Incredible India





Two hours after arriving in Dehli we traveled by bus to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, traveling 4-5 hours each way. It is the best way to see the countryside, passing by through the window, honking all the way alongside bicycles, rickshaws, autorickshaws, cars, taxis, buses and cargo trucks. We ate lunch at MacDonalds (a beef-less menu) and a nice Indian dinner with rice, chicken, fish, naan, and fresh lime soda. We saw camels, elephants, pigs, ox, cows, egrets, peacocks, snakes and their charmers, goats, monkeys in outfits on leashes and several other species of birds. Friday we went sightseeing in Dehli, including Indria Gandi's Memorial, the Lotus Temple, the Red Fort, shopping, and dinner at the headquarters of the Church of North India.



We continued on to Kolkata by plane, visited Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Mercy and then to a large market where bargaining only got you out of a percentage of the white people tax. We had dinner on an old dining railcar called Ontrack, where Bishop was friends with the cook. Sunday we woke to a quiet city and traveled south, again by bus, to attend a church service blessing the ground for a new church site in a small shrimp village. They constructed a magnificent tent for the service and we were seated in front on the stage, adorned with flowers and ribbons, as the honored guests. We presented a couple hundred sari's collected by other churches to give to the people there, and blessed and gifted 10 new wheelchairs. Dr. Mike also saw patients. This area was built up by the Diocese of Durgapur and the Epsicopal Relief and Development after a cyclone did some serious damage. Since there are now Christians in the area, Bishop Dutta expects to build a church there in the next 6 months to a year.



We then traveled south to Dinga, a coastal village where they make ships and boats. We spent several hours walking the beach as the sun melted into the smog of colors. It was the first real sleep since arriving. In true Indian fashion, we again loaded the bus and all our luggage to Durgapur. We experienced some traffic jams and saw the rest of India on the way. Thank you for your prayers, for our driver had all sorts of watching over us. Nine bumpy hours later we arrived on the campus of the Diocese of Durgapur, where the Dalias are the size of my head and the children explode with laugher, dancing, and a warm welcome. We are home, for now.



With deep love and gratitude,

Sallie

The Cathedral under construction, Feb 2011: Dicocese of Durgapur