Home Alone!!!

It is about 7:55 p.m. here in Dehradun.  I arrived back just after noon, and have enjoyed an afternoon to myself.  I have unpack and started repacking!  No one asked me about taking devotions tonight with the 'kids', and I decided not to volunteer.  They have had a couple of people from Scripture Union on campus all week.  At first I thought maybe they weren't having devotions, but the singing started at 7, so I guess they had them without me!

Last Sat night, all of the 91 students in boarding were present at devotions!  I felt so incredibly free as I shared my story, and they interacted with me nicely which I was happy about.  I then went to dinner with the girls, and enjoyed talking to a couple of the girls.  I think maybe different ones are being 'assigned' to eat with me which is nice!  I will see them in the a.m. as I am going on the GA bus with them to church at Presbyterian Theological Seminary.  There are several congregations that meet on the grounds in various Indian language groups.  I attend the English service!  I love it when I hear all of the languages singing as you walk across campus!

It was really nice to be there last week and to get to touch base with Mohan and Judy Chacko.  I commented to Judy, "This feels like home!" as we sat on the porch drinking coffee.  Ramesh, Maria and their two daughers joined us later.  Maria is Mohan and Judy's daughter.  Ramesh teaches at PTS and is finishing up doctoral studies that he did in Holland for a couple of years.  He grew up at Bhogpur Children's Home and told me once if he hadn't grown up there, he'd be a rickshaw driver!!!  I just love the ministry of giving people a 'leg up'!

The car picked me up at 2:00 as scheduled, and by 3:30 I was in the home of Dana and Judy Crider, long term residents of Mussoorie.  They have been at WS for 36 years, but Judy was there as a student.  She started Woodstock when was 6!

One of the reasons that I didn't 'volunteer' to do anything tonight here at GA is because I arrived back really very tired.  This is day 10 in India, so my body is over jet lag, but the sheer 'demands' of the terrain of Mussoorie was harder on my body than I expected it to be.  All of the up and down, and then also all of the excitment of seeing people.  I loved every minute of the time, but man I generally woke up still tired every a.m.  So, I'm going to bed early tonight, but I did think 8:00 was too early!!!

One of the very rewarding things about the week was to meet one old student, there are several on staff, but this one left WS making very unwise choices.  I had heard that he had turned his life around, but to see him, hear others speak highly of the job he is doing, to meet his wife and his children . . . special . . . thank you so much, Lord!!!  Yesterday during the lunch hour, I had a chance to tell him how proud I was of the man he has become.  I'd known him since 7th grade!  The irrestible grace of God!!!  Love it!

All of this said, I am going to put my 'wonderings' about whether or not I should return to work at WS to rest.  I will always have a special place in my heart for this very special place, but . . . I'd have to start all over on relationships with students which was the most meaningful thing about being there to me.  The pace of life there is more than I want to take on again, or even think it would be wise to do.  And, I just cannot climb those hills like I used to be able to!!!  I have real peace and confidence that this is a right and good decision.  I didn't even talk to anyone about coming back.  This is a big answer to the VISION part of the REV . . . reasons for going!

After working at it all week, though not very consistently, I finally have a working Indian phone!!!
That adds a level of 'security' in that I can call someone if I need to . . .

I expect a fairly quiet day tomorrow and don't leave until the evening on Mon for Kolkata.  Wonder what that week will bring!  I'll let you know!!!

Perhaps I've been too long winded . . .

Fearing that things were going south again, I published, but wanted to finish off with some encouragement from today.  This morning Sudeepta brought Mashaphi up to meet me.  She is single handedly taking care of 60 girls in boarding!!!  We had a lovely visit.  I had agreed yesterday to take devotions tonight with the girls, I assume . . . there are also 31 boys in boarding  . . . these are all children of Indian nationals who are doing mission in India, but in an area that is not their own . . . that's a whole 'nother thing to explain.  But, let's just summarize by saying that they are crossing cultures though not borders.  India is sometimes referred to as a subcontinent because each state is like a separate country.  They speak different languages, have different customs, may eat and even dress differently.  There ARE 1.2 billion of them, after all! Only 6% of the population calls themselves Christians.  And, in that 6%, a good number of them are nominal.

Since I was up so early this a.m. after having my own devotions, I prepared devotions for tonight.  I am so glad that Mashaphi came up because as we talked, we agreed that it would be good for me to introduce myself tonight by telling part of my story.  I had wondered about that, and was pleased that she felt free to tell me what she really thought . . . it is a huge gift when a younger Indian does that!  May God lead us tonight as we spend time together.

