Notes From The Other Side Of The World

Frankly Speaking: Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

Frankly Speaking: Happy Halloween: It is Monday morning in India. We are at Family Village Farm where we have just witnessed the weekly flag raising ceremony and enjoyed some...

Please give my regards to all my friends at MBKG Pannai, Mr. Koshi, Ms. Vatsala, Mr. Daniel and everyone else. We know the hospitality there is unforgettable. If you see Saranya please tell convey my love from her Uncle Peter
Peter Luckey

Photos of the area around the Taj Hotel

2008-11-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

Thoughts on Mumbai

2008-11-30T20:22:00.000-08:00

It has been a month almost to the day that my plane lifted off from the International terminal in Mumbai, and yet the events of this past week---the terrible and senseless violence that descended upon this city---have jerked me back there. When the TV news panned the interior of the Leopold Cafe---the shards of glass mixed with blood---my jaw dropped: I ate several meals at those very tables. I could even point to you on the TV screen where I was sitting.

I was directed to the Leopold Cafe by the folks at the Ascot Hotel, where I was a guest.

The atmosphere is one of a friendly, noisey street side pub. Through the open doors to the street vendors would wander in hawking their bango drums and postcards. It was an easy palce to meet people. Sitting next to me I struck up a conversation with a young couple from Holland. They shared with an amazing story: The husband had left his wallet on a bus in Mumbai. The wallet contained a lot of cash. Incredibly, when the couple went to find the bus, they learned that another passenger had picked up the wallet and returned it to the couple---with all the cash still in tact. So, memory of this cafe is a good one, of meeting fellow travelers, swapping stories.

Of course, the thoughts run through my head. What if I just happened to be sitting there on November 26th and not September 29th? And what about the kind waiter who fed me my first dinner on Indian soil. Is he still alive? What about all the other kind people in the Colaba neighborhood of Mumbai who helped this solo traveler? Are they ok?

In my several days in Mumbai, I walked by Gateway India, the Taj Hotel many times. I began to feel at home in this old quarter of Mumbai. And Now? My heart grieves for India and all the peace loving people I met while I was there.

coming back to the USA from India

2008-11-18T20:36:00.000-08:00

Nov 18 Now 17 days after returning to the states....But let me take you back to India, to my departure. Arrivals and departures between the United States and India cannot help but be significant moments, times of crossing boundaries, cultural, economic, geographic.

My blog readers will recall my arrival story into India. Mumbai arrival at 3 am, walk out of the airport into the humidity, pollution and humanity of a Mumbai night. The cab driver asleep in his cab, the luggage thrown on top of the cab, tied down with twine, a noctural drive through the rough streets of the city and through the slum of Dharavi where one million are packed into a one square mile.

On Oct 31st, my journey back to the states began with a much delayed flight out of Cochin for Mumbai. I arrived again in this megapolis in the middle of the night. This time a car from a nearby hotel, the Residency Inn, was at the airport to pick me up. (Fortunately, I had checked my luggage all the way through to Chicago, so all I had to carry were my essentials and computer, plus the all important passport.)

I checked in to the hotel at 2 am and set my alarm for 5:30 am the next morning. My flight to Chicago was scheduled to depart at 7:50am. One last time, I was driven through the streets of this huge city, darting between stray dogs, looking at at families asleep on the streets, beginnng to stir. At the airport, I run through a gauntlet of security checks, passport controls. The agent at the Air India counter tells me that there are problems with my ticket. He waves carelessly into the air and says, "see that man over there" Oh, great. there is something wrong with my ticket or passport or something. I am not going to get out of here!

I run to another official looking person. He waves me on.

I exhange a couple thousand rupees back into dollars. I get through passport control. I am confused about where to go next. the Gates are poorly marked. I ask someone, a westerner, "how do you know if this waiting area is for your flight?" they say, "Here in India, they call your flight manually"

At last, with the sun just rising over the hills to the east I board the 747. Window seat. I call my INdia friends one last time on my cell phone that will be inoperable is just a few minutes.

Now safely inside my airplane bubble, I look out my window, towards the east, and the waking dawn. In the morning light I see rows of packed shanties hugging the hillside, up hard against a stone and barb wire fence, the boundary between where the tarmac ends and the poverty begins

I look out at what? People, children, and men, squatting on the hillside taking care of morning business, others retrieving water from buckets, from what appears to be a fetid stream of water.

I see dogs wagging their tails, goats, climbing over garbage.

I AM ONLY A FEW FEET AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE.....THESE ARE MY FELLOW CITIZENS ON PLANET EARTH...YET IN HOURS I WILL BE A PLACE THEY WILL NEVER KNOW...COULD ONLY DREAM ABOUT....WE ARE SO CLOSE, AND YET SO VERY FAR AWAY.

I ask: WHY IS THIS SCENE OF HUMANITY BEING PRESENTED TO ME FOR MY LAST MOMENTS HERE IN INDIA. IS THE ONE LAST KICK IN THE PANTS FOR THIS FIRST WORLD WESTENER?

Minutes later, I turn to my ipod,the massive engines come to life and India is but a memory.

Hours later, I am wandering around O'Hare in a daze. Potable water? Reliable electricity? Deep dish pizza? Sam Adams Beer? Midwest Accents?

Into my cell phone, I say to my wife, "I can't believe this. I feel like I have come from a different planet." Several who had overheard my conversation, total strangers, come up to me after the conversation and say to me, "WELCOME HOME!"

And yet, and yet....as much as I am glad to be home, back with crisp fall days and corn flakes and pancakes and sidewalks....I still remember my "adopted" child Saranya in India. And I remember all these wonderful people who fed me, who took me into their homes, who extended such love and kindness....and I think yes,

I left India. But India has not left me.

2008-10-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

Oct 30. My time is rapidly drawing to a close. At times I've felt as if I am living a movie. Is this real? Am I really here? And now the credits are about to roll, the lights will come on, and walk out into the parking lot and think: "where was I?"

I leave for the airport at Cochin tomorrow afternoon. The flight arrives in Mumbai at 10 pm. I stay in a hotel near the airport. Next morning, Saturday, I depart on an Air India flight for Chicago, via Frankfurt, Germany. And then to Kansas city and home. If only, and you know this is coming, could click those heels. "Three times" the good witch said.

So much to ponder, but for now, it will be good to be home. "There is no place like...." You know the rest.

Me and Saranya, our "sponsored" child, sharing of gifts

2008-10-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

kitchen at orphanage, street life

2008-10-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

thoughts on India's religious pluralism

2008-10-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Oct 29 While it is true to say that sectarian strife has occurred and continues to plague this nation, what is also true, and rarely makes headlines, is that this nation of over 1 billion people is, in many ways, a marvel of religious tolerance, and acceptance. Yes, there are political parties here that exploit religious tensions. In particular, what is happening is flexing of radical Hinduism's political muscle, through a party known as RSS with ties to the BJP. Yes, they see religions other than Hindus as foreign to India. And there has been some terrible atrocities of late, in particular, in the state of Orissa.

