If I should commence by sharing my first impressions of the country, I have to say that it's pretty dirty everywhere, and this surprised me. People threw garbage on the streets, and a lot of them lived in these streets between traffic noise and trash. The worst, I think, was to see families with babies living on the street, and I wishes I could tear them away from the condition they live in..

When it comes to the Indian people, they seemed to me to be somewhat different than people of the Western world. My first impression of them was that they are a bit distant in their manners, both concerning the manner, in which they talked to each other and the manner in which they behaved toward us. We are used to greeting brothers and sisters in the Lord by a handshake or a hug, but such is rarely seen here. They clap their hands and say "praise the Lord" in Indian. Perhaps therefore it was a great experience to meet the children at the childrens' home, who were genuine and unspoiled and had yet to learn "manners". They gave us hugs and kisses, and we felt that they appreciated the extra attention.

The services were also much difference from what we are used to. They were obviously fond of very loud and lively music, and many of the churches maintained a sound level, completely unimaginable for those who haven't been there. We had headaches, and I actually had to hold my ears! But we were able to deliver the message of grace to several churches, and I am certain that this was exactly what they needed. The message was obviously well received by the various churches, and the Word of God prospered. Praise the Lord.

It was a stirring experience to visit the pastors who had smaller churches around Chennai. They didn't have much, but they stood firm in service of Christ.

There was particularly one pastor, who made a great impression on me. He has a small church outside a village, close to the city of Trichy. The church building was very simple and was built by palm leaves, it appeared. The church didn't gather many people (around 40 people), and a lot of people advised the pastor to build a new church building, but since this would have to be buildt inside the city and the pastor then feared that his beloved congregation would then scatter as leaves in the wind, he chose to remain despite the simplicity of the present church building. It was encouraging to see such a loving heart for the sheep. May the Lord richly bless him and his ministry. In general we felt very welcome, and the people felt they were never doing enough for us.

I got to know pastor Stephen Devakumar and pastor Nelson and their families well, and they really made us feel welcome. They made us promise that should the Lord wait, we would come to visit them again.

See the image gallery here.