I did have lunch with the girls today and will begin eating lunch and dinner with them when I am here.  It is spicy, simple food . . . not my favorite.  Rice wears off quickly in my body, but I just cannot eat it in volume the way that they do.  I know that there will be chapatti tonight.  I much prefer them to rice!  May God give grace and show me if I need to make other arrangements.

Hannah, whose parents are Telegu speaking but work in Mumbai, came to get me for lunch, brought me food, walked me home, and will be back tonight to 'pick me up' for devotions.  She is lovely!!!  While eating lunch, a 9th grader began talking politics with me.  I want to be totally available to these girls when I return, and to dear Mashaphi who really needs help!  Help me, Lord, to listen to your instructions.  My desire is to bring you glory!

I got everything unpacked yesterday and semi organized.  It was a good feeling.  I leave tomorrow afternoon for Mussoorie, a homecoming!  The closer it gets, the more excited I become.  So, repacking has begun.  I will be gone a week, back a day, and then off to Kolkata and Nagaland before returning here for a month!  Thinking about all of this is likely the reason for my inability to sleep.  I did go for a long walk today to try to counteract the effects of too much sitting this week . . . my ankles are swollen again after yesterday.  They have gone down some, but aren't right!  Fortunately tomorrow's travel is only an hour and then walking everywhere and sleeping in the same bed for a week . . . I should be good to go by next Fri if it really is true that it takes a day for every time zone you cross to get completely on the new time zone!  Thanks for reading this far!

Oh Snap!!!

I just spent a lot of time telling you all about the great adventure of getting here to Dehradun, my current state of jet lag, etc. only to loose it.  I just hate that, and it has taken the wind out of my sails!  So, I am going to take a break and try again later!  What I really need is a nap!  It is 3 p.m., and I have been up for 11 hours and awake for almost 14!  I wish I knew how to retrieve that which I have lost.  Maybe something will come to me!

It's now 3:45, and I am up from my unsuccessful attempt at a nap!  My brain just won't turn off, the adrenaline is pumping, and the construction going on next door, right outside my window, isn't helping at all!

I simply cannot retrieve my narrative on yesterday's journey, so here goes another version of it . . .

The timetable . . .

5:00 . . . a knock at the door of my room, my wake up call . . . a waiter with a cup of coffee

5:45 . . . I roll my suitcases to the elevator, something that wasn't in the building when last I stayed there 13 years ago . . . and successfully get myself, and my luggage, downstairs.  The taxi, ordered for 6:00 is waiting for me.  Luggage loaded, RR station nearby, no traffic . . .

6:15 . . . surrounded by coolies at the New Delhi train station!!!  I am definitely getting soft in my old age . . . let two coolies talk me into letting them take my two pieces of luggage, which admittedly were heavy, to Platform 16 for a greatly inflated price!!!  Their argument . . . it is the last platform, you have to use the bridge to get across all of the other tracks, your seat is in the first car of the train so we have to walk a long way . . . on and on . . . I didn't feel like haggling, and I do have white skin, what's a girl to do!!!???

What I didn't know is that in the last couple of months an elevator has been installed at the station which makes using that bridge much easier than it used to be!  And, what the coolie with the really heavy suitcase didn't realize is that a four wheel roller suitcase is really easy once you are on the flat platform!!!  Of course, they did wait with me for the train to pull in, and they did get my luggage situated nicely above my seat.  But, in the 'rush' to get onto the train with all of the other coolies, one of my shoes got knocked off and fell in the 'gap' between the train and the platform onto the tracks!  Needless to say, I was upset and was wondering how I was going to retrieve a pair of shoes out of my locked suitcases nicely placed over my seat.  Well, the smaller coolie jumped into action and got my shoe for me, I don't know how, but I was very grateful . . . maybe he really did deserve that inflated price for his work!!!

6:45 . . . the train pulls out of the station on time, if my memory serves me correctly, and the service begins!!!  I am in a First Class compartment because of the big suitcase . . . there is more space for luggage in that compartment, I get a Sr. Citizen discount, and the dollar is very strong currently against the rupee.  You get your breakfast in stages . . . first, the large bottle of mineral water, then lassi in a box . . . a little sweet for my taste, tea, followed by cereal, then your 'main course'.   I chose omlette over veg cutlet, and finish that off with coffee or tea!  Each 'course' is cleared before the next one is served, and because you are in 1st Class, you get china and silverware!  Jai Hind!!!

