Sunday, November 24 - Play Day
First, my apologies. I started the morning by mistakenly deleting all of the web updates from the team for the week. Not a good way to start the day. So if you notice a different order or pictures missing, that’s why. Thankfully, it only got better from there on out.
The team (minus Brett, Lyn, and Giju) headed out early to visit Don & Margie Cook and the equip foundation’s housing project in Mahaballipuram about 90 minutes outside of Chennai. It was such a blessing to get to pray with so many men & women in the villages Don & Margie are working in. It was an incredible privilege to see the changes that have taken place in the lives of many of their families in the past year. Given that Don & Margie see them day-to-day, they don’t see the marked changes the six month gap brings. I witnessed increased peace, joy, love and health (at least in appearance) as a result of Christ’s love being poured out through them. From there, we traveled a short distance to see the site of the new factory where the panels for the homes will be made. The space will be large and it’s the Cooks’ hope that the community will gather there. There was evidence of that already – and being placed adjacent with a church, I’m sure God will provide the people!
After visiting the villages and the site for the new factory, the team went to a traditional South Indian lunch of Thalli – small metal bowls of curry, sambar and sauces eaten with rice and chapatti. It’s so good and filling and never ceases to amaze me that you can feed everyone for less than $1.50 each!
After lunch, we headed back to The Cooks’ home for a little downtime. Most of the group went to the beach. That group ended up swimming if they wanted to or not. The rain came pouring down and drenched the whole lot. Those of us who stayed back (to relax or re-upload the website…) enjoyed some fabulous coffee and conversation. We said goodbye to Sheryl and Joe, prayed for the home and headed back toward Chennai.
On the way back, we had a chance to stop at TIL Spices to stock-up on yummy spices and pastes so we can make authentic tasting Indian food when we get back home – so feel free to invite yourself over. It was also a special treat for me to get to meet an incredible woman working at TIL who accepted Christ a little over one year ago. Up to that time, she had suffered incredibly from a hole in her heart. After accepting Christ, she prayed that if He lived in her heart, her heart would be whole. Immediately, her pain was relieved and she has been healed for over one year. Praise God!
From there, Sudhir and Aruna and their children invited us over for the most heavenly dinner made all with TIL spices. We ate out in their rooftop garden overlooking Chennai. We learned some Indian dances and had a wonderful time of fellowship. What a refreshing way to end a busy week!
The majority of the team has departed now. Tomorrow, Mike & Clint will stay in Chennai to visit St. Thomas Mount and other sites and Joe H., Jordan and I head out to explore the rest of India. This team and the past 10 days has been such an incredible blessing to all involved. I praise God for the breakthroughs we’ve seen with clients and in our own lives. I’m so thankful for the privilege and opportunity to co-labor with God to advance His Kingdom in business. - Kim W.
The rep-er
Saturday, November 23 - Repurposing Business
9:23am
Most of us started the day waking up to a blaring, earsplitting thunder and lightning storm that woke us up early in the morning, around 5 a.m. (those that can sleep through absolutely anything, and I mean anything, did not hear – I’m baffled). Thunder immediately followed the strike of lightning and rain dumped down, making the sound so loud, powerful, and close. It was as if the Lord was making his presence known and declaring to all of Chennai, “Be still and know that I am God!” God is angered by the idols and indifference to His truth, but he has not forgotten India and is rising up a small army to expand and proclaim freedom in Christ Jesus.
The beautiful, inside and out, Lyn Johnson led us in devotions at 7:30am beginning with stories of crying out to the Lord for Him to fight our battles for us and usher in the glorious kingdom of God in the darkest of moments and places. We sang worship songs with enthusiasm and praise to the Lord, asking for the Holy Spirit to make His presence known and overflowing in this boardroom as Brett preaches on repurposing our lives and business for the glory of God. We are expecting the Lord to bless Chennai, India today with marketplace miracles that can only be explained by God’s sovereign hand at work. We are in full anticipation of the Lord! The group also gathered around Brett, Lyn, and Kim, to pray over them and give them encouragement and support as they bear the burdens of the calling God has placed on their lives. Together, we lifted them up to the Lord, as well as our team, and the local India consultants, and visitors of today’s conference, and all of Chennai, in hope and anticipation that the Lord will provide endurance, strength, faith, hope, and love and make his presence known to us today.
