What is Next?

How does one describe an experience that is so different from the life you live?  Thinking about this question has allowed me to realize that maybe instead of focusing on the differences between Indian peoples' lifestyle and my own American lifestyle, I should focus on the things that connect us as people of God.
Yes, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the poverty and poor living conditions that are so apparent for many Indian people. In fact, the first few days in India, I had a hard time looking at anything else.  The emotions that I felt were overwhelming at times as I saw how hard people worked, how poor the living conditions were, and how the smell of poverty permeates everything around you.
As we continued our journey, I started to see beyond the things that first took me by surprise. Instead I saw great things happening.  This is a country filled with people who are so kind.  The work ethic they have is incredible.  They just do what needs to be done to survive.  Simple things are important to them; faith, family, helping each other and knowing that each person must live in harmony with the others around them.
The AELC, along with other groups and individuals, are doing some great work helping to spread the word of God.  We visited many places where people had heard a call from God and started Christian based places where people could come to find sanctuary or get help to develop skills so they could support themselves.  Education facilities are being set up where poverty stricken children can learn and have a place to stay.  Places have been developed to house young and old orphaned people.  One couple started their own free clinic where both body and spiritual health needs are addressed.  Another couple are in the process of setting up a place where Autistic individuals can get educated in the most beneficial way.  The list goes on and on.
So I ask myself, what now is my part in all of this.  I know that God led me to this opportunity to use me to spread his word and work.  The first thing I will stress is that we are all God's children.  We walk together as disciples and therefore connecting and supporting one another in any way we can is so important.  If I could take one piece of information that I learned from those in India and share it with those around me, it would be that we can't just say we are Christians but that we also have to live our life as Christians.  Even though we are human and make mistakes, we need to continue to strive to become more knowledgeable about our faith and then really live this in our lives.
I know that I don't fully understand my complete part in how I will use my Indian experience to help spread God's word and work, but I will continue to talk to my ELCA traveling companions, pray and listen with an open heart for God's call.  I am truly a very blessed person to have been able to have such an incredible experience with such a terrific group of people.
Peggy Larson

Homecoming

It is hard to believe that we were in Delhi just 72 hours ago.  I suspect returning to family and friends, church and work will be a process rather than an event for many in our group.  Consolidating the emotions, events and energy surrounding this experience may take more than a few days and I hope I will recognize the face of Christ in my sisters and brothers here in Minnesota.  I am at home today, trying to allow myself some time to process without the pressure of picking up responsibilities outside of my own basic care and feeding needs.  It feels like our "time travel" may have changed more than just the clock and the weight of my luggage.  It seems as if  I left some old parts of myself in India and returned with some new pieces for which no spaces yet exist to fit them comfortably within me. Today only two things seem clear to me:  There is nothing within us or outside of us unknown to or unusable by God AND that am not the same person who left Fargo on November 2, 2012.  I am deeply grateful for everything that I experienced along with my fellow pilgrims, for all those who prayed for us and supported this journey in a myriad of other ways.  I am looking ahead to some words posted on my office wall that will welcome me back to work tomorrow:

"EXHALE"
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" Lao Tzu
"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places" Ernest Hemingway
"You cannot solve a problem with the same consciousness that created it" Albert Einstein
"Not everything that is faced can be changed... but nothing can be changed until it is faced" James Baldwin 
"Memo: Do not feel personally, totally, irrevocably responsible for everything.  That's MY job.   Love, God".

I am both a woman and mother, a wife and social worker; I am neither a theologian nor clergy, yet I can still strive in any those roles to be in the world as a "good enough" Lutheran Christian in Minnesota and India.  We are all free to pray, bless, partner and accompany one another on this ongoing journey of faith, because we can and not because we need to prove that any of us are worthy enough to do so.  I suppose this journey has never been about being perfect partners or perfect Christians, even as I struggle to remember that in my daily life and work.  As I contemplate ways to make meaning of my pilgrimage experiences, I am grateful to God for compassion and mercy, pray for all of God's children throughout the world, wherever we may live and however we may come to know God's abundant love, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God.

Peace and love from Fergus Falls,
Laura Skogen, Bethlehem Lutheran Church



 

It's been another wonderful day here in India... full of contrasts: the warmth of our friends who have made us feel so very welcome and comfortable here and the mystery of so many cultural differences that we yet do not comprehend; strikingly beautiful people and brightly colored saris against the backdrop of worn buildings, dusty streets and littered byways; and of course the slow heat of the wonderful curries paired with the cool curd and irresistible naan (flat bread) that we enjoy at nearly every meal. It was the last day with our now good friends and it will be difficult to say good-bye in the morning as we fly off to Delhi!

