After nearly two months in this country, you think i’d have put up a detailed account of my experiences on this blog by now, right? Accha (OK).
Landing at Chennai airport at 5:30am on April 25, it was a slightly pink sky that greeted me back to India after an 8 year absence. I couldn’t believe the customs people didn’t want to go thru all my stuff, even thinking the guy waving me on must be looking for a bribe, but of course i don’t offer, and he still waves me thru anyway. Whoa! Maybe India HAS really changed in the last 8 years. The airport is dumpier than probably any city’s with over 100,000 people in advanced countries, but we are in the 4th largest city in this country, with over 6,000,000 inhabitants. The Thomas Cook exchange counter has bad rates, so i exchange the smallest thing i can find – a 1,000thb (baht) note. I’ve been carrying 70Rs with me in Japan these last 8 years, and now i can finally put them to use! Interesting how each country has its own dead leaders or poets or buildings that they like to call money….
Stepping out of the airport brought it all back to me – this is India! Honking horns, nasty smells, people calling out to you to take you somewhere etc. etc. I’ve been told that the train station is around 400m away, so head out in a likely direction. After asking directions a few times, i see across the road on the other side of the thatch shanties, a station. The man refuses my 10Rs (45Rupee=$1) note that i’ve been carefully saving for the last 8 years. It is torn and is taped back together. unnnnnn I think i remember that’s why i took it back to Japan, because no one here would take it last time – ha!
I lug my heavy suitcase up the steps at Chennai Egmore station, and get almost physically accosted as i come down the steps on the other side. No, i’m trying to find the train for Madurai. This peaceful reply seems to have little effect, so i change the tone of my voice. Let go of my stuff! While standing in line at the ticket reservation window, the helpful agent advises me to keep my hands on my backpack and suitcase at all times. Good advice. Fortunately i can get a seat in a A/C car on the train leaving in around 45 minutes. Since my eyes are still blurry, and head fuzzy, i decide it’s best to stay inside the station rather than look around outside. Good decision, as the train is waiting for me already, and i can relax, even lying down on the top bunk after the nasty word fight between 2 men who each wanted to sit by the window is over. Interesting that the nastiest man is reading a book titled “Real Spirituality”. Hope he can find Jesus Christ, the only one who can give him a heart of love and peace.
I zonk out for around 4 hours. That felt good! A family across the way looks like they might be Christian, as their faces aren’t so scowly, and they look cleaner, and no stamp on their forehead. They are EXTREMELY nice, with the college-aged son offering to buy me biryani rice. hmmmm. He’s got to be angling for something. I try refusing several times, but he won’t hear of it, so i cautiously eat wondering what the “bill” will be. It never came. I start showing this guy pictures of Japan etc. on my computer, and in talking, find out that he is Christian, and is searching for a deeper relationship with Jesus. I show him the Great Controversy anime, and he is quite impressed. Before travelling i always ask God to pair me with someone who is searching for truth, and today he made it easy to see who that person was 🙂 Lord, please watch over N, and lead him into all truth.
My friend greets me at the train station, altho we are over 1 hour late. We go to a hotel, and i settle in, then we go to eat noodles. Noodles are not popular in India, but they are available. I’d forgotten how dangerous India is – in people running over you, cheating you out of everything (OK, i hadn’t forgotten that one), in cows with big horns wandering everywhere, in food of questionable origin etc. etc.
There is a TV in my room, and as i’ve said that TV, especially TV commercials, is the best way to quickly gauge the country’s mood, spirit, and economic health, i’m quite interested to see what is available here. They have cable TV! nice. Channel 1 – fuzzy with people talking, 2 – same, 3 – same, 6 – Animal Planet, 7 – National Geographic, 8 – cricket (not the insect!), 9 – same, 10 – same, 11,12,13,14 – foreign movies etc., 15-28 music, 29-31 news, 32-39 music and movies. The commercials on the English channels are almost the same as in any advanced country – cars, gasoline, beauty products, pizza etc., while the ones on the Tamil channels seem to be more towards soap, snacks, mobile phones etc. So yes, things have come up quite a bit since i was here last.
The most interesting thing about Indian TV is the prevalence of music and movies. The line gets blurred quite a bit, at least as far as i could tell. There is a handsome man and beautiful woman in the center of the screen. Around them are many dancers, guys and girls. The music is mostly a bop-bop-bop “light rap” beat. The two stars go thru a complicated set of maneuvers simulating a grinding, bumping sexual act, in a manner that made me think at first that they were making fun of rap singers’ silly moves, but actually, that is the way they all are. Nearly every music video, and every movie shows basically the same thing. Most likely this is where Madonna got her ideas on how to make her ridiculous music videos – but it made her a star…….the world is crazy!
