It’s just turned 1.00pm and in the next 30 minutes Willie and I will be heading for the Airport. Thanks for the info James about the flights. We’ve been told that the Air France flight took off this morning a couple of hours late, however it won’t effect us because I believe the strike is now over. The city links seemingly have not been affected. So we should arrive home as planned.

I was so good to receive your comments over the past week and I felt that many of you were uplifting us in your prayers and for this I’m truly thankful. I’m also glad that Lorna and Erica’s parents got so much out of the live link between Bo’ness and Chennai. I’m just amazed at the two girls they have great determination and their faith has been growing fast during their world without walls travels.

Let me tell you something really quite interesting. Those of you who read the blog regularly will notice a few posts ago I mentioned Arthur Blessitt. Well just for shear fun I googled his e-mail and sent off a greeting to him. Lo and behold a reply came back. Guess what he too is coming to India. The only difference is as I fly out he is flying in. So we won’t meet. However, I’ve asked Raj to make contact. You never know what devine appointments God sets iTalker up to arrange. I’ll keep you posted. If Raj is reading the blog he might keep us all posted.

Tomorrow if I have time I write a bit about a fantastic project we visited this afternoon. It is a project seeking to rescue young girls from the sex trafficing trade. It is a poast well worth reading. There is alkso anoter posting which will be coming up about a visit we made to the tribal areas, and I’ll be introducing you to a tribe that still seem to live in the prehistoric age. So keep your eyes peeled for the next few posting.

Its the Monsoon season. Today the place looks like a miserable rainy Glasgow Sunday at the Barras. I woke up this morning no feeling too good. I think the Chinese I had last night didn’t agree with me. Captain Thacker arrived on time at 7.30am to take us to Mount Zion Church. This is the church that John attends. Some of you will remember meeting John when he visited us for the World Without Walls training programme last year. The roads where unpassable so we had to wait a couple of hours before attemptingthe journey. It was good to see Pastor Sabastian again and to take part in the service. However I wasn’t feeling up to te mark and we returned to the YWCA instread of continuing on to vist the leprosy Colony. The rest of the day I’ve spent sleeping and getting ready for the trip back home. I ust confessd I enjoyed listening to the new Radiohead album this afternoon. I also download some pictures which you might find interesting. Here  are so  pictures of uor trip to the Moonar, this region is quite spectacular.

We returned this morning on the overnight train from Dindigul. It was a comfortable journey, however we had to wait at Dindigul because the train was two and a half hour late. It was an education to wait this long in an Indian Station. This is the start of the rainy season, so we moved to an area where we could find shelter, sitting in this area of the station, it was interesting to watch the rats scurry around the station. We  were introduced to the senior supervisor at the station who is a member of Abraham’s church. He then duly told us that there was a problem further up the line, one of the engines had broken down and another had been duly dispatched to bring the train into the station. Willie quipped that it all sounded a bit like an episode from Thomas the Tank Engine. Well eventually the train turned up and we arrived back in Chennai to be met by Captain Thacker’s driver. We were driven to the YWCA here in Chennai

where we met up again with Erica and Lorna.

Earlier on this morning I was able to spend a little time with Dr Shanti Davidar and hear a little more about her work with commercial sex workers. Shanti is doing an amazing work with women who find themselves trapped in the whole murky world of

Prostitution. I hope to meet up with her for a short time on Monday to hear more about this work and to try and find an organisation in the UK that might  be willing to partner a particular programme.

We also had a fascinating visit to the Sangita Charitable Trust. This is an amazing project touching the lives of over 60 children who have been rescued from various

Forms of abuse and abandonment. Paul and Grace Moses are the two people who head up this amazing work. It was very moving to spend the afternoon with them and to learn of their vision and plans to develop a community of care for the most vulnerable members of society. Willie was struck with the commitment and the quality of work they had achieved with so meagre resources.

