Bethania Journey

As we know, the climate changes now gripping our earth are most devastating to the poor.  “Developing” nations such as India have long contended that wealthier nations are not taking full responsibility for their contributions to rising CO2 levels and thus penalize poorer nations who contribute proportionately less to climate change.  In 2015, these claims threatened to derail the Paris agreement. We saw conflicting scenarios in India relating to pollution control and conservation of resources.  On the one hand, traffic congestion in the urban areas was chaotic and unremitting. Motorcycles are notoriously fuel inefficient, and with an estimated 37 million two-wheeled vehicles on the road, India is home to the largest number of motorcycles in the world.  Even the means of speed control utilized on the roads must reduce gas mileage, even in smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. On the other hand, we saw more media campaigns for reducing individual consumption of plas...

We weren’t here during peak flower blossom time, which is from MarchxMay and September-October. But we still saw some lovely blooms. Here’s a random selection. 

As we discussed at dinner this evening, our day today was nearly indescribable.  Our reduced-size group moved from south India to the north.  We left our luxury resort at 4 a.m. to fly north into the very serious air pollution of Delhi.  Donning our face masks, we proceeded to a tour of some of the city’s sightseeing highlights. Delhi is a city that very much shows it’s history as a British-occupied area, with broad, tree-lined avenues lined with gated and guarded villas.  The old city is distinctly India, while New Delhi seems European.  But India is a country that has a vast mixture of cultures, and it’s ancient history has been influenced by Hindu and Muslim rulers, among both.  Today we visited two prominent Muslim sites, the Jama Masjid and the Red Fort. Situated in Old Delhi, the Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in India.  It can hold 25,000 people for prayer within it’s walls.  Since today was Friday, the mosque was full of people who...

Team member Walt H. Shares some of his thoughts abouthis Bethania Journey: One of the thoughts that  has kept going thr ough  my head as we have travelled around in  India this past week   is the amazing contrasts on so many levels.   Amazing places of beauty and  then  the trash , sometimes immediately juxtaposed.  Stunning colors and  then  very drab.  Poverty  very prevalent , but then places of opulence.   The roads  are daunting , what we consider alleys are two way streets , lanes are only  suggestions, and a two lane road is really at least  3 and a half, but then add the walking traffic als o. The Bethania sites  all showed forth the transformative power of love and joy that has touched each of the children , the women and all of the staff.    The power of the love of  Jesus was always very evident  at each of the sites that we visited.   The very creative ac...

As a group, we made our last visit to a Bethania facility yesterday.  Leaving our new friends in Kodaikanal and driving down the mountain, we proceeded to Nagercoil, the location of Grace Home for Girls.  Currently, fifty-two girls between the ages of 6-18 live there.     All around the home are posters about strong women, both contemporary and Biblical.  There is an emphasis here on raising up independent, educated young women.  While the girls spend time each day in Bible study and hymn singing, they are never forced to become Christian, as is the case in all Bethania facilities.  Beside  traditional school subjects, they also receive training in art, music and dance.  Their traditional dances were lovely to see. We shared games and treats with the girls, and dinner with several staff members. As usual, we heard stories of girls who had survived abandonment, abuse and neglect, and are now safe in a loving and supportive environment.  ...

...Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality. Paul, in his letter to the Romans exhorts us to show love in a variety of ways.  In the last 7 days, we have seen so many examples of kindness, generosity and hospitality from the women, girls, and boys of Bethania in India.  One could read the verse above and assume that we are the ones who are sharing with those in need, and that the people of Bethania are the ones showing hospitality.  But it has worked both ways.  They have shared with us, and we are all in need of connection, visions of beauty, and robust singing that assures us of the love of God.  And we have shared hospitality with them in the games, treats, laughter and hugs that we have given them. We must not assume that they are always the ones in need and we are always the ones who provide.  All of us on this Bethania Journey are richer because of the gifts we have been given here. On Tuesday, we ventured outside of Kod...

There have been so many experiences here that give voice to the hymn that forms the title of this post:  Jesus shall reign where’ere the sun does his successive journeys run.   On our first day we visited two shrines dedicated to St. Thomas the Apostle, who came to India only 20 or so years after Jesus died. He first came to an established Jewish community on the west coast, but within another 20 years had reached Chennai, on the east coast. The Christian church that he established has 65 million adherents today, including several hundred adults and children whom we have met on this trip who are being cared for, or being employed by the Bethania organization in India. In our visits to the programs of Bethania, we have seen so much Christian love and compassion in action, and have had an opportunity to sit with children and adults who do not look like us, or speak the same language, or even view the world in the same way.  We sang and prayed with them, watched them da...

