PEOPLE

     Some words I would like to share with the people I met and came to know while in India. Some of them may never actually read these words but they need to be said:

     My friends from Orissa: You have endured so much already, may God give you the strength and courage to go back.

     To Don: your family may have turned their back on you and thrown you out, but you have a heavenly Father who will never leave you.

     To Sonam: I will continue to pray that things will work out for your father and the house the government kicked him out of.

     To Basant: Your English is not so good, but I have so much respect for what you feel God is calling you to do. Don’t hesitate.

     To Gerin: You never cease to crack me up. Your story was so moving, God healed you so that you can be an instrument of healing to the world.

     Mitendra: So sorry to hear about your parents, so glad you shared your story, God redeems every tragedy.

     T.S. Sam: Congratulations on you daughters marriage, thanks for letting me tag along.

     To Guunjen: I am sorry your family kicked you out of your home for becoming a Christian, I hope your new brothers and sisters in Seharampur can help to fill that hole.

     To Kajal: Thanks for teaching me some Hindi, you are a wonderful teacher.

     There are many others that I met who were aboslutely amazing people. There are many sad stories, and may inspiring ones too. Each name is a life and a series of stories. I have been privelaged to be a part of some of these stories halfway around the world. Several have said to me, "I will never forget you". That is one of the most humbling things anyone has ever said to me. To them I would respond by saying:

     "It has been an honor to be a part of your story..."

WEDDING

Well, one of the professors at the school I was staying at has a daughter. This daughter was getting married. This professor was teaching his classes like a good professor and looking after us Americans while he was planning and preparing for said wedding.

The tall guy in the middle with the white shirt is the happy groom, I am the slightly shorter guy on the left with the white shirt. The guy immediately to right of the groom in the light blue shirt is the father of the bride and the professor I talked with who gave me the official invitation.

He had a lot on his plate, not to mention whatever emotional stuff he must have been going through at the time as well. I was fortunate enough to have the timing of the wedding line up with the timing of my departure from Delhi, so I received an official invitation. I was officially invited to this Indian wedding.

This is the church where the wedding was held. It was built in the 1930's during a time when Muslims were in power in this area of Delhi so the building reflects the Muslim influenced architecture could be seen in many buildings constructed during that time.

I left the college where I had been living for almost six weeks at four in the morning. It had been my home away from home during that time. I was surprised, therefore, that when I left there were no tears of leaving. It’s not that I was glad to be leaving or anything, just that I was glad to be one step closer to my real home… my wife and son. On previous trips over the past ten years or so, I have had a chance to build strong bonds with the people I was working with. On this trip the people I was working with (the Americans) were already gone; and there were so many students, and so many classes I ended up teaching that I did not really get a chance to form bonds with any one group of kids… So leaving was not difficult.

It was so hot in the church that they actually had guys walking up and down the isles offering water to people sitting in the pews. I, being the smart American traveler who knows what to eat and drink and what not to chose to sit in my sweat without relief.

Anyways, this wedding was a Christian wedding, so it did not have all the trappings of Hindu tradition, otherwise the celebration would still be going on. Their ceremonies last a long time, and everything is pretty formal. There are usually four or five ministers present at the wedding, and each have a specific role in the service. For this wedding there were three sermons… yeah three. I arrived a little late because my ride got stuck in the Delhi traffic. After finding out what I missed I was sort of okay with being late.

The bride and groom just after they exchange vows. Thought the bride looked angelic in this shot.

Some parts of the wedding will be different depending on where in India you are from. I was fortunate that the father of the bride is a little progressive in his perspective on things as he was educated in America. So a service that in some places in India will be as long as five hours, was only two and some change. The reception was interesting in that the Bride and Groom sit on a platform and smile for hours as all (that word I just typed is not to be taken figuratively) All the guests line up and approach the platform with their wedding gift. Once on the platform they pose and smile for the photographer and then hug and walk off the platform. This process goes on for almost the entire duration of the reception.

The happy couple after the ceremony. I am pretty sure they are smiling because they are finally able to step outside where it is at least ten or fifteen degrees cooler. Also, their wedding ceremony is the most amount of time they have ever spent together.

The bride and groom hand out little favors to each guest and say thanks for coming, and the guests pose and smile… even me… yup, I had never met them before but I got my picture taken with them. (Top photo) One other unique thing about this couple that American’s would find appalling: this particular couple had met for one hour about month before they were married and that was it. That is right arraigned marriages are alive and well in India. This couple was fortunate to get an hour; most are much less, and some never meet beforehand.

