Nawabgani Village

There are many impressive points to the seminary which is hosting Morgan and Andrew, but nothing is more impressive to me than the fact they join in outreach to surrounding Hindu villages and plant churches there.  They assign student teams to go out and minister regularly.  The village we went to is Nawabgani, a newer village as they started going there 2-3 years ago when there were no Christians. It is about an hour and a half from Allahabad.  The team leader said the Hindi there would offer animal sacrifices to try to 'make things better' which isn't very common with Hindus, but does happen.  Now there are several Christian families in this village of 800, and they are still doing outreach as they did last night.  The church normally meets in a courtyard for a family compound for Sunday services, but this meeting was a children's program and it was on the edge of the village between a building and a field.  Many villagers who were not Christian came by to watch.
We rode on a half size school bus with the ministry team.

I told Andrew there is a picture every 10-20 feet in India!  This is just a sight along the way and also below.  We drove from paved roads in Allahabad to dirt roads in Allahabad.

We stopped at one point to look at a church that the denomination had built for a particular area.  Notice the mats on the floor for seating and they can seat a couple hundred in this small room if needed.

This is a scene a few doors down from the church.

 This is the little goat that Amos begged his dad to be able to take home!!  We traveled then out of Allahabad, and into the country.  There were many workers out in the fields harvesting hay and other things.  We saw a few tractors, but most of the work was being done by hand.  The workers often had a small herd of goats out in the field with them, and it was clear the goats were enjoying the feast!  We saw them collecting dung as well and stacking it in neat, decorative piles for fuel.  I so wanted to get pictures of the farmers' families working, but the bus was too bumpy and going to quickly.  Interesting to me is that most of the road was lined with tall pampas grass.

Not a very good picure....but I had to grab this shot between bumps!

Here is more a typical shot of what the rural village homes looked like.

 This is a home and boy at Nawabgani.  I wasn't allowed to take many pictures at the village as when white people take alot then the natives start asking when the funds are going to start rolling in from the potential donors!  There is a student who took pictures and he is going to send me all of them so there should be more at some point.

This is the stage the seminary had set up, and the children are starting to  collect.

A couple irresistible faces...

In the beginning formalities, they called several of us on stage and gave us lais of flowers.  I was horrified to be called up there, but when I turned around to sit up there...this is what I saw....and I was delighted to see their faces.  Andrew snuck this shot with his phone.  After the brief presention of lais, we were permitted to sit down again and watch the program.  There were 10-12 childen in this group who regularly attend church in the village....the rest are visiting to watch the program and are therefore being reached with the gospel.  Many of the adults are just visiting as well. Both the village church and the seminary students contributed to the program.

After the program, we (the busload) were escorted into the little courtyard where the church normally meets.  They had a huge pot of Indian tea made which was very delicious.  We were given two little bowls each for a snack.  One bowl had chickpeas soaked and then fried in oil and Indian spices.  The other had an Indian trail mix with some sweet, deep-fried strips of breading on top...kind of like pieces of elephant ear ....but sweeter.  We sat and visited with the team.  I don't believe the villagers knew English.  There was a convenient restroom in the courtyard....a cubicle walled on  3 sides.  You go on the floor and there is a bucket of water to wash the waste out through a small hole onto the street.  No toilet paper provided!   The housing was very basic.  The community is agricultural....and I would love to know more about their way of life!  We left as it was getting dark.  It was an amazing experience of a grassroots work, and I'm so blessed to be able to go.  It was a challenge to me to reach out more where we live.  I'm praying about what we should do...

Is it Safe?

