For first time travelers to Ahwa town

If you coming to Ahwa town, district headquarters of the Dangs District, this information might help. The town is located on a higher altitude (424 m), be prepared to ride curve roads.

LODGE
There is no hotels in this town. But there is one government lodge for their staff. If there is rooms available you will get it. Ask anyone for Prabasi Grah (Guest House). It is less than a km from the bus station. Or better call in advance for reservation.

The guest house also has a canteen and provides lunch and dinner at just Rs 40. See contact details in the photos below.

Front view of the guest house.

Thali at the guest house is delicious.

Guest house name and contact info.

TRANSPORTATION
I was surprised because we did not see any auto-rickshaws. Being a hilly area, they may not be able to climb up. Rather they use Bolero, Max Pickup and Jeeps. So instead of looking for autos, you  may want to call any of those vehicles.

Taxi line.

CHURCH
If you are Christian and want to go for Sunday service, there is a church, close to Mahatma Gandhi Park. The service is conducted in Gujarati and Marathi. I heard that's the only church in this town.

CNI Church of Ahwa town.

To Ahwa of Dangs District

Today we traveled a long distance,  149 km. Arrived after changing three buses.
Vapi -(61 km) - Chikli - (36 km) - Bansda - (52 km) - Ahwa

Ahwa is located at 424 metre above sea level. Its hilly and densely forested area. So on our way to this town I felt like close to my home village.

• Forest: I am seeing so many trees after several months. In fact, we need to pass through the Bansda National Park. The road from Bansda to Ahwa is filled with trees and green vegetation. I felt quite happy to see the greenery again.
• Mountains: Till Bansda the roads are just plain. But the Dangs district has beautiful hills and mountains. Mountains were good reminders to King David of God's constant protection to Israel. Today I am reminded about that passage of Scripture.
• Rivers: Its been raining these days. The rivers are swollen and we see no clear water. There seems to be lots of fish. I saw many women fishing with their nets. 
• Cold weather: After spending humid climate in Vapi, which is a coastal city, now we enjoy a cool and refreshing environment. A friend told us there are not much sickness in this town.

Below are few photos I have taken along the way.

Why criticize others

Who are you to criticize someone else's servant? The Lord will determine whether his servant has been successful. The servant will be successful because the Lord makes him successful - Romans 14:4 (God's Word).

Very often it is easy to complaint about the practice of this church and that church. We may say that church pastor do not teach Scriptures well, another one do not lead songs well. Or we may even say the pastor do not relate with his church members well. The list could go on.

Normally we are tempted to think that way.

But this afternoon, my friends and I were reminded of this verse from Romans 14:4. That struck us because sometimes we are critical of many people. Based on this passage, I should not say bad things about another servant. Jesus is their master, not me or anyone.

This provided a good perspective.

What I think I could do when we feel like complaining about another person or ministry, first pray for them. Talk with them if necessary.

Name of Jesus

Today we attended an Assembly of God Church at Daman. The pastor shared a very good thought from Acts chapter 3.

The context is about Peter and John  going to the temple for prayer when they met a lame beggar. As usual the beggar asked them for money. But Peter looked at him and said "Look at us". The beggar paid full attention, expecting something. Here is something Peter said that is amazing. He said:

• I have no silver of gold.
• But what I have I give to you. 
• In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazarene, stand up.

We know what happened. The lame beggar stood and became normal. Peter has Jesus' name with him at all the time. And he knew that well. Its amazing to realize that truth.

Paul said in similar lines in I Corinthians 2:2, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified". His intention is to let the Corinthians know Jesus. Nothing else.

I don't know how the next comment relate to the above. And I also read from the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:4 where Peter pinpointed to one incident that was essential commonality: Both the Jews and Gentiles received the Holy Spirit. Nothing more.

Daman

August 05, 2012

Its been a long time we wanted to visit and learn about the Indo-Portuguese spoken in this city. So finally, today we got to meet an Indo - Portuguese person face to face. We learned that the population of this language is dwindling down because many of them have migrated to Portugal, as Daman had been a Portuguese colony.

Below are some of the photos we took.

Entry gate to Daman, entering from Vapi.

Prince and Liahey at Daman bus station.

Ambassador is still used as taxi here.

One of things I noticed in Daman is there is almost equal development in all locations. We did not see best city areas, and neither extremely rural areas. It seems the development plans were positioned differently from other parts of India, where there is a huge city and then just 10 km outskirt are villages.

Vapi and Silvasa

VAPI
(3 August 2012)
Early this morning we arrived Vapi town in southern Gujarat. It took 27 hours on Jodhpur Express train from Bangalore.

Vapi Railway Station.

We then stayed in Jay International Hotel. A descent hotel just one km from the railway station.

Jay International Hotel, near Char Rasta.

In this hotel, I taught my friend Ajeesh a boxing lesson :)

Ajeesh taking a boxing lesson.

Here people speak Hindi well so we could communicate better. The Gujarati language, though has a separate script, has much similarity with Hindi.

Signboard of a shop with Gujarati word.

Other photos we took as we traveled around this city.

A Christian - run school on Daman Road.

A shopping area near Char Rasta, Vapi.

A truck on National Highway 8.

National Highway 8 passes through the middle of Vapi city.

A picture on the over bridge of Vapi railway station.

SILVASA
(3 August 2012)
Capital city of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, a Union Territory of India. Its just 15 km from Vapi city and there are plenty of shared auto at Rs 25 per head.

Entrance gate to Dadra & Nagar Haveli from Gujarat.

There are four major tribal groups in this Union Territory: Kukna, Dhodia, Varli and Katkari. The Museum located in the middle of the city has a display of the tribal culture.

Mahalaxmi puja

Mahalaxmi puja is a famous puja of Karnataka state. This year it took place from morning of 27 July to 30 July 2012. Our house owner invited us to this party. They provided nice sweets and we thoroughly enjoyed.

Here are some photos we have taken that evening.

Usually the items in the picture are kept till the end of the third day and then taken up for family use.