September 1, 2008

Renewing ties with churches at home

Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The friends who are with me greet you.
Philippians 4:21

Namaste! “The divine in me honors the divine in you.” As summer nears an end, we continue to wait in the United States for renewal of our employment visas for India. Our brief trip to the United States has turned out to be longer than expected, as we prayerfully wait for the green light to return to our home in Delhi.

Sue and Mary giving the children’s message during Bethesda’s morning worship.

We have had the opportunity to visit some supporting churches, as well as relatives and friends. It was especially meaningful to preach in a Sunday morning service at Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, North Carolina, and to share at a mission potluck supper for churches in the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina. Our presbytery adopted us! The Reverend Rod Stone from Community Presbyterian Church in Pinehurst, North Carolina, led the group in prayer on our behalf. We cherish these connections. Brownson Presbyterian Church in Southern Pines, North Carolina, invited us to give a minute for mission in worship and a PowerPoint presentation during the Sunday School hour.

While visiting Sue’s father in Pittsburgh, we had a chance to attend the New Wilmington Missionary Conference and hear Dr. Kenneth Bailey’s evening presentation. We were encouraged by his passionate message. We bumped into old and new friends from the United States and abroad.

Sue and Mary embarked on an extensive college tour, since she is a rising high school senior. We visited various schools in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. We look forward to getting back to Delhi soon so Mary can get in the full swing of her school, which she is missing while we wait in the United States. The American Embassy School has been gracious in sending her assignments, but Mary is missing her friends and especially volleyball!

Our middle daughter, Rachel, worked as the summer horse wrangler at Ghost Ranch, the Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Sue and her sister-in-law traveled out to see her and squeezed in a quick trip to the Grand Canyon while they were there. Living overseas and visiting historic sites in other countries motivated her to see a portion of the United States she had never seen. During her visit she participated in her first yoga class with Rachel and was delighted when her instructor-friend, Tyler, concluded the class by saying: “Namaste!”

Left to right: Ann McNeill, Jeremy Rust, David Hudson, and Connie Atwell at a mission potluck supper.

Since we are homeless in the United States, we have been staying with David’s family in Charlotte, North Carolina. We have visited a number of different churches of various denominations and worship styles: historic mainline, big-steeple churches that are thriving, as well as big-steeple churches that are struggling. We’ve worshiped in inner-city, multi-ethnic churches on the rebound and newly emerging multi-ethnic churches as well as suburban and rural congregations. Services vary between traditional and contemporary worship and sermon talk-backs after the services. Preachers have included females, males, and lay persons. Some churches primarily minister to older members and some blend many generations. The U.S. church scene is amazing. Our experiences ranged the whole gambit from attending churches where no one speaks to us to others where we are invited to speak in the service!

We have enjoyed spending time with Rebekah, our oldest daughter, who works at Queens University of Charlotte in their development office.

We have both been writing daily devotions for the Church of North India’s 2009 lectionary and devotional. Please continue to pray for healthy church partnerships between the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and our South Asian partner churches in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

We affirm the value of the relational and connectional church!  It has been a joy to worship with some of you and share experiences. With prayers that God will lead us into greater faithfulness as we come face-to-face with needs around the world.

Your partners,

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 87