Chris and Kris in India 33

Hi all,

This month we thought that we would give you a mainstream Indian point of view on a subject often discussed here. So often reports are very one sided in the Foreign press, this is an attempt to show how feelings are running here on this subject we reproduce the  following two articles. We, as individuals may not agree with some of what is said here but our point here is to give you an Indian perspective often ignored.

For that reason we have given over most of the blog to this question.

Why is there so much Religious Intolerance?

Sema Chakrobartty “The Speaking Tree” published in The Times of India March 2015

“The good God made them all.” Most are OK with this statement. But with our insatiable desire for knowledge, we continue to explore the concept of God and hence celebrate the discovery of the “God” particle and continue to look for that one Truth that binds everything. Author Dan Brown says “Science and religion are partners trying to use two different languages to tell the same story”. But while scientific language deals with facts, figures and formulas, faith relies on imagination, foresight and intuition.

Ancient civilisations worshipped natural elements, and the sun occupied a special place. With the passage of time different interpretations of the Supreme started taking shape. Imagination gave was to Imagery. Delinking of human soul from the Supreme soul began and God is now used as an instrument for discrimination, subjugation and power. According to ancient seers, there is an Absolute reality or Super Consciousness, the formless, attribute-less Brahmn. Then there are several gods and goddesses. You can invoke the Divine in any form.

The Quran describes the Absolute as, “He is one and only, the eternal the Absolute, He begetteth not, nor He is begotten. And there is none like unto Him.” According to Christian faith God is the Supreme eternal being, who created the world and who preserves it. For Zoroastrians God is creator of truth and judge of our actions. Although in Buddhism there is no concept of God as supreme force and the focus is on attainment of nirvana, your merger with shunyata or pure consciousness remains the highest goal.

Great masters talked of oneness with the Supreme via love, honesty, non-violence, harmony, compassion and gratitude. They did not force their doctrine on people, they never taught hatred; they never taught hatred; they never tried to banish the gods of others. Today the teachings of these evolved souls have been disregarded. There is so much religious intolerance – churches are now being vandalised; the faithful are being violated.

If God is the highest reality and truth, and if inner purity and goodness take one closer to the Supreme, then why there is so much discord and intolerance among followers of different faiths?

We are an intrinsic part of the Universal Soul. Everything around us is interconnected. All our deeds, good or bad, have ripple effect. The Rig Veda says all living and non-living things in nature are part of the same cosmic equation and are pervaded by a higher consciousness. The basic law of nature or cosmic norms cannot be changed; it is a process of growth that can be experienced and realised. The search has to be inward.

The Kenopanishad says, “That which one cannot comprehend with the mind but because of which they say mind feels, know that alone as Brahmn. And not what people worship here (as an object).” God is pure consciousness, not limited by constraints of time and space.

Coming back to reverence of nature, according to Sooryaji, since we need a single unifying force for harmonious coexistence, why not turn to the sun? “We have a living God in the Sun who is the giver and sustainer of life on earth. No theology or theorem can ever dispute that.” He says. The Sun, arguably, is above discrimination, is undemanding, a Sakha or friend who rises every day to give us health, happiness and harvest. Every morning when we are able to fill our heart with these cosmic rays of light, we find we are a step closer to realisation, of the Supreme that manifests itself in and through the finite world.

 

 As you can see from the above its a complex issue that concerns all faiths here. It is acceptable for a woman to change faith to marry, or to keep her faith if she marries a Hindu. Then there's the cast system, something far more complex than it may appear to 'western' eyes.

We from here feel the concern is about mass conversions to and from any faith, but that having been said there would be no problem if an individual wished to change faith, perhaps Christian to Muslim or Hindu, or viceversa.

It is one of the great complexities of this very tolerant country. We live in a State that has laws against 'Evangelism'  now all I need is to understand what that means in practice.

If by seeing how a Christian/Muslim/Hindu/ behaves and lives their life a man or woman decides thats what they want to do, is this evangelism? What if a whole family wish to convert? The law is very complex as it must respect all faiths views on this subject.

With so many variables at play this is one debate that is going to run and run.

