So clearly I am a failure at actually blogging anymore. Curse you, Facebook! You make me so lazy.

Since I am so far behind, I'll just give an update on yesterday and today. Yesterday was the scheduled youth concert, to be held at the Park Hotel. Since there were so many preparations to be made, we ended up spending the majority of the day there. At one point we were outside and I had to snap this shot. So many cell phones in India and Jeff's not about to be left out!

This is a sculpture from outside the ballroom that I'm still trying to figure out...
While I was waiting to get dressed I got to hang out with this little guy. Could you not just eat him up?
The youth concert is a very big deal for several reasons. There are many politicians in the city and state who are Christians, but because they lead such busy lives and for security reasons, many of them are unable to attend church on a regular basis. By inviting them to a formal evening like this one, it gives them a chance to worship with other believers in a non-traditional setting while also making them aware of the good things going on at Baptist Church Hyderabad.

September 30 turned out to be a very volatile day in India. There has been a case going on for the last 20 years or so involving a mosque on the land where one of the Hindu gods was supposed to have been born. It turned violent at some point and there was a long legal battle over who should have the rights to that land and what can be done with it. The verdict had been postponed twice and was set to come down at 3:30 yesterday afternoon, just a few hours before this concert was to begin. Everyone was very worried because the city was shutting down out of fear of rioting, depending which way the verdict went. A curfew was in place from the early afternoon, and things were looking pretty grim.

The verdict came down and the land was to be divided between the Hindus and Muslims. It was immediately appealed by both sides, so really it was a lot of hype for nothing. Seemed to be a very media-driven crisis, as so many things are. As we prayed, we remembered that nothing is impossible for God and He was not surprised by the fact that this verdict happened yesterday. The people of Baptist Church Hyderabad were set to publicly declare His name, and He wasn't about to let a silly little riot stop that.

It turned out that absolutely nothing happened. The streets were completely bare, which made the way for 650 people to show up at the concert when they otherwise would have been fighting thick traffic to get there. God was glorified in an amazing way, even more so because of the miracle He made in order for it to even happen. I was in complete awe.

Pastor G. Samuel, my friend Sarah's dad and the leader of this church for the past 41 years. In that time it has gone from a house church with a handful of members to a church that holds services each Sunday in four different languages in a sanctuary that seats several thousand. There are over 120 daughter churches and more on the way. This is a God story.

These are some of the girls that sang. Such sweet voices and beautiful faces!

After the concert we were served an Indian feast. Jeff and I were laughing at the fact that we were eating such a big dinner at 10:30 when we're normally sleeping like logs at that time. We are definitely on a much later schedule here! As we drove back to our hotel, we marveled at the calmness of the streets. I'd never seen anything like it in India. It was almost disconcerting how quiet it was, but so peaceful.
Today was a big day at BCH as everyone was getting ready for the youth festival tomorrow. A huge pavilion was set up in the courtyard of the church to hold overflow. Decorations were going up and lots of rehearsing going on. Jeff was busy helping make name tags.
And I was helping paint the signs that would go up telling people which way to go. This is most definitely not my spiritual gift, but it was fun anyway. Bailey would have been completely jealous!
Tonight I'm back at the hotel, eagerly anticipating what tomorrow will bring. I'm equally dreading knowing that it is our last day here in India. I am so in love with these people and this place, that if it were not for my children and Jeff's job, I'm not sure that I wouldn't cancel my flight and just hang out for a while. I trust God that He will bring me back in His time, but I'm still not ready to go.

Sorry for the lack of blogging earlier in the week. I'll try to catch up somewhere along the 36-hour journey home!