But here is the other side of the story: India is an example of religious groups living, worshipping side by side with remarkable respect for the other. Remember this is tolerance not in the sense of religion is unimportant so who cares. Religion is terribly important here and you have only to spend a little time here to see on an hourly basis the fervent practicing of faith.

Anecdote: I preached last Sunday at a CSI church in Chennai, once at the 7 am English service and then again at the 9 am Malayalam service. No, I did not preach in Malayalam!!
But as I was preaching you could hear the constant "Ka Boooom" of fireworks going off as local folks celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of light which leads Rama from exile back home.
Then still later in the day, as the Hindu fireworks reached a peak, you could also hear above the bangs the Minaret of the Mosque calling the people of Islam to prayer. As I wore my cassock here I have felt treated with enormous respect by Christian and Hindu alike. I have seen Hindus worshipping in Christian Churches. As my Indian friends tell me: most lay people don't want to hedge their bets: why not worship Vishnu, Shiva and Mary all at once.
As Americans we tend to forget the people of this nation have experienced Christianity and Hinduism side by side for many, many years. At the same time, I also learn that the cost for Hindus who convert to Christianity can be pretty high: being left out of Hindu festivals, being cut off from family members....
The take away about religion here is this: The people of India seem almost hard wired for faith, not the discussing of it, the parsing of it, but the practicing of it in many shapes and forms...Going into a Hindu temple and witnessing the fervency of the adherents is quite an experience.

random pics of India, Temple of Shiva, Chennai

2008-10-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

Meeting Saranya, Family Village Farm, Oct 24-25

2008-10-28T02:44:00.000-07:00

As I wrote in my last post, I arrived at the orphanage (Family Village Farm, or more well known by the Tamili acronym MDBG Panni (children, old people family place).at 5:30 amFriday morning. After a little rest, I awoke to the happy sounds of children's voices. No sooner had I walked out of my guest building, did the children say to me, "Here's Saranya now! Aren't you her sponsor?" First impression: these young people speak english pretty well!
Our meeting was a little awkward at first. Even though we had exchanged letters and pictures for the past 13 years, we lived on opposites of the planet and not only geographically.
But the shyness of Saranya gave way soon. She must have sensed I was the outsider here. There was one of me and many of them! Over the ensuing day night and next morning, a connection, a bond developed that touched me greatly. I wondered how I could come to a place so hopelessly different than all I am familiar with and find an adolescent girl who had thought about, written to, new the names of this Luckey family in Lawrence. Before I left, she took my hand and led me on a tour of the entire Family village farm. and then she said, she said, "I want to meet my brothers, Christopher and Daniel. I want to meet my Aunt Linda" Here is what I was not prepared for: her ability to speak and understand english, her natural warmth and expressivenss, and most of all, this feeling of connection

She sings like an angel. We took pictures, I gave her a watch as a gift from our family. She brought me tea for breakfast. What I learned: Saranya is in the 10th grade. In India this is the 10th standard. This is a critical year for her. She will take exams. And those exams will determine her future. As the directors at the orphanage shared with me: how one scores on exams is everything. a fork in the road of whether she will be condemned to the poverty she grew up into or will have another kind of future. I learned from Mr. Tharyan Koshi, one of the visionaries of the orphanage, that if these girls go back to their home village at 18 without means of support (i.e. husband or job) life can be very rough, they will suffer abuse.
Saranya's mentors readily shared with me that though she is naturally gifted and smart and curious she does not study hard. "Please tell her, Rev. Luckey, that she must study. she has to"
She pledged to work harder. The good bye's seem to come too soon, too quick was my stay, and yet she needed to go on with her life, as I do mine. Nonetheless I cannot shake how uncanny this experience was: so different, such grave poverty, so opposite America in every way you can imagine, and yet here is this child really (she is 15) with whom our family has a connection, that she clearly feels, and is important to her, as it is us. Sometimes the poverty here in India, the world feels overwhelming because it is. And yet, if one child can be rescued from it, a child with a face, a name, a smile, a child that you know and knows that she is known, then perhaps that is where the difference begins....
I should digress here and say our family would never have this connection if it were not for the United Church of Christ Global Sponsorship Program. Ms. Linda Lawrence in the Cleveland office and others have developed and nurtured the relationship between this orphanage the the UCC Global mission over a number of years. When I walked to the school and saw the new bus purchased with Global Church Ministries money, I could see tangible fruit of our mission dollars.

The night before we left I sat on the concrete floor with Saranya and the other children in her "cottage" We sang songs and I even taught them a few. "They'll know we are Christians by our 1love" No one in India knows I cannot carry a tune to save my life, so I could reinvent myself, "Song leader!"

I told stories, and Saranya translated for the children who could not understand english.
ON the wall of this bare moldy room were some words from Matthew, "In as much as you have done to the least of these, you have done unto me" Maybe it was me, still drained from the train travel and the sheer cultural shock of it all, but the words spoke to me in a way I had not heard them ever before.

2008-10-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

2008-10-27T23:46:00.000-07:00

visit to our "sponsored" child, Saranya and overnight train travel to Chennai

2008-10-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

I find it almost impossible to fully capture these past several days....my emotions ranging from tears of joy over meeting our sponosored child Saranya to borderline panic as I tried to "guess" what was the right stop to disembark from the overnight train at 4:30 in the morning.

Images of the train trip at night printed on mymind: looking out the window as we pull into stations where not only men, but women and small children are sleeping/living on the platforms....curled up on cardboard in the dark India night.

When I arrived in Katpadi, the train station nearest the orphanage where I would soon seen Saranya, I was immediately confronted by an "India" i had not really seen in Kerala....thatched mud huts, women queued for the village water spigot, ox drawn carts, gypsies living in flimsy tent structures, soaked by recent rains, little children running down the streets withnot a stitch ofclothing....

This is a place where the daily pay for a laborer is a dollar a day. The poverty, and all that comes with it, the trash, garbage took some getting used to.
At the sametime the terrain had a beauty of its own...rock strewn essentially treeless hills sprouting up from the middle of the flat plain...the land on the whole much drier, less lush than Kerala. But beautiful in its own way. Appearances can be deceiving: I stopped by one hut and visited with a man who has a son in computer software...he himself product of the orphanage...when I told him we had sponsored child, he thanked me profusely, invited me for a cup of coffee. i was sorryI couldnot take him up on the offer...i did nothave time.

