Back home

It is good to be back in Chennai after a long trip all the way to North East India. Preaching at the Conference to nearly 1,500 people was a wonderful experience. It was very exciting to see the audience willing to worship outdoors under the scorching sun and thunder storms that passed through all during one service. I especially found the people very caring and hospitable, so different from India's cities where it is one crazy run around.

Since we were so far north, we took a couple of extra days to visit Darjeeling. Waking up at 3:30 a.m. to get ready to see the sunrise over the Himalayan Mountains was an incredible experience. We then took a bus trip into Gangtok, Sikkim. Driving along a river that is used for white water rafting was very pretty. Just enjoying the beautiful mountains was wonderful. We visited the Institute of Tibetology which was very interesting, especially since Leonard teaches World Religions courses. Incidentally, India has the largest Tibetan population outside Tibet. On that particular day, there was a lot of unrest because of protests due to the Tibetan/Chinese conflict. Please pray that God would hear the cries of these people.
Pam

PS. The links in the text will give background information about the locations mentioned. In addition, National Geographic has done a lovely job describing the area. They have the most beautiful pictures. Enjoy! http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/photos/india0611/himalayas/himalayas_gallery.html