The 6 Blind Men of Indostan & the Elephant
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Team Members:
Ted Cobb*
Jeff Walters
Matt Walters
Brian Hager
Michael Lindahl
Tressie Scronce*
Kathy Readling
(* team leader)
Not five minutes later, Jeff got up from his seat and walked past me to the back (I was in the last row). He didn’t look very well, and he said that he felt sick as a dog. After going to the bathroom, he staggered back to his seat very pale. He talked to the flight attendant and they started checking him out very intently. Suddenly we were in medical emergency #2!! But God was looking out for us again, because there were two RN’s and a pharmacist on the flight as passengers! The flight attendant gave him a cold compress and some ginger ale, but it didn’t help. After one of the RN’s questioned him, it appeared to be a reaction to a pain medication – or a bad interaction with another medication. The pharmacist was sitting beside Brian and I, and she kept asking what the medicines were, but I was not able to determine – Jeff never did say, and the flight attendant couldn’t remember. The flight attendant got the on-board oxygen tank and started giving Jeff oxygen, and it helped stabilize him, and he got his color back…but it was still touch-and-go. The RN and the flight attendant stayed with Jeff for 20-30 minutes, and kept working with him. I was praying, along with the others on the team, for Jeff to recover…and at the same time, I was asking God what He wanted me to do – do I leave Jeff in a hospital in Chicago? Do I send him home? Do I leave Matt with him? Does the rest of the team keep on going? After a while, Jeff beckoned me to his seat, and we talked about it – and he said that some paramedics were going to meet Jeff to check him out when the plane landed, but for the rest of the team to keep going – he wasn’t going to delay the trip. He wanted Matthew to keep going, but I knew that wouldn’t work – Matt would be too worried about his dad. So Jeff relented on keeping Matt with him. I was not looking forward to losing Jeff and Matt on the cusp of the trip, and having them arrive sometime later by themselves. Jeff seemed to stabilize well enough, but the pilot still requested an early landing in Chicago so that Jeff could be checked quickly. Jeff and Matt moved up to the front of the plane, and when we landed, they exited first. By the time I exited (being in the last row of the plane), the paramedics had almost finished checking him out, clearing him to continue. They told him that he should go to a hospital, but they couldn’t force him to do anything – and Jeff was determined to keep on going.
We then scurried out to the tram to go to the international terminal, running as fast as possible through check-in and security. I went ahead to the gate to hold the plane, if necessary, and hopefully give us all a chance of making the flight. Everyone else caught up 2-3 minutes later, and we found out that they had held the plane for us! There were other flights delayed, so they held the plane until the passengers could get on! PRAISE GOD!! One of the attendants at the gate said, “Welcome to the flight – too bad your luggage won’t make it.” …and they were right! The flight was open (most of the passengers would get on in Frankfurt), so I ended up with a row to myself! Yes!!! I could stretch out and sleep! However, medical emergency #2 resurfaced, and Jeff began feeling sick…so he laid down and rested. Seemed to help.
Dinner on the flight was chicken curry – spicy! Another interesting food was a snack called Mo’ Pleez – kind of like an overgrown Chex square with some hot flavoring. Really good.
Arriving in Frankfurt, we stayed on the plane, and waited for the crew to clean it…but they just barely made a swat at it, with a 60’s-era vacuum cleaner (at least it looked like it). I expected to get a plane full of passengers, but fortunately God was kind, and didn’t have any more – or none that I could see. So I had a row to myself again!! YES! So I got to sleep most of the way to Bombay…except for a couple of curry chicken meals. God was really kind to me – between the two main legs of the flight (CHI – FRT and FRT – BOM), I had about 8 hours of sleep! I was soon to learn that I needed that rest…
Landing in Bombay: flight landed at midnight. Immigration was okay and luggage was easy – since we didn’t have any of it! The time delay at the airport was in getting everything arranged for the airline to forward our luggage to us in Visakhapatnam – but they couldn’t send it all the way to Vizag because there was no customs office at the airport. They said that they could forward them to Hyderabad, and we could then come back to pick them up. I asked if they were going to fly everyone, or if we could have one representative get all of the luggage. The response was “Standard compensation is 1st class rail.” – but I wasn’t about to go for that. We then had a NICE discussion (!!) at the luggage counter about how we could get our bags from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam. The manager could possibly okay something different, but he was not there at midnight, and I would have to check with him the following day. They gave each of us Rs 3000 for compensation. By this time, it was about 3 a.m., and we headed to the domestic terminal (about a 15 minute bus ride). As we arrived at the domestic terminal, an official-type man (that was riding the bus with us) said, “We have a hotel nearby where you can wait until the flight” which would be about 6 hours later. So with everyone really tired, and Jeff feeling very sick, we went. I was thinking that we would have a free room, a reduced rate, or something of the like. NO WAY!! We got there, and the manager said $110 per double room with breakfast, and $90 with only water and tea. I almost lost it! This was just a 1-star hotel! They should charge $30-$40 per night, and they tripled the normal rates! They saw a bunch of Americans, and tried to get as much money as possible…I was NOT happy, and told them that I was not going to pay that much for a room. The manager began speaking very quickly (realizing that I knew something about what he should charge for a room), and starting changing the offer! I was ready to go back to the terminal and wait 6 hours for the next flight, but Jeff really needed a room, and he asked if we could stay. But I was still NOT happy – I never am happy when I know I’m being taken to the cleaners just because I’m an American. We ended up getting one room for the five guys (!!), and one room for the two women. The bellhops did a lot of trips – I mean a lot of trips – up to the room, asking for a tip each time. After the third trip, I handed him an American dollar bill, and said goodnight & walked him to the door. They finally caught the drift…Then, some of the guys wanted to clean up a bit from the 20+ hours of traveling. That’s when they were introduced to the Indian standard bathroom – quite shocking to the “newbies”. The bathroom has a shower, a toilet, and a sink all in one tiled room, with no dividers! So you could conceivably use the toilet and shower at the same time! (…and at 2 a.m., that was a pretty funny thought).
Didn’t sleep very well, because I didn’t trust the hotel (I was still mad), and no one had an alarm clock – definitely did not want to oversleep and miss the flight! So we kept the TV on (low volume) and just took a nap. Brian couldn’t sleep, and got interested in a television program on Tech TV – they showed how to make CD’s AT FIVE IN THE MORNING!! Not exactly a time that I’m really interested in watching machinery…At 6:30 a.m., everyone was up and getting ready, so we left at 7 a.m. – had an interesting ride to the airport. Lots to see and smell…almost overwhelming to the “newbies”. Kathy, Michael, Brian, and Matt had never been to a country like India, and it was a lot for them to experience in Bombay. Close to sensory overload.
At the airport, no big issues, except that I tried to call Manoj to let him know that the flight time had moved – that’s when I found out that his cell phone number had changed! I hope Manoj figures out what happened with the flight…Going through security was fine for everyone except me! They kept passing my carry-on bag through the X-ray, and after the third time, they asked me if I had a tester in there…I wasn’t sure what they were looking for, but I knew that I didn’t have any electronic items in there, so I was confused. The inspector looked through the bag, didn’t find anything, and passed the bag through one more time. They located the item – it was in my Bible! They had seen a writing pen that lit up, and thought it was an electronics tester! Once I realized the light-up pen was their concern, I let them check it out all they wanted – and after turning it off and on a couple of times, they were okay.