Arrived at the family village farm, at 5:30am, pretty much without sleep on the train. I slept some in their guest room and then awoke to the sound of happy children. About this Place: This is more than an orphanage in the strict sense of the word. About 180 call this home. Some are complete orphans, others are semi orphans. That is the child has some relative, maybe a father but no mother....or parents who are unable to take care of their child. What I did not know before is that this is a place also that takes in older people, mostly women who havebeen widowed. To bewidowed in India is very hard. One really loses their place in society.

Thus this place is almost a perfect realization of God's beloved community: the older women, often widowed, are the "mothers" for the children,each mother in charge of one of about a dozen cottages. The place is beehive ofactivity....a bakery that provides all the baked goods bread, etc, a place for making crafts that can be sold, a boys hostel and then a very good K through 12 school that is run by the orphanage but is open to children in the local community outside the Family Village farm.

The whole place is the realization of the dream of one woman. Ms Pauline King from England who came to INdia, found children living literally in the gutters and found the situation intolerable. This place, MBKG Panni, which is an acronynm for in Tamil language, children and old people living together as family....or for short, Family Village Farm, is her dream,her vision.

next post, I will talk about meeting our "sponsored" girl, Saranya,for the first time...

2008-10-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

women's cooperative, mico loans

2008-10-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

October 22nd. The theme for this day could be described in one word: empowerment. I took a trip to the town of Mallappally, 30K southeast of Kottayam. I visited several mission projects, supported by the Church of South INdia and its mission arm: Chuch Council for Children, and Youth care. First, I visited a women's cooperative...The scene: out in a very rural place, surrounded by rubber and banana trees, cows and goats, birds I could not identify...
I was led into a simple open air, concrete structure of no more than 20 by 20 feet. Inside were about 40 women all awaiting our arrival. Upon our arrival I along with my trusty guide Rev. Sam T. Matthew dressed in a cassock were escorted to the head table, where boiled bananas, and other Kerala delicasies had been prepared. People's sense of hospitality here is amazing.at all income levels. Then, through translation I learned about what these women are doing: They pool their resources...they will each chip in 10 rupees,about 20 cents and then oncea week, one person receives all 100 rupees, about 2 dollars. They haveopened up a bankaccount. They received fundsfrom the government,and are making micro loans. They are involved in organic farming...the coffee I drank with them, the milk in it came from the cow I saw as I came up the hillside....They are pooling resources so that each canhave three goats instead of one....

Later I visited a small store front operation that is making a protein enriched baby formula.
They thresh the grain, add peanuts, other grains and package into one quart size bags...This small operation, there were about ten women present, is owned by them. Problem is they have a loan they have to pay back with interest and the government which is buying the product at 20 rupees a bag (40 cents) is very slow on paying up. They are caught in a squeeze.

Picture: a bare block of a room, store front with pigeons freely coming in and helping themselves to their precious grain, a grinding and packaging machine and then baskets for threshing by hand...Rightly so, they seemed so pleased and proud of their work.
Again, words cannot convey the respect i have for these people who make do, with so little resources....This is a place where substitute teachers receive less than $3.50 from the government and pastors with no days off make $200 a month plus a parsonage...

This morning, Oct 24th I spoke to 1200 high school girls at a school assembly. they could not have been more welcoming and appreciative.

2008-10-22T23:41:00.001-07:00

Old Fort Kochi, Chinese fishing nets, 17th century Synagogue

2008-10-22T23:31:00.000-07:00

women holding the fruits of their labor: baby formula and women's mico loan coop

2008-10-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

women's cooperatives, micro loans, day care

2008-10-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

Oct 22 Wednesday. Today I went 30 k southest of Kottayam to the town of Mallappally to visit several mission projects supported by and

student addressing school assembly, Manfred Rothe blessing boy at orphanage at Ranni

2008-10-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

gateway to Hindu Temple, morning school assembly, houseboat on the backwaters at Kumarakom

2008-10-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Oct 20 The second monsoon has arrived. Lots of rain. Chronic power outages. I meet with the Bishop this morning to discuss our relationship between the UCC and the Church of South India. Then on to a mission site and I will be visiting with a headmaster of a secondary school later today. Took the auto rickshaw to get a good breakfast at the Arcadia Hotel this morning. Tallest building in Kottayam, with the restaurant on the top floor. Great view of the city.

Youth group forums, preaching in churches

2008-10-19T03:43:00.000-07:00

Oct 18-19 Unforgettable moments: sitting in a spare concrete floor room, power supply cut (as it often is here. This writing may be lost any second) I am participating in a gathering of about 20 youth from the local Church of South India where I just finished delivering my sermon.

Many of the youth had just come from singing in their choir, singing a good part of the Anglican liturgy and songs that would be familiar to UCC folks like "our God our Help in Ages Past" the words all in Malalayam....The singing was phenomenal and brought tears to my eyes. The Pastor's son played the organ.

So, here I am with these youth and the leader invited me to take questions from those gathered. Just amazing experience for me: Picture me sitting there in my white Cassock...An American, a pastor, not something they encounter every day...First, we talk about movies (they claiming their India made movies are better. Did not take issue on this point) but then we move into more gutsy topics: What is the meaning of the economic crisis in the states? How did it happen? and then still harder questions: What does it mean for India when American corporations outsource their jobs to India...( I talked about how these are business decisions. the Minimum wage of 7$ an hour is unthinkable here) and then all the profits stay with the share holders?

What is the spiritual temperature in the US? Why is it that Christianity, for the most part, has been inherited from the West and yet now Christianity seems more vital in India than in Europe or the states? I cannot fully convey the energy of these youth, the impressive framing and articulation of questions in flawless English (I am here in a very rural community, you can hear the cows and roosters as we visit)

They were just so interested....worried about their church because they see youth moving to schools elsewhere and leaving the community. They know many fellow citizens going to the US and they wonder about that decisions. I talked to the pastor's son, probably about 18 who had gone to school in the US but never felt part of American culture...

So much ambivalence here about America. I tell them: Do not take us as the model. Our consumer binge and credit cards have gotten many, many into trouble...

I find it hard to explain why all these encounters, listening to the choirs, talking with the youth in their groups, preaching in these churches and seeing the attentiveness of listerners (through a translator) are so moving.

Last night I had supper with one of the pastor's family. The mother has a Doctorate in Feminist Theology from San Francisco Seminary, The son is doing faculty development at 25 years old,their 23 year old daughter is a Economics professor. Simple, simple home. we sat in the dark much of the time. No power! But before dinner, we sang songs and they asked me to read from the Bible. So many miles, so many cultural differences separate us, and yet there is this faith we share.....

There is lively questioning about faith here too...the son wants theology to be more relevant to where people are, he thinks the Hindus do a much better job of having an attitude toward the care of creation...