Mr Modi the prime minister is working very hard to unite all India and bring the country onto the world stage, to modernise and raise the general standard of living. At a time like this he says religious differences should be put aside, India first, religion second, we are all Indians'.
He has always spoken of tolerance for all people of whatever caste or faith living here. We feel India is going through a change, we believe for the betterment of all. 
The young in this country are a new Indian, making a new India, the drive to succeed and make something of yourself and the country through education and effort is almost tangible among those that can afford a good education. 
India is moving positively from a country that still had parts of the old English Raj attitudes to a new and vibrate world power. 
The poor are being slowly lifted up, the rights of women are now a major issue here. Womens rights are now being respected and recognised, but there is still much to do, but we are confident that the new India of tomorrow will be an example to others and a leading economic force in the world. 
Education and health are the key to India's future, this is why we came here, to help in that effort for all Indians to have a decent standard of living, education and health care..

Kris

Well this month has been very busy. 
The seminars on Breast Cancer Awareness, teaching women to self-examine has begun and there are new possibilities for reaching more women opening up. 

We have contacts with one of the biggest Universities in the city and are very optimistic that they will let me do several seminars there for their female students and female staff. 
I am still amazed at the lack of knowledge that even educated young women from good backgrounds have on the subject. I am quite nervous about speaking to so many young women I feel it will be worthwhile even if it only save one life by detecting cancer at an early stage. Chris has been very helpful giving me teaching tips, and helping me make the Seminar Presentation simpler and more visual. So thank you Chris.

Well we are in the middle of an upheaval, no don’t panic it is one of choice.

We are moving house, no, not leaving Udaipur or the Colony on which we live just moving to the street behind us. 

In our present home we have no long term security, whilst our Landlord has been good to us and we to him, he cannot give us a long term lease.  His son lives in America and may want the house on his return and we don't know when that will be, we do not feel we can live month by month wondering if we will still have a home. Some would say it is coincidence that a friend and his wife have decided to move out of state to live with their youngest son, I believe it is all God’s timing.

They know us well and they have agreed to a long term lease because of this, so we did not feel we could let this opportunity for stability pass us by. God helps those who help themselves and put their trust in him for guidance. Well we put the decision about whether we should look for a new home in God’s hands and this opportunity presented itself. We move 1^st April, we still have the other house here until 19^th April so it gives us time to take out air conditioners and put windows back in, which we kept and fill in any holes left where we have had our paintings hung.

The house is slightly smaller but it has a nice garden at the front and plenty of room for our chickens at the rear. We have permission to use part of the front garden for our vegetables so we will still grow our own food. The house feels cozy and welcoming and because of the layout should be easier to keep warm in winter and it will be cooler in the summer. In a lot of ways it reminds us of our first home together after we were married at Station Town, UK. We are on the end of a 'cul de sac' (no through road) and it is so secluded and private, yet just over the back wall our friends live. 

While chopping food I (Chris) managed to put a good sized slice in my arm, the blade sliced against the bone and left a tongue shaped flap..........ho hum more stitches and another scar on my beautiful body.

Kris was brilliant, she went into nurse mode, wet pressure pad and bandage to stop the blood loss, our neighbor took us straight to the hospital, one anti tetanus shot and a few stitches later and home. Isn't life interesting.

HDS
Kris in a Breast Cancer awareness session.

As you can see from the above she is really enjoying these sessions. Sorry about the quality of the photographs but they wouldn't let me in!

Our teaching is going well and 'Chringlish' (Chris'English) has kicked off to a good start, I am now three sessions into it and am as expected having to modify to suit the slightly different needs of the students.

HDS will be running a class at our local resort soon. I had to put it on hold for a couple of weeks............(the stroke that wasn't) but now we are off and running again.

We know this is late and a little short, we site moving home in our defence, next month a look at our new home, and return to the usual format.......maybe.

God Bless you all,
Chris and Kris in India

Chris and Kris in India 32

This Month,

Comment.

Stroke
Garden
Church (City Church Udaipur)
NGO
Comments from Kris
Final thought.

Comment.

