Koln/Cologne other sites

For the most part, I think I'll just show pics with captions. All these occured after our climbing the steeple of the cathedral (did I mention it was 397 steps both going up and coming back down?). So we were tired and hungry. They asked where I wanted to eat and immediately started suggesting pizza places, etc. Aain, I said I would prefer a true German meal. So we ended up in the restaurant shown below--with an Italian waiter who spoke German with an Italian accent. It was lunch hour and the place was crowded. But he gave good professional service, albeit a bit brusquely.

A view of the restaurant from the table where we sat. I don't recall the name of the restaurant, but it is just off the Cathedral square. That is our waiter with his back to the camera.

Marina had already ordered an entree from the children's menu. And Beth wanted the same. Waiter said she could not do that. Meanwhile, Stephanie wanted spaghetti from regular menu. So Beth asked if Stephanie could order the item from children's menu and she the spaghetti and then they could trade. Waiter said no to that also. Beth was really upset and vowed to us that she would write to the minister of something-or-other and complain. But I had another plan. Beth ordered the spaghetti and Stephanie the children's item. (They had already ordered a huge meal--very German--for me.) When the waiter brought the items, I simply asked him to take this pic of us. Then he returned my camera and turned to walk away and I picked up their plates and switched them--per their original plan. No big deal. But every time I look at this pic, I remember how upset Beth got and I chuckle to myself.

I've introduced the people before, but here I go again: L to R, Stephanie, Marina, me, Beth.

After lunch, the young ladies went shopping. There is a huge outdoor mall adjacent to the Cathedral. Meanwhile, Beth and I had a map of old and/or significant sites near the cathedral. And we set out to find some of these.

Below, is St. Maria Himmelfahrt church. Judging from the Mercedez-Benzes out front, the guards watching the cars, and the sound of the language of the mass being conducted, we concluded it was an Italian mass in progress as we stepped in and I tried to take a pic as inconspicuously as possible.



Next is St. Ursulla church. We thought we were heading to a different church. But I misread the map and we ended up here at St. Ursulla.

Since I had misread the map and we had ended up at St. Ursulla, Beth was not confident in my map-reading skills and struggled valiantly to regain control of where we should go. But she discovered that Franciscos are not the only stubborn gene-pool in the world.

As we followed the map we kept feeling uncertain. We were looking for Sankt Andreas church, which the map indicated was only a couple blocks from the cathedral. But as we looked down the block where it should have been we couldn't see anything. But I followed the map, and we almost passed a little courtyard leading behind the storefronts. And there was the church!

Above and below, Sankt Andreas church. For this video, in case you have not had your volume on for the previous videos, you might want to listen to my narrative on this one (or not).

One would think that after my success in finding the Sankt Andreas church, Beth would have shown more confidence in my directional skills. But that minor error that ended up at St. Ursulla instead of wherever we thought we were going might have continued to haunt her. Or maybe she simply has some of the same stubbornness as other members of her family. In any case, we set out looking for the Roman ruins. All we knew was that it was constructed in the year that Koln became a Roman colonial city, i.e., A.D.50! She kept thinking we were looking for a building--no matter how many times I told her it was not a building. But I too was uncertain what we were looking for. Plus, the search took us several blocks away from the other points of interest. The farther away from the cathedral that we walk, the more she insisted we had missed it. I kept saying, "Just a little farther."

Finally, there it was! No mistaking it. This round tower was one of the corners for the Roman garrison. An inscription on a plaque explained that the main reason the structure survived a period of demolition was that for a long time it served as a latrine for an adjacent convent.

One more day on the road and then I'm home!

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Koln (Cologne) Cathedral

There are many places, on the internet and in books, where you can see photos of the Cologne Cathedral--professional and amateur. These are mine....

Video intro to the Cathedral. My attempts to get a still shot consistently lopped off the top or the bottom.

Inside looking up at one of the domes.

This video is taken from a platform by the big bells. The young lady with Stephanie is her friend Marina.