What I like: the absence of irony, of apathy, and instead, the unashamedly joyful, and energetic way these folks express their faith....

The 23 year old daughter said, "maybe its because we don't have everything, because we have so many challenges that we need faith...."
There is much to ponder here....

Oh, and the youth in the church want to be penpals or email pals with the youth in our church at Plymouth...We shall see

visit to boarding house

2008-10-18T03:33:00.000-07:00

Oct 18 Saturday. Today I was taken on about an hour journey southwest of Kottayam to the community of Ranni, where the Church of South India, through Church Council Child and Youth Care (CCCYC) runs a boarding house for 82 young boys. These are boys either without parents or from very poor families who are unable to care for their children.

The purpose of the visit was the participate in a dedication of plans to erect a new structure for the home. I could see when I arrived tht the building was quite old and run down. I arrived with several pastors of the church of South India. Immediately, we were invited into the home of the manager, and his family. A very nice man named Sigu and his wife Susan Mathew whose heart and soul are deeply committed to this place and the welfare of the children.

I had rice cakes and boiled bananas, and a traditional Kerala gravy over the rice cakes and Kerala coffee.

After wards I was invited to sit at the head table for a ceremony of dedication of the plans for thenew building and a thank you to a generous benefactor from Germany.

Here iswhere the story gets interesting. The benefactor's name is Alfred Rothk from Germany. he is a sixty six year old man, partially crippled who has made reaching out to homeless or destitute children his life's passion. He told me this story: My wife to be, the only love in my life, was killed tragically in an accident witha truck days before we were to marry. for several years lost all faith in God, did notwant anything to do with God. Then some years later, he had a meeting with a shoe shine boy in Bogota Columbia that changed is life. He befriended this boy, and then for the rest of his life committed himself to supporting boarding homes andorphanages for chldren in Latin America, Uganda and India. These became the children he was never to have.

I sat nextto this manduring the ceremony, his english limited but his spirit and love so expansive.

He had "adopted" 12 additional boys in the orphanage. In a hot, humid room of bare moldy walls, no amenities at all, hecalled eachchild forward by name. Each one he placed his hands on their heads, held them and repeated their birthdays, saying to each one, "You are precious..."

Hard to convey in words, it was like a baptism....the moment was all but overpowering...here I am in he middle of rural India, with an gentleman from Germany who has so clearly decided that even though he lost the love of his life, he could give back to God nonetheless by his showering of his resources upon thishome. He comes to India, doesnot stay in a hotel,but stays here with this boys...to see him hobble with his canes...is to witness something of this man's spirit.

men and their fishing boat, women praying at dedication of school kithcen

2008-10-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

women cooking in the newly dedication school kitchen

2008-10-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.047-07:00

Oct 17 I had the opportunity to be allowed inside a Hindu Temple. A soft rain was falling here at the Temple, about 20 Kilometers east of Kottayam. At the entrance, the car driver asked if I would be allowed in. The person at the gatehouse said it would be ok, provided I take off my shoes and my shirt. Trousers only. I complied. I walked into what could be described as an interior courtyard....in the center of the courtyard was a small building, housing images of various goddesses. The interior room was devoid of any light except for numerous litcandles and oil lamps. a number of worshippers were lined up at the entrance of this dwelling, praying in their saris as the rain fell gently. I clapsed my hands together and prayed as well. Later, a priest or temple worker gave me, and other worshippers, a small banana leaf holding the contents of a pinch of oil and red powder. My companion who was with me annointed the center of myforehead with the red dye.

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I saw various statues of gods, elephants, some having been drapped in various colors and powders....the oil lamps burning were ubiquitous. I exited feeling grateful that these people had allowed a foreigner into their worship space....I found being in this space quite moving....As a companion who invited me to supper the other night said, "Indian people are just hard wired for religion."

Though I do hear from some of the theologically trained folks, a disdain at what they perceive as idol worship, not only other faiths, but Christians as well who prostrate themselves more readily before patriarchs and saints then to God or Jesus

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.046-07:00

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I saw various statues of gods, elephants, some having been drapped in various colors and powders....the oil lamps burning were ubiquitous. I exited feeling grateful that these people had allowed a foreigner into their worship space....I found being in this space quite moving....As a companion who invited me to supper the other night said, "Indian people are just hard wired for religion."

Though I do hear from some of the theologically trained folks, a disdain at what they perceive as idol worship, not only other faiths, but Christians as well who prostrate themselves more readily before patriarchs and saints then to God or Jesus

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.045-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.044-07:00

Though I do hear from some of the theologically trained folks, a disdain at what they perceive as idol worship, not only other faiths, but Christians as well who

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.043-07:00

Though I do hear from some of the theologically trained folks, a disdain at what they perceive as idol worship, not only other faiths, but

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.042-07:00

Though I do hear from some of the theologically trained folks,

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.041-07:00

Though I do hear from some of the

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.040-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.039-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.038-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.037-07:00

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I saw various statues of gods, elephants, some having been drapped in various colors and powders....the oil lamps burning were ubiquitous. I

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.036-07:00

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I saw various statues of gods, elephants, some having been drapped in various colors and powders....the oil lamps burning were ubiquitous. I

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.035-07:00

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I saw various statues of gods, elephants, some having been drapped in various colors and powders....the oil lamps burning were ubiquitous.

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.034-07:00

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I saw various statues of gods, elephants, some having been drapped in various colors and powders....the oil lamps burning were ubiquitous.

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.033-07:00

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I saw various statues of gods, elephants, some having been drapped in various colors and powders....the oil lamps burning were ubquitous.

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.032-07:00

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I saw various statues of gods, elephants, some having been drapped in various colors and powders....

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.031-07:00

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I saw various statues of

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.030-07:00

Around the courtyard like enclosure, I

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.029-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.028-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.027-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.026-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.025-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.024-07:00

Visit to Hindu Tempe

2008-10-17T04:04:00.023-07:00

Hospitality

2008-10-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Octo 16-17
so many meals, cups of coffee or tea are offered to me that it seems like I rarely dip into my wallet to eat! ON Thursday morning I visited a Mission site for people with AIDS and their family. Later in the day I visted a ministry for adults and youth who have cognitive limitations.

(By the way, I was joined by two women who are professionals in the field of working with persons who are challenged in this way. They are involved in a partnership between England and India on a practice of client centered approach to this work. I laugh: most of the people here when they see other Westerners almost think of us all being from the same country. You know, "your people")

IN each place, I am welcomed with tea or coffee, fresh fruit, maybe boiled bananas or fresh papaya. This morning, I was invited to the home of a Physician who runs the local Rotary blood bank. There at his breakfast table I enjouyed boiled bananas, a sweet rice cake that is shaped a bit like a flying saucer...