I meet the Muslim artist who is painting for the Great Controversy animation, and have an excellent chance to witness to him. The Hindu man trying to do the animation isn’t doing so well, and i may have to find someone else.
My friend has a problem with the Seventh-day Adventist church, but he takes me on the back of his motorbike on Sabbath morning to the main English church. A couple of tall Kenyans lead me inside, and except for the 2 times i walk out when they get the drum beat setting on their electone going wild, it is enjoyable. But when the service is over, no one comes up to shake my hand. Now i don’t need to be treated specially, but surely as a brother in the Lord, it is a friendly gesture to greet a new face isn’t it? Not even the pastor or principal are shaking anyone’s hands, so i go up to two or three members and shake hands, but that’s as far as it goes. When waiting after the service for the Kenyans to get done with their little meeting, i show the GC anime to a couple other Kenyans. They watch politely, and while watching, two elementary-school boys come up to watch too. The Kenyans look like they could care less, but one of the boys goes and tells his father, and then comes and finds me and asks if he could please have this on a CD? Why sure! Perhaps it was to meet him only that God led me here today 🙂
My athlete’s foot disease has gotten 3 of my toes about to the point of feeling like a itchy sponge. It seems that it is physically eating away my toe flesh. I thot that putting the toes in salt water would help, and while the itching is alleviated, the spongy flesh isn’t healed at all. Taking them up on the rooftop and letting them bake in the sunshine DOES help a lot, and with a few dabs of Neosporin and hydrogen peroxide, the skin grows back on. There must be all kinds of weird stuff out there just waiting to get you, just like these gnats buzzing around my head just now as i type this.
The juice shops look inviting, so i try the sapotta one day. I nearly croak when i see that they juice them peeling and all….They ask if i want any ice, and of course i turn it down. It doesn’t taste bad, but not the tasty thing i had imagined, especially when seeing the flies frolicking on the fruit….
The hotel charge is 230Rs per nite, but since i’m staying a while, decide to ask them for a discount. “How about 1,400/week?” The man’s response was amusing – i could see him type in “195” and “7” into his calculator. After seeing the result he looked at me and said that would be fine. I’m happy, and he’s happy – good! I just wish he hadn’t revealed his lowest price to me tho – ha! So in 14 nites i save almost $10. You never know if you don’t try 🙂 The young men working here take their naps, their lunch, their tea breaks etc., all in the stairwell. They look at me like i’m crazy walking up to the 5th floor (called 4th floor here and elsewhere the Union Jack has flown), but it is good exercise, probably safer than the elevator, and faster. They all want to do something for me so they can get a tip, but except for changing sheets, and ironing my sabbath shirt, i don’t give them much chance to earn extra, so they leave me mostly alone. 2 times here in the middle of the nite, my doorknob is shaken and someone acts like they are trying to come in. I call the front desk, and it is stopped, but one time my electricity is turned off (the inside room electricity is all controlled by a switch just OUTside the door!?), and i swelter in the 35C heat until my friend comes and tells me someone turned it off outside — brilliant.
Here at this hotel i learn how to save money on toilet paper too, something i’ve been avoiding learning ever since i completed potty training when i was probably 2 years old. It may be prejudiced, but i still say countries that use toilet paper have a more advanced civilization. I do have quite a bit of free time here, and while doing some things that can be called worthwhile, like breaking out the Great Controversy audio into its 41 separate chapters, i while away some of my time on things like my first ever Sudoku. That was quite fun, but much quicker after discovering that each block of 9 spaces ALSO has to have just one of each number…haha. My friend is quite down on the SDA church, but i try to help him look at Jesus, and to realize that Jesus is still working thru his church to complete his mission.
My two weeks in Madurai, very near what is said to be the largest Hindu temple in the world, come to an end, and after one last hour at the internet cafe (ISify), i roll over to the train station, and head for Chennai. I have the middle bunk this time, and bang my head on the protruding hook two times during the nite. On the trains there are usually 3 or 4 classes: 1st class, 2nd class A/C, 2nd class sleeper, and 2nd class seating only. Some trains have 3rd class i hear. If it is overnite, it is good to have 2nd class A/C, as fewer transients come thru, and of course for the cool air. The trains can probably run around 80-100km/hr. but especially at nite they stop so much, that the avg. speed is probably closer to 40-50km. No joke. Unwanted guests tend to come on at stops, and while most of them are of the decent variety, just sellers and beggars, some of them seem to just be looking for their jackpot. Just try not to time your toilet business to when the train is at a station. Many people do not, and with the train toilet going straight down and out, it gets REALLY smelly at stations. I did notice much less brownery on the walls of the train toilets this time tho, compared to 8 years ago, so some things have improved. People seem to sit about anywhere and everywhere they feel like, and there are not a small number of altercations between passengers over seating. Indian Railways claims to be the largest employer in the world, with over 1,000,000 employees, and i think they are probably correct. It is amazing to me tho, that a country that can produce atomic power plants, and software powerhouses, makes you wait hours in line to get a simple train ticket.
