Short trip to Odisha

It was a short "educational trip" for two of my friends from the US to see the work God is doing in this part of the world. Just two days before our departure there was a cyclone that hit Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Many places were flooded and some lives were lost. Vizag airport was closed the day before and it was raining in Odisha. Thank God the airport opened the day of our departure. The weather was gloomy, with light rains

We arrived well on time last night  about 7:30PM in Vizag. There was no problems with the immigrations and customs.

Our driver was waiting for us and it was along 5.5 hrs drive to Bissamcuttack, Rayagada in Odisha. We arrived at our motel this morning at 2.30AM. Couldn't sleep along the way as one of my visitors was snoring so loud as though a training was passing by.🤣

Slept for three hours. 

We were up for breakfast at Bishop Anjan's place at about 7:30AM. The weather was so pleasant. Thank you Jesus.  It was a joy to meet Bishop's family, the children in Shadrach Home and the CPTC students.

Before breakfast we had a short devotion with all the children and students. Ruth and her sister-in-law had prepared a sumptuous breakfast for all of us.

We left Bissamcuttack to visit our tuition centre in Muniguda. Pst Daitary's church funds a tuition program for about 30 children, most of the from other faiths and castes. The program allows the kid to learn English, hardly spoken in the village. I was satisfied with the progress that Pst Dairy was making.

From there we drove about 2 hrs to a village in Chandrapur area. First the roads were good, then it became narrow  dilapidated roads with pot holes. As we went into the forested area, it became narrow  dirt roads with rocks and soft mud. Until we came to a point, the vehicle could not any further. We had to walk🥲

Crossed a small river (barefooted) and walked about 1km when we were greeting by the believers in that area. About 200 PEC believers from that area had gathered for the service under the trees. It was a wonderful gathering. They washed our feet as they greeted us with joy. 

We then walked about 2 km for the baptism service. We walked trough the paddy fields, muddy tracks and eventually came to this beautiful scenic river, where we conducted the baptism. The water was cold. 

It was my joy to baptise 31 new believers that day. Great rejoicing in heaven and my friends were simply awed at what they witnessed. 

After baptism, we had a short service and the time was past 2:00PM and the people have not had their lunch. A short Christmas message.

We did not have lunch. 

After the service we prayed for those with needs and made our way back to Bissamcuttack, Rayagada. 

But we stopped by at atuition centre in another village. This centre is run by a young church planter Akash and his wife. The work was started just four months ago and a prayer meeting is taking place every evening in this village.

By the time we arrived at the Shadrach Home at about 6 pm and it was dark. 

Thank God for a wonderful dinner provided by Sis Ruth and her team.

After dinner Bishop Anjan and I went to visit another tuition centre , This is Utesi village in one of the mountains. It was dark as we drove up the mountain. 

About 15 children and 10 adults were waiting for us. I shared with the parents the importance of education for the children and I also too the opportunity to share the gospel. The people were very receptive and we know God will soon open a church in this village.

I was almost exhausted by this time and I only wanted to take a hot shower and crash into the bed.