Friday, February 3, 2012

Rajahmundry road blocks etc.

Greetings from India: land of masala chai, brightly-coloured saris, and beautiful countryside!

Of course for many, it is also still a land of poverty, corruption, and injustice.
I arrived this year into the middle of an ongoing demonstration. Shortly before I arrived, some of the higher castes had defaced the statutes of a well-revered social reformer. These statues can be found almost everywhere and the man they honour is well-loved by the lower classes. The damage to the statues sparked protests across Rajahmundry. Road blocks shut down traffic for hours, stores were closed, and schools were canceled. The day after I arrived I was heading out to teach a group of children and women with Ariann Somero and Jean-Mary. We were almost two hours late and only made it because our car was small enough to sneak through the stopped traffic on the sides of the road or between the semi-trucks. Often we had literally less than an inch between us and the trucks on either side! We didn’t quite make it out of the traffic though. We eventually were stopped completely about 500 metres from our turn-off! Thankfully though, we were close enough to walk and therefore still made it in time to see the kids and the women. It is difficult to get too angry with them when I think I would essentially agree with their position. I, too, believe in social justice, a lack of corruption, and freedom!

Our days with the kids and women have been blessed! Kids are always fun and I’ve enjoyed singing and playing with them. And telling them Bible stories too, of course! This is the first year I’ve also spent a significant part of my time with the women as well. I love studying the Word with them and seeing their interest and participation. I just wish I could communicate better and get to know them personally.


No trip to Rajahmundry is complete without a trip to the Mission Hospital and we were there yesterday. Today, we were at the Mission Clinic, located about 1½ hours from town. It is both inspiring, but also bittersweet to visit these places. The mission hospital used to help millions every year with almost any medical problem. Today, because of lack of funding, the people still come but all too often the doctor can diagnose but not treat the patients due to lack of funding. There are currently no in-patients, no surgeries, and only limited amounts of medicines. The full staff is now cut down to only one part-time doctor and one nurse. As we sat and observed yesterday, the doctor saw about a dozen patients. All were diagnosed, but few could be treated. Please pray that God would be with these millions of patients who have nowhere else to go. Please also pray that funding would appear again to help the hospital and clinic treat these people. For more information on the mission hospital, check out their website: http://www.missionhospitalindia.org/

I’m leaving the city for the countryside tomorrow. The time always seems to pass so quickly! I look forward to visiting the next place, but I don’t want to leave the people here. I wish I could just clone myself into a dozen people so that I could stay in each place I visit. There is so much work to be done in so many areas! Each time it is time to leave I have to wonder: why are there so few labourers in God’s vineyard?

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