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Dan Gross in Asia--#3 June 2, 2010
The lodge we stayed in last night in Mumbai advertised a complimentary breakfast.
Packiyanathan and I were laughing because it consisted of enough food to be a snack
for a child. After that we headed for the airport. I was thinking how amazed (and
frightened) most Americans would be to have a taxi ride such as we had going to the
airport. The entire way the driver was weaving in and out of traffic, sometimes at
a relatively high speed, just inches away from many collisions with pedestrians,
bicycles, motorcycles, three-wheelers, cars, trucks, and buses. Most drivers here
are remarkably skillful, but appear to constantly be within inches of a major accident.
We had time for a cup of coffee in the airport before boarding for a one-hour flight
to Rajasthan. Under other circumstances, we may have gone by land, but we would have
to drive through some fairly dangerous areas, so thought it better to fly. When we
landed in Rajasthan, it was 104 degrees. We proceeded by car for about 3 hours to
our final destination. This is a desert area, so it is hot and dry. They get no rain
from September through May. Only in June through August do they get a small amount.
As
we neared our final destination, the sky began to look ominous--like it looks in
Wisconsin when we are about to get a wicked hail storm. By the time we pulled up
to the lodge, the wind was picking up--blowing dust and sand everywhere. There is
almost no vegetation here. Only cacti and a few other plants that can survive in
a desert climate can be seen. There are many miles of sand and rock. Soon after we
got inside, it began to sprinkle. That lasted only a few minutes and that was that.
Tomorrow we will begin our first meeting ever in the state of Rajasthan.
By the way,
my suitcase arrived in Mumbai today, but is still there. The airlines said they will
put it on a flight to Rajasthan tomorrow. So, before going to bed tonight, I will
need to again wash all my clothing with hand soap and get another day's wear out
of it.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#4 June 3, 2010
There was a little misunderstanding about our schedule,
so this
morning we packed up early and moved to another hotel. Then we left
to begin
our first-ever meeting in the state of Rajasthan. This is a
fascinating area. The
temperature today was 106 degrees. This is an
overwhelmingly Hindu area with very
few Christian churches scattered
through the state. We invited about 60 pastors to
attend our
meeting. Most of them had to travel some distance. To get to the
church
where we are meeting, we drove about 30 minutes through the
desert to a very remote
place. When we arrived, there were about 90
pastors there. Many of them traveled
quite a distance to attend. Some
of them brought other men from their churches and,
including wives,
there were at least 200 people in attendance. The church building
was
packed. The men sat in chairs in the back of the church, with every
chair taken
and some men sitting outside. The entire front of the
church was full with women
sitting on the floor. There was no aisle
or place to walk in the church once everyone
was seated.
Many of the women attending are illiterate. The men brought Bibles
and
took notes as I was teaching. There was not much response at
first. They are not
accustomed to foreigners speaking in this area.
Furthermore, most of their gatherings
consist of singing praise songs
and praying, so they are not accustomed to hours,
or even many
minutes, of Bible teaching. As the day went, they got somewhat more
responsive. I expect, like our meeting in Calcutta, that tomorrow
will be quite different.
We
interrupted our meeting in the heat of the day for a while because
my suitcase finally
arrived. We had to drive 30 minutes back to the
hotel to receive it. I'm not sure
if I should launder my briefs and t-
shirt or just burn them and be done with them.
In any case, it was
nice to change my clothes and have my other belongings.
We resumed
the meeting and continued until 8:30. By that time, I'm
sure they had more than enough
to think about for one day. My
translator is a young man who is attending a Bible
school. He
commented that he learned many things today and that he never heard
any
teaching like this before. As I usually do, I began today in
Genesis 1:1 and went
through the Bible, concluding in Acts 7.
Tomorrow I will go through the rest of the
Bible.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#5 June 4, 2010
Today was another 105 degrees day. By the way, I'm sure you knew this, but there
is no air-conditioning in our meeting room and not even much of a fan. But I drank
a lot of water and survived. Drinking a lot of water did present another problem,
though, because there are no toilet facilities. People just go for a little walk
out in the desert. But that doesn't work so well for a white guy. I would be quite
the spectacle. So, I endured through the day until we got back to the hotel. Fortunately,
most of the water was soon gone through perspiring.
