Breakfast at 8.30 a.m., after another late night! Casting one’s eye over the spread, it’s a tough choice between Idly, Vada, Sambar, Pongal or Ottapam. Scrambled egg on toast is also available. These meals can be quite emotional, as they bring tears to your eyes, and sweat to your brow! We have none-the-less thoroughly enjoyed the food.

We kicked off the day with a time of sharing and prayer. Lyn had left in the middle of the night to fly to S.A. for the Johannesburg venture, and we prayed for her safety, as well as for that event, with people from different parts of the world coming together. Prayer has certainly been a vital part of our trip to India, and we are grateful to the Lord for His faithful servants bearing us up before Him.

“The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His”. 2 Chronicles 16:9

Our time in India has been such a blessing! The Christians that we have met have been absolutely sold out for God, and they have been a great encouragement to us as a team.

Some team members had a late morning meeting with one of our Indian brothers in Christ to evaluate the suitability of his business premises as a possible venue for consultant training, while the rest took a well-earned respite! The afternoon was spent with an extremely gracious Carol, who took the team bargain-hunting for Indian clothing items.

We spent the evening with a wonderful couple and their daughter, whom we had met in one of the churches on Sunday morning. It was quite challenging getting to their home on time, as our driver fought his way through the traffic! If you happen to have business meetings in Chennai, make sure you leave an hour earlier than you think you should! We once again experienced true Indian hospitality with chicken briyani as well as other traditional culinary delights. At the end of a pleasant evening, we had the privilege of standing around in a circle, holding hands and committing their home, their family, and their future to God.

God is at work in Chennai (and by the sounds of it in the rest of India) in a BIG way! It has been a great privilege to be here. My prayer for this precious nation of over 1 billion souls is that every single individual will have the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. As that happens, I believe their impact on the rest of the world will be immense.

— Neville Owen

Having not written one of these before, not sure what the format is .. However, the day started with breakfast which of course is the traditional (if there is such a thing) Indian breakfast. There were Idlis and Dosas and of course eggs prepared to your liking.

After breakfast, we got together as a team for devotions and some de-briefing and catching up. Thanks to Margie Cook and the team who stuck on from 11 - 1 pm to bathe the entire trip in prayer (what a blessing). Lyn and myself (that would be Virendra) went off to meet with a gentleman who heads up the Christian Professionals Forum. What an amazing man and such a heart for the kingdom. I do not have the time to go into his testimony (‘cos I catch my plane back in a few hours) but suffice to say that God has been answering our prayers about partnering with the right folks.

The CPF is a organization of professionals (aka potental consultants) and businessmen (aka clients) that meets once a month to listen and get encouraged by motivational Christian speakers. In addition they do an outreach to tribal villages once a quarter.

The local pastor that we got hooked up to by John Christian kept introducing us to more and more folks. He hooked us up with a Pastor whose sole vision is to see more and more bible studies (cell groups) being held within businesses and that be the tool for outreach. Suffice to say that there was a similar vision with Equip.

In an attempt to cast the vision to more than just clients and consultants we met withe Campus Crusade for Christ representative for all of South India. He definitely embraced the vision of Equip and was also willing to introduce us in other major cities in India. He is one of the key leaders/founders of the Chennai Transformation Network - an organization whose vision is to transform the city of Chennai through the various spheres of society. They have a business tract that is still not under way and they are seriously considering Equip being the vehicle to kick that tract off.

Later in the evening, Bart (together with Neville, Errol and Don) headed up a third forum of potential clients and consultants which was very well attended. There were some great questions and interest which led to more meetings today.

In closing, I would say that God has just blown us away with the people He has brought in our path and the potential impact Equip could have in the city of Chennai and the country of India.

I am honored and humbled at God choosing to use us.

Prayer Requests

• continued protection for the team in India
• travelling mercies for the folks that are travelling back
• discernment for the right partners
• a sense of cohesiveness for the "infrastructure"/"leadership" team in India
• commitment from the folks that would do the "ops" role for Equip India

This was one of those memorable days—a day of seeing our God in action and moving alongside of Him in an effortless, seamless way.

Our team of 9 drove down to the coast where to visit several different mercy ministries. The first stop was to observe a brand new empty hospital, never used – out host has a vision to purchase this hospital and to use it for the local people. We then visited a ministry where various teaching is taking place, teaching the widows the trade of sewing. These are victims of the 2004 tsunami. Widows in this culture are totally ignored by society, and have no way to look after themselves and their children. The ministry is also involved in educating children and others in computer skills and in speaking English. The classrooms are small and sparse, so different to the affluence that we are used to. They are involved in uplifting the poorest of the poor. They have been very involved in helping the local community in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami.

We then drove out into the countryside through the villages to see a property that was purchased last week, two acres on the outskirts of a village. The vision is to build many small homes for the tsunami widows. We walked the land and then went on to the next door property to see the small church building that occupies the corner between this and our host property. A young woman greeted us with a shiny face, she had been waiting for us –a Christian, she had been “told” by the Holy Spirit that a man with the same name as our host would visit on Tuesday. Our host had not known this detail himself, as had only made the arrangement to take us out on Tuesday, the previous day. She told us her story, her husband had been injured in an accident and no longer had the use of his right arm –she went to bring him to us and we observed his arm, we asked if we could pray for him and right there in the heat of the Indian afternoon we laid hands on this man and asked our Heavenly Father to heal him. His two small children observed us, with wide brown eyes. It seemed so normal to stand there, a group of South Africans, Americans and Indians, all talking to our father in Heaven together.