9:50am
Brett is speaking truthfully on Fatalism dressed up as “cultural differences” and greed dressed up as “business is business” - explaining instead that God has a purpose in businesses and in our lives. He is preaching that God has given not only individuals a calling but also companies and nations (e.g. Israel).
11:14am
Brett asks the group “Can one person make a difference?” Absolutely! But you have to be willing to stand up. One example is William Wilberforce who worked for 30 years to abolish slavery in Great Britain when there was so much financially for the British to lose, yet because he trusted and believed in the word of God and His love for all people, he worked boldly to do what was right and godly and more people came alongside him to live for the mission until it was finished. Or as Brett mentioned, until slavery was abolished and they could move on to the next injustice to abolish. William Carey fought against social injustices in India as well and suffered many losses along the way, but he did not back down in the fight.
12:45pm
We gathered on the steps of the Beverly Hotel, our home away from home in Chennai, India, for a group photo of all those involved in the blitz venture! What a fantastic group of people!
3:30pm
Kim blessed us with sharing her story of how she quit her well-paying job of 11 years at Gallo, just after they had moved her down to Southern California. She felt that God was calling her to leave her job without having a plan, but God did! Next thing she knew, she was volunteering to work with rep for a few months and now she has been working within rep for 1 ½ years. We are blessed to have her as our venture leader in Chennai, India and preparing the way for us to serve the Lord on the trip. We are grateful that you listened to the Lord and followed his leading! Thank you Kim!!
After 5:30pm
The seminar on repurposing your business ended and concluded the end of the business venture – with the exception of tomorrow’s trip to the beach! We all gathered together to pray for one another and say our farewells to local consultants and our leaders Brett and Lyn. What an amazing journey this has been with such a godly and warm team the Lord has chosen! Many of us are going to be up late finishing our final client deliverables and reviewing the scorecard one last time. May God bless the work that we have done and plant the truth into our clients hearts to go out and seek first the kingdom of God. Amen!
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Friday, November 21 - Convergence
Convergence was the topic of to-day. It was a full day seminar attending by the local team, theUS team and local business people. Most of the business attendees were from out of town. They came from Cochin,Kerala and Bangalore. The concepts was well received and at times there was lively discussion. The * season of the desert* seemed to grip most people and many questions were asked. Brett was on top form with many jokes and fresh insights. The day ended with a good time of prayer around the tables. I believe things were shifting in the spiritual realm as minds were challenged with new thoughts and ideas.
We are off to celebrate at the Taj for dinner to night !! - Margie
Thursday, November 20
Wow – it’s been an amazing week here in Chennai. So much to unpack that I won’t try to relay it all here. Highlights include the following:
The team (Indian and US people) has been terrific. This is one of those groups where everyone gets along great, and really supports each other. Huge blessing as we have become very close in a short amount of time.
My client Albert, has been a lot of fun as we work to help him in his pizza restaurant business. He currently owns two restaurants, each with 20 employees, and was looking to expand the number of outlets. Along with my co-consultant Giju George (a pastor/businessman from the Indian West Coast), we were able to give him some consultation about working with people, and in creating an even more inviting environment for customers and employees alike. Albert’s chain is similar to a Pizza Hut, and he has found a niche in offering a U.S. style dining experience for a reasonable price.
I have also made a number of friends here in Chennai, as the people as so wonderful! I have been hanging out with a number of families here, and through this have received a glimpse of what life looks like for the people here. The connection with friends and family in so much more intense that any of us experience in the states, people just drop by each other’s homes unannounced all the time and enjoy each other’s company. Some talk a great deal while others enjoy company quietly – it all works quite well. I did go to a Tamil movie on Friday night with some Indian friends and one other American. The crowd was huge and bustling, waiting in line, the temperature must have been above 100F. Because being an American is looked upon admirably by the culture here, the strangers in line were polite and cordial. During the movie, everybody began hooting, yelling and whistling when scenes came up that they particularly liked. I was told that crowds watching movies in India are much like fans watching football in the U.S. The movie itself was bizarre. Imagine Rambo crossed with Westside story in a 3-hour film.
