drcrandall's blog

The question of the week in Saipan has been, “Did Adam have a bellybutton?” Over a dozen young men have come to Dr. Mitchell eagerly curious about this question. Some Chinese even come in groups and send their best English-speaker to find out. All are genuinely amazed at the answer. They seem genuinely relieved to learn that Jesus did have one.

On Tuesday, Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell explained to the kindergarten classes at the International school how dinosaurs fit into the six day creation week. The boys from the K5 class were eager to show that they could already recite Genesis 1:1. Each child got a “creature card” or a “dinosaur card” to keep.

Medical clinics continue to attract a steady flow of patients throughout the mornings and afternoons. The predominant problems have been minor orthopedic complaints and respiratory infections. We are trying to deal with preventative health issues as much as we can. Clinics will continue until the end of next week.

A personal note from Laura:

Imagine being 23 years old and never hearing about the Bible. Never hearing about God creating the world…never hearing about Jesus and how much He loves you.

I don’t know about you, but that’s really hard for me to understand. The first night our team arrived, I met Ashley (her English name)—a student from China who is studying here at the college. She is 23 years old, and the first time she heard about Jesus was in her classes here. We’ve had the opportunity to hang out this week, and it’s been so cool to talk with her about God. Right now, she’s still just trying to take everything in, but the thing that amazes me the most is her openness of talking about God. She’s not opposed to it at all—I shared my testimony with her, and she was very interested in it. But at the end of our conversation she sweetly said, “You grew up learning about God, but I didn’t. I’ve just started learning about Him, so I need more time.”  She also shared that at first she didn’t enjoy coming to the church services, but now something has changed. She’s noticed that the people at church are very happy, and that makes her happy too.

In the States, it seems that most people I’ve interacted with are either not interested in talking about Christianity or already have reasons for not wanting to talk about God. With Ashley, she just hasn’t even heard about Him until recently. Many of the other students here are in the same position—please pray that God would continue to work in their hearts and that they would come to know Him as their Savior.

Clinics by day and teaching by night. That’s the schedule in Saipan this week. The medical clinics have started in space provided by Eucon College. In the first few days we have provided care for various infections and routine orthopedic problems.

Yesterday began the ESL classes! Laura had about 25 students who were all very eager to improve their English skills. Their skill level varies from only knowing basic English greetings to being able to carry on a simple conversation in English. They have such an enthusiasm to learn—we are quite excited to have the opportunity! We will be having classes each day for the two weeks that our team is here. The students are all attending the sessions given by Dr. Mitchell each evening, so they have the added pressure of knowing that their teacher may give them a “pop conversation quiz” at any time!

Each evening a good crowd of Chinese- and English-speaking people gathers at the Christian Bible Church to hear Dr. Tommy Mitchell, with the aid of his translator, speak about the importance of biblical authority in Genesis. He’s already taught about the age of the earth and dating methods. With sessions each night, he’ll be exploring many more topics. Many students at the college have come to him with questions. In addition, a local school teacher brought her class last night and held a special session with Dr. Mitchell; the teacher asked him to explain to the children why Genesis is important. The enthusiastic students plan to return every night.

On Friday morning our first Answers WorldWide Medical Outreach team, Drs. Tommy and Elizabeth Mitchell and Laura Perrien, left Cincinnati for Saipan. The journey from Kentucky to Saipan took almost 27 hours. Here you see a photo of our three gallant travelers before the trip began. The photo of the team after arrival is not shown for humanitarian reasons.

There was a praise point for this outreach effort almost before it began. The flight schedule had the team connecting in Houston, Texas, for the flights to the Pacific. As you are aware, hurricane Ike was bearing down on the Texas coast that very same day. The Houston airport was to be closed around noon that day due to the threat of this severe storm. Fortunately the team’s outbound flight left Houston at 9:30AM, about two hours before the airport shut down. Rerouting the team at that late date would have been extremely difficult. Fortunately, all went well and the team arrived right on time!

On Sunday morning Dr. Mitchell spoke at the English service for the Christian Bible Church. His message was about understanding the nature of God as Creator.

Sunday evening Dr. Mitchell spoke again at the church giving an overview of the messages to come this week. The Chinese interpreter made the message plain for the Chinese-speaking members of the crowd. Following the service, while enjoying a snack supper celebrating the Chinese moon festival, Tommy answered many questions that had burdened his listeners and more questions the message had raised.

There have been many calls about the meetings scheduled at the church. Dr. Wei even got an inquiry from a Korean couple who were visiting the island. They read about the talks in a newspaper ad about the conference.