After climbing 397 steps up one of the towers, we arrived at this platform. I counted at least another 120 to an observation deck. And my legs said, "There is nothing up there worth seeing!" They were probably lying, and I knew it even as they told me the lie. But I chose to believe them anyway. The ladies definitely agrees with them and me. The climb up on a very narrow, spiral, stone stairway. As people came down, we who were climbing were more than agreeable to pause to let them pass by. Who said anything about catching our breath?

If you ever visit this magnificent edifice, I recommend taking the self-guided, walking tour of the ground floor. Truly, not because you can then avoid climbing the stairs (did I mention there were 397--both going up and going down?). But I think it would be much more enjoyable and enlightening. By the time we got back to earth, were so tired and hungry that everyone was ready to go to lunch. But they indulged me long enough to take a few shots of the inside of the cathedral at ground level.

Below, is the main chancel (is that the right word?).

Later, walking a few blocks away, I was able to get this shot of the twin towers of the Cathedral. In Germany, it is called the "Koln Dom."

Next time, I will take you with me to some of the other churches in the neighborhood of the Dom.

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Altena Castle, part 2

The previous post showed my introduction to Altena and a little about the castle. This time, I mostly have a series of pics, with commentary along the way.

First, a view out over the land that the castle residents would have owned, along with the residents therein. Yes, I enjoy showing the heights from these old buildings. :)

I'm really disappointed about this next pic. I took I don't know how many shots of various items like this below. And this one is the "least fuzzy" of the lot! I never would have guessed what it is. Maybe you already know. But in case you don't: This is an artful structure that hides the chimney flue. They were all unique and all beautiful. Sadly, you will have to look elsewhere, to someone else's pics to find a good look of them. :(

Knowing how well BW loves heights (NOT), I took every opportunity to have Stephanie and Beth pose at the bottom of a stairwell so that I could show our climbing up and down.


Looking outside through a window-less window. Again, to show the height.

Another shot of the same. (Please, don't ask me why!)

A very Catholic looking chapel, with a bust of Martin Luther in the entrance. Fact is, the artifacts in this chapel were collected from a variety of locations and a wide span of time. Most of them pre-dated Luther. So they in fact are from the time when the Roman Catholic church was simply "The Church." In a moment of incongruity, Stephanie is sitting on the front row, talking on her cell phone. :)

Another stairway. This one, however, at the top apparently led nowhere! It was like that Winchester house in California. It was simply a stairay going several steps up to a blank wall! Beth and Stephanie told me not to go up there (reminded me of BW). So of course, I "had to" go up and take a pic!

View of the castle from across the river.

Next time will probably be our Saturday trip to Koln (Cologne) and the beautiful churches there.

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Altena Castle, April 3

As I was discussing the previous post with BW, I asked her if I should mention about the exit signs, et al., that populate the autobahns. Perhaps the first sign I saw after we entered the highway read, "AUF FAHRT." (In case you're not sure how to pronounce German, just try reading that aloud, phonetically and you'll get the idea.) I think I saw an on ramp sign later, but I forget or didn't notice the German for "on ramp." But it's probably something like "EN FAHRT." Which raises a whole bunch of questions and mental pictures. But I'd better drop that subject. Right?

I don't recall what this meal was called. But this is what I had for my first lunch in Germany. At the bistro, Beth asked me what I wanted. I looked at the menu on the wall and of course couldn't read any of it. So I just told her I wanted something German. So this is what I got. And yes, it was good! Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure it was a fish dish.

Sooooo, after I washed up and unloaded my luggage at the apartment, we went to lunch at a bistro in downtown Altena.

Stephanie (L) and Ate Beth (R).

After lunch we proceeded to the Altena Castle. It's kind of a fort. But was also the castle for the ruling family of the region. Now it is more of a museum or historical landmark. Unfortunately, as you can see in the videos, the exterior was undergoing some maintenance of some sort. So I couldn't see all of the outside effects. Still, a very interesting tour.

I really enjoy this first video (below). This is one of several "keyhole" devices along the wall leading into the castle.

