![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
Click Here to respond to the blog |
of Bonnie & Louis Rushmore |
October 31
Lord's Day morning, Wayne Barrier, JoAn and L.T. Gurganus as well as Bonnie and I assembled at the 8-Mile congregation, which meets in the home of Winsome and Sheila. Hnin Maung from the new delta congregation was present, and we gave him Bible coloring books and colored pencils, as well as 15 Burmese language Bibles. I am positive that he will use these few resources well. Therman Hodge spoke at the assembly meeting in the home Kyaw Sein in Hmawbi, 45-minutes from Yangon. Sunday afternoon at about 4:00 p.m., we all met with the church meeting in the home of Esther, also in Yangon; on that occasion, L.T. taught the lesson during worship. Sunday evening, the team plus Winsome and Sheila, experimented with Korean barbeque chicken at a restaurant across the street and down a little. "It wasn't like momma used to make," one could say, and the barrage of bugs flitting around the lights on the second story where we were eating, and constantly bombarding us as we ate, would have distracted us from the tastiest meal on the planet (whatever that might be). October 30 Saturday was shopping day, which means going to Scott's Market in downtown Yangon. First, though, we stopped at the Defense Museum on the way. We spent about two hours touring army, air force and navy displays (sometimes in the dark with only daylight from distant exterior windows illuminating our path). No cameras were allowed, unfortunately. Although we do buy some gifts for our family and friends, most of what we buy at Scott's Market is for giving tokens of appreciation to brethren who lodge us in their homes or provide a meal for us as we travel in the States; we drive about 3,000 miles monthly, trying to visit two congregations each Lord's Day and sometimes on Wednesdays, whereupon I give a PowerPoint presentation about our foreign and domestic labors for our Lord.
October 25-29
When the day's classes concluded, we returned to our hotel in Yangon and showered the hot, humid day off of ourselves, in preparation for supper. Each evening during the week, teachers eat at the home of Winsome and Sheila Vertaines for some genuine Burmese cuisine. It is within a short walking distance, but first we must cross the busy six-lane street. It's almost like a sporting event; however, it is an event that one cannot afford to lose. For instance, it seems that every year when Bonnie and I are in India, we are aware of someone who died crossing a street. Monday evening, L.T. Gurganus arrived in Myanmar. Before retiring for the night, Bonnie and I washed clothes in the bathroom sink and rinsed them in the shower, after which hanging them in the bathroom for the night. Tuesday morning, Doug, Therman, the Gurganuses, Bonnie and I had breakfast together in the hotel dining room. Every morning, we have watermelon, pineapple juice and eggs, and we augment that sometimes with french toast, silver dollar size pancakes, roasted potatoes, bacon (once) and toast. After breakfast, Bonnie and I hang our wet laundry on the curtain rod in front of the window of our room to take advantage of solar heat from the sun.
Thursday morning after breakfast, we all, with the exception of Joanne Gurganus, went to the Hmawbi Bible School. We shared the teaching assignments throughout the day. At lunch, Therman, Doug and L.T. were invited to eat in the home of Kyaw Sein, while Bonnie and I remained behind to commence afternoon classes in a timely fashion after the students ate lunch; Bonnie and I munched on bananas and snacks we brought with us from America. After school concluded for the day, and on the way back toward Yangon, we stopped at the WWII memorial cemetery on our route; 27,000 Indian, Burmese, British and Americans (four) are buried there; the cemetery receives daily maintenance and is immaculate, besides the impressive columns and structures gracing it. After supper, Bonnie used a Burmese cell phone and was able to call Rebecca, our daughter. The Burmese government has shut down Internet in the country prior to the November 7 elections it has scheduled, the first time in about 20 years. For days, email has not worked either, but finally some emails got through. Tomorrow, the government is shutting down all international phone calls, also with respect to the upcoming election. Back at the hotel, Bonnie and I once more attended to washing our clothes; the day after we wash, we must iron the shirts, blouses and longis (skirts for women and men). Meanwhile, Winsome took Therman and Doug to the large pagoda in downtown Yangon; it is both magnificent as it covers blocks and is several stories high, but also disturbing due to the vast array of idolatry there.
We were informed on Friday that the government has cancelled all domestic airplane flights until after the election on November 7; already, factories have been closed for a week or two. Now we have to determine if the international flights will continue as usual, or will we be required to leave the country even sooner than we anticipated or will we be required to remain longer than we had planned; we had cut 10 days from our stay here at the request of brethren to get us out of the country before the elections. October 24
After lunch, we rode several more miles to revisit the proprietor of the nursery school where Bonnie and I, along with Rebecca Rushmore and Randy Gaddy, taught English and Bible this summer. We were greeted with refreshments and well wishes.