The medical outreach is scheduled to begin Monday morning. Please pray that the both the physical and spiritual needs of those who come can be met.

Thank you for your continued prayer for our brothers and sisters in India who are facing horrible persecution. Dr. Crandall recently received this update from our friend Jyoti who is currently in India:

Brother,

Last night I couldn’t really sleep, today is Lord’s day. Many have lost their beloved ones, their house has been looted and ransacked, villages after villages have been burnt down. Their only crime was they were Christians. Thousands of Christians have nothing left to them except the clothes they are wearring.Only Red Cross has been allowed to enter into some places. I just can’t imagine that I will start and end a day with my Bible, that was the first thing they burned, cross, and the Bibles from Christian homes.

A very close friend of mine professor from Serampore College, his brother and nephew was slaughtered into 15 pieces. This was in the national news this evening, I couldn’t have my dinner properly. Their face comes in my memory.

20 families were forcefully re converted into Hinduism yesterday.  

 Will you please please pray. I was in contact with few more friends from that area, news are so disturbing. I will write another update soon.

Meanwhile would you mind to generate a movement in USA in your local church at least to send a protest letter to the chief minister of Orissa state, and the Pri Minister of  India. And to the President too. Few line emails or fax will do a lot.

More later. Meanwhile thanks for your prayers. Have a wonderful Lord’s day remembering the Lord.

Jyoti

Thank you for your prayer.

Answers WorldWide is sending out its first medical missions team this week! The team will travel to the island of Saipan which is located in the Northern Mariana Islands. Please be in prayer for them. They will be gone from September 12^th to September 27^th. Drs. Tommy and Elizabeth Mitchell, along with WorldWide's assistant Laura Perrien, will represent AiG in Saipan for 16 days of medical and teaching ministry.

The Mitchells will use their medical skills to treat pastors from China, many of whom have never seen a doctor. Clinics have also been organized to meet the medical needs of the local people. The clinics will give the team the opportunity to share the truths of God’s Word. Laura will assist in the clinics, and she will also teach English as a second language both in the Christian school and college. Dr. Mitchell will speak to all of the international students daily at Eucon University and at the church fellowship on several occasions.

You can stay up-to-date with the team’s activities on the WorldWide blog: http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/worldwide

Thanks for your prayer!

In His Royal Service,

Dr. David R. Crandall

One of our close ministry friends, Jyoti Chakravartty, from India just informed Dr. Crandall today of some severe persecution toward Christians that has just begun in India. Apparently, a Hindu leader was murdered and the blame has wrongly fell on Christians there who are now being persecuted and forced to run to the jungle to flee for their lives. Dr. Crandall has been in touch with Jyoti who is safe and has assured him of our prayer.

From Jyoti:

“Dear friends,

This email comes with a very heavy heart.. I don’t know whether the western medial has shown the recent attack on the Baptist, Catholic and Gospel of Asia churches and World Vision offices. IN case if you want I can send you website URLs of the news from Indian News Papers.

 

Yesterday I was suppose to leave for Hyderabad along with Pastor Nathan Hazra to attend the Annual General Meeting and Board meetings of India Missions Association (largest Umbrella body of Indian Missions, evangelical church bodies) from August 27-30.2008 and on Sunday August 31.2008 I was invited to preach (message on Biblical Creation) in two large Churches. I was all excited so was Nathan Hazra, as we will be able to meet friends from all over India leading various Christian ministies, many of them I know of more than 20 years since my days with SGM and SIL/Wycliffe. We decided to take a 42 hours train journey basically to shut our phones and sleep on the sleeper coach.

 

Well  I left 5 am in the morning after having 2 hours sleep as I was trying to finish my work. The train was suppose to depart at 7.25 am when I arrived at the station met some old friends including one of my students from Calcutta Bible College, he recognized me and came and introduced himself. Now leading a large church in the North of West Bengal, well we waited and then we heard that the train was rescheduled and will be departing 11 am then after that we heard that again it was  rescheduled and will be leaving at 1610 hrs. But later we found that the train was cancelled due to  turmoil in Orissa (same state where Australian Missionary Graham Staines were murdered few years ago) and there is a state wise strike in protest of a Hindu leader who was murdered by the Maoist. But the blame came on Christians and scores of Baptist, Catholic and Gospel for Asia and Penticostal churches are burnt down attacked. My friends in World Vision were beaten up and their office was ransacked and many fled in the Jungle to hide.

