New Directions

These new directions arose from Chuck’s transition from serving as Director of East West Educational Foundation and from consultations in Jaipur August 25th- 30th with our U.S. leadership during our one-year review.

Essentially the main emphases are:
1. Prioritize language learning in this next year.
2. Live and work more where the Kingdom is not rather than where it already is.
3. Improve our financial support.
4. Work on communication as a couple.
5. Use art and creativity as a means to holistically engage the culture.

Language Learning
We had the privilege of attending classes at East West Language Institute during Chuck’s year of service with EWEF, however partly due to repeated illnesses and absences we gained grammatical knowledge but we have some gaps, especially in conversation. So, we are currently taking these steps to prioritize this area:
1. A proposed home-stay has been confirmed. We will arrive in Mussoorie October 1 just in time to celebrate Eid with our host family. We expect to stay at least one week - more may be a possibility.
2. We anticipate participating in an Onsite Language Service (OSLS) camp either in October or November. Essentially, OSLS teaches learners how to train their language tutors to teach them and provides resources for this task.
3. We expect a reciprocal home-stay with the Mussoorie family staying with us in Delhi during their January holiday from school and their business.

Live & Work Where The Kingdom Isn’t
Due to the nature of Chuck’s work at EWEF, most of his time was with those in the Kingdom (estimated 80/20%). Basically the goal is to reverse this emphasis, especially seeking opportunities to naturally build relationships with Muslims.

Improve Financial Support
We have endeavored to live simply; roughly equivalent to a middle class Indian family. However, these factors have brought this issue to the forefront of our leadership’s concern for us:
1. An initial starting level that was a little low.
2. The effects of inflation.
3. Unexpectedly high transportation expenses during the first year due to the shift of the office from near our residence to another part of Delhi, added travel costs in the second year due to the change in visa status requiring trips out of country every 180 days.
4. The beginning of expenses for developing and piloting our creativity and art activities.
5. The need for replacement of a computer (India’s 240 volt, direct current, highly variable electrical supply is very hard on computers - our laptop has crashed several times and is in danger of permanently crashing).

Improve Communication As A Couple
Living and working cross-culturally can put strains on marriage relationships. Even though we have been married 37 years, there are some areas of need in this because we think and process so differently. Furthermore, due to these new directions, we are spending much more time together in a day than ever before, and almost all of our efforts are now focused on together developing and revising our strategies.

This past month we have started our day by sharing from our “quiet times” and strategizing the day ahead.

Holistically Engaging The Culture Through Art & Creativity
This is where the “zing” is in these new directions! Not so surprisingly for Janis, but surprisingly for Chuck, we have discovered a convergence of our interests and directions for life in this realm.

We will be developing a strategy for advancing the Kingdom based on this foundational premise:

Human beings are made to create

We're envisioning three strategies:
1. Consulting on creativity in life and work (focus: NGOs, companies, and individuals);
2. Equipping artists teach art, and aspiring artists to acquire experience and skills from practicing artists (focus: current artists and individuals interested in developing art skills);
3. Restoring health, dignity, and self-worth through art and creative activities; where these activities become the basis for prevention of marginalization and traumatization by providing options for those who are in apparently forced-choice situations (focus: the marginalized, traumatized or most vulnerable to marginalization and traumatization).

This next year we will develop, pilot and refine these strategies. We anticipate returning to the US during the summer of 2009 to visit family and friends, finalize a business plan, and then return to India on a business visa where we will seek to implement the strategy in such a way that we will catalyze a rapidly expanding number of nationals using these strategies in their natural networks of relationships.

Nepal Photos

Here a few photos from the trip to Nepal:
A Courageous Nepali Woman - she started this cafe on her own and runs it with just one helper. Her and her husband have one daughter - it is their highest priority that she receive a strong education, with English, and advance beyond their minimal education received in the villages.



Two Nepali Students - Many young people in Nepal seem to be overcome by discouragement and a feeling of limited options, contrary to these young ladies who are interested in studying abroad and particularly interested in English instruction.


The Kantipur Temple House where we stayed, is a new construction using traditional methods, materials and craftsmen - note the incredible attention to detail!

A Banana Tree - though there are many around, this is the first we saw with the fruit stalk. We didn't realize the bananas grow up on the stalk!

A Park & Mela - the green is algae covered water. The park was the site of a celebration, i.e. a “mela,” that we visited.

Warp Speed Back To The Future...

The Beginning of Janis & Chuck’s Second Year in India.

Our first year was momentous…the second began in a whirlwind.

August 1, Chuck discovered our visas surprisingly expired in 19 days. When we applied in May for renewal of his 1-year employment visa, we thought a year renewal had been granted (as did the very experienced cross-cultural worker who was with us). It turned out we had been given only a 90-day extension that ended August 20th!

