No, we are not moving again, but I am on the road again with our new 4-wheeler. It's a white Maruti Suzuki 800 AC. The first day I caused an accident when the guy in front of me stared so much at me in his rearview-mirror that he almost drove over a bicycle. To my relieve, the poor man on the bicycle got up in one piece. I lost a lot of my courage, but it's coming back slowly. My ears are closed for horns/hooters even if I know it's meant for me. There are two things in the traffic that I do not understand. One is the roundabouts/traffic circles. When you are in a circle you have to wait for the cars that are trying to get in - my mind is working in the opposite direction. Another is the robots/traffic lights with counters that tell you how long a light will be red/green. When there is still 3 seconds green left the traffic stops, but they start driving when there is still 3 seconds red left. I tend to do it differently. We enjoy the car and are thankful for it. It opens up lots of possibilities for us.
Sport
We are planning to buy a table tennis table and invite people to a social event each Saturday where they can come and play. We'll also have badminton and paint for the arty people. We hope it will help our church community to get involved with outreach as they invite their unsaved friends. There are many young people in Chandigarh that come to study and we believe they would be interested in such an event. We want to share Jesus with Chandigarh. Pray with us that this will become an event where people will experience Jesus' love and power.
Small group
This Friday we'll start with a small group at our house. There are two other families that want to start with us. We look forward to that.
Hindi
I started with my Hindi lessons. Manisha, my friend, is helping me to work through a 30 week course. After that I will be able to speak Hindi. Let's see.
America
Stephan has to go to America in a month's time to start off a new project. He will be away for a week or two. We don't look forward to that, but we can cope.
Project Provision
Two of our friends, Mannu and Nidhee, have started a project to help people on the streets. Every Friday they buy food and hand it out to people that live on the streets. These people do not have facilities to cook, so they have to buy food that is cooked. It is very cold this time of year so they are handing out blankets also. It is still a new project and they need lots of wisdom on how to handle all the situations. You can imagine how it is if a crowd of people is in need and there is not enough for everyone. If you want to get involved, let us know.
Persecution
About 50 churches and 600 Christian homes were attacked in Orissa (these numbers you won't find in the newspapers). Pray with us for the church that is suffering very much in that region. I would just like to mention that we are very far from were this is happening and we are not in danger at all. India is a big country with lots of disasters.
Our family
As you can conclude from our news we are doing well and are getting very busy. Nadia and Anandi are doing well too. You can look at our new photos. We have pictures of Nadia's art and some of our home (as some of you requested). Our container arrived in one piece and we can now make music together again. Stephan plays piano, Nadia the flute, Anandi the tambourine and I am the audience. I am considering learning to play the Indian drum :-).
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Christmas
Dear friends and family
We are doing well even it we are a bit too quiet. We are working hard. And we are now on Indian time.
We are forming routines that must be sign that we are adapting. I've started jogging regularly and it doesn't bother me anymore if people stare. Here are only a few joggers. We stay close to Sukhna lake and it is pleasant to jog there in the mornings or in Leisure Valley.
WORK
Irene: Stephan is now officially my boss at CompuConcepts. I am helping them to write the system. It is nice to discover that I can still do it. I work 2 hours a day.
Stephan: Every morning at work we talk about a different characteristic of Jesus, how it applies to us and how would should change to become more like Him. We've talked about grace, presence, faithfulness and forgiveness. We pray for each other, the business, etc. We work very hard and need to appoint new people. Pray for wisdom to appoint the right people. Nisha, with whom we've worked at LifeSteps, is joining us end of the month.
CHRISTMAS
All the signs of Christmas are in the church. All the believers we know are doing carol singing and have programmes to involve people who do not know Jesus. Churches in India know it's a good time to tell people about Jesus without offending them. Pray for open hearts.
BOOKS
Stephan: I've read 2 books that makes me look forward to go to heaven and the life we will have with God there. “Heaven is SO real” van Choo Thomas en “Safely Home” van Randy Alcorn. Yes, one day we'll go Home.
TRANSPORT AND LANGUAGE
Irene: We are still greeting people. It is more difficult to travel by bike, because it is winter and cold. It limits our visits to weekends. We are still saving for the Porsche. Although it is not a problem to stay at home, I get frustrated. Rickshaws is an option, but I pay skin-tax and my Hindi is not that good that I can quarrel with someone. My friend, Manisha, is going to help me learn Hindi.
CHILDREN
Raj is a blessing to us. She does the work while I'm helping the children with the school work. I'm also learning new recipes from her. Anandi is eating rotis with peanut butter. Nadia is an explorer and wants Raj to make something new every day so that she can taste it. We fed her enough curry when se was small and now she likes it. They are continuing there creative activities, because toys are scarce again. They amaze me with the things they invent. In our area it is difficult to make friends. The children does not play in the streets and parks like in other sectors. They know the children at church, but we would like to give them a wider exposure. I will also have to get creative to solve the problem. But they are very happy and enjoys India.
A Blessed Christmas to you all. You'll hear again from us next year. Enjoy the rest if you are go away for holiday.
With love
Stephan Irene Nadia Anandi
(Raja Shanti Asha Anandi)
We are doing well even it we are a bit too quiet. We are working hard. And we are now on Indian time.
We are forming routines that must be sign that we are adapting. I've started jogging regularly and it doesn't bother me anymore if people stare. Here are only a few joggers. We stay close to Sukhna lake and it is pleasant to jog there in the mornings or in Leisure Valley.
WORK
Irene: Stephan is now officially my boss at CompuConcepts. I am helping them to write the system. It is nice to discover that I can still do it. I work 2 hours a day.
Stephan: Every morning at work we talk about a different characteristic of Jesus, how it applies to us and how would should change to become more like Him. We've talked about grace, presence, faithfulness and forgiveness. We pray for each other, the business, etc. We work very hard and need to appoint new people. Pray for wisdom to appoint the right people. Nisha, with whom we've worked at LifeSteps, is joining us end of the month.
CHRISTMAS
All the signs of Christmas are in the church. All the believers we know are doing carol singing and have programmes to involve people who do not know Jesus. Churches in India know it's a good time to tell people about Jesus without offending them. Pray for open hearts.
BOOKS
Stephan: I've read 2 books that makes me look forward to go to heaven and the life we will have with God there. “Heaven is SO real” van Choo Thomas en “Safely Home” van Randy Alcorn. Yes, one day we'll go Home.
TRANSPORT AND LANGUAGE
Irene: We are still greeting people. It is more difficult to travel by bike, because it is winter and cold. It limits our visits to weekends. We are still saving for the Porsche. Although it is not a problem to stay at home, I get frustrated. Rickshaws is an option, but I pay skin-tax and my Hindi is not that good that I can quarrel with someone. My friend, Manisha, is going to help me learn Hindi.
CHILDREN
Raj is a blessing to us. She does the work while I'm helping the children with the school work. I'm also learning new recipes from her. Anandi is eating rotis with peanut butter. Nadia is an explorer and wants Raj to make something new every day so that she can taste it. We fed her enough curry when se was small and now she likes it. They are continuing there creative activities, because toys are scarce again. They amaze me with the things they invent. In our area it is difficult to make friends. The children does not play in the streets and parks like in other sectors. They know the children at church, but we would like to give them a wider exposure. I will also have to get creative to solve the problem. But they are very happy and enjoys India.
A Blessed Christmas to you all. You'll hear again from us next year. Enjoy the rest if you are go away for holiday.
With love
Stephan Irene Nadia Anandi
(Raja Shanti Asha Anandi)
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