Ongole is not what any of us expected to see in India this month. Ongole is fairly rural and remote part of India, hardly anything like the dirty city slums we see on television. Within Ongole, there is a main town but the majority of the area consists of farm land, water buffalo, and a smattering of makeshift concrete homes. We’re told that this is a fairly traditional and conservative region of India, so women are expected to wear full coverage outfits, known as a “sari” or a kurtah top with punjabi bottoms. We’ve noticed clear distinctions between men and women here, as they sit on opposite sides in church and physical touch or glancing at the opposite sex (even married couples) is nowhere to be found. It’s an interesting dynamic we find ourselves within, but we are trying our best to fit it so as not to hinder our purposes here.
While all of G-squad is working with India Christian Ministires in Ongole this month, we’re pretty much all working with separate ministries. My team, Gladiators, is working with Covenant Child Development Center. Every day we drive out to a different village where we put on an after school program for the kids. So far we’ve been able to teach them Bible stories, global studies of India and America, manners, health and hygiene, and a few English songs and games. It’s great to watch the kids light up to learn as this program is a special treat from the norm. The parents are often engaging in the background as well.
The young girls of the CCDC program
Amanda teaching the “O Lay Lay” song
Our Indian translator, Basca, with a young boy from CCDC
While we’re out in the villages we also have many opportunities to pray for the families in the area. The new moms in the village really appreciate prayers over their infants. We often get to hold the babies and sometimes they offer to let us bring them back to America with us. (Don’t tempt me!) One of the moments I’ve treasured most so far was when one of the mothers asked our team to name her baby girl. What a honor! My first suggestion was to name her Lindsay, seeing as two of our team members bore that name. It didn’t stick :/ However we picked out a much more suitable name for her – Esther. A beautiful biblical female name meaning bride and star.
So, this is a little snapshot into our ministry this month! Our internet is sparse, but I’ll continue send updates as we go! If you want to learn a little more about India, here are some highlights:
India:
Area: 3,166,000 sq km
Population: >1,200,000,000
Capital: Delhi
Location: South Asia, E of Pakistan, W of Nepal & China
Peoples: The most ethnically diverse nation on earth with over 2,500 distinct people groups. Community and identity are based on caste as much as on race and language. The main groups are South Asian peoples consisting of Hindi (37%), Bengali (14.25%), Telugu (5.4%). Caste-based discrimination persists throughout much of India.
Literacy: 67%
Official Language: Hindi; English is a subsidiary official language
Human Development Index rank: 134th/182
Income/person: $1,017/yr (2% of US)
Economy:
Traditionally an agricultural economy, but because of market-economy policies adopted in 1991, India has rapidly transitioned to become more financially diverse. Industry and especially services are taking the lead in the 21st century. India is a nuclear power, has a space industry and is increasingly a world leader in the IT sector. Its booming economy is one of the success stories of the last decade and will significantly impact the global economy for the foreseeable future. The rapid growth of the new rich is outdone only by the increase in the middle class, which now possibly outnumbers around 350 million. Yet, the rural poor and impoverished urban slum-dwellers still number in the hundreds of millions. For those at the bottom of the heap, India’s economic boom is meaningless. Nearly 40% of the population live below the poverty line, and 40% of the children are underweight. However, India’s widespread use of English gives the country a major advantage as its economy opens to the world.
Politics:
India gained its independence from Britain in 1947. Today it is the world’s largest functioning democracy. The current administration emphasizes economic growth and social progress on issues including caste and freedom of religion. As a result, significant progress has been made in terms of equality for all groups in India, but millennia of oppression will take some time to overturn.
Religion:
India’s constitution provides full religious freedom of worship and witness for all religions. The rise of Hindutva extremism resulted in a hate campaign against Muslims in the early 1990s and against Christians in the late 1990s as followers of “foreign” religions. Due to mass-conversion movements by Dalit groups away from Hinduism and evangelistic activities by Christian groups, issues of conversion laws are of high importance and sensitivity. Persecution levels range widely, usually depending on the strength of local Hindutva groups.
Main Religious Sects:
Hindu [74.33%], Muslim [14.20%], Christian [5.84%]