The morning flight to Vizag was fine – no issues on this one, which was a very good thing, considering the 70’s-era 737 we were on! It still had the original interior hatches and glass with “B-737”!! As we left Bombay, Matt saw the smog layer above Bombay and the clean air above it – “That’s hard core!” was his comment, which became the comment of the day! Everything was “hard core”, from walking the tarmac at Vizag to the terminal, the one baggage conveyor, the wild driving in India, the sights and sounds and smells – it was all “hard core” to Matt.
The Hotel Green Park was much, much nicer than the one in Bombay – and much cheaper! The rooms were nice, a standard U.S.-type of arrangement, but with the low, Indian-style beds (i.e. no box spring, just a thin mattress on a “shelf” – as Brian liked to put it.) And most importantly, a decent bathroom! Finally had a chance to clean up and shower, which was very nice, since I hadn’t showered for 2 days! Brian and I shared a room, and we talked a bit about the trip up to this point, but then fatigue set in, and I snoozed! I wanted to get up ~ 4 p.m. and spend some time emailing, preparing for the seminar, etc., but I was so tired from no sleep the night before that I didn’t leave the room until 6 p.m. The bad part was that Manoj was going to pick us up at 6:30 p.m. to take us over to see the YMCA! All of the team met in the lobby at 6:30 p.m., and that’s when everyone became introduced to IST, otherwise known as Indian Stretch Time. Manoj didn’t arrive at 6:30 p.m., but was late. So all of us were in the lobby awaiting the arrival of Manoj, who is only slightly influenced by IST. While we were waiting, a group of Indian youth was also in the hotel lobby, and they mobbed Michael. It was too much, too fast for him, though he did an admirable job trying to keep up with the semi-hyper Indian teens. The teens were very interested in us, asking lots of questions. I stayed out of it, mainly to watch Michael and see what he was going to do.
Manoj picked us up at about 6:50 p.m., and we headed to the YMCA. The rule of thumb when dealing with IST is that 30 minutes or less after an appointed time is considered “on time”. So Manoj was right on schedule…The YMCA was a nice, basic, utilitarian facility across the road from the beach. The 3rd floor is where we will be teaching for the week, which overlooks the ocean – very nice, but may prove to be distracting. The Indian women will be in a church about ½ mile away. Manoj may get to rent another room in the YMCA for the women, but if not, their lessons will be at the church. That may be an issue with the two women on the team being somewhat far away, but we’ll see. The pastors are staying at the YMCA for the conference, so there are no transportation worries there.
Back at the hotel, the group went to the “Memories of China” restaurant, and Manoj and I had a short meeting. We set up the schedule for the week, and talked about his philosophy and my philosophy on what we are doing – Manoj really agrees with our stance on lay leaders and their responsibilities. He also is looking to get a team of Indian pastors to help teach in other areas, as soon as the men “emerge”. I’m still not 100% on where Manoj is on discipling, but he definitely seems to be going in the same direction…I’m looking forward to he and I talking more in the coming days.
After dinner, the Indian teens met up with us in the lobby again, and this time, they met Matt! Michael was interesting to them, but they thought Matt was amazing! They surrounded him, a dozen of them, all talking and asking questions at once! Matt had the chance to show off his poses, his “throw it up”, and he even got them to say “That’s hard core” Very funny…we were rolling on the floor…
After the brief introduction, Bro. Manoj filled in some time until our translator arrived (Bro. Aaron) by getting some of the pastors to introduce themselves. After a couple of minutes, Bro. Aaron arrived, and he was introduced to the group. During the first few minutes, he and I spoke quickly, and he told me that he had translated for Herb Hodges several times in India! I’m going to have to talk to this fellow some more…I started off presenting the first session, and I was really, really nervous – most of the time I can hide it, but unfortunately this time it showed. I think the enormity of what we were about to do just sat down on me, and it threw me for a loop. We were just about to share with these pastors – literally on the other side of the world – about Jesus’ plan for impacting the entire world through personal, one-on-one discipling. There is a big difference between talking about making a difference in the uttermost parts of the earth and actually doing it – you feel very unworthy to be considered part of “God’s team”, much less leading a team that will share with Christian leaders. The pastors were okay with my poor presentation, but I knew that I should do better for them. Next was Brian’s turn to do the Great Commission. He also was unsure and shaky, but it turned out okay – because the writing board showed up! Actually, it was a dry-erase board – but it worked great! It helped immensely in getting the information across, but nowhere as crucial as Bro. Aaron. Bro. Aaron was fantastic! Since he had translated for Herb (and I learned later Jim Douglas and Ed Baugh, among others), he knew the strategy material almost as well as we did! That made translation sooo much easier – he could fill in things that were mis-stated or left out completely. After Brian’s session, the group took a tea break and Bro. Aaron and I had a minute to talk – that’s when I learned of his time spent with Jim Douglas and Ed Baugh – and more amazing than that, I learned that Bro. Aaron was in the “Timothy” picture of Bro. Edgar, an Indian pastor who had been discipling for many years! Bro. Edgar had been working with Herb Hodges for several years, and had really taken the disciple-making concept to heart. Herb carries around a photograph that Bro. Edgar had given him that displayed the disciplemaking concept. Bro. Edgar had arranged a large number of the men that he had impacted, either directly or indirectly, into groups designated “Timothys”, “Faithful Men”, and “Others”, following the guide found in II Timothy 2:2. And Bro. Aaron was one of the “Timothys” in the photograph! So he really understands what we’re sharing with the pastors. Definitely need to speak to him more…
Michael did the third session, and did fine – he spoke clearly and loudly, and made his points well…only needs some practice with a translator so he can slow down a bit and relax, and he’ll be top-notch. A few minutes into Michael’s session, Jeff started feeling very badly, and went back to the hotel. Michael presented until 1:30 p.m., but didn’t quite finish, so we broke for lunch with the plan that Michael would wrap up afterwards. Lunch at Green Park was also a production! It started off calm, but after we made it through the buffet line, we couldn’t stay inconspicuous. When we finished the main part of the meal, and started getting dessert, the maitre’d came over to the table to say hello, and to ask if we needed anything, and if lunch was good. Of course it was, but the funny part was that the maitre’d served Matt ice cream – every flavor they had! Matt ended up with about eight scoops of ice cream on a plate! To add to the scene, American pop music was playing in the background! After lunch, Matt met up with his Indian “crew”, and had a chance to spend some time with them – it was hysterical watching all of the activity surrounding Matt. They couldn’t believe that he was only 15 – because he was a head taller, and about 100 lbs. heavier than any of the Indian guys… the Indian girls were a little more reserved, and didn’t speak to him very much – at least at first. They eventually overcame their shyness and spoke to him. The rest of the team called them “Matt’s fan club”. He was signing autographs, doing handshakes, all kinds of things…
Back at the YMCA after lunch, Michael wrapped up his session. He tried hard to slow his speech down to try to give the translator (Bro. Aaron) enough time to write in both Telugu and English, and also interpret into Telugu. Michael did a fine job with Session 3 – he actually went back and covered some of the points that he went over too quickly before lunch, just to make sure that the pastors had an opportunity to understand. After Michael finished Session 3, Manoj told me to fill in the time until 6pm! He said that he pastors are ready to listen as long as we are ready to talk! So I started into the next thing on the itinerary, which was “Who Is A Disciple?” by Ray VanderLaan (otherwise known as RVL). It turned out great – I was more relaxed (because I just let go and let God do whatever He wanted), and I learned how to work with Bro. Aaron. I think they really got it! There are three main things that come out of this talk: 1) Jesus chose “losers” and “rejects”, not the gifted people to be His disciples, 2) Jesus believed in His disciples, just like He believes in us (!!), and 3) to be a disciple means to crave anything and everything about your rabbi (i.e. Jesus) – to do whatever it takes to be just like your rabbi. Really powerful. I still haven’t grasped the entirety of what that means…At the end, Bro. Aaron liked the material so much that he asked for a copy of my notes! He wanted to start studying it, also. Cool. The talk lasted about an hour, and then we had a short break. During the break, Bro. Manoj asked if I was ready to do one more thing to fill in the time, so I told the story of Paul and Timothy from the RVL CD. The pastors really liked it, because it showed in detail how equal everyone is as a Christian, and how God will take a societal reject like Timothy and use him mightily.
