dippu.com

I'm up early this morning and realizing that there could be a new beginning for this web site. Many may have noticed that I haven't written on this for a while and neither have my colleagues. As a matter of fact, the last person to write on this site was zimblymallu, someone who I had to plead, beg, and threaten to get him to write a year ago. I'm typing on my laptop this morning sort of resigned to the idea that everyone has moved on. Blogging seems like such a chore to me sometimes. We started this site as a way for young people in Portland to correspond online. Everyone had their own blog those days in 2005. One by one, each blog dropped off the face of the earth.

Ashish still writes consistently at his website  ashishjoy.com, I still write on my blog at daycruz.wordpress.com. Bobby got engaged, and I think he still writes although I haven't read his blog in ages. Zimbly, also known as Pramod has been working on getting into a few business schools and also continues to write. Why am I saying all this? Everyone has moved on from dippu.com including myself. i still have a dream for this site though and hope that it will be achieved at some point. I'd like to start writing again just under the condition for myself that this will not be burdened with high expectations. This will be, at least for now, what dippu was meant to be: a project for desis. We never actually figured out what the point of the project was. I actually liked that fact though. It was nice to not have any pressure and just post whatever the heck we felt like. Our site became tough and boring for us to even post on when we had Malayalee uncles and aunties visiting every day. We became too darn Pentecostal for our own good. Now that I think about it, I feel awful for poor Brethren Bobby.

Am I saying that we're not Pentecostal or Malayalee? Well, I know Bobby's not Pentecostal. I'm not even sure if I'm not. The point though is that we are willing to talk about anything and everything. And as a personal aside, we're willing to talk about anything as long as it glorifies God. I head out tomorrow morning on a road trip with my parents to start up school again at Azusa Pacific University. I probably won't have time to write here as much as I'd like but I want anyone that is reading this to know that I still care about this site and that it has not left my mind. Dippu.com will continue but we will hold off on any aspirations and for the time-being just be a website dedicated to a group of goofy guys having fun and glorifying God at the same time.

We've covered him before here on Dippu.com and hung with out with him at our conferences. George Andrews was here for the first ever Western Youth Conference in Portland, Oregon during the month of August. He also came here for the Western Pentecostal Conference in 2005. The man has just made the entire Malayalee community proud by being appointed to the position of Executive Director of the Orange County Republican Party. For those of you who don't know what this means, our very own George has just become one of the leaders of the most important counties for the GOP in the state of California. We covered him before in our Desi of the Week post. And while this is an awesome achievement, this will not be the pinnacle of his career; this is just a beginning for him. While we are ecstatic for him as fellow Malayalees and Pentecostals, we know this will not be an easy job. Thus we will continue to pray for him as he moves into this position of responsibility. George will be the youngest person and the first minority to hold this position. I also think that the odds of him getting married to a beautiful Malu girl just got better. So George Andrews, Mr. Executive Director, we tip our hats to you. God bless you, brother!

 

George with Governor Schwarznegger in 2003.  

 UPDATE: From Calraces.com:

George was in charge of the first Republican operation in San Francisco in at least ten years.  Not only did he smoothly run that office, from what I heard from the surrounding operatives, his phone banks were always filled and he met all his goals.  The headquarters was full of volunteers of all ages from all over the Bay Area.

 UPDATE 2: From the man himself, an idea of what kind of work he'll be doing:

 

Just checked my email a few minutes ago and recieved this email from Finney Samuel:

Please visit out web site www.captainsamuel.com for the latest on Pastor A.M. Samuel's persecution in Haryana on the 16th of November 2006. Please post it on the web site for the saints to pray

Yours in His battlefield

Finney

 As you may have gathered from that email, A.M Samuel is also known as Captain Samuel in Malayali Pentecostal circles. I have seen one of his tapes that have floated around the community. From what I have figured out about him, Pastor Samuel seems to be a fearless servant of God who preaches the gospel in some of the toughest parts of India. I went over to the site and found a report on what exactly happend:

But the RSS, Bajrang Dal activists came inside the compound and started beating Pastor Hansraj Saini (the local Pastor), Pastor Abhishek and then they switched off the lights and attacked Pastor A.M. Samuel who was sitting near the stage. They kicked and beat him very badly that he lost consciousness, and then they kicked him while he was on the floor and kicked him on the chest and head, then they started removing his clothes. They removed his sweater and tore open his shirt and then started to remove his pants, then suddenly the lights came back on. By this time he was nearly dead. When they saw his physcial condition, they left the place thinking him to be dead. Then the police, who were till then standing outside, came inside and took charge.

