Picnics are not your typical basket and blanket, head down the street to the park and that is that. This is Anil Henry and this is Mungeli - we knew it was going to be an event. So we were told to be at the front gates by 9:30am and ready for a full day out on the road. So picture the five of us, the other 12 or so mission workers that are here with us and maybe....roughly.....75 other people all crammed into a bus that probably seats 50...max. The hospital staff and their families were invited to join us for a day at a dam and reservoir for one big family picnic. As we were waiting for everything to be loaded and everyone to gather, we broke out the frisbees that we brought with us for the kids here. They were a HUGE hit! We had frisbees flying every direction. It was absolute chaos for a few moments there, but way to much fun. Seeing the looks of pure delight on the faces of these kids and hearing their laughter is worth every ounce of it.
Once we loaded up the school bus we were off and running. For the next two hours we traveled even further into the middle of nowhere through small villages, open fields, pastures, and on and on into the heart of India. The driving this time had a different flare of crazy. These roads are much more rural and have less traffic, but provide no less excitement. Especially standing in the bus among 80-90 people hitting bumps every other second, avoiding rickshaws, bikes and complete herds of cows, navigating tight turns and just sucking in lung fulls of India's finest grade dust. Needless to say - disembarking the bus at the picnic was like winning the Super Bowl - Go Packers!
I would have never guessed this place was out here where we were going, but we were having our picnic at a large reservoir and dam. As we pulled into the final dirt road, you could see the dam rise on right at impressive heights - probably 75 ft. I would guess. We went through a final village alongside the dam where they were setting up for a large open air market. We parked the bus under a large tree at the one end of the dam and everyone grabbed their things and made the trek up to the area where we were going to have our meal. Once you get up on top of the damn, the most impressive of views opens up as you look out onto an extremely large body of water in every direction with the foothills of a mountain range dotting the horizon. We were set-up on a rocky outcrop where there was an advance crew that had already begin preparing the fires for the meal. Once everyone made their way up to the outcrop, the fun and relaxation began.
Anil had brought along a raft with an a small electrical motor and many of the people were taking turns going for rides. Some of the more daring including Gregg and of course, Shane. Swimming is not a strength of many in our group so even going out on the raft many of them wore life jackets. As the day wore on and the temperatures rose, Shane and his daughters Marcie and Thea were all helping some of the girls learn how to float. Meanwhile many of the women were preparing the vegetables for our meal later that day. Lisa and Kelly joined in on the fun and the fellowship of the other women as they sliced and cut and chopped away. There were others simply napping and taking in the beautiful surroundings, others went for hikes and I enjoyed some more exciting games of frisbee with some of the boys.
So much of what we saw reminded you of something you would see out of a National Geographic special. There were groups of men fishing in old wooden canoes and using big nets that they would draw in together and collect their catches. On another rock nearby a mother and daughter from a local tribe were washing their clothes and other belongings. It was quite the site to see all of this when you combine it with the beauty of this dam.
The majority of the day was spent relaxing in the beauty of this area and in the midst of God's expansive creation. It was interesting as Anil was pointing out that on the other side of this large body of water, the hospital actually owns 45 acres of land that Dr. Vic Rambo had purchased so many years ago. I asked him about plans for it and he said they had tossed around the idea that this property could be turned into a retreat center someday. He also mentioned on another corner of the lake they are attempting to turn the area into a Tiger Reserve. The issue facing them is relocating all of the small villages that live there currently.
We also had a great opportunity today to really get the chance to meet and have conversations with some of the children, some of teenagers and the nursing students. They are absolutely fascinating people. So most of the afternoon Lisa and I ran around with three of the young people - we played LOTS of frisbee, went went hiking to see some monkeys and just had a lot of fun. Later in the day Shane took us for a walk back around to the other side of the dam to check out the open air market. It was incredible. Dave and I spoke of how this had to be nearly the same way something like this looked thousands of years ago, I mean straight up Biblical. There were just rows upon rows of small stick tents with vendors selling all sorts of products ranging from fruits and vegetables to scarves and cooking ware. It was quite the scene. As we walked around this remote market, we could sense even more than in Mungeli, the number of people who watched us with great interest. We snacked on big sticks of sugar cane, the kids all had popsicles and other treats. One of the coolest things was walking to and from the market there were two huge trees that had about a billion wolf bats resting in their upper branches. So as we approached they were disturbed by our presence and before you knew it the sky above us was filled with these extremely large bats. It was something out of a horror movie, but ridiculously awesome at the same time! When we got back we had a wonderful dinner, relaxed and enjoyed conversation with our new friends. After all the dishes were done (right there in the lake) and all the supplies were loaded up, we took off back to Mungeli. It was a great day all around and I began to realize a couple of things about these people and this community as we chatted and experienced this day with all of them.
