August, 2013

CHAI TIMES
BRINGING HOPE TO A LAND OF HOPELESSNESS.....
Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Son, of the Father, and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

The Date Is Set!!

January 23rd, 2014 has been set as your next chance to serve in Assam. The people of Assam need you and, more importantly, you need this mission. Every person I have ever met that has participated in a short term mission agrees that the trip changed them as much as it changed the people they interacted with. As of this publishing date, I dont

in planting house churches and starting small group studies. You will work with Uttam Dhela, the missionary proled in the last issue, and his team to further this effort. In addition to sharing the gospel in a land that desperately needs it, you will also provide health education about HIV/ AIDS and malaria prevention. These missions are a partnership with local churches so you have plenty of time to develop the types of

JANUARY 23 FEBRUARY 3, 2014

MARK YOUR CALENDARS Never mind. Dont mark your calendars. Instead, go to www.e3partners.org and register to go on this trip. I promise it will change your life!!

have all the details for the trip. What I can tell you is that in the last two years relationships that I hold so dear with there has been a lot of progress made the Assamese.

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AUDI0-BIBLE GOES AFIELD!!

Idols, idols everywhere, and not a life and yet not a one of them exhibits those attributes we assign to God. god to thank.
One of the things youll notice when you get to India is that religion is an integral part of life. You will see gurus on street corners, people dressed in religious garb, and idols. Lots of idols. On the dash of the motorrickshaw, painted on the front of a truck, in the alley next to a banyan tree. They are simply everywhere. Mercy, grace, justice, caring. These are all foreign concepts when it comes to the average Hindu and their relationship to their many gods. And yet still they worship and pray and sacrice to these gods. Often with extreme diligence. On my rst trip to India we had one driver that was so concerned with offending his god, that each time we passed near a shrine to this god, he would pull over, stop the vehicle, and get out. He would run to shrine, genuect, and jump back into the cab and carry on as if nothing had happened. Imagine the surprise most Hindus experience when they are told that there is a God who loves them and cares for them and desires a relationship with them.

JUNE, 2013
A group of Americans led by Tom Parr, Charles Gulla, and Uttam Dehla, along with native volunteers, delivered the first Audio-Bibles to the mission field in Assam. Charles is pictured above, giving out the very first Assamese Audio-Bible. These devices are solar powered mp3 players loaded with bible stories that have been narrated in the local language, Assamese. Each bible story is followed by six questions that encourage discussion about the passage This is an effective tool in a region where a large part of the population is illiterate. Thirty were distributed and it is hoped that funding can be secured to purchase more.

The traditional gure given for the number of gods in Hinduism is 330 million. This isnt the result of an actual count, but rather a reference to the fact that in Hinduism, nearly everything is a part of god and god is in everything. Still, the list of deities is in the several hundreds. The odd thing is that these gods control nearly every aspect of Hindu

Uttam Dehla sharing the gospel during this last Junes churchplanting mission to Assam.

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Chai, glorious chai!

So here we are, the second issue of Chai Times, and I havent really written about the magazines name sake yet. Its time to correct that. First up: Street Chai. Its generally recommended that you avoid food from street vendors. Fortunately, chai is pretty much exempt from this rule. Walk up and order chai masala if you want the hot tea with milk, sugar, and spices. It will be served to you in a little plastic cup that is so thin, you wonder how it holds liquid. Second up: Home brew in the eld. Most places you visit, you will be offered tea. Do not refuse. First off, it would be rude. Secondly, youll likely miss out on something delicious. It might be red tea, chai masala, or black tea with sugar. Most likely you will also get biscuits. Thats Brit speak for a cookie. The odd thing to most Americans is that most likely, your host wont join you. You will be shown to a room in the house or a special part of the courtyard, served, and left alone. Take it in stride. Youre the honored guest Finally, home chai. Its fairly likely that once you get back to the States you will have a hankering every once in a while for some chai. Resist the temptation to purchase that powdered junk at your local coffee shop. There are several home brew chai blends that are available at your local grocer. Brew it using 2 parts water to 1 part milk. Add some sugar or honey. This has become my Sunday afternoon ritual.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

PRAY
Prayer is one of the most significant things you can do for the mission in Assam. Pray for the safety of Uttams team, for the effectiveness of their ministry, and for the continuing education and growth of the new believers and house churches started by this ministry. Finally, pray about what else you could do for this mission.

A Day In The Life.....