The saints then put his body on the stage and started praying and there was no pulse. But the crowd gathered outside the meeting compound baying to attack again. But by the grace of God, his life returned and his pulse came back. Now he is resting in the very same place where he was attacked, sleeping there itself. He is physically not able to walk or talk freely. He has a lot of pain in his head and chest.

 I think it's important to note that we have prayed about persecution on this site before. But never have we actually had the son of the victim email us and plead for prayers. The least we can do is take a few minutes out of our day and pray for Pastor Samuel and the others who were attacked at this event. Stay tuned to Dippu.com as we continue to update you on the situation. If you know anything else, please email us as soon as possible. The servant of God's website is www.captainsamuel.com.

 UPDATE: I didn't realize this but we've mentioned Pastor A.M Samuel in relation to persecution before. Ashish wrote about this issue on July 5th of this year. At that time Finney was injured from beatings recieved by RSS activists.

 

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.

Dear readers, its due time that I confess something to you all. I used to be a fan of rap music. Yes, I know the questions will soon start pouring in: "How stupid were you, DeCruz?" or "Now I know why you turned out that way" All well deserved quips, and I suspect that I shall hear them for the rest of my life. Somewhere around my middle school years, I had judged from the progress my friends were making that in order to be "cool" one had to listen to rap music. This notion continued well into my sophomore year of high school which is where my story really begins. See, my story is about my  attitudes before and after a life changing event. I had a habit back then of turning on my tiny clock radio before I went to sleep so I could wake up with Jammin 95.5's "Playhouse" program early in the morning. So, fatefully, on the night of September 10th, I went to sleep listening to Slow Jams. Now I'm not sure about this but I think I can, based on previous evidence, claim that they probably played LL Cool J that night. They always do. I went to sleep peacefully that night, fully expecting to wake up to the usual tomfoolery on morning radio. They would probably do a few prank calls on people, perform stupid stunts with their fat chum "Scooter", and finish it off with some good hip hop.

As I awoke on the morning of September 11th, 2001, I had only one question after I had fully woken up: "What happened to the obnoxious banter?" Actually, to be completely honest, I didn't say that. I think I managed to squeak out a groggy "Wha--?" Instead of Scooter being strapped to the top of a truck which would go at high speeds along Portland city streets, I heard him speaking softly. Everyone else was also strangely quiet. Recollecting now, it's hard to remember a full sentence. I remember words like "planes" or "terrorists". I remember hearing sentences that seemed to have question marks floating in the air. I arose, still in shorts, and ran to the television room. "Mummy! Did you he-" My question was answered for me by the pictures of the two towers in flames. I stood there in utter disbelief as I watched the events unfold on live television. With shame, I remember my first thought when I saw the World Trade Center under attack: "Man, imagine the movie they're gonna make about this." For the first time in my life, I saw that the world had been equaled in it's helplessness and fearfulness. The wealth, security, and status that had separated one person from another had been destroyed by passenger jets turned into missiles. I got ready and headed out to school. I had never seen my high school like this. Wild rumors and theories were flying around everywhere about a plane headed towards Oregon. In another example of me using the worst possible humor at the worst times, I quipped, "What are they gonna hit? The fairgrounds? Most Americans don't even know that Oregon is a state in the Union."

Once everyone in the classroom had finished giving me dirty looks, our eyes were focused once more on the sight before us. A teacher stated the obvious: "Like it or not, you guys are witnessing history." I sat back and thought about listening to Slow Jams the night before; the spoken word of  LL Cool J and the croonings of 112 were all trivial compared to this. Thousands of people had lost their lives in an instant and absolutely nothing else seemed to matter. This was my generation moment. The "where were you when this happened?" moment. The rest of that week is a blur now: a lot of hype, a lot of American flags being waved, my Iraqi friend coming to my house because his parents wouldn't let him go to school since being Middle Eastern and living in America wasn't exactly the best combination at that point. "It's the Sunnis man, I swear it, it's those Sunnis-- they always do stuff like this." I said nothing and simply listened. The world would never be the same for my Iraqi friend and I.

That night, before I went to sleep, I went turned to my clock radio to turn my volume up like I always did. I stopped and listened closely: there were no Slow Jams, just more talking. I turned off the clock radio and laid back, still wide awake and staring into the darkness. I had heard enough banter for one day.

Wow. One year already... Dippu.com turns one today.. congratulations to us!