I admit.....I was scared.  Riding a rickshaw at night in the dark was not the same as riding one during the day.  It didn't help that a rickshaw in India has no lights even at night.  They don't even have an orange warning triangle.....even the Amish buggies at home are required to have that....and most of us know it took some fatal accidents to get that to happen.   As the motorcycles/cars careened abruptly around us or as we swerved around pedestrians on foot, I found myself giving exclamations of warning or disapproval!  This driver either had stronger legs or a better bike than my first one.....and I wasn't sure if I was happy about that or not as our quicker speed added to my anxiety.  We had been to the mall and had arranged for a car driver to take us back, but that had fallen through (as it often can) and so we grabbed two rickshaws.  Andrew, Amos and Justice on one piled with our groceries and stroller....and Morgan, Josiah and I on the other.
As I looked at Morgan next to me holding her two week old baby on this adventurous ride, I reflected on how the older car seats we had tried to get rid of before we moved from Ft. Wayne were rejected by Goodwill and most customers as no longer being 'safe'.  I thought about how many families in America feel they need the $30,000-$40,000 vehicles which have the very best crash test ratings when they start having children.  Seriously wrapping their families in safety, safety, safety.  Okay, I understand why....it's not that I totally don't get that.  I'm just drawing a contrast and bringing some balance perhaps.  I was certainly concerned about safety for myself and grandchildren on this ride through the night.  But, as frantic comments flew from my lips and gasps came sharply from deep in my chest, I would glance at Morgan squeezed in next to me....a new mother....and hear her give her delightful chortle at my reactions.   I felt wonder arise in me at how God has shaped her and prepared her for these events. My sweet, quiet one who has a streak for adventure.  No, she had already said she didn't prefer a rickshaw at night if it could be avoided, but here we were, and she was chuckling.  Was she safe?  How vulnerable was her newborn at that moment?  What would keep him from flying off underfoot/vehicle if we were hit from behind? The thought came to mind of guardian angels watching carefully over God's children.  Who is safer?  In reality, injuries can occur in either place - a Honda Odyssey or a rickshaw....we must trust in God's protection....perhaps it is more about whether we FEEL safe.
I just read of the martyrdom of Stan Dale in Irian Jaya.  There were miraculous deliverances from death that occurred before God removed his hand of protection....and that was the key.  He was in danger for years, but until his time had come....
We returned home safely, unloaded our groceries, got the boys settled in bed.  I went to my room to try to relax my ball of nerves before getting some winks.  Soon I heard Andrew put on a CD of a piano player playing hymns.  It wasn't long until he could resist no longer and he was singing along with energy, commenting on how great various ones were.  Then Morgan joined in with her lovely soprano voice and they sang duet on several more hymns.  I rejoiced in my blessings, and thought, YES, they are safe.....I am uncomfortable though without man's trappings of safety.

Enough of my musings.  What you really want are pictures, right?  Here are some from our evening.  Sorry...none from the rickshaw ride.

 This is the mall.

The restaurant....very nice.

 This is their 'buffet'.  Each little cup has a different curry in it.  You are then served bread and rice to eat with the curries.  There are several waiters who literally stand and watch you eat and refill whatever cup is getting low.  The cost for everyones meal....altogether....was a whopping $11.

 They let you wash your hands with warm water before and after.

Amos wanted to ride in Justice's stroller so he suggested that Justice would ride on his lap...and that is what they did for some time.

An end note here that not everything is inexpensive in India.  Some items like peanut butter can be expensive.  Then household appliance like microwaves, refrigerators, etc.  can be even more than we pay in America.  

Making Bread

The area bishop is here to visit.  The seminary is making a special meal for him.  Check out a couple kinds of bread they made:

You see the little balls of dough on the table which he then pats out into a thin, flat piece.

He puts the flat dough on a THICK hot pad.....

With the hot pad, he sticks the bread on the wall of a hot, homemade brick oven.

With these tongs, he takes the bread out and drops it in a basket.

Here's another kind they were making in the outdoor kitchen:

They have dough balls with fennel and masala kneaded in.

Roll out balls with a rolling pin and drop them in hot oil

All finished....very tasty!

