dippu.com

There are certain times in my life when I get a hint of my future. There are occassions when I get a small glimpse into what the future holds for me. Usually in these times, the wonder of this revelation in itself leaves me speechless and amazed. It’s in these moments I thank God for believing in me, and constantly reminding me of what He has for me. There are other times when you get a hint of your future, and you’re wondering what God was thinking of when He thought it up.

Deeper Walk

I went up to Vancouver this past weekend for a youth retreat. Deeper Walk, as it is called, is a wonderful time when kids from a couple churches in the Vancouver area come together. I’m honored to be a part it. This time when I went up, on the Saturday night after the retreat was over, Stephen, Samroon, Mark, and I decided to take a walk around downtown Vancouver, and just have a time with the guys if you will.

Vancouver Downtown

The first thing we did was go to a Falafel House, which if those reading don’t know, is a Greek food place. You get everything from Falafels to shawarmas to humus. I won’t be able to get into the details of the different variety of Greek foods I’ve mentioned, but it was definitely a mouth-watering experience. I love Greek food. After Greek food we decided to walk through Robson Street which is probably the coolest place to be if you love to shop. There are hundreds of people walking the streets.

Desperation

As we we were walking back to the car to head back to Richmond, this older lady, probably strung out on drugs, teeth missing, cuts along her neck, and bruises and decayed flesh along her calves, came up to us. She looked extremely desperate. She kept asking for something to eat and something to drink. Mark decided to buy her a coffee, and the whole time she began telling us her story of how she ended up on the streets of Vancouver. We weren’t sure what to believe from this lady, but all I could see in her eyes was a desperate hope that someone out there could provide for her.

It broke my heart. I would say it broke all of our hearts. Here was this lady walking along Robson Street, and most people on this street could care less about this poor lady. Most of us were here to go shopping not help the destitute along the street. How many other people like this were there, that most of us were giving a cold shoulder to? How many homeless people were walking this very street desperate for hope?

East Hastings

I couldn’t hold back the tears. I couldn’t begin to describe the agony of experience. We were planning to drive around to Stanley Park to see more of Vancouver, but this experience made us craving for more. Mark decided to take us to East Hastings Street. This is probably the worst part of Vancouver. The police actually bring the drugged out and diseased people here. It’s like this huge ghetto where you find prostitutes, druggies, homeless, and other people randomly walking the streets.

You could see the hopelessness in these people. It was infectious. We drove by another part of town, and Mark told us that this was a hub for Internet pornography. That just hurt me even more. I never realized it when I lived there, but there’s this hopelessness that pervades the atmosphere in Vancouver. It’s just this nagging heavy feeling that just keeps you gloomy. Mark said it best: “There’s just a spirit of death here in Vancouver.”

I’m called to this?

Throughout the whole ordeal, I realized a thing or two. I feel like I’m called to eventually come back to Vancouver, and as this night progressed I realized that this chaos, evil, and hopelessness I witnessed would become part of my story. Not because I would be drawn into that lifestyle, but that my job would be to rescue such as these. It hit me because I realized that my life would be given to this cause.

I felt fearful. I felt pained. I was thinking; “God I don’t want to do this! Isn’t the job of a minister anymore glamorous? Why do you want me to get involved with the worst of the worst?” In my heart of hearts I began to see where my future was headed, but in my mind I wished I never ever saw it. I had a date with my destiny and I left with a feeling of anguish. I realized, “I’m not as compassionate as I thought I am”. I realized, “I’m not as loving as I claim to be”.

The thing about God is that He asks you to do something that is harder than anything you could ever do on your own strength. For Abraham this was sacrificing his own son. For Jesus it was dying on the cross. Abraham had to trust God that He would raise Isaac again. Jesus had to trust His Father’s will and follow-through.

