Delhi 2 and Agra

Our journey for the first day kept us in Delhi. With the six of us squeezed into a minivan, we made our way through Old Delhi and New Delhi visiting sights, mostly ruins, that go back to the 8th and 9th centuries. We also visited the largest mosque in India. The highpoint of the evening was with members of the MBMSI team with a wonderful meal at the home of Saji and Bendu.

Today, we took a 4 hour drive south to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, truly one of the wonders of the world. It is more beautiful up close than in pictures. We also visited the Red Fort, one of the many forts that are no longer in use, relics of power centers of the past.

We safely made our way through a mass of humanity walking, riding, honking along the busy road, jockeying for space with camels, horses, oxen, carts, and autorichshaws slipping, darting, weaving among the busses, motorcycles, and us. And then there are the steady stream of people walking including the most beautiful sarees.

The cafe is closing.

Lawrence

Delhi

We arrived at Delhi from Chicago in an amazingly short time....14 hours. The non-stop flight was full. After a disorienting change of time that may takes days to sort out, we deplaned, walked through customs, and walked out onto the streets at 10:00 pm.

The most confusing time when entering another city, not to speak of a different culture, is the first hour. The money we changed makes no sense, the language, even though English in this case, is hard to understand, and then there are the crowds and horns. Our taxi driver showed up like we planned via the internet. What we did not expect were the dozens of men eager to help the six of us load our luggage, all of whom would expect a tip - the amount of which we were not sure of. We waved most of them away, got our luggage into the van, paid a couple of them, and closed the door, safe we thought.

Maybe it's that I have been in Hillsboro too long, or maybe it is that Delhi is one wildly congested city even at 10:00 pm, but it was worse than any traffic jam I have seen in Hillsboro....ever...even when the football game is over. Cars, trucks, autorickshaws, motorcycles weaved in and out with no turn signals, finding just enough space to squeeze into. Ooops, right in front of us, a tiny car attempted to slide into a spot and the bit truck hit the side of it, tearing off the rear light. No one stopped.

We made it to our YMCA without further incident, only to find two of our four rooms had been taken by someone else since we had not confirmed 48 hours before. A solution to this problem was found after some discussion, four women in one small room, two men in the other. And so our first day came to a close, our bodies thinking it was 1:30 in the afternoon but the clock said 1:00 am. By 9:00 am, which would be 9:00 pm CST, we were to be ready for a day exploring Delhi.

It is obvious that those here in Delhi know what was going on. It was also obvious that we do not. And that is why we came, to make the unfamiliar a little bit familiar, to make what which seems strange a bit familiar. We will see if it works..after the gift of sleep is administered to our bodies.

Lawrence

The Destinations

The Carson Center India Iniative exploratory trip will begin on March 8 from Chicago with the first stop in Delhi where we will be introducted to the work of the Mennonite Brethren Mission and Service International (MBMSI) in that region. (Google Earth was kind enough to add the YMCA where we will be staying.)

After a day visit to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, the team will go to Calcutta to see the work of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

Most of the time will be spend in the central southern part of India with Shamshabad the focal point. This is the town in which the Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College (MBCBC) is located. Hyderabad is a major city nearby. We will also visit Jadcherla and other smaller towns where the Mennonite Brethren church has important work going on.

The team will then fly to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) to see the work of the India Mennonite Brethren church there. After a return to Delhi, the team will head back to Chicago and then to our respective home towns.
March 22 is the anticipated date of return.

If you are not familiar with Google Earth, you might want to look at the website. If you look carefully enough, you might just see us. The technology is not quite that personal yet but you will be amazed at how closely you can get to where we will be.

Lawrence

The Experience Begins

While the trip does not begin for 6 days, the experience has begun already. Around the house are books that are being read with a new level of interest. By my bed is a book by my great uncle, J.A. Ressler, the first Mennonite Church missionary, entitled Stories From India published in 1916. On the end table is an unpublished book by Paul Wiebe that tell the history of the church in India. Ready to be taken along with me is Planet India a thoughtful gift from a friend. The cover of Planet India begins to stretch my mind. I begin to see facts that show how ignorant I am: the fastest growing democracy, the youngest population on the planet, a middle class as big as the population of the entire US, an innovator of the technology that is driving the next phase of the global economy. Is my mind ready?

Last evening, Esther Wiebe, who was born and lived in India for many years, invited us to her house for a meal. Her sister, Ruth Friesen, who also was born and lived there, joined us for a wonderful time of stories and cultural sensitivity lessons. They served foods that we can expect to eat. Is my stomach ready? I was familiar with the rice, peanuts, raisins, and bananas. Chutney and dahl I have had on occasion in restaurants. The curry made the food hotter than we normally have and we were warned that what we were served is mild compared to what we can expect. Don't touch your lips to keep the spices from being so hot we were told.

By the plate was a fork and spoon that we were encouraged not to use. In the villages, we can expect to eat with our fingers. And so we did, rice, dahl, chutney. Eating pizza and chicken with your fingers is one thing. There is an art form to eating with fingers that I clearly have not mastered. It was difficult to get the thumb to move the food from the fingers to the mouth with the skill that Esther and Ruth demonstrated. Keep the food within the two joints of the fingers we were told. It is clear that it will be fun for the nationals to watch us eat. the good news is that at the end of the meal, we were full, actually stuffed.