As we expected, people were much
more responsive today. Especially as I got into Paul's epistles, I could see a light
come on with most of them. Also, they knew what to expect--several hours of Bible
study, instead of singing praise songs and praying. Again, the church was packed
with every chair taken and every spot on the floor filled, plus several sitting outside.
The
food here is noticeably different than other states where we have had meetings. Even
the rice tastes quite different. In the southern states, after the rice is harvested,
they boil it and remove the husk. In Rajasthan, they remove the husk without boiling
it. This produces a significant difference in taste. Also, due to the desert climate,
the variety of food is not as great.
After a question-answer session, we closed our
first-ever meeting in the state of Rajasthan. The response this afternoon was very
good. We received several invitations to conduct meetings in other locations in Rajasthan.
We definitely plan to be back. Tomorrow Packiyanathan and I want to spend some time
with our translator and discuss future plans for Rajasthan.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#6 June 5, 2010
Jessica will appreciate that the weather forecast
today here was a
high of 107 degrees "with widespread dust." Turns out they were
right. Packiyanathan and I spent time today with the translator. He
is going to lead
a team of 3 or 4 students who will translate our
Bible Correspondence Course into
Hindi. This will be a big boost to
the ministry because much of northern India speaks
Hindi. Even in
states where they speak another language, they still understand
Hindi.
In fact, all states teach Hindi in school except Tamil Nadu
and Pondicherry. So,
getting these lessons into Hindi will open up a
lot of opportunities.
Tomorrow we
will be leaving Rajasthan. As I said, this is an
interesting area. There are lots
of camels, goats, sheep, and brahman
cattle. There are also scorpions and desert
snakes, which gave me a
good opportunity to talk about Luke 10:19 where Christ gave
His
disciples power over scorpions and serpents. Some wanted to claim the
power in
verse 17, so I pointed out that they didn't have the power in
verse 19, which they
are well aware of. It seemed to get the point
across that we have to rightly divide
the word of truth.
The culture here is different in a number of ways when compared
to
some other states in India. It was strange to see women wielding
pickaxes along
the road to break up the soil in a road widening
project. The ground is not soft,
so it would be a good workout for
muscular men. Most of the women are illiterate.
But also strange, in
light of these things, is that most of the women are very well-
dressed. I have been in several areas in India where the people are
very poor and
the women wear poor quality clothing, but that is not
the case here.
I know you heard
the news that four days before I left home a
passenger train in India was derailed
by an explosion and then hit
another train. At least 15 people were killed and more
than 150
injured. Now the Indian government, for the first time, is
considering sending
armed forces into areas where the Maoists have
their strongholds. If they do so,
that will be a highly significant
move.
Tomorrow we go to a state where we have not
yet held a meeting. This
state is quite tense and the ruling political party is a
radical Hindu
party, so we will change how we do some things to be more secure.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#7 June 6, 2010
Today we left Rajasthan after completing our first
meeting in this
state. We were barely across the border and there was lots of
vegetation,
so we are out of the desert area. However, the
temperature here yesterday was 114
degrees. Today it cooled down a
lot into the 90s.
We will need a new translator in
the next state, but our Rajasthan
translator came with us today, so we had a lot
of good Bible study
together as we were traveling and talked more about the procedure
for
having him translate the Correspondence Course into Hindi.
The journey went well
today, though we had to pull off to the side for
a while due to a sudden storm with
high winds and horizontal rain. We
also stopped for a few minutes because of a fairly
long parade of
camels.
Tomorrow we begin our first meeting in this state. Rajasthan
is 1.3%
Christians and, if anything, it is less here. This is a fairly tense
area,
so we are not meeting in a wedding hall or church as we usually
do. We will be using
a meeting room in the hotel where we are
staying. Thus, I won't have to leave the
hotel and can keep my
visibility to a minimum. The meeting room is a bit out of the
way
within the hotel also--not off the main lobby--and is close to my
room. I'm eager
for the meeting tomorrow since those attending are
key to reaching this area.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#8 June 7, 2010
Our first meeting ever in this state began this
morning. For security purposes, we are meeting in a hotel, so I am less visible.
