Punjab and more

The Punjab. We had a great week meeting the people that call this area of India home. We had the privilege to spend some time in a friend’s family’s home. What a blessing. Going from the city to the village was a wonderful change. I spent many moments at the cooking fire. It was there that the grandmother would come and sit with me for a while. She has yet to come to know Christ. I thought about my family and the new meaning the family has had in my life in the last year. I have spent more time away from them then I ever have before and yet I feel closer. With Christmas approaching there is a heightened sense of family, this year the season will be harder, with the loses of the past year. There was good reflection time and chats with God by that fire.

Other experiences of week included, visiting a number of churches in the area, going to the Golden Temple, watching the lowering of the flags at the Pakistan Indian border and visiting the capital of the Punjab, Chandigarh. The Punjab is the richest state in India and it was evident when traveling around. The fields were a delightful sight, although I had never seen so much sugar cane before in my life, I now have a deeper appreciation for sugar. We even got to eat some raw right off the field. Everything is so fresh, a lot of fruits and vegetables. The people work hard and it is exciting to see hope in the lives of the people there. Many people move to the Punjab in hope of a better life, working as farm labourers or getting a job in one of the many new factories.

When at the border there were four categories in which people were put in. Tourist, male, female and those that were “VIP”. I didn’t know whether to be scared, excited or to enjoy the program. Even though this program was to signify unity between the two countries you did feel tension in the air. Both sides had their chants that they would yell back and forth, it had the feel of a sporting event. Another interesting situation we were apart of was when we were traveling from Amristar to Chandigarh. What should have taken us just a few hours turned into a full day drive. A politician was traveling through the villages and his daughter was having an engagement party. For security reasons, they were blocking off many roads, putting many travelers in less then happy moods and creating large detours, hoping that you don’t run into a blocked road along the way. It is interesting to observe and be in a culture that is so different then the one I come from. Security is tight here and there is a sense of tension or fear, I have often taken for granted the freedom of fear in which we live in Canada.

In Amristar we visited the Sikh Golden Temple. This was the first temple of Sikh religion. It was good to visit a place so many people hold in such esteem. It was also hard when seeing all the devotion and effort put into something that yields no fruit. People from all walks of life were worshiping, all ages. I left with an empty feeling and a deeper longing for those who do not yet know Him to meet Him.

With Christmas on the way we have add a bit of Christmas cheer to the apt. Our beautiful paper tree with reminders of all the snow that we are missing this winter. For all those experiencing the harsh Canadian winter we really do miss the snow that seems to be in abundance this year.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”