aheartfororphans

My trip to India by Trevor Heil (con’t)

Day 12

Today is our last day. We visited a Jain temple, which is like Hinduism. It was kinda freaky, some of the people had boards (like small tables) that had grains of rice on them. They would draw designs in the rice in front of the idols while chanting as part of their worship. Many of the people had handkerchiefs covering their mouth and nose so that they wouldn’t breathe on the idols. It was probably the strangest temple that we visited.

We also saw a lady who had a large cow and was charging people to feed it. Feeding the cow was another form of worship. Not a bad deal to get someone to pay you to feed your own cow.

We’re now back at the hotel resting before heading off to the airport for our long trip home. I will be sharing some of my stories at church this Sunday if you can join us. Look forward to getting home.

My trip to India by Trevor Heil (con’t)

Day 10

Today was another travel day. We had some time to go swimming at the hotel before spending as a few hours at handicraft stores on the way to the airport. We flew from Jaipur to Mumbai, arriving very late.

Day 11

Today we visited the World Trade Center slum. Approximately 125,000 people live here and 40,000 to 50,000 are children. When we first got there, the houses didn’t look as bad as I expected. They were concrete buildings with electricity and ceiling fans. In one of the buildings we visited a small Christian day care center. The children were from the slum and were very glad to see us. We then traveled further into the slum, the houses got much smaller and the surroundings got dirtier. We stopped in houses along the way pray for families, most were sick.

We worked our way to the back of the slum where the houses were made of sheet metal and are up on bamboo stilts. This part of the slum is built right on the bay. Raw sewage dumps into the bay in this area. There was garbage everywhere, it looked like a city dump. As the tide rises, the raw sewage water comes into the slum and floods the whole area. As we were there the water was quickly rising so we had to leave this section before it flooded. It was sad to think that although we were able to leave and run away from the water the little kids and their parents couldn’t, this is where the live every day. The houses they sleep in are right above the sewage.

~

~

~

Most of the people we met with were surprisingly happy. The kids were laughing and playing with each other and they all waived at us as we walked by. They are really making the best of a bad situation. Some however looked very sad.

~

~

~

Throughout the slum there are small little fruit stands covered with flies. With all those flies, all that trash and all that sewage, disease must be everywhere.

Most of the houses were one room about 8 by 10 feet with one cooking burner, some dishes, and a bed. 4 to 6 (or sometimes more) live in this little space.

It smelled very bad as we walked around. It was very hot and humid, especially in the small houses.

In the afternoon, we went to a Muslim shrine, a burial spot of some famous Muslim person. This shrine is out in the bay at the end of a long concrete causeway. The causeway was lined with all kinds of beggars, many were crippled or blind. Giving to the needy is 1 of the 5 pillars of Islam, so the beggars hang out near the shrine knowing that many Muslims will be visiting and will give them money. The shrine was weird and a bit scary. It was very crowded and tense and I got the feeling they didn’t want us there. They were all gathering around a coffin laying down flowers and fruit. They were worshipping the coffin as if it were a God.

~

~

~

My trip to India by Trevor Heil (con’t)

Day 8

Travel took up most of this day as we flew from Coimbatore to Mumbai then on to Jaipur.

Day 9

Today was a very exciting day. After breakfast we headed to Amber fort and palace for an elephant ride. When we arrived it was more of a tourist attraction than I expected but it still fun. Scott and I rode the elephant together in a large basket up a long trail to the palace. Along the way we passed other elephants and vendors selling everything from puppets and hats to photos we didn’t want.

The palace was huge, it is built mostly of marble and took 300 years to build. As we walked down one hall, we heard some music and as we walked around the corner we saw 2 snake charmers with 2 fanned out cobras facing them. One of the charmers tried to touch one of the snakes and almost got bit…WOW!

~

While eating lunch, it was a downpour of rain outside. It was raining so hard that by the time we were done eating, there was about 6 inches of water around our car which, was nothing compared to some of the other streets. Check out these pictures.

~

~

~

 

~

~

   

Later in the afternoon we decided to take a walk around town. We went into a store looking for some souvenirs, when we were done shopping and came out, there were 2 girls holding a small boy about 2 years old. The girls were begging for money. We didn’t give them money but offered to buy them some food. They asked for McDonalds that was across the street. When we walked into McDonalds the guard outside wasn’t going to let the kids in, we had to tell him they were with us. While we were waiting in line I noticed people looking at us like we were crazy for helping them. We also noticed a few other beggars outside that hoped to get some food, which they did. Later in the van we talked about the children’s home we had visited in Ooty that has children whose parents are beggars that I mentioned in my summary of day 6. This before and after picture was amazing.

My trip to India by Trevor Heil (con’t)

Day 7

Today drove from Ooty to Coimbatore, a 2 ½ hour drive which seemed shorter because I slept most of the way. We went from a high elevation to a low elevation and the temperature went up by 40 degrees.