I was sowing Chinese cabbage the other day in the garden, its a lovely plant, bit like a cross between a white cabbage and lettuce. As I was sowing the story Jesus told of the sower came to me. Well I know its a well-known story but in case you haven't heard it: basically a farmer is broadcasting seed (throwing it out into his field) it falls on four different types of ground. The hard ground “by the way side” prevents the seed from sprouting at all, and the seed becomes nothing more than bird food. The stony ground provides enough soil for the seeds to germinate and begin to grow, but because there is “no deepness of earth,” the plants do not take root and are soon withered in the sun. The thorny ground allows the seed to grow, but the competing thorns choke the life out of the beneficial plants. The good ground receives the seed and produces much fruit.

Jesus interprets it for His disciples in Matthew 13 : 18-23, Mark 4: 13-20 and Luke 8: 11-15.

A few days later I was watching a TV evangelist, and yes it was the story of the sower. I listened for a while as he graphically described where the seed fell, his presentation was really good, body language well practiced, close ups, arms raised to heaven, moments where the camera zoomed in to look at his sincere face, then came the appeal.......be like the seed that falls on good soil, bear good fruit, help other by sending money so this ministry will continue. 

Well so far so good, to pay for air time and run a ministry costs money, we all give what we can to our church by donation or tithe. So what was my problem?

What bothered me was the line of donors and the amount they had given running across the bottom of the screen. Where these people giving in joy or to get recognition of their good deeds?

Matthew 6:3

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing",

Something else bothered me deeply, the appeal for money was far longer than the story of the sower, phrases such as 'Give and God will give you back much more' 'Struggling in your life? give and God will help you'

This brought to mind Matthew 7:15 - 20

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."

If I presented to the world all the times we have given to the poor, the Church, helped individuals, would that make us a 'better' Christians, would God care for us more? Of course not, we would have had our reward for those public deeds here on earth. God's love for us is unconditional, but we also have free will and there is the trap that we set for ourselves. 

We can be servants of the lord or deep sinners claiming to be servants, the choice is always yours to make. 

We believe how you live your life is what matters, not what you give in the public gaze.

If you pastor appeals for money to help a cause should you give in private or rush forward in the sight of all to give?

I know that God has repaid Kris and I many times over for what we have given, but not only in money but in his love for us, yes we have received money unexpectedly but always when we need it for His work.

Our life is our testimony, not a list of public good deeds but what only God has seen in our hearts, on this and this alone shall we, and all others be judged.

Stroke

noun

1.        

an act of hitting or striking someone or something; a blow.

"he received three strokes of the cane"

synonyms:			blow, hit, thump, thwack, punch, slap, smack, welt, cuff, box, knock,rap, buffet;

2.        

a mark made by drawing a pen, pencil, or paintbrush in one direction across paper or canvas.

"the paint had been applied in careful, regular strokes"

synonyms:		mark, line, slash, solidus, virgule "the flat pencil can be used for broad strokes"

verb

1.        

move one's hand with gentle pressure over (a surface), typically repeatedly; caress.

"he put his hand on her hair and stroked it"

synonyms:

caress, fondle, pat, pet, touch, brush, rub, massage, knead, soothe;More

2.       .

act as the stroke of (a boat or crew).

"he stroked the coxed four to victory"

Or in the more common usage the word stroke is associated with part of the brain being damaged for several different reasons.

Well just about two weeks ago I had one, good news first this is nothing to worry about!

I went with Kris to a wedding of a friend of ours. As the evening went on I realised I couldn’t close my left eye to use the camera, it was also watering, no other symptoms until the next day when my face drooped and I lost all muscle control on my left face. Kris banged me full of aspirin and got me to our local doctor (ex-army Major med core) Then to a neurologist for blood tests, MRI, and assorted tests.

The results:

Yes I did have a stroke but it was caused by a nerve cluster in my neck being squeezed by a glandular infection that shut down my left facial nerves. It is 100% recoverable from if I work at my pulling silly faces and blowing up balloons. I am also having electro stimulation of the facial muscles. This in no way makes me more or less prone to a stroke in the future as it was not caused by a loss of blood to, or a bleed in the brain. My blood pressure is up but is being controlled. I have to rest for the first two weeks then gentle work and recovery for another four weeks.