I’m not capable of what God has called me to. I can believe I am, but I’m not. The only strength I have is Christ and His grace. I hope that when I get a chance to have another date with my destiny, I’ll have a little more compassion. Until then all I can rely on is the hope and trust I have in Christ Jesus. I’ve laid my future in His hands and I’m willing to follow it…

I might have just seen the most riveting video ever. If you want to make a movie trailer-- take some hints from these people:

 A few things about the concept of a camp about Jesus: For me, the closest I have probably come to this sort of thing is Vacation Bible School. My first VBS ever was in Delhi, India. My only memory from that experience was punching a kid in the stomach and making him cry. I have since repented and moved on. Watching the video, you have to keep an open mind not just about the subjects of the film but also the film makers themselves. To set the stage, two people: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady follow three young people along with their parents to a "Kids on Fire" camp run by a pastor named Becky Fischer. I am unsure if the two film makers had any agendas other than just to present the camp to the world. The film is called Jesus Camp and you can find their main website here. The movie looks good from the preview and I intend on watching it when it comes out.

 
What you'll find even more interesting, fellow Dippu-ers, is that our local Indian church here in Portland held their VBS a couple of years back. Our theme was "Boot Camp": very similar in that we were preparing young kids to become soldiers for God. "I'm in the Lord's Army, yes SIR!" sort of stuff. This camp looks like a pretty elaborate setup with face paint, body worship, skits, and impressive young kids. I was really impressed by the young kid on the mike who is absolutely passionate about what he's saying. My only fear is that many non-Christians might see these people and think that we believe our enemies are actual human beings rather than sin and Satan himself. Before you get that unsettling feeling in your gut that I got watching the video first, consider if non Christian film makers brought a camera to a Malayalee Pentecostal gathering? Why is it that this hasn't happened yet? Are they not the most intriguing group one can find in the United States? I'm waiting for "Kathiripu Yogam the Movie" but until then this seems like a good choice.

It's a lie. All of it. We have spent the last year or so, living a lie. All at the behest of a mandan whose hearing disorder has resulted in a combination of syllables that may be the perfect malayalee name, but is actually the result of faulty hearing.

dippu.com. Does it sound like a real name for a website?

and yet it is us.

dippu.com.

I finally heard the truth from Decruz. He broke down completely and wept. "It's all a lie. How could they do this to me? Is everything I've ever believed a lie?" In the midst of this soul searching, I had the temerity to ask him what the problem was and found out the whole sad story. A story which puts the very existence of dippu.com at risk. Yet, in the best interests of journalistic integrity, I leave this story with you.

He was sitting at his ancestral home in Kerala when his world crumbled around him. Feeling very proud of himself, he mentioned that he had a website which provided a unique perspective on the south asian christian movement. And he added a kicker. "I named it after that dog we used to have here. Dippu."

He got blank stares.

"You know, Dippu, that little black and brown mongrel that used to bark incessantly whenever people came from foreign."

A lone voice piped up,"We didn't have any dogs named Dippu."

Indignantly," What? Of course we did, and we called him Dippu, Dippu."

Comprehension seemd to dawn on a few faces. There were "Ohhh"s and some of them started laughing. "That wasn't Dippu. That was Tippu. You thought your grandmother called it Dippu, so you always called it that. Now we know why." Decruz wasn't ready to let it go, so he had his grandmother come out and asked her what the dog's name was. Sure enough, she said "Tdippu" with the T silent.

This is a moment of loss for all of us. We are mourning the loss of a dog's name, a name that defined who we were. A name that inspired my slogan in better days.

We dippu in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

What can we do with Tippu? On a related note, why are there so many dogs in Kerala named after kings and generals. Tippu, Raja, Kaiser, Captain, Rex, Sultan, Rani, the list goes on.

We must find new meaning in dippu. No matter the cost, we continue to dippu. I Dippu. We all Dippu. Mad love, and much respect to the memory of our lost dippu. Pour some out for the name. We keep the faith.

Living in America, many times as Christians we forget the plight of those serving the Lord in hostile environments. We can look to the believers in Islamic nations, we can think of the brutal reign of Communism in China, or we can even see the persecution in India. As believers in a 'blessed' nation where we have freedoms to live out our faith, we must consider the situation of those who live in hard situations. It remains our job to pray for them. Here at Dippu, we would like to bring you the story of one man who is serving the Lord in Jammu. He serves in an environment where Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism are well established. His heart is for the poor and destitute.

