More from orphanage in Orissa, India

Sianni wrote:

Situation is very terrible here. We have closed our Child Development Centre, still much threatening coming from those villagers. We do not know when we will start that project, please pray that God will control that situation and peace will be restored there.

Herewith we are sending photos of Church and Child Development Centre. Nothing is there now, all the materials, equipments, property they looted and destroyed with fire. Please pray for the God's provision of finance for the building there.

Futurists forecast: 3 and 4

# Forecast #3: The car's days as king of the road will soon be over. More powerful wireless communication that reduces demand for travel, flying delivery drones to replace trucks, and policies to restrict the number of vehicles owned in each household are among the developments that could thwart the automobile’s historic dominance on the environment and culture. If current trends were to continue, the world would have to make way for a total of 3 billion vehicles on the road by 2025. — Thomas J. Frey, “Disrupting the Automobile’s Future,” THE FUTURIST, Sep-Oct 2008.

# Forecast #4: Careers, and the college majors for preparing for them, are becoming more specialized. An increase in unusual college majors may foretell the growth of unique new career specialties. Instead of simply majoring in business, more students are beginning to explore niche majors such as sustainable business, strategic intelligence, and entrepreneurship. Other unusual majors that are capturing students' imaginations: neuroscience and nanotechnology, computer and digital forensics, and comic book art. Scoff not: The market for comic books and graphic novels in the United States has grown 12% since 2006. —THE FUTURIST, World Trends & Forecasts, Sep-Oct 2008.

Forecasting the future, 1 and 2

The Futurist Society forecasts the following:

# Forecast # 1: Everything you say and do will be recorded by 2030. By the late 2010s, ubiquitous unseen nanodevices will provide seamless communication and surveillance among all people everywhere. Humans will have nanoimplants, facilitating interaction in an omnipresent network. Everyone will have a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Since nano storage capacity is almost limitless, all conversation and activity will be recorded and recoverable. — Gene Stephens, “Cybercrime in the Year 2025,” THE FUTURIST July-Aug 2008.

# Forecast #2: Bioviolence will become a greater threat as the technology becomes more accessible. Emerging scientific disciplines (notably genomics, nanotechnology, and other microsciences) could pave the way for a bioattack. Bacteria and viruses could be altered to increase their lethality or to evade antibiotic treatment. Another long-term risk comes from nanopollution fallout from warfare. Nanoparticles could potentially cause new diseases with unusual and difficult-to-treat symptoms, and they will inflict damage far beyond the traditional battlefield, and affecting future generations.— Barry Kellman, “Bioviolence: A Growing Threat,” THE FUTURIST May-June 2008.

Ring all the bells that still can ring!

Until today I had never heard of Leonard Cohen. However, this morning I listened to his "Anthem" and was very moved by the chorus. We live in difficult times...but every time seems to be difficult. No human life is perfect; some are perhaps just less flawed than others.


Ring all the bells that still can ring;

Give up your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything;

That's where the light comes in.

What can we do to help?

When we read about the hunger in places like India or Haiti, we Christians always say we will remember them in our prayers. I wonder, though, if my prayers are even heard if I haven't done all that I, personally, can do to help relieve the hunger.

I have watched tiny kindergarten children in India digging around in their little metal lunch buckets for the last small crumb of rice. Rice was all they had for their main meal of the day.

My husband and I are very careful when we give money to organizations. We do our research to make certain that the money actually goes to the people for whom it is intended. We are confident that when we send money to Worldwide Christian Schools, the money really does go to those in need.

To get a clearer picture of the needs you might want to go to http://www.myworldwide.org/ to see the needs and the amount of money needed. WCS is called Worldwide Community Schools in India because of the trouble with the local people. In India there are Christian schools like the one in Orissa and also one called "Mullai" where the school feeds many community children. Usually the small breakfast and then the warm noon meal are the only food that the children can get.

There is another Christian school in Chennai that is in great need. Also, in Hyderabad there is a Christian school for the children who live in "Beggars' Valley", a place where the street cleaners and beggars live. I have been to some dreadful places in the world but Beggars' Valley is absolutely horrible. The state does not provide any schooling for those children.

WCS in the rest of the world is called Worldwide Christian Schools and that website is at http://us.wwcs.org/

News from India!

Siani and Suphula are back with the children in the orphanage. Everyone there is safe.

But other problems now exist. There is flooding throughout the states of Orissa and Bihar.

Someone just sent this information:

In many areas water is flowing over the village settlements. At least 2.1 million people are affected in 417 villages. Millions of people have been displaced and thousands of people are missing and field workers from Action Aid and other organizations in the Citizen's Initiative on Flood in Bihar believe 2,000 people have been killed.
___________

From me again: In the United States we watch our television sets to find out what is happening with our presidential elections. That, of course, is important to all of us.

And we watch news about the weather to see whether the hurricanes will hit our eastern shores.

But I wish we could also be given news about what is happening in India and other places in the world.

Faith Enhancing Practices for Teachers

from Dan Beeren's blog:

I have put off writing about this practice because I have not wanted to discourage teachers through identifying negative pedagogical behavior. However, based on over 27 years of experience in education, I must state that I firmly believe that sometimes teachers fail to make the connection between how they run their classroom and the resulting impact they have on their students’ faith development. I will be the first to admit that, in hindsight, I used pedagogical practices during my teaching career that no doubt discouraged the faith of my young students, and I have sought forgiveness and God’s grace in this regard. Confession is good for the soul but best if it results in positive change. In the hope of building awareness and encouraging teachers toward encouraging student faith, I offer these observations.

Youth are particularly sensitive to issues of justice and have well tuned hypocrisy meters. Teachers who give a wonderful devotion on showing love to one another and then five minutes later publicly call out student test scores obviously fail to see how the inconsistency of their behavior can damage a student’s spirit and render ineffective other good modeling they may have done. One misstep can wipe out weeks of good effort. Student faith development is discouraged and dampened when teachers play favorites, engage in indefensible grading practices, or implement discipline systems that demean and degrade students. When students see other students treated unfairly or even humiliated in some way through words or actions, they have a tough time respecting what the teacher advocates in their teaching, because they have lost trust in the goodness of the teacher. No wonder Jesus advises that teaching is a most serious endeavor (see James 3:1).

Teachers who are careful to live out their Christian faith in every aspect of their pedagogical practice are truly a blessing to their students and their administrators. I appreciate what author Harro Van Brummelen says in this regard: “[Teachers] create space in which students may seek and experience truth, depth of insight, discernment, justice, compassion and integrity” (from monograph- Curriculum: Implementation in Three Christian Schools). Christian teachers encourage faith in their students by demonstrating authenticity and consistency in every aspect of their classroom. They are careful to guard the dignity of each student as made in the image of God and give serious thought to the impact of each pedagogical decision on their students’ faith development. When the best teachers inevitably make mistakes, they have the humility to admit their mistakes to the students and seek forgiveness. By this action they not only restore the trust of their students and refine their craft as professionals, but more importantly they nurture the faith of their students.

*(For an explanation and definition of Faith Enhancing Practices see my post of February 3, 2007 entitled “What’s the difference between teachers?”) If you are interested in seeing all 12 Faith Enhancing Practices modules at once, you can go to the Member Community Center and access them there.

More from Orissa, India

INDIA: DEATHS MOUNT AS VIOLENCE SPREADS IN ORISSA

At least 18 people are confirmed dead in 92 incidents of violence against Christians since suspected Maoists murdered Hindu leader Swamiji Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others on Saturday (Aug. 23) in Orissa state.

With Hindu extremists inciting hatred by heated accusations that Christians killed Saraswati, the national newspaper Hindu reported that nine people had been killed in Orissa violence, and a source near the state capital of Bhubaneswar confirmed an additional nine people slain.

The death count by the Hindu included four people killed in the Barakhama area. News agencies had earlier confirmed three dead in Raikia and two others, including a woman, killed in Bargarh, where a missionary-run orphanage was set on fire yesterday. The figure of 92 incidents thus far comes from the Global Council of Indian Christians.
Additionally, the source said that Hindu extremists today killed pastor Samuel Naik of the Bakingia Seventh-Day Adventist Church at Kandhamal, and Jacob Digal and Gopan Naik of Damba village were slain. Also killed was Golok Naik of Pidinanju village (under Mondakia police station), and pastor Mukunda Bardhan from Mukundapur, Gajapati was burned to death.

Three other people whose names have not yet been verified, said the source, were killed in Katingia village of G. Udaygiri, along with a pastor belonging to Operation Mobilization from the same area. In Badimunda, about 12 kilometers (seven miles) from G. Udaygiri, nearly 25 Christian homes were burned down.
There were many reports of Christians being pulled from their homes and killed or beaten, with many homes of Christians torched in Baliguda. According to reports by the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), the East India office of Compassion International in Bhubaneswar was ransacked.