Here is a look-around at the facility from the entrance gate.

More to come, but "Mr. Laptop" is giving me fits. So I'm giving up for now.

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On to Germany

Our flight left Mumbai around 2:00a.m., Friday, April 3, and arrived non-stop in Frankfurt around 9:00a.m. Customs and immigration were amazingly smooth. They just looked at my U.S. passport and passed me along with a wish for a good visit. When I got to the "customs" area, the sign indicated if I had anything to declare I was to go one way, down another hallway. If I had nothing to declare, I was to go straight ahead. Well, I thought briefly about declaring something profound. But nothing came to mind. So I went straight ahead. No one was there to ask me anything. I expect there was some kind of electronic surveillance that scanned my luggage for anything suspect. But no one came forward to ask me anything about what I was bringing into their country.

So I proceded into the receiving area. Ate Beth (BW's sister) and Stephanie (niece) were nowhere to be seen. That was okay, because I was still wearing my Indian clothing, i.e., warm weather gear. Actually, I had already changed into casual slacks. But my feet still wore no socks and still enjoyed the freedom of open sandals. But now it was time to change into warmer footwear. While I was getting my socks and tennis shoes on, Beth and Stephanie surprised me from behind. By then, I was ready to go and we headed into the parking garage and out into Germany. Beth and Stephanie rarely get into Frankfurt. So both on this trip out of the airport as well as the next day coming back in to see the cathedral, we got lost. That was fine because I really didn't care. :)

You have probably heard about driving on the autobahn. So I won't go into that much except to say that I was quite impressed. Stephanie was driving and she is a great driver. We cruised at speeds between 120 and 160kmh, which I think translates to about 75-100mph. And cars kept zooming past us. But the autobahn is designed to handle these speeds with relative safety. Amazingly the drivers consistently stay to the right unless they intend to pass. This makes it safer for everyone. This is one way the states would do well to emulate Europe. The other comment is to debunk a myth I had heard: As soon as we were on the autobahn, Stephanie turned on the radio. I commented that I had heard that drivers were not allowed to be distracted by anything in the car, specifically not to listen to the radio while driving. She just smirked.

Above, is a street scene in the town near Altena where we stopped for my cash.

Since I was penniless, rupeeless and euroless, we stopped in a town near our destination where I withdrew some euros from an ATM. Then we headed on. I didn't film any of our time on the autobahn. Nothing I would have shown would give the sense of what was going on. It would have just looked like freeway driving--which it is not.

This was my introduction to Altena, starting to climb up the hills.

Altena is a relatively small community in the hills about 2 hours north of Frankfurt. In fact, both the airline people and the immigration man did not know there was an "Altena" near Frankfurt. They "knew" of one in the southern part of the country. I'm sure they thought I was confused.

Here we're rounding the last few corners approaching their apartment. As you watch this video, notice how narrow the street is. YES, it is TWO WAY! I didn't take any videos of our going downhill. Beth was driving when we left the apartment and I was hanging on for dear life! LOL

Above and below: Buildings along the way in Altena.

Street scene. Town's name is pronounced : ALL ten uh

View stepping out of the apartment building. My impression is that all of these you see are comprised of apartments.

I've shared these videos and pics mostly to show the architecture and the narrow streets. The houses you can see along these streets are consistent with all the buildings I saw there. Nothing remarkable I suppose. But clearly different from the sprawling houses the middle class in the US works so hard to obtain.

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Leaving India

After lunch, I just cooled down under AC and slowly packed. Loaded van at 4:45; drove to Nagpur airport. ETD moved up from 7:15 to 6:50pm. So good thing we were a bit early. Flying to Mumbai, hit a little turbulence. I had been reveling in the 2 weeks’ great experiences, esp today’s events. When the turbulence hit, I just said, “Go ahead and take me Lord. It’s okay now.” Now I’m in Mumbai international. Start boarding for Frankfurt in about 20+ minutes.

