Lockdown.

Its been 24 days at home. The busiest streets, crowded markets, beaches, stores are all empty.  Being covid quarantined, the entire country and many nations are at home.

Staying home has feel fun, but quite challenging. With no school, occupying the kids at home 24/7 has been overwhelming.. Most of the time, is spent refereeing them.

I've been the household barber.. Cut my husband's hair. and all my 3 kids hair too.. One or the other is always there.. Either cooking or cleaning.. or refereeing, or feeding..

One after the other I have something to do.. I am tired and exhausted.. The kids are hyper, they don't take nap anytime during the day. Yet they are active till midnight. Either they play cordially, or the fight fiercely. Lilybel is getting used to the noise while sleeping. Poor baby. I hardly have time for myself. Thankful to Asirvatham group for the 24 hr chain prayer they started since the beginning of lockdown. We do it everyday from 6-7 AM. So we get up early by 5.30 or 5.45.. So its a blessing amidst the chaos.

Hoping I make use of this beautiful opportunity to be home with family to the max.

Vilungi

That was dad's name when he was a little boy. He had two whorls at the back of his head and 1 big whorl at the front of his head which gained him his name.

Vilungi meant he swallowed. He swallowed his parents. When dad was 2 , his parents died. They were murdered.

Growing up, the whorl got him another name, kuruvi koodu.  When he was a teacher, his hair was so thick and twisted right in front of his forehead, it looked like a snake ready to attack.   Dad had never seen anyone with that whorl in front, except for a little boy in a Home. He was in front row of dad's program and he called him aside to ask about his family. The little boy also was an orphan.

Dad continued, his Palm reads that he'll die by the age of 30. And only because of Christ , he's still alive.  He became our curse , so we could live.

The Map stories

Amy was arranging the India map puzzle. Dad had one look at the colorful puzzle and he was puzzled! He said, you get things like this? I said yes.. He asked for the cost. Dad was shocked.  

He said, there was a time, when they had to take so much pain, to get a map.  Dad had made each state- the size of a door. They went to the Survey department, to get the total number of people, christians etc. Percentage of christians was 0.001 percent.. 1 in 1000 was a christian.  Dad collected these data dilgently.  This was, while preparing for the 10 year plan during the Emil Jebasingh Era. This data was used to find out where the need was, and send the missionary accordingly. 

Dad made 12 big size albums, for 12 leaders in FMPB. These albums had each districts, villages, and the number of churches in each villages. This data was collected by going to every district, streets, and data derived.  He said, those were the days, when we had such burden to painstakingly collect so much of data, to send people to the unreached villages. 

He then remembered an incident close to his heart. Dad was in one such district - Ramnad, collecting the number of church details. He had travelled to some interior village for collecting data and would be back in the Ramnad town after 5 days. He was invited by the CSI Church of Ramnad pastor to preach in the service in the following Sunday. This was in the 70s. Prabhu was 1 year old.  Mom has sent a telegram stating that the child is seriously ill.She had sent it to the CSI Church, Ramnad.  The pastor could not reach dad. Those were the days, when we had no cell phones.  Dad arrives 5 days later to the CSI Church Ramnad on Sunday morning service to preach. The moment he steps in, the pastor hands over the telegram from home. Dad reads it. Puts it in God's hand, and puts the telegram in the pocket. After the service, at 11 AM, he rushes back to catch the bus to Nazareth. He reaches around 11 PM that night. The whole village was sleeping. Dad looks inside the window, to find Prabhu sleeping in the thotil.  God takes care of his children.

Sunder Raj

We were talking about fasting, and I suddenly remembered one of Dad's friend, who passed on to heaven, while fasting. I was very little, when I met him. He had a long beard. He wore vaeti. Two things, that's not easy to forget.  

He worked as a RTO officer, and later got a Tahsildar promotion. He had also been to an Island in Atlantic Ocean for 3 years. Dad usually accompanies him for the fast. But this time, he wanted to go alone. He told his only son Jacob, not to bother checking on him every week.  Being in RTO office, he had access to many places. He went to a hill near Vellore. He had been on a 21 day fast.  This time, he refused to have even water . 