I’ve been told how much a rickshaw ride (3-wheeler tuk-tuk) should be between the Chennai Egmore and Chennai Central station. Egmore is for trains going south, and Central is for trains going north. They are separated by around 3km. I’m told 30Rs., so stick to my guns when touts force themselves all over me when coming down the steps saying “Where you going?” “Come!” Saying “30 rupees” makes the first two release their grip on my suitcase, but the 3rd man says OK, just that i’ll have to wait a bit. Of course i know what he’s wanting to do – he doesn’t want to make the trip alone, so will fish for one more passenger. After about 5 minutes, a shop-owner looking person is led into the tuk-tuk. He takes one look at me, and shows his displeasure with quite excited talk to the driver. No doubt he wanted the whole thing to himself. It is interesting seeing parts of this city that i had not seen for 8 years, and a flood of memories was revived. The train to Vijayawada left on time, and it felt pretty good after they got the A/C fixed. For the first 30 minutes we are sweltering with the windows unopenable, and no air conditioning either! The flat, brown scenery is not interesting, and after putting in earplugs, i nap in the seat.
I’m to meet the Special Evangelism Assistant to the President, or some title like that, man here. I had met him in Madurai, and he was quite interested in the Great Controversy books, and invited me up here. Little did i know that i would be called on to save someone’s life – his! We are taken by the SDA leaders in Andrha Pradesh to Ibrahimpatnam, where there is a SDA church, school, seminary, and conference headquarters. AP is an area where Christianity is going strong now. It was interesting to see the map of India with all SDA churches/institutions pinned on it. Around 20% is in the far north east of the country, then a vast empty northern and central, then a bit more populated around the central southern, then like an acupuncture patient in the deep south.
This place is even hotter than Madurai, with temperature in our room hitting 37 at times. This is the special guest room, and they have just fitted it with an air conditioner recently, so we are the “big wigs”. Unfortunately, electricity comes and goes, so just when it starts to get comfortable around 32, the electricity goes off again. This man is the 2nd American i have spent any time with since my brother and nieces and nephew saw me in Japan last year, and it is a bit of a cultural adjustment. I see this with quite a few Americans – they are good at trying new things, and have lots of get-up-and-go, but are sorely lacking in considering the wants/needs of others sometimes, and like to complain about stuff.
This is the first ever camp meeting in Andhra Pradesh for Seventh-day Adventists, and i’m quite interested in what will transpire. One big reason i’m here is to meet the president of the conference, and either thru him or someone, try to find a Telegu translator for the GC book. The AP state’s population of Seventh-day Adventists is just exploding, largely due to the efforts of this Evangelism assistant who is channeling funds directly from the source in America (i think it is) to his special assistants whose full time job is to purchase land and get churches built. They have 4 contractors building, and a small plot with the most simple church costs around $3,000, while the biggest in the set costs i think around $10,000. It is almost impossible to find someone who is honest with money in India, but if you can find that kind of person, you may be able to get a lot done.
The meetings themselves have too much drumming for me, so i sit way in the back, on a little plastic sheet that is under a volleyball net. A lot of the talking is in English, then translated into Telegu. It seems a bit odd, but most of the educated class knows English, and if the speaker is even an Indian, but from a different state, they need translators. How would it be in America if there were 50 languages?!!
Some young elementary-school-aged kids are very interested in the Great Controversy anime, and i’m glad i brought it. One almost-college-aged youngster whines to me about how HE should be the one up on the stage giving the speech because HE was such a better speaker and HE was closer to God etc. etc. I tried to tell him how we need to be humble, and we need to do well at the work lying close to us, having faithfulness in the small things before attempting big ones. Hope some of that sunk in.
The president’s wife cooks supper for us in her home, but her husband (actually no one else) joins us. I learn later that everyone else likes to eat meat, so they don’t want to join us. OK. There is a helper girl at the home (all called “servants” here in Asia) who i am told was basically saved from a terrible situation, only to become a virtual slave here in this home. They don’t even let her go to school (13y.o.) because the wife just wouldn’t be able to leave home or go anywhere if this girl wasn’t in the home 24 hours a day. 21st century slavery, and that by a conference president of the SDA church – ouch!