After the session was completed, we waited for our ride for a few minutes, so Brian, Michael, and I sat on the “deck” on the third floor and watched the beach and the people on the beach. We talked some, and it really started to sink in to Michael where we were, and what we were doing…I get goosebumps just thinking back on it. Michael really started getting impacted on what God was doing through us…cool. That we really could be used by God on the other side of the world, that we really could make a world impact.
We went downstairs and met Bro. Manoj’s wife and young son. His son was not feeling well (sick to his stomach), and he was a little bashful towards the big, really white guys. He had really grown since I had seen him last year in Hyderabad – a cute little guy. After a while, Ci-Ci and Tressie showed up, and we were off to the hotel.
Medical emergency #3! As soon as we arrived, we went up to the rooms, and Jeff (who went back earlier in the day) said he was “giving up” and needed to see a doctor…NOW! I called Manoj on Ci-Ci’s phone, and he suggested that I contact the front desk of the hotel. I went downstairs and they were extremely helpful. The manager on duty arranged a vehicle to take Jeff – and he rode to the hospital with us! There was some confusion between us (Michael, Jeff, the hotel manager, and myself) and the driver, and he first took us to the back entrance of some random nurse’s school, and Michael – who was close to completely wigging out – said “NO WAY! We want to go to a hospital, not a nurse’s school!” So after a minute or so of redirecting the car, we went to Seven Hills Hospital. But just to show you how crazy the ride was, the driver went to the back entrance, where the hospital staff parks! There was a guard back there that wouldn’t let him enter, and tried to direct him to the front of the building, but the driver kept wanting to go in the back door. Finally, the driver backed out of the area, and went to the front of the hospital. Once I saw the entrance, I remembered Matt’s comment the day before – “If I get sick, you guys take me to that hospital.” And now we were taking his dad! How ironic. We went immediately into the emergency room and had the head nurse check Jeff out – not very reassuring. She didn’t appear to be all that knowledgeable, and the three “student” nurses just stood in the corner waiting for orders. It took a few times to get her to understand the issue. Michael was still wigging out, and I wasn’t very pleased with the head nurse. Fortunately, she called an internal specialist – a gastroenterologist – to further diagnose Jeff. This dude was sharp, and really seemed to know what he was doing. Bro. Manoj helped out a ton, checking everyone out, and talking to them to make sure they took very good care of Jeff. We had a crew in the hospital emergency room – Bro. Manoj, the hotel manager, Michael, myself, and after a while, Bro. Aaron. (found out later that Bro. Moses was in the waiting room). After talking to the specialist for a few minutes, he started a basic treatment program, which was an I.V. with a couple of shots – one for pain, one for antibiotics. Jeff did NOT want to stay overnight in the hospital, so the doctor finally relented, and said he could go if he would take the medicine orally. When the drama subsided, Bro. Manoj took Michael back to the hotel, along with Bro. Moses and Bro. Aaron. The hotel manager had stayed at the hospital this whole time! He had stayed probably 30-40 minutes until he knew that everything was going to be OK. He then gave me his cell phone number, and told me to call him and he would arrange transportation back to the hotel. He even offered to bring me dinner! But I was fine, and Jeff would be finished soon. Fifteen minutes after everyone left, the pain medicine kicked in, and Jeff was out! He slept on the hospital bed – which showed that he was very, very tired from fighting the illness. After 1 liter of I.V. solution, which took 1-1/2 hours to get into Jeff, the doctor checked him out and said that he would be OK. The most amazing part of the return journey to the hospital was paying the hospital bill. The bill for this entire production was as follows: 750 rupees for the emergency room 125 rupees for the I.V. and medicine in the emergency room Then, we had to get the medicine for Jeff to take over the next few days at the pharmacy next door – and it cost 125 rupees! So this whole episode cost 900 rupees! That’s less than $20!!!
Jeff was feeling well enough to walk to the pharmacy next door where we bought his medicine – very interesting. Never had bought medicine in India before…all new experience. Once we picked up the medicine, the car was at the hospital waiting for us, so we returned to the hotel for the evening. By this time, which was about 10pm, I was beat. We talked to Matt a little while (who we couldn’t find during this whole thing), and he said that he was “kidnapped” by the Indian fan club – that’s why he said that we couldn’t find him…
After Michael wrapped up Session 7, we had a short tea break, and I had a chance to talk to several of the pastors. I finally had a few minutes to speak to Bro. Timothy, who was at the conference last year in Hyderabad. He told me that since the conference last year, that he already had four disciples! And he asked for some teaching materials for his guys. Arrggh! All of the stuff I brought for just this type of thing was in my luggage that was lost! I prayed that my luggage would arrive in time because there were some extra copies of some teaching material in it. A few minutes later, Bro. Manoj introduced me to a couple of older pastors from Orissa. Really nice gentlemen. Manoj relayed the story of one of them to me – he said that one of them had been a pastor for more than 30 years. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, he was considered the most “productive” pastor in all of Andhra Pradesh (the state we were in). He had the most salvations, and started the most churches during those 20 years than any other pastor! Very impressive accomplishments. But he made a comment to me that humbled me greatly – he said that after hearing our teaching, if he could make one disciple, it would be better than all his work for the past 30 years! Wow…Wow…That deserves another wow. I really didn’t know what to say – I was glad that there was a language barrier, because I felt so undeserving that I couldn’t respond. That’s why we came halfway around the world, spending all the effort, money and time – so some of the pastors could share in what we have learned, and realize the crucial activity of making disciples. But to have one of the pastors be so impacted that he came forward to tell me is extremely humbling. Not only that, these two pastors asked if we could come to the state of West Bengal, and also to Calcutta and share this with other pastors in those areas! Looks like an opportunity for another trip is shaping up…
We started the sessions back up the afternoon, and Jeff did a curriculum lesson on “Who you are in Christ” – not bad, but it may have come across as a little arrogant, without really meaning to be that way. Then, we had a couple of hours to prepare at the hotel for the evening session. We decided to sing a song for the pastors before we started the evening session, so we had to choose one to sing. It turned out okay – nothing spectacular, but the pastors appreciated our attempt at singing. Jeff then shared a version of “Let’s Go Fishing” that went really well – I think the pastors really got it. Bro. Moses translated for Jeff, and he did a good job – he’s nowhere near the level of Bro. Aaron, but Bro. Moses did fine. After Jeff finished, we headed back to the hotel – we were done for the day. And I think Jeff held up great – I know that he wasn’t feeling the best, but he wanted to make sure the pastors had a chance to hear and understand. He really spent himself all day. As we were leaving, Bro. Manoj reminded me of our planning meeting the next day, and also to get the CD’s to Bro. Aaron.
