Some highlights on the week

There is just so much to tell about my first week here, I’m only able to hit on the main points. Harry, Edwin, Ko, and I have been going through orientation with the India office. This is mostly a practical look at what the office is like, getting to know the staff and having them get to know us, and some intense cultural studies/training. We have learned so much about Indian culture, the religions of India, and some basic Hindi; my head feels really stuffed. If you would like to know more, I would love to tell you about it; please email me. It would take to long to do it here.

By far my favorite activity was the scavenger hunt. Basically, the staff gave us a list of stuff to see and visit throughout Mussoorie and pushed us out the door with a camera. And this was on Friday, our second full day in town. The main bazaar in Mussoorie is around 1000 ft. below where our office is, so we hiked all the way down stopping random people on the road to ask questions. I felt so unprepared and it was extremely stretching to literally not know anything about everything including the language. That being said, it was also probably the single most rewarding experience of the week as it forced us outside of our comfort zone and blasted any assumptions we may have had about how prepared we were. It was sooo much fun too; the bazaar is an incredibly interesting place, and we even made friends with Islam, a local tailor who invited us up for chai. It really struck me that although the majority of the world’s population shops like this, it is so foreign to Americans. Yet besides the constant stares and lack of time efficiency, I felt part of a process that was more universal then I was used to.

On Sunday, Ko and I went to the Friends Of Garwhal church service (Garwhal being a geographic region which Mussoorie is on the border of). Besides Ryan, the staff member who took us, and two others, we were the only westerners there. Although I certainly felt out of place, it wasn’t nearly to the extent that I expected. All the members treated us as typical newcomers and were very hospitable (typical of Indian culture). The music was interesting, as it was all in Hindi, and some of the songs weren’t even written in roman characters!

Monday was an interesting day as well. In addition to it being Chinese New Year, it was also Republic Day in India. This is a national holiday which is held to commemorate those troops that have died (similar to Memorial Day for the U.S.). So, we listen to the Indian national anthem and watched the Republic day parade: basically, the Indian military parades a show of its strength in front of the capital in Delhi. That evening was an incredible treat, Dr. Raju Abraham visited Oaklands (our office) and we had chai with him. This man is certainly amazing; he left a six figure career as a British neurosurgeon to pour into a Christian hospital in north central India. He talked about the history or outreach in India, specifically concerning this hospital and how up until the past decade or so there was practically no fruit. In recent years however, they have seen over 40,000 new brothers and sisters despite persecution and even physical attack. He also talked in depth about the caste system and the political issues within Hinduism. He was just such an inspiring and impressive figure. I will never forget how he described a believer’s work: “We need to enter heaven with our dreams and imaginations, picture what it means to live in perfect harmony, and actively pull those visions down onto the earth and make it a reality.”