February 17, 2009

Namaste! (“the God-in-me greets the God-in-you”)

On January 21, 2009, my visa for India finally arrived! I am grateful to God for the opportunity to return to this beautiful country. Our daughter Mary has been living in Delhi on a student visa  so that she could finish her senior year at the American Embassy School. She graduates in May and will be returning to the United States to begin college this fall. Two teacher families at the American Embassy School took her in as their own daughter while David and I worked to get back to India. Special thanks to the Andersons, Lori, Todd, and Elyna, for hosting Mary during the fall semester. Special thanks to the Jankes, Connie and Sam, for hosting her until I returned to Delhi after Christmas. They are the flesh-and-blood angels who became the answers to our prayers.

God had another treat in store for me when my visa arrived. Laura Gingerich, one of my dearest friends, asked the question, “Can I come with you?” Within a few hours we had booked the same flight to Delhi. We have no doubt that this particular 10-day trip was planned “by God,” since it was more spontaneous and transformative than we could ever have imagined ourselves. Laura helped me make the transition back into India, where our apartment had been collecting dust for six months. Stacks of unpaid bills awaited me along with inquisitive neighbors and a confused landlord. After paying bills, reactivating our phones, and answering many questions, Laura and I escaped for a few days to Mussoorie where she could get a glimpse of the snow-covered Himalayas and enjoy a brief weekend of hiking and sightseeing outside of Delhi.

Laura Ginerich and Sue Hudson in Old Delhi.

Mary, Laura, and I concluded her 10-day visit with an evening in Old Delhi, where we saw the Red Fort and Jama Masjid (a famous mosque) and enjoyed the delicious Mughal food across the street, a cuisine dating back to the 16th century. From the metro we climbed aboard a bicycle rickshaw with Laura sitting on the back to take pictures: a unique perspective on the world of Old Delhi!

During our time in Delhi I introduced Laura to my colleagues and students at St. Thomas School for girls. She was particularly drawn to the class of my close friend, Shanti Devadas, who teachers the prerna class, a Hindi word meaning “inspiration.” This group of students had prepared an hour-long program for their parents and select teachers, which included songs, dances, and skits focusing on the theme of reforestation and protection of the environment. These girls with special needs did such a good job that the principal of St. Thomas School invited the class to take the Earth Day Assembly for the entire school in April 2009.

Sue sits beside Shanti Devadas with her prerna class at St. Thomas School, Delhi. Photo by Laura Gingerich.

I am grateful for the friendship of Shanti Devadas and her husband Bertram here in Delhi. They have taken Mary and me under their wings and treated us as members of their own family. Shanti is a teacher at St. Thomas School and Berty is the general secretary of the Delhi YMCA.

Since I returned to Delhi, Berty lost his 89-year old father, V. Henry Devadas. It was a privilege for me to attend his memorial service at St. James Church on Sunday, February 15, 2009. Henry Devadas has been a living legend in the Christian community. He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Netagji Subhash Bose and was a student leader at the time. He was imprisoned as a freedom fighter and, as the bulletin at the memorial service said, “In jail [he] kept a picture of Jesus in one pocket and of Nehru in the other.” Along with other significant contributions to the Christian community and Indian society, Henry was the first Indian general secretary of the Indian Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge and “played a leading role in the formation and running of the Church of North India.”

In the brief time I have been back to India, I am reminded why I wanted to come here in the first place. We in America have so much to learn from our Indian sisters and brothers in Christ, who live, serve, and witness as a small minority in their own culture. Though their numbers are few in relation to the total population, they have contributed a great deal to the uplifting and empowerment of all Indians, regardless of gender, social class, or religion. They function as yeast, a leavening agent in their own society, implementing the values of Christ for the good of all people.

You may be asking, “Where is David?” While we were waiting in the United States for our visas, David was called by the PC(USA) to serve as their area coordinator for Asia and the Pacific. He now has an office at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky. We moved into a small apartment in Louisville last November. As I write this letter, David is accompanying the moderator of the PC(USA), Bruce Reyes-Chow, on an Asian trip which includes the Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

David hopes to join me in India by late March. While I am still a mission co-worker and regional liaison for South Asia, David and I will spend April and May networking with church partners in South Asia (including churches in Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh). We will be asking these sisters and brothers in Christ, “How can Christians in the PC(USA) prayerfully support and empower your work in South Asia?” and “How can you teach and empower us to serve more faithfully in the United States?”

Thank you so much for your support and prayers! We are honored to represent you in this up-and-coming corner of the world!

Your partner in Christ,

The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 106