 After the Bible Class we all went to our respective buildings for rest and individual prayer. Suddenly Police Officials, News Media People and Shiva Sena, RSS, Bajrang Dal people came and began to question Pastors and believers. Police Officials cancelled the permit given to us to conduct the meeting and ordered us to remove immediately the tent and all other equipments from the play ground where meeting was arranged. The Lord told me to close the meetings and send the people to their respective places immediately. The big crowd of children of God began to move with their luggage to the Bust Stand and Railway Station. The number of the hostile people began to increase rapidly. I also came to Meerut Railway Station with some people. My Son Finney- Mathew Samuel and two Evangelists named Balkar Singh and Malkan Singh stayed behind to check whether any people or equipment left behind. The Shiva Sena, RSS and Bajrang Dal people caught these three servants of God and beaten them very badly without any mercy. They took them to a secluded place to kill them but God intervened and created confusion among them.  They had beaten Finney very badly because they saw him standing with me on the stage and translating the message. Then they took these three servants of God to the police station and put them in prison charging that they tried to convert people. In the meanwhile Pastor Hansraj Saini reached the Police Station to enquire about the three servants of God. The hostile people caught him also and put him in prison. The big crowd of hostile people continued to shout slogans till midnight out side the Police Station. It was a very hard time for these servants of God to spend the night in prison because they were suffering from severe pain in their body due to persecution.  The next evening they were released from prison but the charges against them is yet to be withdrawn officially. My Son Finney’s condition is serious. His head and neck is swollen and due to giddiness it is very difficult for him to stand up properly. Evangelists Balkar Singh and Malkan Singh are also suffering with severe body pain. I request you to pray for their quick recovery. Due to this sudden attack on us, a huge amount of money was spent for the arrangement and travelling expenses for the meeting. Here in North India we are facing severe opposition from all side. Police and Government Officials are also against us. Among the believers of our Churches, majority are from Hindu or Sikh back ground. We did not convert any one from their religion to Christian religion. They accepted Jesus Christ as the only true God and Saviour and do not visit Temples and Gurudwaras as they used to do before. Therefore, the Police Officials, Government Officials and hostile people raise complaints against us with the allegation of converting people. The Officials are making plans to arrest us and put us in the prison under Anti Conversion Law. In Jammu city, this week we divided the believers into eight worship groups so that they may worship God secretly. The situation is very tense. The new believers are facing severe persecutions from their own people.  We are sharing all the burdens together. At any cost, people should know the way of salvation. Friends, we are in the midst of great turbulence of persecution. We need more grace and boldness to face this situation. I plead with you to pray and intercede for us during this hour of great trouble.

Pastor A.M. Samuel 

As we read of such situations, our hearts must be stirred to prayer for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. It remains our duty to pray. We just want to remind you that even though there is persecution, Christianity is still changing lives, transforming cities, and shaking nations. This above example is just one story. There are countless other stories like it.

So let's pray and ask God for protection for Pastor A.M. Samuel, and let us take some time to pray for all our brothers and sisters around the world who are persecuted for the sake of Christ. 

...And a certain man went out into a field, and found a pearl of exceeding worth. He said nothing, but went and sold all that he had and with the money he got, purchased that field. Now this story was told in the town in later years and many men went seeking for treasure in strange places. But no one found more treasure and it was dismissed as a fable, a story to explain ill gotten gain or an attempt at cheating democracy. For the family of the man had grown large through the years and would tell their story to all others. They would even invite people over to look at the treasure, but for every person that saw the treasure there would always be another person to deny its existence. One day, a young man came to town, and as he heard the tale of the treasure offered to visit if he was paid for his time.  For some of the family was of the opinion that just time in their house would vindicate its existence. And an old man had pity on him and said,"We do not need you to verify the existence of the treasure, but give me a stranger's view of our house and I shall pay you for it. For I fear we have not been hospitable of late."