This set into motion a rapid sequence of events that led to an emergency trip to Nepal from August 15th to the 19th. The idea was to exit India on the employment visa and re-enter on tourist visas obtained in 2006 for our first visit to India. There was uncertainty whether this would work but the only way to really find out was to try.

Surprisingly, leaving India proved to be the most anxiety producing time in the whole visa-adventure. Our Nepal flight was booked for August 15th, but…

• August 15 is Independence Day in India.
• Delhi is the site of several traditional Independence Day observances.
• There have been a number of recent serious terrorist incidents in India.
• Just days before the 15th it was announced that all routes into and out of Delhi were to be sealed for security reasons at midnight on August 14th.

So, we booked a hotel room by the Airport for the evening of the 14th. Unfortunately:

• There are a multitude of construction projects between our flat and the Airport.
• There was heavier than usual traffic the evening prior to a major holiday.
• The short notice of road closures created additional chaos with many traffic jams.
• That evening there was a major downpour of monsoon rain.

The drive to the hotel, that should have only taken 30 minutes, took 2 ½ hours - and we felt fortunate at that, because many cars were stalling in floorboard high flood waters and because many routes had developed gridlock.

The next day we arrived in ample time at the Airport for our flight since the hotel was truly only 5 minutes away. At the Airport, though, the Immigration official asked how many times we had been in and out of India. Chuck forgot the trip to Hyderabad in October, 2006. The official sharply questioned him about this. Chuck quickly admitted he had forgotten about it since it was only for a few days in 2006. The official then claimed we overstayed our visa from the Hyderabad visit.

Chuck pointed out that we had departed, and entered again on an employment visa in July 2007. At this point he consulted his co-worker who helped him understand the sequence of comings and goings. Finally he stamped our passports and gruffly flipped them onto the counter releasing us to depart India.

After four days in Nepal, we returned. If trouble developed, this was when we expected it. Several experienced cross-cultural workers told us that others in our situation – having a tourist visa, and then obtaining an employment visa – had their tourist visas canceled. The mere fact that the visas were still in our passport and not canceled did not guarantee that they had not been administratively canceled. However, as we were processed by the Immigration officer, he looked at Chuck’s passport, tourist visa, and very intently searched until he found the employment visa, and then, without a word or even a raised eyebrow, cleared us as tourists!

We returned to Delhi on the evening of the 19th and were scheduled to meet our US leadership who were flying in on the 22nd for a week of debriefing our, and Chris & Nicole’s, first year in India, and for planning our second year. The debriefing was scheduled to take place in Jaipur, a city about 5 ½ hours south of Delhi. Interestingly enough, the members of our leadership team also encountered visa problems, delaying their arrival until the 25th.

We debriefed many of the first year’s unexpected developments and changes. After one of the sessions, one leader said she thought we had been led through our first year at “warp speed.”

Blog entries coming soon:
“Going back, to enter the next year” – a listing of changes for our second year, and
“Kathmandu, Nepal” - photos

Fifty-Somethings: Living and Dying in India

DEATH BY JUMPING

I find it is difficult to go on a trip to the market, or take a walk through the neighborhood, without jumping over big potholes, looming mud puddles (it’s Monsoon season right now), and leaping over big cement curbs or other such barriers on the path. All this jumping is keeping us in shape, along with the five flights of stairs we must climb to get to our flat.

You often read stories in the Delhi newspaper about how people have thrown someone from a balcony in rage. Some have jumped to their death from several stories up, usually out of despair from not passing their exams or somehow dishonoring their family. Shame is likely the number one cause of depression and suicide here in India. Shaming one’s family, it is thought, is a fate worse than death.

There is another kind of jumping that Chuck and I have been learning to do here. It actually feels to us a bit like bungy jumping might (but we’ve never bungy jumped - so can’t really say). I think the common terminology is “taking risks” or making a “leap of faith.” This kind of jumping has never been our strong suit as we have usually tried to calculate the outcome, weigh the odds, and analyze the pros and cons before making a decision. Living here has forced us to make some risky jumps that have been uncomfortable – even really stressful – but the outcome has been so worth it.

One small example of this is opening our home to people as a safe place to stay in Delhi. Many of these people are virtual strangers at the beginning of their stay, but leave as good friends.

Unforced Rhythms of Grace...a continuation

June was full of travel, teaching responsibilities and reflection - all departures from our routine.

July started off with a lot of unexpected, and some expected, company - which seriously altered daily routines (if one could say there was any daily routine after being away for most of the previous month!).

It has settled down a bit in the latter part of July:

• Janis resumed her art lessons with the young dyslexic teen (by the way - Disney recently purchased the rights to Taare Zameen Per, the Bollywood movie that inspired the parents of this girl to approach Janis to begin art lessons. So it may be released soon in the US. See it if you can!).
• Chuck began a 10 hour, two-part series for interns of Touch India Foundation and Kingdom International on tools for reading the Bible.
• We've also been deliberating on the results of last month's reflections in preparation for next month's de-brief on our first year in India and planning for the next year.