The meeting room is close to the room I'm sleeping in, so I barely need to leave
my room. The room was full despite the fact that there are very few Christians in
this area. Several traveled from other parts of the state and even a few from far
away in other states.
There was no warm-up here to get them into the meeting. They
were responsive and eager from the beginning. The translator was excellent. There
was no hesitation or struggle to think about how to say something. Well, there was
one exception. Both in Rajasthan and here, the translators on a few occasions got
so interested in what I was saying, that they forgot to translate. After I spoke,
they just stood reading the verse and thinking about what I had said and waiting
for me to further explain the verse.
As usual in India, the food has been very good.
I have not overeaten, though, because our schedule and various circumstances have
caused us to often eat late and have only a snack or small meal. Also, since these
parts are so predominantly Hindu, the food is all vegetarian. So, I've hardly had
any meat during this trip. When I get home, I may need some bacon and bratwurst to
balance out my diet.
After the meeting, the local coordinator for this meeting told
us that many were gathered together talking for hours about the teaching today and
trying to figure out what comes next. Since the response was so positive today, I
expect tomorrow will go well.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#9 June 9, 2010
Our first meeting ever in the state of Gujarat
concluded today and was
beyond what we had expected. There are very few Christians
here, so
we weren't sure how many would show up, but the room was filled with
people
from all over the state and a few from other states. Also,
they were very quick to
grasp what was being taught. And the
translator was excellent with his translation
and excited about what
he was learning as he translated.
We had hoped that Hindi was
common enough here to make it unnecessary
to translate the Correspondence Course
into another language, but that
seems not to be the case. However, the translator
and another young
man in the same city should be able to help us get the lessons
translated into Gujarati.
After the meeting concluded, many people stayed and talked
to
Packiyanathan and me, expressing gratitude for how much they
learned. Many said
they had never heard teaching like this. So, it
was a very successful beginning in
Gujarat. By the way, this state is
where Mahatma Gandhi was from.
Tomorrow is a travel
day as we head for Maharashtra for a follow-up
meeting in a city where we previously
had a meeting. These always
prove to be interesting. In most cases, I am greatly
encouraged by
how many come back and by how much knowledge they have retained from
the first meeting.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#10 June 10, 2010
Early in the morning, we checked out of the hotel
to catch a flight to
Mumbai (Bombay). The flight was delayed over an hour, but that
only
lessened our time in the airport in Bombay. The last time we had a
meeting in
Nashik, we went by car--about a 5 hour journey. However,
that road has become more
dangerous due to some local unrest in Mumbai
and surrounding areas. In fact, we delayed
having a follow-up meeting
the past couple years in Nashik due to these problems.
Thus, we
decided to fly to Nashik this time.
Our waiting time in the airport in Mumbai
was a bit less pleasant due
to a power outage. Most of the eating places were closed
for the day,
so we could only get snacks. The flight from Mumbai to Nashik was
only
35 minutes. The airport in Nashik is quite a ways from the city
and there are few
flights arriving each day. So, for this flight,
there are normally one or two taxis
there. Everyone who needs a taxi
ride has to get in the one or two taxis because
there are no other
options. There are no rickshaws, etc. in the area. Fortunately,
there were two taxis this time and Packiyanathan and I were able to
get in one of
them. The ride from the airport to the city took as
long as the flight--35 minutes.
It
was a tiring day and we were hungry for an actual meal rather than
a snack. After
getting settled in the hotel, we had pratha (a flat
Indian bread) with Chicken 65
and a curry gravy. The "65" comes from
the year the recipe was developed--1965. It
was excellent. I've had
it before, but this was one of the more tasty versions. It
hit the
spot--spicy and tender. Tomorrow morning we begin our first follow-up
meeting
in Nashik.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#11 June 11, 2010
Our previous meeting in Nishak was about three
years ago. One reason we have delayed going back there until now is due to security
issues. But this morning we began our first follow-up meeting in the area. A high
percentage of those who attended the first time were back again. Packiyanathan did
a review of things I taught the first time here and then I taught from Romans 5 and
other important topics for them to know regarding what we have in Christ.
