South Asian Vacation June 27, 2008
Posted by bmcculley in pictures.Tags: asia, pics, taj, tourist
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Though not a part of my initial itinerary, I’ve had opportunity to take a short city-hopping, sight-seeing, and working tour of India. Here are some pictures.
I caught a few pigeons mid-flight on a temple dome.
The towers beside the main temple had eight-pointed stars for tiny windows.
Katie wanted an action shot, and my camera was up to the task.
Here, I tried to make it look like the Taj Mahal dome was her crown.
I’m huge!
While circling the Taj, Katie pointed out these clouds.
Ok, this one deserves more than one line. We were entering Agra fort with our friends, Ryan and Ana. Because Ryan is of the pale persuasion, some young men wanted a picture with him. As they posed, a little boy walked up to me, stuck out his arm as straight as a board (though angled so that his hand was above his head) and shyly looked up at me. His father had encouraged him to shake my hand. I did and got a big smile over feeling like a celebrity. Perhaps they thought I was Rainn Wilson. Later, I noticed the little boy heading down a flight of stairs we were waiting to ascend. I stopped him, and asked if I could have a picture with him (shaking hands, of course).
I tried to get the email of the father, but they didn’t understand me. I have an address, but no name. Still, I want to somehow get him this picture.
He exists! June 4, 2008
Posted by bmcculley in bible.Tags: diligence, faith, teaching
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This past Sunday, I got to teach the adult class at church. The pastor knew he was going to be away and asked me to prepare something – anything I liked – to share. I’m a procrastinator, so even though it was on my mind all week, Saturday came and I didn’t have any firm plans yet. I read three Psalms and ran some ideas by Katie, but nothing really struck me (even though I had a fist-pumping “Yes!” moment reading Psalm 82 and cross-referencing it with the end of John 10 in my head). I went to bed Saturday planning to get up at 7:00, decide on something and write out my notes.
While I slept, I received the phrase “He rewards those who diligently seek Him”. As I tossed in the heat, the words tossed in my mind. I was so sleepy, I wasn’t even sure they were scripture. “Even if they are”, I thought, “I don’t know the reference and my bible doesn’t have a concordance to look it up.” Still, the theme remained, and after what seemed like a few hours, I had an epiphany. “He exists!” It’s the verse from the 2007 IJM Global Prayer Gathering.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
– Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
My Journaling Bible, English Standard Version, lacking the concordance, was also lacking the modifier diligently, but I checked Katie’s NKJV and it had it. I had attended the prior two Sundays, hearing the pastor teach on many different kinds of faith with supporting scripture. Weak faith: Matthew 8:23. Strong faith: Romans 4:19-21. Temporary faith: Luke 8:6-7, 13-14. Persevering faith: Hebrews 10:35-36. And now, as I slept, God gave me part of a verse from the “faith chapter” of the Bible.
I woke excited at 7:00. I took a shower – a good place to gather one’s thoughts. I called Katie at 7:30 and asked her to bring a prop. I sat down at my desk and pulled events and things I had heard from my discordant week into a coherent lesson. I added some additional scripture. I questioned whether I had the required 20-25 minutes of material. I added an opening prayer with time for requests.
Here’s the gist of what I said. Sorry for the length. I went for 45 minutes. :-)
Summer Reading and Research June 4, 2008
Posted by bmcculley in Microfinance.Tags: research microcredit bureau
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Since arriving, I’ve read three short books on microfinance.
Principled Practices in Microfinance
Microfinance and Poverty Reduction
When he gave me the books, my mentor suggested I return with questions from the reading. On page 53 of the first book, regarding the principle Plan for Permanence, it says:
Disbursing a loan is the beginning of a long-term relationship. … We tell the borrower that if s/he fulfills her/his part of the bargain, s/he may rely indefinitely on our financial services. It is a promise without end.
To honor this promise, we, together with our partners, have sought ways to serve clients over the long term. While we know that a very few clients may move on to other credit sources, most will never be attractive to a commercial bank. Their loan sizes are simply too small and the transaction costs too high. So what do we do about the many clients who will never qualify for commercial funds?
The answer provided by Catholic Relief Services is “by transforming viable microfinance service providers into permanent financial institutions.” But I question an earlier assumption: that most clients will never be attractive to a commercial bank. I think small loan sizes and transaction costs are problems that can be managed with proper interest rates, technology and scale. As I see it, the real remaining problem is one of information.