At the pace that we’ve set, we’re going to have to scramble to put together some solid lessons for the pastors – they’re asking for everything we can put together…and then some!! I had planned on 2-3 extra curriculum lessons, but it looks like we’ll need about 6-7!!! Sounds a lot like what Bill and Jason had to deal with in Chandrapur…we really, really need God to help us on this one! I guess you call this the tough part about being a team leader – if things go wrong, or run to a different schedule, I have the responsibility to make things work. Major need for prayer! …It’s time to go get some rest, because it’s going to be a long day tomorrow.
Jeff did Session 8 and did a good job, but he did take a few rabbit trails – though they did support the lesson well. Then, it was my turn to wrap up the strategy presentations with Session 9. Before I got up, I prayed that it would go well, but still last until the lunch break (1 p.m.), because we didn’t have any lessons to spare! God was being nice to me, because it went well, and we wrapped it up right at 1 p.m. Thanks God!!
During lunch, Bro. Manoj, Bro. Aaron, Bro. Kiran, Jeff and myself had a short meeting. We talked about the next seminar – when and where it might be held – and some about our philosophy of reaching India for Christ. The pastors shared several things, in particular Aaron…He and I are really thinking on the same wavelength on developing Indian pastors all over India – and even taking this to Nepal, Myanmar, and Bangladesh! I really, really like this guy. We talked about possibly going to Delhi and/or Punjab, the state of West Bengal, and even Calcutta! Talk about the uttermost parts of the earth!!
After lunch at the hotel (some really good Indian cuisine), we started the second phase of the conference, which gave the pastors some practical things to do with their disciples. Also, we shared some parables in the New Testament that illustrated discipling. I presented the fig tree and the gardener in Luke (thanks Chris for putting that great lesson together!) Then, we opened the floor (in a way) for the pastors to think of questions, and write them down. Bro. Aaron and I would read them, and answer them if we could do it quickly, or tell them that we would have to wait until later to give them a more complete answer. We did address a few questions, and some of them were for clarification of things we said…but there were two questions that really, really stretched me. And they were related to the teachings we presented, so I couldn’t get out of doing them!
One question was “explain the phrase ‘Jesus led captivity captive’”….Wow…there is so much theology hiding inside of that little phrase…but we (Aaron and I) went ahead and answered that one – and I was very thankful that Aaron was there to back me up! We went into the description of the two sections of hell, one for Old Testament saints (otherwise known as Paradise), and one for sinners (described as torment). Jesus went to the one known as Paradise to retrieve the ones that had looked forward to His coming. THANKS BILL!! If it weren’t for Bill getting us to go through the doctrine of hell, I would have been totally lost…but thankfully I have a discipler that spent the time to go through some major theology with me. The other question was “explain how the sign of Jonah (3 days and 3 nights in the belly of a whale) matched up with Jesus in the earth (during his death and burial)”…again, Wow. Not your everyday Sunday School question. That question I postponed unit the evening session, because I knew that I had to prepare a lot for that one.
After we finished the afternoon session, it was time to head back to the hotel for a bit. Most importantly, I needed to find the info to explain the sign of Jonah! But of course “punk-boy” (a.k.a. Satan) made it tough to find what I needed – and all kinds of things beckoned for my attention during that short break. I am EXTREMELY thankful to my discipler, Bill Carrier, because he went through soooo much theology over the past few years, that I did not have a difficult time finding the information – I just had to find a website that I knew and simply print it out! Once I saw the detailed information, I knew it was what I was looking for, so I didn’t have to learn it – just review it to jog my memory. I had only 10 minutes to read it over, and 5 minutes to write it down into a presentable form! Almost no time at all…but God was with me! Aaron and I presented it, and it went really well – the pastors really understood it (which means I actually made sense!) I have to give a lot of the credit to Aaron – he would hear me say something, and nod his head in agreement, and then translate into Telugu! So I knew that he was checking what I said, so the pastors would get the best information possible. That finished the evening for us, so we headed back to the hotel…Bro. Kiran drove us back, and was gushing about all the things we shared today. He complimented me on the “sign of Jonah” presentation, saying that he had studied that in seminary, but had forgotten it. When I was bringing out the information, he remembered it – and he thanked me for a clear explanation! What do you say to something like that!?!?! I never know exactly how to respond – especially when I know that it was God using me to speak (I was just the “puppet”). Bro. Kiran, Bro. Aaron and I also talked for a few minutes about Ravi Zacharias – and we all three really like his writings and debates! They told me that Ravi Zacharias was in India the previous month for a conference, and Bro. Aaron attended. I bet it was great. I really like these guys – they’re like kindred spirits! We all three really groove on apologetics – BIG TIME!
Back at the hotel, Matt and I decided to have dinner – everybody else just wanted to go to their room. So Matt and I did Chinese…and it gave us some time to talk. We listened to a live band that was playing old American rock tunes! Pretty cool hearing these songs with an Indian accent…They had a 5-piece band squished into a 6’x6’ cubby hole in the restaurant – it was so small that they couldn’t all stand up! As Matt and I were having dinner, the power suddenly went out! I was speaking to the waiter, and suddenly I couldn’t see him! It was completely black…fortunately, the power kicked back in about 10 seconds. Found out later that Michael was in the shower then! Bet that was a little surprising…
After dinner, I headed back to the room to rest…but God had something else for me to do. I met Brian and Michael, and Michael asked about finishing the lesson I asked him to do. He seemed really uncertain about it, so we sat down in the little seating area just outside our rooms and worked on it for a while. Michael was putting together a talk on the Virgin Birth, and it wasn’t coming together at all – and he was almost panicking. He and I looked over a short (1-2 page) writing on the Virgin Birth that he had printed out earlier in the day, and we started putting it into presentation form…but it was like pulling teeth. Michael had really been under attack during the week, but it was particularly intense on Thursday. So we struggled through most of the presentation in fits and starts, finally getting to a decent conclusion. Then, it was DEFINITELY time for bed – I think it was about 1 a.m.!