Work have been really understanding and all our friends are so supportive and encouraging.

Kris took some time off to care for me but is now back at work teaching Art and Design (very well if all reports are true).

To be honest it scared me silly………..up to the point when I stood arms open to heaven and put it all in God’s hands. After that the fear left me. I was in His hands, ‘Yeah thou I walk through shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me’ (Psalm 23).

I continue to recover well and all are happy with my progress.

Garden

Looking great, lots growing, lovely fresh food, no chemicals or pesticides. Our biggest losses come from our family of squirrels that live in a tree in our garden, forget growing strawberries!! They are also fond of baby tomatoes………..it’s worth the losses to see them playing on the driveway and leaping between branches. At least our crops on the roof are safe from them, big tomatoes, peppers and later Melons, The birds here are also getting used to us and all sorts visit to drink nectar or insect hunt in the garden.

House and garden looking lovely

Close up of our beautiful Roses and Bouganvillia

Mixed Lettuce - yummy

English Peas so much sweeter 

Carrots growing well

Spring and baby onions 

Our English Runner Beans

Potatoes growing well

French Beans 

Beetroot 

Outside convenience and runner beans

Our new compost bin and fertilizer barrel

Our chickens are doing well, we have sold four cocks (Males) and traded another for a custard Apple tree with a promise of one more for a very rare conifer that is so rare that it is illegal to cut them down, this one was grown from seed. 
So it now stands at 4 cocks, one we have booked as trade one we will keep, two we will eat, and six hens for eggs. In all we are actually in profit on rearing costs! We may rear two more cocks later for a proper Christmas dinner! We are also planning to allow them free range of the garden as we clear crops, weeds eaten and soil feeders!

Our new chicks

This lovely bird is George, the cock we are keeping with
the hens to guard them from rodents.

New chicks for the flock growing well

New chicks

Church (City Church Udaipur)

Sadly we have come to a point where the way the church here interprets the gospel in particular the commandments and their meaning does not fit with how we interpret them. This is a theological matter and we have not ‘fallen out’ with any church members over this, but we feel it is a fundamental difference that cannot be overcome, we have tried without success to explain why we have now left the church, but other than one meeting with our pastor our requests for counseling or guidance have been ignored. Its a very strange feeling to know that to disagree with an interpretation could bring such a reaction from Christian Brothers and Sisters. Still, this is not a debate to have in public, lets just leave it as we and City church have gone our separate ways and we feel closer to God because of it. Our home church is Emmanuel Church Durham and as long as we are here we will steadfastly uphold its values and teaching.

I include this in the blog so that all at City Church know that any of our friends there will always be welcome in our home, to visit, pray, debate or just drink coffee. We may even just drop in now and again to say hello.

NGO

Well what can I say, its India, struggling because of my illness and the slow approach of the day when we will actually have a vehicle to go out to the villages and carry our kit and other volunteers. In one sense it helps, because I am available anytime I am getting to meet some interesting people and talk about our long term plans for the NGO, had a very nice chat with the Ex-Mayor at a function recently!

We have begun our water source map based on safety from bacteria and pathogens; we log the position latitude and longitude, date, water sample number. This is to track changes in purity through a yearly cycle of the free standing water in all the small lakes used as a water source by road dwellers. In this way we hope eventually to predict when a water source usually becomes contaminated and intervene before deaths start occurring. We also hope that by seeing us about these people will come to trust us more so that we may be able to help in other ways…education? I don’t know, that’s up to them. We made the mistake of not seeing the Indian need and designing a device that worked very well, culturally it would have been a disaster (there are some things Indians just won’t do) we don’t intend to make that mistake again so have begun with what we know and that’s open water source testing as most City pumped water is safe but not available to all road side dwellers, and its these most poor who have to use the open water or walk Kms to carry clean water.

Still trying to find sponsors, but as we have no track record its hard, plenty of offers of help, no money offers yet!
Recently we made a connection with a charity group who want us at one of their events, and the IBRMC (India Bull Riders Motor Cycle Club) also want to do a joint event with us.

