Hi all,
What a lot has happened in the last two weeks!
Firstly a comment on faith.
I was asked why I had blind faith in something I couldn't see or hear, why I believed Jesus is real and not just some myth. I had no intention of getting into a long debate as the question was not asked in that way, it was asked flippantly, so I said this, 2013 years ago a sinless man was born,(even his enemies agreed that he was without sin) his life is predicted in the old testament of the bible in detail as is his death. The new testament contains his teachings and Eye witness accounts of his life, the miracles he performed and his death and resurrection.
'The history of Jesus of Nazareth is better chronicled than many other accepted ancient histories'. (E.m.Blaiklock, historian) This from a man who taught ancient history at University for 42 years.
Eye witness accounts, both from believers and non believers, blind faith..........I don't think so. For many years I denied him, simply put, I was wrong.
If you doubt then investigate Jesus as I did (and still do) seek out his history and the history of those that lived at his time and after, those who wrote of his deeds and of his promise to us. I do this not because I doubt but because the more I learn the more I am certain of my faith. I have a problem though with those people who deny Him without even a cursory glance at the proof of his existence, are they so afraid to see the truth and that God is real?
In this corrupt society in which we live, drugs, violence, prostitution, crimes against children, same sex marriages, have we forgotten the history of such societies, their fate, as long as those that have ignore those that have not and live in corruption and sin there can be only one result. God has warned us as he did in the past, will we take heed?
Home
Lets start with the garden, as you can see work has proceeded at quite a pace, lots of plants in,
On the roof we are planting tomatoes would you believe! The sweet peas are beginning to grow and the nasturtiums have taken well and started to flower. Kris has sown lots of seeds outside now, three varieties of radish including one that's about a foot long! Sadly we lost several trays of seedlings due to inexperience of the climate......a sudden very hot spell and lack of water does not help young plants grow. There is a great deal of interest as we are growing 'out of season' normally winter is the best time because of the lower temperatures, in summer it can reach 40degC we are told. It is all an experiment, we know we will lose some plants but we may succeed with others, its all part of this great adventure we began back in England when we followed His word to come here. We have wonderful neighbours, both work and they have a young daughter who is friendly and polite and loves plants. Last weekend they were here helping us plant and seeing what we did differently, it was great to exchange stories about growing, as a result I have now hammered two nails into our Papaya tree as this apparently helps it fruit, and they have learnt that you can eat nasturtium leaves and flowers, great added to salad.
His one hobby is his garden, it is so neat and cared for and they haven't bought vegetables from the market for a long time as they grow their own, no chemicals or pesticides just good healthy food. His flower and shrub beds are a delight to see so well tended and the plants flourishing. This is our ambition to only eat veg that we grow, maybe not this year but with work I am sure the day will come.
We have found two people who are not only neighbours but are becoming good friends, whenever Kris has a difficulty all she does is ask his wife and help is gladly given, prices, suppliers we can trust, all manner of day to day problems. They are so supportive and have on several occasions saved us money where the cost to us was a lot higher than it should have been.
Everyone all around us has welcomed us and taken us for who we are. Most now know that we work unpaid for an NGO and live on a small pension. We have now spent most of our savings, the house is becoming home and we have our bikes, we have sufficient for our needs and a little left over so we are very fortunate, so many have much less than we do.
We had a couple of labourers working here all day a week or two ago, when Kris made a Dall and rice for them at lunchtime she was told (by someone who doesn't live here) that she shouldn't because they were 'low cast ' and she shouldn't feel any sympathy for them, and yes we do agree that some people do try to take advantage because we are 'foreigners' but Kris God bless her replied that anyone who worked for us was treated exactly the same and that it was our way to give hospitality to all.., high or low cast, Hindu, Muslim Sikh or Christian, we were all Gods children and as long as we had food we would share it, it was not sympathy it was hospitality and our way. Oh and the Dall went down very well.... clean plates!
Now some great news......we have a phone line, that means broadband! At last we can download files without seeing the timer saying 'approx 2hrs to download' and then having it drop out after 45 mins, ahhhh. To be able to both use our laptops and even have the desktop on line all at once is great, work flies by now, we really missed the convenience of fast uninterrupted Internet.
We have bought ten cherry trees, not the English ornamental ones, proper cherries, their habit is more shrub than tree. We are planting them in a border between us and our other neighbours on the other side that is rented out as office space and that at the moment only has a wire fence so that in a few years we may be eating our own home grown cherry pie. We have also planted 20 strawberry plants much to the delight of our neighbours daughter who cant wait for them to fruit, yep, she loves fresh strawberries.
