Back In the States

Thanks to all of you who have followed by travels. I am back in the States with one more leg of my trip to go - Detroit to Harrisburg.

The trip went well. I had two side seats to myself from Amsterdam to Detroit. That is always nice.

Much was accomplished on this journey. It was really good to learn more about a work in India and the wonderful people who are doing it. It was also very special to spend time with a group of leaders, many of whom I knew from previous experiences, who help to interface the work of an NGO with the work of the Church in that part of the world.

Blessings to you all.

Greetings from Amsterdam!

The trip is going well. I even slept for a good portion of the night. I am now back in the same spot I was in several weeks ago when I made one of my early posts.

I trust the best for the remainder of the trip. Thanks for all of the comments from Facebook.

Back in Delhi

I had a good flight from Kokata to Delhi this morning. All of my travels have been good with very little trouble along the way. For this I am grateful.

This has been a full day of making stops around town to pick up items people had requested back home. I didn't shop much in Kolkata when others did, because I knew I was coming back here for that purpose.

My flight leaves at 12:50 a.m. on the 28, so I am working on getting a good nights rest tonight before the journey home. I arrive home at 4:00 p.m. with a nine and a half hour time change. It should be an interesting trip.

I mentioned a meal in Kolkata in another post. Today I have eaten in a different style of restaurant. South Indian with the food being cooked right out front. A great "Thali" or plate of food for a little over a dollar. It was spicy and very tasty.

Tonight I ate Dahl (lentels) and Rhoatee - a flat bread cooked dry on a hot piece of iron. The bread came piping hot from the kitchen. It was very good. This meal brought with it many memories of childhood here in India.

I am grateful to still speak one of the languages of India. The one waiter and I talked off and on through out the meal. We know each other fom previous visits here. We also enjoyed watching a football (soccer) match between the India and Sri Lanka National teams being played right here in New Delhi.

That is it for now. My next post will likely be from the States or while travelling there if something of note takes place. Blessings.

Finishing Up

Things have gone very well on this journey. Thanks to each of you who have remembered me and the team I am working with at this time.

We pulled the first outline of our report together and were able to share findings with the leadership of the work here. Tomorrow we talk with a further group of leaders related to this work.

With that accomplished the team starts to spread out to other assignments. Two head for Nepal for further work. One heads for South India and home. And on Wednesday morning I travel back across India to Delhi for a day. Then I too head for home.

It is a blessing to come along side ministries and to be an encouragement to them in their work. We trust that the work of these weeks will be an experience of "iron sharpening iron" as we press on in the tasks that are ours.

Pulling it Together

It is great to talk with people and get a big picture of all that organizations do in the midst of the work they are assigned to do. We have had a good time in doing this during the last days.

Now we are into the heavy part of the work as we seek to pull the things together and answer the questions, what did we hear and what does it say for the future?

Yesterday was a long day of conversation. Today we are at it again.

Remember us as we do this work. We want it to be for the best of all involved.

Pressings on!

The Rest of Our team

There are two of us from the US, one from Canada and one from India on this review team. Also in these pictures are those who work here in India and three young ladies who have just arrived for a year of service in India. It is quiet a group!

A Restaurant Experience

We have eaten in many different places during this trip. Our team had the oppotunity to go to Mocambo's here in Kolkata last evening. It is usually a lenghty process in most Indian restaurants because of the time involved with preparation of the food. The wait however is worth the time investment.

We arrived and sat around the table enjoying conversation.

After a while a special placemat was added to the area where four of us sat as we anticipated our evening meal.

The anticipation was clearly rewarded with a delightful and filling delight!

A Childhood Friend

We had taken a break for tea and I was out on the veranda with others. I noticed two women walking on the path into the guesthouse where we were for this set of conversations with an Indian church organization.

They walked by and then in a little while I saw them come back again and seemed to be looking strongly in my direction. It was one of those times when I found myself asking, “Do I know these people?”

They turned toward the veranda and then came in my direction. Soon I heard the question, “Kenny, you don’t know who I am, do you?” I knew immediately it was someone from my childhood when I was called “Kenny.” I thought quickly and tried to place the person. “You must be related to people with the last name of Strong,” I said. “No,” she responded, “Bennett.”