No pics this time. Just a few thoughts, then I can go on to the Germany part of the trip on the next post. For this entry: I had forgotten about the turbulence until I re-read it just now. I suppose we all struggle with some things. I've had my struggle(s) for years and I wonder how that will all turn out. Yesterday, I visited my previous church, Sunset Pres. Pastor preached in a series on Integrity, with the theme of "Finishing Well." I needed to hear that message. Glad I made the 73 mile trip. Now I need to sort out what to do with the message.

But on the trip from Nagpur to Mumbai, I was maybe literally on cloud 9, but figuratively I was definitely there. So the turbulence brought an interesting reflection. Wish I could stay in that place (viz., India not the airplane)--figuratively, if not literally--the rest of my life. But that is not realistic thinking. It is just a wishful thought.

Today, maybe you can tell, I'm kinda down. Need to get back in gear.

A little bit should be said about the Mumbai airport. On the flight to Mumbai a young wife and her daughter sat next to me. We each minded our own business until we started approach. They were Indian, but live in Botswana! I did not try to hide my surprise that they were headed there. When we started to leave, I got their bag down from the overhead. It was heavy enough that they had arranged someone else to bring it on board and put it in place. So I was trying to be gentlemanly and get it for them. No prob. And they thanked me. And we got on the bus that took us to the terminal (no walkways at Indian airports). As I arrived at the terminal, I realized that I had forgotten my hat and my crossword puzzle book. In my haste to get the lady's baggage, I forgot these vital items of my own! I talked to the man at the info booth. He sent me to the customer service table for that airline. She told me to go to the info booth. I said they sent me to her. She was not excited, but agreeable and led me to another attendant, a young man. They made a series of calls to the plane. Attendants there located the items. But they were distracted and delayed bringing it. Finally, the young man told me to wait where I was and he would go get the items himself. My impression is that India operates on the basis of tips. So when he finally returned with my prized items, I held out a tip for him. He recoiled in horror. Absolutely refused anything of the sort from me. Explained that it was his "duty" to do this. Okay with me. I could use the money on other things, which I did. But I was surprised.

Transferred from the domestic terminal to the international. I was not looking forward to this phase of the trip. When I waited at Mumbai International on the previous trip, it was a nightmare. I was virtually pennyless (rupeeless) and there was NOWHERE to relax. Construction everywhere. Actually, no construction at that time of day. But everything boarded up or curtained to allow for construction during the day. And no place to eat. After all, I could have used a credit card if a place had been open. So on that visit, I just wandered the corridor for hours--hungry, thirsty and tired.

This time, what a difference! Construction/remodelling completed. Restaurants of all international varieties were open all night long (can you picture an Indian pizza hut?). I was there from about 9:30p.m. till about 2:00a.m. I found a booth to call home. It was during the school hours; so I called Mom instead of BW. Mom was in the middle of an awards ceremony and photo session. But when she saw the number on her cell, she excused herself and we were able to talk for a little while--long enough for me to tell her that I was on the verge of leaving India and could she please relay that to BW. Then I spent virtually my last rupees to buy a meal of noodles and chicken. Walking a little farther, I spied a "slumber room." Laid down there for a while on one of the recliners available. Airport personnel kept coming in and looking at the various people, making sure no one missed their flight. But they never disturbed anyone sleeping. I wondered how they knew who to look for.

After a while, I decided to go to the men's room and discovered the answer to my mystery: A young lady approached me from behind and confirmed my name. She already knew who I was. Then she informed me that my departure gate had been changed. I realized that at some point, they had photographed me and linked my photo with info about my departure flight. When they needed to locate me, they just looked for my ugly mug and relayed the message.

Perhaps you can tell I was very much impressed with the Mumbai International Airport, and the domestic terminal as well.

Next time: Germany.
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Mother's Day Surprise

I've been tracking my India trip and got as far as the last day in India. On the way home, I arranged a weekend layover with BW's sister and niece in Germany. I will get to those pics and events soon. But it seems this might be an appropriate spot to tell about our Mother's Day surprise for Mom.