BRICKS

So I went to a pretty remote village. Most of the structures there were straw and/or mud; there were a few that were brick. This again was a village of people who are considered to be outside of the caste system, or Dalits, also known as "untouchables". There were just a couple of structures that had electricity. The government provides bricks to these people to help them build homes that will last through the monsoon season. It is part of the the government's initiative to help these people.

A partially used stack of bricks sits in a vacant area of the village waiting to be used up by the people there building homes.

According to Orthodox Hinduism. These people are not considered Hindu's because they are outside of the caste system. They are below the lowest caste. They cannot participate in any temple worship, or make any offerings to any gods, or even go into a Hindu Temple. Christianity comes along teaching things like '...there is neither slave nor free, Jew nor Gentile...' etc... and it appeals to people like the Dalits who have nothing and live at such a low station in life.

This one room building is the village church. There are bricks on the ground just to the left of the door; these bricks will be used to build a small room on the side for the children.

In this village of about 300 people there is a small temple or shrine made of mud. Inside is the village deity. This is how just about all rural villages in India are; each one has its own shrine to its own deified spirit in addition to the more well known gods like Shiva. Christianity came to the village just a few years ago for the first time, and the people seemed to gravitate towards the teachings of the Bible, and the person of Jesus. When it came time to build a structure as a place for the Christians to gather, they decided to build it with bricks. It was a statement, Jesus is here to stay.

Two children are playing with the dishes we ate off of for lunch. Though it does look like they are arguing right??...

It is an interesting phenomena is the Indian ID card. On the ID card is place where you delcare what religion you are. Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim or even Sikh, even though that is a sect of Hinduism. The Dalits, as Hindus, get government grants for many things. They can go to school on the government dime, they receive bricks to build homes, they often simply get checks from the Indian government so they can live (India's version of Social Security.) They do what they can to keep people Hindu in order to preserve their ancient heritage and culture.

I am standing outside one of the straw homes in the village. Inside was a sick elderly couple and their grandson. He was taking a break from the mid day heat before going back into the fields to work.

That is of course, as long as the ID card says Hindu, (or Sikh or Buddhist, since Buddhism started in India). If a Dalit becomes either a Christian or a Muslim, he or she is no longer considered outside the caste system and is therefore no longer eligible for government support. So a Dalit actually gives up a lot to walk away from Hinduism. Once a Dalit becomes a Christian he or she is dependent on the Church community for help in times of trouble because most Hindu's refuse to help non-Hindu's.

Children outside their home on beds.

Now in this village there are 20 baptized believers and several others who attend but are not baptized, out of 300 people. The pastor here earns at most the equivalent of $80 per month. He has no formal education, but he loves the people here and that is why the people here will listen to him.

• The village still gets bricks delivered, for now.
• The people survive.
• They somehow get by at way below the poverty line... the Indian poverty line.
• Their farming does not pay well; it is barely enough to live on.
• Yet I have not seen as many smiles on faces in Indians as I did that day in that church.
• It makes me wonder what Jesus gives these people that they don't get somewhere else.
• Is it real or just a perception?

AJAY

His story begins something like this. Ajay was brought up in a Brahmin family. He was high caste. His family was poor but they knew they were set up well for their next life. Ajay, when he was just five or six years old heard about someone named Jesus whom he had never heard of before. What he heard about Jesus sent him on a long journey of discovery. One problem though; being from a high caste family few people were reluctant to share with him because of the potential consequences. Ajay had several friends over the years who knew about Jesus but not enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Ajay's two kids Appu (boy in blue) Kushi (girl in pink and white) and sister-in-law Kami in the dark blue.

In his early teen years, his mother became very ill. Ajay remembered a story from the Bible where Jesus had prayed for forty days. So Ajay committed to pray for forty days for his mother's recovery. On the fortieth day he went to his mother and asked how she felt. Turns out she felt good. They went to the doctors for a check up and there was no sign of the illness. Some time later, his father became ill, and again he prayed. The Doctors told his father he was dealing with kidney failure and did not have much chance to live more than 35 days. Again after Ajay prayed his father was healed and went on to live a very productive life.

At this point Ajay would say that Jesus was the god for him. As a Brahmin, they were very devoted to the Hindu form of worship. Many people pray to many gods. Jesus seemed to be the god who answered his prayer so Jesus was his god. Several years went by and Ajay continued his search for more understanding of who Jesus is at this point Ajay himself got very sick. It was the same sickness his father had. Ajay developed Jaundice, he had to quit his job and return home. His parents were so poor that there was one point where all they had for sustenance was the water that was left over from cooking rice at his uncle's restaurant.

