ONE INCREDIBLE STORY SUMS IT ALL UP:

One Sunday a group of believers were meeting at their church when angry Hindus (threatened by the spread of any religion that might convert their servants in the lower cast system) burst in on the service & dragged the pastor to the street where they beat him. They promised to return the next Sunday & kill him if they met there again. The congregation begged their pastor to secretly move the service to his home a few kilometers away. The following Sunday they were meeting in the secret location while the angry Hindus were coming to make good on their threats at the church. That very day in December a giant wall of water came from nowhere to swallow up & drown the persecutors & destroy the building the believers had once called their home. The waters came toward their secret location but only the building was damaged - no lives were lost in the congregation.

Our team did not hear this story at first. It was not our motivation, but we were so privileged to later help rebuild the foundation of the new church & briefly meet the pastor who had endured such persecution & humiliation. The new church was being built 3km from the beaches where there is still much excess water. Our building materials were originally bought for another group of believers who had lost their meeting space in the tsunami, but the local Hindu opposition was too great when word spread, so they sent their materials to the 2nd church, keeping only enough materials to continue to secretly lay a foundation themselves over the next several months. Therefore, two churches benefited from our presence, but we were the ones who got the most out of it.

Because of translations & some confusion in relaying stories, I do not guarantee I have all the facts 100% accurate, but this is the gist of it all. I welcome any corrections & updates from team members & pastors.

TSUNAMI VICTIMS:

camps:

run by government (Hindu) - supplying only the BARE necessities
long waiting lists
one 10X10 room for family - no matter how many members/survivors

people:

mostly families where men earned living as fishermen, women as seamstresses
surviving men are TERRIFIED of their trade
surviving boys are looking at alternative careers after generations of fishing
surviving women have lost all materials & machines for sewing

commerce:

ocean does not produce much fish anymore since tsunami - this is expected to be temporary
most men & boys of victim families will never return to their trade when fish return - too much FEAR (see article which confirms what victims told us)

MISSION ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

tsunami relief:

distribution of rice & materials + some sewing machines & school supplies (fans?)

leper colony:

donation of funds for medic supplies after a day visiting with people stricken & cast away from society

orphanages:

donation of funds for computer
fun playtime - lots of smiles
school supplies & misc supplies donation

Emmanuel Ministries & churches:

donation of funds for jeep used for evangelism
misc supplies donations
new sound system for church
laid foundation for new church - see story above*
supplied materials for the beginnings of a foundation for the 1st church

evangelism: - ANGELS ARE REJOICING!

Saji & Ron clearly led our boat captain to Christ on our free day Monday - pray for him (I can't spell /pronounce his name!) - he is surrounded by Hindus & has children who are studying in the Catholic church

AGENCIES:

Emmanuel Ministries (American counterpart: hopegivers.org)

11,000+ non-denominational churches throughout India
co-founder M.A. Thomas called us on our first day
Dr. Samuel Thomas is president (M.A.'s son)
Bishop Varghese Thudian was our host - he presides over the states of Kerala & Tamil Nadu (see map)

AIM (AdventuresInMissions.org):

organizer for American missionary team

 

CULTURE:

climate/terrain:

South India is like a giant OASIS - LOTS of trees!!! Beautiful!
very few mosquitoes even in the tsunami areas
red dirt makes for a beautiful landscape
water contamination is a problem everywhere
no one seems to fully understand why the southWESTern shores were so devastated - it seems to have to do with Sri Lanka's location & mystery of the seas

religion:

Hinduism involves the 4-tier cast system - the lower cast is 85% of the population serving the upper 15%
Upper tier Hindus do not want ANYone converting outside Hinduism lest they lose their servants & wealth
Hindu Priestess Amma TAKES credit for ALL tsunami relief donations (especially if she actually has NOTHING to do with it) & people worship her in response
Christians know how to sing LOUD & with fervor
clapping is on downbeat (1 & 3) instead of American preference on upbeat (2 & 4)
"Sothram" = "praise God"
King Louie from "Jungle Book" DOES live at the Hindu Temple - I saw him - he stole my water then broke into a round of "I Wanna Be Like You-hoo-hoo"

daily living:

loudspeakers blare 24 hours all over spewing religious & political rhetoric at top volume
elephants happen
elephant dung happens - in a big way
"water" in the street may not be from last night's rain (see "elephants happen")
"elephant" = "Caterpillar" (construction)
power outages occur regularly
waste management involves broom & a match
dogs are more like dingos & usually roam free - very few are seen as they hide in the shade during the day (cats too)

society:

taboo to touch someone with your left hand
a head bobble to the side means "yes" or "ok" (often mistaken for "no" to Americans)
Malayalam is the calligraphic language of Kerala (see article) - each state has a different language!
English is the language of business
children are beautifully behaved everywhere - "moral behavior" is taught in schools
bartering for goods is the norm, though there are some set prices - the US dollar goes a long way in Rupees (approximately Rs42 = US$1)

eating:

NEVER use your left hand!
clean your plate!
if you think it's hot, chances are the locals think it's mild
no silverware required
banana leaves make beautiful plates & platters

personal care:

a "squatty" is pretty much what you might imagine

leprosy:

NOT contagious by mere touch (long-term respiratory exposure)
100% curable when caught early enough
leper colonies are not dreary - people are joyful to have a place to stay & self pity is NOT in their eyes

driving:

British influence dictates driving on left - in theory (drive anywhere you want if you have a bus or large truck)
apparently the goal is to never have to come to a full stop - EVER - lots of games of "chicken"
speeds rarely above 60km (35mph-ish) - only high-end motorcycles are able to reach top speed of 60mph (100km)
no traffic signs or lights to slow you down!
no sidewalks for pedestrians - LOTS of pedestrians
inches (centimeters) count
horns have a purpose - nothing to do with road rage
motorcycles & bicycles EVERYWHERE

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