November 1, 2010 (Monday)
Dear Family and Friends:
These reports are too frequent and too long, but it does give us a memory aid to all that is happening so fast in our lives here. Plans and timing change frequently and we just have to be ready for whatever happens and whenever it does. We actually left Zaheerabad and the rats yesterday at about noon and made it without major events to Hyderabad by 2. With us came the Principal of the school, his wife who was our cook and his daughter who is taking nursing and looking for a sponsor. They had seen the news on a local TV station that reported the accident we referred to earlier. Two more died on the way to the hospital making a total of 6 and it happened just on the edge of our village. We don’t know the circumstances but when we see how they habitually pull out and pass on blind curves without any idea of what could be coming the other direction, we can understand how this could happen. They expect that any oncoming traffic will adjust to their presence if there is any available space to do it. It’s that IF which gives cause for worry!
The man who owns the car we are using will not drive in city traffic and we doubt he drives much anywhere since he has a driver. He is the treasurer of the West Andhra Section of SDA where we will be starting our ten village evangelistic series November 3. We met him at the GC Session in Atlanta and it was his suggestion that we could hold the series with just $6000 rather than the usual $10 to 12,000 that confirmed the possibility of our coming just now. His name, Babu, is usually referred to as “boy” when summoning someone to do something for you. But he is very much a man and is eager to work with us.
After getting settled into our room at a Catholic church complex here in Hyderabad, we were taken to a vegetarian restaurant that is very popular here through the day and much of the night. It was hard to find seats. The food was typically Indian and hot. They have 3 seasons here—Hot, hotter, and hottest. It’s the same with the food! It will take a long time to pacify our taste buds when we get back home to the bland died we choose and prefer.
The next item on the agenda was to “attend” the wedding of Paulson’s oldest son, Praveen with a girl chosen by him and both sets of parents. Her name isArauna. Both were in their mid or late 20s. We pondered whether Glenn should continue wearing his only suit which he wears during travel to save the space in the suitcases, or to go more informally and give the suit a rest. Also the decision involved whether to wear the more casual shoes or wear the less comfortable “Sabbath” shoes. We decided to go with the suit and best shoes because it was a formal occasion. It is a good thing we did. Rather than just slip in quietly and blend with the crowd as we expected, we were given the program and in scanning down the participants were shocked to see that Glenn was listed as giving the sermonette. The legal vows etc would be led by another pastor. Somehow they had neglected to inform us that Glenn would be doing that. So, it is good that we came at the announced opening of 4:30 p.m. when it actually began at 5:30. That gave Glenn a little time to organize his thoughts before being on stage for two hours standing before several hundred people including all the “important” people from the church officers, the Union and the Division. Mary Alice said it went well and the people very vocally appreciated it. So the stated three requirements of missionaries are true—adaptability, adaptability, and adaptability. Glenn didn’t have his Bible and so it all had to come out of memory. That is one good reason to memorize much Scripture. You never know just when you will need it and may not have the Source in your hands.
The reception that followed at 7:30 p.m. was held in the Civic Center Hall and it was very elaborately appointed. The couple changed into other clothes and were seated on chairs on stage that reminded of kings and queens. There they cut the cake amid the cheers of encouragement. The audience was served cake pre-wrapped to save time. So the whole group had their cake very quickly. Then while some entertainment was in progress the first 300 guests were served the food in the attached dining hall on second floor (first floor by their reckoning). There we had the choice of a vegetarian line and enjoyed the “safe” dishes which were nonetheless mostly hot. The pastor who will be working with us in the Evangelistic Meetings at Pitlam took us under his wing and guided us through the food line past the hottest dishes. We did ok.
Since our driver had to take a bus home after delivering us to our room, we skipped going back after the lunch to see what else was going on. It gave us an excuse to get a little more sleep before the Sanctuary Seminar in the Hyderabad church today (Monday). We had already greeted the newlyweds and admonished them in the service how to find real joy and happiness in their new life together.
Indian celebrations and festivals are very elaborate in spite of the financial strain it brings. It was an opportunity to compare cultures and seek what is best in both. We did marvel at how many ways they find to make the wedding last till everyone is exhausted. (Especially travel-weary Americans who are too much in dress-up clothes).