The Indian people seem to be meticulously clean.   But they obviously go about personal cleanliness in a different way than we do.  Case in point:  Just today we had our first hand towels placed in our bathrooms.  Up to now, (at least since we left Chennai), no hand towels, no washcloths, only large bath towels.  Are hand towels a peculiarity of Americans? Another cultural practice that has taken some getting used to:  eating with your fingers.  And we’re not talking chicken drummies, either.  Rice, chutneys, vegetables, curries, dal, everything scooped up with fingers or pieces of yummy chapati or dosas (Indian flatbreads).  Some of us have held fast to the use of spoons - or if we can find them - forks.  Others of the group have happily eaten Indian style, and quite proficiently, too. We had a restaurant lunch where we ate, not off of plates, but off of banana tree leaves.  Spoonfuls of food are put on the leaf, you eat with ...

On our second night, we gathered in the hotel bar to give our first “impressions” of India.   You can consider the rather random statement below as if they had quotation marks around them, because they are the thoughts expressed by members of our group. It was surreal flying over land that is just 50 miles east of Baghdad.  The plane avoided both Israeli and Syrian airspace, although not sure if that was on purpose. I have a new appreciation of parents who fly with babies.  Lots of crying and sore ears, especially on take-off and landing. Interesting to be on a plane where part of the pre-take-off instructions included telling  people to remain seated for prayer. I’m so glad we’re not driving in India! Lane stripes and stop signs are only suggestions here! The constant horn honking.  I can imagine that the horns are having conversations, because after a while, they become like background chatter:  “Hello there!”  “Sorry to hear your husband ...

This was another day of travel: flight to Madurai and a van journey to Dindigul, a city of 300,000 in south central India.  About a 45-minute drive from Dindigul is the location of the original Bethania home, It sits in an area known as Kannivadi, off the highway and down a long, bumpy and rutted dirt road.  This is the site founded by the Hennigs  and two other families to help support a woman who was taking in orphaned children.  Now called the Dayavu Home for Boys, it houses 28 children between the ages of 5 and 15. Because our flight was delayed and we took a brief side trip to a famous Hindu temple in Madurai, we arrived at the home after dark.  The boys came rushing out of the school, jumping for joy that we were there.  They all wanted to shake our hands, ask our names, and tell us their names.   The younger children are just beginning to learn English; the older ones are more proficient.  We had some gifts - a Jenga game ...

Seen through the bleary eyes of people who had been traveling for over 24 hours, even at 4:00 a.m., Chennai was noisy, crowded and hot. The recent air quality problems made the city look foggy and mysterious.  The Hotel Trident is a cool and calm oasis, with a lovely bowl of locus flowers sitting in the front lobby. Today we met Mark’s wonderful friend, Prem,  who generously took the day off, rented a van and a driver, and took us to some of the sights.  Chennai is the place where one tradition says that St.Thomas the Apostle was martyred is AD 72, so there are several St. Thomas sites. We visited Malankara Church, that houses his tomb, and that has a reliquary with a piece if his bone.  Mount St. Thomas, the site of his death, looming high above the city, has another shrine, a convent, and a lovely little statue depicting the devotion to the Virgin Mary as “the Untier of Knots.” We also visited the Hindu Karpagambal Temple, and were reminded that we know little...

Of the group making this journey, I am the "newcomer" both to attending Mt Olive and to the ministries of Bethania.   I approach the experience without expectations, being free to observe, interpret, learn and reflect as we go.   I do know my life will be enriched.   

I never thought I’d travel to India. If you had asked me several years ago whether India was a place I’d want to visit, I’d have said to myself that it was well beyond my comfort zone and politely declined with some sort of excuse. Yet when the possibility of traveling to experience Bethania Kids with a group of people from Mount Olive presented itself, I immediately said yes . It wasn’t just because my wife was asking that I agreed—though she would say that’s reason enough! It was also that I value relationships and this trip is a once-in-my-lifetime opportunity to create relationships with the people that work at Bethania as well as the children and women they serve. I’ve heard about Bethania Kids over the nearly two decades we’ve been at Mount Olive, knew of Gene’s deep and personal investment in this charity and witnessed Mark’s experience traveling to Kodaikanal ten years ago. I also recall hearing about a Concordia Seminary in India as a boy in the denomination of my upbr...