I had a great time with the folks at Covenant Blessings Church last Sunday, in both their English-speaking and Hindi-speaking services – but I did miss everyone at home.

I’m looking forward to catching up with the gang at Church At The Movies tomorrow, especially since it’s our quarterly Celebration Sunday. We’re sharing communion tomorrow and also have baptisms and baby dedications. There’s so much going on that the band will be getting started earlier than usual at 9.45am so we can fit it all in.

The forecast isn’t great, with snow overnight tonight, but it will be a great morning!

We landed at JFK before 8.00 this morning and are very happy to be back in the USA. That’s not to say we didn’t enjoy being in India – we did – it’s just that home is home, which is about as much logic as you’re going to get from me in my current wasted condition.

The 10 1/2 hours time difference really messes with your body clock and a 28 hour journey home with virtually no sleep just compounds it.

So here are some quick hits from our nine days half a world away -

+ I have developed some close friendships in India and it was great to spend some time with these great.

+ The leaders’ retreat I taught at for three days appears to have touched on topics that are really relevant to where Covenant Blessings Church is at right now.

+ The services on Sunday were full and lively – I appreciated the great welcome.

+ It was weird to be sitting in Mumbai airport on Monday morning watching the Oscars live in the USA, with Slumdog getting all the honors. At the same time I looked out of the window and saw the slum where most of ther movie was made. Hollywood was indulging itself while nothing had changed for millions of families living in squalor.

+ Our visit to the Jeevan Asha program we support underlined that at least something is being done for some of the children from the slums.

+ Since most missions adventures eventually come down to bathroom stories, I did use the  most public and disgusting toilet ever in Agra.

+ Basil and Cathy D’Souza are amazing hosts, so thoughtful and caring.

+ Ate more than I should have, but not as much as I once would have!

+ The Taj Mahal still stands out in my mind as the most amazing place I have visited in my life thus far. Glad Gill got to see it at last.

+ Was upgraded on the flight from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi on the way home – always a welcome treat.

+ I like 90 degrees weather in February.

+ Now that I’m home, I’m wondering if I can stay awake until around 8.00!

All checked in here at JFK. I continue to be very impressed with Etihad Airlines. Next stop Abu Dhabi!

Gill and I leave for India in the  morning, setting out at around 6.00am. If all goes according to plan, we should be at Basil’s home in Mumbai around 6.00am Tuesday. That sounds a long trip until I remember it took my father three months to travel from England to Calcutta by military transportation (troop ship) during WWII!

While we’re gone, if we come to mind at any time, here are some things we’d love you to be praying about -

+ Pray we’ll enjoy health and the physical strength we need for a demanding mission.

+ Pray for the leaders I will be teaching for three solid days – 12 sessions.

+ Pray that God will give me wisdom to share the things these good people most need at this time.

+ Pray our flights go well – if prayer is really your forte, you might want to ask God for upgrades!!!

+ Pray we’ll be able to encourage Basil as he leads the church in Mumbai and gives input to dozens of other pastors.

+ Pray that we will quickly adjust to the 10 1/2 hours time difference.

+ Pray that on our return we will know God’s help in recovering physically, mentally and spiritually from the demands of the journey and of ten days of giving out to others.

It is so good to know we have so many good people behind us back home. Missions is the heart of our church and I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Got this unexpected gift from my son this evening – a graphic for our upcoming Mastic campus – I like it!!!

You are honestly, seriously, this is not just hype, you’ll kick yourselg if you do, not going to want to miss church this coming Sunday.

If you think you’ve got it tough, I want to introduce you to some people who know what real suffering is – and above all to the Jesus who is with us through whatever our nonsense happens to be and brings us out the other side.

Plus, I’ll start to unpack details of our second campus in Mastic, starting this fall.

I knew this was going to be a busy week. Quite apart from the regular stuff, I needed to prepare a lot of notes and organize some I have used before for the leaders’ retreat I will be speaking at in Mumbai next week. In all I have to teach twelve sessions, which is a lot of talking and a lot of material.

I didn’t really need the distractions of one day feeling sick and another day trying to sort out what to do with a crippled car because some guy chose to ignore a stop sign.

I’m feeling quite okay now, and the car issue is resolved. Insurance company’s check is already in the bank and the body shop will repair my Expedition while I am away. But it’s Thursday night already.

