Monthly Meeting @ DLRH

Today I awoke early, 4am, and needed to get some ideas on paper. Yah, just be glad YOU are not the one who lives with me – Lord help my wife, hear my prayer!

After exercise I was told (at least I got a 2 hour warning) that I needed to prepare a 40 minute devotion (actually 30minutes plus translation) for the Monthly Meeting of all the staff at the hospital.

It was great to see about 80 of the 100 staff assembled here today. Once a month the outpatient staff and all the local staff are required to be at DLRH for a review of the previous month and important events coming up. And some fun time (birthdays, anniversaries, tea). The chicken vindaloo was awesome. I wished that my friend Ed Hudgins could have been here. He would have broke out into a North Carolina southern boy reaction to the spices in that chicken I am sure! It was fantastic. We had a large meal compliments of my parents due to their 31st year of marriage (also my sisters 30th year of life – same day!!! How ‘bout that!)

Kathryn and I were honored at the event for our willingness to come out and to take on a new role in helping the future sustainability and investments of the mission here. Though we are still discovering what it exactly means in our roles – specifically my role. We do know that investor relations, communications and future strategic initiatives will be the general umbrella of our service to BSSI (and in part, the David & Lois Rees hospital). So at least I sound important! That is the key in life right? Long titles on business cards and several pieces of paper on the wall’s behind ones desk?

Really though – as we are here it is good to know that we are pursuing a deeper understanding of the Hospital, the needs currently, the dreams of staff and our parents… and also the GREAT potential for partnerships, long term investments, community investment and other avenues so that we don’t only offer the villages here medical help in a time of need/crisis but an economic network and community to help them reshape and recover their former life. I am honored to at least be in this part of the process.

I bummed around during the afternoon having conversations with several staff that were not in their meetings. 4pm the whole staff spend 1 hour cleaning up the grounds. Actually this is not normal at all and is a good way to show that we are here to serve and that no person is greater than another – even though our responsibilities maybe larger or in a different sphere. When there is a used gum wrapper on the ground, God doesn’t care if you are a PhD or a common construction worker. Pick up the trash! Many Christians would do well to understand this.

We also had a couple of girls who were here on internship leave today (we missed most of their time here over April). I was confused as to the real nature of their internship and the requirements from the local Bible College & Seminary in Chennai. It was a shock to remember the requirements of my 1998 trip to India (worth 2 credits) compared to the lack of requirements with these girls. Perhaps “internship” is a glorified mission trip during the summer and not for credit?

Anyway – now that they are gone and we have a little more room in the house, we are going to finally go through… prepare thyself…. “the storage room”. Don’t worry it will be documented. This room has been shuffled and re-apportioned (let us say) over the last 15 years since Kathryn’s grandmother returned to the U.S. due to age, illness and retirement. Needless to say that my earlier diatribe about cleaning up the trash, and that ‘no one is too good to clean up” will apply to Kathryn, Josh and Robert as we help Usha clean, discover and reorganize this 15 x 15 storage room!

There was no memory of supper last night for some reason. I was watching a Pakistani-Aussie cricket match when Santhosh reminded me it was his “Tom and Jerry Time”.
*** side note to Matthew Naumann – we are trying to use “Tom and Jerry” like your “Scoobie-doo” time.

I only remember laying down with the intention of a 10 minute rest before working on installing our software and working on pictures so far…. And suddenly it is 3:15am and I am up… yep, be glad YOU don’t have to live with me. I know I am … wait… uh…

Prayers: Please pray for Emrys as he is under the gun getting his Canadian passport renewed (he will have to travel to Delhi this week to meet with the Canadian Consulate’s office). And continue to pray for our vision here, and that we can see and hear clearly what God is wishing for this hospital and the other work of BSSI in southern India.

Praises: Kathryn looks to finally have beaten back the jet lag monster into submission. Thanks for thinking of her. It is good to not see my wife suffering with an abnormal biological clock (as you all in the states are around 10 hours different that we are!!!)

Thank you for thinking of us, there are so many we think of in the US during the day. Any comments and updates from your side are always like a 10 mph wind coming down the mountains here after the electricity cuts off in 115degree heat (hint: they feel great!)