Church, Sugar Cane Farm and Going Away Party

Our final full day in Mungeli. I can't really believe it is over and our visit is coming to the end. I will be perfectly honest with you and say that I am definitely missing certain American amenities including ESPN, Television, Quaker Steak Louisiana Licker wings (Adam Schlett - Friday correct?), cold CARBONATED Pepsi and/or Mountain Dew, my friends, my family and my bed. Oh and the first McDonald's that Dave and I find in New Dehli better drop another 6 bags of french fries right now, we are going to buy them out!

There is certainly a lot of things I am longing for in America, but nothing can stack up to the value and the depth of this experience. I look forward to someday having the opportunity, God willing, to return to this community and to these people who live here and serve here each and every day. I will miss their smiles, their hospitality, their patience with all our inability to speak ANY Hindi, their zest for life and each of them as individuals who help to make Mungeli whole.

I prayed that God would let me be God's hands and feet during this trip. What I found was a hospital and a school filled with people who's words and actions were overflowing with God's love. I prayed that I could help this community in some way. What I learned was so much more about myself and about this vast world we all call home. I realized that they helped me, each in their own way, become more appreciative, more grateful, more compassionate and less judgmental.

When I look at my time in Mungeli and the things I saw and heard and smelled it was as if I had traveled in time. I was among a community that was hundreds of years behind the developed nations of America and Europe and other places across the planet. I saw things that I didn't think existed. The question that lingered among so many of our conversations was "where do you begin?" How does a place like this become one with a world that is so far ahead in development, technology, education, social structures and every other aspect of living? Some would say that it is perfectly ok the way it is and we don't need to make changes. If you asked the residents of Mungeli, you would find people who have never seen or known anything different. They look at the world before them and the life they lead and say "Life is good." They value the shelter over their head, the are thankful for their most recent meal, the cherish their families and they look upon their work, whatever it may be, with great pride. When I try to gather of all this into my thoughts, it's very difficult. You can ask so many questions and you can find so many different answers. Maybe we are the ones that bridge this world to our world. Maybe we are not sent here to flip their worlds upside down, but rather introduce them in small doses to the things we take for granted. I really don't know, but I know that after a trip like this I will never be the same.

With that on my mind we set out for our final day in this beautiful place. I woke up fighting a running nose, and my mouth has felt like someone dumped a bucket of sand down it for the past two days. There isn't enough Werther's Originals or LifeSavers in the world to deal with all the dust we have ingested. I never thought I would long for the fresh air of Cleveland so much. Oh perspective, how I love thee.

We were treated to an incredible breakfast of scrambled eggs and hash brown type potatoes with cheese. I didn't care if it would result in bad news later, I was going to chow. Seeing that my meals on Saturday consisted of.....water and nothing much else, this was a feast! Big thanks to Shane for cooking up such sweet heavenly treats.

The day started with church at 9:30am. Special guest preacher from the USofA, the Reverend Doctor Kelly Brill. I had heard rumors of a 3 hour service and decided I better not be stuck there without water, so two one-liter bottles it was. They did say that when an American is leading the service, it generally is around 2 hours long. Well the church is beautiful and still fully decorated from Christmas. We all agreed that Gerry Paine could pick up a few tips or two from these folks! We love you Gerry! The church is small and shaped in a T. There is a small altar with, you guessed it....a large clock on the wall to the right of the pulpit. Very helpful, but it also moves so much slower when it's staring you in the face. It reminded me of high school pre-calculus. Not the service, but the clock staring at me. I actually enjoyed the service. The nurses sang a couple of beautiful songs and a Hindi version of "How Great Thou Art" that was very moving. Rev. Kelly delivered one of her standard home run sermons and before we knew it, we were dismissed. Outside we gathered for a quick Avon Lake group photo with Anil & Teresa Henry and Nancy (Lott) Henry and Viru Henry. It was a beautiful Sunday and a great spot for a picture.

Immediately after church we all loaded into the school bus and set out for the countryside. Today's destination - a sugar cane farm. The farm sets out of town about an hour's drive. We learned that 11 students from this small village attend school at Rambo English School back in Mungeli and that the bus drives out here twice a day to pick them up and return them home. On the way we passed an overturned jeep and we just squeezed by another large truck filled with stones that had broken down in the middle of the one lane country road. I mean it was ridiculously close. Oh and our chauffeur for the day was Dr. Henry, also known in some Mungeli circles as the "Bat out of Hell" or "The Indian Nascar Driver". Not really, but I am sure these aren't far off. So in typical fashion, we made great time to the farm! HA!

