Chris and Kris in India 21

Greetings all.

This month Kris will chat about her progress starting a breast cancer awareness program, this is a really good piece well worth reading if you want to know how to self examine.

A look at the modifications I have done to my motor cycle to make life easier for Kris and I.

Sodis (Solar Disinfection (of water)), an update.

Community activities, Holi; the festival of colour.

And this month since it is our 21^st a FREE gift;  YEEE HA.........enter the link then download a Chris and Kris in India Calendar. 

This will save in word or as a Pdf.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/26ylv9xe8ypxroq/calendar.docx

Firstly though as regular readers will know, I have been commenting on the relevance of the Ten Commandments in our daily lives. I hope you have found it interesting and perhaps thought provoking at times……..but I'm not done yet.

In the old testament there are 613 laws given to the Jewish people, these covered such things as women sleeping outside the camp during their menstrual cycle, when and how to worship etc. For a full list try ‘aish.com’.  

Some will say these laws are not relevant to us as they were given only to the Jewish people. This of course includes the ‘Ten commandments’.

Technically when Jesus came, He was the Law, so any Jewish laws had no meaning if you are a follower of Jesus...but obviously the Jewish texts are to be revered and so many people still followed Jewish law (they were Jews before they were Christians)...and that practice has carried over with the 10 given to Moses into modern times.

The way to understand this is I believe by understanding covenants. 
The covenant that contains these 613 points of law is like a contract. The parties to it were God and Israel. These laws were intended to guide the priests in administering their society. 
Christians were never a party to this covenant. So how can one be held to the conditions to a covenant they were not a party to? They cannot. 
There is a new covenant. It replaced the old. ‘The new is not like the old’. (Heb. 8) 
The new is of the Spirit, and not the letter of the law (Rom. 7:6) However, 

Paul said, ‘Do we nullify the law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Romans 3:31.

In Mathew we read,

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducee's, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ‘This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." 

Matthew 22:34-40

Jesus does not tell us to ignore the old testament teachings but to embrace the two greatest of the commandments he has given to us and by so doing we will obey all Gods commandments, how can we do other than this if we follow his word. Yes we now live under the new covenant but to understand Jesus I believe you must also understand what came before.

Researching this series on the commandments has led me to several conclusions that have surprised me.

Like many Christians we have on the wall of our main room a framed ‘Ten Commandments’ that we try to live by. Perhaps we should have (instead of or as well) Matthew 22:34-40.

We now live under the law Jesus gave us but that does not mean the old testament is somehow ‘out of date’, it can never be, it is the history of our faith, the foundation of all our beliefs. To read it is to enlighten one’s self, to help understand why Christ came to save us all when he did. His purpose in fulfilling the prophesies of His coming in the Old Testament.
It is also a great read, OK so I admit I skip the who was the son of, son of,  parts but there are some great battles, love poems, tales of struggle and endeavour, there is even a talking donkey!  The list goes on and on, my favourite story has to be the parting of the sea by Moses, the scientist in me searches for how, was it the wind, freak weather, or was it as depicted in the film 'The ten commandments, where a path was created between two huge walls of water,  I admit I have no idea How God did it but the story fascinates me. If you read nothing else in this life read the Old Testament..................what a book! Try not to think 'I am reading the bible.........borrow a copy of a modern translation (no thee's thou's etc) from the library and read it just as a history adventure, its great, it really is!

I wear a cross as a symbol of my faith, it really says ‘this was the beginning’ because by dying on it Christ saved us all from bearing sin ourselves as it had been in the old covenant where sacrifices had to be made to appease God.

Jesus Christ made for us the ultimate sacrifice and freed us. So my cross becomes a symbol not of my faith alone but also of my freedom.

Throughout these writings on the commandments I have repeatedly said how you live your life is important, I can only hope some will have been helped by my ramblings! I know some will disagree, sorry, but it is my belief that accepting Jesus into your life fills a place within you that will otherwise remain empty. Except Him and you will never be alone again. Kris and I tell people that there are three in our marriage, Kris, I and Jesus, and as any engineer will tell you a triangle is the strongest load bearing structure, so Jesus is our strength and our saviour, He makes our triangle, He helps carry our load.

SODIS.

Well we seem to have solved all our problems of algae growth by not allowing the light to reach the water before purification. On our home water plant this will mean some plumbing to fit light proof pipes and filter body but for the field model we are I think ready to go.

It consists of a panel of galvanised corrugated steel and 2ltr plastic ‘PET’ (food safe) bottles, and a piece of folded cotton fabric. Total cost per unit under Rs200.

       

Our home system and test bed

      

This is the algae cause, light getting to the untreated water. TO BE REPLACED! But it has done its job and proved the system works.

We now use this system to produce all our drinking and food washing water. We run it about every two or three days. Overnight it filters 10ltrs. This we put out on the steel ‘bed’ in five 2ltr bottles. We do this for two days so we produce all the water we can store,20ltrs in two ten ltr bottles. As soon as we have used ten ltrs we repeat the process.

In the field we will use clean cotton over the mouth of a water jar and pour the sourced water through it to remove particulates, this water will now go to the bed in 2ltr ‘pet’ bottles.

One two ltr bottle for every two litres required by the user. IE, a family may use six litres a day in which case they will need nine 2ltr bottles. (3x3)

It works like this:

DAY 1.

Place (in this case) two full bottles on the back of the bed either early AM or late PM. (The time can be to suit the user but must remain regular at the chosen time)

Day 2

Move yesterday’s two forward and place two more on the back of the bed.

Day 3.

Move the four forward and place two more bottles on the bed.

Day 4,5,6 onward

Remove the now pure water from the front row of the bed, move others forwards and add two more bottles to the back of the bed. It takes six hours of sunshine to disinfect the water, we recommend two days just to be safe, even in summer we get the occasional cloudy day.

In this way pure water is produced daily and can be increased as required by the user by adding more bottles to the cycle.

Rajasthan has two things this system needs, foul water in plenty and sunshine.

Simply by using this we can reduce infant deaths dramatically. Approximately 40% of all infant deaths are caused by foul water; the peak occurs in late summer when the need for water is greatest and the sources at their most concentrated lethality.