Now the garden is about done other than building some compost bins (and there is talk of a Herb wheel, and the potted plants have to be found for the roof) we are really starting to enjoy living here, so far it has been a lot of work and not a little stress at times but I feel that we are now settling and beginning to feel 'at home' here.
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This chap lives at the top of the stairs, he was here when we came and has become a house picture, not religious just very 'Indian' cool. Kris says she is going to repaint him but only when she learns to use the natural pigments here.
Things that made me go mmmmmmm
Discovering a new garden pest, monkeys!
Riding through a small village on a dusty dirt road (about 2meters wide) and seeing the smiles from all the kids when they saw the bike go by and returning their waves.
Dodging water Buffalo on the same road!
Ten billion knat like flies that come out at this time of year. At 50 KPH they are not nice as they shoot up your nose , in your ears, eyes yuk, have to get a scarf SOON!
Finding four puppies asleep on the doorstep mat when we came back home late one night, mum obviously thinks they are safe with us.
The next door neighbours daughter bringing back one of Kris's shoes that the pups had stolen to play with.
Work
Great news we have started to work on the solar panel, Debi found a welder who is doing it, before those who know me ask why didn't I do it, simple there is a lot of difference between welding stuff together (even if I have built a bike from scratch) and making water tight welds at least forty of them all perfect.....that's why a proper skilled welder was needed! One leak and its scrap so better to have a good job done. We are about to start a spoken English class for the cluster group leaders one from each village both men and women, it should be very exciting and a massive challenge. The idea is as I have said before, I train them, then they train others back in their villages.
I am also just about to start another spoken English course for the college 1st year students to see if I can help them gain that first most vital grasp on the English language, I'm really looking forward to it, starts tomorrow Wed 13th.
As any teachers among you will know I have been prepping for this for weeks. As an ex colleague and friend used to say 'Fail to prepare, prepare to fail' (thanks ED) I still work to that principle.
Note:
The power has just all gone off here so I am on battery back up for the Internet, before we installed it we used to lose lots of work as if the power went so did our desktop PC and Internet, much better now we have ten Min's of back up, time to save and shut down. So you can guess whats next.......back when the power is, bye.
Back.
Now for our new regular feature.
Comments from Kris.
We went to our second English Church meeting on Sunday near Chetak Circle, it is an interesting venue where we sit in a narrow room down one side then around the corner are more seats, this is meant as a temporary venue so pray we find a better building. The building is apparently where Glory and Paul grew up. It is good to be able to sing and worship in English, and our new Pastor and his wife are very nice. I definitely feel this is going to be good, but all your prayers for it would be welcome.
The garden is continuing to develop, Chris is keeping me right about planting his knowledge is much better than mine.
We continue to stun and amaze our friends and neighbours with our idea of growing tomatoes on the roof, but it is an experiment and we will wait and see. We have lots of strawberry plants in the garden now so I can't wait for them fruiting, we will need to wait a year or two to get the cherry trees to fruit. Our neighbours have been helping us to plant which is great, they are both very keen gardeners and have great knowledge of planting here in India which will definitely help us.
The studio is nearly complete so I can start work in there soon, Chris has been very supportive and he has put more lights in to make it bright for me, he painted the walls white also, I could not reach even on steps the ceilings are so high.
Work is busy, I am writing a basic hygiene course for PMF, and I taught art today which was really interesting the kids are so keen and very well behaved not like the kids in English schools. It was so encouraging that the kids did not want to leave the class and asked would I be taking them again tomorrow, they were disappointed they had to wait another week. They all show so much talent and enthusiasm it is really encouraging. I just wish I had more time to teach others so no one misses out on the experience, wait and see you never know what God has planned.
Yesterday we came home to find our neighbours papaya tree had fallen down, Shashi said monkeys had been climbing and jumping on it and it just could not take the weight of the monkeys, she now has lots of fruit, so is desperately trying to think of different recipes. She kindly gave me some fruit and I have wrapped it in newspaper as advised and will be able to use it in about 5 days time. Shashi is an excellent cook and has made us several meals, I only wish I could cook Indian food half as well as she does.
Life as usual is very busy and we are still trying to deal with Indian red tape on several things which in England would be a breeze, but that is life and it teaches us patience if nothing else.
The poem that Chris refers to later in this blog means a lot to me personally, when I was a trainee nurse many years ago now, I was given a version of this poem it referred to a lady and since my very first day on the wards I kept it with me. Unfortunately a few years ago in a house move it got lost. I always will remember that every person has a history and a life we do not know about and the elderly, sick and infirm deserve our respect and their dignity at all times, shame on us if we forget or treat them badly.
Now, a tale of woe, that turned out ok in the end!
There was I riding through Udaipur, the sun was shining, the sky blue, lovely day, a man content on his bike.
