Discipleship Program, Mangalore

The HSI Discipleship Program (as mentioned earlier) is one of the most powerful of the HSI activities. Despite its simplicity (or perhaps, because of it!) it touches people like nothing else does and by the end of it many people are transformed beyond recognition. The same thing seemed to have happened in Milagres Church, where I conducted the Program over three days beginning on the 28th. Despite being rather low on energy reserves (the Program followed a seven hour session with the girls at St. Agnes College), it was the best program I have ever conducted, helped immensely by the wonderfully anointed music of Corrine Rasquinha's group: the White Doves.

One of the many posters put up across town

In the lovely Milagres Church, Mangalore

With Fr. Franklin D'Souza who conducted the services for all three programs

The White Doves led by Corrine

With the parish priest Fr. Walter and Fr. Franklin D'Souza

Retreat One to College Girls

I conducted a two day retreat with pre-university college girls of St. Agnes College on the 28th and 29th. They were a rather enthusiastic bunch of 17-19 year old girls, who didn't seem to have too much of trouble with my accent - they did laugh at my jokes! - and seemed quite happy to be there for the retreat. Corrine Rasquinha backed me up the music, while providing tons of other assistance, as did her husband Vitus.

Like Fritz and Diana in Bangalore, Corrine and Vitus also exhibited immense humility and the same desire to grow the Kingdom of God rather their own, as evidenced by the amount of effort they expended to make my programs happen and ensure their success.

A section of the audience

Bangalore to Mangalore

I was born in Mangalore, but when I turned away from God, I turned away from the city of my birth too. Last December, I returned after a period of eighteen years. Now, six months later, I came back again.

Corrine Rasquinha, Lianne and cat

To welcome me, were Vitus and Corrine Rasquinha, two dear friends in ministry I had met during my last visit to Mangalore. They had set up my schedule for this visit - and it was a jam packed one. They would also host me and my daughter.

Corrine runs a famous music ministry called White Doves. She also engages in evangelization through very popular street shows. Every year, around Christmas time, her team goes on the road - quite literally - putting up shows on two trucks that move from place to place across the region. The shows are very professionally put together, with meticulous care given to detail in light, sound, acting and music.

Corrine and Vitus also run a home for the aged and destitute.

One Down, Two to Go

I concluded my mission in Bangalore with a talk to the Bread of Life Prayer Group. Once again, my talk was on repentance. Once again, there was disturbance, with the entire sound system going dead on me! It began functioning a while later, but was eventually replaced with speakers belonging to the ICPE Mission. Fritz, himself, arranged it and I was really touched by the fact that he went out of his way (as he had been doing right through my trip) to make sure that I got my message across everywhere I went.

Fritz, Diana and their three children

I have met several people in ministry over the past four years and couldn't help but notice how arrogant most of them appeared to be. Fritz and Diana, however, despite the size and popularity of their ministry, were extremely humble people, and the cooperation extended to me showed as nothing else could that these were two people who weren't interested in building personal fiefdoms, but in establishing the Kingdom of God. I will never forget them or the lessons I learned from them, not so much spoken as lived.

Neither will I forget their three children. Very warm, gracious, affectionate and hospitable, they, like their parents, established a permanent place for themselves in my hearts. May God bless them always.

Logos Retreat Center

I had my first engagement at a Vincentian retreat center today. The Vincentians are an evangelical order of priests who follow the Syro-Malabar rites. Their most famous retreat center is in Muringoor, Cochin, popularly (though erroneously) known as Potta.

The director of the center attended my talk and then, in an incident reminiscent of my engagement at an Anglican Church during my trip to England, publicly invited me to return to conduct a full day program at the retreat center. I accepted, setting a tentative date for October this year.

Later in the day I gave another talk to a group of very lively youth on sin, temptation and empowerment. My sessions with youth are usually very vibrant, but this one was exceptionally so. I enjoyed the talk and from all indications, so did they.

Ascension Church, Cook Town

Today's engagement was in Ascension Church in Cook Town. As invariably happens when speaking on repentance and forgiveness there was considerable disturbance before the talks started. There were problems with the sound, then doors and windows banging, but the message did get through and to a large number of people. There were quite a few people I knew from years past, and it was good to see them again. Most had never met me since my conversion and I can only imagine what goes through their head when they see somebody like me talk!

Jesus Youth

Jesus Youth is an international Catholic youth movement with a charismatic spirituality. They had their beginnings in India, but have now spread to different countries of the world. Very enthusiastic, it is always a pleasure to talk to their members and I enjoyed the session I had with their group in Bangalore today. For more about Jesus Youth, visit their web site.

The ICPE Community

My mission in South India began with a talk to the ICPE Community in Bangalore. The ICPE Mission is a Catholic mission made up of Christians committed to the goal of world evangelisation.