Ajay and his family. On the left in blue is his wife's sister, next to him his wife, and his two kids are in front. It is uncommon for a family to take care of the wife's family if there is a need. Usually the familial connection is to the husbands family. So inviting his sister-in-law into the home to provide her with an education is uncharacteristic of a Hindu, but very characteristic of a Christian.

Ajay had been so sick for so long that once again he turned to his god, Jesus and prayed for healing. The night he prayed, he had a dream. In the dream he was slapping Jesus in the face. Time after time right hand then left hand. Then he noticed a tear in Jesus’ eye. He stopped and asked Jesus why he was crying. Jesus said, you always come to me and ask me to bring healing. Ajay replied, “yes you are my god, you are the one for me you act when I pray so of course I pray to you.” Jesus said, “But, you only come to me when you need something, you also honor other gods. I want to be the only God for you. So while still dreaming Ajay figured he was going to die anyways so he might as well tell Jesus that he would live for him only until he died. Jesus accepted his word and when Ajay woke up in the morning he was completely healed.

What is so uncommon about Ajay's story is that it is not uncommon. Stories like this are actually quite common. Miraculous healings and visions of Jesus are thought of as normal by most of the people I have talked to over these last weeks. Why is it we do not experience these sorts of things in America, or hear them from Americans???

BHAGWANPUR

I went to another school in a town called Bhagwanpur. This is a very overcrowded school now and it has a short but impressive history. It started as just a three room school not too far from its current location with just twenty three students. Two rooms were classrooms and one was an office for the teachers. After just three years the school became packed with just over 60 students crammed into their two small rooms. With an increasing demand to take more students they needed to find a new facility.

Their current building became available to rent and so they took the opportunity to move into the new location which had ten or twelve rooms that could be used as class rooms as well as a few offices. The school currently is running around 500 students form K through 8th grade. Their current class size is about forty to fifty students per class.

The Indian people value education so much so that if there is a chance their student can attend classes in a non-government school they do anything they can to get their kids in. It just so happens that the schools that are run by Christian organizations have the best reputation for education so they are the most sought after schools. This one is so full that they are in need of moving again and they have only been in existence for six years.

They have purchased a plot of land that is about two acres in total. The plan is to build something similar to what was built in Pathrie. A large three story complex with classrooms and some offices. And then build some housing for teachers and administrators as well.

One thing that set this school apart from Pathrie however is that this school also has an orphanage as part of the ministry to the community. They only have room for 30 kids. They actually call it a children's home. Each group of six to ten kids has an adult couple that cares for them. The idea is that each couple acts like parents to these kids and each kid is like a sibling to the other in their "family". They try to create some semblance of a family for these little ones.

I walked into one of the rooms while the kids were in class as part of a tour I was getting of the facilities and started crying. (No one else was around me). I don't know who the kids are who slept in that room, I don't know their stories, I could not point them out in a crowd, or if they were standing in front of me, but I cried for them. No child should ever be thrown away. What does it do to a child and later on as an adult to know that some one cared just enough to not abort them but not enough to care for them personally. I know that this is not the case for many of the students but it for some. I have personally heard enough stories to imagine what some of the stories in this room might be like.

This is the land that was purchased for the new facility. It is a field today, but hopefully in another year or two they will have the money to build at least the first floor of their dream.

I walked out of the building not wanting to leave. I really wanted to see the kids when they got out of school and give them a hug, and tell them that even if no one else loved them, that Jesus loved them. But I the reality is that two minutes with me is not going to change things for them. It might make me feel better, but it does nothing for them. The heroes here are the couples who have dedicated themselves to bringing up kids who are not theirs to understand the love of God.

This is one of the bedrooms at the Children's home. It is right next to the school. You notice their beds are neatly made and on one of the beds, (it is hard to tell) there is a Bible sitting there. These kids have very few if any personal possessions. To have your own book is a big deal especially if it is a Bible.

No one else in their society is concerned about showing them this kind of love. Not even their own family members. At least the Muslims will care for extended family when they are in need; even the Sikhs, a Hindu reform group which started about 600 years ago will care for extended family who have fallen on hard times. But if you are a Hindu and you fall on hard times it is because you deserve it. And children sometimes pay a high price for this. I am so thankful for the people in these schools and homes who are dedicated to the next generation of Indians.

I don't remember his name, even if I did, I would not be able to pronounce it or spell it, but this man is a teacher in the school and he is one of the house parents as well. He and his wife have two kids, plus the children in the home. I don't know his name but he is a hero to me.

