Monday, November 15, 2010
We planned to leave Pitlam for Sangareddy at 2 p.m. and actually did at 4, but it took until 7 for the two hour drive because Paulson had stopped by the road on his way back from Hyderabad to Pitlam and lost his glasses. So we took the side trip to look for that place along the road and search for the glasses. He did find the place but not the glasses. The “needle” is still in the “haystack”.
Our bed and mattress was on the truck with several of the pastors, all their gear and the cooking materials plus one motorcycle. Jun rode with us in the car with our and his luggage, but also had to wait for the truck because it had the suitcase of the pastor he was to meet and go on to his mission field. He will be there for one week doing meetings and then return to Pitlam to help follow up our series. He keeps busy.
Bedtime was much earlier than usual even with the wait for the truck and our bed which was set up in the Section office in what will henceforth be a guest room. Glenn woke up at 5 and listened to I-Pod music while Mary Alice got more rest. The toilet and “shower” or “Pouring” room was reserved for us because it has a western toilet rather than the squat arrangement of the other one. We had brought with us from Pitlam some bananas, tomatoes, custard apples, bread and crackers, with enough pure water to last us until we reach Hyderabad. So our breakfast was full and pleasant when accompanied with homemade crackers from our house and the cashews Mary Alice roasted in her special way. Our goal right now is to eat down enough to accommodate the shawls that were presented to us on closing night of the meetings and also in one of the churches where we talked with the newly baptized.
One of the most touching moments was when we left Mardandi , the village we visited Sunday morning to see those just baptized. A middle-aged lady with a small son, came to the car as we were getting ready to leave. She put out her hand to shake Glenn’s and pressed into it a piece of paper which was a Rs100 note. He tried in vain to give it back but she would not accept it. She just wanted to do something for the Americans who had done so much for her (in her view). The US money value is $2.27 and that represents a full days work bending under the hot sun in the harvest field. There is no way we will spend that Rs 100 unless absolutely desperate. It rests in Glenn’s Bible beside the $50 Trillion note from Zimbabwe we bought for 50 cents in Zambia and is worth nothing because of their hyper inflation.
Both bills carry a message. The Rupies speak of God’s love shining through in generous giving from scant resources and reminds of the widow’s mites in the Bible. In contrast, the $50 Trillion from Zambia speaks of the futility of trying to hoard money rather than invest it into something permanent like God’s work on this earth. Some day our dollars will be worth very little because of the relationship of the US debt to the resources available to back up that debt. We are so glad that we invested our major savings (except for a small emergency fund) into getting God’s Word out where it has reached many hearts and given hope for the future. Shyla, Paulson’s wife, had a delicious noontime meal ready for us at their apartment in the Section office. It was some of the best food we have had in India and was not overwhelmed with the spices. It was a great way to end Phase 2 of our India stay.
We reached Hyderabad at 5:15 p.m. and checked into the Hotel Paulson had reserved for us near the Union Office. It is the same one where his son and new bride stayed after the wedding. Paulson had arranged a special rate for us of RS 1300 including breakfast (of sorts). He also arranged for our driver to take us to the airport tomorrow to fly to Calcutta. The cost will be about half of what we paid for the taxi when we first arrived here from USA. That is very special because the driver lives in Sangareddy 60 miles away and has to take the bus both ways and back again to his home (3 one-way trips) in order to do that. We gave him a special tip to help with that and show our appreciation.
We also tipped Manage, the Maintenance man from the Section office, who came with us in the car to help us find some post cards in Hyderabad. He also had to return by bus to Sangareddy tonight. Paulson had to catch a bus at 6 to Hosure, the Division Office Headquarters, to attend special meetings. The train he had tickets for was cancelled and the bus was the alternative. Other Union officers joined him. It is the Union Session where new officers will be elected and other important decisions made. So he had less than an hour to get to his apartment here and pack a few things to take to Hosure.
The car took him to the bus and then returned with us through the Moslem section of Hyderabad to look for the post cards. It was a special opportunity for us to see the town at night. Traffic was horrendous with the rush hour bumper-to-bumper and fender-to-fender congestion. When it did move it looked like it had been choreographed and the flow reminded of a ballet. Motorcycles loaded with people and cargo wove in and out around the larger vehicles, pedestrians, and animals like gnats or mosquitoes.
There is a Moslem special festival in progress right now and each family must kill a goat even in their apartment we are told, and eat or give portions of the meat. So all along the way we saw clusters of goats ready for sale to meet this need. Shops along and in the street were lit up and sometimes incense was burning. Hosts of people vied with the traffic for a space in the street. In the middle of it all was a cart pulled by two bullocks. No one seemed to mind. The sidewalks were fully occupied with little selling displays and parked motorcycles. That is India.
While Mary Alice got her cards (only of Hyderabad available) Glenn bought two Moslem caps for “show-and-tell”. One shopkeeper tried to sell us some “excellent” photos of things in the Museum we had passed. After seeing them we decided not to buy but he gave them anyhow. He wanted us to have those photos. If we had more time here it would have been great to go through the museum and see the things that take you back in time into history. One thing they have is the sword of Shah Jahan who in the 1600’s built the beautiful Taj Mahal in memory of Mumtaz, his favorite wife. We will go through New Delhi on our way back to USA but will have no time to visit anything there. We had seen the Taj Mahal in an earlier visit some years back.
A Huge gate complex marks the center of Hyderabad, built by two Moslem rulers a long time ago. They gates are supported by four towers with minarets on top. It is a very special place for the Moslems and during this festival they are here in large numbers. We will learn more when back in USA with encyclopedia resources. They are available here on line but that is not an easy thing to get done.
Our major project here is to repack our suitcases and ready them to meet airline specs on weight. It is different for local flights (from Hyderabad to Calcutta) than on International ones. They could charge us Rs 120 for each Kg beyond the allowed 27 including carry on. The Manager of this hotel has a friend who works at the airport and may be able to intercede for us. Both are SDA and want to help. Worst case will be we just have to pay it and go on. The issue is that we will be spending more than 24 hours in Mizoram and Tripura before continuing our International flight. They could waive that rule since our major flight is International.
In the meantime we are planning our strategy to adjust the weight by putting some heavy items into our pockets if necessary to reduce the overage as much as possible. We are drinking all our water and eating all our fresh fruit here at the hotel. Maybe we will also eat some of the bread, nuts and crackers to save that weight and space.
A significant part of the overage in weight is the coins we hope to bring back and share with groups where we tell the story of God’s blessing in this trip. We heard that already more than 500 have been baptized with many more preparing for the near future. Several new churches are being organized in villages where there was no SDA presence before our meetings. At least five non SDA pastors attended and were very pleased with what they heard and saw from the Bible. This could have huge consequences in the future. As yet we have not heard the full report. We did not go to the bank to get coins but bought out all the coins given on the final Sabbath offerings. Here were the brand new believers giving from their little their tithes and offerings and trusting God to provide for their needs. He will! We know that by experience.
The experience of going through town in the height of festival was very special. The memories will last a long while. We didn’t have cameras along to record it, but memory will hold it a long time.
It’s time to close and get a little sleep before getting-up time. We don’t know where we will be able to send this on, but will find out soon.
With love in His love,
Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Glenn and Mary Alice