Here were Freda Bennett and her daughter, Natasha. Freda happened to be on the same train as a person who was coming to this same meeting. They started to talk and eventually he mentioned that I was also going to be in Kolkata. She decided she needed to try and make the connection.

I am so grateful she did. We had strong family connections from our childhood and it was so good to see her and her daughter now. I am so blessed to have friends in so many parts of the world! I never expected this connection to happen on this journey.

Doing the Work

We are here in India to do a review of the work being done by specific groups and those with whom they partner. These days back in Kolkata have had us in many conversations to this end.

It is good to talk with past staff members as well as those who are presently doing the work. It is also good to talk with significant people who are stake holders in the work of the organizations with whom we are having conversation. Each conversation helps us to see another facet of the work being accomplished.

A delightful time for us came in spending a few hours with the graduates of a specific program being operated here in India. We heard the stories of young women and men whose lives were transformed because of the opportunity for study that was afforded to them. Their joy and gratitude was a delight to experience.

Another special experience in hearing these many stories is that we have heard consistent accounts of the work being done. Of course there are a few words of critique and opportunities for growth and development. But again and again the responses of those we are talking with has given commendation. This gives a place of ongoing growth for the work being done in this part of the world.

The Banyan Tree

On the Road

Most times my trips to India involve travel by vehicle. The roads can be very good and/or very bad. We had the opportunity to travel on National Highway 7 as we drove south from Shamshabad some 100 kilometers to a center of work for one of the Mennonite Conferences here in India.

The National Highway system is not completed, but it is similar to the InterState system in the Unite States. These highways connect the major cities of India and provide a good system for the overland flow of truck and vehicle traffic. We moved along at a good pace and arrived at our destination as planned.

We met with a group of church leaders and discussed the inter-working of the NGO we are studying and their own work as a conference of churches. There was a rich history of experience in the lives of the people in the room. Interestingly they gave way to the eldest one among them as is so true of Indian culture. Even with this, however, as the elders spoke their piece the others then also entered into the conversation.

We had a good several hours of interaction and then we pushed on to the next community to have our noon meal together. I was looking at the menu and I saw that there was a difference in the menu based on Non-AC and AC. It did not immediately hit me what this referred to and then I realized – oh yes the air-conditioned part of the restaurant or the non-air-conditioned part. It was worth it to pay a little extra for the air-conditioning.

The temperature outside was close to 35 degrees centigrade (95 F) with a good amount of humidity. Walking in the sun brought the perspiration rather quickly. It wasn’t all that bad in the shade and the ceiling fans made most of the rooms quite comfortable. But air-conditioning was very pleasant.

After lunch we took time to see a junior college and a high school operated by our hosts. In the country of India, as in most of the world, an education is a crucial key to doors being opened to you later in life. The students we met and the faculty of the institutions were all strongly committed to the task of educating the mind through their educational activities.

Our hosts took us to one more place before we headed back to our lodging place. We headed out of town on another road and soon came to a restricted area where vehicles were no longer allowed. We parked our cars and went on by foot. Soon there was a park on our right. There sprawled our before us was a great banyan tree. We estimated the land to be around two acres. It was remarkable and beautiful to see.

Moving About India

I am in India interviewing people related to a service Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). These three letters are used in many parts of the world with immediate recognition, but often are not understood in others. The term just helps to distinguish the support base of an organization.

We spent the morning interviewing staff and hearing of the wonderful accomplishments that are happening through MCCI, an Indian based NGO. It is interesting to hear how they are helping farmers conserve rain water and grow a second crop in a year by simply changing 5% of their plot into a retention pond. The water gathers in the retention pond rather than just becoming run-off and it revitalizes the soil for a second planting.

We finished our interviews in time for lunch at 1:00 p.m. and then had a break before we left for the airport at 2:30 p.m. for a 5:00 p.m. flight. We soon wondered if we were going to get there by that time as we became ensnarled in traffic on the streets of Kolkata. The very slow start finally broke free and we moved on to our destination.

