the bottomline

Cold, But Warm Inside
Monday, January 22, 2018 by Dan Allen

Baby, it’s cold here! 8–degrees Celsius (which is 46 degrees Fahrenheit), but it seems much colder.

Thirty-six people are sitting on the 2nd floor of a building on the slope of a steep hill. There are large windows on the one side and back of the room. Some were opened until a guest closed them. The sun is shining in just one corner of the room right now. It will advance during the day bringing more light, but never bathing the majority of the people with a bath of warm rays.

It’s winter here in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains which is well over 4,000 feet above sea level. No snow or ice in these parts. Too dry for that. Everything is dusty because the rainy season is still more than two months away. 

Yesterday, I donned a short sleeve shirt. Fortunately, I had a wind breaker and my Tilley hat, but neither are suited for warmth. Having one’s shoes off adds to the chill. Most have socks but some are barefoot. It’s their custom to remove shoes before walking into a place like this. Thus, shoes and sandals are scattered outside the door with a few on a shoe rack. My nephew, Ben, discovered if he placed his shoes on the top of the rack, the sun would warm it up. There’s no off switch to the genius of his brain, but that warmth wears off too soon. Sitting in this large room (could hold 200 on the floor), with thin socks, short sleeve shirt, windbreaker (no wind) and Tilley (great for rain or snow)—it’s cold in here.

And all the natives appear cold as well. Everyone is wearing hats, coats, and scarves with a few with gloves. One guy has a NFL cowboy scarf.  I’m not going to hold it against him because he cannot know what it means. And, I suppose, if I was as cold as he is maybe I would wear . . . okay,  maybe not!

These folks are used to the cold. It gets like this each winter. The problem is they have little options for keeping warm. Layering-up is about the best they can do even in their homes. Electric heaters are available, but who can afford the electricity and do they even have the service and how often is it shut off? Gas canisters are plentiful, but again, no way they can afford to heat a house with it. They do use them for cooking. There are no fireplaces—little to no wood in the city. Fortunately, it will only dip down into the upper 30s.

But there is a warmth in this building that is not physical but definitely felt. These folks are followers of Jesus. They are brothers and sisters in Christ—my spiritual relatives. Although having a conversation with them, even those who speak broken English, is most difficult, I can sense oneness and closeness with them. Their singing has been fabulous. Indian singing follows a particular cultural sound that is just as joyful, I’m sure, but this was harmonious with a few of the songs the same we sing in the US—just in their language.

Although mentioned many times, this is a little taste of what Heaven will be like. Red, yellow, black, white, tan all colors will be represented around the Throne. We will finally fulfill Jesus’ prayer that we become one. And, we won’t have to worry about the temperature. Not sure the degrees nor whether it is scaled on Fahrenheit or Celsius. Won’t matter because we will bask in the light of the Son. I’m pretty sure that will be warm enough.

There’s a bunch more work to be done down here. Many souls to be won into the Kingdom. Hopefully, “The Nathanael Project” will assist those in Southeast Asia to see the nets fill. So, we labor, hot, cold, or just right until He declares the work is down.