 

Even today I was not able to contact my friends over the telephone not even in their mobile. This evening I was able to contact a friend in state capital Bhubaneswar. His voice sounded very scary, he informed me that I was not able to contact others as many of them have fled in jungle and there is no Tower to catch signals. Please pray for this situation. The School Colleges are closed in Orissa till first week of September.

 

Some places are just cutup, specially Beharampore I was not able to contact any of my friends there. In 2006 we had one of our largest Creation seminar organised by the locals who were so generous. Sadly I was not able to get in touch with them over the phone till now.

 

I am forwarding the following email from a friend who use to be with the World Vision but now heads EFICORE. I recount enjoying delicious meals at his house.

 

Please do pray for our dear brothers and sitsters those who have lost all their belongings, have been suffering and persecuted for their faith.  

 

With Christian greetings

 In His Grace

 Jyoti  Chakravartty

 

“ Dear all,

The following information collected from different fields of riots affected areas of Orissa directly from the victims for your information and sincere prayer.

 In Phulbani, the district headquarter of Kondhamal district, more than 25 houses were attacked, all house hold things/ properties burned in front of the houses. RC church and Baptist church were attacked and ransacked in the presence  of the police.

 In Raikia, 40km from Phulbani, 10 shops belong to Christians burned and looted yesterday while the dead body of late lakhanananda Saraswati was carried towards Phulbani and than cremated in Chakapada where Mr.Swaraswati lived for many years and continued all the activities.

1. In Tikabali, which is near to Chakapada  Mr.Swaraswati, more than 10 houses were set ablaze and one Church completely demolished. Now all Christians with families live in the jungle.
2. Pastor Sikandar Singh(Missionary Association President, Kalahandi)was attacked by a group of fundamentalists today morning 9am. His house is looted and demolished. Believers from Indian Christian Revival Mission were attacked too.
3. In  Jeerango, a  village 32km away from Parlakhemundi and around 90km from Berhampur, one church was blasted and 11 houses were destroyed. Activists were not from the local area.
4. Twelve families in Rupanagar, 3km away from Chakapada, were attacked, houses were set ablaze one woman was burned alive apart from a nun who burned alive in Baragada ashram. Fundamentalists are basically from neighboring states.
5. Mr.Prabir Kumar Swain from Jagatsinghpur ADP, a project of WVI, is  gharowed by the fundamentalists since morning. They are arguing and forcing  the house owner to take   Mr.pravir and pastor out of the house. House is famous person in that small town and gracious to these two families. But the fundamental activities waiting out side the house to attack pastor and Mr.Pravir's f amily. Night 2 am one vehicle will come from Bhubaneswar to take them. Though it is very much risky but they  do not have any alternative. Please pray for them.
6. In Baliguda Rev.Gurubandhu Sansad, Ex.UESI staff an UBS graduate is under attack. House owner suddenly asked him to vacate the house as fundamentalist activities would attack him at evening. When  I called Rev.Gurubandhu at evening he was not in a situation to talk to me over phone as he was about to be attacked and asked me to pray and put down his phone. We are not able to contact him.
7. In Divyajoyti a RC pastoral centre in Angamendi village, near Nuagoan and 20km away from baliguda,Father Thomas Challen was bitten mercilessly and stripped, was made to walk necked in Nuagoan and baliguda.  A Nun who was in that centre was raped yesterday at about 3 pm. Last time when I went to Kondhamal area for relief I had stayed in this centre and Father Tomas had given me shelter
8. Around 3 people were killed in  the  village Piangian 3km away from Rikia. This news has to be confirmed yet. Now at this moment house burning is going on in Rikia by more than 200 fundamental activities. Police is simply following them helplessly. Police is watching the situation being inactive.
9. Many  fundamental activities are entering into Kharihar Road, 150 km from Raipur and around 10km from Nuapada (Orissa), through Nuapada to attack kharihar Mission Hospital. They burned two shops in front of the Christian hospital. Now the hospital is protected by the police. Activities have bitten up the local pastor Isudananda Senapati.

Whole night burning is going on in different parts of Orissa especially in Kondhamal dist.

Please continue to pray for the situation. Please remember that tomorrow you and I may face the same situation.

"But if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come from another place but you and your father's family will perish………………………" (Esther 4:14)

Yours sincerely

Lalit Mohan Jena”

Thank you for lifting our brothers and sisters in India up in prayer.

