Off To The Villages

We wasted no time today. After arriving in Guntur late last night, we got our first night's rest at the Moriah home and then headed out today to visit 2 congregations for their Sunday services. Actually, we visited 3 congregations, but the middle one was just for a visit, not for a service.

The journey out of Guntur was Mike's first experience with long-distance driving in India. The city gave way to the rural farmlands, and we passed fields of cotton, tobacco, and rice for about 90 minutes. We arrived at Amodagiripatnam just a little late, and the service had already started. The humble church is a typical Lutheran church building in this part of India: a small brick and cement structure with slate floors that the congregants cover with mats as they sit. A Sunday worship service can last for several hours, and songs of worship can easily be half of that. Most songs were in Telugu, of course, but we joined in on a few songs that we knew in English. Although the building was small, there was about 100 worshippers in attendance.

After the service, the host congregation graciously fed us some rice with curried chicken. It was excellent, probably better than they prepare for themselves.

After lunch, Mike wanted to go for a short walk through the village to snap a few pictures. One family brought us into their home so Pastor Mike could pray for the Lord to bless their home and marriage. He seemed very honored to do this.

Further down the street, we came across villagers milling thread from cotton. The millers demonstrated their craft for us, then brought us into cramped little building where an expert weaver was creating a bolt of fabric. The bolt would take him about a week to complete.

We said our goodbyes, then Pastor Jonbabu (sp?) took us to a nearby small congregation of about 20 members which he split his time leading as well. The church at Jagganadjupuram is unusual because it's congregants are tribal members, given special protective status by the Indian government. The closest analogy is something in between a Native American and a gypsy, or a combination of the two. This area is only about 1km from the ocean, and the tsunami did reach this village although damage was minimal.

After a short visit, we were off to Karamchedu, a well-established Lutheran congregation dating back to the eighties. The grounds were nicely kept and the church was brightly lit with Christmas decorations, which are not typically taken down for a few weeks yet. By this point in the day, fatigue was starting to set in. We had all been in planes and trains for two days and our timezones were all messed up. During the worship service, I thought I was the only one fighting it off, but then I noticed the other two with the same look in thier eyes. When it was time for Mike to give his message, however, I had (thankfully) managed to find something to stab myself with.

At each visit, Paul had a short talk with the local pastor to find out how things are going and if they have any special needs. This congregation seems to be in pretty good shape; the church at Amodagiripatnam was already talking about needing a larger building.

We arrived back to our quarters in Guntur at around 11 pm. I'm pretty sure I slept part of the way back.