The chanting continues. It isn’t a problem; I’ve “switched it off.” It’s just interesting. The people are still swirling around.
The day has dawned pleasant although the air pollution continues. This must be a real health issue for Indians. Flowers and green plants are all about.
We are in the YWCA International Guest House. When we registered, our visas were examined carefully and recorded, and we were entered into a very large book with column headings readable from top and bottom. Litre bottles of Aquafina were brought for each of us. Indian water is not to be consumed raw. One always need to know the source of water and juice to avoid “Delhi belly” I am told. Even toothbrushing must be done with bottled water.
Breakfast was porridge, toast, tea, suji (a soft, sweet mass made of brown flour and sugar and more) and something like scrambled eggs. It was not inspiring but good enough to go with!
In my hotel room I have a small single bed, one working light and two non functional lights, a tiled bathroom, an armoire and….um….interesting electrical arrangements. The electrical in Frank and Leena’s room is even more interesting. I am able to plug in my laptop power supply via a plug conversion.
Internet is available only in a nearby Internet café at 20 rupees for a half hour and 30 for each hour ($0.75/hour). Unfortunately, we cannot connect our laptops in this way.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
India - 30 January 2008
The beginning and end of transoceanic like this are always jet laggy. Yesterday, I was fully awake as Peter and I looked at their church meeting hall and offices and then a little bit of downtown Helsinki, and even through dinner. But at 6 PM, after 25 hours of travel and not a great deal of sleep, I could no longer hold my eyes open. 8 hours later I was awake – that would be 2 AM in Helsinki, or 3 PM in Alaska. Happily I was able to connect with Peter’s wireless Internet connection. That made possible Skype calls to Alaska and quite a bit of email and even a couple of website updates.
At a very Finnish breakfast, Peter and Pia and I spoke of many things, but then zeroed in on something that is going on in Scandinavia called “Levande Familjer” (living families). The concept is that Christians are trained to provide advice for families with relationship problems. The design is simply to provide help, and not an overt Gospel presentation. There is no hiding of Levande Familjer’s Christian roots; each session begins and ends with prayer. Peter said the concept is so successful that 1) Levande Familjer no longer needs advertisement as people come as a result of word-of-mouth referrals; and 2) even government agencies provide referrals. The latter is a real testimony of success in socialistic Sweden.
This is fascinating to me because of what we have been discussing at home….ways to help families and by our actions preach the Good News.
Peter and I ate lunch together at Helsinki Vantaa airport, and then we parted. I met Frank and Leena not long after in the departure lounge. We flew over Russia and several of the “stans” (Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) to Delhi where arrived some six hours later, at a little after midnight.
Fog – which turned out to be serious air pollution or smog – was the first thing I noticed looking out the aircraft windows as the big Finnair MD-11 pulled into its gate at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The airport is not as nicely maintained as one is accustomed to in the West, but it functioned well enough. The second thing I noticed was people: many, many people, especially as we exited the airport. Frank cautioned not to let anyone carry bags. At the taxi, someone tried to put his bags into the vehicle in hopes of a few rupees, perhaps.
A friend and partner of the ministry met us and had arranged a taxi. Since taxi fares are “flexible” depending on perceived ability to pay – with westerners being at the top of the ability ladder – having a cab arranged by a friend was very helpful. The cab was an unusually boxy shaped vehicle with little room for larger western people, but we somehow managed to get all of us and our luggage aboard.
Traffic was brisk at times, even at 1:30 AM. There was much jostling and beeping. Frank cracked that Indian cars were painted only with one coat so as to allow more to pass abreast.
I have a single room in the “International Guest House” where we are staying. The room costs about $40 US (1566 rupees) and seems fairly clean and even has a western-style toilet with toilet paper. The room “tariff” includes breakfast. It is air conditioned, but I’ll be more interested in the heater with temperatures around 50F. Frank says that his Indian contacts look on this as an expensive place to stay, although it is possible to find accommodation at western standard that costs over $100 US per night.