With the coming of the monsoon death rates drop dramatically as people collect rain water and the lakes and pools fill to overflowing. This pattern goes on year after year. Thousands of children die needlessly.

We are now trying to find sponsorship to distribute this system and educate people in its use. Our first stop will be our NGO for advice on fund raising for this sort of project. We will keep you up to date on progress.

Great news: NGO will give us Rs800  (£1 = Rs 0.93) to build four demonstration units to train their field officers with. The training is more important than the money. They will take them home and show their villages how it works...................a beginning.

My other love.

My Royal Enfield Classic 500cc desert Storm.

While I was unable to ride (oh great sadness, five months banned from my bike) I decided to do all those little jobs on it I wanted to do. By the way, I also did lots of DIY around the house as and when I could manage.

Kris and I really enjoy our rides out with the local bike club who are amazed that ‘at our age’ we still go out and have fun on a bike! For the first few trips we were taken care of to make sure we were ok, now they don’t bother. Even riding cross country is a challenge that we do two up. Great fun.

Kris did have one complaint though, her very small seat (no not hers, the one on the bike), so I decided to replace it with a riders saddle and do a couple of other mods….

             

Without Panniers. The rear rack and carrier is a
heavily modified off the shelf system, 'cant fit that to a desert storm mate'

And with.

Kris's new leather seat

Air springing...two tennis balls and rubber bushes hinged at the front.

Looking good.

The black strip Led's are brake lights, the lower set is indicators
they are both really bright.

Tool bag.

All the leather work (Buffalo) was done by a local shop, he covered the seats the panniers (single bolt releases them) and the backrest. I modified and fitted it all, first bike he has ever done. He also made me an excellent tool bag that fits below the rear rack. Kris now has a comfy seat that is air sprung, please note the tennis balls and rubber stops under her seat. It really works very well about 38mm travel! There is also a power socket in the side panel that charges the satellite navigation system so even if we just turn at random and end up who knows where we can get home just by pressing a button ‘Take me Home’ …….excellent. I have earphones on so it really is easy to use, saves all the AAAAH we are lost stress! 
On the carrier there are LED’s as repeaters for the brake light and indicators. The boxes at the back left and right each hold a one gallon container for water or fuel. I changed the handle bars to give a little more width and height, 2" up and 2" wider, I find its now sharper to turn and easier to hold on line two up when off road. The headlamp now has a Quartz Halogen 80/100w bulb in it, the bulb that came with the bike was sad to say the least. The number plate is home produced (as is Kris’s) and the backrest is from a different model. Well that’s my baby, hope you enjoyed the tour. Oh and it has tassels.  

Holi

The festival of colours. Hindu's celebrate it as part of their faith, the rest of the population celebrates the victory of good over evil and because it is great fun to go around throwing colours at each other. The children run around with water pistols (the adults as well!) and a great time is had by all. This is a celebration by the whole community and brings all faiths together to enjoy simple fun.

 Kris lost her head! I turned into this!

 GOT HIM, I was the next target!






                                                                     Aftermath!

We returned home after a mornings fun to be pounced on by two very good Sikh friends who 'got us' Kris and his wife however can be seen in ' Hot pursuit' in the end we all needed a shower! Which of course led to a hose fight From here we went swimming and then ate together. They are a lovely couple who have only been married 4 months.
We know some Christians don't do this but we believe strongly that by involving ourselves in community celebrations we can witness far more often than if we sat indoors with the doors locked. 
On the same principle we have sat with Muslims on one of their holy days on a mat on the floor and discussed the differences between our faiths while we ate as honoured guests in their home. We have as guests attended Sikh, Hindu and Christian weddings since we have been here, we are well known and we feel liked by our neighbours and in the shops and local area. We do not say to them 'you are wrong, ours is the only way' we try to show that as Christians we live a different way because of our faith.
We are not tourists.............we live here! This simple comment has introduced us to a side of Indian society that so many never see. We ride with an Indian bike club in which there are Hindu, Sheik, Christian faiths. A short story:
We were riding one day to visit a temple, on a duel carriageway I was running fairly fast with Kris on the back but was being passed by a car to my right. At that moment a cow leapt out from the grassed bushy area of the central reservation into our path, the car slammed on all his brakes as did I and I heaved the bike around the horns of the cow and missed it.(Just)
A little way up the road I stopped and some of the other club members who had seen it were saying how close it had been, I said thank you Lord,  that  led to a good natured discussion over whether it was my Christian God who saved me, or the Hindu gods who saved the cow! This is an example of how we are always testifying to our faith. God gives us many many opportunities.
On the whole we are no longer treated as 'Rich foreigners' in our local area and are well known because we have really tried hard to integrate. We make no distinction between faiths, colours or castes all are treated with respect and given hospitality in our home. Yes, we have made some humongous mistakes but we usually are politely corrected by friends who are very tolerant of us! Strangely the only people who have a problem with our lifestyle are an Indian Christian couple...........It is perhaps easier for us to be as we are than if we were Indian? No doubt as time passes we will continue to learn more about our adopted country. We both love India, it really feels like 'home' to us, isn't God clever sending us here!

Work

Kris and her class last session this semester, the boy on the right is Debidutter's (PMF) son
who comes in and takes part in some of the classes! Kris bought them the cake.

Well as you all know I have been unable to teach in college this semester. I have though spent my time developing Sodis, regaining my strength and generally getting fit again. My two 'Home' English students have kept my hand in and have moved on to be able to speak English as they need to for their work.
Kris has done what I can only call a fantastic job teaching 'conversational English' at college through the use of Art. Her class is popular and her students have shown real progress in their use of English. This was supposed to be a temporary 'lets try it' idea but I hear she will be expanding her classes next semester. I have helped her when I can with different teaching techniques, but this is her class using her style of teaching, and yes I am very proud of her, I know how hard she works to be as good as she can be.
We have been approached by a teacher from a local orphanage to see if we would help by Kris teaching art and crafts and me English. As yet we have not given an answer as we need to clear it through our NGO but we are hopeful and looking forward to a visit before we make a decision.

Comments from Kris

This month has flown by I cannot believe it is now nearing the end of March.

I have been continuing to teach conversational English through Art and Discussion of everyday life with some female students It has been enjoyable but very hard at times trying to encourage them to actively speak in English rather than in Hindi. They enjoy the art it is simply painting pictures I provide which helps them relax and be less self-conscious about speaking in front of each other.