We have also received an E-mail from another NGO who are interested in Kris training some of their workers to teach breast cancer awareness. The only problem is its two states away and a long rail journey, so we are asking for transport costs, they have already said they would accommodate us at the NGO bungalow, so…..we may be off to Jamui district of Bihar State, India next month.
It is soooooooooo frustrating to be setting up all these really good connections and we know God is giving us what we need to do his work, I just want to get out there and do more. I'm just not very patient! Sorry Lord.

Comments from Kris

Well its that time again and it has been a very busy and interesting month.

Firstly I want to talk about Chris.
As he said he first noticed his eye watering and being unable to close it when we attended a friends wedding, but typically apart from mentioning the watery eye he did not say anything else. Probably knowing Chris he did not wish to worry me. He had had a few headaches but then so did I and neighbours said lots of people were getting them due to weather changes.
Next morning Chris had developed symptoms of a slight stroke, but no weakness in his legs or arms, he had slurred speech, drooping mouth, eye and left side of face, I immediately gave him Aspirin as first line treatment then checked his blood pressure which was very high. I thought Chris had suffered a Transient Ischaemic Attack, (TIA) which is a mini stroke. Our friend the Army Doctor who lives nearby checked him over, and recommended we attend Geetangali Hospital nearby the following morning. He did not want to start anti hypertensive drugs till tests were done, I agreed as it can mask symptoms and diagnosis. 
So off to hospital we went again, both quite worried but with a sense that we had complete faith and trust in the Lord to guide and protect us. We saw a very nice Neuro Physician, who was very thorough and he ordered MRI, and blood tests. At least you don't have to wait for an appointment like in the UK it is done the same day, yes you have to wait but it means you worry less. 
The MRI confirmed that it was not a major stroke and that the irritation of the nerve cluster in Chris's neck had swollen possibly due to a virus and put pressure on his blood vessels causing the paralysis of Chris face, but that it was 100% recoverable from so long as he has treatment. His blood pressure remained high, but the doctor felt it may settle down without treatment, however he wrote Chris up for Anti hypertensive drugs in case it did not come down in the next 24 hours or went higher, and left the decision of whether to give them to me as he knew I was recording his blood pressure regularly and knew what to look for. Chris started on 14 days of medication specifically to treat the Viral Infection and reduce the irritation and swelling on the Nerve cluster, and commenced daily Digital Nerve Stimulation to the side of his face that was affected with the Physiotherapist, who also gave him exercises to do. Chris is still continuing with the exercises but after a couple of weeks the Digital Nerve Stimulation is complete. The Physio was very pleased that he was such a co operative patient and could see he was following her advice. She is a lovely girl and Chris played a joke on her just as treatment was starting one day, he waited till she clicked on the switch and started shaking as if he had been given too much stimulation. Although initially she looked horrified she did laugh as he did it when there was little or no power going to the pad touching him. 
Chris's blood pressure continued to rise quite quickly within the 24 hours so I commenced the anti hypertensive drugs which are now stabilising his condition. He has to stay off work another month as he must avoid too much eye strain, stress and climbing stairs ( there are 3 floors of stairs and no lift) so he has felt a little frustrated. 
I am so proud of Chris that throughout the day he continues doing his facial exercises to help speed up his recovery, It can be funny to catch him pulling funny faces at odd times, but I would never laugh at him, he is an inspiration and we both believe doing physio is beneficial. 
Chris still gets some drooping of his mouth and slurring of speech especially at the end of the day when he is tired but this is improving and as soon as we realise he consciously concentrates with his enunciation of words and facial exercises. When friends were around the other night for a brief moment one of them thought he was just doing it for fun, but I explained it is all part of his condition and will happen less as he recovers.
He was not allowed to ride his bike but the good news is he can start going out for short gentle rides, we had been going to go out today but I was up in the night with stomach cramps and diarrhoea so definitely not a good time to ride. We will go out for a ride in the week when I am not at work.
I have told him he must stop trying to check out on me, God and I have plans for him for some time to come.
All I can say from my point of view is that I put my whole trust for Chris's Health and well being completely in the hands of the Lord and from that moment whilst still concerned for him I knew God was in control and I just had to follow his leading.

