I forgot a towel...but one of the fellow facilitators bailed me out, without me even having to ask and then gave me a really cool Superman body spray! Yeah, my cup overflows :). I had a great room, a luxury suite with AC and my own personal bathroom. The beds were hard but that helped me to get up early and have some very sweet times with the Lord every day. The days were very long, we didn't even eat supper until 8 pm, but God gave me all the energy I needed throughout the day. I was able to get so much done because I was up by 4 am every morning. The long days didn't mean long nights. I often was asleep before 9 pm.
My laugh is distinct, and echoed through the four story concrete building we worked in. Many participants said it blessed and encouraged them to hear it and that they wanted to record it and make it their ring tone :). God gave me a picture earlier that morning of myself as a laughing giant bringing healing and joy and then he sent all these people to confirm this truth. Laughter is medicine :).
I heard so many tragic stories of really hurting people who have to deal with rape and abuse on a daily basis. It broke my heart to hear that women are so worthless in their culture; that beating your wife is the way you show her that you love her. It sounds crazy even typing this out. I was filled with love for these hurting people and prayed a lot for them as I heard about the very real and active caste system that dehumanizes people arbitrarily and a religion that tolerates temple prostitution. Even pastors struggle with valuing women! It was so incredible to hear the testimony of one participant who came to see his daughters as the priceless gifts that they are and repented of his disgust at having girls instead of boys. The material brought perspective and healing to his heart and he is eager to go back to his family and be a better father and husband. The truth really does set people free!
There were so many testimonies like this and after all of them I saw this picture of Jesus going up to all these devalued women and holding them in His arms and revealing to them their true worth! It brought tears to my eyes! I'm so grateful that God wins! That he is good! In the midst of all this, while my anger rages toward the stupidity and hate, his hope and love breaks through and even helps me to pray for the perpetrators who themselves are so lost and hurting.
New Dehli has a monkey issue. :). I saw packs of monkeys out the windows while I was teaching, not to mention a million pigeons and dogs. Also the forecast for most of the days I was there was smoke :).
Now the pictures :). I was so grateful to be able to tour this amazing city on my last day. New Dehli is truly full of life!
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| Traveling by Auto was really fun and exhilarating. Endless honking! So good! |
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| My wonderful desk...got so much great stuff done! |
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| What a view - the one second there were no pigeons out my window...miraculous. |
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| India gate war memorial! |
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| 7 plus lanes on a 3 lane road... hard to capture in picture, really amazing and efficient! |
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| Monkey problem indeed :). |
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| Here at 1 stoplight we see a tractor, a horse-drawn wagon... |
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| Cows pulling a cart and of course cars, buses, autos, bikes and much more :) |
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| Sunday night back with my amazing family! |
It was so fun being 10.5 hours ahead. Yeah .5 hours... weird :). I wasn't really impacted by daylight savings this year since I was flying home when the change took place - first time for everything.
While I was away, Diane was having a blast with the kids and enjoying dress up and candy receiving! I'm sad to have missed all the fun, but grateful I missed Diwali, which can be very loud during the evenings! Fire crackers were already making our facilitating difficult and Diwali hadn't even started yet. Here are some pictures of the fun I missed.
Thanks so much for your prayers while I was gone! My family did so well and that blessed me so much! Also while I was away my parents came back! It is so good to see them again. My kids are also thrilled to have the other set of grandparents back!
Now for some forgotten tales... my afternoon of Odds and Ends was really amazing. A lot of MKs showed up and God spoke to many of them! The group enjoyed some time at While Rhino (local coffee shop). I don't have this picture, but my amazing son Liam had a birthday! Go Liam! I love you my precious son and I'm so grateful for your sweet spirit and compassion! And other random pics...
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| Odds and Ends |
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| Awesome truth! A quote in the Classroom in India. |
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| MKs ride the Rhino |
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| Ethan was in Newsies! It was amazing! |
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| An awesome day at the zoo! |
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| Some great AMKs (adult missionary kids) came and helped me restore my deck! |
It reminds me of this verse in Philemon...
May it be so with you! I also never stop thanking God for you and your concern for me and your prayers for me and my family and this incredible ministry! Thank you for your generosity and partnership in advancing the gospel all over the world. You are credited with all these good works as you have been so faithful in standing beside me! My heart is overwhelmed and full! Thank you!
Thank you God for a great trip! Please continue to set people free in India and work your healing through your faithful servants.
Well I'm here for a little less than a month and then I'm off to Colorado Springs for some more training. I'll be on the receiving end this time. I look forward to a nice period of time at home with my family and friends before I travel again!
I love you!
Blessings,
Caleb
If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or with recurring gifts, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up, please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give. Or feel free to contact me directly! 214 558 8431.
Another way to donate to my ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line it will get deposited into my ministry account.
The address is:
Holy Cross Lutheran Church
4400 W Arkansas Ln, Arlington, TX 76016
Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 11, Asher 9, Liam 7, Echo already in heaven, Bella 4, and Serenity 2 years old.