Noise Infringement and Food

One thing I'm going to really appreciate when I get back to Ohio farm country is the peace and quiet!  The Muslim calls that come throughout the day are not the only sound that invades the home!  The walls seem to be super thin here and the speaker systems are bombastic! :-)  We can easily hear neighbors talking as they go by the apartment even without windows open.  The 1000 student school which is on campus is preparing for a Christmas program, and they are practicing every day, all day out on the field.  You may remember seeing the pictures I posted of them marching.  So, we hear marching music, sacred music, Christmas music, nursery rhymes and secular themes very well throughout the day.  They have a couple big drums that are used often.  There are generators running outside our windows at times, horns very frequently from the street, roaring motorcycles..  If there is a party within a few block radius, the music is pumped into our home.  Loud firecrackers often boom in the evenings.  Get the idea?  It is something you start learning to tune out....but it is always there.  What are we willing to endure for the sake of the gospel?
Before I get to food, I want to say that today we are going to Civil Lines which is a shopping area that would resemble Jefferson Pointe in Fort Wayne.  For those of you who aren't familiar with FW, it is an upper crust shopping area.  Hopefully I'll have pictures tomorrow of how that is.  We're also working on trying to get to a local village this week.  The seminary students prepare a Christmas presentation for the local village churches and travel around this time of year to give it.  I was supposed to go last night, but then it was remembered that with the excitement of the new baby, we forgot to register me when I arrived.  All foreigners are supposed to be registered within  a day or two of arriving.  If we registered now, there could be consequences for not doing it sooner.  I will be fine traveling around Allahabad, but  it's more risky I may be discovered if I go to a village.  But....I'm sure you understand that I NEED to go to a village so pray they'll be able to work it out as they are trying to.  :-)
As for food, I have mentioned how wonderful it is to have all the locally grown produce here.  You've seen the pictures of it in abundance.  There are differences here, of course.  One is there are not canned vegetables and the only frozen vegetables are peas and corn.  No biscuit mix, frozen pizza, instant potatoes,  mac n cheese or other convenience foods.  Morgan is missing Worcestershire sauce, bouillons, seasoning packets, bbq sauce, and various other items she is used to seasoning with.  Andrew is missing Reese Peanut Butter Cups.  The meat is also different.  The chicken comes  cut up in little pieces with the bone still in it.  Beef is available through limited sources.  Hindi do not eat the 'holy cow' so it is bought through other people.  Morgan has found it very tough.  We had sloppy joes the other night and it was amazingly grisly.  You've never had anything like it, believe me.  My mind kept going to the cows I'd seen on the street consuming trash, and thinking that they must have caught the oldest heifer on the block for this package.  I'm not going to encourage eating any more beef my last week.  They haven't found a source for pork.  I have seen a few stray pigs around....but that doesn't mean I want to eat it.
I will mention that Americans do not eat fresh salads even after being here for some time.  Only produce that  can be peeled before eating.

Here is what we ate last night for dinner.  The chicken curry is a recipe the Indian cook on campus gave her by word of mouth.  Morgan said they don't use cookbooks much here.

We fried 3 small onions in oil.

 Add a few mustard seeds....

Add tumeric, ginger, garlic and a masala.  You can find masala in the ethnic section of your Meijers, or at an Asian grocery or even your health food store would probably carry it.  How much?

This much!  :-)  Sorry....but this is totally ethnic....you've got to go by your gut..... :-)  I will give you that it was a little over a tablespoon of masala.

Add a small container of tomato sauce and about 2 cups of chopped tomato....or a large container of tomato sauce and a smaller amount of tomato.

One pound of chicken.

Two small green peppers.

1-1/2 to 2 cups of water.

Let it simmer until chicken is tender.  Add salt to taste.  As that is cooking, here is our side dish:

Onion, okra, sliced potatoes.  Some use green beans instead of okra.  Add garlic, cumin and salt to taste. Not pictured that we added 2 roma tomatoes.   Cover and cook.

It is soooo good!  I have included Indian food in my menu at home for years, but now have new ideas!  Oops!  Almost forgot one thing.....

Don't forget to have your househelp make you some paratha bread before she leaves for the day!!

Sunday Church

We went to church on campus this morning. It was Morgan's first time back in service.  It was a bit of a shock to some people as they don't usually have mothers come out of hiding until the baby is at least a month old.  She had a few comments made, but most were very gracious.

 At church, everyone leaves their shoes in the entryway.

 A microphone for the English speaker and for the Hindi speaker.  They sang some songs in Hindi and some in English.  A guest speaker from N. Carolina gave the message.

 A family enjoying the Sunday afternoon sun on campus.

This little girl knocked on our door this afternoon and told Andrew she had made up a little game to help him learn better Hindi.  This is them playing the game. 

One thing I want to mention is there are not very many foreigners in Allahabad.  The Streets are the only Americans that I know of on campus, and when walking around town we do not see any Americans there either.  The American friends we had over for dinner the other night have been here a year and a half, but they are not sure if their visa will get renewed next year or not.  They know of maybe 6-7 American families in Allahabad....and it's a city of five million.  The government does not easily let foreigners in, and we need to keep praying over the Street's visa protection.

Shopping!!!

Andrew took me shopping this afternoon....and it was so much fun.  The shopping is so original and ethnic with no commercialization.

 Andrew fetched a rickshaw and had it brought over to me.  You can see there is not much room for me....

 Here's the view from on the rickshaw.  It was scary at times when we went close to other vehicles or hit potholes.

 A man ironing on the street....

 How's this for God's bounty?

 This is where Andrew bought his bicycle awhile ago.  He uses it to get groceries and run short errands.

 I love this picture....

 Andrew was a little heavy (ha!) so our driver had to get off and push for awhile on the way home.

Some beggars outside the gate.  One little girl just pulled on my arm and pointed to her mouth, and followed me down the street.  I looked over at her family sitting on a mat nearby and they gave me the nicest smiles....like they would be my best friend if.....Andrew did give the girl a coin.