The seminary director agrees to translate this book into Telegu 🙂 I talk with him, and learn that he was given a notebook PC by a man a year earlier. He doesn’t know how to use it, so i help show him some things. It’s quite a travesty tho, as this man cried for a computer to help him as seminary director, someone gave him one, and he hasn’t even looked inside even once it seems…
That nite i hear my roommate making a strange noise, like a laugh, while on his bed. I smile to myself, thinking how i’ll tell him in the morning that he was talking in his sleep during the nite. The next thing i hear is a big CRASH! coming from the corner, in front of the A/C. What’sssss?!?! I pull on my short pants, and run over to the switch turning on a light revealing a crumpled man in the corner. I first try to make sure his neck or other body parts isn’t broken, and try to get him back on his bed. He is way to heavy to lift, but somehow he gets rolled back on his bed. I get a bric-pak of juice, and a little clear plastic case out of the fridge and offer to him. He refuses. He’s definitely odd, and finally after putting the straw in, and nearly forcing it into his mouth, he takes the Appy. After sucking that done he sits on the edge of the bed and bawls, “I’m crazy, I’m so crazy, I must be crazy”. I tell him it’s just his diabetes, and try to soothe him, while wondering desperately what to do. I offer a pak of orange juice next, along with the plastic case again. He seems to like the orange juice, and within 5 seconds of gulping it down, begins to talk coherently. He asks for another of the apple juices, and i proffer that in one hand, and the plastic case in the other again. He laughs when he sees that, says it is insulin, and asks me to put it back in the fridge. I know he’s going to be OK now. WHEW! If he would’ve fell just a bit different in that corner he would have hit the hard edge of the voltage regulator and bled a lot, or even fallen on the wires themselves and perhaps electrocuted himself. We give thanks to God for protecting him, and manage to get a little more sleep.
The people there honor this Evangelism assistant with a special program, having him dress up in some “Raj” outfit, that perhaps might be OK, but with a really strange turban-looking hat that has some fake pearls and an upside-down fake ruby heart. That is really weird. What are our SDA brethren thinking? The top conference officials even eat in a different room, separate, away from “the masses”. Sounds like we need some true heart-searching here. On the morning we leave, the assistant says something about how the campmeeting helped people, and the president, without remarking to that, immediately starts talking about money affairs. For someone who had the campmeeting taken down on Sabbath afternoon, and had all the 8-900 attendees travel home on the Sabbath, that was probably a normal reaction. I just can’t imagine how someone like that could’ve gotten into the position he’s in. It sure wasn’t of the Lord’s doing…..
There are so many beggars in India, that it is easy to just turn them all off. I don’t like to become cruel-hearted, and want to help them all, but know that for many of them it is just a job like any other, and for others it just an easy way to live, not having to work where effort is exerted. But i do like this assistant’s approach – he will not just give them food, he will buy them food. Usually he will give some small snack-thing, and if they happily accept that, then he will buy some food dish and give that to them. What a nice idea! Actually, most of the beggars are not interested in food, they only want cash. I crippled man comes onto my train, and i give him a 2Rs. coin. After going up and down the car, he comes back to the waiting area in front of the toilet where i have set up camp, spreads out his newspaper, and lies down. After around 40 minutes he gets up, and buys a tiny cup of coffee from the vendor for 5Rs. unnnnnnn Should i have helped him buy his coffee? What should i have done? What would Jesus do?
The assistant and i go to Hyderabad together, where he catches a plane, and i elect to stay a few days. I want to get the Telegu GC book cover info typed up at a DTP place so that i can do the cover art for the book. Even tho this is the capital of Telegu country (60,000,000users), it is hard to find anyone who will type in Telegu for you. I finally find a place, but still as i write this one month later, i have yet to find the exact same font as he used, so am unable to make the cover art.
The hotel i find is a diver’s paradise, i mean “a dive”. But i do get a room all to myself which is MUCH better than the dormitory where the beds are right next to each other, and you get smoked on, yelled about, puked nearby, lighted on most of the nite etc. etc. And all this loveliness, with a shared bathroom, for 120Rs/nite. It’s hot. The LED sign in front of a school says “45”. I go into a “hotel” (restaurant), and order the “mini-meal”. At 16Rs. it comes with rice, 3 or 4 little tins of varying ability to melt holes in your tongue, and some sour yoghurt with raw diced red onion pieces on top. Quite a lovely feast actually, and i don’t hit any rocks in the food either 🙂 My appetite goes down a bit tho when i see a young boy sponge up a nasty something on the floor, and then with the same sponge go over to an eating counter and wipe some spill there. OK, at least he did make some effort to turn the sponge over, but still,,,, Just don’t look in the kitchen if you want to keep your lunch in your stomach!
