January 2005

Dear Saints and Aints.

Shalom.

It is said that, once you are over fifty and you wake up in the morning without some pain – you are dead. If this be the criterion for being alive – I am alive and – very much so ... It has been a cold winter so far and, the cold wind, finding a way of sneaking through the various spaces on my bedroom windows, seeps into my almost 70 year old bones …

But now, mid-afternoon, fortified by a hot cup of coffee, I sit at the computer. Soft, soothing classical music pouring out from the speakers calms my frayed nerves – a result of too much coffee and too many screaming kids ... The branches of the trees in front of my window flailing about wildly must hear some more “robust” tune ... On the playground, trampled by countless little feet, dust clouds billow as the kids race about. Limited by the length of the string, the quality of the material and the ability of the kid, kites fly at varying heights – none record breaking. Assured the sun will not get a poke in the eye from a wayward kid holding an adventurous kite; I turn my attention back to the computer; my mind is occupied with miracles...

My idea of a miracle getting out of our financial mess was a kite floating from the sky with a hundred one thousand dollar bills as tail ...Once God, ruefully, seemed to say, “You not only ask for help but also tell me how to help you.” Consequently, no kite with the aforementioned “tail” dropped from the sky ...The miracle that God sends my way belongs to the “five loaves and two fishes”– “stretch and thou shalt be covered” –category; or “The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty” – variety. In brief, it is the “Give us this day our daily bread” kind of miracle. And – it works!

God is doing something beautiful; to me a greater miracle than dropping a ton of money from the sky – though I am still praying for that - He is teaching us to become professionals. The past three months have been a great learning experience, thanx to Dr. Rajkumar and Priya our consultants. A Core Group, consisting of four us, is learning about accounting, ledgers, internal audit, Balance sheet etc. I am reading law books, The Indian Constitution, Management books ...Who says “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”? I feel rejuvenated. Lest you get worried, I also read my Bible and Theology books. The only books not considered are medical books for, as the dire warning goes, “He who lives by the medical book may die of a spelling mistake!”

We are restructuring our society and it is proceeding very well. Nobody suffers because of it; we did not lay off any staff nor plan to reduce the number of kids. We have streamlined operations and fine-tuned the administration. We did however decide to close the one boy’s home in the tribal area but the staff and kids will be accommodated at the Nagpur home. The girl’s home is flourishing and we trust to increase the number of girls next year.

What is happening? For the past three months we have not bought anything on credit and – neither the kids nor the staff has suffered. We even started to pay back our creditors … True, the “Christmas Spirit” brought extra gifts – for which we are exceedingly grateful – but I believe there is more - God is unfolding a miracle before our very eyes.

I want this miracle to continue ... When I left Wycliffe May 1975 I wrote to my friends I will return to India as an Independent by December 1975. It looked impossible. I had no money and owed money to Wycliffe. I had no proper job but helped out at the Bible College. Yet by December 1975 I flew to Germany and from there with a group of friends drove across Asia to India – where I am ever since. I had on me $2000 ... and God’s promise: “Go! I will look after you.” God answered my prayers; made a way; kept His promise.

Now ... I ask God to help us to be debt free by November 21st 2005 – my 70th birthday. It looks impossible as we owe more than $100,000 USD to a couple of creditors for outstanding food bills. My friends smile when I tell them my “dream” but then, back in 1975 too my friends smiled and predicted I would be back in three months – that was 30 years ago. Yet God did answer my prayer then. Has God changed?

“I never trust a man without a limp!” one of my friends flatly stated. What he really meant is: “I do not trust a man who never confronted his past and as a consequence feared his future, never struggled with God and, never came away with a new name and a – limp.”

“You have changed,” my kids and friends tell me; “You changed for the better. You are a different man since you came back from Canada.” The answer is simple; I, like Jacob, got caught between my past and an unpleasant future. I struggled with God – a painful process – I confessed my “name” and - came away with a new name and – limp; a limp that belies my boast of walking on my own – I need God to lean on; a limp that tells me when I go to Him in prayer, it is not duty - I am going to receive a reward – His presence.

Yes, I have changed. But it is not a change resulting from a New Year’s resolution but a change rooted in my relationship to God. It is a change brought about by spending hours in His presence. I have some friends with whom I sit for hours at a time just chewing the rag or shooting the bull. No gifts are exchanged. Yet who dare insinuate that no benefits accrued to either of us? Does this not hold true, even more so, when we sit quietly in the presence of God? Don’t we come away with new insights; with old truths coming alive? We do!

Sandra Gill, the director of Women’s Ministries of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, when here on a visit, gave me the following quote (as close as I remember): “Some dream and keep on dreaming. I dreamt and got up to work out that dream.”

We have been working on a number of projects which took more work then money. Now the dining hall which was just a foundation, is being worked on with pillars erected, beams laid etc. Our BIG DREAM is to have it completed before the kids return the end of June. The half completed second floor of the school needs windows, doors and flooring. The new bathrooms are being worked on and so is the school office. We are also dreaming of a compound wall so we can plant things that we will eat and – not the neighbors or the pigs ...I am an inveterate dreamer – but we need a dream to focus our energy and channel our efforts and resources. Without a dream we are like a rudderless ship moving but by the mercy of wind and waves – shifting our focus from one project that catches our fancy to another - seeking thrills. I am focused!

The “warning light” on the page tells me I am running out of space. I need to wrap this up. Before I do I want to thank you again for: the gifts you sent, the cards, letters, and emails and, certainly, for the many prayers you sent heavenwards on our behalf. Thank you for dreaming along with us, for staying focused on our needs.

In His great love,

Frank.