Author: David Grisanti

Debbie and I were scheduled to fly to Entebbe, Uganda this coming Saturday, May 19. We were going to be participating in a Pastors and Wives Retreat for East African Pastors. We’ve gone the past 2 years and were looking forward to being there once again. But on Saturday, May 12, my mother unexpectedly passed away. It was a shock to us all. Today, May 15, I am in Palm Springs, California, making arrangements for her burial, while at the same time going through all of her material things. It is a painful process, but I have my wife and daughters with me. Because of this turn of events, it became impossible for us to go to Africa. I hope we can go again someday, maybe next year. God is good!

 

Blessings,

David

We began yesterday morning with a 24-minute flight from Bharatpur to Kathmandu aboard Buddha Air. When we arrived at the small airport, we were the only ones there! I’m so accustomed to arriving at an airport 2 hours before the flight! Anyway, it was a smooth flight, then getting a connecting flight from Kathmandu to Delhi a couple of hours later. Another smooth flight, after which we checked in to the hotel less than 10 minutes from the airport. So, now I wait for my late night flight which is the first leg of the journey home.

It was another wonderful time with the pastors, leaders, students, and friends in India and Nepal. Last evening Saji, the director of Harvest Mission to the Unreached (HMU) came to our hotel from the HMU office in Delhi for a time of tea and conversation with Pastor Ed and me. It was a great time of talking about what God is doing in India and Nepal and about future plans. I love working with HMU for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the integrity of the organization’s leaders. Pray for them, as they are always needing more financial support. I am amazed at how they stretch their budget each year. They have land and want to establish a pastor’s training center in Delhi.

Man, I love what I do! I am so grateful for all who support MTI. Thank you also for the prayers. On this trip, I came here at the end of a cold but had a couple of other health issues for the first few days. However, I ended strong and feel great.

God willing, I will be home Sunday night. By the way, I watched the memorial service for Billy Graham here at the hotel. What a tremendous inspiration he was and is.

Blessings to you all!

David

Today, Thursday, was the final day of the conference in Nepal. I taught a total of 5 or 6 sessions during the conference and enjoyed spending time with the pastors and students. Here is a photo of the attendees and visiting speakers:

The student girls are wearing their colorful school uniforms.

On Tuesday we drove by a large, barren, dusty lot that had about 15-20 “tents” made from tarps. We discovered that it was a group of refugees/gypsies from India. They have no status in India, nor Nepal. Long story short, a few of us chipped in to buy some food for them, each family getting a 10-pound bag containing rice, lentiles, and salt. Today at lunch, we took the food and distributed it. We also had candy for the children. They gladly received all we gave them, which admittedly was not much. It was pretty crazy but I am glad we did it.

It is late, and I’m tired, so I’ll post more tomorrow.

Thanks again for all the prayers!

David