The Carson Center

On behalf of the whole Tabor College group, hello from India!  I, Andrew Wiens, have the privilege of relaying some of our Indian experiences to you.

Andrew Wiens with new friends.

In case you are curious (or merely have a vested interest in ensuring that your child makes it back alive), we arrived at our destination safely and without incident—at least without much incident.  On a side note, Internet availability here is somewhat spotty (at least difficult to get conveniently), so blog posts may be short, few, and sporadic.  Now that that is out of the way, I can start filling in some of the blanks in your curious minds.

Preparation

We began our trip by participating in some training/orientation sessions from January 4^th – January 7^th.  We watched movies about India, learned about the Indian culture from Del (Tabor’s Assistant Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies and our team leader), and prepared ourselves spiritually with the help of Del’s assistant, Joanna Chappa.

The Trip Begins

We woke up before 4 a.m. (some of us just stayed up all night) to drive to Wichita for the commencement of the traveling portion of the trip.  The airports we hit along the way are as follows: Wichita; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Amsterdam, Netherlands; New Delhi, India; and Hyderabad, India.  That may sound like a hop, skip, and a few jumps, but let me speak for everyone on the team in assuring you that it was not.  We made a lot of memories at the five airports listed above and during the flights as well.  Some of us went on an unplanned (at least originally) excursion to the Mall of America in Minneapolis.  Several people left the secure part of the airport in Amsterdam just to get our passports stamped.  We boarded two different planes in Amsterdam because the wintry weather there caused the cargo doors to get frozen shut on the first plane.  We watched some village lights pass beneath us as we flew over Afghanistan and Pakistan during the night.  We drifted in and out of sleep as the drone of the planes’ engines and bizarre time zone shifts played tricks on our tired brains.  Jet lag set in rather quickly as we arrived in Hyderabad on Sunday, January 10^th, just in time for a new day to begin.

MBCBC—Life in India

We met Michael Suderman at the airport in Hyderabad.  He met us after serving in Calcutta for about a month and we were very happy to see him.  We then traveled to our temporary home at the Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College in Shamshabad (a suburb of Hyderabad).  The first day in India for us was a rich experience.  The cultural distinctives of India (don’t eat with the left hand, keep feet on the ground and away from others, and bobble your head from side to side when you want to nonverbally communicate “yes”) were difficult to remember.  They are easier to recall now, but I think I mess up about as much now as I did then.  It’s just that now I remember that I messed up after it’s already too late.

All of us, including, Dr. Del Gray. left, have enjoyed the food and fellowship.

The food was a nice surprise.  Though I’m sure she Americanizes it for us (tones down the spiciness), our cook at the missionary bungalow makes some tasty ethnic Indian food: rice, curried chicken, various sauces, vegetables, chai tea, etc.  Playing with the children and talking with the students are highlights from the first few days.  We have spent this time adjusting (on a surface level at least) to the new culture (and time zone), experiencing the market in Shamshabad, forming relationships at MBCBC, and preparing for our church presentations (set to begin tonight).

Reflections

India is a beautiful country: the people, the colors, the languages, etc.  This may seem obvious and possibly sound somewhat stereotypical, but life in India is different from the life that most of us know back in the United States.

People in India have a deep love and respect for their families, often living with several generations under one roof.  There exists a widespread spirituality that is deeply ingrained in the culture.  Indians are generally more laid back and seem less stressed than Americans.  Despite these differences, there are also many things we share in common.

Cricket is the most popular sport.

For instance, both countries have a great love for sports—in India, cricket is king.

Both Indians and Americans enjoy using fancy electronic gadgets and seeing new technologies.  Moreover, we in America share the Mennonite Brethren faith and tradition with some Indians (for example, the believers at MBCBC).  On a deeper level, we share God with them.  He is working in India in just as big a way as he is working in America.

It is great to know that even while we pray for believers in other countries, believers in other countries pray for us.