The car in front of Kris stopped at the lights, Kris stopped, I stopped all the other traffic in all the other lanes stopped however the rickshaw behind me didn't, well not until he had hit my back end a good solid wallop that shoved me forward about a foot or so. Needless to say I wasn't happy.
At this second I have to say in all honesty I was so close to being very UN Christian and reverting to past behaviour, thank God however I kept reasonably calm and totally in control.The Lord is always there when you need him most isn't he.
Prop stand went down and I got off to have a look at my poor babies rear, BENT my number plate which is built like the rest of the bike out of armoured steel was actually bent.
I decided to discuss the damage with the driver of the rickshaw, this decision led to the following conversation that incidentally went on for some time with an ever larger crowd gathering, 'You bend, you pay rupees' from me and 'I pay nothing' from him. Finally he decided to try and drive away, two things however prevented that, one, Kris had planted her scooter directly in front of him and two, I had his ignition key in my hand. I believe I said something like 'your going nowhere pal!' The look of disbelief on his face when his hand groped for a key that wasn't there will live with me for a very long time.
At this time he still had all his customers on board (it was one of the larger versions that get used as short hop buses) seeing this was going nowhere I sent Kris across the road to grab one of the traffic Police who were around. Back she came having explained what had happened with a Policeman looking very official and unhappy, at this point all the passengers faded away leaving him alone. The driver had already appealed to the crowd claiming his innocence but they were either all on my side or more probably they wanted the show to go on so he got absolutely no support! Yells of derision, and loud comments to me of 'he bend he pay' , I think they were finding the whole thing highly entertaining.
The Police officer took one look at the bike ( An Enfield, he has hit an Enfield, every Indian males dream bike) saw the damage and jumped into the rickshaw cab and shouted at and shook the driver who immediately burst into tears and began begging saying it was not his fault.
A chap on a Honda who had sat next to us the whole time spoke to the police officer and it was clear even to me that it boiled down to ' He was asleep and hit this guy who had stopped when everyone else did for the traffic lights, the reaction from the PC was to order (and I use the word in its full meaning) the driver to go NOW to a spot across the road and park. I, not having been spoken to yet followed somewhat sheepishly.
There sitting in his large 4x4 having a quiet chai was the local traffic Police inspector (Four stars on his shoulders). He got out and politely asked me to describe what had happened, I did adding that all along I had said that if he were to pay for the damage I would be happy and did not want to charge him. He said to me quite clearly that it was up to him to decide if the driver was to be charged with ' Not paying attention while driving and causing an accident', however he did also agree that I should be fully compensated FIRST.
Now I was really surprised by what happened next, the rickshaw driver tried to sneak off unnoticed leaving the rickshaw where it was while attention was on me, two of the now ten or twelve police involved grabbed him and quite literally dragged him back on his heels.
From there Kris and I were escorted into the local Police office (adjacent to where we were) to give a statement, this though it seemed was not going to be enough for the police inspector. To our complete surprise we all (us two police and the driver) trooped back to the rickshaw and were driven by the now distraught driver to the main area police station about one K away. The crowd that had stayed until now I assume dispersed after we had left.
We had it seemed not yet seen Indian police at work. Upon arrival the driver was sat in a seat about twenty feet from the cells, I couldn't believe it when he again tried to do a runner, this time after being hauled back another police officer arrived at the door with an Enfield 303 rifle and looked very pointedly at the clearly now terrified driver.
Kris and I were explaining that we were not tourists but we lived in Udaipur, and gave our address, during this exchange the name of our landlord came up, a well respected senior criminal advocate, this raised eyebrows all around. They clearly knew of him and I think there was some suspicion that we were name dropping as Kris was asked 'do you have his number?' when she said yes he asked her to phone him, which of course she did' hello Mr H how are you?, is your wife well? I am sorry to bother you but I have a policeman here who wants to speak to you' After a short exchange and then a quick chat to me to confirm that I was willing to except compensation Mr H was again handed to the same policeman who perhaps understandably immediately passed the phone to someone else with a look of 'your turn' on his face.
A few seconds later the rickshaw driver who could hear what was happening volunteered to pay for the damage and came up with 410Rs after all his pockets were turned out by the Police,
I think he realised that if he had done that at the scene he would have been far better off than he was now.
I accepted the compensation and signed a statement that I would not pursue any charges for damage.
A PC arrived with my bike and then we got an escort back to collect Kris's scooter leaving our poor friend to the tender mercy of the Police. I still don't know if he was in fact charged with anything or just sent on his way with a 'stern' warning, the latter I suspect is the case.
As an aside. An assessment of the damages:
The rickshaw bumper fell off on impact with the RE.
The number plate hammered out flat again at home, and a coat of paint restored it to service.
All in all a very interesting day.
