Memo from Madras #15
May 13, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
"Semper Paratus!"
"Always Prepared!"
That Coast Guard motto has been one of my favorites. I especially think about it when I find something I really need from among all the things I lugged with me to Chennai in February. Then I grin and exclaim, "Semper Paratus!"
I guess I have said it so many times that even now my house mates, Troty and Mrinal, have picked up on the phrase. Before I am finished with the word "Semper," they complete the Latin phrase: "Paratus."
I have been thinking about that phrase this morning. That's because I am sorting through some of the things I brought. They're things I brought, but now might take home with me May 24, when I return to the U.S. for a two week break from Chennai's summer heat.
"Semper Paratus!"
I came prepared with combs, razors, mosquito repellent, calculators, plug adapters, sunglasses, and that great symbol of preparedness that even a 67-year old boy should not be without: the Swiss Army Knife!
In sorting through my things, it's true there were a few items I brought but can now pack up and take back. They're things I don't need here-like a jacket which I did need to make it out of Colorado in February!
While I am surprised at how much stuff I brought that I did need, there are a few things I need to pack for my return trip to India : more socks, another pair of lounge pants and some more underwear. That's because some of those items got chewed up one day by a pack of stray dogs playing a tug of war game on the roof of our apartment units. That's where my clothes were hung out to dry, until these dogs climbed the stairs, reached that roof and started to play their "WAR-drobe" games!
Now the other day I came across another, more modern Latin phrase. It, too, begins with "Semper," but then (excuse the pun) takes a new twist:
"Semper Gumby!"
"Always Flexible!"
That phrase truly speaks to me-usually every day! I won't give you examples. Just believe me when I say it's a great motto! And maybe when I return, I'll need to bring a Gumby or two back with me! In fact, maybe not having brought a Gumby in the first place shows I wasn't so "Semper Paratus!" after all!
Mottos, slogans and rules, I admit, sometimes help carry me along.
When traveling, for example, I am pretty committed to three useful rules that I picked up somewhere along the way:
- Rule One--"Never stand when you can sit."
- Rule Two-"Never sit when you can lie down."
- Rule Three-"Never pass up the chance to use the toilet."
Those rules have helped me a lot over the years. But one day here, I had to ignore Rule One: "Never stand when you can sit."
That was the day I visited ICSA, the Inter-Church Service Association here in Chennai, and its head, Moses Manohar. When I arrived, Moses told me that he would like for me to award some two dozen or so trophies to some special ICSA computer students-all having disabilities. Just a few days earlier, he explained, they had competed in a kind of Chennai Special Olympics. They had won races, thrown shot puts farther than anyone else or captured some other track and field event.
I walked into the room to meet the students. To my surprise, they were all standing, many with arms around crutches. Yes, they were standing, waiting to greet me!
Then Moses pointed to a chair, and said to me: "Please sit!"
No. Rule or no rule, I could not do that! Not here. Not while these students stood.
Rule One became flexible in an instant! "Never stand when you can sit!" suddenly became: "Never sit when you must stand!"
For, in that room on that day, I could not sit!
"Semper Gumby!"
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #14
May 13, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
"1542 Francis Xavier (1506-1552), co-founder of the Jesuits and missionary for them, landed at Goa , India . He strengthened the Europeans there by teaching the creed, the Lord's Prayer and the commandments and by baptizing them."
This entry in the Concordia Historical Institute's "Today in History" excellent and informative website ( chi.lcms.org/history/todayinhist.asp ) reminds me of the enormous influence that Jesuits have had in the work of the Body of Christ in our world.
I remember the first Jesuit I came know fairly well: Fr. James Reuter. Fr. Reuter was whirlwind of activities. He lived in Manila , and was known for his work in theatre and the extravagant Broadway-type plays he would stage in that city. Later in his life, he was an activist who gave much strength and encouragement to the famous "People Power" movement that led to the overthrow of President Ferdinand Marcos. I got to know him because he was in charge of much Catholic Media in the Philippines . I was then Director of Mass Communications for the Lutheran Church in the Philippines , and branch manager of "The Lutheran Hour." Our radio programming was often in the form of professionally produced dramas in four local languages, which Anna Belle did so much to help produce, and were distributed to dozens of radio stations throughout the country who were willing to broadcast them for free. Fr. Reuter gave us open access to place them on many Catholic radio stations, and I suspect it was Fr. Reuter who nominated our program in the "Best Drama" program in the local version of the Emmys. One day, I was at a meeting of religious leaders in Manila , who were discussing how to respond to a devastating typhoon that had wreaked havoc and destruction in that island nation. Fr. Reuter was a charming and gracious man, but on that day he was again also very ecumenical. I remember words he said then: "If we religious groups can't get together and work together to respond together in this moment of need, what can we ever do together?" Well, I don't remember exactly the words he said, but I do remember the impact it made on my thinking.