I wonder if one of the gifts of Kerala life that I will take with me is this experience of how much the giving and serving of food is part of the fabric of life here....Along the road, we often stop at some relatives house just for a visit....one enters the home, leaving their shoes at the door, then washes their hands and then we eat. No food coming in a plastic wrapper, nothing fast or bought of pre frozen, but all made, and prepared, and offered...
"Here, have another banana! Take another piece of cake"
How it is that the simple things of life, enjoying a cup of coffee and a snack with friends and relatives is what makes life worth living...There are many gifts that come to me from sub continent of Asia, but this is surely one I will cherish.

me with the children at the nutrition site

2008-10-16T02:15:00.000-07:00

me speaking at the Kottayam Rotary club

2008-10-16T02:02:00.000-07:00

Mission to the least of these....

2008-10-16T01:33:00.000-07:00

October 15
Yesterday afternoon found me visiting a church and goverment funded community development agency, serving the poor. This is a phenomenal shoe string budget operation, providing, assistance, and empowerment to some of Kerala's less advantaged citizens...The acronym, CCCYC...not sure what it stands for have five components: childhood educational programs, a feeding program, medical assistance and check ups, program for help for mother's
including neo-natology help, and something like our WIC program. Also these folks are helping poor folks launch their own businesses. One is helping them get started running a fish farm, another is a program where women get a few extra rupees by making and selling eco bags, that also encourages folks to not use plastic...litter is everywhere here...The feeling from what I am told is that private spaces are kept clearn, but the view is that public spaces are the government's responsibility...

I met with the leaders of this organization, was graciously offered tea and cakes....( I receive food wherever I go, the sense of hospitality here is extroadinary. Then we went into the rural back areas and visited one of the sites. At this site children who do not have an adequate diet, come after school andget a protein rich supper. I arrived at the site. Far off the beaten path. Road no more than a rutted trail, we bounced our way over. Little shacks, goats, chickens, cows everwhere....we arrived at the place. no more than a small cinder block structure, no water or electricity that I could see. food cooked over an open fire. And tons of children who found this tall white guy an absolute curiosity. They swarmed me....I went into the structure...the smell overpowering...But I was moved, by their warmth, smiles....

Oct 16. Today I visited an AIDS Mission, that issupported by Rotary dollars. This mission, called CASS, for Cancer and Aids Shelter Society, reaches out to AIDS families...providing education for the childen, offering pallative care for the dying, medical help, and advocacy to the government to procure medication. Again, I was amazed at what this place accomplished with so few resources. Human ingenuity. They had hooked up hoses to their compost pit to retreive bio gas for their cooking, I looked into working bee hives, ate from cinnamon and nutmeg trees. I peereddown into their well they are in the process of building buthadto be halted due to the heavy rains here of late. ...The staff was a diverse mixture of muslim women in traditional black attire, Christians and Hindus. Talk ABOUT PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS ALLEVIATE HUMAN SUFFERIng.

2008-10-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

School Dedications and Rotary meetings Oct 13-14. I came to India, in part, to be part of daily life. What could be a better glimpse into the fabric that holds societies together than attending the dedication of a new kitchen at a primary school and being at a meeting of the Kottayam Rotary Club. I will have to send pictures of the kitchen dedication because words will fail: This is not a kitchen in any sense of what we know in America, no kitchen in USD 497, not anywhere close...if our parents knew this was where their precious children's noon meal was prepared they would all rise up in indignation. Picture: nothing but a small 4 feet by 6 feet simple hut with a fire place and a kettle or rice prepared over the open flame. I along with several pastors, a photographer, the school headmistresses, teachers and all the children attended this inagural ceremony. This is a government supported school, but is a school f the Church of South India....We offered prayers at the kitchen, lit candles, to invoke the good spirits....Then after we lit the flame that will be the "stove" we all retired to the school where everyone had a glass of (I described the best I can) what can be described as a warm white milkshakes, made from rice noodles....

IN the evening I attended the local Rotary meeting where I was the guest speaker. WE began at 7 pm, with a half hour of fellowship. This means the men gathered around an open bar, had drinks while the women all sat in their chairs on the left hand side of the room. Not much mixing of the sexes here. very traditional mores.

I was warmly introduced. I then opened by bringing greetings from our Rotary group, presenting them with our Rotary banner. I spoke of my impressions of Kerala...said good things like I am not used to monkeys coming up to my car...said if you can drive here you can drive anywhere...then I talked about some of the challenges we face in the states, the economy of course but also the growing gap between rich and poor. Yes there are homeless people in our own community.

Many at the end said they could understand every word. Which I was glad of. what i have learned here is that many though they can read and write in english cannot speak it nor comprehend the spoken word. As the Rotary crowd tends to be better educated, most can understand english. The meeting was conducted all in english, much appreciated by me.

So many here have attachements to the states. One I spoke to worked many years in Chicago for Zenith, another's parents lived and work in St.Louis. There seems to be a fascination and delight that an American should show up here....

After the meeting we all ate....At every gathering of any kind there always seems to be food and plenty of it. All in all, a very good night, people here are so friendly and act as if my being here is a great honor. I wonder if we would return the same?

This morning I took an autorickshaw acros town for 50 cents so I could have an American breakfast at a hotel. Boy, did the corn flakes, black coffee and toast taste greart!

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A morning in Kottayam

2008-10-13T21:33:00.000-07:00

Oct 13-14. Even though it was raining last night, I was hungry and determined to go out and find a restaurant. I knew there was a middle eastern restaurant not too far away. A good portion of the population here has someone working in the gulf countries (much higher wages there) and so these folks are coming back and opening up eating establishments . It is hard to imagine the experience of walking here in the evening. Most important: take a flashlight. so you can see the pits and holes in the sidewalk (euphemism) and most importantly, people can see you. Also an umbrella, for we are getting quite a bit of precipitation. I did find a great place to eat, fried rice and chicken Kabobs....this morning I visited a local cafe for breakfast...India style. sweet coffe mixed with milk and spice and a piece of Chapptie bread. You are also offered some concoction to dip the bread into but I take a pass on that. when I get back to Kansas, breakfast at First Watch is at the top of the list.

From Rotary to school assemblies

2008-10-13T03:59:00.000-07:00

Oct 12th. I had been invited by the District Governor of Rotary to be his guest at a Friends of the Rotary Foundation gathering of over 400 Rotarians in Kovalam Beach. From no hot water and no AC, I spent the night in a plush hotel on the shores of the Arabian Sea. I awoke in the morning to witness 50 or 60 fishermen all holding onto a rope stretched out into the sea, singing Fishing Chanties songs, and pulling in the rope....
Later that day I was introduced as being from the Lawrence Noon Rotary group, Dist 5710 and was given a few minutes to speak. I shared my impressions of Kerala and expressed my enthusiams for the kinds of exchanges Rotary makes possible between our two countries...So many Rotarians invited me to their clubs, I could not accept all the invitations.

