Thursday, April 26, 2012

To India and Back - part 2

Part 1 focused on the difficulty of the actual trip to India.  Part 2 picks up with the first morning of actually being on the ground in our destination.

Day 4 - April 15
  • 8:30am - We walk down the street from our hotel to Santosh's home.  Stares are plenty as four white men, presumably Americans, navigate crossing the busy highway filled with busses, taxis, motorcycles, bicycles, and rickshaws.
  • After breakfast, Santosh gives us each a tradtional Indian shirt, call a Panjabi.  Mine is a little tight since I'm quite a bit larger than the average Indian man.  I feel like John Lennon.
  • We leave for a village called Agopara outside of Malda Town.  We will join them for their church service.  Thirty-five kilometers and one hour later, we arrive.  We are enthusiastically greeted by the villagers.  When it comes time for the offering, bowls of rice are dumped into a community bucket to help feed its pastor.
  • Lunch is wonderful.  No forks or spoons, just the right hand.  It is delicious, but I can't help but wonder what will happen in an hour or so after eating.
  • The village leader, once a drunkard but now a believer, escorts me to our car.  He holds my hand like we are dating.  I have learned that boys and men frequently hold hands if they are good friends.  Don't worry, someone got  a picture.  It will be posted later.
  • Back at the hotel, while taking a nap, I see a lizard at least one foot long crawling along the wall in my bathroom.  He scoots behind the water heater and hides.
  • 5:00pm - We head to Malda Christian Fellowship for church.  Another enthusiastic greeting. Towards the end of the service, one man is definitely in some sort of emotional/spiritual distress.  I can't tell if it is deep remorse and repentance, being overcome by the Holy Spirit, or even some type of exorcism.  After about ten-twelve minutes, Santosh lets us know the man keeps saying he doesn't want to serve God anymore.  Apparently, he is being ostracized and excluded from family and village life.  We surround him in prayer.  Another ten minutes or more and it becomes clear that peace has come to him.
  • 9:30pm - I get ready for bed and close the day in prayer.  I finally know why I'm here.  I'm here because God told me to come.  All that counts is that I was obedient to that call.  That's all that matters.
Day 5 - April 16
  • While taking my shower, I hear a strange clicking noise.  I realize it's my lizard friend, talking to me from behind my water heater.  I see that he is a gecko and only half as large as I thought initially.  He is gone when I return in the evening.  I never saw him again.
  • Today to head out to the village of town of Gazole for our first pastors conference.  For the next two days, we will lead village pastors and evangelists in discipleship training.
  • There are about 30-35 church leaders in attendance, representing over forty churches.  One of the attendees is a 15 year old boy who pastors two village churches.  He hopes to attend Bible college in a couple of years if he can find a sponsor.
  • I am amazed at the copious notes each person is taking.  They clearly are absorbing everything we are saying.
  • By bedtime, my stomach is a little rumbly.  I'm awakened in the middle of the night several times for trips to the bathroom.  I'm not too worried; it feels like I've always at home after eating food that might be too spicy.  I decide to take it easy the next day to be on the safe side.
Day 6 - April 17
  • Today we finish up in Gazole.  I've decided to eat as bland as possible so breakfast is bread and bananas.  At lunch I only take plain rice.  My servers don't speak English, but I rub my stomach and make a face.  They understand, nod, and make a sympathetic face.  I hate it because lunch smells really good.
  • In a lesson on service to one another, Tim leads them in a foot washing service.  The care and love these leaders show to one another as they take turns is moving.  They clearly are a tight group.
  • We finish up by 4:00pm then take a group shot.  I'm the really tall white guy in the back.
  • By dinner, I feel it is safe to eat regular Indian food.  I eat whatever I want for the rest of the week.
  • The biggest a-ha from these two days is the importance of what we taught these leaders.  They have nothing to guide them but the Bible and the Holy Spirit, which by the way is really all you need.  The handouts we gave them and the notes they took will comprise their entire library.  They know their people need to grow in Christ, but they had no idea how to help that along.It gives you a new understanding of why they were so appreciative.

To India and Back - The Movie

Teammate Tim Miller put together this video of our time in India.  You can see and hear the sights, sounds, and people we came to love.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

To India and Back - part 1

Things have finally slowed down since my return from India.  All school assignments, classes, etc. have ended, so I can now breathe and reflect on my mission trip.  This first post will focus on the events pertaining to the events of the first three and half days, all of which were travel.  It may not sound exciting, but it was a hard three days for me.

