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/7/29/2019 Chai Times Fall Issue
2/4
[2]
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.
7/29/2019 Chai Times Fall Issue
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/7/29/2019 Chai Times Fall Issue
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