She had hinted veeerrrrrry broadly that she sure wished someone would come to visit her for Mother's Day. Well, who else is there to go visit her? My son lives in Springfield, which is slightly closer. But I'm sure they had plans with either his mother or his mother-in-law or both. So that left BW and me as the ones she hoped would visit. But I didn't say anything. Didn't pick up on that at all--at least not verbally. But after 2 or 3 of her veeerrrrry broad hints, I asked BW about it and she was immediately in favor. That in itself is rather a surprise, because she really does not like to travel much. But she loves Mom. And for that I am very grateful.

We (BW and I) agreed that we would keep it a secret. Mom had been sick for a few weeks and we knew that if she knew we were coming she would wear herself out getting the house ready for "company." (Is family company?) Anyway, even after we had decided, Mom kept hinting and I kept mum to Mom.

Friday afternoon I picked BW up from school a little bit early and we took off. En route, Mom called, but I didn't hear the phone. Instead, I heard the signal that I had a voice mail; it was from Mom. She was sounding really down and just wanted to talk. BW and I had already agreed that whichever of us talked with her we would tell her a couple little "white" lies. (Yes, I believe that lies are appropriate sometimes.) So by our agreement, BW called Mom back. When Mom asked about the highway noise she heard over the phone, BW explained that we were on our way to The Dalles for our Friday night date. Then--per our agreement--BW asked Mom if our package had arrived yet. No, it had not arrived (duh!). Well, maybe it will come on Saturday. So they talked a little more and then hung up. We were already at least halfway to Mom's home by then.

When we pulled into the driveway at Mom's house, the lights in the front room were just going out. It was 8:45pm and she was heading to bed a little earlier than usual. Since nobody was coming to visit her for the weekend, she had made plans with her neighbor to go along on an errand the next day. So she was heading to bed earlier than usual.

BW rang the doorbell while I got my camera ready. And this is what we saw.

I've tried to crop this to make it bigger so you could see the genuine shock on her face. I'm sure she will not appreciate my posting this view for the entire internet world to see. But here it is! LOL

Well, Saturday morning I was busy posting again to this blog while BW got started cleaning the house. Of course we all know that Mom's "dirty" house is in much better shape than most of our homes on good days. But it had not been vacuumed for a while and a little dust had gathered. So BW vacuumd the front half and I got to do the back half. Plus we did a few other little housekeeping things as well. :) No complaining and no bragging. I know that any time my sibs visit, they jump in and do plenty of things as well. I mention simply because it was part of our Mother's Day gift for her.

Sunday morning we went to church with her of course. And she was back in the saddle of teaching her Sunday School class, after an absence of 3 weeks. I can't recall that she ever missed 3 weeks of church and Sunday School in our lives. But that's how sick she had been. But this was her first time back. And of course she weedled me into helping with the lesson. I was glad to do it. And the lesson as a whole was very well received by the whole class.

Afterward we drove to Yachats for a lunch buffet at The Adobe Restaurant. I had made reservations the day before. When I called, they indicated that there were a couple openings in the regular dining room. But the lounge had several possibilities. We're glad we chose the lounge because it was much quieter and gave more personal service. Our waitress, Vera, took this last pic.

BW and I have been reading "The Rest of the Story" volume 2 for bedtime stories. Last night, we read the story of the lady who started Mother's Day. She started it in honor of her own mother, of course. What I did not know is that she was never married and never a mother herself. And that is the Rest of the Story!

More about the trip soon....

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Thursday, April 2, seminar

Thur, 2 April, How do I explain what happened during seminar/lesson/sermon this morning? I had printed out a new outline just yesterday when I was at the computer office. Had it all set to go in a certain order. But as I started on my theme God clearly led me to insert another complete point in the outline which resulted in eliminating what had been planned as number III. That’s just as well, since I had felt some misgivings about number III anyway. It’s just that I had not consciously planned on saying anything at all about the topic God inserted. But it all fit together as if God had indeed planned it which I feel confident he in fact did so. It’s just that I have never seen God do that in/through me before. I know that many people have been praying. And I know that there was an extra night of prayer due to the miscommunication about the schedule.

