Fieldwork News
E-Mail Excerpts From Allen and Tara Laban, India 2005
Allen and Tara Laben share their impressions, adventures, Bible School experiences, and pastoral activities, all of which were packed into their first month in India. Tara has a very engaging writing style, so these e-mail extracts make for an easy read. You will want to read all three!
October 10 | October 23 | November 5

Part Two
Andhra Pradesh Bible Week—Oct 23, 2005

Greetings from Calcutta!

Tara again, writing for Allen and Tara. Allen is currently right behind me, putting the finishing touches on the talks he'll be giving this week at the West Bengal Bible Week. Our train trip here was just fine, even though we were almost carried away by a train heading to Bangalore (opposite direction!) before we realized that we were on the wrong train. Yikes! However, that was resolved and we met up with our fellow-missionaries from Hyderabad, who were on the same train up to Calcutta as we were.

A couple of weeks ago was the Andhra Pradesh Bible Week, held at a Catholic-run social services center in Vijayawada, which is a city 6-8 hours southwest of Visak. The theme for the week was "Let them make me a tabernacle, that I may dwell among them." Tim Galbraith gave the main classes, going through the Law's instructions for the tabernacle and using the symbolism of each element to draw out practical lessons for the ecclesia and our personal service to God. The group was huge—400 people, mostly baptized Brothers and Sisters, plus twenty or so contacts who were the unbaptized family members of the brethren there.

Schedule
How do Indian Bible schools differ from Western ones, you may ask? Well, each morning starts off at 7:15 AM with 10-15 minutes of singing, led by 2-3 Brothers at the front of the meeting hall. That would be, one or two songs, lasting 5-7 minutes each. They sing their verses over and over and over again, so much so that Allen and I were even able to memorize some parts in Telugu. Then came Bible readings, and then breakfast, then a whole day's worth of classes and discussion groups. There was a CYC class every night at 10:00 PM, so I was dragging my feet a little by the end of the week.

Allen’s Classes
Allen gave a CYC class, helped with discussion groups in the afternoons, and gave a few first principles classes to the attending contacts. My workload was much smaller—a brief stint helping out with Sunday School, and a Sister's class during the "Sister's Tea" (speaking to about 150 of my Sisters in Christ—it seemed like quite a crowd!). It was our first time speaking through a translator and we found that there are three types: some translate exactly what you've said, word for word if they can, even if it comes out sounding confusing in the second language. Some translate what you've said, adapting it to make it as understandable as possible for the audience. And some try to get the general idea of your point before going off on tangents of their own. It's funny to sometimes see a speaker make a short point, and then see the translator carry on for five minutes until the speaker starts making confused faces.

Tim's classes were super
with lots of practical points and really clear, Biblical explanations for what the different elements of the tabernacle symbolized. His points reflected what the ecclesias here particularly need to hear. He emphasized again and again that even spiritual things can become an idol if you have the wrong attitude about them—like thinking and baptism or taking the bread and wine are going to magically "fix" all of your problems, the way that the ark of the covenant became a sort of idol in the time of Samuel. God wants holy people, not holy objects. The ecclesial hall is not God's house, We are God's house. Like Christ in the gospels when the people follow him just because of the feeding of the 5000, Tim was trying to pass along the same lesson not to focus so much on physical things. In a Hindu culture, where certain objects and places are so idolized, you can see how it could sort of seep into your thinking, especially if you weren't raised in the Truth. Many of the other "Christian" churches here also encourage this physical thinking by stressing the importance of coming to a certain building, or giving a certain amount of money, or taking communion, to zap away your problems or give you more wealth and prosperity. It's encouraging to see how the Truth of the Bible is so different from what is taught anywhere in the world, and that the Bible has the ability to raise our thinking above worldly cares, whether we're getting stuck in the materialism or the East or the West!

Other Activities
In the lines of other news, Allen taught a group of Indian young people how to play ultimate Frisbee, and they loved it! Overall, it was a really good week for two people to be initiated into India, because it gave us the chance to witness some of the amusing and baffling things about this place in a more organized atmosphere. We also got acquainted with some of the shining stars of India, the Brothers and Sisters who do their best to keep everything together in spite of the issues and craziness here. Tim and Sarah Galbraith are absolute gems. Brother James from Visak (he lives right below our flat) has a good spiritual head on his shoulders—he's retired, and basically sits around and reads his Bible all day. Some of the baptized young people are really on fire for the Truth and seem quite solid. We've been really thankful for our first Bible school experience in India.

Since it looks like our Internet balance is about to expire, we'll have to include more in a later e-mail!

With love in Christ,
Allen and Tara Laben

Newsletter Archive
Fieldworker Report–Winter 2007 (PDF)
Focus on P2P–Spring 2007 (PDF)
The Year in Review–Winter 2006 (PDF)
Outreach DVDs–Fall 2006 (PDF)
Sisters–Summer 2006 (DOC)
Fellow Workers–Spring 2006 (PDF)
Life Solutions–December 2005 (PDF)
30th Anniversary–Fall 2005 (PDF)
December 2004 (PDF)
December 2003
May 2003 (PDF)
December 2002 (PDF)
December 2001
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Fieldwork News Archive
Allen and Tara Laben – India–4
Allen and Tara Laben – India–3
Allen and Tara Laben – India–2
Allen and Tara Laben – India–1
Gospel of Peace–Hawaii
WCF Brethren Visit Romania and Turkey, March, 2005
Exploring Cambodia–Early Preaching Activities
Jamaica, December 2004–January 2005 [1.1 MB PDF]
Basic Bible Teaching in Joliet, Illinois

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