As we began to leave, we went through the difficult process of trying to learn to say a few words in Telagu; poyee vastham, manchadi, bagundi. I am not sure we ever to the sounds right. Just because you can hear a sound does not mean you can repeat it. We wrote down what the words mean since our middle aged brains will have to work overtime to use them in the right places: we'll go and come, good, it's good; poyee vastham, manchadi, bagundi; we'll go and come, good, it's good.

For me, this is not the first time in India. Several years ago, I went farther south for a week to Nagercoil. This time we will be in new places with new customs. I am ready to begin the trip. Poyee vastham, manchadi, bagundi; we'll go and come, good, it's good...or am I ready?


Lawrence

Mission and Goals

Mission

The mission of the Carson Center is to promote mission, service, and global education at Tabor College and to collaborate with individuals, organizations and churches who share the vision of the Carson Center.

Goals

To provide opportunities at Tabor College for students to learn about and participate in missions, service projects, and to become globally minded and skilled graduates;

To advance missions, service, and global education through strategic collaborations with churches and organizations who share Tabor’s vision.

History of the Carson Center

The development of the Carson Center has come about through a confluence of factors. The Carson Church, Elaine Kroeker (on the left), a Tabor College board member who was a member of the church, and brothers David and Paul Wiebe (missionary children who grew up in India, David a Tabor board member, and Paul a sociologist with a passion for the church in India), and President Larry Nikkel, each played instrumental roles the development of the Carson Center.

The history of the Carson Center clearly begins with the decision of the Carson Church in Delft, Minnesota to close. The Carson Church, which has had a remarkable history of promoting international missions, decided to give a third of the its proceeds generated from closing the church to Tabor College in the fall of 2005. At the same time, David Wiebe presented a proposal related to mission, service, and education to the college board of trustees. The proposal, developed with the input of his brother Paul, encouraged Tabor College to consider developing a relationship with the Mennonite Brethren church and Centenary Seminary in India, a sister institution owned by the Indian Mennonite Brethren church.

President Nikkel, wanting to honor the legacy of the Carson Church in a way that would last, suggested that the donation of funds to Tabor College be placed in an endowment named after the Carson Church. The Carson Center was formally approved in February, 2006 by the Tabor College Board of Trustees.

Activities of the Carson Center began immediately, albeit in modest ways. Dr. Lynn Jost took a group of students and adults interested in India, to the Centenary Seminary where, among other things, a Bible class was held with both Tabor students and Centenary Seminary students attending. Paul Wiebe (appointed Adjunct Professor of International Studies), accompanied by David Wiebe, visited various points in India and explored the potential for a relationship between Tabor College and Centenary Seminary. The Mennonite Brethren Church subsequently passed a unanimous resolution welcoming a relationship with Tabor College. Paul also developed and distributed a newsletter for Centenary Seminary. Following his return, Paul raised and sent funds to the Mennonite Brethren Church in India for the first writers conference, a meeting of church representatives organized to begin to document the history of the church.

The Carson Center was given a major boost in June of 2006 with a donation of $100,000 in by a donor supportive of the initiative. With the original gift by the Carson Church and the second major donation, the Carson Center is poised to begin to carry out it work of promoting mission, service and global education,. There is much be to done for the Center to fully realize its potential, but the momentum that has emerged far surpasses that of those who only a year ago planted the seeds of what has become a grand vision for Tabor College and the church.

Carson Center Background

Globally minded education, mission, and service are not new to Tabor College and the Mennonite Brethren denomination which owes the college. The Mennonite Brethren denomination has a global and service perspective borne both out of its theological commitments and out of necessity.

The namesake of the Mennonite Brethren denomination, Menno Simons, and the “Menists” with whom he was affiliated in the mid 16th century, were at the core globally and service minded from the inception of the movement. Through the reading of scripture, the Anabaptists were passionate about and effective in sharing the “good news” of Jesus Christ with a theology that was deeply committed to doing good. They remained committed to their beliefs and put their faith into action even while threatened with arrest and execution for doing so.

To escape the threat of being imprisoned or executed for their beliefs, the Mennonites migrated to Prussia (northern Poland) in the 1560s. In 1789, many Mennonites left Prussia because of religious oppression and accepted Catherine the Great's invitation to settle in the Ukraine. While in the Ukraine, the Mennonite Brethren church was formally founded. Because of religious intolerance which began to take place in the Ukraine in the mid 1800s, the Mennonites and Mennonite Brethren once again were forced to move. This time the migration was to the United States, with central Kansas the destination for many beginning in 1874. In time, to the desire for Christian education among the Mennonite Brethren led to the founding of Tabor College in 1908.

Not all of those who migrated moved to the United States or to Kansas. Mennonite Brethren also moved to Canada, Mexico, and South America. The dispersion caused by religious intolerance, along with evangelical commitment to “go into all the world ” has made the Mennonite Brethren an international church with congregations in over 20 countries and a total membership estimated to be over 300,000.

The trauma associated with forced migrations, combined with an Anabaptist theology that stresses social justice and social compassion, has developed a strong commitment to service as well. One tangible illustration of this commitment is the influence the Mennonite Brethren had in developing Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), an internationally renowned social service agency. Peter C. Hiebert, a Mennonite Brethren and Tabor College administrator, was the founding chairman of MCC.

The Carson Center for Mission, Service, and Global Education is not breaking new ground. Tabor’s first president, H.W. Lohrenz, articulated the Tabor vision as a three-fold aim: offering a liberal arts education in a Christian setting; preparing young men and women for spiritual leadership in the church; and providing a program of vocational training. The Carson Center is taking passions that lie deep within the soul of the denomination and college and breathing new life into them for our time and in ways that incorporate the changes that are taking place in the world.