The next day at the same spot a bike pulls up next to me and the guy grins, its our witness, 'did he pay'? 'oh he payed alright' 'yeah good' with that off he went. Just another day in Udaipur.
Work
Just a quick line, my first English class for the college went very well indeed, all students engaged and all gained from the session. I suspect that they haven't met my style of teaching before! I use body language and theatre to help explain a concept, for instance think of the word ' help' by using theatre I was able to demonstrate the ways in which help is used in the English language. I had them all laughing when I did a shout for help after walking out of the session and standing outside.
By the end of the session all had been laughing and had relaxed, and were speaking aloud in front of others which for some of the girls can be difficult. I am very encouraged by today, I do think though that once a week will not do. Its a total buzz when kids ask you when they can do more.
I was thinking back to my teacher training and then my Tefl (teaching English as a Foreign language) and looking at how far God has brought me from the 15yr old who left school with nothing but a bad attitude, to serve him, one of these days Kris and I will have to write our testament of the last few years, it even amazes us and we lived it!
Panawar
Today I met up with Joseph who works a lot at Panawar, we have agreed that the next time he goes he will contact me and I can go with him so look out for an update, from what I hear the ground works for a new building have begun. With the new beds that were donated for some time ago and all this work he is praising God for hearing ten years of prayer.
I thank God for putting this in our hearts and we also remember all those wonderful people who gave what they could at our sales, as donations, by buying my book, and in many other ways.....you have made this happen, God bless you all.
I found this on face book, thanks Tracy, its worth a read and a remember!
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it
was believed that he had nothing left of any value
.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, They found this poem. Its
quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every
nurse in the hospital.
One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since
appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for
Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem
And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous
poem winging across the Internet.
Cranky Old Man
What do you see nurses? . . .. . .What do you see?
What are you thinking .. . when you're looking at me?
A cranky old man, . . . . . .not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . . .. with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . ... . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . .'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . .the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . .. . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . ... lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?. .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse .you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am . . . . .. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .. . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .. . . .. . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . .. . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . ..my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows .. .. .that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . .I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . .. . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . .. With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .. .have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, .. ...Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future ... . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .. . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
It's jest to make old age . . . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . .. . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . .. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . . . .. . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer . . . . see .. .. . .. .... . ME!!
Doesn't that just say it all. One day we will all be old and cranky, makes you think doesn't it. I will try and remember the next time I look at an old person who is dribbling their food or mumbling to themselves, (sorry Les) here is a person!
God Bless you all,
Chris and Kris
What a lot has happened in the last two weeks!
Firstly a comment on faith.
I was asked why I had blind faith in something I couldn't see or hear, why I believed Jesus is real and not just some myth. I had no intention of getting into a long debate as the question was not asked in that way, it was asked flippantly, so I said this, 2013 years ago a sinless man was born,(even his enemies agreed that he was without sin) his life is predicted in the old testament of the bible in detail as is his death. The new testament contains his teachings and Eye witness accounts of his life, the miracles he performed and his death and resurrection.
'The history of Jesus of Nazareth is better chronicled than many other accepted ancient histories'. (E.m.Blaiklock, historian) This from a man who taught ancient history at University for 42 years.
Eye witness accounts, both from believers and non believers, blind faith..........I don't think so. For many years I denied him, simply put, I was wrong.
If you doubt then investigate Jesus as I did (and still do) seek out his history and the history of those that lived at his time and after, those who wrote of his deeds and of his promise to us. I do this not because I doubt but because the more I learn the more I am certain of my faith. I have a problem though with those people who deny Him without even a cursory glance at the proof of his existence, are they so afraid to see the truth and that God is real?
In this corrupt society in which we live, drugs, violence, prostitution, crimes against children, same sex marriages, have we forgotten the history of such societies, their fate, as long as those that have ignore those that have not and live in corruption and sin there can be only one result. God has warned us as he did in the past, will we take heed?
Home
Lets start with the garden, as you can see work has proceeded at quite a pace, lots of plants in,
On the roof we are planting tomatoes would you believe! The sweet peas are beginning to grow and the nasturtiums have taken well and started to flower. Kris has sown lots of seeds outside now, three varieties of radish including one that's about a foot long! Sadly we lost several trays of seedlings due to inexperience of the climate......a sudden very hot spell and lack of water does not help young plants grow. There is a great deal of interest as we are growing 'out of season' normally winter is the best time because of the lower temperatures, in summer it can reach 40degC we are told. It is all an experiment, we know we will lose some plants but we may succeed with others, its all part of this great adventure we began back in England when we followed His word to come here. We have wonderful neighbours, both work and they have a young daughter who is friendly and polite and loves plants. Last weekend they were here helping us plant and seeing what we did differently, it was great to exchange stories about growing, as a result I have now hammered two nails into our Papaya tree as this apparently helps it fruit, and they have learnt that you can eat nasturtium leaves and flowers, great added to salad.