Now for a subject that is very close to my heart (no pun intended) Breast Cancer, I have a close relative who is currently undergoing treatment for Breast Cancer and she is just one year younger than me. For all those who wondered but were too polite to ask I will be 55 this year, and yes I am in the higher risk group.

I am busy re writing my breast cancer awareness programme which I have previously delivered to villagers in Pai. I believe this is a vital programme and when I did it in the village (female villagers walked from their own villagers to Pai where I had a room for the health programme) I got one young lady who had been so convinced by everyone in her village that she was to prepare for death as they told her she had breast cancer. She walked 20Kms to come and hear me and came back the following week when I found out through an interpreter what she had been told. Bless her she was extremely scared and had a very young baby whom she had been breast feeding but had stopped, following advice from her friends in the village. The reason to stop was so the baby would not get the cancer from her milk. It was a huge relief to me that upon examination it was very obvious that she had mastitis following the birth of her baby. I could reassure and get her to see the local doctor for antibiotics and a further check from him and that using warm cloths on the breast and continuing to breast feed, taking the antibiotics for the mastitis all would alleviate the symptoms. It was like a death sentence had been lifted from her as her facial expressions changed when she understood what I was saying, she was told to continue doing the self-breast examination as this would enable her to deal with any problems in the breasts as soon as they were detected. I was informed by the village field agent employed by our NGO that following antibiotics and my advice she was now ok. If she is the only person I will help doing this programme I will still feel it was worth it.

However I feel that the programme needs adapting and more information needs to be given so I am in the middle of changing it I will give a brief overview of the process to explain.

I plan to take the programme to the following areas, villages as I have done previously around Udaipur, community centres or the Indian equivalent meeting place for ladies if you know what I mean and to schools to speak to the older girls, female teachers and the children’s mothers.

We are writing a script then making a video to show the method of SBE and to explain what is normal and what to look for when doing your own self-examination.

The programme will include a short introduction from me, who I am and why I am there, a video, opportunity for questions and answers and if required I will do individual breast examination techniques in a private area there will be a Hindi interpreter throughout the programme, and I will give a leaflet explaining in images how to do self-breast examination (SBE) I will also include information for follow-up consultation with breast cancer doctors at both the American GBH Hospital (without medical insurance this will have to be paid for) and the government RMT College Hospital. (Government hospital offers free medical treatment and consultation to Indian citizens)

I then plan to show the short video which shows how to perform self-breast examination and discusses other breast related issues i.e. discharge from the nipple, more about this later. I believe that by using video as well as the discussion it will reinforce the message and take away the fear of the examination method. It is really simple to do, but most of us learn by watching demonstrations so the video is important.

Do you know why men have nipples? importantly men can and do get breast cancer, It is simply that the nipples develop in the womb before the sex of the baby is decided, however I am concentrating on women only at this time. (Sorry guys).

Why I am doing this and what does it involve? I will try to explain. A breast self-examination involves the woman checking her own breasts to help detect any breast problems or changes. Many breast problems are first discovered by the women themselves, often by accident. Breast lumps can be noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Breast cancer can occur at any age, though most common in women older than 50.

Breast self-examination involves checking your breasts for lumps or changes such as mastitis or cysts whilst standing and lying in different positions and whilst looking at your breasts in a mirror to note any changes in their appearance. Remember every woman’s breasts will look different we are individuals, but once you know what your breasts normally look and feel like you will be able to identify any lumps or changes. If you notice changes or have concerns this is the time to get a doctors opinion, but remember most breast problems and changes are not because of cancer.

The best time to examine your breasts is usually one week after your menstrual cycle/period begins, when your breast tissue is least likely to be swollen or tender. If your menstrual cycle is irregular, or you have stopped menstruating due to the menopause or following removal of the uterus by hysterectomy, do your examination on a day of the month that is easy to remember.
Pregnant and breast feeding women can continue to examine their breasts every month. It is best to examine after breast feeding or after using the breast pump so the breasts have as little milk in them as possible making examination easier and more comfortable

The woman will need to remove all clothing from above the waist and lie down. Lying down helps the breast tissue to spread evenly over the chest wall and is as thin as possible making it much easier to feel the breast tissue. Using the pads of the 3 middle fingers of your left hand not your fingertips check your right breast, by moving fingers slowly in small coin sized circles. Use 3 different levels of pressure to feel all the breast tissue. Light pressure to feel tissue close to skin surface, Medium pressure to feel a little deeper and firm pressure to feel tissue close to breastbone and ribs. A firm ridge in the lower curve of each breast is normal. Use each pressure level to feel your breast tissue before moving on to the next spot.

Check your entire breast using a lengthwise strip pattern, feeling all the tissue from collarbone to the bra line and from the armpit to the breastbone. Start in the armpit and work down to the bottom of the bra line, move one finger width towards the middle and work up to the collarbone. Repeat until you have covered the entire breast and repeat the same procedure for the left breast.

You can also examine your breasts using a spiral pattern; again use the 3 different levels of pressure. Avoid lifting your fingers away from the skin as you feel for lumps, unusual thicknesses or changes of any kind.

Remember most breast tissue has some lumps or thick tissue. When in doubt about a particular lump, check your other breast. If you find the same kind of lump in the same area on the other breast, both breasts are probably normal. Pay attention to any lump that feels much harder than the rest of your breast. If you find anything that concerns you visit the doctor.

Remember the important thing is to learn what is normal for you and to report any changes to the doctor. Most changes you find will not be cancer but should be checked. These changes may include:

Any new lump. It may or may not be painful to touch. Unusual thick areas.  Sticky or bloody discharge from your nipples. Any changes in the skin of your breasts or nipples, such as puckering or dimpling. Inverted nipple. An unusual increase in the size of one breast. One breast unusually lower than the other

In addition to examining your breasts whilst lying down, you may also check them while in the shower, as soapy fingers slide easily across the breast and may increase your chances of detecting a change. It’s easy to do stand in the shower place one arm over your head and lightly soap your breast on that side. Then using the flat surface of your fingers not the fingertips gently move your hand over your breast (using the strip pattern I described above) feeling carefully for any lumps or thickened areas.