Unfortunately I didn’t feel too good this morning, I had an upset stomach – too much spicy stuff, I think the tandoori chicken I had for lunch yesterday got to me. Blander food has helped (yogurt, chicken noodles and 7-up).

Once in Coimbatore we went to visit a bible college and seminary under construction that Murli is building. He is also building a children’s home and church that World Orphans is helping with. Once it is complete, he will move the girls we visited in Ooty to this home.

image: bible school/seminary

image: tile installation

image: Trevor and Max walk the property

image: children's home

My trip to India by Trevor Heil (con’t)

Day 6

After breakfast we went with Murli Menon (our host) and his wife Usha to meet with people with leprosy. Usha was meeting with them to verify they do have leprosy as she is starting a home for children of leprosy patients. People with leprosy are outcast from their village and are forced to live in leprosy colonies and are considered untouchable. People will not even associate with them. If the children are not taken into them home they will end up being beggars and have no hope of education or a future. It’s sad that these people are outcast because they are still people. I thought it was cool that Usha and Murli were willing and able to start a home for these children.

~

Later we visited a tea factory/museum. It was cool to see how tea was made. Tea was discovered by accident. A ruler in china was boiling water on a journey and some tea leaves fell into the pot.

After lunch we walked around town and visited a local outdoor market. Most of this market was pretty interesting. It was chaotic - lots of shops in a small area, lots of people, narrow walkways with tarps to keep off the rain. A section of the market was lined with meat stands. Each meat shop worker was chopping up meat with cleavers, with no refrigeration, everything was sitting out on benches, some drying out. We then walked down a row of chicken and fish, it smelled bad! Max and Stu walked away quickly holding their breath.

~

~

 

In the afternoon we visited an children’s home that Murli and Usha started for beggar kids. These are kids whose parents are street beggars that have nothing. Without a safe place to live, these kids would also end up begging for money and food. Just like the home we visited yesterday, all these kids were very cute and happy.

~

After we got back to the hotel, we were able to watch the last half of the cricket rivalry game between India and Pakistan on TV. It was cool to learn about cricket which is kinda like baseball. The pitcher called a bowler throws a ball heavier than a baseball at 3 sticks called wickets. The ball has to hit the ground before it hits the wickets and a batter called a striker has to try to hit the ball preventing it from hitting the wickets. Anyway kinda confusing, I can tell you more about it when I get back. Pakistan won 322 to 290.

My trip to India by Trevor Heil (con't)

Day 5:

We left Quiet Corner headed for Ooty, a small mountain town of about 125,000 people. It’s kinda cold here, much cooler than anywhere else we’ve been. To get to Ooty we had to go up a mountain road that had 36 hairpin turns. Once in Ooty, we dropped our bags at the hotel and went out for lunch. The restaurant was vegetarian and was very good. We each had a platter with different sauces and foods that we ate with our fingers using nan bread to pick the food up.

~

In the afternoon, we visited an elementary school where we each spoke to the children. We told them who we were and where we were from. After spending a little time with them, we went to visit an orphan home.

The orphan home had 22 girls ages 1 to 6. They have all been saved from infanticide. We watched them sing songs and recite bible verses. It was pretty impressive that they could memorize so much at such a young age. They showed us the rooms they stay in and we were able to play with them for a little while. They were very cute.

I can’t understand what would make someone want to kill a baby girl. It’s very sad to think that someone would.

~

~

   

My trip to India by Trevor Heil (con't)

Day 4:

Today, instead of eating at the Samuel’s house, we stopped at a restaurant on the way to Quiet Corner. This was our first Indian meal. First we had Idli, which is steamed rice dipped in either a white coconut sauce (chudney) or a spicier red sauce (sambar). We next had masala dosa which is like a deep fried pancake with cabbage, potatoes and beans wrapped inside, again dipped in either the chudney or sambar. Lastly we had vada which was like a donut but not sweat, it too was dipped in the chudney or sambar. We topped it off with a nice cup of chai, which was like dessert. It was amazing.

The drive to Quiet Corner took a good part of the day. We stopped about half way there to visit a church started by the ministry at Quiet Corner, they are considering building an orphan home as part of the church. While Scott, Paul and Mike visited with the pastor, I got to use Scott’s camera to take some pictures of children living in a tent in a nearby field. The children noticed me taking pictures so they started to pose and laugh.

~

As we arrived in the village near Quiet Corner, we stopped to visit a sewing program they run. There were 11 girls about my age that are there learning about sewing. All are from Hindu families and will learn about Jesus as they are learning to sew. I got pray for them as we were leaving.

After checking in at Quiet Corner we went to visit a feeding program. 35 kids sang songs for us and then sat down on the floor for their dinner. I was able to serve them rice and then teach them what high fives are. The kids come Monday through Saturday for 1 meal and to learn bible lessons. A couple of kids recited bible passages for us. We learned it costs $150 per month to feed all the kids a meal a day.

~

 

That night we had chicken masala for dinner which was very spicy, but good. After dinner, we went on a night game drive (like a short safari). We saw dear, wild hogs, water buffalo and 7 or 8 elephants. The elephants were so close to the road I was sure on would charge our jeep, but they didn’t.

