The Air France flight smoothly touched down on time at Chennai airport in the early morning hours of Dec. 20. Vasanth (John’s brother) and Pappa (Elizabeth, Esther’s sister) and their son, Paul Divyan welcomed us with open arms and tears. The loving Shiloh children (Tsunami orphans) welcomed us with jasmine and rose garlands. Our stay at the Guindy race club guesthouse was very comfortable. We had breakfast by the pool every day! Vasanth’s granddaughter Chrissy swam with her cousins in the club swimming pool. John was able to play tennis with Nicholas and Larry – another dream realized. Vasanth and Divyan arranged a cricket match. Both Larry and Nicholas played well and received applause at the end of the match.
We treated the 19 Shiloh children and the staff to an amusement park outing and lunch. They loved all the rides and bonded instantly with our grand children and friends Mertz’s children. We had a chance to do some crafts with the Shiloh children the next day and had the joy of giving them all the gifts we brought from our respective families and churches. We worshipped with more than 1000 members of the Shiloh congregation at the Carol service on Dec. 23rd. All 16 of us wore colorful ethnic Indian clothes and jasmine flowers on our hair. We enjoyed songs by the English and Tamil Shiloh choirs. Larry gave the message which was translated by his cousin Paul Edward (Vasanth’s son) Larry ended his message with his signature Christmas solo ’O Holy Night’ which touched everyone. John’s solo ‘What shall I bring for this sweet holy child’ was choreographed and the nativity story was acted out. While he was singing, children Kira Mertz, Chrissie Edward and Lily Prabhakar brought gifts for the baby Jesus. Sophie Prabhakar portrayed Mary and our friend’s son Korey Mertz was Joseph. Lorra accompanied John on the keyboard to his satisfaction and delight. The Shiloh children had two liturgical dances prayerfully choreographed. We all sang ‘Silent Night’ in three languages, English, German and Tamil.
Christmas eve was celebrated in our hometown Palayamkottai, by attending the annual Christmas party at John’s ancestral home. John’s aunt Kammie Devadoss and family welcomed us with traditional sprinkling of rose water and sandal wood paste. John proudly showed everyone the room where he was born. Again there was prayer, singing, games and dancing. The contingent from the U.S also participated heartily. John gave the message. The evening ended with gifts, snacks and ice cream.
We worshipped at the English Christ Church (where Esther’s father Rev. Kantayya was pastor) on Christmas day and partook of the Holy Communion. The gala Christmas lunch at Esther’s sister’s house, singing around the piano, gift exchange is unforgettable memories. The US children with their Indian cousins Kenney and Shiny played everything from Field Hockey, Cricket, Card games, Carom to ‘girls chasing boys game’! That night, a family friend gave us a grand dinner and a fantastic fire works display in the open space nearby, as he owns a fireworks factory. On Dec. 26, we toured two Christian institutions - a blind school and a deaf school. The dedication of the staff to these special children of God really touched our hearts. The visit to the family cemetery became more exciting when we accidentally locked inside the cemetery one of the 16! Later that day, we visited the Cape - southernmost point of India, ‘Kanyakumari’ (means virgin goddess) The sun setting over the Indian Ocean was breathtaking!
Back to Chennai, we visited St. Thomas Mount where St. Thomas was supposed to have been martyred, the Basilica where he is buried as well as Dhakshan Chitra which has a collection of old South Indian homes and display of crafts. The children learnt to make baskets there. We visited a snake farm, attended a Bharata Natyam dance recital at Kalakshestra and did some shopping. We lunched with Sandhya’s family at the elite Taj Hotel and hosted a family dinner gathering later that evening for 55 relatives. They greeted Lorra, Larry and the children. We also celebrated Nicholas’s 13th Birthday a little early. Our dream pilgrimage was now complete with the sharing and laughter of family members from east and west.
North India was purely sightseeing. Jaipur the Royal pink city was fascinating. We felt like Rajas and Ranis as we rode the elephant to Amber Fort. We visited the ghost town/ fort called Fatehpur Sikhri. The climax was the visit to the famous Taj Mahal in Agra, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was more beautiful than we had ever imagined it to be. The view at the time of the sunset was breathtaking. We have some great pictures. New Delhi the capital of India was cleaner with less pollution but was crowded and we experienced record-breaking traffic jams. But we managed to see all the sights and finished our shopping.
Lorra, Larry and the children left India on February 5, healthy and happy carrying a lot of happy memories with them. The hospitality and love extended to them was overwhelming. They left behind the sweet fragrance of their visit, their love, gifts and laughter. The fifteen fantastic days in India, is now a sweet dream but its effects will be long lasting. A bond has been established and who knows what the future holds! Thanks be to the Lord Almighty, the creator God of Americans and Indians, who gifted us with this family reunion. Thanks also to you our beloved readers, friends and family who supported us by your prayers. The phase II of our India pilgrimage is the volunteer medical mission work at Pillar Hospital in Andaman Islands. We will write another episode then. We wish you all the best in the New Year 2008.
Love. John Prabhu and Esther Kamali.
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