They took us out to an amazing site which they purchased two and half years ago by the help of an American church in San Jose, unfortunately they are unable to continue the support. Never the less they have purchased for the orphanage a quite remarkable site, which has amazing potential to change the lives of children and their families. We left feeling in awe of this quite extraordinary couple. I do hope that we will be able to find some way to give them support and encouragement regarding their vision.

On the way back from the orphanage we got stuck in a traffic jam and arrived just after seven o’clock, we finished the evening off by taking Erica and Lorna out for a meal to a Chinese Restaurant. We had a great laugh, both girls are doing wonderfully well. They are in great spirits and thoroughly enjoying their stay here in Chennai. Both Captain Thacker and Raj are taking great care of them.

As I write this blog I have just heard that Air France have been on strike for the past five days, so we are wondering if this will make any difference to our flights home. We’ll just have to make some enquiries in the morning.

I hope to be able to do a live link up with church tomorrow morning so lookout for us all taking some part in St Andrew’s service tomorrow  morning. Tomorrow we hope to have been able to visit the leprosy colony and take them some food before connecting with the service. At 4.00pm our time in India and 10.30am your time in the UK.  Oh and make sure you turn the clocks back tonight, you’ll get an extra hour in bed. Well I’m off to bed, we’ve an early start in the morning .

Well I’ve managed to find an internet connection at the Hotel in which we’re staying  We have stopped over in a beautiful hill town known as Munnar. It is a community that has built is economic development around the tea trade. The man who started the tea plantations here was a Scot James Findlay from Glasgow. Today all the tea planations around the area are owned by Tata the huge multinational company.

 Let me tell you a little of what we did yesterday. We flew down to a town in South India called Dindigul, and was met by Abraham Sammuels. Abraham’s parents have been missionaries in this area for the past 50 years. He now owns a 12 acre site and is looking to develop the land for Christian ministry. He lives on his small holding with his wife Ruth and two sons one of whom is married.  One of Abrahams dreams is to build a small clinic on the site so that it can be used to give advice to would be parents and to support mothers during their time of pregnancy. He showed us the land he has set aside for this project I think  we have been helping him begin to clarify the vision, at least I hope we have. We returned  to the Parson’s Court Hotel late last night. I spent a little time trying to keep the blog up to date. Thank you to all who are reading this. Like Erica you begin to feel it is a worthwhile excercise when comments appear on the blog.

Today it was an early start as we headed out for a visit to a very interesting project which sits in the Gnat Mountain Range. We were heading for the Pearl Tribal School. I  will write a little bit more about this visit when I have my note book to hand, but suffice to say it was a facinating visit. Meeting two women who today must be in their 40s who left Chennai almost 15 years ago to work among a remote group of tribal people. Their work is outstanding and today they have established a school with government backing to try and educate the next generation of a very primmitive tribal group I give you the name when I have my notebook. As she spoke we became so aware of the obstacles and challenges she and her band of 5 workers have to face as they seek to serve these mountain tribal people while being culturally sensitive. 

We spent the latter part of the morning there and left in the mid afternoon to drive over here to this beautiful part of the world. Munnar is where Capt Thacker was born he was delightd to have an excuse to return. We heard many things from these girls that cannot be easily written in a blog but please pray for those who are spending their lives seeking to serve these mountaiin people. ( Photos will appear \on tthe next posting.

it’s just past six o’clock in the morning. Willie is having a shower, we’ll be at breakfast in five minutes, then we will make a five hour trip into the mountainous region of Kerla, to visit a new project. This is an orphanage looking after around 80 children. Abraham is taking food to them. He met these people for the first time last week and was shocked to see the conditins they live in and also that there was very little food to go around the children. Will try to keep he blog up, but it depends the next time we get to the internet. Thank you all for commenting on the blog so far.

Its Tuesday 23rd October We arrived in Chennai at around 2.00 am. After having to wait for what seemed forever to collect our bags we made our way out of the airport. I deligted that my close colleague Willie MacPherson has been able to join me on this trip. Willie has a great deal of experience in helping to assess the sustainablity of projects in the developing world, so I was delighted when he accepted the invitation to join me, to look at a number of projects her in India.