Once in a while, an occasion comes along that forces me to examine myself. We all have these moments-- in a matter of minutes, seconds even, we find ourselves shocked to the core. Our comfort zones are not so comfortable anymore. Think of us, we who are the Desi Diaspora scattered across the continents living lives that our forefathers could not possibly fathom. The church of our fathers that lives on in North America and around the world. The point, simply put, is this: these moments I speak of, define our character which in turn determine our destinies. I sit in Portland, Oregon, at five in the early morning. And as I type this, there is a man thousands of miles away sitting in a maximum security prison cell. He is waiting while the world watches. He waits on his fate, which he has seemingly accepted. I am one with this man. He is my brother, my comrade, my hero, and a true living saint. I want you to take a good look at the picture of this man:

 

 

He is a better man than I. He found the Lord Jesus Christ in Germany sixteen years ago. Very recently, he was turned over to the Afghan authorities accused of being a Christian. His response?

"I am a Christian and I believe in Jesus Christ."

With a simple statement like that, Abdul Rahman has become a living saint in my eyes. A man of character, a man with much more strength and endurance than any athlete. I sense the clarity and the strength of his statement sitting thousands of miles away. A man who has been abandoned by his family and his country. There are many like him all over the world, their tears and prayers may have not been heard or seen by me, but God sees it.  I want you to take a look at his face again. I want you to think of this man as your brother. I want you to remember him by name and pray for him along with your family every night. Before you pray for your children, before you pray for your needs; Pray for Abdul Rahman.

Our people's Christianity has become a casual Christianity. Certainly, we have the fixtures of real spirituality. Our churches have our legal traditions and our attachment to our so called heritage. Abdul Rahman reminds us that Christianity is not just another -ity... it is a radical life. Here is a man who lives and is willing to- die for Christ. I wish to emulate him.

 One more thing, Abdul has been moved to a maximum security prison and here is a bit in the news story I read that you should find interesting:

Gen. Shahmir Amirpur, who is in charge of Policharki, confirmed the move and said Rahman had also been begging his guards to provide him with a Bible.

I leave you with a question. How many bibles do you have in your home? And how desperate are you to get a hold of one and meditate on it?

I rarely do personal blogs on here.. well except for when my beautiful niece was born. Other than that, I don't think I've really written anything that really belongs at daycruise.net (my personal blog). I just thought I'd share my testimony of the past week with you. My friends can attest to the fact that my spiritual life always consists of ups and downs. I am either hot or cold depending on the situation. It's a very weak form of living for Christ, and I can completely concur with that. When it comes to faith, I have very little and really pale in comparison to the amount of faith my parents have in God. Their entire lives are built around the concept of putting complete trust in God, no matter what the circumstance. I can provide you with situation after situation where I have been amazed not just at how much faith they have but also how much God has come through for us. And there, in this stronghold of faith, I sit; a pathetic individual who usually cowers at most signs of trouble and is generally weak in areas of spiritual matters. I say this only to lead you to where I'm coming next. I've found that the toughest times an individual goes through happens for one of two reasons:

1.) God desires to discipline him.

2.) God seeks to make him stronger by allowing for him to go through certain trials and tribulations.

 The past few years, I have experience both on a large scale. On many occasions while I went through these things, I would act as naturally as a human being would. I would complain about my situation, I would cry out to God, or be angry at God. Yet, I believe now after all that I have been through, I can say to any person going through a hardship that God will come through for you. I sincerely believe it. With my shoddy writing skills, I can tell you that this is the best way I can express how wonderful God is. I'm not seeking to flower my language while I write this since I write just out of my heart. You have to understand as an individual how much God really just adores you. You are His creation! You are one out of six billion human beings on a small planet in the galaxy created by Him! He still sought you out or is seeking you out right now. Just this last week, I was aching in my heart. I thought something was right for me and now it is apparent that God didn't feel the same way. I really didn't realize how to react on Sunday as I walked into church. I came in late and sat at the back: another Sunday would go by with my attitude soured by what had happend during the week. The worship had already begun. The band was singing "Here I Am" as I stood half-heartedly.