To add to all of that, the YMCA would not allow food to be served on its premises, so Manoj had to locate some other nearby facility that could serve food. He made an agreement with an Anglican pastor, Pastor Abraham (if I remember correctly), who pastored a church about 2 blocks away. (Side Note: The church used to be part of the London Missionary Society, but when that folded, the church was passed on to the Canadian Missionary Society.) But when the pastor presented the request to the church leaders, they were resistant. But after a while, they relented. A funny incident that Manoj related to me was on Wednesday evening at the Anglican church…the church members thought that since food was being served in their church, they were automatically invited – I guess it’s part of the culture in India. The pastor made an announcement that the food was only for the pastors, and the church members could not attend – but Manoj was unsure if they would stay and ask to eat anyway, so he fixed extra. But all of the church members followed the pastor’s request and left, so Manoj had a lot of extra food on his hands, so they had to invite back 15-20 of the church members! Only in India…
When Manoj and I arrived at the airport – which is only a tarmac and a small building – the people that handle baggage said, “We don’t keep baggage here – you must go to the office in the city center.” Which is right where we had started! So we did a one-hour road trip for nothing…well, not exactly…Manoj and I had a chance to talk that we probably would not have had otherwise. Now, it was time to find the Indian Airline office and get the bags…or so I thought. After driving back into town, Manoj called and got directions to the office. I had my information on me, and from what we were told, that would be sufficient. After finding the office, we went in to speak to the air cargo manager – in a little open area with a desk and a couple of chairs. He looked at my information, and said that I must get all of the papers before he can do anything. He told us the procedure that we must follow, which was rather complicated. First, we had to collect all of the tickets and customs papers and bring to him. Then, we would have to find the customs office (in another part of town) and give them some additional papers. Third, you can then get your luggage from the customs holding area.
So, Manoj and I began our gallivanting all over Visakhapatnam Friday morning…first stop was the YMCA to get tickets, passports, and customs papers. Some of the guys had left their tickets at the hotel, so we would have to head back to the hotel to get them. But while I was there at the conference, I spoke with Jeff, Michael, and Brian to see how things were going. I got to watch a couple of minutes of Matt leading the ABC Bible study with the pastors, and Jeff said that Matt did very well sharing a short devotion earlier – I know he was a proud poppa. Michael said that he was ready – which was a big change from all the wrangling we did the night before…and Jeff said that he had two things ready to share. With the conference in capable hands, we headed back to the hotel to collect the remaining papers. Manoj asked me if there would be a problem, since I was not going to be at the conference – all I said was “No, there won’t be a problem.” I guess he was worried that the pastors would be just sitting there, or not going through any teaching. But I knew the guys would be able to take care of everything – no problem. Back at the hotel, I snagged the necessary papers, and we headed back to the Indian Airlines office. The same officer was there, and we handed him all of the customs papers for the baggage. He looked them over, and filled out a couple of papers himself. He gave the growing pile of papers back to me and said to go to the customs office. While we were there, I went ahead and confirmed our flights for the next day.
Indian KGB: Manoj somehow found the customs office in yet another corner of town…but because of the very small volume of air cargo that traveled through Visakhapatnam, which was primarily an ocean port, the government gave the task of handling air cargo to the port authority. So we were going to be dealing with the shipping guys – which is in the same league as the shipyards in the States. (i.e. a little on the shady side, where everybody expects to make a little extra money on the side). But before we arrived, Manoj called some of his friends in Hyderabad to find out the best way to get the bags out of customs. We had the option to use a broker, or deal with the customs officials ourselves. Manoj’s friends said to deal directly, because a broker will charge you a fee, and still pilfer through the bags to take what he wants! Manoj said, “At least when you deal directly with them, all you have to do is pay.” They said that these customs guys in Visakhapatnam were some of the worst, directly asking for bribes, possibly taking things from the luggage before you arrive, etc. Definitely NOT the guys I would prefer to deal with…but you do what you must. We pulled up to the customs building at the port authority, and began the process of figuring out with whom to speak. Manoj took the lead, and I just followed along like a little puppy. But I didn’t mind at all – this was Manoj’s country, and he could do much better at this than I. The man at the front desk wasn’t very sure whom we should see, but in a minute or so, he directed us to the second floor. We went up the stairs and looked around, but didn’t see any door that looked appropriate, or anyone that would fit the title. Manoj then walked through a breezeway to the next building and looked there. A fellow in the hall was not sure who was the correct person either, but then told us to go up to the third floor. We did, and couldn’t find anything…so we went back across the breezeway on the third floor of the original building! Not having much luck there, an older lady directed us back across the walkway (!!!) and pointed us to the right place. Whew! That was an ordeal…but then the REAL fun started.
It was like a scene from a movie…a couple of utilitarian metal desks in a big, open room with sparse decorations and lots of piles of papers. There was a busy fellow sitting at a desk speaking to an associate. Manoj spoke to him, and he called someone else in the building complex using his cell phone (i.e. a “mobile” in India). One of the other guys standing to the side escorted us to the correct office.
Second scene from a movie…big concrete room, minimal lighting (except from the windows)…a couple of desks, filing cabinets, and chairs with lots of open space around them – and a uniformed man sitting at one of the desks, speaking to someone. I felt like Jean-Claude or Kevin Segal would pop through a doorway any second! We sat at his desk and gave him the papers…after a few minutes of explaining, he asked Manoj to come to a back room, leaving me sitting at the desk. I knew that he was asking Manoj for a bribe…after a while, Manoj came out and asked me if I wanted to pay some money to them to get the bags. I asked how much, and he said about $150. I said “Fine,” because we both knew that if I did not give them the money, I would not get those bags back – definitely not before we left, and possibly never…so Manoj went back into the back room to wrangle with them some more. Manoj gave me his cell phone to call the YMCA and check on everything. I spoke with Brian, and he said that everything was going just fine. Brian asked what was going on, and I told him, “The customs guys are asking for a bribe, but we should be finished up with everything soon, and be over there by 1 p.m.” When Manoj agreed to give them money, suddenly the snail’s pace we were running suddenly became a dead sprint! The customs guys wanted to complete everything before lunch (which is at 1 p.m.). So we all jumped into our respective cars and followed the customs guys to yet another part of town.
In the car, Manoj told me about the conversation they had in the back…and some other important details. He said that these guys were intelligence agents – which told me “We’re dealing with the Indian version of the KGB!” and that nothing happens without some bribes. India learned lots of tricks from their formerly close association with what used to be the U.S.S.R. Manoj also said that they asked if I was a pastor, because my church might pay some more money to get things straightened out – I guess they thought the church would take up an extra collection or something. They kept using the phrase, “We want to help you out.” – yeah, right. Manoj said that they only wanted to help us out of some money! He also said that the agents kept looking at his pockets, noticing a nice bulge (of money) and asking to get that money! Manoj said that it wasn’t his, and they would have to talk to the owner – who wasn’t there.
After a little bit of a drive, we turned into a warehouse that looked really dilapidated to pick up the bags. The main customs “officer” we had been dealing with, who by the way had given me bad spiritual vibes, opened a large rollup door walked into a large, mostly empty warehouse. He and a couple of helpers moved the bags from near the wall into the middle area near the door. We opened each bag, and let him look through each while I observed. My first thought was “…Why are you doing this? You probably have already looked through them to see if there was anything you wanted.” I really didn’t like this guy at all, and didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. He had a couple of questions about the 2 bags of toys, but that was about it…then, it was time to fill out the real paperwork in the office next door, which of course took a very long time. I had to remind myself that I was operating in IST – Indian “Stretch” Time. Manoj paid for the customs paperwork, and then we finally could go get the luggage! By this time, it was about 1 p.m., and we had spent four hours making trips all over town!! We loaded it all up, and headed back to the hotel…that’s when Manoj told me that our “favorite neighborhood customs agent” made him pay an extra $25 for all the toys, saying that there were too many toys for one person to be bringing. All told, we had to shell out $250 to get all the bags back!