Worship leading team

Regi Lukos (R) supervises all the construction at the campus. He is brother of Saji Lukos, founder and president of RIMI/Mission India. Both of them are incredibly humble men.

Dr. Manohan James (R), principal (president) of MITS (Mission India Theological Semianry). I think I've already introduced Sandeep Kumar (L) who is translating for Dr. James.

I feel bad that I did not get the name of this young man who started as my translator. Sadly, he bowed out. I never was clear about why he did so. But I know he was struggling a lot to track what I was saying and convert that into Hindi.

Subodh Nanda stepped up to the task of translating. He still struggled with some of my terms and concepts. But he was a good sport and rose to the occasion. I think he did not realize how good a job he did. So afterward, I sought him out and gave him a hug and my congratulations and appreciation.

First, a note or 2 about the conference. Wed night was the opening session. Here is a video from that session when they were singing--in English for a change. :) Actually, it was not that unusual for them to sing something in English. But always refreshing for me to know and join in with the song.

I drew on Henri Nouwen's "Wounded Healer" concept and shared one of my wounds and tried to apply this to their ministries.

I had relayed through BW to ask people to pray for my speaking, thinking I would have my time on Wed morning. I've already mentioned that mixup I think. So when I got to email on Wed afternoon, I asked people to pray for my speaking on Thursday instead of Wed. Well, that double dose of prayer really had an effect.

After 1/2 hour on the first wound, I put that wound away and switched to another wound.

I cannot adequately explain what happened. I don't want you to think I lost awareness of what I was doing. But I could clearly sense that God was directing my thoughts and words. Now any preacher or Christian speaker who believes in the leading of the Holy Spirit carries the confidence that God is leading him/her as we speak. But this was more the case than I have ever experienced before.

Afterward, I was in awe that God had changed the course of what I had planned to share. I know I have not conveyed here what he did. So I'll just have to leave it to your imagination.

The point being: I had an outline of what I had intended to say. But I came to what I intended as a transitional statement. But that led into sharing one of my "wounds". That expanded into a half-hour development. This meant that I had to drop my final point. But that was okay, because I had felt uneasy about that point all along.

All of the above to say once again: Thank you to all who prayed for the trip and especially for this Thursday morning session.

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Last night,morning, Nagpur

Evening, “Transformational Leadership Training” began at 7pm. My presentation cxed from 10:30 – 11:30 to 11:30 – 1:00, from a 1hr to a 1-1/2 hr presentation. Video about revival in Presbyterian churches in Shillong province which is far NE India state of Megahal (?). Much of it seems really authentic but some a bit strange. Like 4 y/o child in trance on floor supposedly interceding for parents. Maybe so; trying to avoid cynicism. Presbyterian ldrs verified events and that it was spontaneous HS outpouring that they had been praying for for long time. One more night till I leave. Mixed feelings, but mostly eager to start on my journey home to BW.

The fact is that there is a strain of Pentecostalism which opens the door to Charismatic elements in the Mission India arm of RIMI. This keeps me on alert. But at the same time, people are genuinely coming to Christ. God is changing lives. And I cannot and will not fault that. Still, I feel uncomfortable with some of the more extreme expressions--just as I feel unmoved by those who stifle all emotional expression.