October 22-23 Friday was a travel day; we took the scenic route from Kakinada along the Bay of Bengal on our way to Vishakhapatnam, India. This was a four-hour jaunt, at first over some of the poorest roads before getting on National Highway 5. In Kakinada, we saw fishing boats under construction, and along the shore leaving Kakinada, we saw numerous boats and fish laid out to dry in the sun. In Vishakhapatnam, we boarded a plane to Hyderabad, where we would board another plane destined for Bangkok, Thailand, where we would board another plane headed for Yangon, Myanmar. We flew an hour and 40 minutes between Vishak (for short) to Hyderabad, and we flew about three and a half hours to Bangkok and nearly an hour and a half to Yangon. At Bangkok, we were joined by Douglas Germarad, brother-in-law of Wayne Barrier, and we four continued our trip to Yangon. We traveled by airplane all night and arrived in Myanmar at 8:50 a.m. on Saturday.
October 20-21 Wednesday, we traversed the narrow, broken roads until reaching better highways to the b in Kakinada, India. John Dean graciously drove us the hour or so. Since the Gootams had kinfolk visiting and staying with them, we lodged at an inn a block away. Happily, we wimpy Americans had AC, but we were still experimenting with bucket and cup bathing in cold water.
The church there has an orphanage of 80 children, a vocational sewing program for young women and produces other literature (magazines in multiple languages of India, DVDs and tracts). The Gootams augment these good works with extensive Gospel meetings within driving distance of Kakinada and an annual lectureship at the meetinghouse. An additional floor is nearly complete, which will provide better accommodations for the orphans.
October 18-19 Early Monday morning, our happy trio departed from the Bangalore airport for Rajahmundry's airport, a flight of a little over three hours. John Dean from Skinner Garden was waiting for us, and he took us to the compound 40 kilometers away; the roadway gave way to broken pavement and muddy ruts before our arrival at Skinner Garden. Nowhere have
Among those new faces with whom we became acquainted Monday and Tuesday were those of Wayne and Charlotte Orr from the Killen, AL Church of Christ. We know Wayne's mother, Ruth, through interaction with World Evangelism in Winona, MS and at the Annual Maywood Missionary Retreat outside of Hamilton, AL. Immediately, we began teaching classes by day and preaching Gospel meetings in distant places by night. Therman and I shared opportunities over two days to teach 72 preachers who had come together on this occasion. Monday afternoon, Therman and I each taught one hour,
October 17 Again this Lord's Day in Bangalore at Davis Road, we three taught or preached respectively in the Bible class, during worship and the ladies' class following worship. Many pictures were snapped of brethren at Davis Road Church of Christ and us, especially since we three were sporting our new, Indian clothes. Afterward, Therman, Bonnie and I treated P.R. and Saroja Swamy as well as Vernon Douglas and his wife Sheila to a meal out at a Chinese restaurant we sometimes frequent when in Bangalore; we habitually do this to express appreciation and gratitude to our brethren who host us in our labors with them. October 15-16
Friday evening, we three were measured for new, Indian attire. Therman and I ordered Safari outfits, and Bonnie ordered a Sari. Saturday night, we picked up our new clothes in preparation for wearing them on the Lord's Day for worship. Besides edifying brethren, there were two baptisms and one restoration following this two-day seminar. In addition, a preacher who had already led about 10 souls to Christ announced his determination to bring an additional 40 souls to Christ in the near future, persons with whom he has been working with the Gospel of Christ. He will probably do it, too! October 14
A sudden downpour caused us to walk through ankle deep water when crossing streets. While out, brother Swamy took us to KFC for lunch. Traveling to and from our fruitless shopping spree, we three and Swamy rode what Indians call an auto (essentially a three wheeled rickshaw). Of course, the driver was present as well. To say the least, we were overloaded. On one occasion, the driver had to stop because he could not steer, and we had to redistribute the weight; Bonnie had been sitting on my lap on one side, her head curled against the ceiling. Therman sat in the Later back at Provincial House, we were in our rooms waiting for our ride to supper at Swamy's home. Then, the desk clerk came to Bonnie and my room and said there was a car waiting for us. We collected Therman and went to the lobby, where we found a driver with whom we were not familiar. After asking the driver if he were here to take us to Davis Road and his repeated affirmations to our questions, not able to communicate well, we got into his vehicle. It became apparent after awhile that we were preparing to leave Bangalore and that too much time had elapsed for us not to have already arrived at Davis Road. So, I called with my cell phone P.R. Swamy and through a series of back and forth phone calls we confirmed that we were not in the correct car. Vernon Douglas rescued us as he and Sheila, though they do not live in this area of Bangalore, happened to be in the neighborhood getting fuel for their vehicle; we hopped out of one car and into another and made our way to the originally intended destination. Oh, what could have been! October 12-13
Bonnie did not have an opportunity to teach ladies at either venue since there was no translator for her. Besides Therman and me, several Indian preachers, including brother P.R. Swamy, preached both days, too. To conserve expenses, instead of staying the night at Namakkal Wednesday and hiring our car also for Thursday for a return to Bangalore, we drove that night back to Bangalore; we do not like to travel in India at night because of the heavy truck traffic, poor visibility, animals and pedestrians on the highways. We made it back safely by midnight. Later, we learned that between Velur and Namakkal three precious souls obeyed the Gospel in baptism. Last year, two ladies responded to the invitation in Velur. October 11
October 10
For lunch, we were the guests of Sheila and Douglas in their home. For supper, we ate at a Chinese restaurant, after which having dessert at Baskin Robins ice cream next door; brother Swamy likes KFC and Baskin Robins and uses visiting Americans as an excuse (besides providing us relief from Indian diet daily) to get his fill of these treats.