One of our highlights that we've all agreed upon has been the two home visits that we've all had with various families - one time in Guntur and the other time in Bimahvaram. We divided up into smaller pairs or groups and were hosted by wonderfully warm folks who prepared feasts for us of their best fare. I was complimented in my eating Indian style... and none of our readers should be surprised if we dip our fingers into the mashed potatoes when we return home in time for Thanksgiving, as we're becoming quite accustomed to eating with our hands! These visits gave us good time to get to know people more personally and see them in a relaxed setting in their own homes and it was so very enjoyable.

We've seen so many of the ministries of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church - we've met the Bible Women, visited a Blind School, a school for orphans and a leper colony, a home for destitute women, as well as many local congregations - to mention only some of our stops! Today we attended the Synod Youth Convention here in Visakapatanam where Pastor Andrew did a really fine job of preaching and where we also recorded a greeting with the youth to be sent over the web to our youth when they gather in convention this week! You'll soon find us on Youtube... and hear a familiar song sung in Telegu. We also completed our prayer canvas with the youth - a shared project that they joyfully entered into! It was cut in half as planned, and now they have a banner to be shared within their synod and we will have one to bring home... tangible reminders of our colorful and prayerful time together and our ongoing relationship in Christ.

As the sun began to set and we headed back to our hotel, we stopped at the shore of the Bay of Bengal which runs right alongside the city. Many of us dipped our toes in the water as the big orange ball of sun sank down in the sky and as the first signs of the Festival of Lights shone in the sky - beautiful white cloth balloons that were carried up into the air by the light of a small flame. They floated up high til they looked like large fireflies and when they burned out they gently floated back down over the water. By the time we got back to the hotel the calm was broken by fireworks going off like a war zone - light and sparks and bangs and booms all around! The hotel put on a special show in the parking lot just for the guests - which we got a bang out of. (Ha!) "Happy Dewali" is seen everywhere - today is the biggest Hindu festival of the year and it is marked by streamers of lights hanging from buildings all around and fireworks, fireworks! Our Christian friends say that they buy the fireworks since this is the only time of year they are sold, and save them for Christmas when they are used in their celebrations at that time.

Peace to you all... Linnea  Papke-Larson

Time travel

It seems as if in losing 11.5 hours, we also lost our ability to do some formerly simple things. In India, we need help with things regularly taken for granted. How to keep the lights on was my first clue that I would depend on strangers many times a day. I need help to find a bathroom, an ATM, even how and what to eat may require some assistance. Thankfully, help has been available, often freely offered in a generosity of spirit that has been truly humbling. Our Indian friends have been gracious and patient. They have shown us the face of Christ every day of our journey in this amazing place. Peace to you all, Laura

This is from The Hindu newspaper announcing our visit!

Connecting with children

Please read the comment - that is where the blog entry is.

A full plate

A new Indian friend spoke of Indian meals presenting all six taste senses on your plate at each meal. That is how I am experiencing the Indian people and this larger than life place. All my senses are engaged continuously with contrasts and textures forming a tapestry that is rich and deep.  One moment of my day carried the pungent sweet scent of flowers and fruit piled high at a street vender, while ten minutes later I step around fresh water buffalo dung. Every kind of decorated vehicle drives madly by honking in code and then later the Bay of Bengal washes my feet and my soul  with peace and much needed quiet.
   I have met many new and some old friends.  Bishop Suneel and his wife Grace served us a beautiful Indian meal for the travelers visiting their home tonight and it was so good to be able to talk more closely about important issues that the church is facing. They are like family since we met at my home a year ago.  They send greetings to Bemidji friends.  New faces of friends came from beautifully dressed and cared for children at a school for the blind that the church is sponsoring.  Greeting them hand to hand was more personal as assistants greeted us by tossing flower petals as we entered. I was so grateful there is a loving place, a refuge in the city, where educational and life skills are taught.  I was also relieved to be seen only by my touch and interaction and not by the light color of my skin. Light and dark are woven into this tapestry too, but the ministries in action here are brighter than anything.  Jesus on the road. Jesus in schools, in the children, in the staff...in us. Jesus in the family living in a palm frond home with thin children laughing and mother cooking at the fire outside. Jesus in the villagers pushing our bus through mud. Jesus in the man sleeping on the baracade between highway lanes. Jesus in some very tough situations and Jesus in joy. Lots of joy.  Maybe sometimes without so much "stuff" and out of comfortable lives, we are freed to depend on Him, see him. There certainly is seeking going on here, and the church in us reaching out in love where they see need.
     Yes, the plate is full, the tapestry complex. We are part of the texture. God is through all this. I'm trying to experience my color, my flavor, without knowing the meal, the pattern. So, on to experience pastors' day in church tomorrow and celebrate the light here.

     Peace,  Cynthia