Today, I visited one of the premier, non govenment funded church supported K-12 schools. I arrived in time for morning assembly. Picture over a thousand students gathered in a courtyard, all in neat rows wearing uniforms, boys in one line, girls in another...We sang several Spiritual songs...all the children singing great enthusiasm. A positively moving experience. I was asked to lead in prayer and say a few words. They could not have been more responsive or welcoming.

Later I visited another school. I was sitting visiting with the principal when I heard this boisterous and slighly menacing voices shouting "Strike, Strike..." Right in the middle of this middle school, a band of college youth came barging through demanding strike. What did the administrators do? They immediately shut the school down.
I said later? Why didn't we call the police.

here is what I learned. the previous night the communist youth had an altercation with some of the youth of the fundementalist Hindu movement...one of the youth of the college, was heart in the disturbance...Now these communist youth were responding with a call to strike. No love lost between these groups to say the least. Why didn't the police come. Because they are paid by the government of Kerala which is communist and they would not come iscalled. So the leaders wisely shut the school down.
I share this because this is what is happening, and what I am experiencing, experienced today.
It was a first hand encounter with the fragility of the world....Keeping peace here is no assured thing....And yet the people here have been so kind, and so welcoming....

power outages and the economy

2008-10-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

Oct 10, as I write this from an internet cafe, I know the power my fail any moment. Sitting herein the past half hour we have already had two power outages. I wonder howa country like India can advance, with so many infrastructure components we take for granted: routine power outages and then a plan outage every night at 7:30 or 8 for a half hour. I live in a retreat center with no AC but with a fan. The rains have not been forthcoming this year, which means not enough water to generate the hydroelectric power for India's needs.

Everyone here when they find out I am from the US asks about the economy. There is very much the feeling here that India's economic vitality is dependent upon what happens in the US. I have a hard enough time understanding mortage back securities, and the like myself, let alone explain it to others whose grasp of english is limited. Had a wonderful trip yesterday up into the mountains to a ecumenical retreat center...got caught in a down pour, very dense forest, with tangled vines and lush vegetation. Stopped in a small town for cups of Chai in the afternoon. I am getting used to, sort of, being the only westerner, in the room or the town....

flying foxes, elephants and Hindu fundementalists

2008-10-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

Oct 9. IN the morning I visited various churches here in Kottayam, including a 16th century Syrian Othodox church. Architecture reflects Dutch and Protugaesse influence. IN the afternoon I traveled to the small rural hamlet of Aranmula. Along the way, we came across rows and rows of adolescent young men, marching in military formation, white shirts and a laterhausen type shorts, each carrying poles, sticks 7 feet long. Rev. George said, "these are Hindu Fundementalists. They very much believe Christians are foreigners in India...even though the Christians have been here at least since 4th cent AD. Rev. George, in cassock, slowly manuvered through the marchers. I asked him later if we were in danger. He said no. But that they do not like Christians spreading their gospel. Still it was an eerie experience. So frequently in India, along the road one encounters a political demonstration, or n outdoor religious service, Christian or Hindu. Rev. George said you can tell the Hindu's by the red dot in the forehead nd also their homes....
Later we visited a black smith who makes metal mirrors, an craft indigenous to Kerala passed down through the generations. While watching this man go about his craft I looked up into the bannana trees, palms and saw the largest bat I've ever seen in my life....These are the legendary flying foxes. What a sight. Three feet or more wing span. Spent time at Rev. George's in laws, they welcomed me into their modest home, had a traditional Keralan meal, fish curry, rice, fried fish. One of Rev. George's relatives very much wants to pursue advanced theological work in the states. He also directs children's ministry and very much needs materials for puppetry, etc.

Came home through the rain and dark, were slowed up briefly by an elephant in the middle of the road, with a child walking on top......I feel in the states we have lived in a bubble of safety.
families riding, mom, Dad and two children all on one scooter,no helmuts...back home they would be charged with child neglect. but this is India....moretocome

School visits and boat trip

2008-10-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

Oct 7. This day found me visiting primary schools in the rural areas with Rev. Sam Mathew, who is an overseer of the schools. The first school we went to was a one room, open air school, with one blackboard and benches for the children to sit on. About 30 children were gathered there, all in red uniforms, dresses for the girls, shirts for the boys. The Headmistress arrived late. Rev. Sam spent some time scolding her for her tardiness. Apparently, this is a government aided school, and the teachers and head of school pretty much have job security and can get away with showing up late.

I was asked to teach some songs, so I taught them Father Abraham had many kids...you know our VBS favorite...then I took them on a Lion Hunt. I am always amazed how kids are able to so quickly pick up a song, and repeat back the words after you. I really had them going and I thought, this is great fun!

Linda and I had prepared pencils and stickers for the children so I handed those out to great glee and joy. Everyone wanted me to past a sticker on them!

Picture the scene: sitting on simple benches, no amenities, no power, no books to speak of...crows and jays sqawking from the nearby palm trees, and a woman squatting for a kettle cooking over an open wood fire, preparing the children their rice lunch. I think I am living in a movie!

Later that afternoon I visited the Syrian Orthodox Seminary....this is a post graduate seminary of the Orthodox church whose roots go back to 4th cent AD and reportedly to St. Thomas the apostle.

First person I ran Into? a bright young seminarian with a Chicago bears t shirt. Turns out he is from Libertyville, IL and is well connected with the Orthodox church in Oak Park, IL where I used to live. the first American I had seen in two weeks! I shared with me why he chose a seminary in India, wanting to have this experience and learn about the religious vitality here...Same reason I am here.

Very strict seminary, 5 am morning prayers, no cell phones, computers permitted. The religious vitality in every part of this culture is amazing.

Oct 8
I spent the day with a host family, previously who had spoiled me with an American breakfast. We took an all day boat trip on the backwaters of Kerala at a place called Kumarakom, out on the largest lake in India, Vembanad. There is a labyrinth of canals, not unlike Holland, with rice paddies, banana trees, saw people washing their clothes in the river, pounding them on the cement embankment.

Stopped for lunch, at fried curry, prawns, fried fish, rice, all off a banana leaf at a riveside shanty. drank coconut milk out of a coconut, and even sipped a Toddy, a fermented coconut juice,
As the sun set I with this extended family of about 25, uncles, aunts, cousins, children of all ages sat atop the boat, singing bible songs, "Keep the Oil in my lamp burning, burning, ..." and then We shall overcome...I even taught them a few verses...Imagine it? me teaching the people of Kerala a song or two? These people are so filled with spirit and laughter,, their faith vibrant un self conscious, they unashamed of their deep love of God. There is much here to take home, to ponder...

