Whoa India

It has been almost a week since I flew out of Portland International Airport to embark on a three-month visit to Rameswaram, India. 22 hours in the air, a night in a questionable hotel, 12 hours by train, and a 12 ½ hour time change later, I arrived. To be honest, the journey was tiring, but decently enjoyable. I had a great travel partner, Bekah and the airline made cross-country flights in the US look like an overnight road trip with nothing to eat but cabbage (mmmm, you can smell it now can’t you?). We flew coach and Lufthansa still brought us full meals, free beverages every hour (from OJ to Baileys), and hot towels… just cuz.

Bekah and I chillin' in style.

Remarkable Northern Canadian sunset from the plane.
After we changed planes in Germany, the new plane even had personal screens built into the back of the following seats. We could choose from 12 movies and several TV shows from the touch-screen menu. Ridiculous, but I enjoyed it! Our new friend Gokul we met while on a layover in Franfurt. He was visiting his hometown, Chennai, from his new home in the US.

After arriving in Chennai we could immediately feel the humidity, even at midnight! The airport windows looked like the side of a greenhouse. Abraham, his wife Ruby, and their daughter Ziona (named after the biblical Zion) met us outside and helped us get checked into a hotel. The hotel was a 3 star in India and maybe comparable to a roadside motel in the US—with less bugs, surprisingly. Not complaining, just sharing the experience. I had my first bucket shower, watched some really funny Indian music videos, got a few hours of sleep and went exploring when daylight hit. Chennai was busy, dirty, and full of bustle. We shopped around a bit for snacks and a few other items. Contrary to many other experiences westerners have shared with me, all the prices we were given seemed to be inline with what people informed us we should pay for certain items.

Some pictures of Chennai. They don't do the bustle, or even grime, justice. But they do capture the unique culture decently.

The train ride was fairly pleasant. We had a sleeper section for the overnight journey that we shared with 6 other passengers. Before we boarded Ruby warned us, “Don’t give anything to anyone and don’t talk with anyone.” To which Bekah reacted, “Are you listening, Justin? You’re the one always talking with everyone.” I tried to obey, but those Indians in our section were just so darn cool. After the train ride I was starting to get used to people staring at us. Since leaving the airport I have only seen 3 other Caucasian people so I can understand. I think I even made a little kid cry yesterday just by my sheer whiteness (it’s like a superpower!). We arrived in Rameswaram at 5:15am on Saturday. We have been treated with beautiful hospitality and patience as we adjust to our new surroundings. There have been some pretty funny moments—moments which I hope to blog about soon—but the most constant experience I find myself having is questioning. I have had so much to do in preparing to leave that whenever people asked me if I was getting excited, I couldn’t honestly say. I hadn’t had time to think about it. In general, the secret that I’ve told few people this last few months is that I have felt less spiritually and emotionally prepared the closer the time of departure got. It wasn’t a psychological thing, but more a pragmatic divergence of energy from a balance of inward and outward disciplines to purely outward. I am so thankful for this journey, for God’s gracious love, and for anything that my life here may lend to seeing God’s dreams for this place become more realized. Simultaneously, I am doing all the self-examination, mediation, reflection, and, though not enough, intentional prayer that I have been missing these past few months. Why exactly was I called here? What steps and decisions do I need to make to draw the divine energy needed to engage this mission with excellence? How do I need to grow? I can’t wait to share more of Rameswaram with you: the people, the food, the environment, the culture. I also have relish to share my experiences and activities since spending time with this wonderful place. There is already so much to share. We are finally getting the internet situation worked out so I should be able to update this blog more frequently. For now, would you please pray for my time here, for God’s loving guidance? Thank you for all the wonderful, multi-faceted support that has gotten me this far. Know that I am often praying for each of you whenever I think of you.