While waiting in line at the Secunderabad train station (main train station for Hyderabad), i utilize time by going over my Japanese memory verse card chain. The young man next to me shows a great interest, and starts talking to me in Japanese – bikkuri!!!! He has studied Japanese for a year at college, and wants to go to Japan. At the window the lady tells me there are no spaces available for the train to Bangalore today, and when i ask about foreigner’s quota, tells me that if i can pay in US dollars, that i may be able to get a ticket. I protest that this is ridiculous, that this has never happened to me before in India, and other types of things that mostly Americans seem to do most about complaining – ha! Anyway, it gets me nowhere. Here i’ve wasted over 1 hour of coming here and waiting, and still nothing to show for it. The young man comes up behind me, and offers to take me to the bus reservation stand – cool! I get the ticket, and save perhaps 100Rs. to boot – yea! Thank you Madhusudhan!!!
The hotelman answers negatively when i ask if i can stay 1 or 2 hours past my 24 hour time limit, even if i pay extra money. Even one minute over seems to cost another 120Rs., so after almost missing my departure time because of a nap, i hurriedly go past the bathrooms where the water sometimes come, and the dormitory where characters sit in the shade and smoke and play cards, and past those broken windows where the 4-footed friends probably make their way in. The bus is over 1 hour late, and i’m the only rider for the first 45 minutes. Hyderabad is a mostly Muslim city, and there are lots of mosques and women in black to prove it. I take a sip of cough syrup to help me sleep, and i do sleep maybe one or two hours on the bus, and except for a flat tire, there are no surprises. The toilet attendant at the station, even tho the sign behind him clearly says 2Rs tries to charge me 3. I don’t like cheating any time, but after a nite of little sleep, even less. Fortunately one of the men said something to that young man, and he smiled, and accepted my 2Rs. Finding the bus to Hosur was a big headache, the biggest i’ve ever had in finding a bus. This man says “Go on that bus”. In getting there a man says “Go to that bus”. This goes on for 4 busses, and all the carrying my heavy suitcase, lack of sleep, lack of sufficient calories at breakfast, and heat combine to make me a quivering mass of jelly. Finally i DO find the correct bus, and after paying i think it was 26Rs., i arrive in Hosur 1 1/2 hours later. I do remember taking this road 8 years ago, and mostly it was countryside after the first 5km or so out of Bangalore, but now it is mostly city the whole 20-25km way. There are several very nice high-tech centers, and it is so incongruous to see this green-glassed 4 story structure with satellite antennas etc. sprouting out of it, next to a shanty area where houses are made out of garbage and thatch, and cows are wandering around aimlessly.
The Southern Asian Division headquarters are in Hosur, but are around 6km from the bus station. I ask the station attendant what bus to take, and he tells me, so i get on. After about 1km, i’m told to get off. hmmmm. OK, what bus DO i take? Some rickshaw guys come up to me and say “70Rs.” I wave them off, but first get one to say “40”. I wait for around 20 minutes, finally decide i’m wasting not just my time, but God’s time, and decide it isn’t worth it to try and save 35Rs. for the 5km ride. So i shell out the big bucks and am at the Division headquarter gates in no time. I remember this place being WAY OUT in the country before, but now there is an internet cafe just around 2km from the entrance. Yea!
A young receptionist shows me the way to the Evangelism assistant’s home. I will get razzed several times over the next 4 days about being able to hook us two up if i’m so inclined – no way! Thanks for the concern anyway 🙂 The main reason i’ve been invited here, is that all the Union directors are here for a meeting. So the plan is to meet with all them, hopefully getting some of them to try and find translators for the GC book in their language. That would save me LOTS of time and energy in training around all over the place trying to find things by myself. Several of the directors seem interested. One looks disgusted, and one looks to be laughing at it. As i expected, the NE Indian man shows the most interest. Later, the SW Indian director says he wishes to translate this book into Malayalam himself (!!) and the Western Indian director does actually contact a translator for the Gujarati translation. I know that they are busy people, and hear lots of things, so tried to make it interesting for them, and xeroxed one copy, and made one CD for each of them. The CD seemed to be quite appreciated, even tho i don’t know if they will even open it or not. Oh well, God knows what is best, and i’m sure he can impress their hearts when needed – Please Lord, may your prophet’s words be spread far and wide in this great country, with its many languages.
While there i learn that really most educated people would like to read this book in English. Why, of course! Glad to oblige 🙂 The Evangelism assistant says he will pay for 5,000 English copies himself, so i’ve got my first ever confirmed order to print the books 🙂 This assistant has gotten some Indian artist to draw cartoon-like pics for a little booklet about tithe, and then he has one more booklet on the sabbath. He’s handing them out, giving them away, always on the prowl for a way to spread the gospel. I put Bible software and SOP software on his computer, for which he is very grateful. Nice to know what you are trying to do/doing is appreciated!