Just 200 meters away from my window is an impressive Sikh temple with a golden dome where some chanting (amplified of course) has been going on nonstop….and it is 2:45 AM as I write. Even at this late hour, people are coming and going.
At a very Finnish breakfast, Peter and Pia and I spoke of many things, but then zeroed in on something that is going on in Scandinavia called “Levande Familjer” (living families). The concept is that Christians are trained to provide advice for families with relationship problems. The design is simply to provide help, and not an overt Gospel presentation. There is no hiding of Levande Familjer’s Christian roots; each session begins and ends with prayer. Peter said the concept is so successful that 1) Levande Familjer no longer needs advertisement as people come as a result of word-of-mouth referrals; and 2) even government agencies provide referrals. The latter is a real testimony of success in socialistic Sweden.
This is fascinating to me because of what we have been discussing at home….ways to help families and by our actions preach the Good News.
Peter and I ate lunch together at Helsinki Vantaa airport, and then we parted. I met Frank and Leena not long after in the departure lounge. We flew over Russia and several of the “stans” (Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) to Delhi where arrived some six hours later, at a little after midnight.
Fog – which turned out to be serious air pollution or smog – was the first thing I noticed looking out the aircraft windows as the big Finnair MD-11 pulled into its gate at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The airport is not as nicely maintained as one is accustomed to in the West, but it functioned well enough. The second thing I noticed was people: many, many people, especially as we exited the airport. Frank cautioned not to let anyone carry bags. At the taxi, someone tried to put his bags into the vehicle in hopes of a few rupees, perhaps.
A friend and partner of the ministry met us and had arranged a taxi. Since taxi fares are “flexible” depending on perceived ability to pay – with westerners being at the top of the ability ladder – having a cab arranged by a friend was very helpful. The cab was an unusually boxy shaped vehicle with little room for larger western people, but we somehow managed to get all of us and our luggage aboard.
Traffic was brisk at times, even at 1:30 AM. There was much jostling and beeping. Frank cracked that Indian cars were painted only with one coat so as to allow more to pass abreast.
I have a single room in the “International Guest House” where we are staying. The room costs about $40 US (1566 rupees) and seems fairly clean and even has a western-style toilet with toilet paper. The room “tariff” includes breakfast. It is air conditioned, but I’ll be more interested in the heater with temperatures around 50F. Frank says that his Indian contacts look on this as an expensive place to stay, although it is possible to find accommodation at western standard that costs over $100 US per night.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Off to India - 2
Peter, a friend of a friend was waiting for me when I cleared customs in Helsinki. It is a delight to be met by a friendly face in an unknown place!
Peter pastors a church called "Living Word" in downtown
Peter and Pia went two years to the Word of Life Bibleschool in 1987-1989. He was earlier an assistant pastor in a Swedish-speaking pentacostal (pingst) church. This is not the same as the
Before the days of nationalism, this part of Finland was ruled by Sweden. ....from the 14th to the 18th centuries. It was captured by the Russians in the 18th century and gained its independence only 90 years ago. The long domination by
As I looked around the room normally occupied by one of the daughters (who is now on a trip), I saw a picture of Starla, a friend from Bibleschool! Starla is a friend of Johanna. It is fascinating to me how these human connections work.
Off to India - 2
Peter, a friend of a friend was waiting for me when I cleared customs in Helsinki. It is a delight to be met by a friendly face in an unknown place!
Peter pastors a church called "Living Word" in downtown Helsinki. Peter and his wife Pia are a little younger than me, and they have three 20-something children. They are "Finn-Swedes", and speak Finnish, Swedish and English....and son Andreas also Hebrew and daughter Cecilia some Russian. They all switch back and forth between languages with agility. I have really enjoyed getting to know Peter and his family and seeing where and how they live. Peter is an intelligent and passionate church leader and we have talked quite a bit about the Church here in Finland and Helsinki. He is a friend of Frank and Leena, with whom I am traveling to India in the next two weeks.
