Of quite a different kind has been the ministry and outreach of Roger and June Hedlund. Not the down and outs, or the poor, but the academics and
theological institutions is the outreach of this couple. Roger has transcended his Baptist origins to move into theological education and publication. He has
had many interests formerly in Church planting but now in the History and operation of Indigenous Churches and ministries within India. Roger, coming up to
retirement is seeking to leave behind a legacy of continuing interest in these areas. After a life time in India he is
returning to California. It will not be an easy transition. He looked though rather tired and burnt out so this is probably the time. His
plan for succession being a graduating Ph D, Paul Joshua, who will complete studies in UK this year and transfer the institution to his home town of Bangalore.
He showed his two latest publications on a Reader on Mission the other a commanding Christian Dictionary as a resource material for students and others. These
are all published by ISPCK in Delhi, an old institution backed by High Church Anglican missions the Indian Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. In an unexpected twist this group have
survived where many others have fallen by the wayside and remains the main publisher at the Protestant level of serious theological books. OM has higher turn over but is largely
populist material of a inspirational and devotional nature much of it reprints or translations from existing materials.
On the lighter side we went out to the Copper Kettle a good standard Nth Indian restaurant. Arriving at 19.00 the place was empty. As we left around 21.00 it was
beginning to really fill up! Indians prefer to eat late. Not good digestive principles but that is their custom and tradition. With a bill for the 3 dishes of Rs 550 ( $14) the
whole meal cost about what one dish would be in a similar situation in Surrey. The rising C $ a good help in these aras! The restaurant has a viewing window
so that the patrons an see the food being cooked in the clay ovens as well as the roti being tossed in the air and then cooked as it was in Mussoorie in 2004. A good
farewell for them to life in India and a winding up of our association which began in 1999 when I first visited Chennai in pursuit of contacts at Madras U. Roger has
succeeded in gaining his Ph D after 10 years of interaction with the bureaucratic machine that dominates the institution. His case was not straight forward so followed
many twists and turns which he duly circumvented.
Tragedy!!
You can imagine my surprise to hear from Janette that tragedy struck the family of Julie who I was staying with earlier. When I was there her
husband Sudhakar was enthusing about his Royal Enfield Bullet 350 motor bike and how suitable it was for touring. He had made a six hour trip to Bangalore and
so enjoyed riding solo that he now planned to go to Hyderabad, a ten hour ride. He said it gave him opportunity to think to pray as well as relax. I had my own
misgivings but seeing his enthusiasm and determination said nothing about the dangerous highways that characterize India. Before I left on Sunday he has phoned
through to say he had made it to Hyderabad and would return on the Monday. He never did;. he was struck down by a truck and killed out on the highway. In
many ways a victim of his own uniqueness. He had stepped out of the box in marrying Julie, a Canadian and was in many other areas ahead of his peers. So much
so that they say it will take five people to replace him in his slot. Julie has taken it very well being assured that despite the horror of his departure that he is in
God's hands. Our concern is not for her spiritual well being but more that she will realize that she has really lost her husband and has a right to grieve and feel the
sadness and sorrow in a normal - a requirement for her real healing and recovery. It does not do to spiritualize too much such events.
A Local Church Fellowship
One of my students is a local Tamil pastor. Pongal is a local Hindu Harvest festival, occuring this year on the 14th of January. Some groups seek to provide
alternative happenings particularly for converts so they won't be drawn back into the family and their Hindu rites at this time. Or at least they can say they have an
alternative Christian happening. The only Canadian parallel I know are alternatives on Halloween as most other festivals have a stronger Christian background and
base. Some converts like Rokaya in Kathmandu, Nepal see these as more positive opportunities to make decisions between what is religious and what is
cultural in the society. I have raised such questions in my classes with mixed responses. Most Christians in India in any case do not come from caste society so have
not the same strong links and ties with the real dynamics of Hinduism.
On the way to the meeting I was given an account
of the Pastor's testimony
followed by information about his newly established Bible School. I slowly got the message that one interest in having me there was the hope that I could become a
future resource person. Much of what is happening at this level, including HBI, is heavily funded from outside the country so you can see why the interest.
I duly gave my talk but was not rewarded in my own spirit with much real response.
Visit to IVF Graduates Bible Study Group
I made contact with my neighbor, Arthur Hope, who is a
former secretary of the UESI ( Indian IVF). He invited me along to a Graduates Fellowship group which he shares with. These are the IT educated people who are
the hope of the new India. The meeting was in the home of a Indian Institute of Technology civil engineering professor. A very modest home compared to my SFU
professor! The group were Ph D type as well as those working in IT. Arthur gave a classic exposition of Heb 6 in monologue format followed by some questions an
assurances on a Calvinistic approach to eternal security. The group accepted the basics but were not completely satisfied with the offered solutions. For such
a group it may have been wise to introduce an element of the mystery of the Gospel rather than such strong assurances that it was all wrapped up. The Engineering
Professor was aware of the inroads of forms of being saved and lost so wanted to be sure they were understanding about this.
It could all have been 50 years ago so in some areas things do not change despite the packing of globalization and the like coming through from
Seminar approaches being promoted by an agent of Ravi Zacharius.
We came back and had a late night meal in a small cafe near HBI. Arthur's daughter, a trained Nursing tutor now recently married is working on
migration to the US. She can get in with her nursing qualifications. Husband will be a dependent but able to look for work with his low IT level qualifications. A route
number of them are taking. I think Arthur would rather they stay in India. Life as a widower will be less full if the daughter and then the son migrate. He is much more
here and with opportunities to teach in the lower level mission orientated training programs here still has opportunities and outlets for his gifts and abilities.
The HBI - M.Th Class
The group are all men with varying backgrounds. All have some experience of Christian work as pastors, workers and missionaries. Their
motivation in seeking M.Th is often to gain a qualification and so increase their status and hopefully employability, to move on from pastoring to teaching positions
and in some cases to be involved in mission. The ethnic backgrounds vary from the South Indian group; 2 from the traditional Christians groupings in Kerala,
2 local from Tamil Nadu, one from Andhra and the balance from NE in this case Nagaland rather than Manipur where many have come from in the past. This means
that they belong to well established Christian families with limited involvement beyond their immediate group.
The class this year has been split into two parts. Mine and then another half taken by a man who is teaching about Dialogue with people of other
faiths. I have been given 12 lessons hours to teach to which I have added in two sessions for producing a drama and performing it based on the material in the text, I
am also showing a DVD from Papua New Guinea as a way of enlarging their horizons.
As I usually am I am not sure about the impact of my approach on people who are in very conventional ways of learning. I seek to broaden their
outlook and bring them into new thinking patterns. This often proves disconcerting to those geared to passing the exam and getting the qualification. Much of what I
talk about seems extraneous to that limited objective. The encouragement is that I get invited back as it is clear that I know the culture and fit into the situations.