Here I am humbled by your Majesty
Covered by your grace so free
Here I am, knowing I'm a sinful man
Covered by the blood of the Lamb

Now that's part of the song, but I'm unsure if the group sang this first because I had come in late. I remember the next part clearly though. My youth group knows one thing about me. I will not fail to shed tears in worship. It's really pathetic to see a guy with a meesha stand there and sob like a little kid, but that's what I'm reduced to in the presence of an Almighty God. And I had the same reaction as the voice of the worshippers carried over the congregration. As I contemplated quietly the immense love of God, the words came through and pierced my heart:

Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine
Since you laid down your life
The greatest sacrifice

The greatest love of all. I quietly thought that over and over in my heart as the tears welled up. No matter what you think you have lost or what you think you're worth-- The only thing that truly matters is what you have because of His sacrifice. The band's voice just seemed to rise as they came to the next part; this is where I raised my hand in total surrender and kept one hand on my heart as I cried quietly to my God:

Majesty, Majesty
Your grace has found me just as I am
Empty handed, but alive in your hands
Majesty, Majesty
Forever I am changed by your love
In the presence of your Majesty

Once again, that word 'love' seemed to jump out of that entire song and slap me in the face repeatedly. We have a culture that puts pressure on us to feel loved. We feel the pressure to have a partner to share that love. While these are all wonderful things, no one should capture your heart like Christ should. I felt the awesome presence of God in my heart and felt exactly as the song said. I was empty handed, without much to call my own in this world. But here I was, alive and well-- living and breathing in the hands of my Savior. And the tears flowed freely. No matter what, God was there. While I write, that moment comes back to me, and again I cry. I am not ashamed since the tears flow freely for Him. And finally the last words I remember before I quietly prayed to God:

Here I am humbled by the love that you give
Forgiven so that I can forgive
Here I stand, knowing that I'm your desire
Sanctified by glory and fire

The last line should jump out at us. We are sanctified by glory and fire. Glory and Fire can not come from us. Thus, we are sanctified by God. Let's allow God to do that with us, to sanctify us so we can become worthy of His presence more and more.

It's really hard for me to express in words just how great I feel. I think some people in my youth group would have understood my whole post if I just wrote God is Good. Those three words could sum up how I feel right now.  

It's 8 A.M.

I just spent a few minutes praying to God. I don't think I've had such a great time before. Communion with God is an amazing and sweet time. Take some time today and spend a few minutes with Him. Pray to him and seek him, but most of all, commune with Him.

 

For He desires to do the same with you.  

We haven't had a Desi of the Week since George Andrews a few months ago, but I thought it was finally time after reading this on BBC this morning. I don't know much about the condition of Dalits in India, except that it's pretty bad and there is alot of backlash against their community after numerous members converted to Christianity in the past few years. K.R Narayanan was a man who beat the odds to become the first Dalit caste member to become the President of India. A quiet unassuming man, he had turned upside down the notion of caste identity in the nation. While many individuals patronize the lower castes of India (many Christians do it also), this fellow worked hard his entire life to get rid of the stigma of "untouchablity".  My mom remarked today that she had voted for him as he was an amazing politician. K.R Narayanan was someone who actually was impeccably clean politically and deserves all the accolades he is sure to get in the coming days. An excerpt from the BBC obituary:

 But it was during 2002, his final year in office, that President Narayanan was drawn into political controversy after inter-communal rioting in Gujarat left at least 1,000 Muslims dead. He had wanted the army to intervene to protect the minority Muslim population.

Any man who stands up to the Fundies in Gujurat is a man I admire. I am hopeful, yet still very pessimistic, about the likelihood that we'll find another like him in India.  For the Malus out there, this fellow is from Kottaym district in Kerala.

Oh yeah, I also admire a guy who didn't let the fact that he's from Kottayam get him down. He definitely beat all the odds!  

The phrase "chewing the cud" or anything sounding similar is hereby banned from dippu.com. Any more mention of it will result in immediate violence from my part. All with Christian love, of course. You have been warned.

The number of hits each day has dropped down after the close of the events in August and September, but we have kept a core group of readers. I personally enjoy receiving comments from a distinct group of readers and hear what they have to say on anything I put up. One problem that we face is the amount of articles produced sometimes pushes the other ones down. So I've provided a sort of map to go about and showcase the past few posts. First of I talk about my views and love and marriage and meeting an amazingly beautiful girl. Many people have asked me what exactly made this girl so beautiful. I really can't put my finger on it, sorry guys. Right after that, I wrote about the earthquake in Pakistan shocked just about everyone as we see the horrible heartache that people have to go through. The death toll has just moved up to 30,000 and counting. Let's keep those people in our prayers. All this talk of natural disasters and calamities have brought to the forefront the talk of prophets again. It was continued by a letter from one of our readers, Robert Burns, who asked for our ideas about revelations before a disaster. And finally, I got the taste of a nice kick in the teeth over at Sepia Mutiny for a few comments I made about my faith. I had quite a few reasonable people defending me actually until about the end. Check that out here.