Peter and Pia went two years to the Word of Life Bibleschool in 1987-1989. He was earlier an assistant pastor in a Swedish-speaking pentacostal (pingst) church. This is not the same as the United Pentacostal Church in the USA.
Before the days of nationalism, this part of Finland was ruled by Sweden. ....from the 14th to the 18th centuries. It was captured by the Russians in the 18th century and gained its independence only 90 years ago. The long domination by Sweden is the root reason for the two official languages, Finnish and Swedish, which are very different in their roots. Swedish is no longer as important in the life of the country, but it is still very much in evidence.
As I looked around the room normally occupied by one of the daughters (who is now on a trip), I saw a picture of Starla, a friend from Bibleschool! Starla is a friend of Johanna. It is fascinating to me how these human connections work.
Peter pastors a church called "Living Word" in downtown Helsinki. Peter and his wife Pia are a little younger than me, and they have three 20-something children. They are "Finn-Swedes", and speak Finnish, Swedish and English....and son Andreas also Hebrew and daughter Cecilia some Russian. They all switch back and forth between languages with agility. I have really enjoyed getting to know Peter and his family and seeing where and how they live. Peter is an intelligent and passionate church leader and we have talked quite a bit about the Church here in Finland and Helsinki. He is a friend of Frank and Leena, with whom I am traveling to India in the next two weeks.
Peter and Pia went two years to the Word of Life Bibleschool in 1987-1989. He was earlier an assistant pastor in a Swedish-speaking pentacostal (pingst) church. This is not the same as the United Pentacostal Church in the USA.
Before the days of nationalism, this part of Finland was ruled by Sweden. ....from the 14th to the 18th centuries. It was captured by the Russians in the 18th century and gained its independence only 90 years ago. The long domination by Sweden is the root reason for the two official languages, Finnish and Swedish, which are very different in their roots. Swedish is no longer as important in the life of the country, but it is still very much in evidence.
As I looked around the room normally occupied by one of the daughters (who is now on a trip), I saw a picture of Starla, a friend from Bibleschool! Starla is a friend of Johanna. It is fascinating to me how these human connections work.
Off to India - 1
This long trip started Monday morning at 6 AM Alaska time. I’m writing this in the Amsterdam airport as I await the flight to Helsinki. My route of travel is Anchorage - Seattle - Amsterdam - Helsinki.
All has gone well so far. The only rough spot was some clear air turbulence over the coast of Greenland that without warning started the large Airbus A330 bucking and snorting…. And some passengers shrieking with fright after 4 hours of calm flight. We directly overheaded south Calgary on the way from Seattle to Amsterdam….I was less than 10 miles from Ryan and Kathy’s house. So it sometimes goes with modern air transportation -- near, yet far.
Wireless access at the Amsterdam airport is expensive. It is €12 for 1 hour…about $18! So, I am typing notes in a Word document for transfer later. Currency exchange is also expensive. I paid $20 for just over €9 for use in Helsinki, including a €3.5 commission. Our diminished dollar doesn’t go so far at the moment.
All has gone well so far. The only rough spot was some clear air turbulence over the coast of Greenland that without warning started the large Airbus A330 bucking and snorting…. And some passengers shrieking with fright after 4 hours of calm flight. We directly overheaded south Calgary on the way from Seattle to Amsterdam….I was less than 10 miles from Ryan and Kathy’s house. So it sometimes goes with modern air transportation -- near, yet far.
Wireless access at the Amsterdam airport is expensive. It is €12 for 1 hour…about $18! So, I am typing notes in a Word document for transfer later. Currency exchange is also expensive. I paid $20 for just over €9 for use in Helsinki, including a €3.5 commission. Our diminished dollar doesn’t go so far at the moment.
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