I have never been to a sugar cane farm, but it was pretty much what I anticipated. Set in the middle of nowhere and only consisting a few small scattered huts and tent-like structures, it was a beautiful operation to witness. The farm owned and operated about 65 acres of pure Indian countryside and specialized in turning the juices from Sugar Cane into big chunks of brown sugar. Easily the sweetest bite of anything I have ever had. I quickly stopped when Avinash informed me that eating to much can result in a quick mess going out. Nursing a wobbly stomach already - sugar cane chunks were definitely not on the prescribed diet. For the next hour or so we wandered around the facility and the farm and met the residents here. Dave and I kept trying to imagine life out here in the middle of June when its sporting a 140 degrees. No thank-you, I'll pass. I managed to submerge one of my entire shoes in manure, so that was a nice treat. Scott, there is a HUGE market out here for manure, but not sure you will get quite the profit margin you are looking for. But, in any case, if you consider going global.....let's chat.

We had a great time enjoying the farm and checking out this unique facility. Eventually we loaded up the van and made our way back to good old Mungeli. We passed a band of gypsies which included about 10 camels, on our way back to town. Pretty awesome! Once we got back to the hospital it was time to do some packing and organizing in preparation for our 5:30am departure from the hospital. Later in the day we were having a going away party at the home of Teresa and Anil, so we knew we had to get things done this afternoon.

The day quickly escaped us and before we knew it was time to head over to the home of the Henry's for an 8:30pm dinner party. As we arrived they had the Nintendo Wii set-up and we started in on some dancing games including Just Dance and the Michael Jackson Experience. Everyone was having a complete blast. It was great to see even the shyest among the group, get out there and just dance. Everyone was enjoying the fellowship and community that makes this place so special. We snacked on microwave popcorn (CHA-CHING!) and ice cream (DOUBLE CHA-CHING!) and eventually a traditional Indian dinner. At one point during the party before we ate, Anil gathered everyone and thanked us for our work, our presence and our gifts to their hospital and their school. He asked both Lisa and I to address everyone and it was an honor to share some of our observations of our experience. I basically thanked them for being them. I thanked them for the opportunity to be a part of their family for the past week. I said that I honestly don't know if many of us could do what you do on a daily basis, but I said that God is definitely in this place. I also said thank-you to each of them for teaching me so much, for teaching all of us how to live with such joy and happiness. I thanked them for their friendship and the work they are doing for this community. It was hard. When I looked around the room and I thought about the life I was returning to in Lakewood, Ohio and the life that they are living each and everyday, right here in Mungeli,

I simply admired them. Their faces told of so much and through all the hardships they still manage to laugh and smile and be one big family. It gave me hope. If a place like Mungeli, India can figure out the meaning of community, than so can everyone else. So can the Christians and the Muslims, so can the Israelis and the Palestinians, so can the gays and the straights, so can the people of God and the people of no God. If this world will ever truly know peace, it will be because the world finds a way to coexist and to live and to hack it out like these people do every single day. It's not perfect and there is great need, but they have the basics down. They are capable of moving forward, together. I pray that we all can learn something from our friends in Mungeli. I pray that this small journal of mine not only kept you informed of our travels, but helped you to see the world from a different angle. I pray that we have safe travels home to our families, friends and loved ones. I pray that God continues to bless Christian Hospital Mungeli, Anil & Teresa Henry and the entire staff of both the hospital and the school. I pray that we all see our world as a journey we are on together. It's 2011 and we can no longer sit in our corner of the game board and just look the other way. The problems we face and the challenges in front of us require us to look beyond our skin color, our language and our geographical coordinates. It is my prayer that we all can learn from the people of Mungeli and make the world a better place for this generation and generations yet to come.

In just a few hours we will set off on an early morning drive to the airport in Raipur and catch the 9:00am flight to New Dehli. We are not certain we will have internet at our hotel and it sounds like our travel agent/chauffeur has busy plans for us. It may be some time before I write again. Until then, thank-you for reading my blog and allowing me a forum to share my experiences here with the world. I will never forget this trip or these people. I look forward to the next time I can return again. From Mungeli.....I am signing off.

Much love,
Nate