I had the
same translator as the first time, so things went smoothly. As has been the case
in most follow-up meetings in the past, it was encouraging to see how many came back
for another meeting and how much knowledge they retained from the first meeting.
Tomorrow we conclude this meeting and then fly to Mumbai.
During my last trip, we
had a meeting in an area where a group wants to split and form a new state. I just
found out that the day after we left that area all transportation closed down for
10 days due to unrest. So, we got out in the nick of time.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#12 June 12, 2010
We concluded our last meeting for this trip today.
I taught Romans 6, including speaking about baptism. The meeting ended with a Question
& Answer session. The first question was about speaking in tongues, so I spent a
good bit of time on that. The second question provided a funny moment. The translator
and the audience were getting frustrated because they couldn't understand what the
man was asking. Finally, the translator told me that the man wanted to know whether
Jesus and Peter got back into the boat after walking on water. I decided to make
the best of the question by spending a few minutes teaching that passage. When I
got down to Matthew 14:32 and told him that they indeed did get back into the boat,
everyone laughed and clapped sarcastically. The man seemed happy to get an answer
to his question.
By lunch time, my stomach felt a little off, so I only ate a small
bit of rice and chicken. We would have preferred to fly to Mumbai tomorrow morning,
but there is only one flight there from Nishak and that is a late afternoon flight,
so we had to conclude the meeting in time to catch our flight. It was very good and
encouraging to see the positive results from our meeting here three years ago.
The
flight was fine, but a trip from the airport to the hotel that takes about 15 minutes
without traffic took more than 1 1/2 hours. At the end of the day, it was an exhausting
trip (pun intended). There was no air-conditioning in the taxi, so we had the windows
open and the air quality was not so good, to say the least. Packiyanathan and I were
both worn out by the time we reached the hotel. My stomach wasn't feeling so good,
so I didn't eat any dinner and just went to bed. It's now 3 AM as I email you. I
hope to catch a couple more hours sleep before we have to catch our flight to Chennai
(Madras).
We're getting out of Bombay just in time because the monsoon rains are expected
in a day or two. There likely will be flight disruptions once the rain begins.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#13 June 13, 2010
Our trip to the Mumbai airport this morning was
much quicker and more pleasant than the trip last night. Also, the problems caused
by the power outage in the airport were resolved, so we could get a cup of coffee
before our departure. The flights to Chennai and Madurai were pleasant and uneventful.
Before leaving Madurai we did a little shopping. I wanted a thumb drive to put my
photos on and Packiyanathan bought a flashlight for his father-in-law. I also bought
a new suitcase because both handles were ripped off mine, plus there was a tear that
we had to repair with super glue in Mumbai. On our way out of town we stopped at
Packiyanathan's favorite tea shop. They have delicious chai that that is not too
sweet and has a strong hint of cardamom.
This evening we visited the orphanage and
I had dinner with the children. We had idli, small, rather tasteless white cakes
made of rice, smothered in sambar (a curry gravy) and three chutneys--mint, coconut,
and tomato. It was great fun to see the children. We talked and joked for quite a
while before it was time to go to bed. I noticed the youngest girl, who was standing
near me, was crying. I thought she may have been hurt by some of the older children
pressing against her or bumping her, so I picked her up and put her on my lap. She
seemed somewhat better then, but still not real happy. Chitra told me that she was
crying because she wanted to dress like the big girls (this girl is 4 years old).
Chitra took her and wrapped her with some beautiful orange clothing and then all
was fine. I talked with the boys about the Chennai Super Kings cricket team, which
won the championship last season. As I said, it was fun to spend time with them.
Tomorrow morning, I will spend more time with them before heading to the airport.