By the time we made it back to the hotel, the team was also back at the hotel for lunch in the Princess (our own personal I-HOP of India) and we put up all of the luggage. DONE! Whew…I don’t want to do that again.
After a quick bite, we headed back to the conference to do a quick wrap-up with the pastors and give them a good sendoff. I shared a lesson on the Trinity, so they could share with their disciples (and possibly use it for other things, too) – but I goofed during the presentation. Thankfully, Aaron caught me before it went too far. I used an example that could lean too far into modalism, which is a theological term that means that God changes – when He is changeless and timeless. Bad mistake, but many thanks to Aaron for catching that very quickly. Then, we answered one of the leftover questions from the pastors, which was “Are there still Samaritans still today?” Which is a definite “Yes,” though the numbers are very small. Only about 650 are alive today, living basically where they did back in Biblical times, near the Mount of Blessing (a.k.a. Mount Gerizim). By end of that answer, it was 3 p.m., and some of the pastors had to leave to catch a train. So in conclusion, we stood in a circle around the room, and I led a closing prayer.
A few minutes later, we distributed the toys that Vicki Gruver gave us, and the pastors were very grateful – I told Bro. Moses, “I’m sorry that the gifts are not very good,” but his response stopped me dead in my tracks, and made me feel extremely humble and embarrassed. He said, “It’s not that the gifts are good, but that they come from you.” Whoa. Take a deep breath…how do you respond? Do you respond at all? After spending a week with pastors that put us Christians in America to shame (in many aspects), to have them be so grateful for dime-store gifts was tough to take. After we finished distributing the gifts, we had a few minutes to say goodbye, and take a few pictures. We had to get back to the hotel so they could use the vehicle to shuttle people to the train station and the airport. So the goodbye was very brief…too brief for the women, who had developed good friendships during the week – but it may have been cut short for the best.
Back at the hotel, we went to our rooms and just took a “breather” for a couple of hours, really looking at what we had just been a part, and starting to see the things that God has in store for India – and us! It was also a chance for us to go through our vagabond luggage and rearrange things for the return trip! It’s bad when all you have is a chance to rearrange things in your luggage before it’s time to return home – kinda begs the question “Why did I bring a checked bag along with me?!?!?” I retrieved the copies of material that I wanted to give to Manoj and got them ready. He said that he would stop by at about 5:30 p.m., so I was not sure if he would have dinner with us or what. I knew that I needed to reimburse him for the whole luggage episode. So I told everyone to hold off eating dinner until he stopped by. 6 p.m. …no Manoj. 6:15 p.m. …no Manoj. 6:25 p.m. …no Manoj. I finally broke down and called him, and he said, “I’m just down the way, I’ll be there in 5 minutes.” – and he was! He and I talked for a few minutes, I gave him the materials, told him to review them, and if he liked them to use them as he wished. I reimbursed him (with Jeff’s help), and he said that he had to go back to Hyderabad immediately because his friend Judah (head of El Al airlines in India) had some people coming to Hyderabad, and Judah needed someone to welcome them. So Manoj had two drivers that would take him back to Hyderabad that night! It’s about a 10-12 hour trip over some rough highways…NOT fun.
After Manoj left, we decided to go shopping to pick up a few gifts for everyone back home. So we headed back to the “shopping mall” we visited earlier in the week. The “shopping mall” is actually a 5-story department store, but it sounds better in advertising to call it a shopping mall. We looked through some things, but I wasn’t looking for much – just Mark’s gift (he had asked for some tea from India). After looking around for a while, exhaustion really hit me hard. I headed down to the first floor to wait. I saw some of the crew in the jewelry section, so I headed that way – that’s when I saw the “domes” in the ceiling.
Flashback to last year in Hyderabad: We went to an old, old “castle” where a Muslim leader lived centuries ago. The design of the walkways and buildings was very ingenious, designing many acoustic “tricks” in the walkways, courtyards, and the buildings for security. There were such things as hearing a whisper across a large, cavernous room, or footsteps 200 feet away, or throwing your voice across a room!
Back to shopping in Visakhapatnam…When I saw the domes in the ceiling, I tested them until I found the right place to stand for the dome to work! Then, I waited until someone stepped into the correct spot – and it just happened to be Kathy! When she stepped into the right location, I simply said “Kathy”, and she turned around, looked up, and saw no one there! She said that I sounded like I was right behind her (hence the look up part), so when I wasn’t there, it messed her up for a second – she couldn’t figure out how I was throwing my voice like that. After bothering people with the domes for a few minutes, I took a break on a nearby couch and almost went to sleep! It really hit me – hard – how tired I was. Some of the others were worn out, also. Kathy and Michael were doing some pearl shopping, but everyone else was finished, so they headed back. I didn’t want to have Kathy and Michael walk back to the hotel by themselves, so I stayed with them. They wandered around the jewelry section looking, mainly searching for pearl necklaces. We found the strings of pearls, but they weren’t finished necklaces, so Kathy and Michael were a little unsure if they were in the right spot. After a little broken English and waving and pointing, she found a string of pearls. Michael went over to the register to pay, but was trying to figure out how he was going to get a clasp put on the pearls…I told him to go through paying first, and then we’d see. Of course, once we paid, they handed the string to a guy who quickly and deftly put clasps on the necklace! Voilà! Now, back to the hotel…
When the “three amigos” arrived, everyone else had crashed for the night (or were in their rooms), so we went to dinner in the Chinese restaurant. There was another live band, but they were playing more traditional Indian songs. Also, there was part of the wedding having dinner – don’t know if it was the actual wedding party and family, or just the family, or what. After dinner was over – CRASH!
Slept great until ~ 6 a.m. I guess I had gotten up all week at that time, so my internal clock got adjusted to it. Just took it easy, looking through things, writing in the journal, and re-packing. Before everyone got off doing things, we did a prayer time like we did every morning – which was great like always. Then we hit breakfast for the last time at the Princess in Hotel Green Park. Shove off time was noon, so I went off to make arrangements for transportation to the airport. We needed three Ambassador cars (little, white cars that look like they are from the 1950’s) to get all seven of us and our luggage to the airport. So with all of that arranged, we checked email, the basketball tourney (Go Tech!) and posted messages on the “Kathy’s Great Adventure” message board. The Internet is great! – you can keep up with things back home when you’re ½ a world away. Jeff and I had been monitoring the NCAA basketball tournament, keeping up with all of the games.
