Like a Salvador Dali Painting...

Okay... so get this. The last time i was in India, Raj introduced me to a "Tata Indiacom Wireless Modem". It's about the size of a common "flash drive"/memory stick at home, and plugs right into a USB port, providing the user with an instant, country-wide wireless point of access for the Internet. You can literally be driving down the street, plug in the modem, and then access the Net, your e-mail, or whatever else. We bought one, and i have been using it since we got here. Then i thought, "hey, i'll try to blog while we're travelling around." So... pulled out my laptop, jacked in the little modem, and booted up. Sure enough, up comes the wireless network! Cool! Access to e-mail, net, etc. all there while there are 10 of us packed like Sardines into a vehicle the size of a Ford Explorer.


But then it got REALLY weird. Check this out. Our driver couldn't find St. Thomas Mount (the site where "Doubting Thomas" was martyred in about 70 AD (more on that later), so i went to Google and typed in the site. Sure enough, i found the address, and 25 minutes later, we were there.



But then it got REALLY REALLY weird. After leaving St. Thomas Mount, we wanted to see the Tomb of St. Thomas, located inside the St. Thomas Basilica (it's one of 3 churches supposedly build over the bones of an Apostle of Jesus Christ in the world). It was all the way across town, and again, the driver, being Hindu, didn't really know where it was. No problem. I went back to Google. I quickly located the Basilica, plotted a series of directions from St. Thomas Mount to the Basilica, and began shouting directions from the back seat to Annand, who translated them for me to the driver. 35 minutes later, we were standing at the Basilica.

But then it got REALLY REALLY REALLY weird. After th Basilica, we wanted to go to an American-style restaurant called Sparky's for dinner. The driver had absolutely no idea where it was (or what it was), and so i looked back again to Google for plotting and waypointing. In addition, i loaded up Google Earth, got satellite flyby maps, and was able to show him geographical intel of the college across the street from the restaurant. "Oh yeah... i know that place" he commented, shaking his head as we looked at it's roof and surrounding from an arial view on my laptop. 30 minutes later, we were enjoying nachos at Sparky's.

So, a truck load full of 10 Americans ricocheting off of the streets of an Indian city, using satellite imagery from Google Maps via a wirelessly bound laptop trying to locate 2,000 year old monumnts and an American style restaurant nestled between kiosks and coconut salesmen. Wow! If i had a Dali-style mustache, i'd have it waxed into vertical handlebars.

Want to see the map and rough locations? I saved a Google Map with all points mentioned above. Click here (how cool is that?)!

Machines!

The team is doing great! They're like Terminator Robots. They just keep going. After a quick clean-up period and a bite to eat, we met Anand and piled 10 people (1 driver, Anand and the 8 of us) into something the size of a Ford Explorer and went bouncing around the city of Chennai to see some of the fun sites. I tried to keep a wary eye on everyone to make sure that everyone was doing okay, not turning into zombies, and having fun, and they just never seemed to shut down. Up for anything that was suggested, the team just kept going... and going...and going. Like Energizer Bunnies on steroids.

The video clip below shows Jim Blechl's commentary on how he feels. Keep in mind that Jim has probably only slept 4 - 6 hours in 48 total hours of travel, so when he says he's "doing fine", that's no small feat.

At about 5:30, when the team began to tire, i apologized to Anand that we were crashing on him. Anand, who himself had been up since about 1 am the night before to pick us up at the airport, said, "I am amazed that you have gone as long as you have. You are all so energetic... you're very brisk!" Brisk? Yeah... brisk. I like that! The next time someone asks me how i'm doing, i think i'll say, "I'm brisk! How are you?"


"Very brisk..."

Friends from the Field...

We got to the hotel where we would be staying to recoup for a few hours, and were quickly joined by our friends Immanuel (right) and Daniel (left) from The Bible League India (TBL). TBL has been one of our most critical ministry partners since the inception of our ministry in India, and we continue to have a great relationship with them as we continue to engage the field.

Immanuel is the Finance and Administration Director for all of South East Asia (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc), and keeps the books and administrative systems in play for all of those environments. Daniel works with Immanuel from an IT point of view, and keeps things running smooth with wireless and wired networks in each of the field environments. They also have matching shirts... and when i asked if i could get one, they looked at me, smiled, and said that they thought that they only had Medium sized ones. I laughed and said that it would probably be a little small. Immauel winked and told me i would probably need an "Extra Medium" at least.