The Hindu temple just across from the division headquarters blares something they probably say is music from its loudspeakers – one aimed down the road, and one aimed directly at the headquarters building. The campus itself is very nice, and i enjoy the quiet (perhaps when the DF at the temple is on break) and greenery here. The hospitality and food of my hosts is wonderful, just like what i grew up with in America – peanut butter, almonds, beans, casserole, fresh salad etc. Not having any chilies in my food is quite a pleasant shock to my system.
Sabbath lunch is a treat at his secretary’s. That family is from NE India, and the husband is director of family ministries and something else. He is very interested in this work i’m doing, and expresses great delite in his new Bible and SOP software i put on his (dept’s) notebook. He likes the monkey-tiger one too. After lunch we study chapter 30 in the Great Controversy – Spiritualism. They are impressed. I pray their sons will be more interested in spiritual things. I understand that is a big problem in NE India as many become 2nd and 3rd generation Adventist – they become the perfect Laodiceans.
In the afternoon i take a walk just next to the campus, to the new Telegu SDA church. It is overlooking a large valley, and it looks quite nice, almost making one think they are in Italy for a moment. But the racous crows and flying garbage noticeable when turning one’s eyes toward the ground ruin that illusion, and i make my way home smiling at everyone, especially the kids, and trying not to stare back at the starers. Jesus wouldn’t stare back, would he? Show a smile. Keep a song in your heart. Thank God for his wonderful love in supplying fresh air, greenery, food, life, loved ones….Wish i could go back to Japan, but God is leading differently right now.
M, from Jeeva Jyothi, comes to visit on saturday evening. He recognizes me, but i don’t recognize him. When he says he is in massage tho it click – 8 years ago when i went to Jeeva Jyothi for a few days, while in a nearby village i had met a young man who was trying to do massage therapy there. He has now married, has a child, and is living on the Jeeva Jyothi campus, helping in their training program. Jeeva Jyothi was founded by John Steven Sunderaj, a graduate of Wildwood, and is trying to do things the Wildwood way – natural healing, small religious training groups for young people, ignore maintenance of the campus (!) etc. By the grace of God, i was able to help provide them with a used van 7 years ago. The van is still running in a green condition, and carrying children back and forth to school. The school itself is no longer on the campus, but in the village, and most of the teachers are Hindu. So what is the point of having the school? I don’t know. This man’s wife has basically had a nervous breakdown because of the conditions there, and i don’t think i could handle rotting squirrels in my water tank either…..gross! He shows me a PR video he’s made, and while the content is nice, i’m reminded not to try and use all the transition effects just because they are available. If anyone wishes to help a small, self-supporting missionary training school in southern India, please let me know.
My ticket to Pune is termed “waiting list”. I’m still not positive what that means, but seems to mean that you can ride on the train, but are not guaranteed a seat/berth. Since we will be travelling in a higher area than in southern India, i choose to save money and not ride in the A/C cars. In-between cars, in the waiting area in front of the toilets, there is one, solitary seat. I take it, and it becomes my home for the next 9 hours. Actually, i’m afraid that if i get up, someone will immediately grab it, so stay perched there around 7 hours straight. Good thing it is a bit hot, so that my body tries to conserve water. The scenery is interesting, while there is not much greenery, the rocky hills, some with old forts on them, provide scenic views. Miles and miles go by with hardly any sign of humans anywhere. This is India? What happened? It looks like there is an old road, probably built in British times, with stone arch bridges and all that runs parallel to the railway, but it looks like it has been unused for many years, and trees are now growing in the middle of it, tearing apart the stones. One family gets on, and has what appears to be a sick grandma with them. So they lay out their sarees on the floor, and she lies down, and the rest sit or lie down too. A young man has one hard suitcase, and is alternately sitting on it bowing down in his nap, or stretched out beside it, using the side of the carriage as his back rest. One man with a big scowl is sitting just across from me, right in front of the door. So every time we stop at a station, he has to get up.
One white lady talks to me for a while, and i find out that she was born in India, and has lived here for 16 years. The other 16 years was in Waverly TN of all places! That is a small town in Middle Tennessee (not Tamil Nadu), and she even knew of Bucksnort, where our family went a few times when i was little to fish at the trout farm there. I still remember putting the corn on the hook one winter day, and the fish practically jumping out of the water to get to it 🙂 She likes India, and while it sounds like her parents came to India as missionaries, she doesn’t seem interested in spiritual things. Her stories were quite amusing/true to life here, giving me some new insights.
