Dear "armchair" pilgrims to India,
First, let me begin by thanking you for your prayers. Please know that we have felt them across these many miles. We have truly needed the strength that only prayer can bring as we have struggled with some unforseen difficulties anhd unfortunate events.
It is Wednesday morning, January 23. Two nights ago most of our group went on a sleeper train to John and Esther Prabaker's hometown. Because we have had some sickness in our group, six of us have stayed in Kochi until all are able to travel again.
Our pilgrimage in India has been rich with sensory immersion! Sight--Sound--Smell--Touch--Taste. We have seen hundreds and hundreds of street people living and begging and sleeping on the sidewalks of Dehli. There are entire families gathered around a small fire eating in the same space as they will sleep that night. There are individuals sleeping, wrapped from head to toe, in a blanket, as in a cocoon. I have thought so many times of Mother Theresa and her ministry to the poorest of the poor and now I understand.
We have seen the Taj Mahal in Agra, ever more majestic than the many photos one has seen in a lifetime. We have sampled and enjoyed the wonderfully spiced food of India.
In Chennai and Craganore, we have "walked where St. Thomas walked"! In 52 AD, he took seriously the words of Jesus to go and make disciples of ALL nations. We know of St. Thomas as "doubting" Thomas because he demanded to see the wounds from the crucifixion of the risen Christ. Last year, we read of the journals of Mother Theresa that revealed her doubts of faith. But my fellow pilgrims, when I see how St. Thomas and Mother Theresa used their doubts and turned them into servanthood to bring the faith to India, I am overwhelmed. Their courage and commitment through their hard, hard work and ministry in God's name and for the sake of the mission of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has and will continue to make a difference to the Indian people for generations to come. Those of us who sometimes struggle with doubt now can know we are in GREAT company!
We have experienced the innate graciousness of the people of this country through their friendliness and hospitality. Though most of them are Hindu and Muslim, as we put our hands together to pray, they put their hands together to greet you and "honor the god in you". To these non-Christians we are known as "the people who send the blankets." Thanks to so many Lutheran Women of the ELCA, many quilts dot the landscape of India. Another interesting gesture we have seen is a kind of head bobbing, that looks like they are nodding their head to say "no", but actually it means "yes" or "I understand". Try it, we find it's not easy to emulate!
Driving is an auditory as well as a visual sensory experience as horns are used repetitively and even encouraged by emblems on the backs of cars, trucks, motorcycles and auto-rikshaws (a 3-wheeled contraption) that say "Please sound horn". Many of us had a chance to ride in these rikshaws and it was hair-raising! At any given time there is vehicle traffic 6 abreast and people traffic 8 abreast and that is just on one side of the street. We have seen ox pulling carts, bicycles pulling carts and people pulling carts. The "sacred" cows walk wherever they want to and are given deference to by all. The sheer multitudes of people--1 billion-- generates lots of congestion, confusion and litter. but because of the great numbers, the people of India have an inborn sense of symbiosis, living alongside of one another in a continuous quest for peace and harmony.
The train rides will surely go under the aformentioned "unforseen difficulties" as our overnight train rides meant sleeping in open cubicles-8 people to a cubicle/8 cubicles to a train car/3 tiered bunk beds-so many train cars I couldn't see the "caboose". And all this with people we had never met! It was like something from an old black and white movie except it was real. Our anxiety must have shown on our pale faces, because the Indian people were so friendly and accomodating. We exchanged names and shared our stories with each other. Many Indians showed their kindness by offering to sleep "up high" so we could be more comfortable and in most cases we ended up not sleeping alongside "strangers" but those we had come to know and appreciate.
Whether from food or water, virus or bacteria, a third of our pilgrims have taken sick. One among us is at the hospital across the street. We know it was a "God thing" that we happen to be at a hotel where the hospital is directly across the street. Our pilgrim Doctor John Prabaker and pilgrim nurse "Sister" (the Indian people call their nurses this) Helen Meier have provided great medical consultation and care. We give God thanks for John and Helen. In India the family must stay with the patient and so we have taken turns at the bedside. Our guide, John Califf, has worked hard to balance all of these unforseen matters and as a result our pilgrimage continues to be fulfilling. Our Bishop has provided wonderful spiritual direction and inspiration at every turn of events. We have had devotions on a rooftop in a Dehli hotel, riding in a bus, on a boat in the Kochi bay(of course he used a fishing parable!) and even in a men's room--well, not a men's room like you think, not a bathroom--but a motel room where the men could freshen up. Many have shared devotions and we have heard their thoughts, feelings and prayers during this journey.
In Chennai, we were welcomed so warmly by John's brother and Esther's sister, Pastor Vansanth and Elizabeth(who are married) at their Shiloh Mission Church. One of their ministries was to adopt 20 young girls who were orphaned by the Tsunami. The Shiloh people and the NIS pilgrims worshipped together and then we broke into groups. Jeanna Fors and the women lead a craft project making kaleidoscopes with the girls. Kevin Rogers met with the young men and the others heard a lecture about th Shiloh ministries. We left being filled with joy, their enthusiastic faces alive in our memories, giving us strenth for our journey. We now look forward to our experience in John and Esther's hometown and with our companion synod, the Arcot Lutheran Church.
Well my friends this has become more than a blog, it has become a BLOOK! And I still didn't cover everything. I trust my fellow pilgrims will fill in the empty spaces along the way.
Until we meet face to face on the great soil of our beloved Northern Illinois Synod, I send you my love and thanks.
Your sister in Christ,
Polly Wollersheim
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