BREAD OF LIFE STUDY CENTRE

The temporary home for the Centre is a makeshift room on the roof! Before the end of the year, it is hoped that the Centre will inhabit the entire second floor - some 2,000 square feet of space.
The Bread of Life Study Centre is the brainchld of Shyam Salam (in both pictures above). Samuel Salam (left) has a full time job taking care of the office work.

Its aim is to present the story of The Gospels to not-believers, giving them the information and opportunity to choose. To that end, 10,000 copies of The Book of Life have been printed in English. half of those have already been distributed. Each booklet contains survey questions which are returned to the Centre for correcting. A second level of more indepth studies is then sent to the participants. Then, in the second week of January approximately 50 of the graduates will be invited to a 5-day camp in Guwahati.

Translation has been completed and printing is in progress for 10,000 copies of the same in the Assamese language spoken by more than half of the 43 millions people of NE India. Other languages - Bengali and Manipuri - are a part of future plans.

GUWAHATI

GUWAHATI
I spent last week end in Guwahati (population 1 M+), the hub of NE India (43 M +) as well as the capital of the state of Assam (26 M+).
In July, Shyam Salam initiated the Bread of Life Study Centre. Its basic aim is to provide not-yet believers with the information and opportunity to choose faith.
To that end 10,000 copies of a correspondence-like study of the Life of Christ was printed and distributed. To date more than 5,000 have enrolled. The first level of questions is of the simply, survey type. We have prepared a second level set of in-depth study questions which are being offered to those completing the first set.
From the graduates of the second course, 50 will be selected to attend a camp in Guwahati, January 9-15.
In the picture at left, Samuel, Salam, Shyam’s son, is busy working the mail.
Silver Oak School
We arrived back in Aizawl on September 2. Looking back on the last three weeks, Ellen commented, “It seems like we never left (for 4 months), we just slid right back into the school routine.” Enrollment is still about 70 students, much lower than desirable. Staff changes have been multiple. The school has great potential, but has suffered from inadequate management the last couple years. There are rumours of new management in December.
Ellen and I are busy teaching three Bible-English classes each week to each grade. I am also teaching grade XII English and Education (an introduction to teaching). Tabea Laslo, a teacher-in-training from Germany, is staying with us for a couple months and also helping at the school. Our kids enjoy her.
Autumn and Andrew celebrated their birthdays (Sept. 4, 20) in grand style and are back in their respective classes (grades). Andrew enjoys life here immensely! Autumn would enjoy it more if she weren’t the only girl in her class.
It is good to be back. We appreciate the opportunity to share our lives with these special people in this gorgeous corner of God’s world. ~ Ray & Ellen McMillan, Aizawl, Mizoram, India

NEW IS BETTER

NEW IS BETTER

 

“East is East and west is west and ne’er the twain shall meet.” This proverb comes from the refrain of The Ballad of East and West, a poem by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). Unfortunately (I believe), the last 75 (especially the last 20) years of history have proved that they are indeed meeting in a multiplicity of ways. Many are not, in my opinion, for the better, especially for the East. Via television and internet, the beautiful people of the East are exposed to, and often adopting, the worst of the West.

 

However, there are some cherished values that persist.

 

The Indian auditorium is full to capacity. The program is underway. A white haired gentleman hesitantly makes his way through the entrance. There is a scurry of activity to provide him a space in a comfortable front seat.

 

Along with an older couple, a Canadian woman in her thirties recently visited various points in NE India. She relished the experience except for one thing: the women persistently requested that the more senior woman do the speaking. However, she acquiesced when it was pointed out to her that in Canada the value system is reversed.

 

Scanning the “pastors wanted” columns often reveals requirements such as “looking for a person with experience between the ages of 30 and 45”. Perhaps this value should not surprise one when we consider the high price the West is willing to pay for athletes, most in their twenties.

 

“New” is unquestionable better; “old” might be interesting, but rarely exciting. Contemporary music (especially in churches) leaves little space for the traditional. “Today” can be so with us that we may ignore the learnings of yesterday.

 

Perhaps there is no “newness” in our pursuit of the NEW. In Acts 17:21, we read an aside: “All the (first century) Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time do nothing but talking about and listening to the latest.”