I buy supper from the train employee who goes thru selling stuff. There are lots of vendors too, but they usually only sell one thing, like a samosa, or a sweet, or drink, but not a whole meal. It is an aluminum tin, looking like a rectangle popcorn popper, with a little plastic bag of dhall (yellow beans). Seeing the yellow stain on my pants every day reminds me of what i ate that nite – ha! I finally give in to the urge of nature, and….nobody tries to get my spot – yea! Perhaps they thot that was the seat i paid for, and would get upset if they tried to take it. One family/group surrounds me while stopped for longer than usual at some station. They ask lots of questions, and i happily show them the paper pics taken in Japan. I wanted to show them pics on the computer, especially the GC anime, but knowing that sleeping time is drawing on, and letting them know that i have a piece of equipment in my backpack that equals probably 6 months of their income made me think twice about it.
Near 10pm a move is made. The young man and scowly man lay out newspapers on the floor, and start sleeping, with their feet under my seat. They kindly let me stretch out my feet next to the door by them. I’m resigned to sitting up all nite, when a young lady in blue jeans offers me her berth on top, while she will shift to her brother’s on the other side. I can’t believe it…Rea, rea, really? I don’t want to take your place. I’ll be OK. She offers again, so i gladly accept. Around one hour before this another man had come to me and said i could put my suitcase under one berth, so i had already tied that up. After a sip of cough syrup (he’s becoming an alcoholic!!) i stretch, and quickly fall asleep. I sleep perhaps 5 hours, and while not enough, is MUCH better than the 0 hours i was planning on. I crawl back on my seat around 6am, and the normal, human waking up routine unfolds in front of me at the washbasin. Don’t need to see that.
There are no announcements on trains in India, so you have to ask people around you when your station is coming up. It is really simple when the train’s destination and yours match, but a big worry when not. I see a town coming up, and get my shoes on etc., only to see it is a different town. I’m told Pune is the next stop, so i alight at 8am, right on time. The usual hassle with the porters who wish to carry your suitcase (they put it on their shoulders, even when it has wheels on it!) gets me prepared for the much more aggressive rickshaw drivers. Being told beforehand that 100Rs. should be enough, i offer that much. This guy is extremely pushy, even forcing my hand off the suitcase so he can grab it. This is the first time i’ve gotten hot towards a tuk-tuk driver in India, and i tell him he’d better let go NOW! Of course he acts like he’s just trying to help, and i shouldn’t get upset. Sure wish he’d put himself in my shoes. I do realize he is trying to feed his family, but by basically stealing someone’s luggage, he is not developing trust. An older rickshaw man comes over, and finally the first man says OK, 100Rs. The last 5km he has to ask the way 2 or 3 times, but finds the 3 story white building, and deposits me in front of the house where he says so mournfully, “120” when i give him the 100 note. “This place was hard to find…..”, i tell him that he agreed to 100 at the station. He says “130” just when the lady of the house comes out. Suddenly he decides it’s time to go, and makes his departure. Thank you Lord for getting me here safely!
This place is lived in by an elderly SDA lady, and her “spiritual son”, a 27y.o. convert to the Sabbath Rest Advent church from Hinduism. It is quite a combination. The atmosphere is quite congenial, and they seem delited to have me here. I’m delited to be here also, but wonder if i should be doing more to spread this Great Controversy book somehow. The original plan was to print the Marathi 1858 GC here, but decided to print the English one here also after finding a dedicated SDA who is in the printing business. The other plan was to try and push forward the animation, and while several avenues seemed promising, everything here has been a dead-end in those lines.
Electricity runs around 18-20 hours a day, and water around 3-4. Fortunately, it is pretty regular, so it is possible to plan around it. We are in a suburb around 15km from Pune proper. Pune is in a little high elevation, so the weather is pleasant; around 33 for a high, and 23 for a low. There are many universities here, and they like to call it “Oxford of the East”. I went to one of the colleges, and while the buildings are definitely block-made British-era works of art, they have not seen the hand of maintenance for many a year, and there are broken windows, crumbling walls, dust, and all the other things to make you know you aren’t anywhere near Oxford. This is seen as a “high-tech” town, and perhaps ranks 3rd in India in that area, after Bangalore and Hyderabad.
The former SDA division headquarters for India were in Pune, and still the main SDA college is based here, Spicer College. It attracts students mostly from India and Africa it seems, but draws a few from all over Asia, as the rates are quite low comparitively. My friend in Vietnam got his theology training here too. We go to the beautiful new church, being perhaps the biggest SDA church in all of Asia (except for Korea i believe). There is a big plaque in the foyer congratulating the Indian doctor who lives in Florida that donated most of the money for it. Everything is nice and proper and good (except the automatic flush urinals have no water), but it is a disappointment when leaving that no one comes up to shake hands. Maybe that is just not an Indian custom? “No, no, it’s just that the people here are cold as ice,” i’m told. Too bad. Several people come to visit on sabbath afternoon, as the lady of the house here is known quite well as being deeply into Spirit of Prophecy material, having translated many of the books herself, and as a deep student of the Word. I sure am thankful she got out of the Jubilee movement, and out of the Sabbath Rest Advent Church.