Day 1 - April 12

  • 4:00pm - We check in for leg 1 of our journey to Malda Town, West Bengal, India.  Already we have signs there will be trouble in our travels.  Our original flights had been canceled about 8 weeks prior, but American Airlines had booked replacement flights for us.  So we thought.  Everything was fine for two members of the team.  The other two, including me, not so fine.  Reservations were made but payment had never been processed.  After about 30 minutes of trying to clear up the matter, we receive our boarding passes to London and receipts for our next two flights.  We'll see how this turns out.  We eventually board the plane for our eight and half hour flight to London.
Day 2 - April 13
  • 7:00am London time (2:00am EDT) - We land at London Heathrow Airport.  We check in for the next leg of our journey, destination Mumbai.  After several minutes trying to figure out the deal with our situation, we get our boarding passes for this flight.  Two of us receive boarding passes for the final leg.  Two of do not.  Guess who one of those people was?  We are told that once we arrive in Mumbai, we will have to check in there to receive our final pass.
  • 7:45am - I'm hungry so I look for the closest thing London has to a bacon,egg, and cheese biscuit.  I purchase a tomato, smoke cheese, bacon, and ham croissant from Pret a Manger.  Not bad.
  • 8:45am - We board the Boeing 777 for our flight to Mumbai.  VERY nice plane and only half full at best.  Plenty of room and comfort, much more than our flight from Raleigh.  I'm hoping to get some sleep on this flight since I haven't slept since Wednesday night.
  • 11:00pm Mumbai time (1:30pm EDT) - We land in Mumbai.  We have a nine and a half hour layover before our flight to Kolkata.  Hoping to get some sleep because I napped maybe two hours on the flight.
  • 1:30am - It's now early Saturday morning and I finally have a boarding pass for my final flight.  It involved many people, including one not so happy security officer who did not like that I had to leave the terminal and re-enter in order to get to the ticket office.  I was reminded very sternly that once I re-entered I would not be allow to leave again.  I very politely and submissively acknowledged his admonition.  I hope some sleep is in my near future because this is getting hard.
Day 3 - April 14
  • 6:00am - We board a 737 (which is my least favorite plane to fly) for Kolkata.  Lucky us, we get the row in front of the emergency exit.  Therefore our seats do not recline and our leg room has been reduced.  My knees bump up against the seat in front of me.  The passenger in that seat decides to recline and I find myself looking down on his scalp.  No sleep in the airport prior to this.  Life continues to get harder.
  • 9:30am - After more than three hours in less than roomy conditions, we land in Kolkata.  We meet Santosh Makal, our host, outside the terminal.  We exchange hugs and quickly catch a taxi for the local YMCA.  We will spend the day resting in a guestroom until our train for Malda Town leaves that night.
  • 10:30am - I crash at the YMCA.  I desperately need sleep.  I begin to wonder why on earth I'm on this trip, especially when I think about all the school work waiting me when I return.
  • 2:00pm - After having lunch, I agree to explore the local market with another member of the team.  He is stoked about all the new experiences.  It's a holiday in Kolkata and the market is crowded.  It feels impossible to walk through the crowd.  The smells are overwhelming, and not in a positive way.  My 6'2" whiteness is drawing the attention of everyone.  When I enter the meat market, it's all I can do to not vomit because of the smell.  It's official.  I want to go home.  Culture shock has set in full force.  I follow my friends for another hour or so, but it is a struggle.
  • 4:00pm - I return to our guestroom where I take another short nap.  I pass on another trip to the market.
  • 6:00pm - Santosh takes us to the market for dinner.  I'm fearful of what lies ahead.  I seriously need sleep and wonder if I can take the stimuli.  I enjoy a meal of chicken momo.  We would call them Chinese dumplings.  They are delicious.  Luckily, we need to check out of the Y after dinner and make our way to the train station, so no exploring the market.
  • 9:00pm - We arrive at the train station.  We continually approached by beggars, some as young as 2 years old.  This country is imprisoned in darkness and their worldview keeps them from breaking free.  I just want some sleep.  I pray I can make it through the week ahead.
  • 10:30pm - The eight hour train ride is underway.  We have settled into our sleeping car.  Exhausted, I fall asleep.
Day 4 - April 15
  • 6:00am Malda time (8:30pm Sat nite EDT) - After 51 hours, we finally arrive to our final destination.  I slept the entire night and finally feel somewhat rested.
  • 6:30am - We have checked into the hotel.  I don't wait for the hot water in my room and take my first shower in over three days.  It feels good after spending  a hot, humid day in Kolkata the day before.
  • I'm still wondering why I'm here.  I pray God uses me anyway and I look forward to him revealing why I'm along.