We have flown to Bangalore and attended worship at Bangalore Presbyterian Church yesterday. It is amazing how many Indians will fit into such a space, and how little they need in terms of resources.
Some say persecution has been slowly spreading beyond Orissa. One of those in attendance is another pastor in Bangalore. He has had worship services shut down by the police, his house is watched, and they have moved services to a new location. A state political party is on the rise and they have strong Hindu/nationalistic leanings. Yet, this pastor has baptized six new Christians last month.
This morning we went to a street child drop-in center and met at length with four children to hear their stories. Each story has some combination of physical abuse and the loss of one or both parents. Two of the kids ran away when they were sevan and eight, which is absolutely heart wrenching for anyone with children that age. One kid earned some money on the street and had his arm pulled out of the socket by older kids who wanted the money. The state hospital simply casted his arm as is. The church found out and took him to receive proper care, and later reunited the child with his mother. The ministry here has plans for children's homes with house parents when they can can raise the funds.
This afternoon we sat in on another seminar for local pastors--30 in attendance. One traveled from 800 km away to receive this training, and this is his fifth month. Now I am sitting at Paul Billy's home, the missionary we support, having a delicious meal of spaghetti and fried chicken (with curry). Tomorrow we fly south to see Homes for Hope, homes which are being built still for tsunami victims.
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