The second Jesuit that quickly comes to mind is Fr. M. V. D. Bogart. Fr. Bogart was, and still is, both a humble man and a greatly respected development guru in India . I suspect his life didn't begin that way. He was best known for establishing a famous management institute. Then, when that institute was firmly set up, he set up another one in another very poor region of Eastern India . It was called, thanks to that man who set foot on India 's soil in 1541, the Xavier Institute of Management. He quickly established a branch of that Institute to train people in rural development. About 20 years ago, I first met Fr. Bogart for the purpose of using the services of that branch. I was looking for a couple of persons who could help LWR to accompany small rural development agencies develop with their communities projects, and then help LWR do programmatic and financial monitoring and evaluations. About two weeks ago I met two wonderful friends who were the outgrowth of that search with Fr. Bogart: Gil "Ravi" Ravichander and Rakhi Bhattacharya, who now have been working for years with LWR in India (In about a week Ravi will head off to Sri Lanka for a couple of months to help LWR continue and strengthen its response with tsunami activities there). Fr. Bogart was also a man of excellence. Ravi told me that the two institutes mentioned above are consistently listed among the top 10 management institutes in India, and I can tell you that's something! But I remember Fr. Bogart because he left each of these institutes once they had achieved excellence, and then moved on to establish another one. Now he is doing that in the heart of India, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. But as he is doing that, he is still thinking about ways to tie excellence in management with helping the poor.
The third Jesuit is gentle Fr. Jose Kananaikal, who has done major work among the Dalits, commonly known as the "untouchables." LWR supported some of his work, particularly in helping Dalit communities with income-generating projects. But Fr. Kananaikal's work went beyond the safe projects that LWR could support. As an Indian, Fr. Kananaikal could inspire Dalit communities to campaign, to march and fight for justice and against an unbelievable grip of oppression. Jesuits are known for being scholars, and Fr. Kananaikal was one, too. He wrote papers about the Dalit situation. He worked, for years, at an esteemed Jesuit Social Institute. But though a scholar, his heart was in the local communities, and that is where he lives and works today. "Gentle" is how I described Fr. Jose Kananaikal. Is this what a meek Jesuit looks like? "Blessed are the meek."
The last person is not a Jesuit at all. But there is a connection. His initials are "T.S." Those initials stand for the first and middle name of this quiet, spiritual, introspective Indian. He wore, every time I was with him, a black felt "beanie" cap. It made him look a bit scholarly, but I came to learn that it was to cover his bald head. Only a few times would he take it off, perhaps when I would tease him. The head looked normal. :) T.S. and I first met at the airport in Chennai, then Madras . These were the years before Ravi and Rakhi came to LWR; and for a while T.S. would travel with me to visit projects in the southern part of India . T.S. was then probably in his late 50s. His wife had died a few years earlier. T.S. had spent his life working with the Tamil Nadu State 's Rural Development. He was a gift to LWR both because of his broad knowledge on cooperatives, but also because of the pleasant relationships he was able to forge with communities and partners. But T.S. was searching for a new direction after the death of his beloved wife. A few more years passed, and soon he enrolled in a seminary. One day, at my office in New York City , I got a card from him, announcing that he was about to be ordained into the priesthood. I have not seen T.S. since; not yet, but I hope to. I have heard that he has a small parish not far from Nagapattinam, the worst tsunami-affected region along India 's southern coastline. And I suspect he has been involved with the Catholic tsunami response in one way or another. I told you that his initials were "T.S." but that is not how I knew him. I knew him by his last name: Francis. Francis...named after Francis Xavier, who first set foot on Indian soil 463 years ago today.
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #13
May 13, 2005
Hi Jean,
Thanks to you for your nice email a while ago. I should have answered you sooner.
Anna Belle told me she had such a nice time with you at Frisco. Sounds too wonderful to be thinking of snow falling in Colorado just a few days ago when I have the thermometer reaching the upper 90s!
May is our hot season. One of the good things about this month, though, is that the mangoes are ripe. I had two yesterday, along with some pineapple.
The fruit choices here are great. One of my housemates, Troty, got a whole basket of mangoes sent to him for me from his father. His father has a bunch of mango trees, and that basketful of golden fruit was actually more than we could eat. But now we are ready for more. I think the best time will be in about another week.
Someone came today to iron Troty's shirts and pants--about 20 in all--for just under a dollar! Sounds like "Dollar Days" to me! Lots of stuff here is inexpensive, like riding in an auto rickshaw--if you're willing to risk life and limb. Fortunately there are so many of these around, and if you bumped into another vehicle, it could well be another auto rickshaw.