His son, a school manager, went to check on him on the 12th day. He found him in bed, peacefully rested. He found blood marks on both his armpits. He had entered heaven on the 10th day. What a glorious way to go to heaven. 

He had 3 daughters. Once when he visited us, my brother, had kept asking my dad something. Uncle interrupted and asked my brother, what he wanted. My brother had said, I want a cycle. He told him, to go to the corner, kneel down, and pray to Jesus for a cycle. Immediately my brother had run to the corner to pray aloud. Shortly, uncle left and returned back after some time with a brand new cycle!

He also had talked to my mother  and asked, how long was her service. Mom had 18 years. He had then told her that there is a policy, by which, you are eligible for pension, if you have 20 years of service. So he said, I will get everything ready, you work just for 2 more years. Dad had not known then, but my mom later had insisted and the application was filled, and mom got a teaching job in Bentinck Hr Sec School. The rest is history as they say! 

  

The virus that spreads

With the virus scare around, and looking at how it's spreading is thought provoking!...

Unknown to the eyes, it spreads and then just invades. The countries, which had not given much notice to the Covid19, when it started 2 months back, have now come to a stand still. Lock down. Quarantine, has been a household terms now. 

There's one more thing, that's unknown to the eyes, which spreads and invades, and kills. It's in everyone of us.. wondering what? Our old pal, the sin. It can without our knowledge, control our thoughts and all of us. It separates us from God, and quickly desensitises us from things that matter, spreads. hardens us. Ofcourse, broad is the way , and its easy to just follow the crowd.  

May we put our self to the cross everyday, and let the Holy Spirit revive us to life. May we be aware, that the King of Glory, the Almighty, the creator dwells within us, and we ought to be Holy as He is. Fear Him and not the virus. 

Pouring out

Dad was talking about the incident when Elisha, told the widow to fill the jars with the little oil she had.
In obedience, her kids borrowed vessels.  In faith, she poured her oil into the empty jars. And she kept pouring...Imagine being in her shoes.. You have just one jar of oil and keep pouring in one, and then the other.... She poured in faith.

And that's what we are called to do. To pour in faith, over the people in India. Those in chains, those followers of K**, Tr*, Ha*, Mu*, Sh*. Those in darkness. who are blinded. who live in ignorance.
2 Corinth 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

 Dad prays for such people not once, but round the clock. He wakes up twice at night and I can see him praying throughout the day as well. Amidst our chaotic home, with the girls, he finds a quiet spot, to be still. and to pour.

Panicky?

Lilybel had fallen off the bed and we were worried. Dad prayed  and was talking about faith and trust when he suddenly mentioned, how he was told by a doctor that my brother was very sick.

He must have been just in his early twenties... He had accompanied dad for a  program in tenkasi. It's a known fact at home, that he and I have sensitive stomach.
During that trip, my brother's stomach acted up so bad, he had to be taken to a hospital. It was a big hospital. Dad left Solomon Anna with him and continued for the night program. They finished and returned the next morning to the hospital to see him. He was on drips as he had lost lot of fluids. A nurse had just then have some injection, and the scene altered in a matter of seconds. His pulse dropped and he wasn't breathing... The screams of the nurse got utmost attention and the surgeons who had come for the surgery in the adjacent operation theater rushed here. Dad was pushed outside the room. He could glance and see the doctor on the bed pressing his heart. CPR? They gave an injection to revive him. Praise God,he was saved ! It looks like the nurse administered a wrong injection to him.

Dad said in situations like this you should never panic. Your eyes must be on the Lord.

2 Chron 20: 12

Dad told this months ago and I got time to pen it down only now! I couldn't remember other details he said...and now when I asked he's not in story telling mode! Anyway can only check with my brother to find out more!

The virus scare

The Tamil Bible, we all hold dear is a straight translation from the original Greek/Latin Bible. Ziegebalgh translated it to Tamil. Who was he? A Danish missionary, who travelled all the way to India in the 18th century. 