Today was another example of “Indian time”. We understood that the Sanctuary Seminar for the pastors in this Section was to begin at 10 a.m. and we were ready for it but no word came of any change until we phoned Paulson to inquire about it. It was to last until 12 noon we understood. Long story short—we arrived at about 11:15 and after all the preliminaries Glenn started the presentation at 11:45. We then learned it could go until 1 when all would dismiss for lunch. But they would come back for more in the afternoon. Some had come from a distance and there is the Hindu Festival Dvali in progress which slowed traffic very much. So some did not make it at all and others were late even at the amended time.
One pastor, George Raju who is Stewardship and Publishing Department leader, took us to lunch in a taxi to a Quality Inn restaurant because it was International and was totally vegetarian. There we also received excellent guidance past the hottest dishes. It was buffet style which enabled us to choose from a variety of very special food, excellent to our taste and of a quality for best nourishment. We would really like to go back there but probably won’t have a chance to do it since we leave tomorrow at 9 a.m. for the SDA Section office about half way to Pitlam. We are to stay the night there in the Paulson’s new home (they just partially moved from Hyderabad) before reaching the place for our evangelistic series. One nice thing is that we will get to send these emails from the Section office.
The Seminar reconvened and lasted until 4. It was so inspiring to see the pastors listen so attentively and take notes. Most have not learned the finer details of the Sanctuary and their faces would light up as they gained a new insight. All of them want a copy of Glenn’s book in English even though they have a translation of it into Telegu from a previous visit when it was published here. They say that some things were lost in translation that they want to hang onto. They all (including the Union President and the Local Conference President want us to come back again and go deeper with them into the Sanctuary with a larger attendance. They are also interested in our presenting it at Spicer College which turns out the Theology students for India and many other places. So, we shall see what the Lord has in mind about that.
Pastor Raju who was dressed in the robes as our model was so delighted that he asked if he could wear the robes to a studio and get his photo taken. We granted that and so returned to our room a bit late.
It was a delight to get out of the formal clothes and into our casual more relaxing ones. We have not been eating the meals available here with the room, but have used things we bought at the market or brought from home. Water is running low so we hiked several blocks in search of more in the little shops. There we found some WW bread also and got a loaf for breakfast cereal. Also bought two apples and some crackers we remembered from previous trips. They go well with the soy milk we brought from home in powder form as a substitute for cereal. Bananas were not available near here, but we have enough other stuff to make a good start tomorrow.
Tonight we learned that our living arrangements in Pitlamwill be a room in a house they have rented for the series. The other room will accommodate all the pastors and Paulson himself. They will cook our food in community style. We will have our own bathroom and they will all use the other one. The toilets are the floor level variety, but we may have a chair adapted to use with it to favor our old knees that don’t fit well into that 3rd world style. At least these arrangements should not be so costly as it would have been if a hotel were available in Pitlam. The Apostle Paul went through a lot more privations than that in his missionary journeys, so why should we complain?
Paulson came to our room tonight and we discussed plans for the series. Good preparation has taken place and some have been baptized already. They are planning several small baptisms rather than a large one at the end of the series. That is great with us because we want to be sure of the follow through when we are gone. The total will likely reach more than 1000. Large baptisms all at once attract too much local attention and invite negative response from the Hindus and Moslems.
One of the highlights following the wedding was to meet so many of the pastors we had worked with in previous meetings. We were able to inquire into the health of the churches raised up during those series and were delighted to know how they are growing and gathering in more people for the Kingdom. They have not experienced the losses that some of the larger campaigns do.
We also saw the pastor from Orissa who was our translator during the Sanctuary series there some years ago. He is now the Conference President there and gave us a fresh look into the conditions of persecution they went through when several SDA were killed by extremists. The work is expanding there in spite of the disasters. He also confirmed the fact that a herd of wild elephants has trampled the homes and gardens of those who persecuted Christians while sparing the property of the Christians. God has interesting ways of “settling accounts.”
We are thankful to be under God’s care and to hear such encouraging reports from our pastor friends who worked with us in previous evangelistic meetings. Many were there for the wedding because all are friends of Paulson and wanted to support the wedding. When the plans were being formed while we were in Gentry we could not know what rich blessings awaited us here. It is so rewarding to be a part of what God is doing to reach the soul hunger present right now in India.
With love in His love,
Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandpa, Glenn and Mary Alice