Sunday in Chennai

Reverend Peters and his wife, the parents of our Dean for International and Off Campus Programs, invited our class to their church and lunch at their home this Sunday. So we loaded up the vans, driven by our two trusty drivers who have taken us all over Chennai and parts of Tamil Nadu, and headed out from the Hotel Breeze at 8:30.

We arrived at the church around 9:30 and were greeted by Reverend Peters who led us to our front row seats and oriented us to the morning. The church began to fill and by 10:00 the church was filled to capacity with additional seating outside on a side patio.

The congregation is mostly Dalit (Untouchables), according to the pastor, and Tamil speaking. The church was in the Church of South India denomination, which resulted from a merger of the Anglican, Presbyterian, and a few others earlier this century. The service followed an Anglican style format, with various readings, prayers, and congregational involvement. A highlight of the service was the music. In addition to hymns, there was anthem by the choir and then three young women played a violin trio, followed by a contemporary Christian song in English!



At the end of the 2 hour service, the pastor read announcement and then invited the Bethel group to come forward and share a song (luckily, we were prepared). So students sang and then the pastor and elders came forward and placed stoles of hand-woven material around each of the necks of both students and professors. Reverend Peters told us that is normally only done for visiting Bishops or other high ranking visitors. We were really touched.

After church, we went to the Peters house for a lunch of south India food served on banana leaves. We had the warmest time of fellowship. Reverend Peters sang with us. He took us on a walk through his neighborhood. We felt blessed.

January 15, 2009

Ah, Ideal Beach. What an appropriate name. The Bethel India group arrived at Ideal Beach Resort last evening around 6:00 (almost exactly the time that was predicted by “Dr. J.”). The drive to Ideal Beach was quite the experience—two-way roads become four-way depending upon how many bicycles, motorcycles, buses, auto-rickshaws, cows, pedestrians, semi-trucks, cars, and vans were trying to crowd into the same space. Our drivers were magicians as they wound through the traffic (not to mention the Pongo festival crowds that jammed the streets of the villages through which we drove). The most common quote from the trip so far is, “I could never drive here.”

On the way to Ideal Beach we had four interesting stops: a village of extremely poor shoe-menders (they are Dalits whose traditional job was to mend shoes, a very low status job in India) whose lives have been greatly improved through the work of microenterprise project that allowed to buy water buffalo which they milk allowing them to sell 10 cans (20 liters each) of milk per day; a village with a wonderfully intact 7^th century Pallava Empire temple; a village of weavers who make the most intricately designed saris; and, lastly, bird sanctuary with about a zillion birds (the highlight of this visit was drinking milk from green coconuts and chewing on fresh sugar cane). The first village was a real highlight. We were met with women carrying saffron water on which a cube of burning camphor floated. They poured this out at our feet. The symbolism of this was to wash away all our troubles and misfortunes. They then took us through the village showing us their houses, buffalo, and much more. It was an incredible time with the warmest most generous hospitality. Afterwards, a leader of the women’s self-help group spoke and told us that many government workers come to see them, but this is the first time that a group of kind American young people has come just because they want to visit. She went on to say that we made this the best Pongo (Tamil New Year) of her entire life. Wow.

Ideal Beach is a beautiful, idyllic break which has refreshed us all. Some just sat by the ocean and enjoyed the tumultuous scene (much to rough for swimming). Others lounged by the pool. About 2/3’s went on a tour of three incredible temple sites from the 7^th century. Still others enjoyed a dance and music presentation in the temple that is part of the Pongo festival.

So, Ideal Beach is a time to rest up and be refreshed. There has been time to pray, journal, and just enjoy one another.

Tomorrow we head back to Chennai for four more days of visits and experiences. So far we have been able to meet highly successful business execs, equally successful women who are pulling themselves out of poverty through their self-help projects, an incredibly committed eye surgeon who is dedicated (along with many others) to end unnecessary blindness in India within his lifetime, and so many other people. The experience has been eye opening.

Chennai, finally!