We were met by Capt. Thacker and Raj two of or World Without Walls partners, then duly taken to our Hotel. The Hotel is not all that great, the Abu Hotel Chennai, its being refurbished, and its badly needing it. The room we’re in is full of dust and grime, the marble floor hasn’t been polished for weeks. Willie is just reminding me that this Hotel is a like the Hotel Europia in Iquitos, cheap and cheerful in his book. We had some good laughs in that hotel, however I think the Europia, was well worn, but clean.

We were wakened up at 7.30am with a demand to pay the room service bill. I duly explained that it would be better to be added on to the account at check out.

After breakfast we were met by Daniel Abraham’s son and an evangelist called Shedrach. (Abraham has a ministry to the tribal people in an area near Dindigual, he is hoping that funding can be found to erect a small medical centre to deal with primary care health issues. Hs wife Ruth is especially passionate about helping the poorer women in that area to have a place where their children can be born in comfort and where anti-natal advice can be offered.

We then went off to collect Erica and Lorna at the YWCA. It was great to catch up with them again and to hear all their stories of how God has been undertaking for them in so many different ways during the four months since they left Scotland. Have a look at their blog Soultouch.

We then met up with Raj and had a tour round the area he calls the slum. Looking at the way people live. Some of the people who live near the church recycle rubbish for a living, around 800 families live in this enclosed area. It is really humbling to see how Raj and Vanitha work to serve this community.

The ladies in the sowing class picture to the left, are now sowing clothes for the Sangita Orphanage, thanks to the generosity of the congregation in Bo’ness. The picture below show Erica and Raj meeting with the women in the sowing class.

Today is Willie’s birthday! Raj had a cake for him and we all sang happy birthday.

After lunch we visited the Bamboo and Cane Giftshop and purchased some goods for Branches. It was then back to the hotel to join the first meeting of the Board of the new St Andrew’s Charitable Trust India. This is the name of the holding trust that has been set up to deal with the funds that we are now being send out to India from the members of St Andrews Bo’ness.

October India Trip 2007

Our flight from Edinburgh to Paris was delayed by about 40 minutes. It meant that we had barely enough time to get through he screening to board this flight however we made it.

Just passing over Terhan, at this moment, we’re about four and half hours into this flight and I’m listening to Radiohead’s new album called “Rainbows”.

It was just about this time last July we got turned back mid-flight to Heathrow, due to problems with the operation of the aircraft, so I’m hoping history isn’t repeated. I’m not sure what I think of this album. Yet,it has a much more hopeful feel to it, than some of their past compositions. It feels and sounds more self assured. Sometimes I think that it is a good idea when your not convinced one way or another about an album of music.You need to give it time. Its a bit like relationships with people. It takes time to get to know each other. I guess that is what this visit to India is all about. I’m also full of hope that good things will develop out of this visit.

Anyway Radiohead are the first big established band to offer their album to the public with no price tab. You can download it for as little as a penny. Of course their loyal fans will buy the CD when it is released next month. Critics are saying that it has been a clever publicity stunt and one that will do them no harm. However I do feel Thom Yorke is pretty genuine about wanting to make a statement about music and its ownership. All this reminds me about the way we as Christians look upon music. I’m often saddened when Chrstian artists seem to have sold out to the
publishing world of Christian music. Anyway I’m signing off. Maybe I might get some shut eye before we land.

Here I am at the end of a Sunday evening, and I’m just getting myself ready to join the crowds that push into the airports and rail stations in india. God is good. I believe I must have the best job in the world. It is such a privilege to be part of the family at Bo’ness St Andrew’s. We are such a mixed group of people, but I think that is what i like about our church. Well In a few hours I’ll be flying back to india again, just for a week to catch up with our friends and to see what plans can be laid to go about building the little medical post at Ratipatti. I looking forward to getting a ride on the trains again.