At breakfast, prior to talk (duh), I called a student over to talk with him. Met him in Jodhpur on 1st wkd. Anil shared his testimony with us. Raju is very excited about him. But as Anil shared we realized that his wife is still Hindu and they with their baby boy are living with her Hindu parents who will not let his wife leave because they expect he will force her to become Christian. Well, the point of sharing testimony was that we would tell others about their need and recruit financial support for their ministry. Most of those who shared that Sat night I will have no prob at all telling others about them. But almost immediately I felt a check regarding Anil: I.e., he must resolve the divided household/marriage he is in. So I called him over during bfast and explained all this and the reasons and the options. Then we prayed. He smiled and thanked me and I started suspecting that he had not understood what I had said. So after a while when Bijay came in I asked him to translate for us. Then Bijay asked Anil what I had told him. Anil said that I had encouraged him to pray for his wife Maya to become Christian and he appreciated that. So I said flatly, “Nehi” which is Hindi for “No.” Then I said the whole thing a second time, this time through an interpreter. Now his countenance became much more serious. He no longer had the dreamy expression on his face. Instead he felt the weight of the situation in front of him. In the process I had told him both times that I simply could not ask anyone to support his ministry until he resolves this divided home issue. Closed by illustrating that it was like he is trying to ride 2 camels, with 1 foot on 1 camel and the other foot on the other camel. And that just cannot be done because they will go different ways. He smiled at the mental picture. But he definitely seemed to get the message.

Perhaps I need to expand a little on what I shared with Anil. When he gave his testimony in Jodhpur, he mentioned that he was living with his in-laws because they would not allow their daughter (his wife) to leave their home--fearing that he would convert her to Christianity. As a result, he is trying to lead others to Christ while his own household remains divided. You may disagree with me (won't be the first time). But I strongly felt at the time--and still feel now--that he must resolve this discord at home before he can effectively be used by God in a larger field of harvest. So as I talked with him in Nagpur, I tried to convey the seriousness of this divided home and his need to resolve the problem one way or another.

When I finished talking, we prayed. Then he smiled and thanked me. That's how I started to sense that he didn't understand what I had said. (I had forgotten that he hardly knows a little bit of English.) So about that time Bijay walked by and I asked him to sit down and translate. I asked Anil to summarize for Bijay what I had said. And it became obvious that my suspicion was correct. So I went through the whole thing again. And this time, Anil's expression was much more serious.

Later, during my sermon with the whole group, I made reference back to the conversation with Anil. Naturally I did not mention him. But I mentioned the closing illustration about trying to ride 2 camels. Anil was sitting toward the back of the group but directly in my line of vision. So we kept looking at each other as I was re-telling this illustration.

As you can see, he is a handsome young man, enthusiastic, intelligent and energetic. But he faces a very difficult decision. Will you join me in praying for Anil? Will you pray with me that God's grace will give him the strength to stand for Christ and lead his wife to this great faith?

Thank you,

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Eye opening pics

You probably know that I love dogs. I prefer full sized dogs, rather than the wanna-bees. But any dog is better than no dog. Well, almost any dog. When I was in Jodhpur the first time, I saw the ugliest dog I've ever laid eyes on. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me to document the sight. Wednesday morning in Nagpur, I saw another one. Maybe not the runner up to the previous. But certainly in the bottom 5 of the ugliest dogs I've seen.

I think she's supposed to have hair, but she looks bald. I think that led to a number of other problems: discoloration, white blotches which have burned in the tropical sun. That sun burn results in the impression of red skin with black/blue bloches. I think she could have been a beautiful dog. But alas.

Do you want his job?

At first glance, these scaffolds appear as flimsey as possible. But look closely at the cross bars. Do you see them anchored into the wall of the building? These scaffolds are built out of bamboo, which is very strong and anchored into the wall. I think they are very secure, perhaps more so than Western versions.

Still, I don't want his job and I respect anyone who can do this!

In addition to the conference center hall of the previous post, these men are building an extension to the women's dormitory.

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More pics from Nagpur

This time some pics from a construction job, in process on the seminary campus. This batch is a project upstairs from the dining hall. They are building a conference hall there. This will give you a glimpse of how they do that!

Later, I met some of the worker men from this project. I asked them why the women carry the heavy loads while the men do less strenuous tasks. He was not surprised by the question (has it been asked before by other nosey Americans?). He explained that the women are not trained or licensed as masons. To clarify, I asked, "If a woman was a trained mason, would she be allowed to lay the bricks instead of carrying them?" He said, "Yes, no problem."

What did you think of the scaffolds at the top?

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