I hope that all women all over the world will do breast self-examinations and if this piece can help educate and encourage others I will be happy.

In The Times of India newspaper 28/3/14 there is an interesting article on the front page. WHO declares India polio free, isn’t that fantastic news. India is now one of the 11 countries in the South East Asian Region which has been certified as being free of the wild polio virus. The Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad received the official certificate at a function on Thursday 27^th March 2014. India has been polio free since Jan 2011 after embarking on a programme in 1995 to eradicate the disease which used to cripple more than 50,000 children in the country every year. This is really tremendous news; I just had to share it with you.

I am still amazed at riding in traffic in the city, Udaipur City the other day was like an Indian version of the M25 at standstill nothing moving in any direction. It was chaos and I was in the middle of it luckily when it did inch forward I know lots of side streets to get out of trouble. I had an embarrassing moment yesterday, I was out in shopping, I pulled over my scooter at a fruit and vegetable stall which I use regularly. It was very busy as usual with little space for parking, I got my goods then went to my bike to climb on but before I could do so I slipped on the loose dirt and stones and pulled my bike over, literally dropping it. No damage done just mega embarrassed and a little bruise on my arm. The locals helped me up and checked I was ok, moral of the story ensure I park on flat even surface even if it means parking and walking to the stall.

Chris and I are going to embark upon an exercise programme at home, I need to tone up and strengthen my leg and knee muscles, I still do my exercises following the knee surgery but I need to extend the range more. I am much more active now I can walk a lot further go up and down stairs normally, but still can’t kneel. I still get some pain but for those of you out there who don’t know I now take very little in the way of pain killers. I have stopped using the pain patches (Fentanyl which is a controlled drug) the strong pain killers and pain block drugs I was using. I now use paracetamol and an occasional stronger pain killer when I have overdone the exercise etc. I still get the need to have the drugs but have remained strong for several months now and will continue to stay off them God willing. I know I was addicted to prescribed pain killers and will probably always have to fight that urge but with Chris’s help I have coped and I feel really good about it.

I am so happy to have Chris riding his bullet again being out with him riding has been so good this last week and I have missed it, but probably not as much as him. As Chris has already said we had a really good time celebrating with friends and neighbours the festival of Holi which is good over evil. It is a fun time and also a good opportunity for us all to share our faith.

Well that's my bit  done again, more next month.

Ben Westerman and friends visited a while ago to run a sports seminar, all the students had a really good time learning and playing sports together. The girls Frisbee final was positively dangerous! Here are some pictures we may not have shown you. Because there are so many we have transferred them to dropbox, enter link to view or download.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hk156wplke8oml7/PUFswtI49D

Because of space these will only remain available until the next blog (one month) so if you want to copy/download them please do so asap.


Nothing to do with anything but I had to
include it..............Yes I admit it I 
am still

a Motorcycle addict!

Hoppy feeling the heat, 92degF.

Ant city........in our neighbours garden.....best left alone, this
was built in about a month! There must be millions
of ants in it they are tiny but ferocious.  

Home

Janet leaves us soon to return to the UK for summer, we will miss her company and visits. She and a student Annie came for the afternoon this week, we went swimming at the local resort and ate together, Annie is here from Durham for a few weeks working with PMF. While she is here we hope to show her a few of our local sights, oh and she likes riding on bikes! That's a brownie point to begin with! She is also Welsh/Australian, yep, another brownie point!
The temp here hit 94degF this week in the shade. Summer is on the way. 
Successes, all our 'green' crops, radish (Indian and English) Carrots, Gourds and Tomatoes, one real failure this year has been the Lettuce, I think we waited to long to germinate the seeds, it got hot very quickly this year.
The bees continue to thrive, we are a little concerned about the summer heat but are still learning so we are listening to any advice we can get..................any bee keeper out there your advice would be most welcome by two complete novices.

Look what Chris found!

                                  Yes, that does say PIZZA HUT! new one opened in Udaipur
                                    even does peperoni and cheesy garlic bread, it was brilliant!

Well that is all from us this month, hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to get your free gift.
Take care
God Bless
Chris and Kris

Chris and Kris in India 20

Welcome,

Well another month has flown by, spring has sprung and the weather is now cool at night hot in the day. That's 60degF at night to 80degF daytime. Like the best English Summer you ever had. Today is overcast and cool, gardening weather so we will be sowing corn today, yep another experiment!

This month we will look at our church now one year old, our garden and the bees. A piece on Cannabis including a very brave testimony from an ex user. Comments from Kris. Plus one or two other things as they occur to us.

So, welcome, firstly my look at the ten (or should it be 12) commandments (Ten O/T two N/T)

This month:

The 9^th commandment.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Easy this one isn’t it, don’t lie, or does it mean more than that?

O Lord, who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell on Thy holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbour, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honours those who fear the Lord; He swears to his own hurt, and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken (Psalm 15).

O Lord, who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell on Thy holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness. 

Integrity and Righteousness, for a moment please just consider this; is our society living up to this very simple command?  Are you? Jesus said to love thy neighbour as thy self, do we? Are our laws just? Our politicians honest? Our police without bias? Our courts places of truth and justice? Do we do unto others as we would be done unto? Can a young woman walk in town at 11pm in safety? Sadly I feel the answer to all the above is a solid No.

How many feel drugs and drink to be the centre of their lives? How many live in Sin through ignorance?  Even our churches seem to have abandoned ‘bible classes’ the simple teaching of God’s word……..WHY?  The answer from some church goers is 'we now live in the new covenant' (the new testament) so we don't teach the old Testament any more. What? That's like saying we teach history but only from AD 1, no history before then mattered,? So many run away from the debate in Genesis, how God made the world, what about the escape from slavery of the Jewish people? Its almost as though a' Modern charismatic church' is in some way divorced from the Old Testament stories and seem reluctant to say Christ was a Jew! The bible ALL of it is the story of God, Jesus is part of that story and we should not ignore this.
Still that is a debate for another time for now lets remember that none of us live as we should nor can we without adhering to the commandments given to Moses by God.

True testimony is essential for the administration and execution of justice and justice is the outworking and result of righteousness. You cannot separate the two. Lawyers try, politicians try, we all try but only by being truly honest in an honest society can there ever be true justice for all.