Well folks, here you have it-the first post from Chennai, India. We finally arrived in this bustling city around 2 A.M. Saturday, January 10. After sleeping for almost three hours, we went to work at 9 A.M. Saturday morning. Our first day in India included a visit to the poor areas of the city and interacting with the people there, as well as lunch with the Vincent Peters' family. This city is fascinating. It is so BUSY here. People are EVERYWHERE. The streets are packed with people, cars, bikers and buses. Even at four in the morning as we flew freely through the streets, people were everywhere. In fact, our group was welcomed to India with hundreds of people standing outside of the airport, waiting for family members to arrive. The city of Chennai is strikingly dirty. As we drove down the streets, we could see piles of trash everywhere. We asked questions about why there is so much trash everywhere and why it is not collected. While Chennai is dirty, the people here are so beautiful. It amazes me that the people here desire to look like us Americans when they are so beautiful. Thick black hair and beautiful skin surround us. Chennai is also so colorful. The houses and buildings have many different colors, very diverse in shape and form. I also have found that dozens of people would die if I were to attempt to drive here. There are no traffic laws. People drive, bike, or walk where ever they would like. Lanes on the road don't really exsist. Wild, wild. At night, the traffic lights are ignored.
Saturday was an interesting day. Despite being weary, our visit to the "slums" was incredible. The poverty was unreal, but I found it difficult to be sad because the people living there are so happy. The children were fascinated by the cameras and giggled wildly when we showed them their own picture we had taken. The people residing in the slums wanted all of us to see everything they had. They were so proud of the tiny little they possessed. Vincent Peters' family was so welcoming and generous. The food was delicious and they blessed us each with a gift of a sari or a shirt for the men.
Today was also a good day. We broke off into different groups and attended church with different Indian students who reside here. After church we had the opportunity to spend the day with the students. My mind was overflowing with questions. The students all know English, being taught it in school.
It is so interesting to finally see a different culture for my own eyes. India looks like the textbooks and movies. It's hard to understand that we are actually here, halfway across the globe! This city has a pluthera to teach us.

Life in Dubai

Well, after flight delays the group arrived in Dubai at around 10 PM on Tuesday. We can not get out until Friday at 9 PM (around noon your time). So we will stay in Dubai in a hotel. We talked to flight attendants who gave us lots of good ideas about what to do. Students are quite excited about this added stop for the trip. The instructors are worrying about changes to the schedule and so forth. But all will work out.

The airport is incredible. All new, marble, and huge.

All are in good spirits. Unfortunately, the puppy was packed in a suitcase so no one was able to accompany it to Dubai.

Oh, by the way, only Jennifer has her luggage. We are assured the rest of us will have ours shortly. So, we are all pretty "ripe."

Keep praying.

The Night Before

After last night's banquet and warm introduction to India by Dean Vincent Peters, this has been a day for preparation, packing, repacking, and making sure that all i's have been dotted and t's crossed. And still, we know that we will find surprise after surprise on this trip. With God's help, good humor, and lots of flexibility these surprises will turn out to be some of the best learning experiences.

Tomorrow at 12:30 we invade the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport and check in for the first leg of our flight to Chennai. We leave for JFK at 1645, then onto to Dubai, and finally land in Chennai at 0810. After three hours of rest we are off to Madras Christian College for an afternoon with students and faculty. No rest for the weary!

We are accompanied on this trip by our own little care puppy (the photo is not the real puppy; look for future photos with the puppy in action). This puppy, which is now called India Bear Dog, is to accompany a student each day to encourage and snuggle with them. The student is to journal the puppy's experiences in a small notebook that is hung around the neck of the puppy. The first puppy friend is Lisa Steen who is to pass on the puppy to a new student friend who will keep it until we reach Chennai.

So, we are off to a good start and lots of learning. Keep us in your prayers!

January 3rd - Nala Pak

Tonight we ate dinner at Nala Pak Indian Restaurant. We had our first sampling of Indian cuisine, received our India Visas, and went over trip details from Dr. Vincent Peters, the Dean of Off-Campus Programs who planned all of the activities while we're in India! We are excited, prepared, and ready for this wonderful adventure to the other side of the world!

[We will be updating this blog daily (based on internet availability), so please check back often!]