As we reflected on the past year, we realized one of our greatest challenges, while living and working across cultures, has been "learning the unforced rhythms of grace." For us, it often seems easier and more natural to try to force an issue to "make things happen." We've been learning how counter-productive that has proved to be for us in this setting.

We yearn to recognize and live more and more in the unforced rhythms of...

• simply walking along a street navigating the holes, rocks, bricks and various other construction materials, garbage, animal dung, people, dogs, and occasionally monkeys, street vendors, bodies (hopefully sleeping, but there are times you really don't know), bicycles, scooters, motorbikes, buses, trucks, tractors, cars, and everything else that shares the road;
• crossing a street and timing one's crossing to fit the flow of all those varying users of it;
• time - learning when an appointment is meant to be exactly at an agreed upon time, and when it is meant to begin when it begins;
• commitments - learning when someone is being polite, but has absolutely no intention of keeping a commitment, and when someone has made a commitment that cannot be shaken regardless of circumstances, events or any other forces at work;
• weather and it's impact on so many areas of life, especially in an area of rapid and extreme variations - monsoons, blistering heat both dry and highly humid, bitter cold, wind, duststorms, etc. - all have impact on what takes place in life, and what doesn't take place, and all have a significant impact on health;
• electricity, water and other utility shortages or outages - we're learning: keep the laptop and mobile phones charged, if we wait until they're low, there might not be any electricity to re-charge them; we've become adept at a 2-cup (or less) shower; high-speed internet works somewhat reliably in the early morning, after that, good luck!

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Fifty–Somethings Living and Dying in India:
PART II...Death by Electrocution

One of the many dangers of living in India is the lack of grounding for electricity and the way appliances are wired. [And, by the way, if by chance you decide to ground an appliance - and are able to make a successful ground connection - you may end up being the grounding connection for an entire neighborhood!] I have been shocked by our electrical appliances more times now than I can count!

The first was the most powerful and came from sticking my right arm into our washing machine to adjust the clothes - which were off balance during the spin cycle. Now you need to know, the machine was turned off (I’m not that dumb at least) but I was barefoot so the shock went all the way up my arm and it remained numb for several hours. I seriously thought I might not ever be able to paint again (a sad thought indeed). Now I know to wear rubber-soled flip flops when I do laundry and stick a plastic pole into the machine before I put my arm in. This has at least reduced the severity of the shocks!

Another culprit of multiple shocks is our electric water cooler. There is something about mixing water and electricity that certainly makes for a hair-raising experience. It is especially exciting when you add the fact that this appliance is used continually all day long and sits next to the sink, which happens to be the only place with the right sized plug. You hear about and read in the paper, horrible stories of many women dying in the kitchen, and now I have a better understanding of how and why!

There are many other kinds of shocks one can suffer from here in India, especially outside of the kitchen and the home in general. These shocks often don’t relate to touch at all but can hit hard when you first arrive – shocking sights like the tattered and very young begging street children, the huge automatic machine guns carried by the policemen, the far too many people lumped under their blankets sleeping along the cold, hard sidewalks, the orange hair and evil-looking black eye make-up on your Hindu auto-rickshaw driver, or the auto-rickshaw ride itself in Delhi traffic!

Not all shocks have ill-effects. It could be the shocking tastes of your first sherbet drink (tastes like perfume), or your first bite of sweet paan (a flavor packed party for your tastebuds), or your first over-the-top sweet piece of burfy (a type of candy)!

It could be the shocking smells of rotting garbage left in huge piles along the road, or the open sewers and roadside urinals, or the cow dung caked on the bottom of your fancy new sandals!

It could be the shocking sounds of the low-flying jets every 7 seconds overhead, or the ear-piercing horn of the huge Blue-line bus headed straight at you, or the soft high-pitched whine of the young mother begging for milk for her unconscious-looking baby.

I am finding that after living here for a year, many of the things that first shocked me about this culture are now seeming commonplace. The danger in this is to become callous to the shocking things that are difficult to understand, overwhelming in immensity, or too painful to bear the thought of. It’s easy to feel that I am just one person and so how can I make a difference in these situations anyway?

Again I am learning to die – to die to my selfish need to protect myself from experiencing shock and pain. I need to feel the same shock and pain that Jesus feels when He sees children being malnourished, neglected, and suffering from abuse. The same shock and pain He feels when He sees injustice and corruption in the police force and in political leaders. The same shock and pain He feels for the oppression of the marginalized in society.

Sure, I am only one person, but I serve a creative, infinite, all-knowing and seeing God who will gladly show me ways to “make a difference” if I will just lay down my will and take up His.

Mussoorie - Scenery

Mussoorie was once a hill station for the British. They would get away from the hot summers in Delhi by traveling to the foot hills of the Himalayas. It's an amazing place as people have lived on the side of this hill for generations.