I’m called to give the main sermon at the Tamil church on the next sabbath. Gladly. When sitting down, i tell the pastor that if the drums get going, i may have to step outside. I have to step outside 5 times, and almost a 6th until the pastor waved off the drummer who was getting geared up for holy-rolly time during the offering collection. It was making me physically sick, and when i got up, the first thing i said was that the Holy Spirit had taken most of the message away from me. “How can we pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit on one hand, and then call in Satan’s spirits with our music?” There were some gasps and quick talking when i said this, but as soon as i did, it was like a big burden had been lifted, and i was mostly free to give my talk about the 3 Angels’ Messages. Lord, i will follow you, and speak the words you give me whether they are what people wish to hear, or not. Please don’t take your Spirit from me. I tell the pastor privately that i will be willing to help buy a nice musical instrument, but he doesn’t respond. After the service they bring out a beautiful Casio electone! OK, now i see. It wasn’t because you had no other instruments, it was because you LIKED to have music in your service that is no different from the Hindu jangle-bangle, or regular Bollywood movie music.
One morning i go to buy bread. The shop i’m told to go to has some kind of bread, but the kids in that shop are laughing when they look at it, and i see some big red blotches on it, so guess that is mold. The next shop has none, but the 3rd time is charm. A loaf of tasteless white bread for 11Rs. She takes it back, and proffers me a different one. Huh? OK i guess, just let me check the date….May 30 exp. unnnn Today is June 1. No thank you. She calmly hands over a different one. May 31 exp. I’m in total unbelief about what is going on. Finally, with an air of resignation/exasperation, she hands me a different loaf – June 2 exp. Alright! Totally unbelieveable! Totally crazy!! Totally Indian!!!
My daily schedule is something like this:
6am-Awaken to cooking sounds, or to Spirit of Prophecy audio on the computer.
7:10-get up.
7:30-eat prepared breakfast of rice, milk, fruit, nuts, peanut butter
8:00-wash dishes
8:20-read newspaper
9:00-morning worship with all 3 of us
10:15-do computer stuff
12:30-eat lunch of chapatis, curries, curd (yoghurt), and raw tomato or cucumber
1:00-wash dishes
1:20-wonder what to do, read, nap, do computer stuff
3:30-go to internet cafe
5:00-do exercises, take shower, write
6:30-eat supper of rice or chapatis in a rerun of lunch with a sweet
7:00-wash dishes
7:15-sit on the front porch and chat and enjoy the breeze
8:00-evening worship
8:30-do computer stuff
10:00-go to bed
Of course there are days where i go to town or people come visit etc., but this is the exact schedule for probably 3 days a week. I’m not sure if it is the friendly atmosphere, or the super-abundance of dairy products, but i’ve gained one kilogram each week i’ve been here!
The house is rented, the ground floor of a 3 story building, and is a 2BHK (2bedrooms, kitchen, and hall or living room). It rents for 55usd/month. Just across from us is a place that keeps water buffalo for milking, and it is sad to see they give them just barely enough rope to turn around, but not enough to take more than one step forward or backwards. They scrape up their refuse, and dump it as near the road as they can, just in front of our house. At first it was really smelly, but you get used to it. There is a little open spot next to that, and then an apt. building that has 6 units, each just a 10foot by 12foot concrete room. The toilet is an outside shed shared by all, and water also is from a common spigot near the front. Rent is around 16usd/month. Mostly it looks like college kids and families live there. Behind us is a little open space where trash is sometimes burned, and sometimes people upstairs dump their dirty water and trash. The people next door in back have a car and air conditioner, and seem to only speak in English. Wonder what they do….
Cars are a bit rare outside of the cities, but most everyone here seems to have a motorbike. Sometimes you can almost imagine you are in an advanced country when going down the roads (when not looking at the road surface), but then you are snapped back into focus when seeing a herd of perhaps 500 sheep and goats coming at you, or the ever present stray cow. Usually tho, it’s the incessant honking that lets you know you are in a place where people are concerned mostly only about themselves. Even the little lad that lives in this building who doesn’t have a bell on his bicycle uses his mouth for a horn to make everyone get out of his way. I’ve even seen a motorcyclist get up on a raised sidewalk, and then blow his horn angrily at a pedestrian! Yelling at him to stop only made me look foolish i’m afraid…. It is really painful tho, as i’m sure some of these horns exceed jumbo jet noises.
NOTE: Post written June 15, 2006