About India...

I'm so grateful to have so many friends and family who, first of all, are aware of what we, as GCC, are attempting to do as we send teams regularly to India to support and bolster the work of indigenous Indian church planters, but second, are seeing all the havoc on television around Mumbai and wondering how this will affect us and our upcoming teams in December. As a result, i wanted to post here what i sent to all our India team members and their families. Hopefully, it will be helpful to you as well. -sj

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Dear December India Team Members and Friends!

By now, no doubt, you've heard about the tragic attacks and bombings going on in Bombay (Mumbai), India, pursuant to apparent Islamic terrorists targetting innocent Indian citizens and foreigners (if you haven't, please click here for update). As a result, i'm guessing that you probably have a variety of questions about the impact of this event on both a) our overall ministry in India, and b) our upcoming teams in December. While we are still gathering data and watching how events unfold along with the rest of the world, i wanted to drop you a quick line to give you some basic information that i hope will be helpful to you and to your support teams, families and friends as you field questions and attempt to direct your own prayers.

1) First of all, please let me state plainly and simply that we will never willingly drop a team of GCC members into a situation that is known to be overtly dangerous or hostile. While there is always a certain amount of risk associated with international travel of any kind, of course, we will monitor the situation in India closely for resolution, and will be paying attention to the US State Department for analysis about the relative safety of contiuing to travel to/from or operation within the country. If there is a genuine threat, if the US State Dept feels that travel to/from India is unadvisable, or we just don't have a good "feel" for our ability to maintain safety and security, we will simply cancel and/or reschedule our time there, and will keep everyone appraised of all necessary data along the way.

2) Also, be advised that the epicenter of this kind of terror is actually "far away" from where our teams typically operate. Think of what might happen if you saw terrorists attempting similar activities in New York, but you were planning on travelling to South Bend (the distance between the two is about the same as between Bombay and Chennai in Tamilnadu). While Bombay is a highly important city within India, and is a focal point for international attention, business, tourism and banking, it is some 700 miles from Tamilnadu, where we concentrate all of our work. In addition, Tamilnadu is nearly 100% Hindu, so there is a considerably higher degree of peace and tranquility than in much of the rest of the country where Hindu/Muslim conflicts occur regularly. Again, all of this to say not that we will ignore genuine international threats or concerns, but rather that what you are seeing on CNN is not necessarily indicative of what is going on in the rest of the country.

3) Next, our current airline tickets have us routing nowhere close to Bombay for any component of our travel to/from India. Most likely, we will either fly directly to Chennai (on the Southeast coast of the country), or to Chennai via Bangalore (in the South-Central part of the country) from our stop-over in Europe.

4) Finally, despite the above, please continue to pray diligently for India. As you have heard me say in your training DVD's, India is a country currently "in flux", trying to find its point of balance between the old ways and the new. In the last 10 years, it has attempted to bring itself out of the Stone Ages and into the light as a global super-power (economically, militarily, socially and governmentally), and the tension that occurs with that kind of seismic upheaval is always difficult, and sometimes (as in this case), violent and tragic. As you pray, please ask God that this horrific evil will result in a greater openness for those of us who are attempting to bring the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior into such Darkness, and that his Light and Love will triumph over the spirit of oppression and violence that is pervading India now.

I'm sure that what is above has most likely not answered all your questions, but hopefully, it has at least answered a few. Please feel free to contact your team leader first, or me directly for additional information if it would be helpful for you. Thanks, and we'll continue to give you more information as we have it.

All for One!

Jack Magruder
Director of Life Mission
Granger Community Church