Getting to the airport went well – no major issues. The airport smaller than the Hickory, NC airport, and nowhere near as nice! We checked in our luggage, and waited in a rather warm, non-air-conditioned area for the flight to be called…but at least they had some fans going. Soon they called us into the gate area – and it had A/C!! Very Nice. The plane landed and taxied to the terminal, and we could tell that it would be an interesting flight – the jet was a Boeing 737 straight out of the 70’s! When we made it through security and the searches, and boarded the plane – they still had the original overhead bins and the entryway partition that read B-737 in major disco 70’s writing! Way cool…major flashbacks to early childhood…Jeff made lots of references to Smoky & the Bandit…
The flight was just fine, no issues getting started. The fellow sitting beside me was Robert, from southern Germany, near the Austrian and Czech border. He was a field engineer for a company that produced explosion-proof motors, and was in Visakhapatnam at an oil pumping station trying to get things running on one of their motors. He told me about his work experience while in India, which sounded about as bureaucratic as my experience with the customs agents, sans the moola exchange. He had to get a work permit for his week there, and they were giving him the normal runaround, saying that they gave him a one day permit (after waiting two days to get it), and didn’t know he needed a week-long work permit. So he simply would go home for the day if they didn’t give him a permit – he only had to do that one time! The next day, the permit was waiting for him when he arrived! We talked for most of the trip, and we talked a little about spiritual things, so I left a tract with him to look over.
Landing in Bombay: We deplaned on the open tarmac and we went into the awaiting bus to take us to the terminal. We stood near a husband and wife that looked Western, so we exchanged greetings…found out that they’re from Tennessee, about 4-5 hours from Hickory! They were returning from a remote village a few hours from Visakhapatnam. Once we were in the terminal, we collected our luggage and got into the cue to go to the international terminal (in the hopes of dropping off our luggage). While waiting, we met up with the Tennessee couple, and they introduced us to an older, diminutive lady named Louise. She shared that she has been working in that remote village for several years, and had coordinated sponsorships for orphaned children from that area to be educated. On this particular trip, she was bringing this couple to visit a girl whom they had been sponsoring. Further into the conversation, I found out that she was a retired professor that had taught at several universities, including Penn State. After she retired, which she had accelerated by teaching night classes and summer school, she began teaching at several universities across the world! Such places as Australia, China, and Indonesia – just to name a few. And to top that, she was a National Science Foundation award winner – which is a very, very prestigious award. She has also spoken at numerous conferences -- definitely an instance where you can’t judge the book by its cover. But probably the best part is that she is a sold-out, world-visionary Christian! Her husband is a supply pastor in Tennessee, and the two of them are trying to get the people around Knoxville to start seeing the rest of the world, and to work with Christians from other continents. Way cool.
When we arrived at the international terminal, we collected our bags (had the guys helping ask for a tip – even when their shirt was embroidered “Please Give No Tips”) and headed to the airport manager’s office. We asked about dropping off our luggage – but no can do. So, at the manager’s office, I call the Orchid Hotel, and arrange a pickup…which was following the last set of instructions Manoj gave me 15 minutes before we left Visakhapatnam. We wait outside for a while, and the bus pulls up – it’s purple! So of course, the girls LOVE it! They even take a photo with the bus.
At the hotel, things start to go seriously wrong…we’re all standing in the lobby, and the receptionist tells me that I did have a reservation at one time, but that it had been cancelled – Cancelled?!?!? So I ask where I can make a telephone call (for a fee, of course), and call Manoj. He told me that we had someone from another hotel waiting for us at the terminal where we landed – we missed them when we went to the international terminal to try to drop off our luggage! DOH! (In my best Homer Simpson) So we wasted a couple of hours at the airport, traipsing all over the place, when we could have been at the hotel…oh well, I guess it all can’t go smoothly. Manoj would call his friend Judah to tell him where we were, and for me to wait a few minutes and call Judah myself to get all of the details. The change in hotels came because Judah could only get the Orchid for $135 a night, and I told Manoj that I had a maximum budget of $80 a night. So after a couple of telephone calls, and an extra hour of waiting at the Orchid Hotel, we had the correct hotel van pick us up and drive over to the hotel – the Kohinoor Continental.
The drive to the hotel was an experience of a lifetime for the “new” guys. It was their first close brush with extreme poverty, and it really shook them…hard. Driving by ramshackle shack after ramshackle shack, lean-to on top of lean-to, with dirty children playing in the streets, it was too much for Michael and Kathy. Matthew was in amazement, looking at everything. Brian tried to block it out by talking about other things to whoever would listen. After about 10 minutes, everyone was in shock. They were very relieved when we finally arrived at the hotel, to escape all of the begging and hawking that we met at each stoplight.
We settled in at the hotel, and had dinner. Everyone was giddy from the emotional release of finishing a tough week, traveling through Bombay, and from the emotional low of riding through such extreme poverty. We all had a “continental-style” dinner….I think everyone liked Indian food, but wanted a connection with home. During dinner, Kathy used the pepper grinder and set it down on the table near me. Michael then asked for it, so I picked it up – and the top came off! Suddenly, I had a container of peppercorns with no way to put it back together…so I took a small plate and poured the peppercorns out, to see if I could fix it – nope. No chance. What was even funnier was that during my efforts to try to fix it, the salt dispenser in the top of the grinder came loose, spilling all over the table! Everyone just lost it, and started dying laughing! Couldn’t have scripted it any better…to add to the silliness, I did a trick with the napkin (it looked like a miniature pope hat). I made my hand like the hand puppet (the one that says “S’alright”), and made it act like a tiny pope! Matt kept pulling out a shower hat and putting it on during dinner, and Jeff and Matt were telling jokes and laughing…we were disrupting the entire restaurant!! Thankfully they did not throw us out. We calmed down after a while (I know the wait staff was thankful), and we ordered beverages – that’s when I found out they had Thums Up! So of course, I ordered one for each person, so they could all try it. And I even brought one back for people back home to taste…even if Bill and Chris describe the taste as “insecticide”.
Dinner was nice, very tasty…lots of rice! We ordered à la carte, and each person ordered rice. Well, that meant a large bowl of rice for each person! Way more than we could ever eat! Another “live and learn”…
We got up early (about 4:30 a.m.) to catch the flight…somewhat. We were very groggy. On the way to the airport, I told Jeff “run point”, which meant “you are in charge from here on out.” So at the airport, he organized us and helped move us through. At the check-in counter, an Air India official came to us and said, “We’re overbooked, and you must wait until tomorrow.” He offered us hotel accommodations, but we refused. In one voice, we said, “No! We are leaving today – you can give us a different itinerary, but we are not staying another day in India.” Since Jeff was running point, he spoke with the airline people, and after a few minutes, he went to their office to find an alternate route. After a few minutes, he called me into the office to ask about the airports in London, to make sure that we could navigate between them (Heathrow and Gatwick), if needed. He also said that they upgraded all of us to first class for moving to the other flight! Yeah! Yea, God! Jeff worked with them for a while longer, and then we moved to another check-in counter to get ready for the new flight. Jeff gave me the itinerary, and asked to tell everyone the changes via email. So I found a little Internet kiosk nearby in the airport, and emailed a few people, and posted a message on the board. Instead of arriving Sunday night, we will now arrive Monday morning. We will travel through London, then Toronto, then finally to Charlotte. After a while, Tressie came and told me that we were on an “inaugural” flight for Air India – but we didn’t know if it was for a new plane or a new route…at the least, we were historical (if not hysterical).
