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Hi!

I understand that the days are nice in Regina these days, a little wintery in Yellowkinfe.  It is a little on the cool side here.  I am not complaining, it is still very warm through out the day until about 4:30PM.  At that time it starts to get dark and cool, since we have no heating in the house.  So we close all the windows and put on a sweater, socks and shoes and have a cup of tea!  The people here find it really cold so they put on turtlenecks, jackets scarves and tougues, and sometimes even a blanket.  We don't find it that cold.  We have added  blankets to the bed and Ray says he is thinking it might be a little cool to be showering at 6:00 AM.  The children don't seem to notice it very much.  The sun comes up early so it isn't long till it warms up outside.

 

The last week had several exciting happenings.  The first was on Monday when I taught my first class in this school.  This was in Autumn's classroom because her teacher is off having a baby.  It was a fun English class and I will do that for the next couple of weeks.  The teachers are just covering for her since the course work is all finished now and it is all review.  They would like to have me teach more but so far I have hesitated.  I will consider doing more in January when the new term begins.  

 

On Tuesday the excitement was about the new baby on campus.  We hesitated going too soon and then missed the visiting hours so waited until the next day to see her.  Ray did see her that day and most of the staff were up with Supreme (the father) when the announcement came that it was a baby girl.  Fathers are not permitted in the delivery room, so it was a long wait for him.  None of his or Mary's family live here.  The baby is beautiful and the parents are very happy.  They have said we are to be grandparents to the little girl and we are happy to be that.  We are just not sure what all that means yet!!  The baby doesn't have a name yet. They arrived home this afternoon and treated us to a special dessert as soon as they got home.  Autumn and Andrew are quite fascinated and Mary is happy to have them visit often.

 

On Wed. night Ray showed some pictures that we had taken of the school, students, and staff to the students after evening devotion.    It was very fun to hear them laughing at themselves.  Not much studying tht night as plans were being made for the school picnic.  I walked out to the dining hall and they were painting a big sign for the front of the bus, and just out in the yard they were in the process of skinning the little goat that had that afternoon been enjoying the grass in the yard!  Andrew was sitting on the bench with other little boys thoroughly enjoying the proceedings!!  One boy showed me proudly that he had the eyeball!! and Andrew was delighted to show me that he had been given the horn and ears!  Of course there were many details that he had to share.  An unforgetable experience for this little city kid!!

 

Thursday morning two buses came to load everything up, children, food, pots, water, everything one needs to cook for 100 people.  We went on a very windy and bumpy road for over an hour to a nice place in the hills. It had a swimming pool which the boys patrticularly enjoyed, Andrew was interested  in the fact that the little boys just took off their shorts and went naked.  He couldn't quite figure that! and even more interesting was that the little girls went in their panties!!  The girls here are very shy but Autumn and a few others did enjoy the pool after the boys tired of it.

 

I enjoyed the cooking or rather watching the cooking.  Several of us joined in peeling onions and slicing them-a very large pail of them.  There were several cooks.  The onions and piles of garlic and ginger went into the pot with lots of masala (spices for meat) tumeric and coriander, as well as the goat and lots of oil.  There were about 8 special dishes cooked that afternoon and when it came time to eat the students and staff had a wonderful feast.  Andrew just smelled it and gave his plate to Grandpa.  Autumn is more adventuresome and is loving hot and spicy these days so enjoyed it.  I tried most of them and enjoyed some of them!!  The goat was quite tasty actually. 

 

We arrived home at about 6:30 PM.  It was a fun day.  The next morning all of the children were gone home when Ray went down at 8:00 AM to see them home for the long weekend!!

  

On Friday two of the staff here, Cathy, a teacher, and Muani, a warden for the small boys, and I went up to the orphanage.  It is actually a home for children from troubled and split homes.  They have about 220 children.  They also train some of the girls to do weaving and that is why we went.  I was interested in some Mizo cloth for a skirt.  They have two weavers fro Myanmar who do the weaving and instructors that come out from Aizawl to train some of the girls.  Cathy and Muani also wanted to look around at the home which is really quite impressive.  I did buy some cloth and am having a piece made for me.  We then went to the hopital to see Mary.  I enjoyed the outing with these young ladies. 

 

Saturday, Muani (who calls me "Mom") and I went out again and this time it was for a hair cut!  It was right here in Durtlang and it was a lady.  She didn't take long to cut my hair and charged me Rupees 40 which is just over $1:00!!  On arriving home I did notice that one side was longer than the other!!  So, Muani had to repair the damage.  I was just happy to be able to get it trimmed here.