Well today has been quite an interesting one. We had two baptisms at the morning service and it was wonderful to see so many people out at church. I think its great to see people making the effort to support their families and friends on these big occasions. it was especially meaningful for Frances Snedden on of our faithful members to see her great grandson baptised. her granddaughter Angela with her husband Gavin,had come all the way from Queenland Australia. In was also just as pleased to celebrate with David and Dianne Collins, as they brought baby Joshua for baptism also. I hope that the visitors who were with us today enjoyed the service. Hey if you were a visitor and your reading the blog, give me a shout and let me know what you felt during the service.

I think a lot of people were touched by the story from the Bible today. The story of Joseph has something to say to all of us. the picture of his father Jacob having to face up to his own deception years later being deceived himself, is a timely reminder that we all have to deal with the messy things in our lives. Of course the big theme in the sermon was that God is able to work good out of bad things. Joseph facing his brothers many years later is able to say to them, ” You did all this to harm me, you meant it for evil, but God has turned it around for good. How true that is just think of the number of times when things have seen so black and impossible and prayer has been the key that has opened the door, and changed the whole situation.

Well in a few hours i’ll be at the airport, we fly out at 6.00pm so I better sign off now and try and get some sleep. Can I say big thank you to all of you who have wished me well and I for my part will try and keep the blog up to date over the next few days.

Glad to see that my old pal Jimmy Sommerville has been having a look at the blog. Actually his comments are quite true, he hasn’t changed all that much, now that’s more than can be said for me. I popped into the office this afternoon although I’m still on holiday. Johnny, our techy support person, told me he had been reading the blog. He said he liked the Living Stones then he said, “is that your picture on the blog? ” You’ve really changed! Well that’s true Johnny we all change. Except for sweet baby James, so here’s a song from James Taylor for the man with the whiskers in the previous post. Even James Taylor has changed! Make sure you listen to this youtube clip. If it says its not working click on the menu the Dixie Chics version is just brilliant!

This is my Gandhi look, as I prepare to fly out to India next week. I’ll try and keep the blog going and relate some of the stories from our travels. I think it will be an interesting eight days. My colleague Willie MacPherson is joining me on this trip to look at some of the projects I have been interested in over the past couple of years.

The seasons are also changing, Mrs iTalker and I, visited my sister and brother-in-law on holiday in Strathpeffer for a couple of days this week. Yesterday was such a delightful Autumn morning. I couldn’t resist this picture it has such a cool feel to it. It says to me winter is on its way chill out. So I sat back yesterday and listened to some James Taylor and I chilled out.

Well here’s a wee bit of Christian rock’n roll history for you. I spent most of today clearing out my study. I came across a poster for the very first Greenbelt Festival in August 1974. Guess what, I played it ! And Just to prove it I’ve loaded up the poster. Today of course Greenbelt is one of the most important music and arts festivals in the Christian calander. I’m told around 20,000 people attend each year.

I was the lead singer with a band known as the Living Stones. I think there must have been a couple of thousand people at the Festival. The police turned up in force and then left one policeman on duty because the crowd were too well behaved! It was at Prospect Farm, Woodbridge , in Suffolk. Jim Holloway, was the brother in law of the amazing John Peck. He lectured in the Glasgow BTI, John was a fantastic person who encouraged the best in everyone. And I believe he still does. Well it was John Peck who got the gig for us. It all seems like another life to me now. However it was a great experience. It wasn’t the biggest crowd we ever played to, that was reserved for the Sunday we played Green’s Playhouse in Glasgow when the quite unique Arthur Blessit visited Scotland.Arthur holds the world record for carrying a life size cross all around the world. I believe he is still doing it. Should we invite him to The CWW National Gathering 2008. Let’s have a poll. Please make your comment.

Clearing out rubbish ends up making you think. So I guess some of you might want to even hear what the Living Stones sounded like, well here’s a track from an album we recorded its called Disillusion, its full of youthful angst. Its worth a listen. Disillusion from the Album ” Jesus Music”