India Trip Cancelled

Jonathan Purkhiser and I have decided to cancel our trip to India. We were supposed to leave Thursday Jan. 7, but the political situation in Andhra Pradesh, India makes it unwise to go right now. It wasn't an easy decision, but following the advice of two Indian preachers, and many trusted friends in the States we think it is the right choice.

In December, the people in a region of Andhra Pradesh (a state in India) called Telangana began calling for an independent state. Their chief legislator went on a hunger strike, and 20 college students committed suicide to further the cause. The central government of India granted permission for the formation of the new state and total chaos broke out. Politicians from the other regions of the state don't want the state to be separated. MAINLY because the state capital, largest city and economic hub of the region is the city of Hyderabad is in Telangana.

While the violence and unrest are concerns for us, what concerns us most is that much of the state is observing a strike the Indians call a "bandh." In a bandh everything is closed: banks, shops, factories, etc., trains and buses don't run, and many of the roads are closed. It's these conditions that really moved us to cancel the trip. Our intentions were to teach classes for Indian preachers during the day and preach in villages at night. A bandh just makes that impossible.

Unfortunately, it appears that this issue is not going to be settled anytime soon, and there's a chance that the formation of a new state will have wider political implications for the rest of India. So, instead of trying to reschedule the trip, we are going to cancel the trip with the hope of going in the Fall of 2010. I humbly solicit your prayers in regards to the situation, and especially on behalf of the Indian brethren who are facing economic hardship as a result of the crisis.