So we continue to blog, and we ask our readers to continue to read. Dippu.com is still here, and we will continue to provide you with thought provoking articles, stir some debate, and last but not least, provide it all through a Desi Christian perspective.

Like most Desi bloggers, I always peruse through the many different posts on Sepia Mutiny. I might even buy a t-shirt at some point. A lot of times, I get struck by the ferocity with which Anti-Christian commentors attack me. Well it hasn't happend a lot (or ever before), but it has happend today with Mutineer Manish's post on Harriet Miers has sparked a huge debate about Christanity and "spreading the gospel" as us Jesus Freaks like to call it. Here's what he wrote:

 The Central India Christian Mission is part of the Texan-xtian nexus:

The primary task of the mission is evangelism and church planting… It is the need of the hour to train the native leaders in India as much as possible. The Mission Center… is located on about 15 acres of land in Damoh District of Central Province [Madhya Pradesh], India. [Link]

The missionaries, Indu and Ajai Lall and their Bible college-trained brood, are apparently the Johnny Appleseeds of Indian churches:

Over 400 churches have been planted in central and northern India, in the country of Nepal and along the northeast India/Bhutan border. [Link - PDF]

  This has made a lot of people angry: there are a lot of comments floating around, but the basic idea is that Christians should just shut up and enjoy their salvation by themselves and not bring any one else into it. So here is what I posted:

 

Ok, it has come for me to voice my opinion on this. As a Pentecostal Christian Keralite out of India now currently residing in the United States. Those of you on this blog have made some serious unfair statements about Christians and Christian missionaries. As I am related to several missionaries. (Two uncles are pastors, another one goes on missions to Africa) It certainly hurts when I hear people making suggestions that they could be exploiting people. I know, that in the same sense that I couldn't make a blanket statement about all missionaries that they are all bad. I couldn't do the same that they are all good. But I have met several missionaries who sincerely care about these people. They care about the poor people in India, and those that suffer. And as Razib said, as Christians we believe the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. Thus, there are missionaries working among the rich and poor of India spreading the gospel, because we have a burden for the lost. I understand that sounds demeaning to a lot of people. But I am sincere when I say that it is not meant to be. I can not speak for all Christians, I can speak for the ones I've met and talked to. We care deeply about our Indian brothers and sisters. I hope to see all of them in Heaven once I die. Thus I tell them about the love of Jesus Christ. I don't want their money or anything else. I don't know what else to say, I'm just trying to defend the missionaries, I guess. Please, take a look at the other side before attacking Christians in India and other countries around the globe.

Oh and to the first commenter. What the Spanish did was not at all the right way. If you spread the gospel according to the Bible, you will not be exploiting people or enslaving them. Have a good day folks, and may God richly bless you.

I had already marked myself as a Pentecostal Malayalee. Here is what happend next:

Daycruz,
Would you plz keep your Love of God in your Christian Blog. I believe you misunderstood this blog as a place to preach.

I have a small advice for you. Before you take others burden on yourself, just worry about your burden. That may lead you to hell or heaven or whatever you believe in. Dont forget that you live in a capitalistic society. First worry about your ass, then you can worry about other's ass.

I will never ever believe someone who says he is carrying someone else burden on himself for the sake of going to heaven. Its Just plain bull****.

By the way, is hell really that bad? ...not my HFO

 And so there. A whole can of worms got opened up. A lot of argument stems from this misconception that all Missionaries are attempting to bribe the lower-caste Hindus into becoming Christians by providing them with food and shelter. Well, here's my take: this sort of argument seems flawed to me because it denys the Dalits any sort of choice on how they wish to live their lives. It denys them a conscience by telling them that if they choose to become Christians they are just being bribed and not making a rational decision. It also makes a blanket statement of all missionaries. Not all missionaries are good and neither are all bad. There is always a mix. The missionaries that I have dealt with are wonderful people and really do care about the lost in India. Another thing is, how can Christianity really be Christianity unless I tell others about Christ. For isn't it in the great commision? The idea that we go out and preach the gospel to all nations? The discussion has gotten so vast that it's hard for me to keep track of who's saying what but go there and take a look and tell me what you think.

