July 2007

This was originally written in July 2007

Hello from Bonnie in India!

In my last newsletter I said I was planning on going to Hyderabad for ministry with my new American friends Ed and Kathy. Well, we went a few weeks ago and had a wonderful trip. We made new friends on the train with a couple who bunked near us and shared our dinner with them. Even though it was a sleeper train, I wasn't able to sleep very much because of the constant noise and motion of the train, so I had a long night. Finally 6AM came and it was time to get off in Hyderabad. That's when we found out that a train had run off the tracks right before us, and during the night we had been rerouted around the accident. We were still seven and a half hours away from our destination, but we were thankful that we weren't on the train that derailed! We finally got to the Hyderabad station at 1:30 in the afternoon and were driven through heavy traffic to our hotel. There wasn't any time to rest or freshen up because we were scheduled to be at a church service by then so we just dropped off our bags quickly and left. The church was an hour away but when we finally got there everyone was still waiting for us and didn't seem to mind that we were late. We had a great time of worship for the first hour and then Pastor Ed gave an inspiring message. After the service we went to the church pastor's home where we enjoyed a simple dinner and more fellowship and prayer.

When we left there that night, we were looking forward to a hot shower and getting some rest in our hotel rooms. After another hour's drive we finally arrived at our "hotel". (That's in quotation marks because it wasn't what you would think of when you hear the word hotel.) First of all, we had to get past a barrage of beggars in the dirt parking lot and carry our luggage up three flights of stairs. Then we saw our rooms. Oh! They had dirty walls, dirty floors, dirty sheets, and dirty towels. (The laundry is done by hand by local people instead of using washing machines and dryers.) Ed and Kathy's room was full of roaches so they moved in with me. We found out there was no hot water even though we had been assured there would be some when we checked in. I took a cold shower anyway and used some clean towels I had brought with me. We put up a fuss with the management and got some brand new sheets, made our beds and finally got some rest that night. In the morning we found out we had hot water but it only lasted a few minutes so Ed and Kathy had to take quick showers and rinse off in cold water. Apparently when they say they have hot water they mean only in the morning and as long as it doesn't run out. What an adventure! We found out later that there was a convention in the area and the hotel we were in was the only one that had any vacancies left. It was easy to figure out why.

We visited several more churches in the next two days. Each time Kathy and I gave a short greeting and message and then Pastor Ed gave the main message. At the end we all prayed for the people who came forward. Once after Ed preached about claiming the promises of healing, I gave a ten minute testimony about the many times I've been healed.

We had an uneventful trip back to Bangalore, and I settled back into my regular routine again. Four days a week I teach English to children for 2-4 hours a day. Then whenever I'm asked to, I preach, pray for the sick and visit people in their homes with Salome.

I've really enjoy the experience I've been getting here in public speaking and praying. Just this afternoon I thanked Salome for the ministry opportunities they've given me since I came here. I commented on the fact that they even let two 13 year old girls teach Sunday School and they sometimes have small children get up and pray in front of the whole church. In response, she said the church was like a soup and I asked her what she meant by that. She said, everyone adds a little of their own flavor here and we all enjoy the results.

Speaking of food, (sort of) I was asked to make some American dishes and so far I've made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet and sour meatballs, chocolate chip cookies and iced tea. Tomorrow I'll make brownies and later in the week I'll make some coconut pies. I've found the Indian substitutes for some ingredients are different than what I'm used to, so I've had to make some adjustments in my recipes. For example, their brown sugar is made from a palm tree so it's sweeter and their salt is stronger so I have to use half the amount. Also, I'm not used to cooking for forty people at a time so I have to multiply every recipe a lot. They use different spices, cooking utensils and methods. Sometimes you have to be careful of walking on a slippery wet floor in the kitchen and there's a gas stove instead of an electric one. They usually cook on top of the stove so they hardly ever use the oven here except for storing pans. Once, when I was baking cookies I found out someone had turned the oven off, not knowing it was actually being used for the first time in a year.

I took lots of pictures on the trip to Hyderabad. Check them out at my website.

bjenk234.shutterfly.com I hope you enjoy seeing them!

If you want to write, my e-mail is bjenk234@juno.com

Half the time the e-mail doesn't get through, but if I get your letter I promise to write back. Regular mail is more dependable, but try to make the envelope look like it's from a business if you can. That way it's less likely to be opened and thrown away by someone who is looking for cash in a personal letter from a rich country.

My address here is:

Bonnie Jenkins
Shekinah House of Prayer and Praise
#7 First Main S.K. Garden
Bangalore, 560046 India

To call me direct use: 011-91-990-226-1821
The church number is: 011-91-080-2333-1637

(A land line has a different amount of numbers than a cell phone)

Call me anytime and share the number with others who might want to call. I would love to hear from you!

I send my love to you all!
Bonnie