False witness bears testimony to the wrong people. True witness takes up the matter with the offender first, and then with those in authority, and finally, before all if necessary.                  
False witness neglects the God-given process; true witness begins with the individual and ends with a public proceeding, if required. Evidence and testimony is carefully scrutinised.

False witness seeks the harm of the innocent and the practice of evil; true testimony seeks to protect the innocent, to preserve justice, to restore the sinner and to remove unrighteousness.

False witness seeks to make a matter as public as possible; true witness makes sin only as public as is required. Put differently, love seeks to cover sin, while animosity seeks to publicise it.

False witnesses sometimes keep quiet when they should speak out; true witnesses speak out, even when it is painful to do so.

False witnesses are motivated by evil; true witnesses by their love for God, for good, and for justice.

False witness tears down and destroys others; true witness ultimately edifies others, even if it is initially painful and unpleasant.

False witness is selfish at its root; true witness is selfless and sacrificial.

Wise words: Author unknown.

Kris and I had a situation that tested us severely of late, we spoke as Christian Brother and sister to another who we felt was in sin, that person refused to alter their behaviour or admit what they were doing was sinful and so we had to take the matter to the church Elders, nothing seemed to be happening despite a promise to keep us informed of progress, by the conclusion we were willing to put the matter before the church as a whole.

The situation was dealt with and it was not necessary for us to ‘go public’ however we were both guilty of anger and impatience. Having witnessed and put the matter in the hands of our pastor we should have stepped back………..we didn’t , and by so doing allowed our personal feelings to drive us, not the Lords word.

We, for a while lost sight of the true purpose of our actions so be careful, to testify to the truth and to uphold Gods Law to fight for your beliefs even if based on God’s word is not without pitfalls for the unwary. The dark one uses every opportunity to cause harm, so even if the intention is for good beware his influence. This lesson God has taught us.

So where does this lead us, suppose your friend was accused of a crime, perhaps all he needs is for you to say ‘he was with me, so couldn't have done it’ would you?

Would it depend on the crime? Speeding or paedophilia does the crime matter to how you would act?

Does your unshakable belief in your friends innocence matter, no, and it must not, however tempted you are by the devil to lie to protect him remember in righteousness there is justice.

To give false witness is a sin, if you falsely accuse ‘the false witness must be punished for the same crime about which their testimony bore witness’ (Deut. 19:16-20).

This is no small thing, this is critical to a righteous society. Without a true witness, without fair law with prejudice for none we are all at the mercy of a corrupt system that is bound by man’s sinful nature to favour the rich and powerful to be influenced by fear, bribes, or blackmail, all of which have changed many a verdict. A jury member is influenced; perhaps two or three and the guilty walk free. Look at our laws, our courts, do you see man’s law at work through sin or do you see Gods eternal law and righteousness?
Do not pretend ignorance or look away, one day you will have to answer 'why' to your maker.
In 1521 Martin Luther used these words when he refused to recant his faith, I feel if we all adopted this attitude the world would be a far better place ' Here I stand, I can do no other'. Will you stand? Or will you look away?

In the Book of Revelation, our Lord is called, “the faithful and true witness” (Rev. 1:5; 3:14).

Jesus says to his disciples;

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come” (Matt. 24:14).

(You are) My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

They were eyewitnesses to His life, His ministry and the miracles He performed as the messiah, His death, burial, and resurrection.

This was not witnessed by a few but by hundreds many of whom died under torture rather than deny what they knew to be the truth.

Jesus came as a witness, and when He departed from the earth, He left His church behind to be His witnesses. Thus, in the Book of Acts, the believers were frequently described as bearing witness to their faith and the fact of the resurrection. “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32). It was this testimony which the Pharisees sought to silence by their persecution and intimidation (Acts 4:15-18), and yet the apostles could not cease to share what they had seen and heard (Acts 4:19-20). In answer to their prayer, the Holy Spirit came upon these witnesses, giving them boldness to speak the word of God.

(Acts 4:27-31).

It really does matter how we live our lives, how we witness to the truth at all times no matter the personal cost, better to lose all in this life than to bear false witness before our Lord.

Kris and I try daily to wake and thank the Lord for the day, we pray together for his guidance and protection from evil, we ask Him to help us this day live as He wants us to, act as He would ask us to, witness to all without fear for He is with us always. We fail daily to live up to His standards, but by trying we are blessed and He supports us and walks with us all our days.

If you are not ‘a believer in God’ then I ask you this: Look at your life, yourself, your treatment of others, are you content, are you living the best way for your fellow man, do you truly live a righteous and just life? Are you honest with yourself and others? Do you reject an afterlife?

It could all change for you, I know you may not believe me but in this but I truly am being “The faithful and true witness” Jesus requires me to be, and it feels so good to be free of deception and lies. No I will never be perfect, but in trying there is great joy and peace.

My life went from deep sin to the light of his love; I know how I have changed, I became a new person with a new life when I accepted Jesus as my saviour. If asked now I will tell the truth, I will not give false witness, sometimes that simple statement is so hard to live up to, but I try and in so doing move closer to God.

Around The Garden

Tree Shortening for beginners, 

or, 

How to convince the neighbours you have gone silly in the head!

First remove a section of trunk, cutting V's to aid joining of the

       top of the tree with the now shorter trunk.

                  Mix soft clay and water         Apply a splint to the join

         

                             Apply the clay mix over the splint

           Finally seal with cling film          The now shorter tree

Unfortunately we have to report that the patient developed an infection and had to be painlessly dispatched.

Still on the bright side we have three of its offspring growing elsewhere in the garden! AND about 20 seedlings in a tray.                  

                                                 

Loki on the vine, can you spot two?

This is our Mango tree, 6 months old and now 24" tall.
If it continues to grow we may get fruit in a few years.
People around here seem surprised its growing, fingers crossed that it survives summer.

Geranium grown from seed.

Roof tomatoes, far superior to the garden ones
better flavour and sweeter (same variety)
More sun here and pest free.

This is going to be our melon patch, (2nd attempt)
Through failure we progress!

                                   This area in sun is where we are
                                    planting corn.(Note the corpse)

Fruit this year (tree is 6 months old!) Pappia
tree, we have two more but a bit smaller than 
this one.