That leaves me just one more day – as usual, I’ll be totally occupied the whole of Saturday and Sunday (though I admit Sunday evening will be pure recreation, watching the Harlem Globetrotters, thanks Maria!)

So I’m a bit uptight tonight. I know I laugh a lot, but you won’t find too many peopole who are more serious about what they do than I am. A whole bunch of church leaders have set aside time and shelled out money – an all-too-scarce commodity in India – to spend a few days listening to an American preacher because they think he will help them in what they are doing.

That’s pressure!

Though I can talk for ever about any subject under the sun, I am sure there are certain things that God wants these good people to hear next week. So I need to have some insight into what those things are.

That’s pressure!

I’m not as prepared as I’d like to be and Monday morning’s flight deadline is closing in.

That’s pressure!

But in the end of the day, when I’ve done all that I can, they are God’s people, doing God’s work, building God’s church and it’s up to him to take my best effort and make it into something of eternal value.

Pressure eased – a bit!

Okay, I know I ticked some of you off last night when I again exposed my own ignorance, this time by suggesting that spending  trillions (whatever they are) of dollars we do not have to help us stop going broke is about as smart as inviting a one-legged man to a butt-kicking contest, but at present the first amendment still gives me the right to pass comment on Presidents and paupers alike.

Here are a few other pearls from RJB – Master Economist …

1. Get to John Leone’s finance class at Grace House in Medford on Saturday morning. This is the fifth time John has taught this for us and with uncertain times upon us / still ahead, knowledge is power. Call the office for info.

2. Don’t overstretch yourself. I know it probably didn’t sound too hip when you read what the Bible said about not being over-confident about tomorrow, especially when you could get a new kitchen from Lowes and pay nothing until 2087, but that day will come and if you can’t afford it now you probably won’t be able to then either.

3. Hold on to your gold. You don’t need more money to spend on junk now, you need something of value behind you for the future.

4. Keep tithing – what God asks of us does not vary with the economic climate and neither do his promises to us.

5. Go the extra mile. If unemployment rates nationwide do reach the 10% many predict, can the 90% take care of them? Government won’t be able to. It can’t. And it was probably never meant to. In the New Testament, the church in Corinth was commended because even though they were poor themselves, they reached out to those who were even worse off. We need to be doing likewise.

6. Government bail-outs will not solve our nations ills, but caring Christians can embrace the hurting by sharing what they have themselves.

7. Here’s the Bible verse that I had on my bedroom wall as a teenager – alongside posters of the Beatles and The Rolling Stones – Proverbs 11:24 – One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

The President is giving a news conference right now, to try to sell his economic package to the nation.

Though I’m not watching it, I bet by the time it’s over it will be very clear why he’s the man in charge and I’m not.

Let’s face it, I’m an idiot.

With my total lack of economic insight, I tend to think that since the country is up to its eyeballs in debt, borrowing a humungeous amount of money and going on a massive spending spree would make things worse and not better.

Obviously I know nothing!

+ Highlight of the day? – Sitting in Regal Cinemas, Ronkonkoma and listening to my grandson’s laughter as we watched The Pink Panther 2.

+ It was not freezing today – not that warm, but a pleasant break from the long, cold winter.

+ Our beautiful daughter is 37 years old tomorrow. I remember that day in 1972 so clearly – what a gift she has been to us! She is just a terrific person.

+ Enjoyed church today – ran out of time preaching, but said what needed to be said.

+ The band had a great mix – some real oldies among them, but they worked.

+ Lesaya rolled out the small groups we have planned for the next couple of months and I like what we have on offer. There’s something on almost every day of the week and a couple of daytime groups available too.  If you missed this morning, the details are here – http://www.churchatthemovies.com/index.php?page=what-s-happening-2

+ Got my signed copy of Joe Torre’s book – excellent.

+ Chatted with Basil in India last night, confirming the arrangements for the leaders’ retreat I am speaking at for him next week. Seems he really does want me to cover twelve sessions, so at the latest count I have only twelve left to prepare!!!

+ 90 degrees in Mumbai does sound good.

+ Have been given tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters next Sunday evening. I remember watching them on TV back in the UK years ago, so am looking forward to seeing them live.

+ Great weekend – I’m zapped!