WASHED

As we walked along the bridge that crossed the Ganges river we were able to see the full breadth of activity that surrounds the Ganges myths. People will travel thousands of miles for the chance to dip in the Ganges at this specific place on the river. This river is holy to them; not just because it has the cleansing effect of their souls, but because the river is an actual goddess. When they step into the river they are immersing themselves in the goddess Gunga. They wash themselves with the goddess Gunga who takes their sins, also called bad Karma, with her down the river.

A man begging on the side of the road on our way to the river

Much of the Hindu beliefs and traditions center around the role that the Ganges plays. As I watched I tried to get my mind around the fact that people have been coming to this river to wash away their sins for centuries even millennia. I wondered to myself:

• What are these people thinking as they step into the river?
• What are they thinking as they throw water over their shoulders?
• As they strip down to their underwear and wade into the cold mountain waters do they think about what it feels like to be completely surrounded by a deity?
• Do they genuinely believe that this river is a goddess or do they wash simply wash out of tradition?

The poor and homeless walk side by side with those who are well off. Both equally need to wash in the River.

There was a man there who had set up a tarp tied to a tree. This is where he would live during the pilgrimage season. Typically he is naked but at the time we were walking by he had a towel wrapped around him. He is thought of a more holy because he walks around naked and goes into the river naked. He sets up a make shift home next to a goddess, so that he can be close to her, and wades into her naked so that he can be closer to her than anyone else. For this, he is holy.

• I wonder what people are searching for.
• I wonder if they find it.
• I wonder when they lay their heads on their pillow or their mat at night if what they think to themselves.
• Are they grateful for the chance to step into the river… the goddess?
• Are they grateful and fulfilled for having their sins washed away?

In Christianity people are forgiven of sin by God. For the Hindu the goddess does not forgive sins she simply washes them away. It speaks to the relational nature of Christianity and the pantheistic and ritualistic nature of Hinduism. An unfortunate aspect of the lure of the Ganges is that the Ganges is also a good place for to make money. Not only are there a lot of beggars hoping to capitalize on people's generosity while they are in a religious mood, but there are countless venders selling items from containers to bring home the mystical waters of the Ganges the people selling henna tattoos.

These stores and shops are just a few of the hundreds of shops and vendors that can be seen along the river. So simply put out a blanket and lay out holy trinkets.

There are those who are simply there to make some money off those who are aware of their need to do good and take advantage of the giving mood that many are in as they go through their rituals. Ironically, a place that is set aside for religious devotion, is also a place that many as a time to make a buck, (or a rupee). And when they see white people they see dollar signs.

When you see women using their children as a means to tug on the hearts strings of visitors to compel them to give them some money it is difficult to understand the feelings that well up. Is it sadness or anger? Unfortunately, many times the money you give them does not actually go to them. Often they are part of a ring of people who are forced to do this by one a few others.

As I think about how sad it is, I am forced to acknowledge that churches or perhaps more accurately, Christian religious leaders in the U.S. do the same thing. The only reason it does not seem as sad is because the people they prey on are not trying to get their next meal. Some of the great works of serving the poorest of the poor have been done by devotees of religion, I think of Mother Theresa as one example. But some of the worst atrocities have also been done in the name of religion, the example everyone knows is the Crusades, but historically the Muslims were every bit as barbaric as the Christians. Definitely not a high point for either religion, or its leaders.

I was also struck at the dichotomy that I observed here. In one place set back from the river there were a couple of really nice hotels, and about a twenty minute drive from the river there were several really nice hotels. These hotels exist for the rich to come in from all over the world to wash in the Ganges, and then leave once they are “clean”. But to get to the Ganges they have to pass by the thousands who are stuck in dwellings that are nothing more than sheets of plastic that barely keep out the rain.

I thought that the Ganges was a place where people would go to have some kind of profound personal religious experience, but what I saw was a lot of families who had come to make a day out of coming to the Ganges. It was a family affair for many. Others were there to make some money. Still others were there out of tradition. But for whatever the reason, everyone was there to get something from the river. Everyone there had some kind of need that they expected the river could meet. For one a clean soul, for another, the people who would have money which could meet their physical needs.

OGDEN

My travel-mate Matt Ogden is from a traditional Christian background that is a little more reserved than the typical Indian Christian. He mentioned to me that some of his family and friends are reading along in “Meandering Thoughts of a Vagabond Ragamuffin”. So for all of Matt’s friends and family who are reading I wanted you all to know that Matt was actually “getting down” in a way that only Matt can during one of our Charismatic Spiritual Emphasis services. Here is video proof during one of the times of worship:

Yes... that was Matt getting into a Charismatic service!!!

