stevemayner.com

Thanks everyone for your patience as I have not updated this for several days. The last two days in Bhubaneswar were a whirlwind of activity, followed by the long trip home, a very enjoyable weekend with my family, and then flying right back out to be with my mom and dad here at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

The last day of training in Bhubaneswar was indescribable. To be honest we wondered how the spirit in Bhubaneswar would be compared to the other two cities. We were humbled by God and reminded not to judge, because the final day was the sweetest day of fellowship during the whole trip. Right before lunch we did the worship session which includes observing the Lord's Supper together. This was the third time we did this and so we thought we knew what to expect. We were very wrong. After the Lord's Supper was finished, there was a spontaneous moment of moving among these brothers and exchanging handshakes and hugs. God moved in the room in that moment in a way that was physical and powerful. Many of these men hugged us tightly and wept. We shed many tears as well. When the room cleared out and everyone headed downstairs for lunch I just sat down and wept uncontrollably at the love and bond of brotherhood we shared with these dear pastors. It is a moment I will never forget.

The day of our departure we met with the core planning committee and shared our thoughts on the seminars just completed. It would have been easy to share our stories for hours! But we kept as on target as we could and wrapped up by talking about the ideas for the next conference. I shared with them the changes that are on the horizon in my own journey and how that might affect the timing of the next seminar, but that it would never change my passion and my committment for seeing this process through in Orissa.

Before we went to the airport we shared a meal with our dear friend Pranab and his family in their home. What gracious hosts and wonderful friends! Honey prepared the meal did a wonderful job! Leaving them was extremely difficult. It was like leaving family.

We went to the mall to do some quick shopping for our families and have lunch. Amazingly enough there was a Pizza Hut at the corner of this mall. We went in and sat down, and our waiter approached me and asked "Are you Mr. Steve?" Apparently this was the Pizza Hut that would fulfill our many orders for dinner delivered to the hotel over the last two weeks! I guess that made us something of celebrities because it seemed like the entire staff took turns coming out to greet us!

The trip home was long but gratefully uneventful. I recalled the last time on my trip home how sick I was, and was very happy not to be dealing with that this time!

The weekend when I got home was a wonderful time. We had all of our family home, including KK who made an unscheduled visit from college. We had a great time as a family and with friends, a much needed refreshing after being gone for so long.

Unfortunately it was short lived, since on Tuesday I flew back out to Houston to be with my parents as we begin the battle against Dad's Lymphoma he was diagnosed with while I was in India. I am blogging daily on his Caring Bridge site, so you can read up on all the happenings since I've been here at that address. It is www.caringbridge.org/visit/joemayner. If you read it leave him a note in the guest book... he loves to get notes and asks me to read them daily!

Thanks to all who supported us and prayed for us while we were in India again. Hopefully from these latest entries you can see how God has given the increase over the investments you have made in these wonderful people. May God pour out his blessings on them and you in the days to come.

In Christ,
Steve