Soon we arrived in Hapur. We first met Mr. Cornelius Kisku who is the treasurer for the Uttar Pradesh Section of the North Indian Union. Soon they showed us to the guest room. It was a nice room, but it wasn’t like the one that we stayed in at Delhi. I felt more comfortable that it was closer to Indian standards. It had a tile looking floor with two beds, and a typical Indian bathroom, with a shower in one corner. It was on the headquarters campus, so it was in the walls around the perimeter. Pastor Sing was the President of the Section, and he asked us to come to his house for dinner, as well as Mr. Kisku, and after worship we would go over the plans they they had made for our stay.
After Israel was finished sharing worship thought, we got right into the plans for our week that we would be in Uttar Pradesh. Sing and Kisku went over their plans, and after making a few modifications we had it finalized. We would be visiting one village Tuesday, then the next three days we would stay in a more remote part of the state and visit three different church groups there. Then we would return to Hapur on Friday, and spend Sabbath there, then making another overnight trip on Sunday and Monday to two more remote areas. Each of these places we would hold a worship service, and then give out the Bibles.
The next morning left for the first place. We made our way across these backcountry roads that provided a shortcut to the highway. In some places the roads were surfaced with laid bricks, in other places they were simply gravel, or even dirt. We wheeled our way on roads through the back country fields, and through small neighborhoods, with houses right out next to the road making it feel like an alleyway. Sometimes we slowed to a stop to cross a deep bump. I enjoyed taking pictures of all the sights, many of which I had not yet seen. We were driving with both Pastor Sing and Mr. Kisku this day, and soon I started up a conversation with them. I asked some questions about North India, as I didn’t know very much yet. I asked about this look that I noticed as soon as I got off of the train station. What did it mean? Mr. Kisku explained that it didn’t underly suspiciousness, or distrust, it just showed this curiosity. These people in North India are a very curious people, and when they see a foreigner they want to know why they were here? what things did they have? what is this person like? This was a good explanation, but the look that I saw in their eyes when they didn’t see me was something I thought could give me a little glimpse into their lives. I would watch more to see if I could learn more about this… We soon stopped by the side of the road close to a stand where a man made fresh juice to sell. Everyone except the driver got out of the van, and I realized that with the door open it made a good opportunity to get video of traffic and people and things. I got my video camera out and enjoyed getting the traffic, going by, and an occasional ox cart. When Mr. Kisku came back to the van I was taking pictures of the sights, and then I noticed a boy looking in the window! He was looking at my camera like he’d never seen one before. When I looked at him he got this smile on his face, and then tried to say something to me. I couldn’t understand what he said, and soon he left. Mr. Kisku said that this is what he meant by the curiosity of these people. Soon the man that was at the stand brought me a glass with lime juice in it. I drank down the sweet juice with enjoyment.
Soon we made it to the church where a few people had gathered in anticipation of our visit. This was close to Sanjay Sing’s area. He is the one who Jon interviewed in India two years before, who had 1300 church members, where less than half of his members had Bibles, and he had only 5 songbooks that he would take with him where ever he went to worship! His is only an example of the limited resources that most of the Bible workers face. Many of the Bible workers face the same challenges in their work… Within minutes there were many people coming from all directions, as they heard that we had come. It was the middle of the day, and it was during the week, so there were fewer people than would have come for a regular Sabbath service. We went inside and began having song service as people gathered. I took pictures and video of the church, and the people as Israel gave the worship message. Soon it was over, and they brought the Bibles in to disperse. We took pictures of each of the recipients receiving their Bible. They were so thankful to have their own Bible and songbook. After giving them each a Bible and songbook, I got several interviews with the Bible workers that were there, and then we left to return to Hapur.
The next day we left to visit another area which happened to be where Sanjay Sing lived with his parents. We met on the front porch of their home, and once again had a worship service, and passed out the Bibles. The way these people received the Bibles and how happy they were to have their own Bibles and songbooks was amazing. I knew that I would really enjoy these next few days as we took this trip.