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June 2002
Dear Friends,
In the last month in India, there has been a lot of fear and
media coverage about a possible attack, even the risk of a nuclear
missile. To protect their citizens the governments of the United
States and the United Kingdom started removing "non-essential"
staff from the country. We never really considered leaving and
felt that war was not a high probability. It has now quieted down
and the monsoon has pushed out the possibility of war for a while.
Too wet for war! So thanks for your concern but we are fine.
The monsoon is late this year so we have had some really nice
weather. I feel ready for the rains. We have made a door into
the sealed attic, and sent Timothy up into it. He marked the holes
in the tin with small twigs. Then on the outside he went and painted
on "leak stop" black grunge to block up the holes. No
leaks so far.
Going to church here does not have the community feel it has
in other places. Sometimes there are less than a dozen people
there, other times there are many visitors, often tourists. It
is an old colonial church which used to fill with British soldiers
and their families when they were stationed here. It is one of
the only churches in the world that has slots in the pews for
rifles (we thought the slots were for umbrellas) dating back to
when the British were worried about an Indian rebellion—when
better to attack than 11 a.m. Sunday! There
are many thriving indigenous Indian churches but somehow we enjoy
the quiet Anglican service on Sundays. (To be quite honest, I
also enjoy knowing there is a fixed ending time.)
My (Melanie’s) ecology project with the Landour Action
Committee has made some progress. We have plastic bins around
the area for collecting plastic, paper and tin for recycling.
We are collecting an annual contribution from the houses and have
pick-up twice a week. But one bin was stolen, even with it locked
and chained. Some bins are misused with kitchen scraps (or worse)
thrown in. And some bins like the one on the street outside our
bedroom is ravaged by monkeys at 5.30 a.m. It is giving Scott
a new hobby, he sits with a pile of small rocks and a catapult
inside the open window and waits for the right moment to shock
the monkeys into not returning. He says it reminds him of fishing,
getting up early, sitting still as he waits until he can see movement
on the roof or a wire moving. Then he carefully aims. The first
few days we went and cleaned up mess all over the place several
times.
The following are some thoughts that I am sharing with you in
this letter instead of "news" about our work.
Yesterday it rained really heavily for five hours. This morning
on my jog around the top of the hill, there was a marvelous view
of the mountains, not just in one direction but in all directions,
(360º). I was also listening to the soundtrack of "The
Mission" (how appropriate) that seemed to enhance this magnificent
sight even more. Some days just start better than others.
I usually see what is wrong with the world (injustice, sickness,
pain) but today I had the opposite experience.
I have been reading some of Dr. Paul Brand’s writing abut
the amazing human body and how we should thank God for the gift
of pain as without it we would destroy out bodies. (He worked
for many years with reconstructing hands for leprosy patients).
Instead, we do the opposite and question God when things go
wrong or we are in pain.
When I looked at the mountains and trees and sky this morning
I asked "Why beauty? Why colour?" Most of creation is
so perfect, why do we think it unfair when things seem to go wrong?
Last time I returned to Mussoorie, within an hour we were at
a funeral of a 14-year-old boy, the son of the family (German/Tibetan)
who runs the Rokeby Guest House close by. We stayed there when
we first moved here and our toothbrushes went moldy.
Their son, Daniel, had been celebrating the last day of school
in a small hotel with friends. He mixed some whisky and pills.
It was after midnight when he got sick; his friends had no phone
numbers or transport. He died before getting his stomach washed
out.
The funeral was held the same afternoon at the Guest House.
We followed the coffin to the steep graveyard at the back of the
hill. A hundred friends wound their way, silently, single-file
down a twisty path to a narrow ledge where a hole had been dug
in the rocks. We perched on the steep slope above and sung "Amazing
Grace." One of the friends who had been at the hotel stood
close by. Why is life so hard? Why only rocks in a graveyard?
I often jog by this graveyard, so am reminded about the hard
ground and the horrible event, the loss of a boy Timothy’s
age. But today instead of asking why something went wrong, I asked
why do so many things go right that could so easily go wrong.
How is it that our bodies heal? On those few really clear days
up here I feel we are given a peep at a creation that no one could
think was a lucky accident. God gave us the gift of pain so we
would not hurt our bodies, but the gift of colour and beauty is
an added extra., not necessary for life. It helps me believe that
God is a generous and loving God even in hard times. Come and
see for yourselves.
Scott is about to leave for Raxhaul in the Bihar State on Sunday.
It’s a follow-up visit on the trainings he has given. He
hopes to see that progress toward the group development goals
they set. Scott and his colleagues are trying out a new tool for
measuring the progress of a group from its beginning as a working
group of like-minded people to its maturity. It is hard to measure,
but some kind of guideline is needed for evaluating the progress
of this process, something to augment the more easily measured
activities (e.g. vaccination, clinic visits). The need for annual
reports to show funders demands that some sort of measuring be
done.
Just a little update about the rest of the family:
Kelli (21) graduated in May in anthropology and psychology.
She is now in Scotland with an old school friend and working in
a pub. She comes to volunteer at Woodstock next month, for a year.
Daniel (19) has declared studio art as his major. He is spending
the summer working in Exeter, in England, getting practice and
a little money in graphic design. Timothy (14) is off on a mountaineering
course for two weeks. We hope it will instill the need to finish
things. Hilary (11) is still very friendly to all humans and animals.
She is off with friends to swim in the Yamuna River.
Scott is preparing yet another workshop and I am trying to keep
in touch with everyone and work at the school two days a week.
Lots of love,
Scott and Melanie
The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 154
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