Sweet peas, going well, planted at the end of the monsoon

One of two Strawberry planters

The prickly patch, these will grow into large cacti

  

The Herb garden

growing things (don't ask me)

Drive and flower beds

 Four different varieties of cabbage

Small Cherry tomatoes, really nice
we have had pounds from them

Kitchen salad garden to be

Garden grown tomatoes

Indian Radish, 12" long

Bringle

Front door, seed trays, Garage

Bees
or 'Our girls'
Well so far so good, they are working away and seem to have settled in, although until we open them up for a look we don't know if they are just surviving or are storing food which would mean they are getting plenty of pollen. If this works it will be the basis of our planned bee project but for now we are just learning. The commercial hive doesn't look very attractive so we have been building them a new home, or to be more accurate a cover for their present home. The top lifts off and the front slides away leaving the commercial hive in place and undisturbed.

Many many man hours

Sorry sweetheart I borrowed your studio again

The 'inner' commercial hive

                                    Chris's  latest creation
                              

DANGER painter at work

Looking very smart in the garden

Our Church

How would you describe a church? Early Gothic; Wren with his Dome at St Pauls; The typical English country Parish Church; The Jewel and gold encrusted splendour of a cathedral, our home church at the Durham Centre? 

Or………none of the above!

A Church is the people who attend, who come, form and maintain it, who together worship, be it a grand domed hall or a shed in someone’s garden. God doesn't care.

Recently Kris and I had a discussion with a Christian couple who described our church as ‘Indian’ presumably because we are in India, so Indian rules and etiquette should apply within it. We were at pains to point out that the location didn't matter it was the people who made a church, so no it wasn't an Indian Church, a British church, nor African or any other race, it was Gods church..

We are proud to be able to say we are a multicultural family church who looks to Jesus our Lord for our guidance and strength.

We were formed just over a year ago and have moved buildings once since and have been steadily growing.

We began in the Gospel Centre in Udaipur, an L shaped room where half the congregation couldn’t see the other half!

The worship team led by standing in the corner, very funny when it came to shouting greetings to each other. But we filled the place with praise for our lord.

Our new meeting place is in one of the rooms of a shopping Mall, at first only half filled then little by little it grew. I remember well one Sunday when our Pastor was running around worrying that we didn't have enough seats…………what great news! Now we all but fill it.

We have a children’s ministry organised by Kris that is also growing, now about six children depending on who comes. Of late she has been offered help by one of the young men who come so that’s good. Our music team is great; they work so hard and rehearse every week at a friend’s flat. We also have a laptop to use the projection system and a sound system recently donated by one of our group, so as it says in the good book….we make a joyful noise!

We are very open to testimony and gifts from our Lord, as with all groups like this we try to have some sort of schedule but God often has other ideas.

Kris and I leave refreshed and recharged every time we attend. About every other Sunday we visit other Christian groups, a couple of weeks ago it was a small local School celebrating Independence day, this week it was to a bike group in another town where we had the chance to testify and make many new friends. 

Not so many weeks ago the debate on a name for our church ended, how it was concluded I have no idea, but it is spot on, officially now it is

 'City Church'.

The sign reads 'City Church.....A multicultural family church,
Meet Jesus Here, ALL Welcome

Some of our diverse group at our first birthday

                          there was a really good party atmosphere

 Getting ready to rock Pastor Manu sorting out his sounds

Sister Janet, the backbone of the worship team
and a great example to all the women there.

 

This is City Church's own Barber shop group

 
        
      A whole family                         singing together       

Pastor Paul giving the word.

 
 

  He has a lovely voice, Janet will be after him now for the music team!

 



This came with song and a national dance 

                             Love the moves girls they were great

 
           

      Making that joyful noise! 

These guys can really sing pity we could not record it

 

This has got to go down in history as 

               'The Tonga Rock'

       Pastor Manu giving it some.
      

                                Jean organising the Line Dancing

 
Some American line  dancing, odd, far less chaos than anticipated.

The majority of people joined in the line dancing I (Kris) did not want to twist my knees (knee replacements are precious to me) so watched well that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

 

 

 Who says white people cant dance!

            YE-HAW!

                          Yummy

 
 Three of our younger girls all looking  lovely

                 I still hate my photo taken especially when eating! ta Chris

One bits good, two bits are better

Wonder where he gets it from!

This couple were just visiting and got a little more than they were expecting

 

                               Chilling out with friends and food 

This month was our Churches Birthday, someone thought up the idea of coming in national dress, or performing for the church a national song or dance. I decided I would do the photographs as I can’t sing or dance! Well that was my excuse at least!

Pastor Manusiu
Here is MY MISSION STATEMENT for the church and this is my dream and desire. I hope you understand what I mean because the church's MISSION STATEMENT should come from the church's leadership/elders but this is how I envision  CITY CHURCH.

"UDAIPUR CITY CHURCH TO LEAD ALL PEOPLE TO A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST. To BRING (Evangelism) ALL PEOPLE into the family of God and DISCIPLE ALL PEOPLE to obey ALL His commands and TRAIN ALL PEOPLE to fulfill their ministry in the Church and to SEND  ALL PEOPLE to GO and MAKE AN IMPACT in every spheres of the society and beyond".

Pastor Manu leads our church with support from Pastor Paul and others but it is his fire, strength and dedication that so often fuels a meeting and gives us all the courage to allow the holy spirit in. He is always a true Christian brother never wavering in his love of Christ or his devotion to his flock. His wife Puii is steadfast in her support of Manu, the church and three fine children (sorry .....young people!) They are a great couple who we enjoy having visit us very much.
On a lighter note: he does a mean Tongan Rock!




Cannabis.
As an ex user, dealer and general dope head I feel qualified to comment on cannabis abuse. So much has appeared on the web in favour of legalising it as a safe way to get stoned. I feel I must speak out against it. Let me be clear If you are an adult you have the right to abuse your body any way you want to.
Its children reading the rubbish like the add below and being led by lies and half truths into believing cannabis to be safe that infuriates me. Why do we allow our children to be exposed to this stupid nonsense! If your child uses Face book or any of the other social networks please be aware of the dangers of the misinformation and downright lies that is put out by believers in legitimising cannabis.
I used it for many years, including 'good' skunk, the price for doing so I still pay. Skunk, a form of cannabis that has been bred to have approximately four times the level of THC (the compound that hits the brain to give the stoned feeling) in it.

