Coming home ...

On Sunday, Bishop Itty preached at his boyhood church, St. Stephens.


It's Monday afternoon. We're spent, existing on prayers and a flash of adrenaline

(anticipating the trip home).

Mary came down with a stomach bug this morning. Joe's not feeling so hot, either. (Something we ate?)

Our flight leaves in 8 hours. Twenty-seven hours across the ocean. Look for a complete download of the trip in the coming days. See you in Oregon ...

PEACE

A message from home

From Jonathan W. back home in Oregon:

While navigating the website of the Diocese of Madhya Kerala this evening, I came across a reflection from pilgrims from the Detroit area who traveled to Kerala. It was interesting to discover the connection between the CSI congregation in Detroit and the regional synod of the United Church of Christ. The pilgrims were UCC pilgrims. This is testimony to the unique character of CSI’s ecumenical founding, and a sign of hope for ecumenicity.

If you can reach this link, it might be interesting to you.

http://michigan.csichurch.com/UCC_Reflections.html

SABBATH REST

Saturday was our first day of sabbath rest. We spent it with the elephants of Thekkey Wildlife Sanctuary.

Joe with Bhadara, a 25-year-old Indian elephant that carried him through the forest.

A MEDICAL MISSION IN KERALA

The 30-year-old X-Ray machine at the Rev. George Mathen Mission Hospital.

We spent Friday visiting hospitals and clinics started by the church in the Diocese of Madhaya Kerala. The Bishop Jacob Memorial Hospital provides a clinic for the residents of Pallom, a village on the shore of Vembanad Lake. Serving a poor population makes it hard for the clinic to expand in order to take care of the village's basic health needs.

With a part-time social worker, two resident medical officers, and visiting physician, the clinic and its director, Dr. Chinoy J.G. Chacku (right), are struggling to provide treatment for the growing problem of alcoholism in addition to providing basic health care. If the clinic can raise enough money, it hopes to start a home health care program for the elderly and also a care center for the terminally ill. Currently, there are few places that cater to the needs of the terminally ill in the area. The clinic is also active in educating the poor about AIDS, trying to erase the stigma of the disease so people will seek treatment and basic answers. An AIDS/HIV poster on one of the clinic's worn walls reads, "Reach out to people as Christ reached out."

Meanwhile, the Rev. George Matthen Mission Hospital finds its self in a similar bind: Started with the mission to aid the poor, but in danger of closing because of competition from private hospitals that cater to people who can afford to pay for their health care. The nonprofit mission hospital is managing to stay open -- barely. "The poor come first," says the priest at the CSI Holy Immanuel Church next door. But the hospital can't generate enough money to stay open from serving just the poor. Also, the hospital, located in the impoverished hills of Kerala, is the sole health-care facility for 15 kilometers in every direction. Without it, the basic health-care needs of the poor would not be served at all. To compete with other hospitals, while
maintaining its mission, the church is trying to raise $800,000 to build a modern, state-of-the-art hospital that the more affluent would be willing to use -- allowing the diocese to continue funding health-care programs for the area's poor.

Of course, much of the money would have to come from outside the area. In the meantime, the current hospital is attempting operate in a detoriating building and with severely out-dated equipment. The X-Ray machine is more than 30 years old and on its last leg. The diocese can only afford to pay for a scattered assortment of prescription drugs in the hospital's pharmacy. Still, the sick come for what they can get. On Friday, the facility was teaming with patients, young and old but mostly poor.

Tsunami Village

We still haven't had much time to blog. Our apologies. The schedule has been grueling. A van shows up for us shortly after sunrise each morning and drops us off as late as 11 p.m. each night. Still, we're trying to keep you updated as much as possible with photos and few words. Many of the details and reflections on how we can learn from the incredible work and acts of faith in India's Christian community will have to wait until we return home and give our big multimedia presentation. We spent Wednesday afternoon at the Madhaya Kerala Diocese's Tsunami Village, where the church built rows of homes for survivors displaced by the 2004 Tsunami. Walking around the village, Bishop Itty remarked that a good story would be "FEMA vs. the church." Seeing a need, the Anglican Church of South India found a way to build these suffering families a place to call home -- finding the money and the land right after the natural disaster hit India's southern coast. We're seeing a lot of that in India: A diocese constantly finding ways to aid those who need homes, comfort, education and peace in meaningful ways. Not a lot of money and material wealth, but a diocese rich in spirit and grace. And tremendous faith. Yesterday, Bill Lupfer was asked by an educator to reflect on what he has seen so far. He said: "The people of Kerala have a real commitment to living the Gospel the way Jesus teaches rather than what people are comfortable with." That about sums it up. Stay tuned.

The tsunami village is near the banks of Kayakulam Lake, which connects to the Arabian Sea. The 2004 tsunami washed over the lake shore with a rush of water. "A man came up to me after worship service and said, 'The sea is coming,'" said the Rev. Matthew Jilow Ninan of St. Peter's CSI Church. The wave, about knee-deep for an adult and waist-high for children, nearly reached the church, he said.

BISHOP MOORE VIDYAPATH

Wednesday morning started at the Bishop Moore Vidyapath school run by the Kerala Diocese. More than 2,000 students attend the school, where academic acheivement is among the highest in the region. The students speak Malayalam and impeccable English. A reading from Gospels, the Lord's Prayer and the singing of hymns and the Indian national anthem start every day. Bishop Itty led the students in prayer and told them about Oregon Episcopal School.

TUESDAY

We haven't had much time to blog the past two days (plus we have had some equipment problems). Sorry. We're on our way out the door to visit the diocese's Tsunami Relief Village. We spent Tuesday on boats and ferries amid the marsh lands and rice paddies, visiting the Anglican Church of South India's mission schools and churches along the Pumba River. While hot, humid and bug-infested (plus Joe has broken in out in some sort of rash), it was an amazing journey into the heart of Indian Christianity along one of the most holy rivers in Hinduism. The church is doing some inspiring things. The mission posts mostly serve day workers. who showed up with hands and feet blistered and worn, to welcome us. A full report coming Wednesday.
Some pictures: