Video - Day 10

Here is the video of Day 10 (Saturday, June 27th). We left Crow Agency, MT and arrived at Murdo, SD. Along the way we made stops at Mt. Rushmore and drove through the Badlands. Remember if you have problems viewing this video, try turning the HD off.

Video - Day 9

This is the video of the final work day in Montana. Again, if you have problems viewing this video, make sure the HD is turned off. We are now in Murdo, SD; in the Central Time Zone.

Day 8 (Day Off) Video

We left for home at 6:20 MDT (8:20 EDT). As I post this video we are currently in Sheridan, WY. You can track our trip by following the map on our blog (as long as I have cell phone service)

Here is the video of Day 8 (Thursday-our day off). Most of the group traveled to Yellowstone National Park.

Video - Day 7

Video is from Day 7 - Wednesday, June 24. Reminder: if you have problems viewing this video, make sure the HD is turned off.

Final Day in Montana

It's hard to believe the week is over. It is Friday night and we just got back from the Crow Days celebration. God has blessed us with a great week of weather, not to hot and not to cold and no rain. The youth did a great job in each task that they were asked to do. Some overcame the fear of heights and worked on the roof and some that don't like to paint, painted all week. I am so proud of each of them and it has also aloud me to get closer to them. One of the best parts of the mission trip is that there is no TV and newspaper, no worries or concerns of the daily activities of the world. We are hear serving God and as the Pastor of the Church said on Sunday we are being Gods hands in doing work for him. Each job that was assigned to us has been completed and as the week went they added more for us to do. I want to thank everyone for your prayers as we have traveled and as we begin our way home in the morning. We had one day off this week and some of us went to Yellowstone National Park, on the way there we had to travel through Sonshone National Park. This has to be one of the most amazing places in the world. We climbed to an altitude of 10,947 feet and we was able to have a snowball fight at the end of June. The mountain range was beautiful with snow covered mountains and some areas still had over 10 feet of snow on the ground. We also saw people skiing down the mountains. I would recommend this as a must see. Looking forward to sharing our experiences with you when we return home. Riley I will see you in a few days, I miss and love you.

Day #9

Bronlynn and I have decided to quit our teaching jobs and start a painting business. We have a new calling as professional painters. Not really! I originally was going to put I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. Send help! However, someone came along and had pity on me.
All kidding aside it has been an amazing week. Bill was right when he said it would go quickly. We have seen many amazing sights and met wonderful people. God is amazing! To look at this country and see what he has created is breathtaking! I can’t put into words how much this trip has meant to me. Saying thank you to God just doesn’t seem enough. But I praise his Holy Name.
I love you, Riley! We’ll be home soon. Thanks again to our family and friends who have watched over her and allowed us to be on this trip knowing that she is in good hands. We love you!

Day #9

I am simply blessed and amazed by the people out here working with us. Both kids and adults alike worked hard and were respectful to one another. Yellowstone was very pretty. I’m glad I got to come out here and see what Matthew has been talking about all these years.

Day #9

Crow Agency is a place of life. To me, it’s always been a place of learning and growing, and it has been no different this week. With daily devotionals, speakers who have met with God, and lots of projects to get done, this was a week to truly learn and understand the ways of God and servanthood.
On Wednesday, we started working on a deck for one the buildings near the church, and I was really excited to be a part of it. We worked for 1 ½ days on it and we finally got it done. As I looked at that little piece of architecture, I had pride in what I had accomplished. I remembered when it was random pieces of wood, but after we had cut there, nailed there, measured here, it all came together into an amazing structure.
And as I thought of these things, I thought about the way God looks at us, and I wondered if he ever looked at me and had pride. He has done an amazing thing in my life, because I was without focus or direction, just a random piece of piece. But after he measured me, cut me, and nailed me into place, I have life abundant and new. For that, I am thankful.

Day #9

Hey its Remy yesterday we went to Yellowstone national park and Lloyd took a wrong turn. The work it was hard and hot but it was worth the hard work because once we were done we could look back and say look at what God helped us do for someone else who could not do it themselves.

I'm Behind!

Just wanted to let everyone know that hopefully some videos will be posted later today. Sorry, I've been behind. Yesterday, most of us travelled to Yellowstone, and I didn't have high speed internet access all day..thus there was no video posting done. I have the Day 7 video completed, as soon as I can have access, I will upload it. Make sure and come back for the Day 8 video and see some of the awesome sights of Yellowstone park including Old Faithful. We finish up our job sites today and pack to start heading home tomorrow. You can follow us on our trip back home by watching the map on the right hand side of the page starting tomorrow. Have a good day everyone...headed out to work.

Video - Day 6

Reminder: If you have problems viewing this video, make sure the HD is turned off.

Day 7

Hey, our week has been great so far I've had a blast. We are at McDonalds right now. We have half way painted a house already, and we put on a roof. I met Kenny Pretty On Top...some of you might not know who I'm talking about but hes a great guy. We had built a small porch, and had VBS for kids. The kids are so much fun to play with!.. and they are so cute. Keep us in your prayers. I love you mom and dad. ohh and by the way i know how to use a nail gun when I need too. haha

Charity =)

Dear Church Family

Thank you so much for your prayers. How the Lord has showered us with His blessings every day of our journey thus far. Our days begin very early (one day we arose at 4:30 a.m.) and end past my usual bedtime. By the time we get to bed, our bodies are so tired, but it’s a “good tired.” Seeing our youth serve here has been the greatest blessing. They all work so hard, giving of themselves. I’m continually amazed by God’s love and his creation. The Land of the Big Sky is truly beautiful. Know that we are grateful for this opportunity and for your prayers for our work here. We love you all so very much.
In His love,
Brenda

Middle of the Week

We have made it to the middle of our work week. So far we have finished two projects and began two more. In the mornings it takes a little more time to actually roll out of bed as each of us are growing tired. However, we are all very excited to finish the projects we have started because we know that it will make a difference in the lives of these people. Mom, if you read this we really miss you here. The mission trip is not the same without you. Although Lloyd often calls me Cindy so it is kind of like you are here. I love you and I will talk to you soon.
-April Fisher

Video - Day 5

Reminder: if you have problems viewing this video try again turning the HD off.

If you want the truth read this

Hello everyone this is me typing to you telling you what is all really going on. Everyone here is working really hard on all the projects. So far we have finished painting a house, building 2 decks, and built a whole new roof on a 14x70 trailer. We are currently working on building another roof to a trailer and painting another house. once again our mission group has done more work than they had for us originally and if we keep this up we will be tearing down a trailer with hammers while a perfectly good excavator sitting 100 feet away.

this has been your daily dose of Tyler

goodbye world

ps.
SEND FOOD label it for Tyler Morlan

Day 6

Hi, Riley! Momma loves you! I am so blessed to be your mom. Daddy says hello, too!
I amazed by God’s grace and love. What a blessing this trip has already been. Mickey has gone on many mission trips and I must admit that I have been jealous by the change in him and the experiences he has had. I couldn’t relate. I thank God for the opportunity to be here and serve beside of my husband. Getting to know the youth of our church has been another highlight. They are awesome! Please, continue to pray for us, we will have a lot of stories to tell. God bless!
-Marcy

Day 6

Hello Family and Friends,
First off I want you to know that I really miss all of you! It is really hard being away from you for this long, but God is really using us here. This has really been a great experience so far and I anticipate even more great things. It is just so amazing to me that as beautiful as God has painted our little part of the world in West Virginia, He sculpted gorgeous landscape out here. There is so much to see and hear and learn here that I know that I will only just scratch the surface of the wonder of this area. Thank you so much for your prayers as we work, love and serve. Our kids are awesome here. They are constantly being praised for their hard work and determination. I know that it is from the great examples that they see working in their families and in their church. Keep praying for us, we have some things that are still uncertain and are leaving up to God but I know God will not cease to come through. We have some big jobs over the next few days and some of us “old” people are already feeling muscles that we forgot we had so please pray for the “oldies” especially. See you in one week!

Bronlynn

Day 2 in Montana

Today we started working. We started the day out by cleaning the park. We woke up at 4:30 this morning to get out there early enough to finish it before breakfast started. Allie and I worked at VBS in the morning. It was a lot of fun and the kids were absolutely adorable. After Lunch we started working on Kenny’s roof. We are almost completely done with it. We should have it finished by lunch tomorrow. The weather held out great today and it wasn’t too hot. But, our tans are now all messed up (lol). God Bless.

Video - Day 4

Reminder: if you have problems watching the video, make sure the HD is turned off.

Day 4

Hi Riley, I miss you and thank you for the call on father’s day.
Dave thanks for the post and the information on your travels. I just have one question for you. When you were at Wall Drug years ago were you a part of the original 1880 town? Take care. It was a good trip out with no problems, a lot of miles and beautiful country. Work starts tomorrow and we have our work cut out for us. We had big rain and a hail storm today and as we went to our work site the mountains are still covered in snow. It was beautiful, they said it was rare for this at this time of year but they have had a lot of cold weather. Thanks for all the comments and your prayers.

Day 4

We finally got to Montana yesterday and I was so excited. It was exactly how I remembered it with the Quanza Hut, the dorms, the park, the gas station, it was all so familiar. It reminded me of the amazing time we had the last time we were here. That was a long time ago and God has done so much since then! Today we had the Skypecast at the 11:00 service, and never “Skypeing” before, that was pretty awesome.
God really blessed me today during worship. We sang this song, I think is called “Everlasting” and I almost lost my voice. I was really praising God during that song and I was so blessed. I hope that during the rest of the trip God will continue to speak to us and that we would listen. I pray that I give Him all that I’ve got, because he deserves the very best I’ve got.

Sunday - Training Day

What an amazing adventure so far. Tomorrow begins work day number one. We are all safe and sound and ready to begin working. It was a lot colder at night than I expected. Of course, Mickey said he was comfortable. Remind me not to take advice from him on the number of blankets I should pack. :> I am excited to see how many children come to VBS. I am reminded of how amazing God truly is. The landscapes he has created are nothing short of a masterpiece. I praise him for the privilege to be here and thank our family for taking such great care of Riley while we are gone. Continue to pray for us and love to all.

Montana Day 4

Today gave us a chance to get to know people from our group a little better and also meet new people from the other mission group from Michigan. The weather is really weird and unpredictable. It sprinkled this morning and then was really nice out, and then it just started hailing like crazy, and then ten minutes later it was nice out again. Tomorrow we start on the job sites and VBS (Kids Club). We are having a lot of fun. We miss you all. God Bless. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. (:

Video - Day 3

Reminder: if you have problems viewing the video, make sure the HD icon is set to HD off. This will reduce the quality, but improve performance. Sorry for the late posting today, but I was tied up this morning with the live feeds for the service @ Gassaway.

First Evening on the Reservation

Hi!

Yesterday evening was awesome. When we arrived, everyone split up into cabins and got settled in. Then, we all walked to the park and played with the kids there. I threw the frisbee with Julia, Malachi, and Nina. They talked a lot and told me so much about families and were very excited for "kids club" (VBS) which we will begin on Monday. After we came back from the park, the group from Michigan had arrived and I got to meet and talk with them about their flights. Kim, one of their leaders, and I were able to meet after several weeks of talking on the phone with one another about VBS and other things. It was great to finally put a face with her voice. At 9 pm our time (11 pm at home), everyone gathered for a praise and worship session. Travis lead the music and it was awesome to just sing and have a amazing time of fellowship with all of our group members and the Michigan group. I am so excited for what God has in store for the rest of our time here. Thank you so much for all your prayers!! Love and God Bless.


Logan <3

Crow Agency At Last!

Hello everyone!!

It is 4:34 local time and we have finally made it to the Crow Agency. We traveled 467 miles today. Thank you all for your many prayers and comments. It is awesome to know that everyone is keeping in touch and thinking about us back home. Please continue to remember us as we start our mission tomorrow. Tonight we will meet up with the other mission group from Michigan and are excited to make new friends. We love you all!!

Video - Day 2

Below you will find the video showing our trip from Davenport, Iowa to Oacoma, South Dakota. If you have have problems viewing the video or if you have jumpy video, make sure the "HD" icon in the upper right portion of the video is set to "HD off", this will reduce the quality, but improve playback. To view the video in full screen, click the four arrows icon.

Day 3 about to roll

Good morning from South Dakota. The Day 2 video is finished and will hopefully be ready to go by 9am Eastern. We are leaving for Crow Agency, Montana today at 8am CDT (9am EDT). Thanks for all of the comments you have left for us, I have passed them on to the rest of the group and we all appreciate your prayers. Two days of dravel down, one to go.

Corn

Corn corn corn corn and russell drank a cup of creamed suger water :}
-Frankie Frame

Traveling Day 2

Headaches and stomach aches started today, but that's all part of the trip. We saw less and less of corn fields today. We saw a little hill and it felt like a mountain to us(lol). We also got to see the ending of a tornado, but we didn't know that that was it till after we took a picture of a "funny cloud". Tomorrow is our last day of traveling and we will arrive at Montana. EXCITED!!!! woohoo. we love and miss you all. keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Day 2 - Davenport, IA to Oacoma, SD

We have arrived safely in Oacoma, South Dakota. Check back later tonight for more blog posts from the youth on the trip and a new video from today should be online in the morning.

Video - Day 1

From Gassaway, WV to Davenport, IA. A stop in Indianapolis and a surprise airshow upon our arrival at Davenport. A couple notes on the video. To view full screen, click the four arrows icon. If you have a dial-up internet connection, you may have problems watching the high definition video. Click the "HD on" logo, to turn this off and performance should improve.

Hi from Iowa!!

Marsha, Allison, April and I are having a girls slumber party here at the hotel in Davenport, Iowa. 12 hours, 709 miles later we have made it this far. Thank goodness too, because we could not have spent much more time in the vans.

Allison says she is having a blast so far.

Bur-nard, we miss you! Pray for us please. Love, Marsha

Dad, Mom and I miss you a lot and we will keep in touch during the upcoming weeks. Love, Logan and Brenda

We will blog again tomorrow!!

First Day of Travel

The first day of traveling went by quite fast. We spent twelve hours in a van so we not only saw many different environments but also got to know the people we were traveling with very well. Everyone got along very well so it made the first day of traveling seem to go by even faster. From our perspective of today the outlook of this mission will be very productive and enjoyable. Hopefully the next day of traveling will be just as quick.

The First 709 Miles of Our Trip.

This day has went by so fast. The beginning of our trip started out slow because everyone was so tired and wanted to sleep, but as the day progressed, everyone started to wake up and enjoy spending time with each other. In the van i was on, Charity Ramsey, Tori Skinner, Remy Skinner, Matt Bailey, and I played different games like the alphabet game and ha-ha. We stopped in Indianapolis, Indiana to eat and stretch our legs for about an hour. After we ate, everyone took window chalk and wrote different things on the windows of the vans like their names or montana bound and other things. The last part of our drive to the hotel we are staying at went by the fastest. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see what the rest of the trip brings.
- Tyler Hamrick

Day 1 - Logan Morlan

Today went by fast. I thought it would take forever to get to the hotel, but it didn’t. The kids in my van were always asleep so it was pretty quiet. When we arrived at the hotel Frankie tried to tell a man who didn’t speak English very well to fix a light. But like I said before the day went by fast and I really hope tomorrow will go just as fast.

Day 1 Destination - Davenport, IA

As I'm writing this we are on the road headed to Davenport, IA. So far so good with all 5 vans. I will post a video later tonight from today's trek. One minor wrong turn took us through the middle of Indianapolis today, other than that, everything has gone according to plan. You can keep an eye on exactly where we are on the map on the top right of this page. Expect a video and blog posts from the some of the youth themselves tonight.

The mission begins tomorrow

Tomorrow we will be leaving for the Crow Agency Reservation in Montana. I wanted to put this post out there so you would know how we plan to use this blog page over the next 2 weeks. If everything goes to plan, there will be blog entries from various youth daily here. Also, there will be a wrap-up video for the events of the particular day. This might be posted very late at night or very early in the morning. If you would like to leave comments for the youth that are writing these entries, click the comment button below the specific posting. You do not need to sign up for any account when you do this, specific comment instructions are in the right column. Also, for those of you that are within driving distance to Gassaway Baptist Church, we plan to have a live video feed from Montana established for this sunday morning's services. Finally, for the drive out there, if you are curious how far along we are, check out the map in the top right corner. This will be tracking my cell phone as we travel. As long as I stay with the rest of the group, you will know where we are. Underneath all the gadgets and gizmos that we have set up for this trip is a real mission to serve real people many miles away. Please be in prayer for us over the next couple of weeks and hopefully this all works as planned.

Finals Days in India

Sorry it has been awhile since our last posting.  The network here has been down for the last three days.  By the time you read this Bill, Mickey and Rob will be home.  The weather here has been beautiful, it gets down to mid 40's at night and around 72 in the day.  On our second day the teaching the students did a great job.  We had given them some homework to do to see if they were understanding everything that we were teaching.  They all had it done and were doing great.  They are on fire for the Lord.  Later in the week we gave a personality test to help them with knowing why they do things the way they do.  After finishing the tests they all agreed about the personality that the test said they were.  Upon completion of the training we held a small graduation ceremony where each student was presented a certificate of completion for the course.  They have all agreed to take this material back to their church or krima and teach their leaders.  They have also made a commitment to teach and train at least 2 new leaders with this training.  They are desiring to multiply and disciple their people.  They have a passion for Christ, that we have not seen before.    A little info about our students.  Some of them had to travel a great distance to get here.  Some as far as a 8 hour bus ride.  Some of them had to wait 2 days after the training was over to catch the next bus home.  Many of them live with in a couple hours of our driving, but do to the limited transportation it would take them 4 or 5 hours by bus.    We again have tried new foods that are new to us.  Some of them we still don't know what they are and may never see again.  Pori is a fried flat bread that we all liked and had with each meal.  At a wedding reception we had mutton with rice, and deep fried egg plant.  That was different.  While we were going through the line to get our food, the grooms mother showed us the proper way to put our food on our plate.  They handed us our rice wrapped in banana leaves.  Mickey and Rob had left them closed and were putting there food next to it.  The lady took here hands and opened the rice and then picked up the food we had and put it on top of the rice.  Bill just laughed because he saw her coming and opened his rice wrap up and moved his food himself.  We also had fruit salad with some fruit that was orange in color and the size of a cherry tomato.  Taste was very different.  While at the wedding reception we got the opportunity to talk with the grooms father.  He was an avid hunter in his day and said that the "bunny huggers" got all of that changed.  He still loves to talk about the days of hunting and fishing.  He ask us to bring him a long bow on a next trip to India.    It is now Wednesday night and we are starting to pack.  Throughout the evening several of the students and other people we met came to see us and say goodbye.  We were given several gifts and that was very humbling.  We were each given a hand made vest that was done in there traditional colors, a beautiful scarf, wooden flute, and other items.    Beginning to Travel Home.   On Thursday morning we began our journey home at 7:00 am.  It would take 4 1/2 hours to travel from West Garo Hills to get to Gauwhati to catch our first flight.  When we arrived in Gauwhati we had a little extra time and we wanted to go to the CBCNEI center.  This is the Counsel of Baptist Church's for North East India.  This is there equivalent to our Parchment Valley Center in Ripley.  There they have a place called the Priscilla Centre.  This place was founded in 1997 and is for women that have been recused from prostitution and HIV infected areas.  There they are trained in cutting, tailoring, weaving and food processing for one year along with leadership development.  All items made here are sold to help keep the center running.  They make beautiful handbags, clothing, and scarfs.  After leaving the Priscilla Centre we saw a truck setting on the side of the road that read "Truck carrying Dead People", we had to stop and take of picture of that.  We arrived at the Gauwhati Airport and was waiting for our flight and saw a headline in the paper about Imphal, Manipur.  This was the area that we had visited the first week there.  In Imphal there are over 20 known militant groups that are working underground to try and take control.  The article stated that on the 18th the entire city was shut down by the military.  All stores, and roads were closed by the military due to a militant group trying to take control on that day.  There was no movement on that day as the military looked for this group of people.  Our first flight arrived on time and we were off, about mid way through the flight Bill and Mickey noticed some snow covered mountains sticking up through the clouds.  They asked some of the passengers on the plane and was told that it was Mount Everest.  Bill took some video of it.  It was an awesome sight to see.  We landed in Delhi with no problems and was waiting for our luggage, Rob and Mickey were standing together and they saw Mickeys comming our first.  Bill grabbed the duffle bag and wouldn't let it come to us and the airport security came over and talked to him and asked him if he had a problem.  They didn't see the humor in it that we did. Rob and Mickey couldn't contain the laughter as they talked to him.  We had a couple of hours before our next flight and had to be taken to the International Delhi airport, we ask our driver to take us to the nearest McDonalds.  We couldn't wait to taste some McD's fries.  No Big Macs here - Only Fish, Chicken, or a Veggie Burger.  On the way we saw 2 different wedding parades.  Here they will only get married on Wednesdays or Fridays.  They do a parade to show off the bride and groom with a band and a horse drawn carriage.  We we arrived at the McDonalds there were thousands of people linning the street with police everywhere.  We asked what was going on and they told us that it was the world premire of the movie Dehli 6 and that all of the stars of the movie were there for the red carpet premire of the movie.  Our next 2 flights were on time and very long.  We have now completed 9 flights and have all of our lougage.  We arrive in Charleston at 3:30 pm on Friday and our waiting for our lougage.  When it is unloaded we are missing 1 of Robs bag.  We knew it made it to Detriot because we had to check it through customs.  We had flown just over 20,000 miles with no problems until now.  After checking they said it should arrive some time later that night.  In all it took 45 hours to make it home from the time we began our journey.   We would like to thank everyone for the prayer for us and our families as we were away.  We could tell and feel your prayers.  God was at work all around us and everything worked out for his glory.   We would like to invite everyone out to this Sundays service, Bill and Mickey will share their stories and pictures at the 7:00 pm evening service.   Thanks for all that you have done for us.   In Chirsts Love,   Mickey and Bill

Things are shaking in India

Monday February 16th   Did you hear about the earthquake that shook India this morning.  It happened about 50 miles from us and rated a 5.0 on the rictor scale.  They said it shook the area we are in at about 1:00 am, but we wouldn't know.  We slept through it.  The morning started at 5:30 am with shower and breakfast.  We then began our teaching at 7:00, we had 17 students for this Level 2 training.  It started slow and was hard to teach.  We were teaching concepts that they did not understand in writing goals and purpose statements.  It took about 4 hours to get though this section.  After lunch they began to catch on and they all understand it now.  We have started to write goals and how to evaluate our programs.  They do a great job on evangelism.  For them it was a cool day.  For us it was a hot day and made it even harder to teach.  They treat us very well here and they will give you all they have to make you fill welcome even if it means they will go with out.  It is hard for us to sit and eat a meal, they will not eat will us.  The women wait until we are done and will eat last, even if it is cold.    New Foods and a taste on the wild side.   Last night we had dinner at Mary's house.  This is Silchi's fieance,  there we had fish that we would would call creek chubs.  Also we had pomogranites in a yogurt fruit salad.  Today Bill, Rob, and Mickey tried deep fried cottage cheese.  Mickey did not like it, Bill and Rob said it tasted like cheese sticks.  Mickey did not agree.  We got to travel to a black smith shop this evening where a gentleman makes knives.  It takes 8 hours for each knive and they sell for $10.00.  We also stopped at a shop where they hand make purses, hand bags, and clothing.    Will end for now.    Mickey and Bill.

New Experience in India

Late entry Messed up blog for day 5. Sorry so long in between blogs, it's hard finding a internet server here. Here is what has happened the last 3 days. On Day three we had some minor problems. First our flight was delayed 1 hour. That meant we would miss our connecting flight out of Guwhati. We were to leave at 12:40 and we did not take off until 1:00. When we landed we did not even make it into the air port. They met us as we got off the plane and took us to the next flight that was waiting on us. We had to get off the bus 1 at a time and identify our luggage and then we could get on the next plane. It was already full of passengers waiting to take off. Since it was late we had a HOT landing and there were girls next to us and behind us throwing up. When we got through customs as foreiners we were loaded into a car that normally could fit 4 people with no luaggage. My Goldberg status lives on in Imphal as I was leaving the airport the military men were again taking Mickeys picture and looking at him. There is no electric until 5:00 pm and lasts only til 9:00 pm. That is if they have it at all. They are learning to change there lives to live without it. We have now tasted Carp and Corn Soup and some that we could not identify. It gets dark at 5:30 and daylight at 5:00. We went to bed at 6:00 and got up every 2 hours. The beds are only 1" thick on solid wood or concrete. Day 4 - Extremally COLD SHOWERS - NO HOT WATER..... There are 30 different languages spoken in Manipur. Could not go to the villiages to preach at night due to a burnt. A burnt is where a undergroud group starts a civil uprising that makes it not safe to be on the roads. They will rock the vehicle until its stops and then burn it. This was our first day of teaching, a little dissappointing with only 16 students and 6 books for them to use. The Manipur Baptist School has 900 students in it. Grades Pre K thru 12 and a monthly tutition of 150 to 400 Rupes a month or $3.00 to $8.00 USD a month. We had to adapt to our teaching and could not use any of our overheads or powerpoint presentations. We taught the entire day without any electric. We had dinner at the hotel where we are now staying - alot of food for very little money. Whole Chicken costs only $4.50 American. A can of coke and a kit kat are only about .65 cents. Day 5 - We were cut short on our teaching and could only go until noon. We have a new definiton of a cheese and egg sandwich. The teaching was very promising and a group from MBC has a good start on it and they do evangelism very good. We will be leaving here in the morning to fly to Tura and then drive to the Garo Baptist Church. It will be a 4 hour drive back into the mountains. Hopefully we will blog you soon. Signed, Goldberg and his handler.

India Update

Day 6 or there abouts.   The day started and ended with delays.  We were supposed to have a driver pick us up at 10:00 am to take us shopping and then to the airport.  They showed up at 11:00 and drove us to the international shopping market and we were able to shop for 10 minutes.  We then left for the airport to catch our flight that we supposed to leave at 2:05 pm.  We checked in at 12:00 and the plane did not arrive.  At 3:05 we were able to get on the plane.  The flight was supposed to take 55 minutes and they did it in 33 minutes with another HOT landing.  After landing it took 4 1/2 hours to drive to Tura in the Garo Hills.  Since being at the airport at noon we had not eaten anything.  Potato chips at 8:00 pm never tasted so good.  After arriving in Tura we had dinner at a bachelor party for Silchi.  We went to our room and we opened the door and our first gecko met us at the shower door.  During dinner they brought out a dessert for us to try.  Mickey was the only one to they this.  It is called a beetle nut.  It is also known as a narcotic.  The easiest way to describe the effects is it numbs your face and throat.  You take a piece of the beetle nut, a piece of the beetle leaf and a little bit of lime and then you chew it.  It had to be the worst thing he has ever tasted.  They all had a good laugh.   Day 7 or so.   Rob and Bill preached at 2 different churches today and both services were packed with people even sitting on the outside of the church to hear Gods word.  Bill only preached for 35 minutes but the service lasted just over 2 1/2 hours.  One of the church members had us over for lunch and again we experienced new foods.  We took a tour of Tura and saw a swinging bridge, view from the mountain tops, a water fall that we could even hear and we were over a mile away from it.  A natural fish hatchery where Jamie, Mark and Lynn would go crazy.  There were fish there over 28 inches and 10 lbs.  Tomorrow on Monday we will start our teaching at 7:00 am until 4:40 pm for the next 3 days.  Please keep us in your prayers and we love each of you.   Bill & Mickey

India - Day 2

We made it to the Taj Mahal today after a little bit of trouble. Again, the road we were suppose to travel had an accident on it and we had to go an alternative route. this route took us through the most dangerous village in India. We followed a man that was in the indian mofia, quite a guy. his license plate read, king Corba, all mofia in India had this license plates. We went the back roads through some really neat villages. All of the people in the villages could only point and stare when the saw Mickey. We had a great guide and learned alot about the Taj. I can now understand why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. The traffic here in India is intense. There are no rules to follow and no age limit to drive. Road rage gets a new meaning here. While on our tours today, Mickey had his picture taken with about 50 different people. They all thought he was a wrestler and Rob and I did our part by calling him Goldburg. Our driver was sure he had watched Mickey on TV before. It was funny watching everyone point and stare at Mic. We had dinner at a McDonald's that did not serve red meat. They did however serve fries, chicken, fish and veggie burgers. It was an experience. We learned a great deal about the culture and costumes today. We fly out tomorrow at 9:30am for Imphal and teach our first class in the evening. I know that everyone is praying for us and we thank you for that and ask that you continue to pray for us. Hopefully, we will be able to write again latter.
bill and Mic

India - Message 1

After 30 hours of travel we have arrived at our motel. We were 24 hours in the air and the other 6 hours were lay overs. Our fights went great, not a problem. Our luggage made it with us. Our first flight from Charleston to Detroit was full. Mickey was able to switch a seat so he and I were not packed in like sardines. Our second leg, Detriot to Amsterdam was awesome. The plane was only about a third full and we had entire isles to ourselves. We had a chance to stretch out and enjoy the flight. We had a 5 hour layover in Amsterdam, by the way it was boring. We ate lunch there. I had a slice of pizza and a bottle of Coke Light and the price came to $12.11. Nothing is cheap! our last leg of the flight was booked to capacity. Mickey, rob and I all sat in the same row. Talk about being crowded. Our flight landed at 11:00pm their time which was about 12:30pm our time. They are 10 1/2 hours ahead of us. Tomorrow we take a trip to the Taj Mahol. time for a nap. We leave at 6:00am. So far, so good.
Bill and mic