Greetings from Kalimpong - Newsletter 5

Hello,

A lot has happened since the last Newsletter – it seems a long time ago that I wrote it !!!

As you will have heard on the news, on May 12th, we had another large earthquake in Nepal.  The bible school suffered some further damage (we later noticed more cracks) but remained standing – this was just as well, as I was in my room on the top floor at the time.  Again, everyone moved out under canvass in a repeat process to the previous month.  Nationally, the second quake caused some additional casualties and further damage, but I’m pleased to say that everyone I’m working with was safe and well.  It was noticeable, however, how much extra fear it caused.  Although some of us moved back into the bible school after 3 nights, many of the students remained under canvass for a much longer period.

We endeavoured to keep lessons going this time, using the canteen (single storey) for quite some time.  I was able to complete the Bible Survey module and have the students take the final exam on the day before I travelled to India on 29^th May.

Some members of the congregation were now wary about using the church (on the 1^st floor of the bible school), so everyone met in the school yard – with some shelter being provided by tarpaulin sheets tied between the surrounding buildings.  I was invited to preach at one of these services and on a later occasion, speak to the youth group after the main service.

And so to India….

I travelled from Kathmandu via a 15 hour overnight coach journey to the eastern border town of Kakarbita.  From the coach park it’s a rickshaw ride (or a long walk) across the river bridge which forms the Nepali-Indian border.  I entered India for the first time ever and duly reported to immigration.  Formalities completed, I was picked up by Dr. Donald Sada, who is my project partner here. He’s an elder in the Presbyterian Free Church and we drove, via Siliguri, up to Kalimpong, arriving in the late afternoon.  Kalimpong has been described as a “hill station” – it’s actually quite a sizeable town.  It is extremely hilly – the good point about this is that the temperatures are very pleasant.  There is also a lot of mist and even fog, partly due to the altitude and also the season (it’s the start of the monsoon).

I needed to hit the ground running!  I attended church on the Sunday morning and was then asked if I could give a talk to the Men’s Guild in the afternoon.  This wasn’t planned – Dr.Sada was due to be the speaker and I was simply going to be introduced.  However, many of the men were keen to hear what I might have to say, so I was asked to do the talk instead.  There then followed talks to House Fellowships on Monday and Tuesday – the latter group having a “basics of salvation” theme.

I was also able to give a talk at The Grace Academy – which is a school for children of parents who are unable to afford normal school fees (they just pay a nominal amount). I impressed upon the students the value of learning and development (using Luke 2:52 as the basis) and tried to encourage them with my interest in science, especially as I had been taken to visit the Kalimpong science centre the day before.  Afterwards, the Senior Pastor told me that science is currently not very popular – but I guess I’ll never know if I made a difference!

In addition, there have been visits to different pastors and also to people to do prayer for healing.  It all made for a very encouraging start and I am grateful to Dr. Sada for all his hard work in showing me around and setting up the program.

My accommodation is within the boundaries of the old mission compound and I find it quite moving to think about those early (largely Scottish) pioneers.  Back in the 19^th Century, travel and communications were, of course, very different and I admire their commitment and sacrifice.  Their work was clearly not in vain, as their legacy can be seen in the hospitals, Christian schools and active churches.  I’m attached to a Presbyterian church which has a membership of around 300, 38 church plants and 7 pastors.  I assumed it must surely be the largest church in town – but apparently not!

On Saturday we went to visit the Darjeeling region, passing tea farms and calling at the Darjeeling War Memorial.  On the return trip, the car we were travelling in suddenly swerved and hit the side of the road.  Fortunately, we all escaped serious injury, although Mrs.Sada sustained a painful cut to the face.  The car was a different matter and we had to wait around 5 hours for it to be repaired.  By this time it was very dark and rather wet.  Setting off again, we could hardly see the road in front, because of the horrendous fog and the dark - the prospect of being driven to Kalimpong along these hillside roads (journey time is 2 to 3 hours in the daylight) was not appealing.  Very soon, though (and this may have been a God send) the car broke down and it was clear we could not make Kalimpong that night.  Some people in a passing vehicle moved the car to a safe place and helped us find somewhere to spend the night.  Early the next morning we arranged alternative transport to Kalimpong, while the driver (who we had hired along with the car) remained to sort out repairs.

We arrived just in time to get ready for me to be picked up by the landrover for church.  I was preaching at one of our associate churches and had been asked to deal with the subject of “Why?” – in connection with the Nepal earthquakes.  There are close links between this area and Nepal and the local language is, in fact, a variation of Nepali.  This church has a good size building, but also has a nice problem – they can’t fit everyone in.  There were people standing outside!!!  I was shown the work in progress for a new church building on the site.

So it’s been a packed start to my time in India and it really is beneficial to gain fresh experience of working in a very different environment, with its long Christian heritage.

With best wishes and many thanks to everyone for their prayers,

                                                                                                            Kev

One of several Christian schools in the area

The Senior Pastor at Cornerstone Church with the building under construction