Jeyachandran Family

Kids at their Christmas Concert

23 Dec 2013

Hope you enjoy our kids performing at their Christmas concert in their preschool here in Arequipa, Peru.

Samuel appears first doing a dance from the highlands. He's in the second couple from the left. Annabelle then quotes from Isaiah and sings "God rest ye merry, gentlemen" followed by Amelia who sings "O little town of Bethlehem" - both in Spanish.

Merry Christmas from our family - David, Christine, Amelia, Annabelle and Samuel. Hope you enjoy time with family as you celebrate the greatest gift of all time... Jesus.

Intruder in our home

18 Nov 2013

Last night I woke up at 3:40am with a severe sore throat, popped a pain-killer, drank some water and then decided to go to the toilet. As I walked out of our room I heard some movement. I thought it could be one of the kids. When I turned the corner I heard something scuttling out the back door which was wide open. 

I quickly ran and shut the back door, turned on the lights and woke up Christine. We checked the house. I carried a chair assuming it would be better to have something between me and an intruder possibly wielding a knife. The first room we checked was the kids' room. The kids were fine and nothing seemed to have been taken. One by one we checked each room and everything seemed in its place. The obvious things people try and steal like TVs, DVD players and computers were all there. Finally we cautiously went outside out the back door and onto our balcony. The sunshade and rain protector had fallen in and this could have been how they climbed in from the adjacent house. Part of me thought that maybe it could have just been an animal that snuck in through a door we'd accidentally left open. I thanked God that we were all safe.

In the morning we discovered more and confirmed that this was no animal. Our TV had been unplugged from the DVD player and the power cord and our remote control is missing. We've been so fortunate. I've been sleeping lightly and have been in pain with something called "strep throat". But if not for this we could have lost many things - including the TV and the laptop I'm now using. This reminded me of Romans 8:28 where God can use even bad or painful things for good in the end - in our case to protect our home.

Praise God that we're all safe and please pray that God continues to keep us safe. Please let us know if you've got any simple ideas to keep our home safe. 

You never know the impact you might be having?

23 Sep 2013

We serve Jesus in lots of different ways and often never get to find out the impact that we've had.

Today I got a wonderful message via Facebook. For many years I had sponsored a child in Uganda through Compassion. Through the sponsorship he was able to get a good education and support through a local church. His letters were always encouraging and he talked about his love for the Lord. When he finished high school he left the sponsorship program and we lost touch.

Years later my former Sponsor child found me on Facebook - I guess it helps being the only "David Jeyachandran" in Facebook. The fantastic news is that he is now just about to graduate from university with an arts degree in development studies. He is still going strong with the Lord and hopes to work in a child development institute. God willing, he is going to make a difference in many lives. Please read his message below.

Praise the Lord Mr. David, this is Waiswa, your former compassion sponsored child in Uganda. I am so grateful to God for the far He has brought me. This week my final results for my final semester at campus came out and i had excelled. This has always been my prayer to God and finally, He has granted me my heart's desire. Am awaiting graduation which is due in October this year (2013) In the midst of recalling and pondering upon the victory God has given me, i remembered you for the foundation you gave me...perhaps i would have not reached this far, may the good Lord reward you with the very best, you and your family are highly welcome to attend my graduation right here in Uganda.

What a huge encouragement! God willing, as you support us, together we will impact students who will go on to make a difference in many people's lives. You never know the impact you might be having - but we'll share a few stories soon.

Cookies to get students to a conference

18 Sep 2013

In October this year we have our annual conference for our Christian student movement. This year it's in Puno which is a 6-hour bus ride from here. How can we get students to a conference where they can grow in their faith and also get to experience the bigger picture of God's kingdom? One way is to bake cookies and sell them.

Fundraising by Baking Cookies

We'd like to give as many students as we can the opportunity to get to the conference. The profit we make from selling cookies will go to subsidising the cost of getting to the conference. Just the process of getting together, brainstorming ideas to raise funds and then do it together has been a great bonding experience.

This was a great bonding time too for Christine and a bunch of the students.

Please pray that we enable lots of students to get this conference and that they grow in their faith.

Nut Lady!

06 Jun 2013

Today I (Christine) went to the nut shop to buy nuts to make peanut butter. This is how the conversation went.

Christine: Can I have some nuts?
Nut Lady: Sure. Those children must be from a childrens home. (They were well dressed that day).
Christine: No they are mine.
Nut Lady: They must be adopted then.
Christine: No, they are mine.
Nut Lady: But they don't look anything like you.
Christine: They look like their father.
Nut Lady: Yes, they are all looking very similar, him too(to Samuel).
Christine: These two are twins.
Nut Lady: NO, that cannot be. She is much taller. She must be older.
Christine: No the shorter one is older.
Nut Lady: So there is another foreigner who comes here and buys peanuts too. To make peanut butter.
Christine: Could be a friend of mine. Not sure.
Nut lady: Is she your sister?
Christine: No.