Spiritually, Chennai is a diverse city. One of my Christian friends lives a block away from a death-worshipping temple. (Again – not kidding.) The number of Christians here is at about 5%, and I would say that the believers I have met here have a very passionate love for Jesus. In many ways, I feel humbled by how much their hearts are dedicated to the Lord. I have learned a lot about faith beyond Bible learning from these wonderful people. Unpacking these spiritual lessons may take many weeks, learning to live them will take so much longer. I hope to have more to share as God clarifies the lessons from this event for me.
Next week, we will be taking a few days to travel around India. Probably going to places like Mumbai, Deli and maybe Bombay with friends from the consulting event (Jordan and Kim). Please pray for our safety and that we would see even more of the life-affecting culture that God would have for us.
Blessings -Joe
Wednesday, November 19 - The 10-P Booster
Wednesday was a day for the India clients to work on the ten operational aspects of their businesses. Referred to as the 10P model, these operational principles offer the clients a framework by which to run their business in God-honoring ways that are intended to have the maximum kingdom impact on the owner, employees, their families suppliers competitors and customers. Each of the clients spent the day with their U.S. and Indian consultants working through a fast-tracked exercise where we made plans in each operational area: Purpose, Products, Positioning, Presence, Partnering, Process, People, Place, Planning, and Profit. The idea behind each being that a business runs well when all aspects of its operations are well structured, but that is can have a bigger impact for God if each of these aspects are run using kingdom principles. Lots of prayer and seeking Godʼs wisdom went into this effort, and a great deal of progress was made with each of the businesses we are impacting here in Chennai.
The rep-er
Tuesday, November 18 - 3rd Client Day
Day 3 of our client consultations has come to a close. Our day began with a devotion from Debbie. Her words of encouragement revitalized us as we entered the second half of our venture. The devotion, which focused on reaping what has been sowed by those who have come on ventures before us, was a reminder of our purpose here in India.
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying, ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (John 4:34-38)
With these words of affirmation clearly in mind, we set out to meet with our respective clients. Although we continue to face challenges, we have also be been encouraged by breakthroughs with some of the clients. We look forward to see God work in Chennai’s businesses over the next week.
The day ended with a spontaneous team building exercise. We decided to test our familiarity with our fellow team members by attempting to guess each other’s love language. Your love language is how you prefer to give and receive love. For example, some show their love by physical touch or words of affirmation, while others prefer spending quality time with friends, performing acts of service or giving gifts. We documented our findings using the highly technical method of color-coded posted notes applied to the wall. Our experiment revealed, amongst other things, that we can expect lots of quality time and words of affirmation, but not a lot of gifts from this group. We also learned that Brett really likes appreciates physical touch and Mike does not.
- Jodi Myers
The rep-er
Saturday, November 15 - First Client Day
We started off the morning with an encouraging devotion led by Kim. She spoke to lift us up by relying on God’s preparation, reminding us that God has been preparing the way for our venture and our clients for a very long time.
Brett and Lyn were able to join us from their recent venture in Indonesia where the Lord worked powerfully by miraculously providing for clients and ministering the Lord’s grace. For more details on the Indonesia venture visit: http://www.repurposing.biz/jakarta-november-2008/
Today was the first day for the traveling consultants and local consultants to meet with our clients. There are eight rep clients who represent companies offering services from software development to selling spices. While you’ll soon hear more about some of the other clients, I’d like to share a little about my client. My client has developed and recently launched a DVD training course which he has infused with Biblical values. This product came out as a result of his previous rep venture. With the revenues from this product he is hoping to fund local churches and missionaries. He has already planted eight churches in local villages. I am excited to watch how the Lord will move through my client and his product to help spread God’s hope and joy.
