Backwaters to Basilica to 'Bout town to Briefing

Journal 2  from Kottayam, Kerala on 02.27.2011

After being awake over 48 hours.....
Felicia and I swung from giddy to grumpy and dizzy to nauseous. She slept very soundly, even though our bed here at the Honeymoon Suite of Backwater Retreat House was hard as a rock. (As the trip went on...I soon learned that this was one of the nicer beds that I would sleep in). I woke up several times to go the restroom and then was awake off and on throughout the early morning. I felt so stiff and sore … and then panic set in as I became overwhelmed with thoughts of doubts… “What was I thinking?! I'm too old! Will trip be too hard for me!”

Our view from the balcony off of our rooms.

The Backwater Retreat House

Owners of the BW Retreat House

The morning light brought a brighter perspective with the help Felicia's encouragement and some very delicious Indian coffee.  The coffee is served in fairly small cups, but since we drink it American style, four pots were necessary to get our engines running.  A light breakfast of dosai, which is a lot like American pancakes spread with Lindsey’s yummy homemade peanut butter and a jelly with the texture of fruitless jam totally hit the spot. 

We ate our meals on the balcony.

It was Sunday and we had decided to worship on-board a riverboat ... going down the Backwater River that leads to the ocean on the Marabal Coast.  The sky was overcast at first so it wasn’t too hot.  Felicia and I experienced our first trip in an auto-rickshaw and decided it was a fun way to get around. 

The houseboat available was quite large and we had the entire boat to ourselves for three hours for the price of $1,375 rupees. As we departed the dock, the theme song from Gilligan's Island went through my head..."just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour..." The river was not very wide and on each side were paths and houses, rice fields and an occasional church or mosque. The children were so precious with their big smiles...full of excitement at seeing white people. I threw out a few American coins that I had brought with me, wishing I had brought more of my stash and American candy too.

 The skipper and his mate, Gilligan...

 The view from the top of the boat was amazing and the air was cooler. We saw wildlife of birds, storks, cranes, domestic cats and dogs, the family goat, chickens and water buffaloes and cows. Midway of our tour we stopped for a snack on an island and experienced some local delicacies of tapioca, a yam semi-mashed mixed with mild spices served on banana leaf, fish curry, fried fish and rice with vegetables served on top which tasted a lot like zucchini to me. The sun came out as we headed back and I got a touch of sunburn as I road on top of the boat.

After an awkward moment of tipping our driver and tour guide, we headed back to the Backwater Retreat House ... so sweet little Karuna could take more of a nap.  Felicia, Susie and I took the auto-rickshaw back into Kottayam and drove around the streets to see the sights.  We stopped at an old orthodox church, St. Mary's, that was built in 1579 which St. Thomas had visited after Jesus’s death.   The structure was original and the wood carvings and painted ceilings were amazing.

We had heard from someone at the wedding that the place to shop for clothes or find fabrics for sarees was at the shop, Emmanuel. It was very upscale and we were immediately surrounded by salespeople who were determined to assist us in our selections. There was no leisure browsing. One option after another was thrust before me face, until I was overwhelmed, which normally doesn't take long anyway. I found that it was necessary to know how to express what I needed, but difficult to do so, especially since I did not know what I wanted or even what I liked. I had to speak quite forcefully to please let me look on my own. I thought I had settled on an outfit but backed out when I saw that it looked like the fabric had faded spots on the bottom of the top. The outfit was a sage green and pumpkin color, and I would have looked like a fat round pumpkin ready for Halloween slaughter anyway.
Susie wanted to stop at the local restaurant, Anand, that she had heard had delicious vegetarian fare. Neither of us were hungry, but we agreed to have some coffee, which was really delicious and sweet. She ordered puri and dosai to take back to Lindsey and herself.

Our driver was very patient, waiting for us as we went in and out of shops. He did not speak any English, but I attempted to find out his name. Pointing to myself while saying my name and then at him while saying a random men’s name…Fred, no….Sam, no….. He would not say, maybe it was inappropriate. But Felicia and I settled on Richard. I ended up paying for his time and tipping him as well….500 rupees.

Back at the Backwater Retreat we regrouped on the balcony outside our rooms and ordered some supper. Meanwhile we journaled, opened our delayed luggage that had arrived from the airport courier and gave gifts to Lindsey and Karuna. They were overjoyed with the items from Willie and the few things we had purchased. Since the food is prepared fresh, it takes quite awhile for our order to be made. About an hour and a half later, Felicia and I enjoyed vegetable and chicken biyithani. It was a bit spicy and we shared what we could not eat with the others.

After dinner, we discussed our itinerary for the next few weeks only to learn that Susie and Lindsey did not know that we had changed the length of our stay from six weeks to four. Apparently, there had been a mis-communication in the email I sent with the new flight information. At first Susie especially was unsettled and a bit disturbed since she had six weeks of villages to visit and activities planned out in advance for us. Lindsey gracefully encouraged her to pause and push reset, so we could switch gears and find solutions since it involved trying to fit two weeks of planned engagements into a tighter time period. We discussed some of our questions about how to give our testimonies, the needs of Indian body of Christ in comparison with American churches, and found that life issues are very much the same but how they are handled must be done with more delicacy, since family honor and the goal of getting a daughter married is of primary concern. There is a growing problem with alcoholism and therefore the collapse of marriages and families. I shared that I had prayed about what the Lord wanted me to speak on, HOPE, and received affirmation that that is what the people of India need. I began pondering and more deeply meditating on how to communicate HOPE...praying - "Holy Spirit, speak and give me discernment of what YOU want us to say and how you want us to speak encouraging words." Susie shared Galatians 5:6c…. "what is important is faith expressing itself in love." This proved to be one of the most important truths we fleshed out over our four weeks in India.