Previous Posts

We vs. I
Dan Allen

2/23/2022

Going to Hell
Dan Allen

12/14/2021

Stay Away from the Meatloaf
Dan Allen

11/6/2021

A Dog Leading the Way
Dan Allen

7/27/2021

The Speed–Breakers of Life
Dan Allen

7/10/2021

High School Reunion
Dan Allen

4/8/2021

"Skin, it's the thing that's in"
Dan Allen

3/13/2021

Emerging from a Covid Cell
Dan Allen

2/20/2021

'Twas The Real Night Before Christmas
Russell T Allen

12/17/2020

Christmas Catalogs
Dan Allen

11/14/2020

Cancel This!
Dan Allen

10/3/2020

Don't Judge By Its Cover
Dan Allen

9/8/2020

Our Plans Trumped by God
Dan Allen

9/5/2020

We Fall Down
Dan Allen

8/5/2020

Battle with a Bug
Dan Allen

7/13/2020

Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out
Dan Allen

7/3/2020

Setting the bar too low
Dan Allen

6/25/2020

Good is Evil, Evil is Good
Dan Allen

6/9/2020

Misguided Freedom
Dan Allen

6/4/2020

A Preaching Nightmare
Dan Allen

5/9/2020

Restaurant and/or Church Possible
Dan Allen

5/2/2020

A Good Dose of Cloistering Going On
Dan Allen

4/15/2020

So, Where is God in All of This?
Dan Allen

4/14/2020

I Finally Learned How to Wash My Hands
Dan Allen

4/13/2020

Fire Truck - Glory Train
Dan Allen

4/16/2019

Some Sins Seem to Do More Damage
Dan Allen

4/16/2019

The Canopy is Gone
Dan Allen

12/15/2018

Brushing Teeth with Iced Tea
Dan Allen

11/5/2018

Never in Danger, but Could Have Been
Dan Allen

11/4/2018

Another Festival
Dan Allen

11/3/2018

Cow Town
Dan Allen

11/2/2018

Dressing Down
Dan Allen

11/1/2018

#MeToo
Dan Allen

10/25/2018

All Alone Among 1.35 Billion People
Dan Allen

10/24/2018

Does Anyone Know What Time It Is?
Dan Allen

10/23/2018

Time To Be Spiritual Weather Forecasters
Dan Allen

10/22/2018

Words Change . . . But Someone Gets the Final Word
Dan Allen

9/4/2018

To Cremate or Not to Cremate
Dan Allen

7/15/2018

I Want to Hold Your Hand
Dan Allen

7/4/2018

I Finally Caught a Foul Ball . . . Sort of
Dan Allen

6/8/2018

I Can Only Imagine
Dan Allen

6/1/2018

Do Panhandlers Have Regulars
Dan Allen

4/8/2018

Can't Good Dogs Go To Heaven?
Dan Allen

4/3/2018

At the Taj . . . in pictures only
Dan Allen

1/24/2018

Cold, But Warm Inside
Dan Allen

1/22/2018

Don't Remove the Plastic
Dan Allen

1/12/2018

Put Your Big Boy Pants On
Dan Allen

1/9/2018

In the Spirit . . . or not?
Dan Allen

1/3/2018

You Could Cut It With a Knife
Dan Allen

1/1/2018

Personal Message Boards
Dan Allen

11/24/2017

Men Acting Badly, err Should We Say---Horribly!
Dan Allen

11/18/2017

History of Bible Fellowship Church of Ephrata
Dan Allen

8/29/2017

Large Crowd Diversion
Dan Allen

6/19/2017

Bikes, Bikers, and Trying New Things
Dan Allen

6/18/2017

Lessons from T-Ball for Churches
Dan Allen

6/17/2017

Authenticity of and in Jeans
Dan Allen

5/11/2017

Don't Let Me Fall
Dan Allen

4/22/2017

Have We Lost the "Awe-factor," Wonderment?
Dan Allen

4/21/2017

Bumped - Not Bumbed
Dan Allen

4/13/2017

Go Fly a Kite
Dan Allen

1/18/2017

What's In Your Bag?
Dan Allen

1/17/2017

Cultural Faux Pas
Dan Allen

1/13/2017

The Three Hour Trip Ends Up 23 Hours
Dan Allen

1/12/2017

Walking Headrest Cover
Dan Allen

1/9/2017

The Gift that Keeps Giving
Dan Allen

12/17/2016

Let's Keep Things in Perspective
Dan Allen

8/1/2015

I've Got the Nine
Dan Allen

6/26/2015

God Often Works in Mysterious Ways
Dan Allen

6/5/2015

I'm From Negadelphia
Dan

3/24/2015

Positive Spin
Dan Allen

2/16/2015