With a day off on Saturday, our hosts suggested that we complete the third leg of the “Golden Triangle” here, which is the city of Jaipur, in the state of Rajastan. The other two points of the triangle are Delhi and Agra, which we’ll head over to on Monday, the Lord willing. Jaipur’s history you can look up on the web yourself, but suffice it to say that it is a well-preserved medieval period city, and is the site of the magnificent Moghul palace called Amber (or, Amer, depending on who you talk to). It was a long ride down there, and we started early. We really were not prepared for what we saw and experienced. It was like stepping back in time. The beauty, the size and scope of the place, mounted on top of the hills and surrounded by walls resembling the Great Wall of China snaking over the ridges was stunning. We pretty much could anywhere in the palace, and explored it thoroughly.

Speaking of snakes, we did run into a snake charmer while we were there — and saw lots of elephants, camel carts — yeah, we weren’t expecting camels in India, either. Rajastan, though, is a desert state, similar in topography to inland Souther California, and camels do better than horses. We saw some monkeys, too, and there are parrots everywhere. It was a good day.

We finished off the day by returning to Delhi and enjoying the hospitality of Pastor Solanki and his family. He and his family have become very precious to us. And, I have to say, his wife is a marvelous cook. She prepared the best Indian food I’ve ever had, bar none. Anyway, we enjoyed fellowship until late in the evening as we learned more about the ongoing work of the presbytery here, and talked about the vision of planting 25 churches in Delhi and its suburbs. Right now, Solanki’s church of about 50 people has started seven other congregations, and is beginning work on an eigth. They are systematically making a ring around the city, with the idea of eventually having a Bible Presbyterian church within 5-7 kms from anywhere in the city. It’s a great vision, and they are well on their way.

This morning we gathered with the central church here in Delhi with the congregation. They do not own a building, but rent space from Faith Academy, an independent Christian school founded by Rev. John Dorsey, who I mentioned previously as being instrumental in the establishment of the church as well. In a simple classroom, the believers gather, seat themselves on the floor on rugs (women on the left, men on the right), sing praises, recite the Catechism, read the Scriptures, and attend carefully to the Word. I was privileged to preach this morning, and Backus brought greetings from our churches here in the States. It was a great time of worship and fellowship.

Tomorrow morning early, we catch a train to Agra for the day to see the Taj Mahal and some other sites there. From there we head north to Dehradun for a few days, where we will visit and minister at the presbytery’s seminary. More on these things in the days to come….

Thanks for your prayers.