Sram Ashram Ministries

Hello friends and family. The secretarial training classes have begun, and we are officially in Phase II of the Ashram vision. For those of you who are new to the Ashram family, there are four stages in the plan for this ministry. The first phase includes building study centers and aiding Indian churches financially as well as equipping church leaders, which is happening currently all around Andhra Pradesh. The second phase dreams of giving people skills to better themselves and up the number of middle-class families in India. The third and fourth phases involve boosting the morale of people around the globe.

So here we stand in the beginning of Phase II, knowing that God is truly blessing the work of our hands. We received a total of 80 applications from people all around this state (Andhra). The youngest student is 12 and the oldest is 60+. Both males and females alike are coming to learn about computers and English, and then people of both Christian and Hindu backgrounds are staying for Bible study. We have four courses of computer and English classes running twice a week for two hours a session, and spoken English classes meet three times weekly. After each and every session, the students join together on the floor mats to hear the tales of what God has done as told in His Word.

It is wonderful to be a part of all of these classes and to see the revelation on student’s faces as they discover more about themselves and their own abilities by understanding first that they are loved by God and second that they can achieve great things when they are given the opportunity. Please pray that God will continue to bless us as we seek His will for this new ministry.

Culture Shock
What do you get when you cross a cow, five scooters, a bus, three bicycles, four people, and twelve rickshaws? Give up? An Indian intersection! Driving in India is one of those things that has really given me culture shock. Whether we go on the scooter or in an auto-rickshaw, we always have an adventure. During my first week here, we were riding in a rickshaw (these things look just like bright yellow bumper-cars), and the driver didn’t know where he was going. At one point, he turned up the wrong road, and Solomon told him to make a U-turn. Right in the middle of a six lane highway-bridge, we swung around. But he didn’t make the turn sharply enough. We went heading right into the wall on the other side (AHHHHH). Then, we were stuck. These things don’t back up on their own, so the driver got out to push. While the driver pushed our yellow bumper-car out of the ditch, Solomon stood in the middle of this huge bridge waving his arms like a mad man, trying to get the traffic to move out of the way. All I could do was close my eyes and pray; and somehow, after an eternity, we were safe. As my father always says, "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Frequent Fliers
Tip Number One: Always carry an extra set of clothing in your carry on.
Baggage can easily get lost, especially when traveling to India. Clement’s parcel was accidentally shipped to Chicago instead of Bombay. So, around and around we went, trying to track it down. Finally, four days after our arrival, Clement changed his clothing.

WRITE US!
Any questions or suggestions for this publication? Any news from back home? Please email me at kjnbean@aol.com.  I’d love to hear from you!