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Uttam and Rapali Dhela

Learn more about this young,

dedicated missionary, his life,

and his work, inside this issue.

CHAI TIMESMay, 2013

BRINGING HOPE TO A LAND OF HOPELESSNESS.....Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Son, of the Father, and of

the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

Welcome to this inaugural issue of

what I hope will be a quarterly newsletter

primarily dealing with New Hopes

partnership with e3 Partners and missions

in India. I hope to keep you updated on

the activities and initiatives that are going

on there, as well as give you information to

prepare you for your own mission trip in

the future.For those of you that like useless

trivia, the title of the newsletter is a take on

the marijuana culture magazine High

Times. Chai is the universal word for tea in

India and the subject of the picture in the

top right corner of the masthead. Just my

twisted sense of humor to take a counter-

culture icon and twist it to help

communicate Gods work in the far east.

Of the over three hundred unreached

people groups in the world, more than two

hundred of them live in India. Its a vast

country with diverse people, landscape,

and many subcultures. My love for these

people is greater than my checking

account and as such, Im not planning toreturn until 2015 and hopefully, my wife

Shannon will be able to accompany me on

that trip.

Its my hope to introduce you to the

people of Assam and, perhaps, infect you

with some of the love that I have for them.

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The people of Assam friendly, open,

giving, an in need.

Located in the far north-east of

India, the Assam region is comprised

of many tribal groups, collectively

known as The Assamese. Outside of

the larger cities like Guwahati and

Tezpur, most earn their livingagriculturally, working their own

subsistence farms or for larger tea or

rice plantation owners. Their work is

hard and you will see very few modern

farm implements. The average yearly

income is about $350.00.

Like most people in American

agricultural areas, the people of

Assam are friendly, open, and giving.

If one takes the time to meet them attheir level, you are greeted with

incredible warmth and hospitality.

They are eager to learn about your life

and life in the United States, and eage

to tell you the story of their people.

Family is extremely important in

the Indian culture and Assam is no

exception. It is common in the rural

areas to find three or four generations

living under one roof. Children are

often viewed as a communityresponsibility and duties for taking

care of them is spread throughout the

village.

Rice and vegetables make up the

majority of the diet. Meats such as

chicken, goat, and lamb arent too

uncommon but often are only

prepared for special occasions.

The Assam region is most famous

for its tea and it is customary for hoststo insist on brewing you some. The

tea is typically served very hot and

with milk and sugar. Delicious stuff.

THE PEOPLE

QUiCK FACTS:

Population: 31.2 Million

Average Income: $350.00

Literacy Rate: 65%

Life Expectancy: 62.2

Infant Mortality:51/1000

47% of Children suffer

malnutrition

Religious breakdown:

Hindu 64.92%

Islam 30.93%

Christian 3.71%

Other 0.45%

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Meet Uttam Dhela

Uttam Dhela is our team leader in

the Uttar Pradesh region of Assam.

He lives with his wife Rupali and their

son Ashanti in a very rural area about

60 kilometers north of Tezpur. His

extended family is very typical for thearea, subsistence farmers that work

for larger farms to earn extra income.

Uttam is quiet, unassuming, and

reserved. These arent traits that most

of us think of when we picture a

leader. But then you have the

experience of seeing Uttam interact

with his team. The minute he speaks,

all of his team members focus solely

on him and then eagerly follow hisinstructions while realizing full well that

they can make their own suggestions

and freely give input. In many ways he

follows Christs example in leadership

by serving those he leads.

Uttam has proven himself

steadfast and dedicated to his task.

During the January 2012 trip, Uttam

was to supply eight local volunteers

for the four American teams. He

supplied over twenty. The house

church planting goal that e3 Partners

set for Uttam between February and

July was five. As of this writing, twelve

have been started and an additional

five home studies that may eventually

become churches, have begun

meeting.

e3s main focus is in church

planting and making disciples, as

commissioned in Matthew 28:19.

Uttam leads a team of over 30

volunteers and pastors that travel

throughout the area, organizing and

overseeing home Bible studies and the

formation of house churches. This

spring Uttam and his team will oversea

the distribution of audio-bibles to

these groups of new Christians so that

they can learn more about God and

His love for them.

For this first year Uttams ministry

is supported solely by New Hope

Church, working through e3 Partners

Ministry. Because the area Uttam lives

in is very rural and has no mail service,

New Hope has also provided a simple

laptop computer and paid for cellular

data service for a period of one year.Continued support will have to be

raised for the 2014 calendar year for

Uttams work to continue.

This July will see another team of

Americans going to Uttams region of

Assam. They will follow up with the

house churches that have been

planted, help oversee the distribution

of the audio-bibles, provide HIV and

malaria education, and, of course,

share the gospel to a people in need

of hope.

PRAY

Prayer is one of the most

significant things you can

do for the mission in

Assam. Pray for the

safety of Uttams team, for

the effectiveness of their

ministry, and for the

continuing education and

growth of the new

believers and house

churches started by this

ministry. Finally, pray

about what else you coulddo for this mission.

WHAT YOU

CAN DO

GIVE

This is an ongoing

initiative in this region

of the world. While

expenses for the native

pastors and workers seem

small by Western

standards, they do need

support. You can also

support those Americans

that are traveling toIndia to take part in

these missions. For

information on how to

give, go to

www.e3partners.org

GO

While it is true that the

day to day work on the

ground is done by native

pastors and volunteers,

American team members are

needed to providedirection, encouragement,

and initiative to the

project. Remember, when

Jesus said GO and make

disciples he wasnt

talking about someone

else. He was talking

about all believers.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?To find out more about e3 Partners Ministry and their initiatives around the

world, go towww.e3partners.org

To follow my own trips to India and get even more insight into India and

what a trip there is like, gowww.bobjosjor.blogspot.com

http://www.bobjosjor.blogspot.com/http://www.bobjosjor.blogspot.com/http://www.bobjosjor.blogspot.com/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/http://www.e3partners.org/

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INDIA:The British called it The Jewel In

The Crown of their empire. The

country has been invaded, ruled by

other peoples, and even while the

English held control for nearly two

centuries, they never truly conquered

its people.

India is a home for paradox and

contradictions.. It is the land that, in

time of old, practiced suttee, the cruel

ritual of burning a mans widow alive

on her husbands funeral pyre, and yet

produced the simple, forgiving, and

inspiring passive resistance

championed by Ghandi. It is one of

the few countries that actually

experienced economic growth during

the recent global recession; yet, more

children suffer from

malnutrition in India than in

sub-saharan Africa.

1.2 Billion People

As you can imagine,

with that many people the

diversity of Indias

population is unmatched.

This issue of Chai Times

hopes to introduce you to

one group, the

Assamese. You will learn

a bit about its people

and the work being done

there in an effort to improve

their daily lives.

CHAI TIMES517 West 4th

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