All of the processing for boarding a flight went as normal. I was also able to check about frequent flier miles with the last airline I flew with and had my account credited for that flight. Today we were flying SpiceJet. They don’t have a frequent flier program as of yet but we eventually boarded a plane that was completely full – six seats across and possibly 32 rows. We were in row 26.

We flew to the new Shamshabad Airport, AP. It replaces the Hyderabad Airport. It was just brought into service a year ago. It is one of the airports that serves the “silicon valley” area of India. From all I saw it would rival most any airport in the world. We moved through our process very smoothly and soon found the person who had come to pick us up and take us to our lodging place.

It seems that as we travel to different areas we are “bringing the rains with us.” They arrived in Kolkata and they were having their first hard rain in Shamshabad as well. It is remarkable how refreshing the rains are after a long period of dry and hot weather.

Our hosts were ready to give us supper and to show us to our rooms in what used to be the mission house on this property. We will see more of the campus and drive to further places in this area tomorrow.

Sunday at St. James

It rained for much of the night. At times it was a downpour. What a special time to pull the covers up and sleep. As we awoke in to the new day the rain had stopped and it was only a light misting as we walked to church.

We went to St. James Church, a Church of North India congregation, of the high church tradition. It was good to be with them as we worshipped and as we heard of their ministries. The Word was spoken clearly and we had the opportunity to receive communion together.

A very special event at the end of the service was when the children of the church came back into the Sanctuary. As the adults had done they too approached the altar and knelt down. Rather than receiving communion as the adults each child was blessed as the pastors laid hands on their heads and spoke a word. It was very touching.

At the end of the service I took time to meet the gentleman who was seated beside me. It turned out that he too was a visitor. For him he was back to his home congregation after a number of years. He now lived in Delhi. We shared several things about his life in the church.

As we continued to talk I came to know that he had taught school in Dehra Dun. He also coached the basketball team of his school. They would often go up the hill to play against the basketball team of Woodstock School – the school I attended for the first six years of my schooling.

Following this conversation I found myself reflecting on just how small and connected our world is – how is it that I could find a common connection with a person on the other side of the globe who I had just come in and sat down beside in a Sunday morning church service?

Independence Day in India

August 15 is the celebration of the birth of the nation of India. We are lodged just next door to a school and this morning the children were out in formation to recognize the birthday of their nation. It was good to hear them make recitations and to celebrate.

This evening we went into Kolkata for our evening meal. So many places were decorated with streamers and balloons. There was a festive spirit in the air. The restaurant gave balloons to their younger patrons. Unfortunately the six of us at our table exceeded the age limit.

The rain of the earlier part of the day gave way to a pleasant evening. The humidity is high but the temperature was down. We are in air-conditioning most of the time. It greatly relieves the discomfort of the humidity.

Today we got to know each other as a team and we talked about specific things that will be part of our discussion in these days. The plan at this point is for us to start with our meetings here in Kolkata. Then we will divide and three of us head for Hyderabad (I am with this team) and the other three head for Ranchi. These will both be site visits relative to the work of MCSFI and MCC.

Tomorrow we are going to one of the historic churches of Kolkata to join with them in worship. It is a fifteen minute walk from our location and they have an earlier service. Both of these are practical considerations for our time and experience here.

Monsoon Rain

I love it! I was waiting for the first rain to come on this journey. We were sitting around the table and soon the rain was coming straight down and hard. The sound on the tin roof is delightful. At times it was a bit harde to hear the people at the other end of the table.

Now I sit in my room and the thunder is rumbling overhead. What a delight!

I am enjoying this although I don't know what it may do for the Independence Day activities today. Likely they will continue. You don't stop just because it is raining, at least not here.

I am getting to know the team I am working with in person, after primarily getting to know them on paper. Many of the others on this team already knew one another previously.

On to Kolkata

It has been a good day. This afternoon I went to one of my favorite restaurants in Delhi – The Big Chill. It is run by Tibetans. The menu is surprising and it is one of the places we enjoy bringing our guests when we bring groups through Delhi.