The Bangalore ICPE Mission is headed by Fritz Mascarenhas and his wife Diana, who arranged most of my schedule in the city. In ministry for several years, their team comprises 30 people including married men and women who live together as a community and whose sole aim is to evangelize. I addressed them today and I found myself impressed by their receptivity to what I had to say. Fritz, himself, is a jewel of humility, and is a lesson by his very person.

The next "school" of evangelization will be held for six weeks between 2006-09-01 — 2006-10-06. For more details visit their site.

The South India Mission

My daughter Lianne, 10, and I arrive in Bangalore for the start of a three-week long mission to South India that also comprises Mangalore and Chennai (formerly Madras). Going by the itinerary - with two and even three programs on one day - this mission looks very daunting, but I am sure that God will see me through.

HSI Publishing and HSI Music

Holy Spirit Interactive celebrated the launch of two new ministries today at its regular prayer meeting, the first I was attending after my return from England.

HSI Publishing's first release is a book titled "The School of the Holy Spirit" written by yours truly. It is a revised and expanded version of my first book "Gripped by the Spirit", which was published by St. Pauls Publications in 2004. "The School of the Holy Spirit" has an additional foreword by Msgr. Francis Jamieson, Vicar General of Arabia.

A cake to celebrate the launch

HSI Music's first title is an "experimental" CD on the Psalms narrated by Alfwold Silveira, who looks after HSI's operations in India, especially its extremely popular outreach program: Praise Adonai. We hope to have at least three more books and audio CD's released before the end of this year, that will include audio versions of the Holy Bible in regional languages.

A few of the 125 who had gathered

Images of London

I'm not one for sight seeing, but as most folks back home would have thought I was daft if I didn't take in at least take a few sights seeing as how I had travelled all the way to England, I took the Underground into the city to explore it a bit. And to my surprise, I quite enjoyed myself!

Pink Cab in front of Buckingham Palace

The ubiquitious underground

A dolfin puking water at Trafalgar

Two girls looking for the location to my next preaching session

Outside the Queen's Palace

Something doesn't smell quite right - a guard at the Tower of London

The Big Eye

St. Matthew's Church, Northwood

I concluded my first mission in England with a short talk at St. Matthew's Church on May 8. It (the mission) was infintely better than I had imagined it would be, and with numerous invitations to return and conduct full day programs, it seemed like quite a few people were in agreement. February-March 2007 seems like a good time to return. I leave for Dubai on the 10th.

Preaching to the Anglicans

Though I had been greeted warmly in most of the parishes I preached at, the best reception I received was from the Anglican pastor - Fr. Jack - shepherd at St. Stephen's Church in Enfield. He was warm and hospitable and stayed for the entire talk along with the attendees. At 80, it was the largest crowd so far.

When it was over, he publicly invited me to do a full day retreat at his parish the next time, an invitation that had been extended repeatedly by various priests and group leaders over the past few days. My next visit to England will undoubtedly be even busier than it was this time!

St Thomas of Canterbury Church

Leila and Ashok were my gracious hosts for most of my stay in London. They lived in a nice apartment in Harrow-on-the-Hill. (Ashok worked as financial controller for Mittal, the owner of Mittal Steel, who was renewing his efforts to take over Arcelor, especially after the racial slurs that were hurled at him.) I gave a talk at their parish, St Thomas of Canterbury Church, today. There were seventy people in attendance, and the increasing numbers were very encouraging as it appeared that the word of mouth going around was very positive.

HSI Discipleship Program at St. Mary's, Croydon

I conducted the HSI Discipleship Program at Our Lady of Reparation Church, also called St. Mary's, in Croydon on June 6. This was the first time I was conducting the entire Program in a three hour span, and at the end of it I could only marvel at how a program that used to be conducted over seven weeks (in Jebel Ali) had kept getting condensed (4 days in Brunei, 3 days in Vancouver, 6 hours in Toronto) to the point where it was held in just three hours! I decided, however, that I would do such a compressed version only if absolutely necessary; a three evening retreat or a full day session was infinitely preferable.

St. Anne's Church, Fawley Court

Another lovely Polish Church

St. Anne's Church in Henley-on-Thames was one of the first of a whole lot of lovely churches I was to see during my mission to England. I preached on Repentance and Forgiveness to a crowd of nearly 50, and though it was a rather brutal talk, it was well received. Fr. Pietr, a Polish priest whose parish was in Central London attended the talk, and when it was over invited me to preach at his church the next time I was in the country.

Polish Church of Divine Mercy, Slough

At the Polish Church of Divine Mercy

I visited some nuns on the first day I arrived in London and they greeted me at the door with a hearty: "Welcome to our pagan country!" It wasn't a welcome that made me very comfortable, especially since I had been warned before I left for London that most citizens didn't go to church and I'd be lucky if I had twenty people to attend my talk. To my relief, however, the first place I preached at - the Polish Church of Divine Mercy in Slough - had nearly twice that number. I wasn't my best, but I figured that God delivered His message nonetheless.