chai times fall issue

7/29/2019 Chai Times Fall Issue

1/4

[1]

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!!

CHAI TIMESAugust, 2013

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 tripchanged them as much as it changed

the people they interacted with.

As of this publishing date, I dont

have all the details for the trip. What I

can tell you is that in the last two years

there has been a lot of progress made

in planting house churches and

starting small group studies. You will

work with Uttam Dhela, the missionary

profiled 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

relationships that I hold so dear with

the Assamese.

JANUARY 23 -

FEBRUARY 3,

2014
http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/


2/4

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Idols, idols everywhere, and not a

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 motor-

rickshaw, painted on the front of a

truck, in the alley next to a banyan

tree. They are simply everywhere.

The traditional figure 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

life and yet not a one of them exhibits

those attributes we assign to God.

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 sacrifice to these gods. Oftenwith extreme diligence. On my first

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, genuflect, and

jump back into the cab and carry on

as if nothing had happened.

Imagine the surprise most Hindusexperience when they are told that

there is a God who loves them and

cares for them and desires a

relationship with them.

AUDI0-BIBLE

GOES AFIELD!!

JUNE, 2013

A group of Americans led by

Tom Parr, Charles Gulla, and

Uttam Dehla, along with native

volunteers, delivered thefirst 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.

Uttam Dehla sharing the gospel

during this last Junes church-

planting mission to Assam.


3/4

[3]

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 field.

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 thecourtyard, 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.

PRAY

Prayer is one of the most

significant things you cando 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.

WHAT YOU

CAN DO

GIVEThis 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 togive, 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 towww.e3partners.org.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?To find out more about e3 Partners Ministry and their initiatives around the

world, go towww.e3partners.org

To follow my own trips to India and get even more insight into India and

what a trip there is like, gowww.bobjosjor.blogspot.com

A Day In The Life.....

Are you thinking about the January 2

trip and wondering what youll be doing i

the field? Heres a rundown of a typical d

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 tha

includes goodies like daal, stir fried vegg

and even a cheese omelet if you like.

8:15am: Load up and travel to

rendezvous with the local church membe

and field workers.

10:00am: After a bit more travel, you

arrived at may be the first of several stop

for the day. You meet with a group of

villagers numbering from 10-50 and share

information about yourself and learn abou

their lives. Follow that with presenting AI

HIV and malaria prevention information a

gospel presentation using the Evangicube

Youre nervous the first time, but the

friendliness of the villagers and competen

of your translators soon puts you at ease

12:00pm: Lunch with your field team

and translators in the field. PB&J and a

banana are standard fare. This, along wit

the tea and cookies the villagers serve yo

will tide you over until dinner.

1:00pm: Back on the road to anothevillage or neighborhood where youll repe

the interactions you had this morning with

another group of people.

5:00pm: Back to your hotel where yo

have some free time to take a nap, explo

the neighborhood, reflect on the days

activities, or whatever youd like.

6:30pm: Meet with your American te

to discuss the days events and then finish

with a meal of Indian food.

8:00pm: More free time. Check in w

your family back home via email or Skype

read your bible, or try and figure out what

that odd program on the tv in your room

about.

Thus ends your typical day. Its filled

with people, places, and experiences tha

will change you forever.
http://www.bobjosjor.blogspot.com/http://www.bobjosjor.blogspot.com/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/


4/4

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.

God answered our prayers (yours and ours) on our most recent trip to Assam, India. Withonly 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 hel

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 th

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 o

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

chai times fall issue

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