Anyway, i went with them quickly to see our other TBL friends, most of whom are doing an Accounting Software package just a few blocks away, and was delighted to see our friends Francis (Director for Northern India), Zephaniah (Director for Central and South India), and many of our office friends (Pandian, Solomon, Yanashaker, Adam, etc.). They even asked me to address the group briefly before leaving, and i gave them greetings from GCC and all of you back home.

"Landin'"

After a 90 minute delay on the tarmac, we finally left London Heathrow for our 10 hour air-trek across North Africa, the Middle East and India to arrive at Chennai Airport. Chennai Airport’s airport code is MAA. If you’re wondering how you get MAA from a place called Chennai, it’s because under British Rule, the city’s name was changed to Madraas… hence, MAA.

We landed just after 3:30 am India time, and rolled groggily off the plane after attempting (in most instances unsuccessfully) to get a little shut-eye.

And this is the famous “India Team Sign”. It’s a GCC India Team tradition to pose in front of this sign shortly before entering Immigration. We’ve done this for years now, and I particularly love the sign because across the banner at the top, a Hindu proverb reads, “Do thy labor diligently, but lay not claim to its fruit.” As followers of Christ, we are working hard to build a foundation for the Kingdom of God. However, we are also standing on the proverbial shoulders of men and women who carry the work on far beyond us, and because we are all One Body, this proverb is apropos.

We finally exited Immigration at about 5 am with all our gear, and found the bright and happy smiles of our brothers Raj and Anand waiting for us. In typical Indian fashion, we were greeted with gifts, hospitable hugs and ready vehicles prepared to carry us away to a nearby Western hotel for some brief clean-up.

Pubbin'

Sitting here at Witherspoon’s (a quaint ½ “Bennigan’s”, ½ British Pub atmosphere) waiting for our flight to Chennai. I’d like to tell you that all of us gathered around the lowly lit tables, talking excitedly about the upcoming adventure, sipping coffee and eating “Brie and Toast” reminds me of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkein gathering around their pub table at a gathering of their infamous “small group” called The Inklings… but the truth is, we’re all a little too tired and groggy to resemble such a bunch.

At Least They're Honest...

Neither Dan nor I could figure out this little sign placed beneath the glass at the little kiosk. If you can’t read it, it says, “High Street Prices Guaranteed”. I’m not sure how else to take that other than simply, “We will absolutely charge you more money than is conceivably possible for the least amount of food and beverage!”

Forget New Orleans!

Standing in line with Dan Blacketor for a quick bite to eat before jumping on our plane to Chennai, I looked over to see what sandwiches were available at the little Heathrow coffee shop/kiosk we were attempting to engage. What I expected to see were things like “Brie and tomato sandwich”, or maybe even “Kidney Pie”, but “Cajun Chicken Flatbread”? Somehow, when I think “Cajun”, I DON’T think “Proper English”. And by the way… that 3.75 isn’t dollars. It’s British Pounds. That means that this little Cajun Chicken Flatbread and a .5 liter Coke will cost you a smooth $10. Kind of like being at the movies back home, idn’t it?

Top 10 Ways to be an “Ugly American” at London’s Heathrow Airport

10. Wear lots of Uber-patriotic clothing, preferably US Military service paraphernalia, American flags, etc.
9. Hold up a hungry line 20 people for 15 minutes because you’re arguing with the cashier at the small airport deli.
8. Argue with said cashier about how ridiculous it is that they don’t take US Dollars! After all, don’t they know that even though this is LONDON, American currency should be good ANYWHERE in the world!
7. Speak loudly in a Texan drawl, crescendoing gradually into shouting as you don’t get your way.
6. When people begin to complain, ignore them. Completely. Don’t offer apology for making them wait. At all.
5. When a helpful Brit offers to just pay for your food because he has British Pounds on hand, act deeply offended at his impatience.
4. Accept his money, but then insist loudly to the line that “you didn’t need his money!”
3. Storm off in a huff at what a “ridiculous country this is” where they don’t accept American money, don’t appreciate having to stand in line forever, and readily insult one’s dignity by offering to help.
2. Never have an inkling in any fashion that there might have been a shred of “wrong”… or at least “cultural insensitivity”… at all of the above.
1. Repeat all of the above consistently when confronted with anything that is different from the way “we do things” in The States.