His one hobby is his garden, it is so neat and cared for and they haven't bought vegetables from the market for a long time as they grow their own, no chemicals or pesticides just good healthy food. His flower and shrub beds are a delight to see so well tended and the plants flourishing. This is our ambition to only eat veg that we grow, maybe not this year but with work I am sure the day will come.
We have found two people who are not only neighbours but are becoming good friends, whenever Kris has a difficulty all she does is ask his wife and help is gladly given, prices, suppliers we can trust, all manner of day to day problems. They are so supportive and have on several occasions saved us money where the cost to us was a lot higher than it should have been.
Everyone all around us has welcomed us and taken us for who we are. Most now know that we work unpaid for an NGO and live on a small pension. We have now spent most of our savings, the house is becoming home and we have our bikes, we have sufficient for our needs and a little left over so we are very fortunate, so many have much less than we do.
We had a couple of labourers working here all day a week or two ago, when Kris made a Dall and rice for them at lunchtime she was told (by someone who doesn't live here) that she shouldn't because they were 'low cast ' and she shouldn't feel any sympathy for them, and yes we do agree that some people do try to take advantage because we are 'foreigners' but Kris God bless her replied that anyone who worked for us was treated exactly the same and that it was our way to give hospitality to all.., high or low cast, Hindu, Muslim Sikh or Christian, we were all Gods children and as long as we had food we would share it, it was not sympathy it was hospitality and our way. Oh and the Dall went down very well.... clean plates!
Now some great news......we have a phone line, that means broadband! At last we can download files without seeing the timer saying 'approx 2hrs to download' and then having it drop out after 45 mins, ahhhh. To be able to both use our laptops and even have the desktop on line all at once is great, work flies by now, we really missed the convenience of fast uninterrupted Internet.
We have bought ten cherry trees, not the English ornamental ones, proper cherries, their habit is more shrub than tree. We are planting them in a border between us and our other neighbours on the other side that is rented out as office space and that at the moment only has a wire fence so that in a few years we may be eating our own home grown cherry pie. We have also planted 20 strawberry plants much to the delight of our neighbours daughter who cant wait for them to fruit, yep, she loves fresh strawberries.
Now the garden is about done other than building some compost bins (and there is talk of a Herb wheel, and the potted plants have to be found for the roof) we are really starting to enjoy living here, so far it has been a lot of work and not a little stress at times but I feel that we are now settling and beginning to feel 'at home' here.
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| Two of the shrubs that are in our garden |
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| Chris sowing nets together and the roof shade |
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| The roof garden is beginning to happen, sweet pea flowers in the jars that should climb up the netting and give a wonderful scent and cut flowers for the house. |
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| Remember that garden before we had these walls built? |
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| If you look carefully the TEN cherry trees are here |
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| Food, stage one! |
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| Still growing stuff yet to plant |
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| This is the experiment.........tomatoes on the roof! Temperatures can hit 40degC people are very polite, they try not to laugh when we tell them but we really don't mind, it is funny if you think about it.. |
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| A pot of Nasturtiums, great in salads. |
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| One of six pots of sweet peas just starting to find the net to climb on. |
A misunderstanding resolved, and lessons learnt.
We nearly lost a friend we have made this week. We have known him since we arrived here, we have been to his home and met all his family and we have been helped by him very often. When we first arrived he arranged a gas supplier for us, there lays the problem. What we didn't know was that this was black market, it seems nearly 40% of gas bottles are traded this way because it is very difficult to get a legal supplier if you are poor and have no address or are not an Indian, even then you are limited to six bottles a year no matter what size your family (being increased to nine I believe). Its not up to me to comment on the injustice of this system but Kris and I will not be part of it. We tried to explain but things got heated, we all said things we should not have. Our friend couldn't see what was wrong, 'all Indians do it'. Below are extracts of an e-mail exchange that settled things and restored piece between us, its easier to show you them than try to explain.
I wrote the first mail after Kris had phoned him several times and tried to explain that we wanted our deposit back and had expressed her unhappiness over finding she was using black market gas. From that conversation I think he thought we were saying he was trying to rob us.
...........................
We have perhaps had a serious misunderstanding, at no time did I feel that you were trying to rob us or cheat us personally.
This whole issue has become out of control due to us all being human and having human emotions, and becoming angry. I and Christine both wish us to remain friends. So I write this without any anger towards you, but we are both hurt by what has happened.
When we asked you to get us gas you said you would get us some from a friend as we needed it in a hurry. You then supplied us with a second bottle . At no time did we think we were dealing with stolen property or doing something that was not legal.