Work
Well I am going into work and teaching which is both enjoyable and a challenge, the students are nice and at the moment I teach first and second years. I am setting them homework and getting them to do independant research which is something they find a little difficult but I am sure with practice they will get better. This next week we are making models in class so it will be interesting to see what materials they bring to make it as the choice is theirs. They have their brief and I need to see how they rise to the challenges I have set.  Work is only ten to fifteen minutes from home so it is easy to get to on my scooter. 
I am arranging for a self breast examination seminar at the college and also at the local resort for female students and staff. I admit to being nervous as I have had to adapt my normal teaching method to suit the Indian way of doing it. I can only improve with practice and I believe this is a very important message to get across for our NGO. So many women have no idea that you can do self examination even among the educated population. It can be a life saver especially where more sophisticated diagnostic methods are not affordable for those with little or no money. As my cousin is recovering from Breast Cancer it is a subject very close to my heart, but I confess I do get stage fright but will trust in the Lord to Guide and lead me where I need it.

Lent
As we are now in a period of Lent, fasting for 40 days. Chris and I have decided to give something up as a sacrifice and bring us closer to God Spiritually. Before I explain what we are doing I must say I do not always take part in Lent, I have done so on occasions in the past but sometimes given up things like Crisps, watching TV, things I do like but are not really to me sacrificial, it bothers me for a while but is not a major hardship. 
As Chris and I have had a difficult year with his health it has been stressful on us both, but I feel it has brought us closer to each other and to God.
So what did we decide to give up/
Well we really enjoy the occasional takeaway KFC, Subway, Pizza for Chris Pasta for me, eating out at friends homes, getting Samosas from my favourite place or going to the occasional restaurant. So we have decided we will not eat out even at friends homes, we will only eat food we prepare and cook at home, we will not accept food cooked outside our home and brought to us however well mean't.  We will still buy provisions to do so, but for us this has already been challenging and we believe it will help us with our Spiritual Journey with the Lord. 
As I said it has already been challenging, we had friends come around for a meal and they wanted to bring food with them to add to what we had made, I had to explain you can bring the ingredients but must cook it here or we can't have it, which they did.
Our first Cock we bartered with our friend for a Custard Apple tree and a rare fir tree, they made Chicken Curry and wanted us to share in that food, we had to explain our reasons we couldn't they understood and accepted our beliefs. This gave us two opportunities to share our faith naturally with Sikhs and Hindu's again Gods divine opportunities which he seems to give us regularly.
Yes this time for me it will be a struggle to give up certain things but I know that this is right for Chris and I at this time and we will press on until April 2nd when Lent ends. 
Lent whether still accepted by some as being Scripturally relevant and not by others for me is a time when you can come to a closer Spiritual Awareness and Closeness to the Lord by giving sacrificially. Every time we fancy a KFC or get invited to someones for a meal it focusses our mind on the sacrifice Christ made for all of us, it has surprised us both how this small sacrifice we are making has made us think so much of his Sacrifice for Us when he died on the Cross.

Hoppy..........with Mrs Hoppy and Family!
 

On Guard! Its a hard life.

Hoppy, and it seems Mrs Hoppy and one of their two offspring
all playing together, he introduced us earlier this month.

She wouldn't come near us and has been living in our street with her pups
since she gave birth.(his territory)

Hoppy let us really close and she watched as we fussed him, she even
let her pup wander up to us, she kept an eye on proceedings but
didn't get stressed, We think she has relaxed with us because of Hoppy.
And no, we are not adopting any more, one is quite enough. But it is nice when the street dogs like you, I know the milkman works on that theory as he always puts out
a bowl of milk for them

Final thought.

We just want to say thank you to all those people at Emmanuel who take part in the various debates on Emmanuel FB page. We read them regularly and of late have posted a question or two. We want you all to realise how important it is for us so far from our home church to be able to have these exchanges of views, to question, debate and learn from others. It is so important for us as Christians but also for who 'we' Chris and Kris are, and the path He has placed us on through His love. You all help us so much to live as well as we can to His example.

Thats all for this month, hope you enjoyed the blog.

God Bless you all

Chris and Kris