I was not too bothered at the time by the conversation but I was glad the kids didn't seem to follow it. It bothered me more in retrospect. Most Peruvians ask me if they are my children so her comments did not come as a shock but her persistent bluntness surprised me.

How must it feel to have adopted kids/ be adopted - having such blunt conversations all the time! Next time I notice an adoption I will hold my curiosity in check.

We're back

04 Jun 2013

We're back in Arequipa, Peru after 3 months in Australia.

It's great to be part of our small groups on campus again. Let me introduce in the photo: Erick, Marisol, Gladys and Elisabeth from our Engineering small group. We meet together to study the Bible, share our lives and pray for each other.

Pray that these small groups will help students to get to know Jesus better and build a strong community that will reach their university and beyond.

Black Hawk Down - When helping hurts

21 Mar 2013

While waiting for Christine at a cafe I casually browsed their second-hand bookshelf and picked up a book called "Black Hawk Down". After reading a couple of pages I couldn't stop reading it.

Black Hawk Down is a gripping true story set in Somalia in October 1993. After a years of civil war and a devastating famine the UN moved in to distribute food and to help stabilize the country. It became very clear that the millions of dollars in food aid pouring into the country would never reach the people in most need when the country was controlled by roving armed gangs. How could poverty be alleviated in these difficult conditions? For some time there were unsuccessfully attempts to engage the warring clans in peace talks. Then on the afternoon of the 3rd October 1993 the US led a daring daytime mission that hoped to begin the road to stability in a country that desperately needed it. The plan was to abduct two senior leaders connected with a Somali warlord and bring them to justice.

Things went wrong! What was supposed to be a quick two-hour mission turned into a bloody battle with hundreds killed and more than a thousand injured. Why didn't the Somalis understand that this team of soldiers were there to help ultimately bring peace? Thousands instead turned up in force, forgetting their tribal differences and united to fight against the US soldiers. The result was terrible carnage. The mission was a success as far as capturing two leaders of this Somali warlord but did nothing to advance peace in the country or alleviate poverty. It created a bitterness on all sides and to many Somalis, a deeper level of poverty.

What went wrong? Why didn't this UN intervention bring real change? Almost 20 years later the civil war continues. Why are people in Somalia no better economically and possibly worse off than before?

Another book titled "When helping hurts" deals with the question "How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor… or yourself". I like the book because it begins with a Biblical foundation. There is one important concept that runs through the book. Poverty is not just an economic problem with an economic solution. There may be some deep underlying problems and economic poverty may be just one of the symptoms.

More to read:

 

Now it's your turn

What do you think is an underlying problem in Somalia? Is it possible to help?

God is working in Australia

17 Mar 2013

It's been great to visit churches and share what God is doing in Peru. It's also been great to hear what God is doing right here in Australia. Recently we visited a church where we saw 4 baptisms. Three of those baptised were from a Middle Eastern country that is hostile to Christians and is closed to missionaries. Praise God that here in Australia it's possible to reach many people who would be incredibly difficult to reach in their home country.

Samuel visits the hospital

17 Mar 2013

Photo taken a day earlier with the usually happy Samuel

Our little 2 year old Samuel said "I'm thirsty" and then reached and grabbed a water-bottle from his mum. Rather than getting a proper hold on the bottle, it fell. The metal water-bottle was full of water and fell from above Samuel's head onto his big toe. He cried and he cried! There was a bit of blood and almost immediate bruising. Feeling the weight of the water bottle I was sure Samuel had broken something. Forty minutes later he was still crying unconsolably till Christine realised that he wanted water. He was better after drinking some water and a milkshake.

Samuel's Foot X-Ray

That evening, still in a bit of pain, Samuel and I headed to the hospital. He had an X-ray and fortunately he had no damaged bones. He was just given some antibiotics to prevent infection under his toe-nail.

With curious little kids there are so many things that can go wrong. It is the grace of God that they survive to our adulthood. Can you share a story from your childhood or of your own kids?

Goodbye Arequipa, Hello Australia

01 Mar 2013

We said goodbye to our friends in Arequipa. We had a little farewell with our university group and our pastor. On the morning of our flight, Hans and Martha from our mission prepared a special breakfast for the family. At the airport lots from our SIM mission family were there to say farewell. We're going to miss you - our Arequipa friends.

After more than 17 hours in the air and many more hours at the airport we've arrived in Australia. We travelled well and fortunately the kids slept well on the flight. At the airport we were met by David's parents, sister-in-law and her kids. It was lovely to see Amelia and Annabelle hug their cousins after being away for almost two years.

Qantas Flight

Our main reason for returning to Australia is the wedding of Christine's sister, Rosalind and her fiancé Adrian. They will marry very soon in Brisbane. We'll be back in Arequipa in 3 months.

Here are our kids experiencing a bit of Aussie culture...

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