Its not addictive: MYTH.                                                                                                          I regularly used cocaine and for a while was injecting amphetamine sulphate (speed) as an addict, walking away from both was easier than cannabis, because you become mentally dependent on it to live a stable life. You are depressed so have a joint, want to really get into some music, have a joint, going for a night out you have a joint or two to 'get you in the mood'. It gets into your life like no other drug.

Every day I wake up, I long for a joint

Every cigarette I smell,, I long for a joint

Every meal I eat, after it, I long for a joint

Every beer I drink, I long for a joint

Every time I am stressed, I long for a joint

Every time I think of the old days, I long for a joint

Every time I see others smoke it, I long for a joint

I know that for the rest of my life in everything I do I will always long for a joint..................including right now thinking about it!

This is a common fake add in favour of cannabis, by blurring cannabis and hemp together people are led to believe they are the same. They are not. Hemp IS legal to grow, farmers grow tons of it. The adds like that above attempt to link cannabis to hemp so it all appears safe. Cannabis is not legal to grow. They are from the same genus but so is a cauliflower and a cabbage and they are not the same either.

Here are some common misconceptions.

People who smoke the stuff or use it as a recreational drug will do so anyway whether or not it's legal. If we ban this, why not ban alcohol? or tobacco? or knives? or cars?! or solvent glue?! they all kill people. However knives, cars and solvent glue just happen to be incredibly useful, as is this plant and the cannabis variant. 

We do ban Knives, Alcohol, Tobacco, cars and solvent glue. We ban children from using them.

Making it completely legal will rid us of a criminal underworld who want it illegal so that they can keep their businesses going. Making it legal will also give those who do want to get stoned a legal safer alternative to some of these deadly synthetic legal drugs that keep popping up.

Again, speaking as an ex dealer I sold at least two Kilo a month of Cannabis to regular users, the majority were ordinary people who wanted to just get stoned. Amphetamine sulphate and coke used to sell well at the weekends for party people. The people who used class A started with cannabis, they moved onto class A for the better hit, they first used it at parties given them by friends……NOT the dealer that is a complete myth put about by ill-informed people . Make it legal you just increase the number of users and they will go down the same route! As a dealer I would have been very happy to have it made legal my customers for class A would shoot up and that’s where the real profit is, not in cannabis. As for deadly synthetic drugs, that is frankly a meaningless comment, common table salt is a synthesis of two compounds  2Na + Cl₂ → 2NaCl,      sulphur dioxide S + O₂ → SO₂  even good old rust  4Fe + 3O₂ → 2Fe₂O₃. Nuff said!

There are however many therapeutic benefits to using it, especially in alleviating some chronic conditions like cancer and MS in it's raw form or as an oil.

This overlooks the deadly side effects, psychosis and depression if eaten, lung cancer as well if smoked. And yes you can smoke the oil.  Look at the rate of mental illness and suicide among users. However if you are an adult, you make your own choice, just keep it away from children. I know if I was dying from cancer I would use it to help with the pain and to make my days more bearable.

Why is ANY plant illegal? They are on this planet for a reason. This one plant could stop the worlds deforestation and provide many many benefits. The only reason this it is either controlled (in the UK) or illegal (in the USA) is that it is a massive threat to big business and removes our dependency on them.

Deadly nightshade, Flyagaric, Deaths head mushrooms, Willow,Ivy do I need to go on! Every plant can have benefits,I would have thought the best way to stop deforestation would be to plant trees., there are many plants  however that are lethal in their raw form as is Cannabis.Why are they illegal? Because the overwhelming evidence shows that if people are left to eat, drink or smoke whatever we like we will not think of the long term harm, only the short term benefits.

If tobacco was discovered now would we allow it? Heroin was developed to help addicts get off Opium, Methadone was developed to help Heroin users get off it, methadone is addictive....the list of human mistakes in this area is almost endless.

Cannabis causes harm to the developing brain, the most at risk from it are our children. They see friends do it so peer pressure and misinformation leads to its use. 
If you are between 15 and 25 the harm caused to the cognitive areas of your brain is permanent.

Parents please don't think its like it was in my day, the cannabis available now is NOT safe, its four times stronger and causes more cancer than tobacco. 
(as a ratio of tobacco smokers/cannabis users)

Please don't just believe me in fact, DON'T believe me find out the truth for yourself!

Check it out with the British Medical Foundation or any reputable drug counselling service, 

DON'T BE A DOPE! YOU DON'T NEED DRUGS, YOU DO NEED YOUR BRAIN!

This testimony was sent to me by a man living in Co Durham UK. This is again experience speaking.

          

My struggle to get off drugs

I am a 66 year old ex toker (Slang for drug user, Chris) who was addicted to speed (Amphetamine sulphate) for a lot of years.

Following a brain operation,I became Clinically depressed,because I was told by my consultant following brain operation that I had several malformations of the blood vessels in my brain which were not treatable at the present time,which to my mind was like having a time bomb inside my head,I started to feel really anxious and nervous that I would kick the bucket at any moment and not see my children grow up.

I took care of life insurance and anything else I could think of to help my family in the event that I did drop dead,I then thought about how I was feeling and after discussions with my wife presented myself to the doctor.

He told me that I was suffering from depression and that I needed to start taking antidepressants which I did and for the next 12 years I suffered anxiety and extreme nervousness episodes which I attributed to the depression,upon revealing my thoughts to the doctor he advised that counselling sessions were called for,he arranged the first session and I was talking to a very pretty young lady who was dressed in goth clothes with accompanying make up in about our third session I revealed to her my feelings proper that I had suicidal thoughts and was feeling really angry that I was in a situation beyond my control  my children were being bullied at school and I tried remonstrating with the education board to no avail. during one of our sessions I revealed my addiction to speed and that I smoked cannabis she presented me with lots of evidence that the drugs  I was using could be causing my feelings. I ignored her  evidence thinking it was a government ploy to try and reduce the amount of drug dealing going on.