Interestingly enough, this young man is Indian American. His name is Hemant Mehta and he has been taking his visit seriously. In fact you can read all about it at http://www.off-the-map.org/atheist/ He even hosts his own blog, calling himself the ebaytheist.  The old man is a sometime painter named Jim Henderson who recruited Hemant to get an idea of what strangers feel when they visit churches. Off the Map also has a link to the Wall Street Journal's article. I got all this information off of Bobby who got it off of Sepia Mutiny.

I only wish there was some way to get Hemant to an Indian church in Chicago and get his feedback.

Since Enigma and Pastor Thomas decided to get feisty, I'm welcoming you all to the party in the comments section of  this post.

I know it feels a little juvenile to actually talk about it, but some things need to be wallowed in. The thanksgiving post was doing fine until Enigma decided to put a hand up and ask for pastoral guidance. I've posted the relevant comments below, and you all can take it from there.

Pastor S. -- are u reading any of this? I was wondering if you know much about soulmates... if so, what exactly are they and is this biblical?? can a person have a soulmate, and be wed to another at the same time or should the "soulmates", having found each marry one another, because they are so connected.?.?.?.??(i am just w o n d e r i n g)

12.11.2005 | Enigma

You raise an interesing question Enigma,as usual. Of course, in God's foreknowledge he does know who we will marry. Moreover "what God has brought together, let no man put asunder". If God is brining a man and woman together, earthly "soulmates" or not, they are together. If you are married and you believe your "soulmate" is still out there, your marriage will suffer terribly. The person you are married to is your soulmate, don't wait for someone else. In other words, you can not be married and have a seperate soulmate, such thoughts lead to marital cheating and adultery. I assume you know how God feels about divorce which would be the end result. For this reason I shy away from the term "soulmate" Maybe I am misunderstanding something, Enigma what do you define as soulmate? Sorry for being ignorant, but maybe this term means differently for your generation. I think I have just opened a can of worms on dippu. Pastor S. Thomas

12.12.2005 | Pastor S. Thomas

Actually, Pastor S.-- i have no definition, except an understanding of what a soulmate is.. from having met someone that I feel connected to in such pure way... but undescribable way... is that even a word? =)

12.12.2005 | Enigma

 

see, i told you dippu was sleeping.

I've had this doubt for a real long time and I'd like to hear what you think about  the same.

How obedient are you to speed limits? If the sign says 30, do you actually stick to 30 or lesser or do you go above it?

Where is your Christ-like attitude if you are going above the speed limit??

Otherwise how do you stand all the stares & comments & rude gestures from other drivers for driving just at the speed limit??

I'm the guy who sets the cruise on speed limit + 9 ... 'cos people say +10 will surely get you a ticket.

 

What kind of a driver are you? I just want to know ...

And you ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

UPDATE: DayCruz here, I've decided to also put my money where my heart is or something like that-- I will be matching Zimbly Mallu's donations. Enigma has also decided to do this. So please- tell your friends. You are welcome to donate more by clicking on the links provided.  I will be donating to World Vision. 

UPDATE: Add Bobby to the list, this makes it 4 dollars per comment. Awesome!

People have said to me before that I’m too disconnected from my culture. Within myself I know I’m too connected to my culture for them to say that, but in the way I do things and in the way I live, I could pass off for one who is really not connected to my culture.

I never learned Malayalam or Hindi properly. I can speak enough Malayalam to communicate to my grandparents, but I can’t read or write anything other than English, and a bit of French I learned in high school. I love Indian food more than anything else, but I think this has more to do with my mom’s cooking than anything else. I’ll probably expect my kids to be super smart and get straight A’s in school, even though I despised that burden placed on me growing up.

All in all I’ll probably be more connected to my culture than I think. It’s almost as if I forget sometimes who I am, where I was born, and how my family is. There are tangible differences between me and the average North American. I have to live with the fact that I’m raised between two different cultures. Sometimes I love my Indian culture so much I ask myself how I can stand anything else. Other times I love the North American culture so much, that I ask how I managed to have an Eastern mindset in the Western Hemisphere.

