from George Sanchez

Friday, January 25, Communion worship at New Jerusalem Church in Tranqubar. In the afternoon, Bishop Gary climbed into a fishing boat as the fishermen gathered their nets to set out for the sea. He climbed out before members of our Pilgrim group helped to push the sea worthy craft into the Bay of Bengal. About 90 new boats andmotors had been purchased by Arcot Lutheran Church after the Tsunami in 2005.

We toured the site where 72 beautiful block homes were built by the church to replace the destroyed homes. We dedicated a newly built home, sponsored by Northern Illinois Synod of the ELCA.

Saturday, January 26, was an historic day in the life of NIS and the Arcot Lutheran Church! What a joy to sign our covenant agreement . /This is our opportunity to strengthen each other’s commitment to mission. We shared a joyful luncheon prepared by members of Arcot Lutheran Church.

We divided into 4 groups to tour the outreach ministries, supported by Arcot. What a delight.
Our choices were Danish Mission Hospital, Arcot School Project activities, Teachers’
Training Institute and to the Vagiri Ministry, assisting gypsies.

Pilgrims are on the Move!