It was not until I moved to the other side of the country in an attempt to get my children a decent education that I started to feel that perhaps I could stop taking antidepressants I  approached my doctor with my thoughts he agreed to reducing my dosage,then my marriage broke up leaving me feeling even worse it wasn't until I had left home to go live with an old mate that I stopped the antidepressants totally I then realized that the feelings I was experiencing the day after smoking blow where exactly the same as depression anxiety  and nervousness I would wake up in the middle of the night worrying when my life was back on track and I had nothing to worry about so I made the decision to stop using all drugs.

6 months later and feeling fine I realized that it could have been the drugs causing my symptoms all along ,even a small spliff and the symptoms were back so that confirmed it in my mind and I have been off drugs for 2 years now and still feeling on top of the world .my name is Les Batty my mates call me bat and I hope that my story can help if you want to get off drugs.

Thankyou Les, it takes courage to walk away from cannabis, well done. never go back. Chris.

Comments from Kris

Well here I go again, I am still finding some things here difficult to understand and I expect that will continue for many years to come, different climate, culture etc all being contributing factors.

One thing I find difficult and rather annoying is when you are in a shop or supermarket and a total stranger just reaches into your trolley or basket and either picks out your item for themselves to have or just to see what you are buying. They never say anything and look baffled when I say sorry that is mine and nay you cant have it. I am still trying to learn Hindi and as I get older it is not as easy as I would like. It seems acceptable for all castes to just think they can either take what you have chosen or just pick it up and examine it without even asking first. I still cant get my head around this one as it happens frequently, last time it was the assistant who got annoyed at the customer and took my item from her and put it back in my trolley apologising to me for the customers rudeness. I must find a way of countering this behaviour or just accept it as the norm. I will ask Janet if this happens to her. I have seen them do it to other Indians so I know it is not just because I am a westerner which is quite reassuring.

I am so excited still with watching our girls (honey bees) collecting pollen and going about their business every day and I really think their new home is terrific, it looks superb and there were many hours of labour of love put into it by Chris and I. Chris did the main building and I painted it. They seem to have been well received by our neighbours who remain fascinated by watching them fly from flower to flower collecting the pollen. Some remain a little cautious in case they get stung, but so long as you remain calm and steady and don't scare them they are domesticated. We do have the correct gear for anyone who wants to use it to see inside the hive when we open it up. We are still trying to find flowering shrubs and plants that the bees will like and this will continue for some time to come.

Wednesday I just got back from work, I travelled on my scooter when we had to go out again via taxi, I told Chris I thought it was going to rain, but no it didn't. Instead we were inside the taxi just near home when the heavens opened up and some of the largest hailstones I have seen came down it was very scary for our driver who pulled over as he thought it was unsafe to drive. Chris reassured him that if he drove slowly and carefully he would be ok. This was the first hailstones he had seen in his life and for many it was both fascinating and scary with many people hiding or peeping out of doors to watch it. Climate change is definitely coming to us.

A week ago we visited friends in Ahemadabad which is a large city in Gujarat the next state to us, we travelled by car with a friend as Chris is still unable to ride for health reasons. But soon he will be on the road again Hooray. We stayed overnight at our new friends flat which turned into an impromptu party that went on till 3am and we had to be up at 6am but it was fun. It was just a brief visit to celebrate with Royal Enfield Royal Riders Motorcycle club who were celebrating their 4th Anniversary. We have become friends with the dealer and his wife through a mutual friend and they had a stunt show then all 100+ bikes rode to Abod where there was a horse show, on a dried up river bed filled with sand. The stunt show was great 2 guys and a girl doing stunts, Unfortunately our driver got lost so we did not catch up with the bikes till we got their, but our friend waited for us and arranged for someone to guide us to Abod. We then returned to the showroom where they had samosas and a huge cake to celebrate the anniversary. They also sang Happy Birthday to Chris as it was his birthday and he was asked to cut the cake, which he did with the help of a young boy the youngest bulleteer there. I think that was a lovely touch. We then went for ice cream and travelled home getting back about 8pm to me waking up outside our house I had dozed for the last half hour. I thought I was dreaming as I saw Mrs Gandhi smiling at me through the windscreen, I was puzzled why was she here I must have imagined it but no, the next thing her husband tapped on my window opened the car door and with a huge grin said welcome to Udaipur. I still did not know why they were here although they are always welcome, it turned out the IBRMC Udaipur Chapter our bike club had organised a surprise for Chris and several other bikers all turned up sorry guys too many to name you all here but thanks again. They had brought a birthday cake for Chris with our Bike club logo on it. I was blown away so was Chris. It was a lovely end to a great time with like minded people, and we had many opportunities to talk about our faith and compare it with our friends who were keen to know more about us. I also met some great biker girls and a fun time was had by all albeit not a lot of sleep was had.

Chris has been writing a hymn/ song for a year or so now and he left it when he got to a point he could not move forward in the direction he wanted. Well since his near death experience he had inspiration and I am very pleased to say he has finished it. It is biographical and if anything reminds me of the honesty in John Newtons Hymn Amazing Grace, I really love Chris song which he has named Freedom. We joined the worship team this week to get them to practice it and with their tweaking of the chords and music it sounds great, all being well we are going to sing it in church this week. Chris remains a little embarrassed about it as he is not good with these things, he may appear confident but he is not when it comes to this kind of thing. I remain very proud of him he says I am his greatest fan, However if I thought it was bad I would tell him to save him the embarrassment until he got it right. Lets see how it is received but it gives god the Glory which is the main thing.

We had a couple of friends visit last night from the USA, they came with Janet. It was great to spend time with Chuck and Jim and I think we all had a great evening. They are only here for a brief holiday so will probably not get to see them again before they leave, other than at church this Sunday.

This weekend we are to attend a local wedding a retired Major and his wife who live near us their son is getting married and it is going to be a great celebration over several days, we are going to our first of 2 invitations this evening which will be a formal cocktail party, the main wedding celebration is tomorrow evening with dancing and a dinner among other things, not sure what they will be yet will let you know in the next blog, as no two weddings we have attended have been the same. I will be wearing sari's for both events which is expected. I still get very nervous as I am not good in groups never have been.

Well thats all from us this month, hope you enjoyed the read
God Bless
Chris and Kris