We left, and continued on to a village where the tsunami had hit and wiped out all source of livelihood. The fishing boats had been replaced by many different agencies, most of which are Christian. The fishermen insisted on taking us out to sea in one of the boats. What fun we had, out beyond the waves on the Bay of Bengal. The men, two brothers, told us how the last 4 catches had yielded no fish, this was indeed, very bad for the whole village. They then asked us to pray for them, and so out there, on the sea with the sun setting, we prayed, and asked our Father to bless them with an enormous catch. What a privilege to pray with these simple fishermen. Later, as we shared the story with our hosts, they were amazed, as the village is not Christian and they have not yet had an opportunity to pray with these people. God is at work and we continue to pray for answers to these prayers.

On the way home, we were told that the injured man had completed half his payment for the small property that his family was living on. He was not able to continue to work and therefore would lose his home. The amount needed to complete the payment was the rupee equivalent of $120 US! This was shared with the team the next morning, a collection taken and a property secured for a family of four. Our God is indeed on the move, strengthening His people all over the world. The wife of the injured man had told us with shining eyes that her village would become a “Christian” village! We look forward to see what happens in the future.

— Margie Cook

After another reasonably late night after yet another blessed presentation session to some VERY special people, today started off a little slower with breakfast at 08:30. Meals are always an interesting part of the day. Each one of us sits down with different taste buds and some without. Man this food can kill an ox (if you’re not careful what you choose).

Choosing what to eat is an adventure most of the time because you never know what is lurking below the surface. By now we’ve learnt to be a little more careful and breakfast and fellowship around the table is special.

Then we were into final preparations and cleaning (and preening) in time (not quite) for our host Lawrence (of India, not of Arabia) who came to collect us for a visit to his home.

If you’re sharp off the mark, you find a back seat (as far back as you can) because you don’t want to see what happens on the roads. Everybody, pedestrians, bicycles, mopeds, adult tricycles, cars, busses, trucks and a variety of other bodies and machines take to the roads which have no markings, stop signs or “other” recognizable indicators of what is happening out there. A traffic circle is an obstacle in the road that you navigate around in any direction (normally the shortest route). You weave and bob around anything that is in your way, while pedestrians and vehicles cross the road (diagonally) at the same time, at any point in the road. You can also do a “U-turn” anywhere you might want to.

Last night we met some REALLY special people and this was again the case this evening as we gathered for supper just to sit and chat with them and their families. What has been so special has been seeing the depth of commitment and the challenges that they have each faced and how God has been leading them all these years. God has been at work here among these Indian leaders (young and older) for so many years that they seem to just have been waiting for Equip to arrive and add to their already amazing journey with the Father. The stories are SO personal, SO powerful and SO dramatic (miraculous really) that I once again realise that there is a LONG way for me still to go.

I’ve been here only three days and it seems like a lifetime as I’m trying to absorb what God is saying to me. Jesus is SO alive and busy here and I have been SO blessed that I’m already in overload of blessing and awe. I’m actually not sure that I can handle any more in such a short time.

However, we are still here until the weekend, so, stand by, there’s much more to come.

God’s richest blessings on all of you that read this and remember to pray for us.

— Errol J. Smith

Prayer Requests

• God would bring the right partners, and give us discernment for who they are
• We would use our time wisely and be very productive
• Have the time to follow up with everyone needed
• Continued health and energy

What an amazing experience to spend Sunday with local Indian believers. We divided into two groups and headed off to church. Virendra took Neville, Dianne and Errol with him and went to join Jeykaren, the pastor of a fellowship of mostly young people called the Powerhouse which meets in a local mall. Virendra spoke and Dianne and Neville gave their testimonies. The rest of us risked our lives in traffic that has to be seen to be believed as we traveled across the city to John and Carol Christian’s fellowship that meets at the Unwind Center. They use this property for rock concerts that draw young people in Chennai. I had been invited to preach and I shared stories illustrating how we could model Jesus as we walked the platform of our business. I told how Equip clients had re-purposed their businesses and the miracles God had done. We had a time of ministry afterwards and God seemed to be encouraging many there. Lunch was served to the entire congregation and we ate and fellowshipped together. I am still fascinated to watch how they eat with their right hand, but was grateful to be offered a spoon!

In the evening we hosted our second Equip informational evening. Each member of the team played a key role as we shared the vision of equip through testimonies, a skit, and discussion with those who attended. We were all deeply impacted by the caliber of people who attended ranging from bright, educated young women recently converted from Hindu faiths who have to attend Christian meetings secretly to high profile business men who are totally committed to radical walks of faith in their workplaces. We are standing amazed as we are watching God bring forth the “prepared people” for whom the time is ripe to be involved with equip. Many are sharing with us about the beginning of an economic boom that is taking place and my sense is that God wants His people to ride the front of the wave as far as impact is concerned and not stand on the beach and watch what is happening.

A few final impressions:

There is constant noise here day and night with air conditioners humming noisily and of course the incredible volume of traffic. (Everyone consistently honks as they drive. I think they are like bats, using the sound to help them avoid bumping into other cars!)

The Indian people are so beautiful with their broad white smiles and colorful saris. I can’t stop admiring the exquisite fabrics and designs of the clothing and have noted that even poor people on the streets have clean and vibrant saris, a surprising feat in this dry and very dusty place.

Our team is working so well together, having many laughs and I believe uniquely selected for their pioneering role in this hot, dusty, vibrant place. What a privilege to be serving God here.

— Lyn Johnson

Prayer Requests

• Discernment about potential partnering with local leaders
• People for key positions in equip locally

Praises

• Safety/Health
• The ways John Christian has bridged us into the local community
• The excitement about equip from the people who have heard the message
• People feel the time is perfect for equip to be here
• God is moving here!