I had a small problem with my watch. Close by the restaurant there is a watch person who has his shop literally in the road on the side of the building. He has fixed a number of things for me in the past. I went and told him the problem – one of the buttons wasn’t working and I couldn’t change the time. I left my watch with them and then came back about half an hour later. A new spring was installed and everything worked. Not bad for $5.17. I complimented him on his work.

The trip to Kolkata was smooth and uneventful. I enjoyed watching the map and seeing the cities pass by below. We were running a track that was similar to the train we used to ride when we came home for holiday as kids from Woodstock School. I recognized a number of city names from passing through them all of those years ago.

Earl Zimmerman was at the airport to pick me up. I was the first one of the team to arrive. As I write there is another airport run taking place in order to pick up two more members of the team. It was great to meet Earl and his wife Ruth. After arriving at the MCC Guest House they invited me to their apartment and we talked about many things related to life, ministry and India until they had to leave for the airport run.

I am in a comfortable room here in the MCC Guest House. Right now I am by myself, but I hear there are enough people coming that this may change as we go through the days of this five-year review for the work of MCC.

A real blessing is the availability of cell phone plans here in India. I change my SIM card each time I come here and I can call within the country or internationally quite reasonably. Just in case any of you are calling my US based number – you will only have opportunity to leave messages, until I return.

Things get started tomorrow. It is good to be here.

The Morning in Delhi

I was able to sleep until around 9:00 a.m. That was good seeing how I went to bed after 4:00 a.m. I rested well. I have a nice room at the Hotel Grand Godwin. We recommend this hotel to anyone who may be coming to Delhi. It is located close to the Delhi Railroad Station.

After a nice breakfast I repacked my things. I had one suitcase in side of another for a purchase I needed to make for my return to the States. The inside suitcase is expandable. I have now consolidated everything and am ready to head on to Kolkata.

I went downstairs and out front where I quickly found an auto driver who took me downtown. They all want to take you to specific places where they know the owners, but today it wasn’t to happen. I had specific stops to make and that is just what we did.

The store I wanted to go to was open and the owner immediately recognized me. We did our business and I left with the two items I had come to purchase. Back at the hotel these went into the large external suitcase and into a storage closet here at the hotel. They will keep it for me until I return at the end of my stay here in India.

I had one other job to do. A group is coming to India in December and I needed to make reservations. With a little effort that was all cared for as well. It is nice to be able to work ahead and to do these things in person.

Soon I will be leaving here, making a few more stops on my way to the airport and then on to Kolkata. I trust my next post will be from there.

Safely in India

I am in my room at the Grand Godwin. It is a little after four in the morning. I guess I need to get onto this time zone. It will happen soon.

Thank-you to all who are following my journey.

What Excitement!

We arrived in Amsterdam and it seemed all was well and things were moving forward as planned. When it was time to board our plane, however, it seemed there was a delay of some kind. Our crew arrived but they did not go through security, rather they sat down and waited.

Soon the security team picked up their things and exited stage right. Our plane was to leave at 11:20 a.m. Unfortunately the sign was changed to 15:00. I first thought a fifteen minute delay and then came to realize, no that is three o’clock p.m.!

It turned out that there actually wasn’t a plane for us to board at that point. They had to find a plane and get it here so that we could board it. I knew there was a reason I liked those direct flights from Newark to New Delhi.

I didn’t get much sleep during the first flight so I was a bit tired. I dosed off and when I awoke there was a commotion close by. Another passenger had become sick. He said he was cold. He was shaking a bit from the same. Eventually the medical team came and checked him out. They said his vital signs were fine, but he wasn’t acting quite right so he was taken to the dispensary.

Then the conversations continued with the rest of the people waiting for the plane. One man was sure that he must have some type of infectious disease. They should be taking our addresses so they can inform all of us about the problem. The conversations were lively. But soon things settled down and some people moved a “safe” distance from where the man had sat.

Now others who know nothing of all of this excitement are coming for the plane and sitting where the “sick” man had sat.

To India for MCC

The trip has started. I have made it as far as Amsterdam. Soon we will be pushing on to Delhi.