Every time there is a big disaster, there is a lot of commentary in the Christian community about prophecy. We had this happen after Hurricane Katrina when Kim Clement posted on his website about a prophecy he gave a few months before New Orleans was devastated. Here is a quick excerpt:

  O New Orleans God speaks to you from Houston tonight and says enough of this! For a judgment is coming says the Spirit of the Lord, and I will take the men that have stood in faith, raise them above the flood that shall destroy those that constantly bicker and stand against my servant Moses, or my servant Bilbo. I want you to understand there are great men in New Orleans that have faith but you have been set aside not to lose but to win. Enough of this! For I will take the curses and the bodies will even rise and they will come forth on the water, but I will keep you and the stench of death will only last a few days. And then what I promised two years ago will come to pass for August, September and October of this year I made a promise it would happen, and God said be strengthened now, be strengthened now for enough is enough says the Lord.

 Here is the link if you want to go read the prophecy and then listen to the mp3. While I was pondering on the discussion about this, I recieved a letter from frequent Dippu.com reader, Robert Burns. Read the letter for yourself:

 Come on Dippu readers.. you folks are the best at things like this. What do you suggest?

Hello...

...Have you ever done a forum on visions, insight, dreams, etc? It may prove to be very interesting. Just a quick update as to why I ask. A few days ago I said a couple things to some people. People have been mentioning my different mood etc. I replied with, "I usually am this way when there is going to be something major that happens. I said it is usually earthquakes or death etc." I said there is going to probably be an earthquake, knowing full well that is what was probably going to happen. My stress was high and my head was so tight and felt like it was cracking it hurt so bad especially on Saturday. I did not hear of the quake in Pakistan until I arrived home that evening. I have now been granted the knowledge of the major quakes before they happened over the last year. I even argued with God on the Iran quake the day before it happened saying, "No way! There can't be an earthquake etc." The next day there was. I called my friend in New York just before emailing this to you. She suggested I contact a geological organization, who knows what may follow. Perhaps God has been preparing with baby steps, although these events like the tsunami, quakes, etc have not been minor. Perhaps God can use me as tool for education. Please offer advice, give me direction or what ever the Lord leads you to do. You have the gift of reaching so many people.

Sincerely,

Blaine                                                                        

Scientists' worst fears were realized earlier this morning when a earthquake that measured 7.4 on the richter scale hit in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. As of right now, things don't look as bad as the 2001 Gujurat Earthquake which killed 20,000 people or as bad as the most recent 9.0 Indian Ocean Earthquake in 2004 but Pakistani authorites say at least a thousand may have already died with many more casualties expected to be added later in the day.

BBC says that several villages has been wiped out:

The quake with a magnitude of at least 7.6 had the epicentre was 80km (50 miles) north-east of Islamabad.

At least 500 died in North-West Frontier province in Pakistan and 1,700 were injured. In Indian-administered Kashmir, 200 are confirmed dead.

Rescuers are trying to reach dozens of residents feared trapped in a building that collapsed in Islamabad.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who was visiting the site, said the quake was a "test of the nation".

Shortly after he spoke an aftershock struck Islamabad, forcing people from their homes.

The first tremor, which was registered at 0350 GMT, was felt by residents as far away as the Afghan capital, Kabul, and India's capital, Delhi.

This little line made me cringe a tad bit:

At least 20 injured people were pulled out but dozens are feared trapped. Rescuers are listening for cries from under the rubble.

One rescuer, Rehmatullah, said: "I rushed down and for some time you could not see anything because of the dust... We pulled out one man by cutting off his legs."

For those of you who have friends and family in North India and Pakistan as I do, I'm sure you felt the same way when you first saw the news that this had happend. BBC was using names like Noida and Gurugaon to describe places that were hit making me worry quite a bit. But word is that although the aftershocks and the tremors that were felt in Delhi and Chandigarh, there werent any casualties.

Certainly makes you pay attention to life, doesn't it?

 

 

I work a night shift.

Let me rephrase that.

I work a late night shift. 7:30 PM to 8:00 AM to be exact. I work for a large company that requires me to wear a white mummy-like suit over my clothes before I head in to my work area. When it gets to around 6:15 in the morning, it comes time for me to take my last break. A little breather actually, when I head out and just hang out in the cubicle. At this point, I am so incredibly tired that I am hallucinating and talking to myself. This morning, something happened that really made me think the entire morning. I'm pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating...

I was done with my break and heading back into my work area when I noticed something unusual. I saw the most gorgeous girl that I has ever seen. She was standing at her locker and getting her things together. I think I must have been in awe for at least thirty seconds. Now please understand, this isn't lust or something. I really didn't feel like that. It was just amazing to see an absolutely beautiful girl. Then I walked on. I didn't stop and talk to her. I didn't look at her for another second. I just walked on. Usually, I would have stopped and said hello. I would have initiate something, not because I wanted a relationship but just because I enjoy talking to members of the opposite sex.

