By Mike Wong.

Wandanalu! (“Hello!” in the local language of Telugu)

Today our team enjoyed a day of rest and recreation. We had a big day yesterday so we enjoyed a late breakfast before hitting the shops for some retail therapy. We were in the hunt for Indian-style clothing including saris and traditional shirts for men.

Pastor Benny left us last night and we are now in the capable hands of Pastor John. RJ (affectionally known as our bodyguard) is still with us as well. Without our hosts we would be well and truly lost so we appreciate their generous efforts.

In the afternoon half the team stayed back at the hotel while the other half went to visit an island. We enjoyed a 10min boat journey to the island and discovered it is mainly a resort-type setup. There were a whole list of different activities available including riffle (rifle) shooting and wine (wire) traverse! It was nice to wander around together, sample some icecream and be around the water.

Pastor John’s daughter, Justleah, was with us for this time. She is extremely cute and kept us smiling. She has particularly taken to Adele.

We’re gearing up to teach another batch of pastors, ministry women and youth workers which begins tomorrow. The material will be the same as last week but there’s still a lot of hard work that goes into building relationships and trying to convey these important ideas to people in a different language.

For those who pray:

• Thank God for rest and recreation, and for our hosts, Pastor John and RJ.
• Pray that God would prepare the people who are about to do the course. Ask him to give them open hearts and keen minds.
• Pray that our team would have the skills and perseverance to communicate clearly in word and deed.