We took some more pictures & then prayed with the church members individually. When we finished, we went outside for a few last pictures & then it was time to head back to the school. Everyone had a wonderful time at the dedication & the ride back to campus passed quickly, even tho’ we stopped briefly several times to take photos.

As soon as we got back to the school, Sunita brought us dinner—more Indian dishes. One interesting dish she made had rice & some kind of leafy herb cooked with whole cloves. Another dish I enjoyed was dahl—a lentil-like bean cooked in a sauce. It was a little hot, but not too hot for me.

After lunch, I laid down on the couch in the living room & fell asleep. When I woke up, I was still tired, so I went to my room & laid down & slept a little more. Vilma called me about 5:30 pm to come out on front campus to have sundown vespers with the students. They did a lot of singing & then performed a skit for us. Afterward, I came back to the house & we watched some nature programming on TV.

It was a BIG day so I’ll sign off for now. Blessings from INDIA…where the people are beautiful, the children are irresistible, & the GOD of Heaven has provided a new church for His people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





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