My trip to India by Trevor Heil

Day 1:

Today was a travel day. We flew from Denver to Chicago to Frankfurt arriving early Tuesday morning. We were delayed out of Denver and had only a few minutes to get from one terminal to another for our connection in Chicago. We ran through the airport and made it in time. I wasn’t able to sleep much, I was too excited to get to India.

Day 2:

Still traveling. After a 7 ½ hour flight to Frankfurt and a quick breakfast we were on another plane to India for another 8 hours. This flight went much faster as I slept the whole way. We arrived in Bangalore at 12:30am Wednesday morning.

Day 3:

Still Wednesday. We are staying with Thomas Samuel at his house for 2 days but didn’t get there from the airport until 2:30am. I then had my first cup of Indian Chai. Wow is that stuff good. We laid down for a couple hours and then got up for breakfast which was pancakes and eggs (the last thing I expected, but still good).

After breakfast we went to a Krishna Hindu temple and watched their "messed up" rituals. Lots of chanting and idols and we had to walk through in our bare feet. We saw them sacrificing fruit and flowers to idols and giving money to the temple.

We then returned home. Traffic was horrible. I heard more horns in 10 minutes than I’ve heard in my whole life. There are no rules, the larger the car, the more reckless the driver. Lots of buses, cars, motorcycles, rickshaws and pedestrians. Oh and the cows. We are in a city of 7 million people, with busier streets than I have ever seen, and there are cows randomly walking around. Four legged speed breakers as one of our hosts calls them.

After the drive back we had lunch, potatoes, beef stew and bread. (again not what I expected, but very good). We slept a few more hours and then went out to visit 3 more Hindu temples. The first was a Bull Temple, it had a big black bull carved out of a rock in the center. People were worshiping the bull, laying flowers and fruit in front of it and burning incense. It’s crazy, they are worshipping a rock.

~

We then went to a Catholic temple, it looked just like a Hindu temple. Had I not known this was supposed to be a Catholic church, I would have assumed it was a Hindu Temple. They were all worshiping idols. One of these idols was statues of Jesus who was holding his hand in a Hindu worship sign.

~

As we were leaving the Catholic temple, there was a small slum pocket of very poor people living along the street. Scott decided to take a picture of one of the little girls and we were soon swarmed by children wanting to have their pictures taken. It was amazing how something as simple as a picture, can caused so much enjoyment for children who have basically nothing. We stood there for 20 minutes, just taking pictures of kids and letting them look at themselves in the viewfinder. It was cool.

The last temple we saw had a ceremony taking place. Evidentially someone was having their car and another person was having their scooter blessed by the Hindu priest. That was really weird. They worship pretty much whatever they want. It makes no sense that a person would sacrifice fruit and flowers to a stone idol, that a priest would then burn the sacrifice and carry it burning around the car as if the smoke from a burning offering to a dead stone idol can give any protection or blessing to a car.

~

It’s been a very exciting and interesting first day in India, I hope it just keeps getting better. Our time with Thomas Samuel has been fun. He is in his seventies and has been in ministry for over 40 years. He has a passion for handing out bibles to Indians. So far his ministry has given away 108,525 bibles and worship tracks, in 5600 villages and 8 states. His next strategy is to begin to place bibles in the Uttar Pradesh state which is one of the largest and most orthodox Hindu states in India. He hopes to give way 1000 bibles in each of the 71 districts. Each bible and track costs $7.

Tomorrow we leave early for Quite Corner which is a prayer retreat camp in the jungle with deer eating pythons and wild elephants that the staff scares off with firecrackers. Throw in a couple big hairy spiders, should be fun. I just hope I get some curry soon, can’t wait for that authentic Indian food.

India

Hard to believe it’s been 2 years since my first trip to India. This past week we were honored to welcome Pastor Sadhakar into our home for a night. He is an amazing man, doing amazing work through his church, reaching out into the slums, particularly to children in desperate conditions.

Pastor Sudhakar was our host in Hyderabad, the first city we visit back in 2006. He was gracious with his time as he shuttled us around to the orphan homes we had funded. It was fun to catch up with him last week and I’m anxious to return.

I leave this morning, part of a team of 6, one of which is Trevor, my step son. Trevor is 14, and a soon to sophomore in High School. The timing for him to take a trip with me couldn’t be better. We’ve been studying world views in the weeks leading up to this trip, and I have an ever increasing appreciation for that type of critical thinking, especially for a 14 year old.

Michael Vinson will be traveling with his teen-aged son Max as well. Paul Myhill and his brother Stu round out our team. Michael has posted a prayer calendar on his blog fallenscales - please check it out for our travel schedule.

Please pray for us, that we will seek God’s will in our travel together. That His agenda will take precedence over our own. That God will use this trip to continue to form Trevor's world view, one that is based on his faith.

Thank you to all those who contributed financially to our trip, making it possible.

Images from Mexico City

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~