Today I am going to a hotel for a lunch buffet with an old friend, Joseph John, whom I have written about in earlier Memos. He has been terribly busy with tsunami relief operations with CASA, one of LWR's partner agencies, but now is about to retire--in about two months. So, I'm sure it will be a big change of life for him.
The UELCI work is rolling along, or should I say, sailing along. Today, the UELCI is turning over some boats to villagers along the coast in the District of Kancheepuram. A couple of weeks back I was at a village further south, in Cuddalore. There we had turned over 20 boats, motors and nets to fisherfolk some weeks earlier. When we got to the village, some boats were just coming in with their catch, and what a sight! The boats were full of fish...enough to fill the equivalent of about 25 plastic egg crate boxes. Each of the boxes of fish would sell wholesale for nearly two dollars. In this economy, that was a good day's work. There are so many others, besides the fishermen, who benefit from the catch--those who sell, those who clean, those who prepare the nets...and like a ripple in the water the benefits spread.
We did a story about this one time, and quoted Chandran Paul Martin, the Executive Secretary of the UELCI. He was photographed holding some newly caught fish. Looking at them, he said, "If it weren't for our donor partners, these fish would still be swimming in the ocean!"
A friend of mine, Paul Wee, some years ago served as the General Secretary of the Lutheran
World Federation in Geneva . I remember some of his writings, so often vivid. He once thanked those who helped raise money, even in unusual ways, to help fight world hunger. He referred to some youth who swallowed goldfish, just to raise money. I think about Paul now again. The money people have raised around the world are helping people along India 's coast now swallow fish of their own!
Thanks be to God!
With love,
Gene
P.S. Jean, this looks like the makings of a new "Memo from Madras ," so I'll let let some others read over your shoulder!! :)
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Memo from Madras #12
April 19, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
When my computer remains idle for a time, "screen savers" replace whatever was showing on the screen. On my computer, the screen savers are made up of scenes from tsunami-affected villages along the Indian coast. Of course, my flashing screen savers are my very best pictures. J
The phrase "screen savers" has come to refer to something else here after the tsunami. It refers to relief agencies that have come and gone. Helping agencies sometimes are like screen savers, like passing photos that show up and then vanish.
That was clearly the case in the worst affected area, Nagapattinam, a seven-hour drive south of Chennai ( Madras ). Shortly after the disaster, there were an astonishing 400 agencies distributing relief in that region. Today the "screen saver" agencies are gone, and only about 14 or 15 remain for the long haul.
Lutheran World Relief is not interested in doing "screen saver" aid. I am happy to say that the three partners through whom LWR works are still among the handful that are in the region carrying on. Each of them plans to stay for a multi-year period.
The UELCI ( United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India ), with whom I'm attached here, works in close association with several of its member Lutheran church bodies who have long had a presence in these areas. That has nice advantages. The church will be around for a very long time, and there is not even a whiff of "screen saver" about them. They will remain there to do their ministry to body and soul, or if you prefer, in a holistic ministry.
Their churches become renewal centers, where mission and ministry find their source and direction. Their people have already, and will continue to, roll up their sleeves and push aside other priorities for a while to attend to these new needs and calls on their time.
At the same time, these churches will also carry on their other work. Choirs will still practice, babies will be baptized, and loudspeakers will still shout the message of God's love from the housetops. As LWR funds the human needs of the tsunami-affected population, the larger pattern of the church's mission continues. There's integration here.
But no "screen savers."
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #11
April 12, 2005
Dear Friends and Family,
This morning I made dosa and fried eggs for breakfast.
Dosa is one of so many delicious breads in India . One can simply buy a plastic bag of "wet flour"-the dosa mix--pour it onto a griddle as though one were making a very thin, crispy pancake, and there it is. It's a wonderful breakfast bread, and a bread normally made a breakfast time.
However, what really interested me this morning was that when I cracked open two eggs onto the griddle, the yolks were quite pale. I like eggs when the yolks are golden yellow.
So did an aid worker in Kenya , once some years ago. The aid worker noticed that some farmers always seemed to be getting pale yokes from their chicken eggs. (This is not a joke...in case you're thinking I'm just leading you along. It actually happened!).
So the aid worker persuaded the farmers to plant Marigolds around the border of their gardens. The Marigolds would discourage the presence of insects, the farmers were told, and the chickens would eat the Marigolds. They would lay eggs, and the yokes would be yellow, golden yellow.
This went on for a while, but only until the aid worker was no longer there, working among them. Later, another aid worker came and learned what happened to the Marigold/Yellow Egg Yolk project.
It failed.
