Pastor Rick Meier, Alpine Lutheran Church, Rockford
Helen and I had a head start on our synod group, because we had planned to travel to India in January 2008 for a couple years. Our daughter, Rebecca, married a young man, Sunil Rao, whose father is originally from the Bangalore area, and we were invited to meet the extended family as their guests. So when the invitation came to join the synod group during the last half of January, we jumped at the opportunity and took a sabbatical month from the congregation. Leaving on Jan. 2, we were warmly received by our "family" in Bangalore, where we spent ten days traveling in and around SW India. We received incredible hospitality, visited temples and historical sites, and made friends with many people along the way. One of our relatives by marriage is a young Hindu priest, whose home we ate at, and who conducted a special "pooja" (worship) in our honor! At the same time, I found Christian communities to worship with on Sundays, both in a local congregation and a seminary. And, to no one's surprise who knows me, I even played a round of golf at the Bangalore Golf Club!
On January 14th we met our synod delegation in Delhi, where we experienced the trip to the Taj Mahal together. It was a wonderful highlight to see one of the wonders of the world with these friends from Northern Illinois. Soon we were off to Chennai, where we would meet Esther and John, and begin our tour of the Tamil region of India. Wherever one goes in India one is struck by the quantity of people, scary driving experiences in which motorcycles and cows must be dodged, and the colorful nature of people and sights. Most of all, we were struck by the extent of warm hospitality we received wherever we went.
The highlights for me involved visiting people related to the work of the Arcot Lutheran Church. We visited churches, schools, and hospitals. We were privilged to participate in the signing of the covenant with Bishops Wollersheim and Devanesan, in which we formally established a companion church relationship. Along these lines, I established a companion relationship between my Alpine Academy school and a primary school in a remote rural area run by the church, called Kattumailur. The children from each school will now learn about each other and exchange greetings and ideas. It was also my honor to preach at Saron Lutheran Church in Thiruvannamalai (I can't pronounce it either!), where the pastor translated my messages (one to children, one to adults) into Tamil. Like the rest of the congregation, I was barefoot. There was standing room only, and I was privilged to also baptize a child, participate in distributing Holy Communion, and offer prayers for healing (anointing with coconut oil) to many in the congregation. Afterward, I played some cricket with boys from the boarding school and hit a "6-pointer"!
Though I've traveled the world over, this was one of my most profound and inspiring travel experiences ever. It will take me some time to grasp the impact of it all, but it was one of the greatest months of my life. While the sights, sounds and smells were fascinating, it was the people who made the difference. I loved all the beautiful children, and gave at least 1,000 personal blessings to them! The people of Arcot Lutheran Church, the schools and institutions, our synod delegation, and the folks to whom we are now related by a daughter's marriage were all a special blessing to us. Also, it was a joy to travel with our wonderful bishop and wife, Gary and Polly, who Helen and I hold dear and who we all hold in such high esteem. Thanks be to God for such a marvelous experience, which will hopefully bear fruit for years to come!
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