In the evening we all enjoyed dinner at the Blue Diamond, a restaurant featuring a wall sized photo of the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco. I thought it was a little funny to come half way around the globe from the San Francisco area only to be dining with a faux window to the Golden Gate. Between intermittent power outages, something common here in Chennai, I enjoyed excellent butter chicken and garlic nan.
The ride home in the rain was exciting as we took the ‘auto’, a small three-wheeler lawn mower driven human carriage about the size of two motor cycles. Traffic is already an organic blend of chaos, add to that the ‘toxic rain’; rain made of a combination of dust and airborne viruses. For a fifteen second example of riding in an ‘auto’ without the rain, visit: http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=TufNrydXscQ
The rep-er
Friday, November 14 - Orientation
Another amazing day. What a joy it is to be around people of such caliber all intent on serving Christ. God has brought together a unique blend of talents and personalities, of interests and experiences, and certainly of nationalities and ages. Today was our first official day together. We began the day, after breakfast of course, with a team devotional, led by Clint. After his encouragement from the Word and an opportunity to worship Christ through song together, we rolled into one of the most stimulating lectures I think I have ever participated in.
Though we recognize there is a significant global business culture that can seem somewhat homogenous at times, cultural influences run deep. An Indian, involved with the local leadership of rep here in India, gave us a quick glimpse into the Hindu worldview from a Christian perspective. To be frank, I was stunned by much of what I learned. So much of what I learned in school just barely touched the surface regarding the caste system, etc. This guy, name not disclosed for security reasons, has several degrees already and is presently pursuing his PhD focused specifically on this topic. That this guy is involved with rep gives you a flavor of the caliber of people that are attracted to the material and vision we are working out in service of our King. This guy gave us color on why most Indians do what they do and how much of politics and business is conducted. By quick glimpse, I mean our scheduled 2 hour session with him turned into a 3 hour rushed session. I just pray God burned enough Truth into my consciousness over those few hours that I might have respond with grace in all situations over these next two weeks and in all my future dealings. I have no doubt most of our team have similar sentiments.
With the worldview session running long, we cut out any flex time, had a rushed lunch and ran off to the YWCA for more sessions in preparation for our week of ministry. First, just the traveling consultants with the local Indian leadership team met to discuss logistics. Then the local Indian trained consultants arrived and joined us for a second session to review implementation of the 10-P material, which is rep’s framework for applying Biblical principles to significant business issues. This was a great opportunity to get to know our fellow Indian consultants and interact with them on a tangible basis, listening to them process business strategy from a Kingdom perspective. I always find it refreshing to interact with believers from all over the world, recognizing that the God we serve is far bigger than my hometown and that His Truth transcends time and culture. Following that session, we heard for the first time the local Indian consultant we would be matched with and also the local business owner we would be consulting with for the three days of focused on-site consulting. Everyone introduced themselves and gave some color to their background, skills/experience and how they ended up on this rep Venture. By this time it was almost 9pm and we had not yet had dinner. YWCA served us some delightful Indian cuisine, and we made the always entertaining / hair-raising drive back to the hotel by around 10:30pm.
Tomorrow will be our first client interaction. With so many months of training and discussion, I think many of us are itching to see this material tangibly lived out in the lives of clients. God is good.
The rep-er
Thursday, November 13 - Arrival
The Kings (Rajas) and the Queens (Ranis) have arrived in style at the land of the Maharajas to repurpose the lives and ‘viyabaram’ (tamil word for business) of local ‘viyabaris’ (businessmen). The travelling consultants began trickling into the hotel over the past two days and we began our time together with an awesome time of prayer and worship. A personal highlight for me was meeting my high school buddy Vijay after 19 years who is also part of the local team along with another high school buddy Abel who is an alumni of rep. Now how often do three high school buddies from the same class get to be part of a rep team?
Following this we went on a ‘cultural immersion’ trip (an alias for ‘shopping and eating spree’) where some learnt the local art of cooling hot beverages.
The best teams for a possible game of taboo or pictionary during the venture were also auditioned. The highlight of the day was getting to meet Jaya (Kim’s friend) and hear her inspiring testimony of becoming a follower of Jesus! This team is set to rock Chennai in the days to come and help further the Kingdom of Christ the King in India.
