Herb Hoefer
Update
20 January 2006
Family and Friends,
It's been a heavy few days. I had two 16-hour days in a row, mostly touring
remote places of ministry, bouncing and swerving and stopping and starting
all the way. These are usually places where even the
church leaders do not visit. But I have the seminary van, so I can get
there. It was kind of cute to meet the younger people. They had heard of
missionaries from their grandparents, but they had never seen one
before.
One area is where the congregation members are laborers on the rubber tree
plantations. They make about $2 a day when the trees are running. There are
14 IELC congregations in the region, with only two
pastors. They get about $50 a month in income. They are from the region, so
that is why they stay with their people in spite of the lack of financial
support.
I toured with a couple of the seminary professors from that language area.
We were discussing how to develop a comprehensive plan for the uplift of
those people. We thought to lower the schooling qualifications for seminary
students from the region, as very few make it through high school. We have
been sending 3-4 of our probationers to the region to revive the
congregations there, and that has helped considerably. We need to keep
sending them there until we get some of their own
young men trained and ordained.
For the general uplift of the people, they need a boarding. Parents simply
cannot afford to keep their children in school, and education is the only
way these people can get a decent living and develop leadership capacities.
Perhaps an organization like Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry can help
with this. There is a grand old missionary bungalow (6000 plus feet) on the
large compound in the region. Its
roof has collapsed, but it could be rebuilt as a boarding, since there is a
middle school also on the compound.
One other location gave us a shock. It is just outside the city of
Trivandrum, which has many well-to-do congregations. We didn't expect to
find people in such desperate poverty. The chapel is
falling apart, having been built by an early missionary 47 years ago out of
mud walls and thatched roof (palm tree branches). It's the first time that I
have been with Indian colleagues who just fell silent listening to the
people and seeing the condition of their chapel. The profs and the driver
left committed to gathering funds at least to provide them thatch so they
can stop their roof from leaking.
One of the big problems in that region is they they have not developed a
mindset to plan for their ministry. They just keep the old pattern going and
look for LCMS World Mission to maintain it. They had schools, but they have
hired mostly Hindu teachers, so the Christian character of most of them is
lost in that region. Our policy in the School Project is that we will help
only those IELC schools that have regular Bible Study. They had boardings
and a teachers training institute, but those were closed also. In other
parts of the IELC, these institutions keep
feeding the life of the church, both spiritually and economically.
All along the way, I kept hearing from the pastors, "What are you going to
do for us?" My reply was: "What is your plan?" It's so different in the
Ambur Synod where my major problem is trying to keep up with all the plans
for mission and service they generate. As I discussed with the profs, we
thought the only way we can help change that dependency mindset is by
finding those who do have a vision and doing what we
can to help them, as an example to all the others. That's how I
operated as a missionary in the Ambur Synod. I never did anything. I just
tried to help others with their vision.
One marvelous vision we were shown was at the IELC church in the middle of
the medical college area of Trivandrum City. With the help of a congregation
in Seattle, they are building a complex that has a "Guidance Center" on the
ground floor. They say there are thousands of villagers who come to that
part of the city, and have little idea of how to proceed for help. They want
to provide a doctor, nurse, social
worker, etc. who can guide them to the medical facilities they need. They
plan to provide food and shelter as well for the people. The second floor
will be their chapel, which they plan to keep open 24 hours for these
suffering people to use. I suggested that they contact Wheat Ridge
Ministries about start-up funds for equipment and staff, for it would fit
right into their policy of seed money.
I hope we will still get the visit of the accrediting commission for
upgrading the seminary to BD. It's a question if they will do it when the
church does not have an administration and so they are unable to
appoint a permanent Principal. Please keep that in your prayers. The hope
was to inaugurate the program with the next academic year, starting on June
12th.
A few thoughts from those days on the road. One thought is that all of India
is like the traffic. It seems totally chaotic, but it works because
everybody gives way to the other - often just in time! The other
illustration that makes sense to me is that visiting in India is like tubing
down a river. You just never know what will be around the bend. It can be
magnificently inspiring and it can be downright dangerous.
Some of the signs along the way are fun. As one entered the plush state of
Kerala, a gov't. sign read "Welcome to God's country." A sign on the back of
one air conditioned car read: "AC. No hand signal." The
driver was warning other drivers that he would be keeping his window closed,
so they shouldn't be expecting the usual hand signals for turning and
stopping.
Cell phones are everywhere. People have asked me why I don't get one while I
am in India. Then they quickly acknowledge, "Yes, you wouldn't even be
allowed to sleep then." I have so many people
contacting me everywhere I go. I really can't manage to deal with more.
I'm preaching at several more places over the weekend, including tonight.
Then I'm off to Chennai and on to North India. Thanks so much for your
prayers, for safety and health and wisdom and strength.
God bless.
Herb