FALLS

From the British graveyard we went to the home of some Americans who have been living in India for several years. They are friends of our host which is why we visited.

A picture of our gracious hosts on July 2nd.

The husband of this couple is a linguist currently learning his sixth Indian language so that he can translate official documents and other materials into that language. This language is spoken by about 50,000 people in a tribe in southern India.

A view looking south and down in the direction of where we came. From their balcony you can kind of get a feel of the steepness of the slope that this house and pretty much all the houses here seem to precariously sit.

The apartment house, sits on the edge of a steep drop off and was build in the late 1800’s for a British officer. It is a large building that is now a four level apartment with an orphanage on the top level. I guess the British officers lived pretty well. Their balcony has quite the view.

Up the road a little bit from their home was another impressive vista. In the post "Graveyard" I mentioned that the cows are everywhere, the even walk the streets like pedestrians. In the photo to the right, you not looking at mountain goats... those are cows.

After our visit and our lunch we went to a popular tourist area (though we were the only white people there) to see a huge waterfall tucked away in a ravine between mountain slopes… It is not a tourist trap in the sense that mostly westerners are there. It is a beautiful waterfall close to 100 feet high though main cascade is about 40 feet high. Kempty Falls, as it is called, is a place for people to find some fun and relaxation. Think of some of the naturally formed sites in New Hampshire or elsewhere. At some point someone saw this spectacular waterfall and then saw an opportunity to make some money.

The traffic was so bad and the roads are so narrow, that we were stopped about a mile from the falls to wait for the traffic to get going again, and even then it moved really slow. We took the opportunity to get in a few pics.

That being said, the people enjoying the water did not seem to mind at all. What we all observed was that the men when into the water in basically their underwear. The women however, wore their full traditional Salwar suit. There were a couple women who were progressive enough to wear shorts and a T-shirt, but nothing like the guys.

You can barely see that the bottom of this picture but there are people swimming and splashing in a small pool that has been built up at the base of the falls. This picture was taken on a bridge which crosses over the water as it flows into other pools further down the mountain side. This, as you can see, was a pretty popular spot.

The falls have been an attraction for people for more than 150 years dating back to the time when the British controlled the area. In fact even the name "Kempty Falls" comes from the British name for the place, "Camp tea." There is one road that goes through as you can see from the wide shot above. So traffic moves very slowly. Most people simply park by the side of the road and walk, which is what we ended up doing.

Here is part of the small market area that you have to walk through to get to the base of the falls. It's a good spot to do some shopping if you want to purchase some over priced souvenirs.

The long windy drive back down the steep mountain roads was quieter. The monkeys and cows and random pedestrians were things we had all seen before, so there were much few pictures being taken. We had a good dinner and slept very well that night...

ONE

So there is now less than one week left until I leave for India. The money has been raised. In fact in total you have helped me come up with more than I needed for the trip, so thank you so much for the love. I have gone out and purchased many of the little things I will need to get through my stay in Derhadun.

I have a gift for my host. Can you believe he asked if I could bring coffee... Starbucks or Dunk'n donuts coffee. Take a wild guess which one I got. He also want peanut butter, creamy peanut butter. Well, he is going to get Christmas in June when I arrive.

My flight will be interesting. I have a short flight from Boston to Newark on Monday afternoon, then my flight for Deli leave Newark at 8:30pm, Monday Evening and arrives in Deli at 8:15pm Tuesday evening. My flight is about fourteen and a half hours, but it will take about twenty four hours of time.

Big thanks to my home church Common Church in Boston for the generous gift to cap my fundraising efforts to get to Deli. You guys are great! I got a late start to the whole fund raising efforts but God has demonstrated his goodness toward a ragamuffin like me...

There have been times in my life where I was pretty sure that what I was doing was the right thing for me to do. There have been times when I did not know but I went ahead anyways and it turned out okay. There have been very few times where I was absolutely convinced from the very core of my soul that I was supposed to be doing what I was doing. Going to India is one of those core conviction times. It is only six weeks and a couple of days, and I may never go back, but I know at least for this time it is right.

I should also give a huge thanks to my wife Sara for her support too. If she was not okay with this I would likely have to change my degree program and do something else. Thanks for everything Sara. Keep and eye on Samuel for me, and try not to let him walk until I get back.

Just a Meandering Thought...