It just felt like there was no reason to stop and introduce myself to her. What had attracted me was her almost perfect beauty. Not something she had said or done, not any sort of personality. I would have loved to gotten to know her. But really, what's the point?

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After twenty four days of prayer and petition by his family, Shibu Mathai's body was finally laid to rest in a small hilltop cemetery in Providence, Oregon. I was there at the funeral as Shibu's wife, Jamie, and his parents got up and proclaimed how they still believed for a miracle. Jamie's father, Pastor Thomas, got up and spoke about Stephen. The missionary who was stoned to death after one message. Pastor Thomas spoke of how, even though Stephen died in a young ministry, with his death Paul was raised. As the pastor said, miracles had already happened after Shibu's death; many people have given their lives for Jesus Christ. After the service at the church, the body was then taken to the cemetery and the casket was opened up again. The family prayed one last time during which non-family members were told to go inside the funeral home as the family continued to pray. Shibu was finally laid to rest.

Ever since my first post on this whole issue, I hadn't said anything about my real opinion on this. I still don't want to. But I feel I owe it those visiting Dippu for so long. I believe in a God who can do miracles. But I also believe in standing on the word of God and reading it correctly. Pastor Denny Cline incorrectly mentioned that "raising of the dead" was in the Great Commission many times today.  For those who don't know, Pastor Cline is the pastor of the Vineyard Albany church where the body had been kept for the last three weeks. Many times he spoke today, I felt that the man had a sincere heart to seek God- but his knowledge of the scriptures was scant at best. After seeing the family two weeks ago, I felt a deep love for them in Christ. Yet I stand by the revelation from scriptures I have received. God is sovereign and good-- even if he seems cruel to us at times.

I thank God that his name will be glorified in the end and that his will has been revealed to us all in the end. My faith has not lessened since this has occured. I am, unfortunately, more skeptical of prophecy than ever before. We must remember to test everything we hear with the Word of God.

Have a wonderful night, folks. This will be the last post on this issue. Be sure to visit Dippu as we move on and we continue to see God's glory in our generation.

God Bless You... 

Only if you really wanted to, of course. Ashish has started writing on his personal blog again so I encourage all of you to go visit it sometime soon. I have also started blogging again on my old abode, Daycruise.net. Both of us missed the personal freedoms we had on our own blogs. When one runs a combined blog, it's not the same. Not saying we don't enjoy it, we just want to do more freestyle blogging as they call it. Dippu.com will continue to bring you news, opinions, and just about anything relating to you the reader. That's a pretty darn subjective statement isn't it? I know a lot of people have been visiting us the last two weeks. I hope you look around the site, like what you see, and come back more often.

 IF YOU ARE FROM ILLINOIS AND YOU USE THE ILLINOIS CENTURY NETWORK AS YOUR INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER, PLEASE EMAIL US AT DIPPUADMIN@GMAIL.COM AND TELL US WHY WE SHOULD NOT REPORT YOUR I.P ADDRESS TO YOUR COMPANY FOR ABUSE. THANKS.
 

This post was put up in response to comments made on the Shibu post today morning. I rattled of reasons why I thought the commenters were foolish to even open their mouth. I have checked the I.P address and it appears that it was the same person. I will find out who this person was first, and then ban them from my website. I am leaving this post up because even though this commenter was the same person. Many people are making the same types of comments, creating blanket statements for entire communities. That is all, have a nice day. If you don't care about any of this stuff, please scroll down past this post to the Hurricane post.

 

My original Shibu post currently stands at 33 comments. I want to address two people who have made comments on this website attacking the Malayalee community. I'll repost the comments in all of it's glory:

 

 I heard about what the Malayalee community is doing in Oregon. God can do miracles, but if you are moving forward with what prophets are saying in this time of false prophets, stop now. We are all kings and priests and parts of the New Testament Church, Hid bride. Brother Shibu has gone before us, and that is why we should rejoice. WHY do you wnat to drag him back to the world of pain and worry? From what I have heard in the time he was alive he did much more for Christ than any of us did. Then called His child home, his work on earth done in God's great master plan. I read Kimberly's prophecy, she is very blasphemous by saying he is the "reconciling of the nations" Come to God's presence with reverence, thousands dies in the Asian tsunami, why didnt anybody pray for at least one of them to raise up. Many lost souls are perishing every hour, yet you are praying over one who has lived his life for Christ and died a hero. I have lost my good opinion about the Pentacostal malayalee community. Rejoice that he has been promoted, do not demote him by attempting to bring him back. I have known Keralites as God's own people, and God's people need to get their minds straight with Him and move according to the Holy Spirit, not what man or woman, who look for fame, has to say