Touchdown!

Just time for a quick post. We landed successfully in London's Heathrow International airport after a good 7 hours of flight time, and are now sitting just ready to board our connection to Chennai. Later, i'll post a couple of quick notes about our limited time here in this colossal airport, but for the sake of brevity, suffice to say that everyone is doing well (albeit a little tired), and in great spirits.

Next Stop: London Heathrow...

If everything goes according to plan, and barring a replay of Snakes on a Plane, an infestation of Zombies (although i have just recently read Max Brook's Zombie Survival Guide-- so should be well prepared), or -- shudder -- being redirected to London Gatwick, we should arrive precisely at London Heathrow airport at 10 am sharp (London Time) in about 9 hours. We're going to be starting boarding here in just a few minutes, so i'll be signing off for now, and will try to post again if we have time once we land and try to sprint through Security... again... because... you know... we could have had LOTS of opportunities to purchase heavy explosives on the plane between Chicago and London.

Why We Love Pauline Traynor...

Erg! After arriving, we had some difficulty checking in at the British Airways desk. However, Pauline Traynor (the BA rep) ROCKED! She got us all squared away as quickly as possible, and had us on our way through security.

After feeling like cattle being herded through narrow passages on a drive through the canyons of Colorado (Moo!!), we managed to arrive at our gate (M10) and have been sitting here now for an hour.

Digital Postcard: Austin Shultz

How did Austin Shultz answer the "what are you looking forward to most about India?" question? See above!

Digital Postcard: Mary Shultz

How did Mary Shultz answer the question of "what are you looking most forward to about going to India?" Click above to see.

Digital Postcard: Melinda Chisolm

Melinda's answer to "what are you looking forward to most about going to India?"

Check the video box below to find out.

Digital Postcard: Dan Blacketor

"So, Dan Blacketor... what are you looking forward to most about going to India?"

Click here to see what he said.

Digital Postcard: Barb Blechl

Want to know what Barb Blechl is looking forward to most about going to India? Click here to find out.

Digital Postcard: Jim Blechl

"What are you looking most forward to about visiting India?"

See what Jim Blechl said by clicking here.

Digital Postcard: Andrea Welch

I asked Andrea Welch what she was most looking forward to about going to India. Click here to see what she said.

What a Team!

Off we go! We were joined by various staff members from GCC for a brief time of prayer before setting off on the GCC Shuttle (piloted by our very own Dottie and Tom Bishop!) for Chicago O'Hare, and then assembled quickly for a photo before stowing our gear. The team is (right to left):

Mary Shultz (Conversational English), Austin Shultz (Conversational English), Andrea Welch (Medical), Jim Blechl (Medical), Melinda Chisolm (Conversational English), Barb Blechl (Medical), "Shihan" Dan Blacketor (Conversational English), Jack Magruder.

Welcome to the GCC India (July - August '08) Team Blog!

Hi there! This blog will track the training and mission of people traveling from Granger Community Church to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ in Tamilnadu, Southern India, during our July - August '08 operational "window". In this window, three teams will be mobilized to aid church planters in a number of Southern Indian villages to do the following:

* Conversational English - In many of the remote villages, there is a significant lack of exposure to conversational English, particularly for the children. Many adults are now being bundled with small children in widespread literacy initiatives, but once the children “grasp” something, it is more easily understood as important or valuable for the adults. This team will spend time with groups of children in a loosely based curriculum to help increase English language skills would be exceptionally well received as a great thing in many of the communities.

* Medical - This team will be trained to do a variety of things in given contexts ranging from providing “health camps” to aiding existing medical teams made up Indian church members to presenting World Relief's HIV/AIDS and “hope at home” basic curriculum, to engaging in “hospital visitation” efforts with local planters or church members.

* Trade/Serving -This team will seek to engage three distinct project areas. First, the team will provide field implementation survey statistics for two villages that have already been prototyping micro-enterprise and micro-loan initiatives through GCC's partnership with Growing Opportunity, Int'l. Second, they will be providing marketing "status" to small start-ups in villages where Indian church members and others are attempting to set-up small business ventures, but need some extra visibility. Finally, this team will do greater research into additional micro-enterprise ventures that may serve church planters, church members, or village members with secondary income generators.

We hope that you will stick with us as we travel and engage the training process along the way!

All for One!
-"Samurai" Jack Magruder