Boarding the plane was nice. It was a Boeing 747-400, and since we were in first class, we got to go up the stairs to the upper level – COOL! I’ve never had a chance to be up there before! Of course, first class was very nice, with big chairs, lots of room, and really good food. Listening to the pilot, I figured out why this was an inaugural flight – this would be the first time to take a plane from Mumbai to Ahmedabad to London. Prior to this flight, Ahmedabad was a terminal destination, doubtless only used by very small planes.
All of us were giddy about being finished with the trip and getting first class seats – but we behaved ourselves pretty well. The flight to Ahmedabad was only an hour or so, and to us it seemed really short. When the plane landed, it looked like we landed in a field! There was almost nothing around the airport except a small hangar (for Cessna-sized planes), and a tiny terminal, and a building that was under construction. Except for these few buildings, it looked like a farm!
When the plane landed, several of the first class passengers exited – along with the crew! We had done this in Frankfurt, so we knew to sit around and wait. Tressie looked out her window after 15-20 minutes and saw where they were taking a picture of the crew standing on the tarmac! The plane was in the background, so if you ever see a promotional picture for Air India, we’re in it! …though it’ll be hard to see us… After the festivities on the tarmac were over, the crew boarded the plane again, and we were off to London! The flight was nice, and we were having a blast playing with the hydraulic chairs – making them lie flat, sit up straight, recline… Tressie had moved from the back row up to the row with Jeff and I, so all three of us were joking and laughing most of the way there. Michael and Kathy were sitting beside each other a couple of rows up away from us – thankfully! They were sooo sappy, it was pitiful. The meal – I guess you would call it lunch (?) – was lobster! Yep, little lobster pieces in a sauce. Really good. I spent most of the flight writing in my journal…
While we were eating, Jeff noticed a young man by himself in line wearing some military-type clothing – an Iraq service ball cap, and an airborne division T-shirt. Jeff invited him to sit down with us and have dinner…and because there were seven of us, we had an empty seat ready! He sat on the opposite end of the table from me, so I did not get a chance to speak to him – but the other guys spoke with him for a long time.
Finally boarding the flight! After a looong six-hour wait, we get on the Air Canada hop over to Toronto…and find out that we’re in the back of the plane! Tressie, Kathy, and Jeff were in the very back row, and Michael and I were two rows in front of them. But the most interesting part of the flight was the passenger that sat between Michael and I – he was Islamic older man! He didn’t speak English very well, so we didn’t communicate very much. I helped him fill out his disembarkation card, and found out that he was coming from Yemen! Major hard-line Islamic, majorly unfriendly to the West! But he seemed to be okay – definitely NOT a terrorist type.
Brian had the best visit on that flight, because he sat by a pastor! Brian told me later that this pastor has been on a search to find what God wanted him to do with his church, because he knew the standard things weren’t working, and he was actually investigating discipling! Talk about a divine appointment! Brian and he spoke most of the flight, and Brian gave him a copy of Tally-Ho! to read. Brian told me later that he tried to hand him off to me, but I refused – that was Brian’s contact, and he needed to learn how to share with others in any given situation anyway. Mostly, the rest of us snoozed on this flight, though some of the team couldn’t sleep…but I was out like a light!
After landing in Toronto, we went through immigration, and the girl that questioned me didn’t like my answers very well, because she made me go get a transit visa! The guy that gave it to me was pretty cool about it, so it wasn’t too bad, just a few extra minutes.
Once we made it through passport control, then we got our luggage – and it all arrived! Hallelujah! Then, we headed to the transfer desk, and that’s when we hit the latest round of bad news: even though Air India promised to put us up in a hotel for the night, Air Canada would have to do the legwork – and they refused! An Air Canada representative said that Air India never pays them back when they do a favor. Jeff did a good job negotiating, but it did no good…so he called a couple of customer service numbers, but to no avail. We would have to spend the night in the airport. We moved from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2, found a set of open seats and stretched out to get a little rest… Brian and Jeff found a couple of secluded chairs (a little more in the dark) to sleep easier, but the rest of us just zonked out on the most available chairs.
At about 5 a.m., Jeff woke me up, and said, “I think we need to move – we’re in the wrong terminal!” He had reviewed the itinerary, and he realized that he had read it incorrectly. We needed to go back to Terminal 3! So we went outside with all of our luggage to wait for the shuttle. You know, it’s cold in Toronto in the early morning in March! We weren’t quite prepared for that cool of a temperature, but to make it better, Kathy, Michael, and Brian found some Tim Horton doughnuts for breakfast – Yum! To find these doughnuts, the ended up gallivanting all over the airport, visiting Terminal 1, 2, and 3… so to say the least, they knew the shuttle driver well.
After about 15 minutes, the shuttle pulled up! We loaded everything on, and we told the driver “We need to get to Terminal 3!” This shuttle would take too long, so the driver radioed ahead, and made the correct shuttle wait for us at a stop. So we then scrambled out of one bus, relayed the luggage to the other bus, and off we went to Terminal 3!
Once in the terminal, we found the USAirways check-in – and the line. When we made it through that, we had an even bigger line to deal with – passport control! Monday morning in the Toronto airport was a zoo! Fortunately, we were U.S. citizens, and we had a little line to ourselves – because the other line would have taken us an hour to make it through! We made it through security and we were off to the gate! When we walked up to the gate, they had already started boarding – but we still had 20 minutes or so…Praise God! He got us through all of that craziness and we still made it on time – He is definitely looking out for us.
The flight to Charlotte was very open – not too many people want to fly at 7:30 a.m. in the morning. I jumped back a couple of rows to the exit row – more legroom! A few minutes later, a fellow with brown curly hair took the window seat on the same row. We began chatting soon after…discovered that he lives in Toronto, and is an I.T. consultant named Jack. His current client is Bank of America, with their merger with Fleet Boston. He is trying to integrate the two huge computer systems – whew! Sounds like a BIG headache! After talking further, he is originally from Poland, and he keeps ties to people there – he even told me that my company should look for business opportunities there! I shared with him what we were doing in India, and he was very interested. He asked for the website to look it over…I had to tell him that it was in poor shape – but functional. Before I could get into a gospel presentation, he decided to rest…I’ve got to learn to jump on these opportunities faster! You never know, that may have been his last opportunity to hear a clear gospel presentation…and I spent the time talking about other things…I pray that God will give him another chance.
We finally arrive in Charlotte! YES! 32 hours after we began – we’re home! 4 flights, 3 continents, and 4 different countries, but God watched over us the entire time! Mike Oldaker and Derrick Powell picked up the team at the airport – and I was very glad to see them. Another miracle – the luggage arrived! So we loaded up and headed back to Hickory…on the way, we stopped at Bojangles to get a bite to eat – it’s almost a tradition! We blasted Mike and Derrick with too many stories, too many people talking, but they held on pretty well…they’re used to it – they’ve even done it themselves!
On the road to Hickory…finally made it back to the parking lot at Tri-City 9 days after we left, but we returned as very different people – changed, enlightened, and humbled that God would choose to use us to advance His kingdom. My prayer is that this past week does not fade into memories of a nice experience, but is a permanent change for each of the team members to become tools -–ready for God to use whenever and wherever He needs!
Ted
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore [i.e. since you are going] and make disciples [the command – “Do This!”] of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
21 Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. II Timothy 2:21
2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. II Timothy 2:2
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, and the ends of the earth your possession. Psalm 2:8