Politically everyone here wondering with Obama will be elected because he is black. would America vote for a blAck person. also real concern about the US economy and the reprecussions for India...all their new found wealth is so connected to the IT industry.

Today I visit seminaries....I write this from an internet cafe, which there are many of, also happily bookstores in this town..Kottayam is a place of seminaries, churches and bookstores..

Oh, at night along the river so many little huts had candles lit up. apparently these are Hindus who light these candles to invite the gods of prosperity into their homes.

October 8

2008-10-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

weddings and funerals

2008-10-06T05:32:00.000-07:00

Before the sun became too oppresive, I took myself on a "let's get to know the streets of Kottayam" tour. For a person who prides himself on maps, roads, directions, I am still bewildered. There are no functional traffic signals, that I can tell, in this city of 180,000. Just roads that come at each other every which way including all the vehicular traffic, autorickshaws, beaten up busses, mopeds, competing with humans for every inch of asphalt. I am determined to get a city map. I asked my host Sam, "What's the name of this street we are on?" He says, "I don't know" No street signs? He says, "don't need them. I know how to get around" Sam has lived in NYC for a while. I say to him, new cliche: If you can make it in Kottayam, you can make it anywhere. Arundhati Roy says there is a wildness about India, not all tamed and made corporate like the West. I agree.

Today I went to a wedding in the morning. All in English, including opening with "Our God our Help in Ages Past" closing with the wedding March. An anglican service complete. The bride's family was Filipino. We laughed: We are both the foreigners here! WEll educated couple, he a Phd in mathematics in San Francisco, she a Physician.

Then the funneral was opposite experience. All in Maylayan, the local language here. A prominent woman, beloved school principal, had died suddenly at 74. Wife of one of the bishops. The little chapel, no AC, of course, was packed with people looking in through the glassless windows from outside. I was robed in my cassock, given a seat right in the center, in front of the open casket. I watched as loved ones paid their final respects. While this was happening everyone was singing hymns in Mayalan, like Nearer mY God to thee, with an intensity and fervor that struck to the bone. The religion, the culture here is so rich, deeply textured, so spiritually centered. I contrast this with some of the funnerals I have been asked to do, with relatives making inappropriate jokes, etc. Again and again, the lesson is drummed Home: its not about the individual here, our vaunted self expression, over and above tradition, the communal.

Mind you I know there is oppression and exploitation here too.....

In the middle of the service a priest leaned into me and said, "So where are you from?"
"Kansas"
"what is your name?"
"Peter Luckey"
"YOu are Congregational, aren't you? I came to your church. Isn't your associate Lew Hinshaw? I have a picture at home of you in front of your church"
Sure enough, the priests name was Nelson and he was at Plymouth in 2002. I wished I had recognized him right off. Anyway, he felt like my long lost friend. We are having supper together tomorrow night...Never thought my name would be recognizeable by anyone in this mass of humanity that is India...
Tomorrow I visit schools. the adventure continues....

Sunday in Kottayam

2008-10-04T23:37:00.000-07:00

This morning I awoke at 5:30 to prepare a sermon to deliver at 7 am at the Ascension Church here in Kottyam. At 6:45 I was robed in my newly taloried white cassock and ready for duty. When I arrived at the Ascension Church, an Anglican congregation of the Church of South India, I found a full house, a nave with a center aisle, all the women on the right side, men to the left.

The service was very Anglican, out of the book of common prayer, hymns with organ accompaning, mostly English tunes that would be very familiar to the Plymouth congregation.

This was youth Sunday. A number of youth were involved in leading worship, reading the lessons. All were very poised and well prepared.

I was then invited to preach. I climbed up a short flight of a spiral staircase into the pulpit, elevated about the people! How uncongregational! I was asked to preach on the cost of discipleship, the lesson of Jesus' anguish in the garden of Gethsamanae. At the end of the service there is no tradition of shaking hands in the vestibule, ready to receive your report card. All seemed intent, saw no nodding heads or youth eating Big Macs:)

Then eucharist. The congregation comes forward. Get this: the are served first, then the women! I thought this might be something we could try at Plymouth to boost male attendance:)

I was asked to serve the host, placing a wafer in each hand of the congregants, and saying, "body of Christ" I found this to be a very moving experience. While the organ played one of my favorite tunes (Ash Grove) I served. All these hands stretched out, supplicant, ready to receive. Always of course the right hand. Never eat with your left hand in India if you come here!

Yet, the emotion in those faces, the solemnity, ferverent in prayer...I was quite surprised how stirred I was. Spirituality, faith, religion is so very pervasive here...

Later I was invited to breakfast at the home of obviously a prominent family. A very attractive home, not large, but striking dark wood cabinets, portraits of the husband's parents, now deceased, looking down from above....veneration of those who have come before.

In anticipation of my coming, the family had prepared an American breakfast...And now this: the only place that was set was for me. corn flakes, omelette, toast, etc. Everyone gathered around the table while I ate. I felt almost ashamed. Lilly, the mother of the home said, "This is amazing. that a Father should come to my home(did not disabuse her of this title, it was working for me) and not only a Father but an American Father" You'd think she just won the lottery.

Again, the learning: the high respect here for spiritual leaders, coupled with a fascination of the US, and a deep admiration for America. I tried not to dissappoint. the teenage girls, three of them, sat off to the side, not invited to the table, and just smiled and watched. One of them had read the lesson earlier. We talked of economics, the presidential election. They had heard from their papers that Obama would probably lose because of his race. They wanted to know all about my family, my wife and my sons...
All in all, a good morning...how could not not feel this was after being honored so. Does cause me to wonder about how distasteful it must be for the world, when we proclaim we are the greatest country on earth, etc. A little humility would go a long way in this world.

2008-10-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

I returned to Kottayam after two days of travel into the mountains of Kerala. We spent one night in the mountain town of Munnar. Nestled in a high valley, 5000feet elev, this place is surrounded by steep mountain sides, the flanks of which are covered with tea plantations. I woke that morning to the crow of a rooster, and a tumbling mountain stream. Yet, this place of beauty is also a place of poverty: right outside my hotel room, are shanties, slapped together with corrugated metal and blue tarp.

At dawn I took a walk down the dirt road our hotel was one. You could see your breath. watching the day come to this corner of the world, children in their uniforms going off to school. I love seeing the children walking long distances on her road, the boys, often i tandem, their arms drapped over one another's shoulders.....men express affection much more easily here....and girls too enjoying the company of each other.