 

On Sunday we travelled into Aizawl for service.  I am teaching the children and am quite pleased with how well they are learning.  We have learned all of the books of the Bible and can find almost any scipture I ask them to look up.  After we do that then we have a Bible story and I usually have an activity fro them.  After church yesterday we came home because we had invited the staff that were still here (the others had taken advantage of the holiday to go elsewhere) for tea.  That included Bojen, Ali, Muani (the only lady), Jeremy and Muana.  We enjoyed having them. I served, egg sandwiches, carrot sticks, cookies, carrot cake, and apple crisp and tea.  In the evening we enjoyed a slide show of our family at home, our trip over and the Regina church and lots of other fun times.  The kids loved it.  

 

So begins another week.  God has been very good to us.  We are healthy and being well cared for  in every way.  We look forward to what God has in store for us in the next few weeks. We are headed to shillong on November 30 to meet up with Laura and Wilf. Love and Blessings to each of you. Ellen         

Providing an Opportunity

PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY

Adjacent to the Tropic of Cancer (comparable to mid-Mexico), Silver Oak School is located at the northern end of Durtlang village (of several thousand people) in the picturesque Mizo Hills of NE India. From the northern extremity of Aizawl, the capital of the state of Mizoram, your taxi takes a steep climb up to an elevation of some 3,500 feet before utilizing an impressive pass to the eastern slope of the mountain range. Monsoon rains are often heavy from mid-April to mid-October. Temperatures range from 10 to 30^o C.

Silver Oak is a private, Christian, English medium, co-ed boarding school with a current enrollment of 90 students studying in classes (grades) 1 -10. The school session follows the calendar year. The campus consists of 10 acres of sloping, quiet, scenic landscape. Facilities include a three-storey main building, a two-storey dormitory, and a three-storey teachersÂ’ quarters, as well as several outlying dwellings.

This delightful setting is providing us with an opportunity to provide opportunitiesÂ…

·        For students, ages 5 to 15, to expand their limited English as well as encounter the One who expands life itself for all those who come to know Him. There are regular Bible classes plus devotions four times a week.

·        For introducing teachers to some basic essentials for fostering creative learning experiences for the students. Of the 13 teachers and wardens, none has had any formal teacher training. Most have college degrees. A couple even have graduate degrees. Beyond academic improvements, there is a vacuum of spirituality which is looking for fulfillment.

·        For ministering to parents. Most homes are inviting—begging—us to enter!

·        For Autumn and Andrew to learn languages, cultures, and create fascinating—hopefully, long-term—friendships. A common sight is to see either of them between friends—strolling arm-in-arm!

·        For our long-time and new-found friends to reconnect and be renewed. Many of our former acquaintances have been affected by a theological narrowism which openly portrays our valued friends--such as Anderson, Fudge, Lucado, Shelly—as “imposters and false teachers”. Silver Oak is providing us with an opportunity to present a more grace-oriented perspective. January 9-12, a retreat-reunion, “Onward and Upward”, is planned here for many from all over the NE. Bob Parker and team from Saskatoon plan to be with us for that event.

·        For you to partner with us in making a difference.

1. Coming. We pan to return to Canada for the months of June – August, 2005. Our home, on the third floor of the teachers’ quarters—150+ steps up from the main building—will be available for some(s) to come and teach Bible and English for 2 or 3 months.
2. Sending. We are in the process of establishing a library for students and friends. At present, there is not even one shelf of books for reading. A room is being designated for this purpose. Story books. General knowledge books. Max Lucado books. Bible studies. I know that postage is expensive—but you might consider collecting and forwarding some books for our library. You just might make a real difference for a young (or old) person!

 

Ray & Ellen McMillan and Autumn & Andrew

Silver Oak School, Durtlang Veng Thar, Aizawl, Mizoram 796 012, India

011-91-389-236-2093, http://heartwarmers.blogspot.com, www.heartwarmers.ca

NEI News

Some NE (India) NEWS

November 7, I shared the sad experience of the passing of my former student, B. Kapthanga. He and his little (and poor) family came to Shillong in 1970 to study at Alpha Bible College. Even though Ellen and his wife, Buki, did not have a common language, they developed a close friendship. Kapthanga died of diabetes complications. His family was so appreciative of our presence. A really precious experience.

November 9. Supreme and Mary Sinha are teachers, class IX and class IV, respectively, here at Silver Oak. The birth of their first child(daughter, yet to be named) was born in the local Presbyterian Hospital. This created lots of excitement for all of the Silver Oak family—especially for autumn and Andrew… Ellen who, in my absence, even got to say the prayer as Mary headed off to the hospital.

November 12 is a Hindu holiday and November 15 is a Muslim holiday, so our school gets a break. I used a little persuasion with the management to allow this extended holiday. They said, if the children go home it takes too long to get them back into the groove! However, I made points with children, parents, and even teachers, by voting for a long-weekend! The school has suffered from a deficiency of leadership so the management is leaning on me to do some coaching in administrative areas.

November 11 was of no significance as far as Remembrance Day is concerned but the school did celebrate an annual picnic. Two buses were engaged. We went to a picnic spot about 20 kms—80 minutes—away  where the children swam in a pool and the adults cooked (all day) for a 3:30 PM feast of goat and dozens of other items. The goat was butchered the previous day here at the school by one of the teachers. Andrew witnessed the entire procedure and—you will be surprised—he found it quite fascinating and supplied his grandmother with the details!