He learnt Tamil and spent 13+ years in a weather condition he was unused to, a culture so different, food and dressing awkward...to tell the love. Of Christ in our own tongue. He got the press here and the first Bible that got printed in Asia was the Tamil Bible!

How did he die? Of ill health.. when did he die...at a ripe age of 36.

Why didn't God heal him, or others who died as missionaries - or their families, children . Definitely they would have been a blessing to many...  Did he not pray or trust enough? Did not Psalm 91 hold good to him? Was Christ blood not enough?

In the corona virus scare, and the response from different people I can only thank God for the wake up call. When the belief foundation is shaken that's when we see if we had  really walked by faith all along.

God is concerned about the eternal death! He sent his son to save us all... He wants to live abundantly even in the face of crisis. Like Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego...The Kingdom of God is here, within you.. we can't walk by fear! Duh! 

If we die, I see it as a quick ticket to get to get see Him.  And that's something I am eager on. But I am praying that people have chance to escape the eternal death that might be looking over..and that we can reach out to them at this crisis...coz they are walking in fear...into eternal death.

Trust

My lil has not been too well for past one month. We've started solids and I've joined office. Her cold, cough, fever, diarrhoea are all gone by God's grace. Weekends she's clingy to me. She's fine with selvi akka and her sisters. But if she thinks of me or sees me in the corner of her eye, she cries her heart out.

With me, she has to be held. If I place her down she cries. I thought it was the weekend effect... But  just saw her lips being red. Thought it was some toy that she had put in her mouth. Then noticed something white...and it wasn't milk and couldn't be removed. So me and her are on the way to hospital. It's half past 9pm.  She was wide awake. And didn't mind . No crying. We returned home midnight.

Just makes me wonder... How vulnerable yet trusting and confident she's on me! Even through the darkness, ( it was late night) and through different modes, she was calm.

And do I have that calmness or confidence when I go through life's darkness and storm? How much do I trust him?

Dad's first meeting

Dad was painting in his art room. He had his pilayar painting on one side, and a painting of actress Vijayanthi mala on the left.  Emil Jebasingh uncle entered the room. He did not stare at his painting, nor uttered anything about it.  But invited dad for 3 day Gideonear camp in Panavilai.

Dad was hesitant. Emil uncle, put his hand around dad's shoulder and said, God needs artist( kalaigars) like you. He quickly left.. Dad was working in Uthumalai then. Emil uncle had gone house to house and invited 300 people.

Hesitantly, dad went for the program. He met Mr.Washingston, who heartily invited him in the venue.  Sticking around that day, he was sure, he was out of place. So he got his bag, and walked to the bus stop.. There Mr. Manicaraj Thiraviyam met him, and asked why dad was leaving. He said he had to go, and dint seem to belong here. Mr. Manikaraj Thiravium, insisted and requested dad to be there for the 'Sandhya' program alone, and then leave. He brought dad back to the camp.

He saw a  neatly dressed- tucked in shirt and trousers a man, to whom dad asked, 'Have you come for this meeting?' questioningly.. for he must have seemed out of place.  Seated dad was alarmed to see that fine man, walk up the stage and preach. He was Mr. P. Sam. Dad had a notebook and pencil. Seeing P. Sam uncle's animated speech, he started sketching him in his notebook vigorously.. He  finished all the pages in the book, with the drawings.. He was engrossed by his animated movements.... As the sun went down, he couldn't sketch more.. He started listening to the preaching and when there was an altar call, to lay your lives in Jesus arms, dad went forward.

Rest is history. But it takes a leader, to make that one-on-one touch and a burden for each other.

Mr. Israel Devaraj when he left Bethel bugged off the food, dad brought him back from the bus stop, mom cooked good fish curry and promised that whenever he felt homes sick, he needs to drop in, and he can have fish.  Another missionary a M.A graduate also who had packed his bag and left, dad brought him in, and told him that God needs such people for translation of Bible and that he will do it soon. He went on ahead to translate the Bible in malto.  Praise be to God alone.