I am struck by how religious this land is, so many shrines, so many little temples to venerate Hindu gods nd goodesses and then in the same shrine, a madonna and child...why pick a God r Goddess? Why not hedge one's bets and have them all?

People here are warm nd kind. Even though many do not speak English they do smile and I offer a simple Namaste and the same is returned.

Now back in KOttayam, today I was the featured speaker at a womens conference. I was given gifts before I spoke. A woman whois a theology prof and also received a D. Min from San Francisco Seminary in feminist theology gave the introduction....I could not help but wonder how she integrates her theology with this very traditional culture.

tomorow I preach at nearby cathedral.....at a youth service. guess the time? 7 am!

Up in the mountains of Kerala

2008-10-02T05:31:00.000-07:00

Today, finds me up in the mountains of Kerala. I left the world of rice paddies and humid, tropical weather for the cool breezes of Kerala's mountain peaks. We are spending the night in the town of Munnur.....A long drive today and every time I begin to think I could be in the rockies, we make another turn...did I say that driving here is a nightmare?...and there is an elephant by the side of the road. Just a few minutes ago we passed on ridden by two young girls adorned with white flowers in their jet black hair...elephants and cows in the middle of the road, and vendors and all kinds of smells of cooking everywhere you turn. Tonight I am in a hotel in Munnur, the mountain town...no hot water, but yes roosters crowing outside my window as well as corrugated roofs of huts and shanties that hug this steep mountainside.

This is tea country...we passed through row after row of manicured tea plants, really a bush of about two feet high...on these very step hillsides.

Another day, more adventure

Welcome to Kerala

2008-10-01T04:24:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Kerala last night from Mumbai. Arrived late last night after I was met at the airport by Rev. Sam Mathew. I was put up at the guest house of the Diocese of South India. Simple and plan. No AC but a fan, and a screenless window that opens to the sounds of tropical India.

This morning began with a visit at Bishop Thomas Sameul's beautiful 160 year oldhome...reminded me of something out of the Bridge over the River Kwai. Huge 12 foot doors.... We had a lovely visit. HIs english is very good. He and has a son who lives in New Jersey.

This mornings task was going to a local tailor to have a cassock made for me....I am preachng Sunday at youth service I felt as if I had gone back a 100 years, this local tailor's business, with famiy members hunched over hold sewing machines...then itwas on to a printing press the first of its kind here, built and began operation in 1820....and it looks as if not much has changed fro then till now.

Attended a meeting of pastors to discuss what they are doin in their churches to respond to the global ecological crisis. I was invited to stand before this group of about 40 pastor, and after being adorned with a gold medallion necklace, was invited to offer my thoughts...I spoke about some of our efforts at Plymouth, and also confessed that our country has used the world's resources far out of disproportion to our population. One pastor at lunch said the US had tried to send their nuclear waste to Kerala.

Afterwards I was invited to lunch at the bishops house where his wife Lilly served us more food than I could possibly eat....I am eating all kinds of food I have never eaten before, curried fish, fried fish, and they have encouraged me to eat with their hands, as everyone else around the table was doing....This is really different....

Tomorrow we head to the backwaters of Karakurom, hopefully I will get in some birding...

People here are concerned about the economic situation in the US and know it affects INdia very much....more to come...

Tomorrow is Ghandhi's birthday and a holiday here....

Goddess worship

2008-09-29T22:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings again from Mumbai. I leave today for a two hour flight to Kochi where I will be greeted at the airport by Rev. Sam Mathew of the Church of South India

Last night I have the most fascinating experience. I was walking the streets south of my hotel, very narrow alleys, clogged with markets, women sitting on the ground cleaning fish from a basin, kababs roasting on charcoal, fruits and vegetables, and people everywhere.

I turned a corner and I ran into a procession of women and children and men too holding aloft a Goddess image, bright pink and adorned with beads, and then surrounded by candles...in front, the whole parade was being escorted by loud percussion, and other instruments....

How strange to be in a society where there is reverence for and celebration of a deity that I know really nothing about. Apparently this is the beginning of some of the Hindu festivals, a festival commemorating the victory of Good over Evil. I get that!

To top off the experience, where some young men setting off fireworks and waving wildly red flags (communist, I thought. Is this mixing church and state?)

Everything here overwhelms the senses, from the mold covered crumbling mansions, the french doors leading out to decaying balconies, to the smells on the street....
The adventure continues...
Peter

Mumbai, India, First Impressions

2008-09-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Mumbai at 3 am MOnday morning. OUr flight was delayed in Frankfurt with extra security procedures. The experience of walking out of the Mumbai airport at 3 am will not easily be forgotten. I muttered to myself the inevitable "Were not in Kansas any more, Toto"

After flying in a fuselage bubble for 18 hours, you are abruptly thrust back into the world, the world of India, of Bombay...it is a world of smells, humidity, and people everywhere at 3 am in the morning....cab drivers begging for your business...

I voted to splurge myself and pay 500 rupees about 13 dollars for a cab with air conditioning...never saw or felt the ac.

When I found my assigned cab the cab driver was sound asleep in the backseat. Wow, there's confidence! I wondered where my luggage would go, such a tiny car and then I got my answer: itwould be strapped with twine to the top of the car. this after I seemed to be the last person on my plane to retrieve his bags.

Well, were are off in the dark of the night, in this huge Asian city, driving through what appear to be slums, the driver dodging in and out of traffic, hitting pot holes. Did you remember I had luggage up top?!

At last we get into the neighborhood of the hotel. And guess what: the cab driver and his buddy are not sure where it is. So they began flagging down passers by...did I say there were tons of people out in the streets at this hour.

We are driving up and down side streets. And then I see it! This is it, I shout.

At 5 am now I am worn out and exhausted and ready for a bed. Mumbai will have to wait till morning. Today has been a day of taking pictures, walking up and down the streets, taking my pedestrian life in my hands.

There are some Westerners in this neighborhood but not many....A Portugese couple shared some ideas about things to do in Mumbai and then asked about the US presidential race. I will spare you what I said.

This whole adventure has me quite reflective....my mood alternating between scared out ofmy wits...God, it was good to see that Hotel last night, to realizing I have been given a great adventure.

more to come....

The adventure begins

2008-09-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

I am in the Kansas City airport ready to board for my flight to India. First Chicago,thenI leave Chicago at 8:45 tonight...then on to Frankfurt andI land in Mumbai at 1 am inthe morningon MOnday....Its a beautiful day here in Kansas which reminds me of how much I will mis s home.
Peter

2008-09-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

This was our cabin in the Indiana wilderness....

September 15 - First Entry

2008-09-15T19:50:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my blog...in process. Here is an early part of my sabbatical -- in Southern Indiana. Wow, huh?

2008-08-15T14:30:00.001-07:00

Coming Soon!