Post on 14-Apr-2018
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Uttam and Rapali Dhela
Learn more about this young,
dedicated missionary, his life,
and his work, inside this issue.
CHAI TIMESMay, 2013
BRINGING HOPE TO A LAND OF HOPELESSNESS.....Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Son, of the Father, and of
the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
Welcome to this inaugural issue of
what I hope will be a quarterly newsletter
primarily dealing with New Hopes
partnership with e3 Partners and missions
in India. I hope to keep you updated on
the activities and initiatives that are going
on there, as well as give you information to
prepare you for your own mission trip in
the future.For those of you that like useless
trivia, the title of the newsletter is a take on
the marijuana culture magazine High
Times. Chai is the universal word for tea in
India and the subject of the picture in the
top right corner of the masthead. Just my
twisted sense of humor to take a counter-
culture icon and twist it to help
communicate Gods work in the far east.
Of the over three hundred unreached
people groups in the world, more than two
hundred of them live in India. Its a vast
country with diverse people, landscape,
and many subcultures. My love for these
people is greater than my checking
account and as such, Im not planning toreturn until 2015 and hopefully, my wife
Shannon will be able to accompany me on
that trip.
Its my hope to introduce you to the
people of Assam and, perhaps, infect you
with some of the love that I have for them.
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The people of Assam friendly, open,
giving, an in need.
Located in the far north-east of
India, the Assam region is comprised
of many tribal groups, collectively
known as The Assamese. Outside of
the larger cities like Guwahati and
Tezpur, most earn their livingagriculturally, working their own
subsistence farms or for larger tea or
rice plantation owners. Their work is
hard and you will see very few modern
farm implements. The average yearly
income is about $350.00.
Like most people in American
agricultural areas, the people of
Assam are friendly, open, and giving.
If one takes the time to meet them attheir level, you are greeted with
incredible warmth and hospitality.
They are eager to learn about your life
and life in the United States, and eage
to tell you the story of their people.
Family is extremely important in
the Indian culture and Assam is no
exception. It is common in the rural
areas to find three or four generations
living under one roof. Children are
often viewed as a communityresponsibility and duties for taking
care of them is spread throughout the
village.
Rice and vegetables make up the
majority of the diet. Meats such as
chicken, goat, and lamb arent too
uncommon but often are only
prepared for special occasions.
The Assam region is most famous
for its tea and it is customary for hoststo insist on brewing you some. The
tea is typically served very hot and
with milk and sugar. Delicious stuff.
THE PEOPLE
QUiCK FACTS:
Population: 31.2 Million
Average Income: $350.00
Literacy Rate: 65%
Life Expectancy: 62.2
Infant Mortality:51/1000
47% of Children suffer
malnutrition
Religious breakdown:
Hindu 64.92%
Islam 30.93%
Christian 3.71%
Other 0.45%
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Meet Uttam Dhela
Uttam Dhela is our team leader in
the Uttar Pradesh region of Assam.
He lives with his wife Rupali and their
son Ashanti in a very rural area about
60 kilometers north of Tezpur. His
extended family is very typical for thearea, subsistence farmers that work
for larger farms to earn extra income.
Uttam is quiet, unassuming, and
reserved. These arent traits that most
of us think of when we picture a
leader. But then you have the
experience of seeing Uttam interact
with his team. The minute he speaks,
all of his team members focus solely
on him and then eagerly follow hisinstructions while realizing full well that
they can make their own suggestions
and freely give input. In many ways he
follows Christs example in leadership
by serving those he leads.
Uttam has proven himself
steadfast and dedicated to his task.
During the January 2012 trip, Uttam
was to supply eight local volunteers
for the four American teams. He
supplied over twenty. The house
church planting goal that e3 Partners
set for Uttam between February and
July was five. As of this writing, twelve
have been started and an additional
five home studies that may eventually
become churches, have begun
meeting.
e3s main focus is in church
planting and making disciples, as
commissioned in Matthew 28:19.
Uttam leads a team of over 30
volunteers and pastors that travel
throughout the area, organizing and
overseeing home Bible studies and the
formation of house churches. This
spring Uttam and his team will oversea
the distribution of audio-bibles to
these groups of new Christians so that
they can learn more about God and
His love for them.
For this first year Uttams ministry
is supported solely by New Hope
Church, working through e3 Partners
Ministry. Because the area Uttam lives
in is very rural and has no mail service,
New Hope has also provided a simple
laptop computer and paid for cellular
data service for a period of one year.Continued support will have to be
raised for the 2014 calendar year for
Uttams work to continue.
This July will see another team of
Americans going to Uttams region of
Assam. They will follow up with the
house churches that have been
planted, help oversee the distribution
of the audio-bibles, provide HIV and
malaria education, and, of course,
share the gospel to a people in need
of hope.
PRAY
Prayer is one of the most
significant things you can
do for the mission in
Assam. Pray for the
safety of Uttams team, for
the effectiveness of their
ministry, and for the
continuing education and
growth of the new
believers and house
churches started by this
ministry. Finally, pray
about what else you coulddo for this mission.
WHAT YOU
CAN DO
GIVE
This is an ongoing
initiative in this region
of the world. While
expenses for the native
pastors and workers seem
small by Western
standards, they do need
support. You can also
support those Americans
that are traveling toIndia to take part in
these missions. For
information on how to
give, go to
www.e3partners.org
GO
While it is true that the
day to day work on the
ground is done by native
pastors and volunteers,
American team members are
needed to providedirection, encouragement,
and initiative to the
project. Remember, when
Jesus said GO and make
disciples he wasnt
talking about someone
else. He was talking
about all believers.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?To find out more about e3 Partners Ministry and their initiatives around the
world, go towww.e3partners.org
To follow my own trips to India and get even more insight into India and
what a trip there is like, gowww.bobjosjor.blogspot.com
http://www.bobjosjor.blogspot.com/http://www.bobjosjor.blogspot.com/http://www.bobjosjor.blogspot.com/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/7/30/2019 Chai Times, April 2013
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INDIA:The British called it The Jewel In
The Crown of their empire. The
country has been invaded, ruled by
other peoples, and even while the
English held control for nearly two
centuries, they never truly conquered
its people.
India is a home for paradox and
contradictions.. It is the land that, in
time of old, practiced suttee, the cruel
ritual of burning a mans widow alive
on her husbands funeral pyre, and yet
produced the simple, forgiving, and
inspiring passive resistance
championed by Ghandi. It is one of
the few countries that actually
experienced economic growth during
the recent global recession; yet, more
children suffer from
malnutrition in India than in
sub-saharan Africa.
1.2 Billion People
As you can imagine,
with that many people the
diversity of Indias
population is unmatched.
This issue of Chai Times
hopes to introduce you to
one group, the
Assamese. You will learn
a bit about its people
and the work being done
there in an effort to improve
their daily lives.
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