Are you thinking about the January 2014 trip and wondering what youll be doing in the eld? Heres a rundown of a typical day while youre on an India mission. 7:00am: A short I Am Second bible study with the rest of your team members. 7:30am: Breakfast with your team that includes goodies like daal, stir fried veggies, and even a cheese omelet if you like. 8:15am: Load up and travel to rendezvous with the local church members and eld workers. 10:00am: After a bit more travel, youve arrived at may be the rst of several stops for the day. You meet with a group of villagers numbering from 10-50 and share information about yourself and learn about their lives. Follow that with presenting AIDS/ HIV and malaria prevention information and a gospel presentation using the Evangicube. Youre nervous the rst time, but the friendliness of the villagers and competence of your translators soon puts you at ease. 12:00pm: Lunch with your eld team and translators in the eld. PB&J and a banana are standard fare. This, along with the tea and cookies the villagers serve you, will tide you over until dinner. 1:00pm: Back on the road to another village or neighborhood where youll repeat the interactions you had this morning with another group of people. 5:00pm: Back to your hotel where youll have some free time to take a nap, explore the neighborhood, reect on the days activities, or whatever youd like. 6:30pm: Meet with your American team to discuss the days events and then nish off with a meal of Indian food. 8:00pm: More free time. Check in with your family back home via email or Skype, read your bible, or try and gure out what that odd program on the tv in your room is all about. Thus ends your typical day. Its lled with people, places, and experiences that will change you forever.

GIVE
This is an ongoing initiative in this region of the world. While expenses for the native pastors and workers seem small by Western standards, they do need support. You can also support those Americans that are traveling to India to take part in these missions. For information on how to give, go to www.e3partners.org

GO
THE DATES ARE SET!!!!! The dates have been set for the Winter 2014 trip to Assam. This winters trip will be from January 23-February 2nd. The details arent set, but there is the possibility that this will be a medical mission. For more information contact me or go to www.e3partners.org.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

To find out more about e3 Partners Ministry and their initiatives around the world, go to www.e3partners.org To follow my own trips to India and get even more insight into India and what a trip there is like, go www.bobjosjor.blogspot.com

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INDIA:
The British called it The Jewel In The Crown of their empire. The country has been invaded, ruled by other peoples, and even while the English held control for nearly two centuries, they never truly conquered its people. India is a home for paradox and contradictions.. It is the land that, in time of old, practiced suttee, the cruel ritual of burning a mans widow alive on her husbands funeral pyre, and yet produced the simple, forgiving, and inspiring passive resistance championed by Ghandi. It is one of the few countries that actually experienced economic growth during the recent global recession; yet, more

children suffer from malnutrition in India than in sub-saharan Africa.

1.2 Billion People

As you can imagine, with that many people the diversity of Indias population is unmatched. This issue of Chai Times hopes to introduce you to one group, the Assamese. You will learn a bit about its people and the work being done there in an effort to improve their daily lives.

Join the journey to Assam

God answered our prayers (yours and ours) on our most recent trip to Assam, India. With only a team of four Americans, our National Director, and our team of evangelists in Sonitpur District, over 400 people heard the Good News during our four days in the field. We witnessed 48 people professing new faith in Jesus Christ and one new bible study fellowship (called satsangs in India) started while we were there. Powered by your prayers and the power of the Holy Spirit, we were also able to place 22 of the new AudioBible units, with 48 biblical stories in Assamese in the house churches and satsangs that have been created through mission work done by our teams since last January. There are 10 house churches and 12 satsangs who have a new tool that tells them a biblical story, directly from scripture, and then leads them through six discussion questions to help them fully embrace the lessons they have heard from Gods word. The picture in this issues feature about the AudioBible shows Charles Golla, e3 National Director for Indai, giving the first AudioBible to a young woman who volunteered to lead the new satsang we created at a tea estate in Sonitpur. The AudioBibles will greatly enhance the discipleship process for new Indian believers and increase the retention rate of new churches started in this part of Assam. We were also able to enter two new Hindu villages, where preaching the gospel was previously outlawed, through two new partners that came to us through the coalition trainings we put on in January. God is doing great things with the investments we have made with the time, talents, treasures, and prayers of our American and Indian ministry partners. We give Him all the praise and glory for these new developments and thank you for your support. Tom Parr, Church Planter e3 Partners Ministry

JULY 2013 ASSAM, INDIA MISSION REPORT