Our religion has ten great commands that are from God that we must obey.
we have broken two of Gods commands to us, that we do not steal and that we do not lie. This means we cannot deal with anything that isn't legal, gas sold on the black market is not legal and is therefor stolen, and yes I for many years would not have minded robbing the government, now as a Christian I will not. This only causes harm to others who may have to go without because of a shortage of gas, the honest suffer while the dis honest gas seller makes money
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1) From my side i am not wrong you have said me to get the gas cylinder that i have done without making any profit in it just for help you as you were become our family friend.
2) You have not said me to have Gas cylinder only in LEGAL way.
3) And this black market cylinder is illegal but not stolen from anywhere.
4) And you are paying the market price to the person who is supplying this so from my view you are not hurt your religious.You are not robing any one and you are not cheating anyone.
5) In INDIA 40% public are getting gas in this way only if they think this so they will not able to cook food.
6) *Deleted as this was not relevant to the point as was personal about him *
7) It very difficult to get you gas in LEGAL way because you are not permanent residence of Udaipur, INDIA.
.......................................
We have all hurt each other and for that I am sorry.
Let me ask you this, you are Hindu, you say the cow is sacred and I respect that, this is your faith. If i was to take you to London England and give you beef (cow ) to eat would you do it just because everyone else does it in England? Would you keep your faith or not?
It is the same for us, maybe all do it in India but it is not legal so it is against our faith so we cannot do it.
Let us not argue about this and this and this, we have different faiths so mistakes happen. From this we have both learnt.
I am sorry to have hurt you and Kris is sorry about the things she said in anger. Anger is a cruel thing we all say things we should not.
Please forgive us for our anger, we forgive you because you didn't know you were hurting us.
We will also return the half full gas bottle because we cannot now use it.
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ok i understand your example you are right we never go for cow. Lets forget every thing. We are friend as we were before and when you wish to return gas bottled you are welcome.
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Thank you my friend, lets eat together soon and forget this misunderstanding
Chris
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Ok soon we will meet. bye have a good day.
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I have telephoned the friend in question since this and we have invited him and his wife to our home to eat, probably this Sunday but as she is well pregnant that will depend on how she feels.
I have telephoned the friend in question since this and we have invited him and his wife to our home to eat, probably this Sunday but as she is well pregnant that will depend on how she feels.
As you can see the differences in cultures can lead to a rocky road!
Things that made me go mmmmmmm
Discovering a new garden pest, monkeys!
Riding through a small village on a dusty dirt road (about 2meters wide) and seeing the smiles from all the kids when they saw the bike go by and returning their waves.
Dodging water Buffalo on the same road!
Ten billion knat like flies that come out at this time of year. At 50 KPH they are not nice as they shoot up your nose , in your ears, eyes yuk, have to get a scarf SOON!
Finding four puppies asleep on the doorstep mat when we came back home late one night, mum obviously thinks they are safe with us.
The next door neighbours daughter bringing back one of Kris's shoes that the pups had stolen to play with.
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| Finding a new road hazard. Yes that is a tree growing in the road, 'I was here first and I'm staying!' |
Work
Great news we have started to work on the solar panel, Debi found a welder who is doing it, before those who know me ask why didn't I do it, simple there is a lot of difference between welding stuff together (even if I have built a bike from scratch) and making water tight welds at least forty of them all perfect.....that's why a proper skilled welder was needed! One leak and its scrap so better to have a good job done. We are about to start a spoken English class for the cluster group leaders one from each village both men and women, it should be very exciting and a massive challenge. The idea is as I have said before, I train them, then they train others back in their villages.
I am also just about to start another spoken English course for the college 1st year students to see if I can help them gain that first most vital grasp on the English language, I'm really looking forward to it, starts tomorrow Wed 13th.
As any teachers among you will know I have been prepping for this for weeks. As an ex colleague and friend used to say 'Fail to prepare, prepare to fail' (thanks ED) I still work to that principle.
Note:
The power has just all gone off here so I am on battery back up for the Internet, before we installed it we used to lose lots of work as if the power went so did our desktop PC and Internet, much better now we have ten Min's of back up, time to save and shut down. So you can guess whats next.......back when the power is, bye.
Back.
Now for our new regular feature.
Comments from Kris.
We went to our second English Church meeting on Sunday near Chetak Circle, it is an interesting venue where we sit in a narrow room down one side then around the corner are more seats, this is meant as a temporary venue so pray we find a better building. The building is apparently where Glory and Paul grew up. It is good to be able to sing and worship in English, and our new Pastor and his wife are very nice. I definitely feel this is going to be good, but all your prayers for it would be welcome.