Why? Well the villagers finally explained. We didn't really like the idea of Marigolds in the first place. The Marigolds did keep the insects away, but now our chickens had to look for food elsewhere. And we were not interested in having yellow yokes anyway, because if we didn't break open the eggs and eat them-to give a meal for one person--but rather let the eggs become new chicks, we would one day have a chicken that would make a meal for six!
As I cracked open my pale eggs this morning, I thought of the lessons. A project won't last if the people themselves aren't encouraged to figure out what it is they want and how they can do it. Suggestions from the outside are fine, but the ownership of the idea has to be with the people. Does this project take people where they want to go?
Sadly, Marigolds are still planted. Well, perhaps not Marigolds, but you get the drift!
Oh, by the way, the eggs and the dosa tasted good!
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #10
April 6, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
In addition to this "Memo from Madras " series, I am also writing a series called "Tsunomilies-Stories for Preachers." The idea is to offer preachers a few tsunami-related homily thoughts for the upcoming Sunday's sermon.
It's possible that you are also on that list, even if you are not a preacher. But I'm in cahoots with preachers, and if I think you attend a church where your preacher might possibly be desperate enough to use part or all of these Tsunomilies in a sermon now and then, I have not added your name to the list (sorry, Redeemer members). :)
But today I will bend the rule a bit-after the fact, by sharing with you one of my Tsunomilies. It was sent out before April 3, when the Gospel for that day was about St. Thomas .
I'll let you read it first, and then I want to tell you "The rest of the story."
Five Words
I write this a few days after visiting with Fr. Lawrence Raj.
Fr. Raj is the parish priest at a massive and beautiful white church located near the beach in Chennai ( Madras ).
Near the end of the visit, I asked to have his card. He replied with a smile, "I have two to give you: an earthly one and a heavenly one."
Of course, I was interested to see what the heavenly one looked like!
It was laminated, and looked like a Visa card. On the Visa icon were the letters: SCBC. It stood for Santhome Cathedral Basilica Chennai. It was the St. Thomas Cathedral, which along with St. Peter's Basilica in Rome , are the only two churches in the world believed to be built above the tomb of an apostle.
The back of the card says: "Traditionally it is believed that St. Thomas , one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ came to India in 52 A.D. to proclaim God's message of love and forgiveness. He died as a martyr for the sake of Jesus Christ and was buried at Santhome, Chennai , India ." So the "credit card" number on the front begins with these digits: "0052 0072"-signifying the year of his arrival in India and the year of his death.
There is little or no doubt among Indian Christians that this is so. References to the historical accuracy of this claim date back to about the third century. A large orthodox church based in the southwestern state of Kerala (where Thomas is thought to have done much mission work) is named "Mar Thoma," or Holy Thomas.
There are legends that have surrounded the life of St. Thomas . One is that a log jammed a flooded river, a log stuck so tightly between the river's banks that even a local king's royal elephant could not remove it. Thomas, so the story goes, removed his "girdle," gave it to a bystander to attach to the log, and with little effort, the log was yanked away. The grateful and astonished king gave that log to Thomas to build a church near the ocean's shores.
From that log came a pole, which it is popularly believed, Thomas thrust into the ground, saying the waters of the ocean would not reach the church.
When the tsunami struck, the waves came close according to some published reports, but did not reach the church! That same published report quoted Fr. Raj as saying "We believe the miraculous post of St Thomas prevented the sea waters from entering the church." I asked him about this legend, and he replied to me that it was just "fertile imagination." But the post still stands about 30 feet tall at the rear of the Basilica, overlooking the Indian Ocean .
Again, doubt is associated with the name "Thomas!"
The Day of St. Thomas , observed on December 21, is also the day of the winter solstice, the year's longest night and shortest day. It is said that St. Thomas is commemorated on this day because he was the last of the apostles to become convinced of Jesus' resurrection--he was the one who for the longest time remained in the "night of unbelief and doubt."
But wait. Let me tell you about five words printed on the front of the "credit card." The words are not words of doubt! They do not begin with the words: "Unless I touch.."
These are the words: "My Lord and my God!"
A heavenly card, with five words of conviction!
"My Lord and my God!"
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And now, the rest of the story:
Just before I left for India , our oldest son, Jeff, entered the ministry after a career in the computer world. His ordination was a joyful day.
During the ordination service, I told Jeff and the congregation that it was a custom for the family to present the ordinand with a stole. I added that his wife, Pam, his mother and I had all cooked up a special surprise. I said that the stole he would get was the very one I was wearing, a red one woven by tribal folks in the Philippines where our family lived many years ago.
By this time a few tears were forming around my eyes and, I noticed, around the eyes of more than a few others as well.
Soon the stole was placed on his shoulders, with Anna Belle reading something. She didn't glance at anybody. You can guess why.
Knowing that I would soon be heading off for India , I hoped that I might find a replacement stole here.
Well, as I was leaving Fr. Raj's office at Santhome Cathedral, I met a sister and struck up a conversation with her. I asked her what her work was, and she told me she worked at the Liturgical Arts Center at the church, and with her head pointed in that direction!
I asked if they made stoles. She nodded.
Without missing a step, I followed.
She showed me all the red stoles they had, and then on a clean sheet of paper I drew out the special stole I would like to have made. It would be done, she told me.
When I pick it up in about a month, one side of my new red stole will have Tamil words in gold lettering. The other side will have the English translation.
The English version will have five words, which by now you've probably already guessed!
"My Lord and my God!"
And that is the rest of the story!
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #9
March 29, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
I was surprised to see how many of you had written me during the last hours inquiring about the earthquake.
It is now lunchtime here, or past bedtime where most of you live.
Last night, at about 11 pm, Troty, my apartment mate, got a call from his sister in New Jersey, alerting us to the earthquake. We turned on the TV, and there was much by way of breaking news about it--from the BBC and from local stations.
My other apartment mate, Mrinal, quickly phoned his brother who lives in Malaysia. There the people felt the jolt and many had run out of their homes.
I called home to tell my Anna Belle that we were fine. She was blissfully unaware of the news. That's what happens when you don't have your TV on 24 hours a day!! :)
I phoned Joseph John, my friend from CASA, whom I mentioned in the previous Memo. There was no answer, so I left a message, saying something like "Sorry to disturb you, but there was a powerful earthquake near the one that caused the tsunami last December 26. I thought you'd want to know."
Well, he was already alerted. His neighbor, P. S. Thomas, got a call from his nephew in Dubai, alerting Mr. Thomas about the earthquake and possible tsunami. Like the Doubting Thomas we will hear about in Sunday's Gospel, this Mr. Thomas was expressing his doubts to his nephew, who then called him again 15 minutes later to tell him how serious this might be. Mr. Thomas has an 85-year old relative who lives near Chennai's beach. So, now galvanized to action, he quickly called her, to urge her to leave her house. But she was not ready to do so. Soon, however, she changed her mind when she saw many other people fleeing the shore and her neighborhood. So she told Joseph's neighbor, Mr. Thomas, she would leave. Mr. Thomas then contacted Joseph to see if they might go together in Joseph's car to fetch her and bring her to the Mr. Thomas' house.
That's why I wasn't reaching Joseph on the phone.
So together they left for the beach. By the time they got there, the main roads were already blocked by the police, and there were large crowds leaving the area. "Panic" likely is not quite the right word to use, but "jittery" might well be. Many people, fully alerted to the magnitude of this earthquake, were not second-guessing the destructive force of a tsunami. One doesn't forget in three months.
So with the main roads near the sea clogged with people, Joseph and his neighbor took a side road and reached the house of the woman, who arrived safely at the neighbor's house around midnight.
"Joseph," I said, "you were a Good Samaritan last night!" And he said, "That's what you do when someone needs help."
It was as simple as that.
And as profound as that!
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #8
March 28, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
It's a small world!
Saturday night I was reading a paper on the internet about indigenous Christian churches in India. Two footnotes in this interesting paper referenced two people close to me, one figuratively and one physically. One was Leonard Tuggy, who used to live with his family in Lucena City, the Philippines, and just about a block away from where our family lived in the 60s! The other was a professor, Jacob Thomas, who I believe is the very same Jacob Thomas that lives next door to my apartment!
It's a small world!
But it doesn't stop there.
Last evening, while many of you were celebrating morning Easter services in the U.S., I was celebrating a "Singing Cross" (choir forms a cross) Easter Celebration in Chennai with perhaps 1500 other Christians. We sang hymns in English, Tamil and Malayalam.
My host was Joseph John, the head of the Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) in the southern region of India. His office is most directly responding for CASA in the tsunami relief efforts.
Joseph is part of the Ecumenical Fellowship in Madras, which hosted the event last night. The speaker was Dr. George Chandy, director of the large and outstanding Christian Medical College in Vellore, a three hour drive west of Chennai.
His splendid talk took us down the Emmaus Road, and he challenged us to consider the burning in the disciples' hearts, and for us to act upon the burning within our hearts.
At the end of the evening, thanks were given by June Hedlund, whom I had recognized from the program as a violinist. She was the inspiration, I learned from another speaker, for this "singing cross" event. In her remarks she said that about three years ago she clipped out a small article from the Los Angeles Times about a "singing cross," and hoped that that could happen here. She described the obstacles. One was that this time of the year was exam time for the students, and where might they find 60 students to participate as part of the singing cross? Last night, I guessed, there were 100 students singing in the formation of the cross.
Then she continued by saying that when she read the story that she clipped from the newspaper, there was a burning in her heart! Her voice choked, and then she said she was glad she acted on that burning!
Hedlund. That was her name. Where had I seen it before, I wondered? Then I remembered. A "Roger Hedlund" was the author of the paper I had read the night before about the indigenous churches in India. I sensed there might be a connection. I told Joseph John I wanted to talk with her. When I did, I discovered she indeed was married to Roger, and there he was standing beside me!
It's a small world!
I had learned from one of the earlier speakers that the Hedlunds were headed back to the U.S. in two days time for a brief furlough. So I asked June where they were going. She said first to their home in California. Then, she said, they were going to Colorado. "Where?" I asked. "Fort Collins," she replied, adding that Roger would be at a Mission Institute at a Baptist church there speaking on the growth of indigenous Christian churches in India! I told her that Fort Collins was exactly where we lived. And I quickly added that I hoped my Anna Belle and they would have a chance to meet. I got Roger's card and today will try to make those contacts!
It's a small world!
Many of my friends live in or near Fort Collins. If you are interested in hearing his talk, I think Anna Belle will have more information before long. The paper can be read by clicking onto this website: http://www.missionstudies.org/conference/1papers/fp/Roger_Hedlund_Full_Paper.pdf
As we were singing the Tamil and the Malayalam songs last night, I just stood and listened. But wait. Soon, in each language, I heard them singing a word from the Easter Hymn, "Jesus Christ is Risen Today." I knew that word! Soon I was singing that one recognizable word with the large gathering of Indian Christians, and with you, in this small world: "Alleluia!"
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #7
March 20, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
Jean, who walks most mornings in Colorado with my Anna Belle, sent a St. Paddy's Day card that got opened only this morning, after returning from a week-long trip to some of India 's most severely affected tsunami areas.
The card, written and then tucked into my suitcase before I left for India last month, asked me to send news and also tell of my changed lifestyle.
First the news.
I had a chance to visit work supported by Lutheran World Relief in three different ways: to the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI), the Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) and Lutheran World Service in India (LWSI).
Each organization has adopted a number of villages along the tsunami-struck coastline of southern India . These villages are allocated to various agencies by government officials, and the plan does a remarkably good job of avoiding duplication.
Each village may have the presence of a handful of helping agencies, but within that village relief workers told me that with such a limited number, it is pretty easy to coordinate work and make sure that there is not overlapping.
What usually happens is that one agency takes care of one or more needs, such as supplying drinking water, working with children, attending to trauma counseling, building temporary shelters, supplying boats and nets. And so it goes on, until all the needs are attended to as best as can be done.
In one village we saw a sign of the various relief goods distributed, such as stoves, clothes or cooking utensils. The LWSI worker in that village explained that this was done by LWSI to keep all informed of what had been distributed, so that other agencies would not duplicate the process.
In another village, we saw six boats return from the sea with fish in their new nets. The fiberglass boats were also brand new, and equipped with motors. Those were six of about 20 distributed on a festive day by the UELCI to happy villagers on a sandy beach under sloping coconut trees. Earlier in the day I had ridden in a similar boat in a CASA adopted village. When I returned to shore, an older fisherman who had talked to me about the tsunami, told me, "I, too, feel good when I am on solid ground."
In one village we saw two groups of people, mostly comprised of about a dozen women, who were working with CASA to remove a four or five-inch thick crusty layer of soil that got saturated with salt from the sea when the tsunami waves flooded the land. This project paid workers in cash and rice, and the removal of this top layer gave hope that the land would once again bring new harvests. Through this work program it provided food now, and the promise of food for years to come.
We had many conversations with people impacted by the tsunami, and a few that will remain with me for a long time. One such was with a women working in this project to remove the salty soil. She had lost her husband several years ago in a fishing accident. Now she was doing this hot and hard work as a stopgap measure, until there would be boats and nets soon going out again from her village to catch fish. She would then resume her old job of selling the fish to her customers. She told us of her hope now to earn food for herself and two daughters. Then she told us that her young son was among the thirty some children...and then her voice gave way to a flood of tears. The sentence she could not finish was ".killed in the tsunami."
It felt like the salt had also reached my eyes.
I'll tell more news later, but just a note on the lifestyle Jean asked about in that St. Paddy's Day card. We stayed at a less than desirable hotel, followed by two nice ones, on this trip. The last one featured a hot shower! First hot water from a shower head in a month! Truly a shower of blessings!
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #6
March 11, 2005
Dear Friends and Family,
Until this week, I have been eating my breakfasts quite regularly with Joshua Singh.
Like me, he is also batching! His wife works in Geneva at the Women's Desk with the World Council of Churches.
We had been eating together at a place on campus here at the Gurukul Theological College . But now there is a stove and gas connection at the apartment--so I'm able to get my meals from my own kitchen.
Joshua heads up a Christian Literature Society in Chennai ( Madras ). It is the largest Christian Literature firm in India , with stores in cities around the country.
As we ate together, we've talked about many things, about the Tsunami, about Christian Education, about religious music (he sings in a fine choir), about his twins who have both competed internationally in triathlons, and about life at the office.
You might like to "listen in" to just one of those conversations we've had together.
It was the last day of February. I asked Joshua what his day at the office would be like. He answered that there would be a Salary Distribution Meeting in the morning.
"Today is the last day of the month," he told me. "All the staff gathers to receive a record of their monthly salary deposit in the bank. Then they each sign a statement to acknowledge payment. After that, they enjoy some light refreshments together. During the meeting they also will sing a hymn and have a prayer."
"It's our payday," he explained. "And we want to thank God for the work we have."
The next morning I asked Joshua what hymn they sang the previous day at the Salary Distribution Meeting.
"We sang three, actually," he answered. "One was 'Every Day with Jesus!'"
Every day with Jesus. Even on payday!
Wow!
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #5
March 9, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
It's time for information on the tsunami work of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI). Below is a story released recently by Lutheran World Relief, based on an Update 7, put together by the UELCI team here.
The UELCI has also posted an entire series of updates and some excellent photos on its "blogspot." Simply click onto www.uelci.blogspot.com and, like a magic carpet, you will reach India in seconds! :)
This Sunday evening I will be visiting, for a few days, the areas of Tranquebar and Nagapattinam (see below), and hope to send some personal reflections about that visit before long. Tranquebar is the more distant of the two--about 12 hours south of Chennai ( Madras ) by road or 6 hours by train! I have a train ticket! Hooray!
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #4
March 3, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
Moses led the Children of Israel through many wanderings.
Another Moses has led me through lots of wanderings, too.
Moses Manohar worked to help me monitor projects in India for Lutheran World Relief about 15 years ago. He did this for about three years.
Today he heads up the Inter-Church Service Association in Chennai ( Madras ), a sterling organization founded by a variety of mission support groups, including Lutherans, to serve as a funding clearing house.
Over the years, ICSA has entered into new ventures.
It produces a variety of basic medicines and sells them at a very low cost to Christian hospitals and clinics around the country.
It has for years had a program of training physically challenged persons in computer hardware repair and software skills. Unlike many training programs, this one has had stellar results in helping the two-year graduates land jobs in the open market.
It recently opened an attractive Christian Bookstore on its premises.
It hosts a variety of seminars for church leaders to reflect on economics, politics, management and ethics. Earlier this week it hosted a Sunday School conference.
For the last 15 years, St. Olaf College has sent students to India as part of a Global Learning Experience. The students stay much of the time at ICSA's Hostel.
Yesterday I had lunch with Moses. It was a joyful reunion.
We recalled our many wanderings throughout much of Southern India . We talked about projects LWR then supported. These included brick-making, pottery, solar-cooking, animal loans, new crops, drip irrigation, literacy, community-based primary health care, and may others.
Then Moses smiles.
He recalls the first trip we made together. Before beginning the trip, someone had asked him to put my suitcase in the trunk of the old, dependable Ambassador car, a reliable model that seemed never to change in those years.
When we finally arrived at our destination (probably 10-12 hours later) we opened the trunk. Empty. Moses had forgotten the suitcase.
A local tailor quickly came to the rescue!
Those were the stories we told. It was like we picked up where we left off after those many years ago!
It seemed like nothing had changed!
Too soon our lunch was over, we had to get up and return to our work. As I was about to leave the table, Moses smiled again.
Pointing to my seat, he said with a big twinkle in his eye, "Don't forget your briefcase!"
Indeed, nothing had changed!
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #3
February 28, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
Mrinal is a hard name for me to pronounce.
Try "maRIE-nal" and you are close.
Mrinal is becoming a close friend. We share the same apartment. We share
the same office. You better be friends.
The other day I had an appointment with a dentist not far from here. It
actually was not hard to find her place, but for a first time walk, it felt
like a maze.
Mrinal accompanied me.
How glad I was. Then he sat in the waiting room until I was done, and again
he accompanied me home.
"Accompaniment" is a favorite, and good, concept for those who want to help
others. I first heard it used at Lutheran World Relief in the late 70s.
It is also used here, and often, by the United Evangelical Lutheran Church
in India as it helps the Tsunami survivors. And I am glad.
Accompaniment means walking alongside those in need of help, searching with
them to find their way, just as I was searching to find my way to the
dentist's office.