Saraswati and four others were killed by suspected Maoists in the swami’s ashram, or religious center, in the Jalespata area of Kandhamal district’s Tumudiband Block in Orissa state. A warning letter found at the Saraswati religious center and use of expensive arms suggested Maoists were behind the attack.
In a state with a strong Maoist presence, police reportedly said they have evidence to link the communist rebels to the murders of Saraswati and his four associates. One police theory is that Maoists would attack Hindu leaders in a misguided effort to gain support among area tribal people, many of whom have converted to Christianity.
On Sunday (Aug. 24) the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a partner in the state’s ruling coalition, and the Hindu extremist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) called for 12-hour a shut-down in which inflammatory speeches were made accusing Christians of killing Saraswati.

Authorities in Denial
Orissa Police Chief Gopal Chandra Nanda downplayed the violence, telling Reuters that incidents were only “sporadic” and that “some prayer houses have been attacked and vehicles have been burnt.”

Likewise, local authorities and media have painted the shutdown as “peaceful,” denying that organized attacks took place. The state is ruled by a coalition of the BJP and the Biju Janata Dal party.

At the same time, Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists have continued to incite hatred against Christians and criticized the local government. VHP Secretary General Pravin Tagodia accused the state government of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of acting like a “eunuch” and demanded his apology for the killing of Saraswati and his companions.

“Christians murdered Swamiji, but the government is lying and giving it a Maoist color,” Tagodia said. “Naveen as an individual and police, in particular, are responsible for this attack orchestrated by the church on Hindu dharma.’’
At the same time, a senior leader from Christian relief and development organization World Vision told our correspondent that a news report about the arrest of their staff members in connection with Saraswati’s killing was false. The police had merely kept two of their employees for protection, he said.
“No complaint had been lodged against them,” he said. “The employees have safely reached their homes.”

Widespread Violence

Sources from Kandhamal district said hundreds of Christians along with their families have fled to the nearby forests to save their lives in the rainy climate and are without shelter, food and clothing.

“Three adults and one child were reportedly killed in fresh violence in Barakhama, Kandhamal,” EFI News reported.

At least 14 Christians have been killed in Kandhamal, according to the news agency: Hacked to death by a rampaging mob of Hindu extremists were two Christians in Mutungia village, one in Petaponga village, one in Borimunda village, three in Katinga village, three in Tianga village, three in Adikuppa village and one in Bakingia village.
According to reports received from Kalahandi district, many incidents of violence and house burning have taken place even though it is more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the place where Saraswati was killed.
Christian sources said pastor Sikandar Singh of the Pentecostal Mission was beaten and his house was burned in Bhawanipatna. In Kharihar, three Christian shops were looted and burned. Pastor Alok Das was beaten at Kharihar, as was pastor I.M. Senapati. In Aampani, pastor David Diamond Pahar was beaten by more than 200 people. They chased him away from Aampani, and he is hiding in nearby villages.
Pastor Pravin Ship and two other area pastor identified only as Pradhan and Barik were beaten and chased away with their families. In Naktikani, an angry mob surrounded the village to attack Christians. The government sent forces to try to control the mob but without success.

Christian Pleas
A delegation of Christian leaders in New Delhi met with Home Minister Shivraj Patil to brief him of the situation and to register their concern. Patil assured the Christian delegation, including the Rev. Dr. Richard Howell, general secretary of EFI, and Father Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India of the central government’s support in curbing violence against Christians in the state.
Another delegation led by Orissa state Christian leaders met Gov. Rameshwar Thakur with the same objectives. The Rt. Rev. Samson Das and attorney Bibhu Dutta Das were also among those who met with the Orissa governor today.
In Kolkata, the All-India Minority Forum today condemned the attack on churches in Orissa and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Patnaik for his “failure” to protect religious minorities in his state.

“We condemn in unequivocal terms the incident of burning alive people who belong to the Christian community by Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists, and armed attacks on churches in Orissa,” Forum President Idris Ali said.

‘Kill Christians’
The violence has spread even though church leaders across the country condemned the Hindu priest’s killing and appealed for peace.
The VHP and its allies had called for a 12-hour shutdown to protest the killing of the swami, and Christian leaders expected Hindu mobs would use it to mobilize strikes at the Christian community.

“But what has taken place has even surpassed what we expected,” said one pastor who wished to remain anonymous.


So please pray for those who are under persecution. Thank you very much. Closing with hope and prayers.

Yours in His service,

Rev. Barun senapati
Bethany Mission center
Kesinga. Orissa