My
stomach is better, but not quite normal yet.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#14 June 14, 2010
Packiyanathan and Jasmine recently moved into
a rented home very close
to the orphanage--within walking distance. I saw the house
this
morning when Jasmine prepared my favorite South Indian breakfast--
pongol (made
with rice, but similar to Cream of Wheat in appearance,
and then topped with sambar
and chutney). The meal concluded with a
large, sweet, juicy mango. I talked with
the children about several
topics, including cricket with Stanley and genetics with
Nancy.
Jasmine's parents were also there, so I was able to see them.
After breakfast,
we went to the orphanage. I wrote yesterday about
the 4-year old girl who was crying
because she wanted to dress like
the big girls, so I put her on my lap. This morning
when I arrived at
the orphanage a 5-year old girl was adamantly informing the other
girls that "No one can go by the English man. Only I can go by him."
Of course, none
of the older girls paid any attention to her, but it
was cute. Apparently, she was
a bit envious of the 4-year old the
previous night. I taught a Bible lesson from
Romans 3 and also
quizzed the children with general Bible knowledge questions. I
saw
the new bicycles for the older children to use when going to school
and also
a cabinet donated by the local Lion's Club to the RGMI
Orphanage. We ate a delicious
lunch together--rice with curry goat
and I distributed candy to the children. I also
had an opportunity to
talk with some of the older children with whom I didn't get
to talk to
much last night because the younger children occupied my attention.
Just
before lunch, Prasanna and Joy Paul arrived at the orphanage.
Prasanna's train trip
here was delayed by a blast on the train track.
The guard on a train reported to
the authorities that they had heard
"an unusual sound" and felt "a heavy jerk" behind
them. Upon
investigation, they found a 4-foot section of the track missing due to
a high-power gel-type explosive device. If the guard had not
immediately informed
authorities, hundreds may have been killed. Upon
finding the blast, they stopped
the trains in that area, which is why
Prasanna was delayed about three hours. It
is suspected that the
device was set by a group supporting the Tamil Tigers in Sri
Lanka.
After a few hours at the orphanage, I had to re-pack my things in the
new suitcase
I bought in Madurai and went over the financial records
for this trip with Packiyanathan.
The four of us then headed for the
airport and had some good Bible discussion on
the way. I can't read
in the car due to motion sickness, but Prasanna always has
the Bible
text we are discussing on his cell phone. My flight from Madurai to
Chennai
leaves in a little more than an hour, arriving in Chennai at
10 PM.
Dan
Dan Gross in Asia--#15 June 15, 2010
My flight to Chennai went well. The process at
the airport was
tedious with far too many steps necessary before boarding, but I
had
enough time, so it wasn't a big problem. By the time the flight took
off, I was
really tired and actually slept much of the time before
landing in Brussels. The
process in Brussels also was unnecessarily
complicated. I arrived in Chicago nearly
on time and not feeling as
bad as I had expected.
This was another encouraging trip
with significant progress made. We
had a successful beginning in two new states in
the north--Rajasthan
and Gujarat--both states having a Christian population of less
than
1.7%. In both cases, the meetings were well-attended, including
delegates from
throughout the state and a few from other states. We
also found excellent translators
into Hindi and Gujarati for our
meetings and to translate the Bible Correspondence
Course. Once the
Bible lessons are translated, this will open up many new opportunities
in northern India. In the final meeting, many who attended our
initial meeting in
Nashik returned and we were able to move on to
other topics and build upon the doctrine
taught in the first meeting.
The last stop was a visit to the orphanage, which was
great fun. The
children and the staff are doing well. Some of the children have been
given special honors due to superior academic results in school.
Their school vacation
ended at the beginning of June, but the homework
schedule was not yet too heavy,
so I was able to spend a good amount
of time with them.
Looking to the future, several
new invitations were extended during
this trip--more than we can possibly accept.
There are a number of
possibilities for future meetings, but we plan to continue
to go to
other states in the north, most of which have very few Christians.
Packiyanathan
and I went through the expenses before I departed and we
are $3700 short for meeting
all the expenses for this trip. It is
good to be home and, as usual when I return
from one of these trips, I
am physically tired, but rejoicing in spirit.
Dan
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