The garden is continuing to develop, Chris is keeping me right about planting his knowledge is much better than mine.
We continue to stun and amaze our friends and neighbours with our idea of growing tomatoes on the roof, but it is an experiment and we will wait and see. We have lots of strawberry plants in the garden now so I can't wait for them fruiting, we will need to wait a year or two to get the cherry trees to fruit. Our neighbours have been helping us to plant which is great, they are both very keen gardeners and have great knowledge of planting here in India which will definitely help us.
The studio is nearly complete so I can start work in there soon, Chris has been very supportive and he has put more lights in to make it bright for me, he painted the walls white also, I could not reach even on steps the ceilings are so high.
Work is busy, I am writing a basic hygiene course for PMF, and I taught art today which was really interesting the kids are so keen and very well behaved not like the kids in English schools. It was so encouraging that the kids did not want to leave the class and asked would I be taking them again tomorrow, they were disappointed they had to wait another week. They all show so much talent and enthusiasm it is really encouraging. I just wish I had more time to teach others so no one misses out on the experience, wait and see you never know what God has planned.
Yesterday we came home to find our neighbours papaya tree had fallen down, Shashi said monkeys had been climbing and jumping on it and it just could not take the weight of the monkeys, she now has lots of fruit, so is desperately trying to think of different recipes. She kindly gave me some fruit and I have wrapped it in newspaper as advised and will be able to use it in about 5 days time. Shashi is an excellent cook and has made us several meals, I only wish I could cook Indian food half as well as she does.
Life as usual is very busy and we are still trying to deal with Indian red tape on several things which in England would be a breeze, but that is life and it teaches us patience if nothing else.
The poem that Chris refers to later in this blog means a lot to me personally, when I was a trainee nurse many years ago now, I was given a version of this poem it referred to a lady and since my very first day on the wards I kept it with me. Unfortunately a few years ago in a house move it got lost. I always will remember that every person has a history and a life we do not know about and the elderly, sick and infirm deserve our respect and their dignity at all times, shame on us if we forget or treat them badly.
Now, a tale of woe, that turned out ok in the end!
There was I riding through Udaipur, the sun was shining, the sky blue, lovely day, a man content on his bike.
The car in front of Kris stopped at the lights, Kris stopped, I stopped all the other traffic in all the other lanes stopped however the rickshaw behind me didn't, well not until he had hit my back end a good solid wallop that shoved me forward about a foot or so. Needless to say I wasn't happy.
At this second I have to say in all honesty I was so close to being very UN Christian and reverting to past behaviour, thank God however I kept reasonably calm and totally in control.The Lord is always there when you need him most isn't he.
Prop stand went down and I got off to have a look at my poor babies rear, BENT my number plate which is built like the rest of the bike out of armoured steel was actually bent.
I decided to discuss the damage with the driver of the rickshaw, this decision led to the following conversation that incidentally went on for some time with an ever larger crowd gathering, 'You bend, you pay rupees' from me and 'I pay nothing' from him. Finally he decided to try and drive away, two things however prevented that, one, Kris had planted her scooter directly in front of him and two, I had his ignition key in my hand. I believe I said something like 'your going nowhere pal!' The look of disbelief on his face when his hand groped for a key that wasn't there will live with me for a very long time.
At this time he still had all his customers on board (it was one of the larger versions that get used as short hop buses) seeing this was going nowhere I sent Kris across the road to grab one of the traffic Police who were around. Back she came having explained what had happened with a Policeman looking very official and unhappy, at this point all the passengers faded away leaving him alone. The driver had already appealed to the crowd claiming his innocence but they were either all on my side or more probably they wanted the show to go on so he got absolutely no support! Yells of derision, and loud comments to me of 'he bend he pay' , I think they were finding the whole thing highly entertaining.
The Police officer took one look at the bike ( An Enfield, he has hit an Enfield, every Indian males dream bike) saw the damage and jumped into the rickshaw cab and shouted at and shook the driver who immediately burst into tears and began begging saying it was not his fault.
A chap on a Honda who had sat next to us the whole time spoke to the police officer and it was clear even to me that it boiled down to ' He was asleep and hit this guy who had stopped when everyone else did for the traffic lights, the reaction from the PC was to order (and I use the word in its full meaning) the driver to go NOW to a spot across the road and park. I, not having been spoken to yet followed somewhat sheepishly.
There sitting in his large 4x4 having a quiet chai was the local traffic Police inspector (Four stars on his shoulders). He got out and politely asked me to describe what had happened, I did adding that all along I had said that if he were to pay for the damage I would be happy and did not want to charge him. He said to me quite clearly that it was up to him to decide if the driver was to be charged with ' Not paying attention while driving and causing an accident', however he did also agree that I should be fully compensated FIRST.
