The pastors conference has been awesome—everybody is loving it and feeling like they are getting and understanding new revelations about the Kingdom of God. We arrived for the first meeting on Thursday evening, and were greeted by music and dancing and having our feet washed, as is the custom. Then we all danced in a throng together into the meeting place. Nope, this isn’t Kansas anymore. At one time Brian was picked up on the shoulders of some men and was moshed around. They did the same thing with the leaders of the conference. I was dragged into a circle of whirling women—the tribal girls are pretty rough and wild—there was no saying no. I guess it was an honor to dance with the American—I had lots of partners break in, and it wasn’t done gently. Red Rover, Red Rover. I was a head taller or more than most of the other women. That gives you a strange feeling.
There is a huge range of kinds of people here—from well-educated and genteel to illiterate tribals. There is one group of tribal women whose dress is very distinctive and who never seem to smile. They stand out in stark contrast to the rest who seem exuberantly happy.
Brian preached from 9:30 to 2 yesterday with only a brief break for tea. He preached “What Does It Means to be a Christian?” which was a series he did on Sunday mornings back home in January. It was fascinating to think about that message cross-culturally. At one point he was talking to the Indians and the particular challenges they face on a day to day basis—poverty, Hinduism, the caste system. He said Americans face very different challenges, but that they are very real as well. He told those Indians that Americans are killing themselves with their 200 kilometer an hour pace and the pressures they put on themselves to acquire material possessions. He warned them that as India continues to prosper, which is a very good thing, that they would have to beware the temptation to put too much emphasis on things and not people.
When we were finished, we went across the street to a government guest house, where we ate lunch and had a room to rest in until the evening meeting, rather than drive 45 minutes back to our hotel. We were going to eat our lunch out in the garden, but the proprietor said there was too much problem with the monkeys! That sounded intriguing to me, but PG, our host, said no. After lunch inside, I went out monkey hunting, but unfortunately didn’t find any!
The evening meeting went very well too. Worship was in full swing when we arrived. The meetings are being conducted in a conference center owned by a Christian ministry. The center is halfway between Lucknow and Kanpur, on Kanpur Road, which is the road that runs right in front of our hotel. There are 1000 people staying on the grounds, in rooms that encircle the large courtyard where the meetings take place. It is an open courtyard, but has a fabric canopy over it. The air is heavy and doesn’t move—it’s hot in February in there. (I’m sure it gets a lot hotter a month or two later.) All the dancing kicks up a lot of dust, and it was visible in the air when we arrived. The music is SO LOUD it hurts. It’s very Indian, very foreign, very wild.
Daybreak has come to Lucknow this morning. The pollution in the air here is most evident in the early morning as the sun struggles to break through. A dark haze covers the city. Power outages are frequent—they have occurred in every one of the meetings thus far, and just went out here in the hotel. The noise is probably the most annoying pollutant—the noise of all the cars/motorcycles/trucks on the road below, and particularly their nonstop blaring horns. By nonstop, I really mean nonstop. I awoke in the middle of the night last night, around 3am, and was aware something was different. It took me a moment to realize it was the quiet. I counted about 30 seconds before I heard another horn. The novelty airhorn variety is the worst. I can’t imagine wanting to drive through the city hearing those again and again! The traffic noise is despite the fact that we are on the fifth floor of this hotel with our windows closed. It sounds like we are right on the street.
India is full of problems, but there is incredible potential for change. Eighty percent of the people that IET ministers to are members of the Dalit caste, also known as the Untouchables, the lowest of the low. They are the people that are turning to Christianity in record numbers, because they are eager for change. And the gospel is making a huge difference in their lives. I’m praying we can be used to bless and help them.
View from our hotel window
The garden of our hotel
The welcoming committee
Footwashing
In the mosh pit
Brian preaching–our friend Shaji as interpreter