In His Royal Service,

Dr. David R. Crandall

(written by the volunteer director of Answers Worldwide’s event in India)

Answers WorldWide is always excited when we hear such a positive response from a ministry that we have orchestrated; please read and praise the Lord:

“The general feed back I got from the participants [after the conference] is excellent.  The subject [of creation] is of great interest to many. There is a definite desire in many to know more and more . Our organizers and myself honestly never expected such a response.  We were amazed at the turn out of invites during such down pour of rain with floods on roads and many colonies. Even transport was a serious problem those days. In fact, the Chief Minister of the State cancelled several public programs that day. Some leaders gave me wake-up call second day morning to check whether program would exist at all because of down pour all the night. God gave us confidence. God controlled everything.

Ken Ham’s speaking was par excellent with depth & clarity inspiring to all sections.  We have to make future plans how AIG would like to go about in India. The ministry has so much potential. Kindly inform me if you require any assistance.  May God bless you & the family of AiG in a special way and lead you more global.”

We do praise the Lord for how he worked during the conference and how lives have been changed. Thank you for your prayer support!

In His Royal Service,

Dr. David R. Crandall

For the last week we have watched and listened to information about the Russian invasion of the small country of Georgia.  We watched TV with a sickening feeling when we heard that thousands of innocent people had been killed.  The news reports continued to tell of the thousands of refugees that have fled from their homes away from the fighting.

When we hear a news report from a country such a long way from our homes, it is hard for us to visualize the suffering, the paralyzing fear, the sorrow and the uncertainty that these people are facing right now. 

However, the reality of this war and the reality of the refugee camps came today when Diana Crandall, Answers WorldWide Translation Coordinator, received a phone call directly from a refugee camp in Georgia.  Diana’s first response was to ask the caller if she was safe; and she responded that, “The bombing has stopped at this time, but the Russians are still here”.

The request from this missionary worker was for permission to translate Ken Ham’s booklet Why is there Death and Suffering? and Dr. Tommy Mitchell’s booklet Why does God’s Creation include Death and Suffering? into the Georgian language for immediate publication and distribution. The missionary worker spoke with such compassion for the Georgian people and stated that these books/booklets were exactly what they needed. Many people in these camps have lost family members and close friends to the Russian invaders.

Diana assured her that we would fast-track this request so that the books and booklets could be available as quickly as possible. Answers WorldWide will attempt to raise the funds for immediate translation and printing.  What a great open door to the suffering people of Georgia as AiG once again gets the call to minister in another country of the world.

Please be in prayer that God will provide $10,000 right away to meet this urgent need for translation and printing. Please also be much in prayer for this very special missionary and her fellow missionaries that are ministering to these hurting people in Georgia.

The AiG team made it safely to India! Thanks for your prayer.  All of their flights were on time, but they still were up for a total of 39 hours by the time they reached Hyderabad!  Dr. Crandall reported that they have had over 500 people register for the Friday night and Saturday conferences, and they have heard that several Bible schools and seminaries are bringing 400 of their students to the conference as well.  

We would appreciate your prayer for tomorrow (Thursday) morning about 9:30 our time when Ken and Dr. Crandall will be interviewed by 50-100 people from the Christian press and Indian legislators. 

Monday, August 4 a team from AiG leaves to minister in Hyderabad, India where the next translation of Ken Ham's Creation Mini-Series will take place.  Ken Ham will be presenting these talks which will be recorded and translated into Hindi and Telugu. Dr. David Crandall will also be speaking at several services.  We would covet your prayers for safe travel, good filming of the talks, and the effectiveness of the trip in the lives of those in India.  Here is a schedule of the team's time there:

Friday, August 08,2008

12:30 P.M.                    Dr. David Crandall speaking at Chapel for Bharat Bible College

                                    Location: Bharat Bible College, Post Bag 39

                                    Secunderabad 500 003, A.P.  India
                 

5:30-8:00 P.M.             Ken Ham: Is the Bible’s account of creation relevant today?

                                    What does it mean to have a Biblical Worldview?

                                    High Tea will be provided after the conference.

                                    Location: Centenary Baptist Church, 610 A St. Mary's Rd
                                    Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 500 003 India

Saturday, August 09, 2008

9:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.    Ken Ham: Was the universe created in six days or millions of years?

                                    Can the Bible really explain dinosaurs?

                                    How did all the people groups (`races`) arise?

                                    How should parents raise children in today’s world?

                                    Lunch will be provided by Answers in Genesis.

                                    This meeting is also at Centenary Baptist Church

Sunday, August 10, 2008 

Ken Ham and Dr. David Crandall speaking at morning and evening church services at Centenary Baptist Church.  Ken Ham is speaking at the English service.  Dr. Crandall is speaking at the Telugu service.

Conference coordinator: John Paul Paturi:  paturijohnpaul@yahoo.co.in