My family travelled around so much that I can truly say I’m from nowhere. I was born in India but I left when I was really young. I lived in the Middle East for 4 years, but I only went to kindergarten there. I’m Canadian by naturalization, but I finished high school in the US. I lived in the US for over 6 years, but I’m not an American citizen. So I would ask myself the question, “Where am I from?”

The clashing of the cultures rage within me daily. Indians expect me to be Indian, while Americans are surprised I’m so American. To me there almost is a blur. I see my Malayalee friends speaking Malayalam to their parents, yet my parents never spoke to me in Malayalam, rather they spoke in English. I know a little bit of Hindi to impress people, but not even enough to hold a decent conversation. My friends ask me if I like a particular food dish, speaking in Hindi or Malayalam, and I have to ask them to explain to me what they’re talking about, only later to find out that I’ve eaten that before.

It’s a challenge for me. Almost like I’m stuck. Nowhere to hide. I can’t go back to India, because I don’t know the way of life properly. I sometimes feel out of place in North America, because it’s like I don’t know if people look at me funny. It’s hard, but multi-cultural people experience it all the time.

I for one am honored to be Indian, but I’m also thankful that I live here in North America. I love my people, but I also understand that I love the American way of life as well. It’s this balance that I have to come to grips with. As I mature and grow I’m learning to re-assess, and re-think my whole perspective.

I would like to ask you the readers some questions regarding Christianity, Culture, and our Relevance to society as Indian Christians in a Western Culture. Take the time to go through these and submit them back to us:

1. Should culture be the primary characteristic upheld after our spirituality?
2. How can we as Indian Christians speak to "Americans" about Christ in a relevant manner, if we only attend our Indian churches?
3. If you were a pastor and one of young in your 'flock' decided to marry outside of race, would you do the marriage?
4. What kind of a mindset should an Indian Christian have when bringing a newly saved person to church?
   
5. Does Christ's love supersede our affinity towards our culture? (this question is almost always going to be yes...so no need to answer it unless you have a different opinion)
   
6. If you saw an Indian on the side of the road who needs help, would you help him more often than if you saw man from another race?
7. Do you as an Indian Christian only associate with other Indian Christians, or do you have friends from other races? If so why do you or why do you not?
8. Have you ever felt racism in the Western culture? Has anyone from the Western culture felt racism when around you?
9. How does compassion and reason play into our Indian minds when it comes to helping the poor, needy, and destitute?
10. How in your opinion can we become more relevant in our Western society? Should we be relevant at all?

These are very serious questions. Take the time to think about them and chew on what you'd answer before you reply. I just felt that with all the discussion going on like it is, maybe it would help everyone reading to set straight a few things before we go on.

Thanks,

Ashish 

When we come to Christ, me make a move from things seen to things unseen; from things apparent to things un-apparent; from the human to the divine; from the mortal to the everlasting; from the old into the new.

There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it."

Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to--to God's kingdom."
"How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying this 'born-from-above' talk?"

Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to the this original creation--the 'wind hovering over the water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life--it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch--the Spirit--and becomes living Spirit."

"So don't be surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above'--out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."

taken from John 3, Message Translation

When you come to know God, your focus becomes things supernatural, not things natural; your whole identity changes into a God-looking identity. Even as it is to Nicodemus, the things of God are not apparent to the earth-focused person. It's the grace of God that comes and breathes this 'new life' into you, upon which you can see things through spiritual eyes. To the person so focused on the natural, things supernatural are beyond common sense. It goes against the grain of thinking of one focused on this world. But O the wonder, when God reveals that grace to you, and you begin to see things in a different perspective.

Eight Protestant Christians, including two Indians, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia, the Rome-based religious news agency Asianews has reported.

The Saudi religious police, the Muttawa, arrested an evangelical Christian from India who was in Saudi Arabia on a tourist visa and seized a Bible and addresses, which led to the arrest of seven other members of an evangelical Protestant group, the institute said on Wednesday.