 G. Severson -Dallas

 

To the person above, I have a question. What exactly did you hear about the Malayalee community in Oregon? Did you hear real facts or did you just feed on the idiocy fed by the rumor mills around the world? Please get your facts right before you start with a blanket statement about an entire community. Let's assume you are a white individual, by your comment above- I can make a blanket statement just like you did and say that I have lost my good opinion about the White Christian community in Dallas because of your ridiculous statement above. You have not met even one whole percentage of the Malayalee Community in North America or Oregon for that matter, yet you seem to imply that you are the expert now. You have already made for yourself an opinion. If anyone is foolish enough to judge from afar without truly knowing the facts of the matter, I have lost my good opinion of you. But I wont condemn your entire community. That would just be asinine.

 

Secondly, this person had the audacity to comment right after the previous brother.

 I agree with Severson in Dallas. I have lost respect for a community I believed was very spiritual and holy. May God's Spirit enlighten your darkened minds. Stop running after everything you hear. For our God is a jealous God, and He does not give His Glory to another!
Focus on only Christ, and this "reconciling of Ishmael" is a bunch of garbage! I grew up in missionary home, at young age I came to Christ, now God is still my Guide and my Hope at my older years. I can go at any time. To the Malayalee Community- Come Back to Christ!!

  B. Swindell-Tampa Bay

Once again, brother, if you were sincerely basing your opinions of the entire Malayalee community on one group of people, I would encourage yourself to check into a mental institution. By your own logic, you do no service to whatever ethnicity you serve. You are an embarrassment to whatever creed you hold. Every community has a diverse cross-section of beliefs whether they be Malayalee, White-American, African-American, or any other group. Because the Vineyard movement practise their beliefs does it mean that the entire North American Christian movement is the same? No! That is just silly.

UPDATE:  On second thought, both commenters above sound really Malayalee to me.. what do you think? I wonder what their agenda is? Very Christ-like, dont you think? Spread rumors, falsify your name.. yeah Jesus was really into that. Hmm.. some people's IPs are gonna be banned from my site soon..

I ask you both to think about what you said and offer an apology to the Malayalee community. Do not marginalize us or group us all together to fit your frame of mind. Believe it or not, we are all unique individuals even if you think we all look the same.  

 By the way, in a continuation of the Shibu updates. The body has been taken out of the church. The funeral should be coming in a few days. Lets pray that God gives the family the peace that passeth all understanding.

I haven't blogged about it yet and I have no idea why. Hurricane Katrina is turning out to be one of the worst natural disasters to hit the United States in a long time. Some are already making references to 9/11 in scales of cost and destruction. Dippu.com is currently looking into ways to help out. While all who were affected by the hurricane are important, we would like to focus on the Indians in the area. If you are aware of any organization or blog that is being updated with a desire to help Desis in need, please contact us and we will immediately link to it. As the Dippu staff is out here on the West Coast we have no real connections in Louisiana or Mississippi. Meanwhile, head on over to Glenn Reynold's blog Instapundit- he has dozens of links to various charities -- some of them Christian, that are contributing to the relief efforts. After watching the President speak last night, it has become more clear to me that they need cash more than anything. While we wait for word, the Dippu team would like to remind you to keep your brothers and sisters in the South in your prayers. They have a lot of work ahead of them.

By the way, was anyone else as livid as I was when watching those looters run off with cases of beer and football jerseys and the like? People's true characters come out when things like this happen and I really don't enjoy watching it.

UPDATE: List of links stolen from Instapundit-- I have taken the list of Christian organizations right off the website. If you do decide to send them a donation, be sure to email us and tell us about it:

Mennonite Disaster Services.

Methodist Relief.

Operation Blessing.

Salvation Army

Samaritan's Purse

Catholic Charities

Nazarene Compassionate Ministries.

Wow. If you know of more, please be sure to let us know. Take care guys..

The folks who brought you classics such as Frooti Girl, Welcome to India, and SuperFob are back! MC Vikram and Ludakrishna are back and rocking with a music video- I actually have no idea how long its been around- but you need to see it if you havent already. Many thanks to Bear over at www.indianbear.com for the terrific link. Go to the website- click on the Curry and Rice video! Have fun, yaar!