Now I was really surprised by what happened next, the rickshaw driver tried to sneak off unnoticed leaving the rickshaw where it was while attention was on me, two of the now ten or twelve police involved grabbed him and quite literally dragged him back on his heels.
From there Kris and I were escorted into the local Police office (adjacent to where we were) to give a statement, this though it seemed was not going to be enough for the police inspector. To our complete surprise we all (us two police and the driver) trooped back to the rickshaw and were driven by the now distraught driver to the main area police station about one K away. The crowd that had stayed until now I assume dispersed after we had left.
We had it seemed not yet seen Indian police at work. Upon arrival the driver was sat in a seat about twenty feet from the cells, I couldn't believe it when he again tried to do a runner, this time after being hauled back another police officer arrived at the door with an Enfield 303 rifle and looked very pointedly at the clearly now terrified driver.
Kris and I were explaining that we were not tourists but we lived in Udaipur, and gave our address, during this exchange the name of our landlord came up, a well respected senior criminal advocate, this raised eyebrows all around. They clearly knew of him and I think there was some suspicion that we were name dropping as Kris was asked 'do you have his number?' when she said yes he asked her to phone him, which of course she did' hello Mr H how are you?, is your wife well? I am sorry to bother you but I have a policeman here who wants to speak to you' After a short exchange and then a quick chat to me to confirm that I was willing to except compensation Mr H was again handed to the same policeman who perhaps understandably immediately passed the phone to someone else with a look of 'your turn' on his face.
A few seconds later the rickshaw driver who could hear what was happening volunteered to pay for the damage and came up with 410Rs after all his pockets were turned out by the Police,
I think he realised that if he had done that at the scene he would have been far better off than he was now.
I accepted the compensation and signed a statement that I would not pursue any charges for damage.
A PC arrived with my bike and then we got an escort back to collect Kris's scooter leaving our poor friend to the tender mercy of the Police. I still don't know if he was in fact charged with anything or just sent on his way with a 'stern' warning, the latter I suspect is the case.
As an aside. An assessment of the damages:
The rickshaw bumper fell off on impact with the RE.
The number plate hammered out flat again at home, and a coat of paint restored it to service.
All in all a very interesting day.
The next day at the same spot a bike pulls up next to me and the guy grins, its our witness, 'did he pay'? 'oh he payed alright' 'yeah good' with that off he went. Just another day in Udaipur.
Work
Just a quick line, my first English class for the college went very well indeed, all students engaged and all gained from the session. I suspect that they haven't met my style of teaching before! I use body language and theatre to help explain a concept, for instance think of the word ' help' by using theatre I was able to demonstrate the ways in which help is used in the English language. I had them all laughing when I did a shout for help after walking out of the session and standing outside.
By the end of the session all had been laughing and had relaxed, and were speaking aloud in front of others which for some of the girls can be difficult. I am very encouraged by today, I do think though that once a week will not do. Its a total buzz when kids ask you when they can do more.
I was thinking back to my teacher training and then my Tefl (teaching English as a Foreign language) and looking at how far God has brought me from the 15yr old who left school with nothing but a bad attitude, to serve him, one of these days Kris and I will have to write our testament of the last few years, it even amazes us and we lived it!
Panawar
Today I met up with Joseph who works a lot at Panawar, we have agreed that the next time he goes he will contact me and I can go with him so look out for an update, from what I hear the ground works for a new building have begun. With the new beds that were donated for some time ago and all this work he is praising God for hearing ten years of prayer.
I thank God for putting this in our hearts and we also remember all those wonderful people who gave what they could at our sales, as donations, by buying my book, and in many other ways.....you have made this happen, God bless you all.
I found this on face book, thanks Tracy, its worth a read and a remember!
When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it
was believed that he had nothing left of any value
.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, They found this poem. Its
quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every
nurse in the hospital.
One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since
appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for
Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem
And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous
poem winging across the Internet.
Cranky Old Man
What do you see nurses? . . .. . .What do you see?
What are you thinking .. . when you're looking at me?
A cranky old man, . . . . . .not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . . .. with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . ... . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . .'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . .the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . .. . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . ... lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?. .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse .you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am . . . . .. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .. . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .. . . .. . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . .. . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . ..my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows .. .. .that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . .I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . .. . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . .. With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .. .have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, .. ...Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future ... . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .. . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
It's jest to make old age . . . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . .. . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . .. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . . . .. . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer . . . . see .. .. . .. .... . ME!!
Doesn't that just say it all. One day we will all be old and cranky, makes you think doesn't it. I will try and remember the next time I look at an old person who is dribbling their food or mumbling to themselves, (sorry Les) here is a person!
God Bless you all,
Chris and Kris