Also arrested were Vijay Kumar, 45, from India, an immigrant worker in Saudi Arabia since 1994 whose apartment was used for Christian meetings, said the Asianews web site, which is run by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.

On April 23, the Muttawa arrested 40 Pakistani nationals for celebrating a Catholic mass in a private house.

All forms of non-Muslim worship are banned in Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam's holiest shrines.

At moments like this, I worry about all those families in Saudi Arabia that meet on Sunday evenings at different homes. They have to quietly sing from the hymnals and pray softly. The person speaking from the scriptures would have to also speak softly. All this to avoid the neighbors (if they were hardcore orthodox muslims) from calling the cops and thus getting caught.

Sometimes we get up on Sunday mornings and grumble about having to get ready for church. Sometimes we are enthusiastic about church but we take for granted the place of worship & the ease with which we spend our time around the altar. We also take for granted those trips from home to the church & back, while others take risks to reach the church on their way to & fro.

My sister and her family are settled in Dammam too, but even I forget the risks that they take to gather in homes & worship the Lord sometimes more than twice a week!!

Today I got reminded of the same and if you are reading this, I ask that you pray for all our brethren who have been caught in Saudi and all the others who have difficulties in going to church on Sundays.

"Born into Brothels is one of the most moving films I've seen recently -- and it won the Oscar for best documentary this year. Filmed in the red light district of Calcutta, it follows several children born into the brothels, whose mothers work as prostitutes. In a city where there is much poverty, they are even more shunned and maltreated than most, because of where they live and who their families are. Given cameras, they photograph their families, the streets where they live, and generate new hope for their lives. In the wake of the film, an organization, Kids with Cameras, has emerged to continue the project."
    from a flickr blog post

"A tribute to the resiliency of childhood and the restorative power of art, BORN INTO BROTHELS is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta where their mothers work as prostitutes. Zana Briski, a New York based photographer, gives each of these youngsters a camera and teaches them how to take pictures, simultaneously causing them to look at their world with new eyes..."
    from BORN INTO BROTHELS movie website

I commented last night on a discussion about the new Pope of the Roman Catholic church. You know, being a Protestant, I could care less who the Catholics pick as their leader, although I have tremendous respect for this man. He seems to have clear convictions and he stand by them. Well, at Sepia Mutiny, the folks there seem to have a very different opinion. A lot of the visitors there are quite angry about the new pope's comments on other religions. To read them, go directly to the post at the Mutiny.  I don't understand why it should offend you so much when someone else believes your religion is wrong. It doesn't make any sense to me. Some are resorting to calling him a Nazi, which is just simply foolish. The man was involved in Hitler Youth when joining was compulsory. His father was very anti-Nazi. So that kind of talk isn't really helping the debate. In my opinion, the guy seems pretty reasonable- even if he looks a bit like Hannibal Lector (or Anthony Hopkins, take your pick).




Does this man remind you of someone?

"Helllooooo Clariceeee.."

I was watching 24 tonight on FOX. If you haven't seen this show, wait until next season and then watch it. It has to be one of the best shows on television because of the pure drama it provides. I've been watching it a lot this entire season and I've noticed that there are a lot of moral and ethical dilemmas brought up on the show. One of the most frequent ones is about torture and its place in a democracy. On tonight's show, the Counter Terrorism Unit captured a suspect who was linked to a terrorist attack earlier in the day. A fictional organization named Amnesty Global (most probably named after its real life counterpart, Amnesty International) sends a lawyer to make sure that CTU does not torture the suspect. There have been at least three or four tortures already in the entire show. Now, a nuclear warhead is missing and may be used on the United States. A judge gives the order not to allow the prisoner to be interrogated without a lawyer present. What would you do? Would you allow the man to be tortured, considering the present situation?

I thought about this myself and my answer was a clear yes. Although I am all for individual rights, in this situation-- to protect the many, you have to break the rules in such an urgent situation. Do you disagree? Leave a comment below.