November 30, we plan to head down the (mountain) road to Shillong for another reunion. Last month it was 40 years since our wedding in Shillong. We have been blessed with lots of celebrations but want to add one more by being reunited with those who served as our wedding party in 1964. And, an extra special bonus will be getting to spend that time with Wilf and Laura Olson who will meet us there, travel to Manipur with us (December 10 – 20) and then return here for Christmas before they return to Canada.

Ray & Ellen McMillan and Autumn & Andrew

Silver Oak School, Durtlang Veng Thar, Aizawl, Mizoram 796 012, India

011-91-389-236-2093, http://heartwarmers.blogspot.com, www.heartwarmers.ca

 

Autumn and baby

Baby (no name yet!)

Mary and her baby

Mary Sinha has a baby!

Connecting (Ellen)

Hi everyone, Thanks to all who have responded to my new email address. it is working much better and we are able to check our email much easier. Thanks too to all of you who are praying for us on a regular basis. We are adjusting very well to our new home, new surroundings and new work situation. All have provided us with much to think about, be thankful for and wonder about! Andrew and Autumn are making new friends almost daily and our house has become the new play place for many children. Andrew would much rather be outside climbing trees, digging holes, taking apart every bug or flying insect he can find or playing hide and seek or just exploring than being inside. He has piles of friends (young and older, girls and boys, ) . Autumn is a bit more selective in whom she brings up (150 steps from the main school building) here but still enjoys the newness of the place. She and her friend, Angeline arrived up here the other day with a big green fruit they had plucked from a tree. I do not know its name, but it is in appearance like a large grapefruit. They asked me to peel it. It has a thick white layer under the skin and we take all that off to find a pink or red fruit (if it ripe, green if it isn't) and then they tear bits of it off and dip it in salt and sit under a tree and enjoy!! It tastes and looks like grapefruit. Twice as big though. The children are doing fine in school. Andrew is not crazy about learning Hindi, that is of having to write it (Hindi has its own script). He is quite fine with learning to speak it. Mainly because he has to write pages of the alphabet and learn the vowels and how to print them. This is brought home for homework. We are all looking forward to a school picnic next week. We will take buses and travel for a couple hours, prepare special foods over an open fire and have all kinds of fun!! There will be over 100 of us to go. School finishes here on Dec. 7 I think it is.

On December 1, Ray and I and the children will go by Sumo(a big jeep) for 12 hours to visit Shillong and meet up with Wilf and Laura Olson. Ray is planning many activities for us while we are there. I am looking forward to meeting old friends and living in the "pasture" for a few days. We hope also to visit Manipur. The situation there is a little unstable so we are not sure that will work out. We will all be very disappointed if we cannot go there. I am looking forward to a good visit with Laura and of having them in our home here and showing them what goes on here. We will have Xmas with them here. I imagine we will do lots of entertaining and be entertained in many of our friends homes.

We have really enjoyed being able to see most of our children on MSN, using the webcam and the Skype (computer telephone system) program. What a blessing that is!! From Harmony in China, to Steve and Tim in Yellowknife, to Billy in Calgary, and Heather in Regina, we are able to communicate quite freely. We love it! Holly has a telephone now, so we phoned her yesterday. It was nice to visit with her as well.

Ray and I have been thinking a lot lately about the servant attitude. Many people here have paid servants. Someone said it is a status thing, if you can have a servant -- then you are really somebody! I really didn't like that comment since I am thinking I may need to have someone to help me!! I don't want to be a "somebody" in anyone's eyes. We have been watching the people in this school who serve so willingly, and we are humbled. They always seem to do it with a smile! Ray and I are pretty independent. We like to do our own work, if we can. Ray was burning the garbage for a few days. As soon as they noticed him doing that, along came a boy to gather and do it for him. I decided to paint the window casings in my living room. During the day along came several people to comment on me painting. Then soon along came Mr. Sinha with a former student of his who would like to volunteer to paint the rest of the windows and whatever else I wanted him to do! When I go to market, and arrive back in a taxi, almost immediately, one of the boys runs up the stairs to meet the taxi at the top of the hill so he can carry the groceries up the long flight of steps. In this case, and in all the others, I am very grateful!! The dorm mother of the small boys knows how to sew so offered to sew the curtains for me; she is doing the kitchen ones for me today. She has many duties besides the dorm work and I am so grateful for her willingness to help me out. These are only a few examples of the serving that we have been the recipients of in the last six weeks, and it has really caused us to think about our role here and how we also can be of service to these people. We came here wanting to be of service and find ourselves being served !!

Well, I think this will be enough for this time. If you sent an email, I will eventually answer it. I love getting them. There are many things to write about, so till next time, Love and Blessings.
Ellen