Mrinal is just one person who has an important job in accompaniment. His
expertise is in Dalit issues. Dalits are what were once referred to as the
untouchables, then outcasts, then "Children of God" (by Gandhi), then
harijans. Today they are called Dalits.
In relief assistance, sometimes the Dalits have felt left out. And
sometimes they have been. Mrinal, and others like him, accompany the Dalits
to help enable them to get their rightful share of the aid and help.
If you can't pronounce the name "Mrinal," try saying "Stephen."
Stephen, you will recall, was a Deacon in the early church, appointed to
assure that some widows who were neglected, would not be neglected.
And coincidentally, "St. Stephen's Day" was December 26, the same day the
Tsunami wreaked havoc in this part of the world.
Stephen reminds us not to neglect the neglected, but to walk with them.
Mrinal shows me it can be done.
And this ancient collect of the church helps me to pray that it will be
done:
Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you all poor and
neglected persons whom it would be easy for us to forget: the homeless and
the destitute, the old and the sick, and all who have none to care for them.
Help us to heal those who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their
sorrow into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for our
sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #2
February 24, 2005
Mr. Vincent is a great gift to me.
I learned about him from the Rev. Chandron Paul Martin, who heads up the UELCI here. He told me that if I wanted good food that doesn't serve a month of India in one bite, I should take my lunch at the Women's Centre on the Campus, and Mr. Vincent would be well experienced in fixing food more suitable for those wishing to avoid spices.
So I have been taking my lunches with Mr. Vincent.
He sits down at my table and talks while I eat. His English is good. He worked for a good number of years at a Catholic mission, and then quite a few years ago came here to cook.
Yesterday I told him that an AC was being put into my bedroom. Today he asked how it was. I told him, "Wonderful!" And I added that I did not have to fight the mosquitoes last night.
He then told me that last night was a very bad night for him. "I had so many mosquitoes last night," he said, "that I swatted my arm and there was blood on my hand from hitting them."
I asked if he didn't have a mosquito net. He said his family of three could not fit under the net.
"You sleep three in your bed?"
"No, we don't have a bed. We sleep on the floor."
The conversation stopped. I caught my breath. I had a bed. With no mosquitoes. In an air conditioned room.
I returned to the office and talked with Troty, my computer friend, about the conversation. He understood, and then added his own feeling: "You know, when I go out to the Tsunami sites, I come back thankful for three things: my life, my health, my family."
This memo could not wait till Thanksgiving.
Today is my Thanksgiving Day.
With love,
Gene
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Memo from Madras #1
February 22, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
It is Tuesday morning at 11 am, or 10:30 pm Monday night in Fort Collins .
I have now had my second night in warm Chennai ( Madras ).
Today looks like a hopeful day....personally. The lowest the temp has been since I have been here is about 82 degrees. I have been sleeping without screens and with more than one mosquito. Each mosquito is a little sermon on the power of one. One mosquito last night had the power of keeping me awake. Good job!
This morning I checked my supply of mosquito repellent. I smiled. I have a good supply.
And today I will have some mosquito netting put on the windows to serve as a screen.
Today I should also get a small refrigerator, small table gas stove, TV, air conditioning and broadband connection at the flat.
The flat is a two bedroom fourth floor apartment on the Lutheran seminary compound. I will be sharing it with two Indians who are also working with the Tsunami Relief operations. One is a computer expert; the other a lawyer working on issues that affect the Dalits (outcasts). The computer expert has already earned his keep!! The lawyer is a good cook, and so the computer expert and I will troll the internet for not so spicy food. These two both come from the coastal state of Andhra Pradesh (north of here), which has the reputation for the hottest food in the country. If he can cook some "bland" food, he will also have earned his keep! :)
I am delighted that I can share my apartment with these two young, successful and capable men. They are going to be good companions and I will enjoy their company, I'm sure. They each have fascinating stories, and I will share them in a later memo.
The response to the Tsunami has pushed aside other agendas in a major way for some of the folks here, and I will have a chance to share later what is happening. From what I have seen so far, dollars that have come to the UELCI (United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India headquartered here, the umbrella organization for 11 Lutheran church bodies working throughout the subcontinent) have landed well, and are being spent with much thoughtfulness and care. There are many stories that I think I will be able to share as time goes on.
Yesterday, I met a three person film crew from the ELCA that is filming on site beginning today. I will see them Sunday when they return to film the Rev. Chandran Paul Martin, the UELCI Executive Director, on a beach near Chennai where the Tsunami also struck.
Just now a three person German delegation arrived for a briefing on the Tsunami operations.
Some might call this a zoo, but not Chandran. He sees it as a healthy partnership. There will also be many stories to tell about the partnerships.
But for now, I will close, and see if this email moves successfully.
With love,
Gene
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