The rest of the trip was fairly quiet with the exception of somebody's  'mobile', as they are called here, going off regularly, and a man somewhere behind me that snored like a freight train!!!  The man in the seat next to me never said a word, nor did he eat anything.  He did fall asleep, but fortunately for me didn't even have labored breathing!  I worked on my 1 John study,  read several things, and played a few games.

Though we were a little late getting in, Mr. Sahu who is the property manager here at GA was waiting on the platform, came in and dealt with the coolie, got us successfully into the GA Jeep, successfully steered the vehicle though the too many cars, not enough concrete part of the journey home.  Sudeepta Newton was waiting lunch for me along with her handsome son Sammy, now a student in Grade 12!  He wasn't taller that I am when last I saw him!!!  My luggage was taken to my new home away from home . . . the guest flat at GA.  I never lifted a finger!  I had 20 copies of Hanna's book shipped to me from OM Books in Hyderabad.  They published it here so that it can be sold in the developing world at affordable prices!  Thank you George Verwer, for making it possible for me to get some of these to give as gifts!

Let the jetlag recovery begin!!!

It's 8:20 a.m. here in New Delhi!  I have been at the YWCA International Guest House for about eight hours!!!  I have slept a little bit, rearranged some of my belongings whilst looking for others, gotten cleaned up and had breakfast . . . puris and omlette . . . yum!!!

The IGH is a place that I frequented from time to time on visits to Delhi from Woodstock School.  There's nothing fancy about it, but it gives you the basics . . . a bed, an ensuite bathroom and breakfast is included.  It's in central Delhi, not far from Connaut (I'm sure I didn't spell that correctly) Place.  The staff speaks good English and is pleasant.  The same man was at the desk last night when I arrived about midnight and again this a.m. when I came down for breakfast.

I haven't been here for 13 years!  I stayed here with the 4/5s of the Henderson clan on my last night in India in June 2002.  The restaurant, at that time, had become quite POSH.  Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to have lasted.  Don't get me wrong, it is good enough, and nicer than my first visit here.  I was surprised to find a buffet set up which meant that I could easily not have cornflakes with hot milk . . . I am not at all sure where they got that idea!  I have certainly never had that anywhere but here!  Adequate . . . simple I just overheard other guests with British accents comment.  They are just beginning their breakfast,and I haven't turned around yet to gawk!

Last night, though I was in something of a daze from the long journey, there was something so comforting about the familiarity of Delhi!!!  Though I miss staying with the Wetherbys out in the burbs of Delhi, it is nice to be back in a more central part of the city!  The great contrasts of the country were very much in evidence last night as a Mercedes passed my somewhat rickety black and yellow taxi shortly after we had passed several cows roaming along the sidewalk.  Passing the Freedom Fighters monument and lots of circles . . . a little bit smoky, but ahhhhh, Delhi!!!

This a.m. as I lay in my bed thinking I wish I could go back to sleep, the thought of the abuse to the body from traveling half way around the world in less than 24 hours, most of it on a plane, really is just that!  Ever so tired last night, I had trouble falling asleep,and then the brain turned on early this a.m., and there was no other thing but to just get up and get on with it!  Hopefully, I can make it through today and get to bed, and sleep, early tonight because tomorrow a.m. it is up early to catch the train for Dehradun . . . my base of operation for the time here.  It means that I will be able to completely unpack and organize that which I have with me.  On Sun after lunch, I will have packed again to spend a week with friends in the 'Queen of the Hills', Mussoorie . . . one of my home sweet homes!

Let's see what we can get accomplished today . . . a phone, a manicure (they are lovely and inexpensive here, and in looking at my hands yesterday, I could use one.)  Let's see what I can find out from that nice man at the desk about a phone . . . I know where to get a manicure.  I wouldn't mind just laying low with my feet up . . . happy to report that even a few hours horizontal last night helped greatly with those swollen ankles!

Though it isn't as far from Boston to Paris as it is from Atlanta to Amsterdam, I did miss being in airports that I find familiar.  I found both the Boston and Paris airports very comfusing, and there wasn't any Southern hospitality or Dutch jovialness in either place.  There was also almost no lay over . . . by the time you had gone through security AGAIN, you were lining up to board!  The plane   to Paris was larger than the plane to Delhi, so it was nice to have a bit more leg room.  Neither flight was full, and the seat next to me was empty both flights!!!  It was nice to be able to spread out a bit!!!  Imagine my surprise in Paris to board a flight to Delhi with more white people than people of color.  That IS a first for me!!!

All for today . . . until next time!  It is great to be back in my beloved Hindustand, but . . . my friends/family in the USA, you are also very much in my heart!  God bless!