Beautiful India!

This One Is For the Tax Preparers, Mathematicians and the Kids Among The Readership! 

Well, today is tax day for all of us from America.  I’m not in America right now, but I still had to pay those pesky taxes.  While bringing up the fact makes it seem that I’m mocking, let me assure you I’m not.  I wouldn’t make light of anything so miserable as taxes….

But, hey!  Since you’re probably as miserable as everyone else today, let me share something with you.  You’ve been calculating and computing numbers for weeks now, so, let me stay in that same line.  In fact, the numbers I’m going to share with you may actually take your mind off of your taxes for a few short minutes.  Trust me, they should motivate you to praise God.  

Ready?   

648.   hmmmm….  Magic number?   Nope.   Amount of your tax return this year?  Nope.   Is it the square root of  419,904?  Well, yes, but, nope.  Wrong again.  Want a hint?

It’s the sum total of the current six days of high temperatures here in India!   (today, and the next five estimates)  Just in case you question my calculations, I’ve got a screen shot to prove the numbers. 

You’ve already got your calculator out so, I’ll let you run the numbers on that to see how toasty it is this week.  Makes my running, shouting, jumping, demonstrative style of preaching and teaching a little tough this week.  :-)

In fact, let’s truly do the numbers.  First one to fill in the chart below correctly and send it to me will get a gift from India as soon as I get home.  How does that sound?  

Small print:  Please copy and paste ONLY the chart into an email and send it to:  Beyondfrontiers2011@gmail.com  Winning entry is based upon the order of emails as they fall into my Inbox.  Sorry, I can’t be held responsible for Internet woes, wifi warts and smart phone stupidities.  If my Inbox says you are the first, then I’ll send it to you.  I have no idea how the international time stamp on your computer and your email system will appear on my computer.  You’ll just have to trust me.  Don’t send your address.  Just your name and I’ll email you back if you’re the winner.  Winners must reside in the Continental US.  Is that enough legal mumbo-jumbo?  

Here’s the Table to be filled out:

Tuesday’s Temp:   ______  (the average minus 2 degrees)  (today)

Wednesday’s Temp:   ______  (the average)

Thursday’s Temp:    ______  (the average)

Friday’s Temp: ______  (the average plus 1 degree)

Saturday’s Temp: ______  (the average plus 1 degree)

Sunday’s Temp: ______  (the average)

If you can figure this all out and fill in the blanks with the correct daily high estimated temperature, you didn’t need help figuring your taxes after all!  You may have needed help paying them, but that’s different. 

Back to ministry…  God’s blessing is with us and the pastors are responding to the teaching material about Pastoral Ethics:  What God expects from us in our ministries.  Please pray that God will move the hearts and stir them to move forward in the work of the Lord.

The other day I had the chance to see a Lee Enfield British 303 rifle up close.  Really close in fact.  We were traveling between Sunday’s preaching point number 2, heading for preaching point number 3.  As we rounded the corner two soldiers waved us to a stop.  Of all the doors in the vehicle, they chose mine.  I was in the front, passenger’s side seat.  Yes, that’s the OTHER passenger’s side seat, on the left (we’re in India, remember?  Cars are reversed here.)

They opened the door and I volunteered to get out.  He insisted that I stay seated.  He didn’t need me out.  He opened the glove compartment in front of me and rummaged around.  He closed it and didn’t even ask to look inside my small bag I was carrying around my waist.  That’s a BIG Praise the Lord!

Anyway, I admired his antique rifle from VERY close.  It was a thing of beauty even though it was beaten up and scarred all over.  I’m glad I was there to see it.

Oh, you want to know WHY he stopped us???  You must not appreciate beautiful weapons of the last century….

They stopped us because it is election day.  Actually, it’s Election Week.  More accurately, it’s Election FIVE WEEKS here!  Yes, officially, the elections in India last 5 whole weeks.  So, in order to avoid politicians going around buy votes, they stop people and vehicles at random to check to see if they are carrying large amounts of money.  The day before we avoided that by going through the countryside.  This time, we had to pass through the city.  Just that day, I had been given the money I sent ahead to India….   Indeed, praise the Lord for letting the soldier be more interested in the glove compartment than my pack!  

Thank you for your prayers.  I know it seems like such a small thing.  It probably is.  But it’s a good example of how you praying at the right moment can make all the difference between the Word of the Lord having free course, or, encountering obstacles and bumps.  Free course is much preferable to obstacles if possible.  

OK.  Hurry!   Calculators may already be tapping out the winning numbers.  

Thanking God for friends like you!

Beyond Frontiers