Blogs from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia - page 2

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." -Matthew 6 I decided to stop growing a beard and shave so that I don't look like a mountain man. If the Indian brothers can shave and look presentable, than so can I. My low maintenance look can sometimes come off as tired, lazy, and disrespectful. Except now my look is more like I scraped ... read more

HEllo Detroit Church, I hope this message finds everyone well back home. We left Chennai last night around 10:00pm and "slept" on the train ride to Coimbatore, arriving this morning at 6:30am. Brothers from the Coimbatore church were there at the platform to greet us and escort us to our hotel. We had a small amount of time to shower and eat breakfast and then we headed out to visit some of the homes of our brothers and sisters here. It was increadibly humbling to be invited in homes that consist of no more than 2 rooms (a large home) and/or studio, one-room apartment where the only place to sit is on their bed. Just about all of the disciples we visited today are the only Christians in their neighborhood. Some of them are not permitted ... read more

Got up early in the morning took some nice picture and waited for the rest of the gang to show up on the deck. Our breakfast was served at 7:30AM sharp. We had Idiyappam, Egg Curry, Elai Ada (Sweet), bread butter and Jam. We were taken back to the place where we boarded our boat to Coconut lagoon. Balu was waiting for us to take us to our next destination Topslip. It was supposed to be a 4.5 hrs ride to Topslip but due to bad whether the ride took us more than 6 hrs. My Dad and his friends were waiting for us in Anamalai with some bad news. Most of the cottages at Topslip was booked at the last minute by some Minister's son and we had only 2 rooms and a dorm left ... read more

No tourists come here, or at least not that many. No attractions, or at least not that many. We came with no expectations either, or at least with little. Most of the times when that happens you are in for a pleasant surprise. It was not much different this time. Although there are not that many things to see and do in the traditional sense. The people are lovely in this part of India and to observe a little bit of daily life is more interesting then it sounds. Have you ever been to a little coffee shop in Coimbatore town and snacked amongst the locals?.. Not only the coffee is great, but the snacks are delicious and we could hardly get ourselves to stop ordering more and more. Of course there is no luxury involved, ... read more

Well yesterday was certainly a busy day! It seems like it started in Chennai with a night train ride to Coimbatore. Sleeping was difficult for some reason and we had all our luggage (including giftbags) to keep an eye on. I think I got about three hours of sleep in total on the train. Immediately on arrival we were greeted by a few memorable friends, Rosario and Anand. They were so happy! Along with Albert who wrote yesterday, and Felix and Smiley, we carried all twenty suitcases through the train station (up and down many stairs) to the van. There we were finally able to say goodbye to our gift bags! Felix expressed such gratitude for our gifts from the last visit. All the books we sent were translated into Tamil and Malayalam and used to ... read more