1. In the midst of all this poverty - there is so much joy. As we drove to and from the picnic, the bus would often be filled with the boisterous and happy singing of everyone on the bus. I said to Dave - we have so much learn from these people. In America we are so caught up on consumerism and attaining a certain way of life, that we miss out on so much living. These people who work so hard everyday to simply survive, are still able to find so much happiness and joy in the simplicity of singing songs. I have so many blessings in my life. I have so much in my life. It's hard to look at anything in the same way after you have seen, excuse me, experienced life in somewhere like Mungeli.
2. I was struck by the monotony of the lives of these people. For many in the outer lying areas life is a series of activities, jobs, work, chores and then you repeat it everyday. There is nothing much that changes about this every single day. I can't possibly imagine living life like this. It's not because it's bad, but because it is just something that I don't have any comprehension of. Kelly mentioned in our conversation about this that this is why something like the picnic we went on today was such a big deal. It was a break from the routine. It was a chance to do something new. It was a vacation from the routine. It brought so much joy to their lives.
I feel like I am learning so much more every single day. I feel like I am becoming more and more in tune with these people and the experience that they call life.
One last story from the day. When we all returned to the hospital and we were all just whooped, thirty and covered in dust. I could not wait for a shower and some water. Shane asked Dave and I if we would like to help deliver food to some of the hospital staff that stayed back to work instead of going to the picnic. I said "sure!" not having any clue what I was getting myself into. So in one of the rooms some of the ladies were loading up containers with food for each of the workers that we were going to deliver to. So Anil paired up Dave and I with one of the drivers and we were going to be the ones holding the thermos' with food in them while the driver drove the motor bike. Yes, I said motor bike. Yes I rode on the back of one of these bikes. I remember driving from the airport in Raipur to Mungeli and saying to Dave and Lisa, "There is no way in the world you would ever catch me on one of those bikes." I also remember saying to Gregg "you must be out of your mind to drive around here at night." Well....ain't that something. There I was riding on the back of a motor bike, at night with a driver from the hospital who spoke extremely little amounts of English. Scared isn't really the word I would use to describe it. It was more....exhilarating! So the first house we stopped at I hopped off the bike and we realized that the lid from the thermos had fallen off - God only knows where. So what happens? The driver tells me to stay there and takes off on the bike. Picture me, standing in front of a house of very friendly Mungeli residents who speak absolutely NO english, holding a canister of food, in the pitch dark, with no clue when this motorbike was going to return. Oh yeah...your mind definitely starts to race. I tried evaluating the situation. I was particularly scared, especially since I was only 5 minutes from the hospital, but I did take inventory of what I had with me. Wallet - check. Camera - check. Bug Spray - check. Hand sanitizer - check. I am not sure MacGyver could have done very much given this packing list. So I just stood there and prayed and smiled at the entire family of 11 who were all watching me with complete awe. I attempted to say hello and tell them my name and that was just met with giggles. So I waited and prayed and prayed a little more and simply chalked it up to another awesome story on this adventure of a lifetime. Well my driver in shining armor returned shortly and I was taken back to the hospital after a few laughs. It was good to be back at the hospital. After I showered and snacked on some Indian type of cheetos and chatted for a bit, I just hit a wall. My apologies for not getting this posted sooner, I was in bed by 9:30pm last night.
Today is another day in the life of the Hospital. Kelly gave the message at chapel this morning about the Parable of the Lost Sheep. We enjoyed a breakfast of French Toast, hard boiled eggs and papaya. Now we are gearing up for another incredible day in this place they call Mungeli. Tonight or this morning, however you look at it, we are departing for THE SAFARI at Kahna National Park - estimated departure time: 2am. Until later....have a great day! Way to get it done Packers!
Enjoy the pics below and check out Gregg's video from the picnic!
We miss all of you!
-Nate
Wow! What learning experience! I loved the motorbike story, and can totally picture u smiling @ the Indian family of 11! Lol!
ReplyDeleteSkyping w/ the kids yesterday was soooo cool! Technology, huh? : )
Hope Lisa is feeling better & u all continue to have a safe, amazing trip.