October 9 Saturday, we three exchanged US currency for Indian Rupees, after which we did some shopping. Every moment abroad has to be choreographed to best use the time for whatever purposes are proposed so that all of the puzzle pieces fit together; that meant if any shopping were to occur, this was our best opportunity to do so. Therman looked for gifts for especially his grandchildren, children and Sadie. Bonnie October 6-8 The big day arrived! However, before making our way toward Memphis, TN from which we would depart, we had a morning appointment in Winona with our traveling companion abroad this time. Therman and Sadie Hodge arrived in time for us to transfer to his luggage the overflow of toothbrushes and toothpaste that would not meet weight requirements in our luggage. Afterward, they departed toward Memphis and we left for Collierville, TN and our daughter's home. There we left the car and were picked up by Don Robertson for our trip to the airport; brother Don took us to and picked us up from the airport a couple of months earlier when we had made a trip to Myanmar in the summer. However, before going to the airport, Don Robertson who sells phone systems for businesses and we met with some of his colleagues to discuss possibilities for improvement of the phone system at World Evangelism. Last time we conversed together, it was a conference call while Bonnie and I were sitting on a bench outside of the convention center in Sevierville, TN. Still, we have not been able to arrive at solutions for our unique situation in Winona, MS and World Evangelism, but we have identified some of the next steps in finding a satisfactory resolution. Finally, it was off to the airport where we met up again with brother Therman Hodge, and the saga began, again. At 6:40 p.m., we flew from Memphis to Salt Lake City, UT, a flight of nearly three and a half hours. A little over an hour after arriving there, we departed for San Francisco, CA, a flight of over two hours. Three hours after arriving in San Francisco, we flew from there toward Singapore, a flight of over 19.5 hours; we did, though, stop in Hong Kong long enough to exchange passengers and refuel the plane (and take on a new flight crew), but we stayed on the plane so we would not have to collect our carry-on baggage and undergo security checks to reboard the plane.
Forty-two hours after leaving Memphis, TN, we arrived in Bangalore, India, only stopping for required layovers between planes — ever pressing onward to literally the opposite side of the planet from Central Standard Time Zone Mississippi and Tennessee. That is approximately 12 time zones away from home, literally swapping our nights and days from what they are in America. Arriving in India, we found a proverbial fly in the ointment! No one was there to retrieve us from the airport! With my Blackberry cell phone, I called brother P.R. Swamy. After an exchange of phone calls between him, his son Douglas and myself, Therman, Bonnie and I hired a taxi?? to take us the 40 kilometers from the airport to Bangalore. Hiring the taxi was a trip in itself, given that we spoke none of the three local languages, and the taxi we ended up with was little bigger than an office desk. There we were with six bags of luggage, each pushing 50 pounds and six carry-on bags (including computers). I was uncertain whether a single strand of rope was satisfactory for securing our luggage on the roof, but we crammed into the car and off we went. Brother Swamy was not expecting us, though I had sent him our itinerary, and he lodged us temporarily for the night in the Corporate Stay hotel, which was a typical no-star, Indian hotel, but adequate. The confusion about our arrival arose over Swamy receiving in his hands from Douglas an undated email post from Betty Choate saying that we were "leaving tomorrow." Betty's post had inadvertently overruled my itinerary in the mind of the brethren. October 4-5 Still trying to get as much stateside office work accomplished as possible before we leave the country, of necessity, we needed to pack for our overseas journey as well. Packing for mission trips has two phases: (1) loading suitcases at the house with enough of the right kind of clothes (some culturally specific) to weather the heat and humidity of a month split evenly between India and Myanmar, and (2) loading suitcases at the warehouse/office with 100 pounds of books and other literature, as well as toothpaste and toothbrushes. International flights currently permit two checked bags per person, each weighing not more than 50 pounds (books add up quickly!). In addition, we are permitted one carry-on bag each weighing not more than 15 pounds, plus one laptop computer each. On one of our weekend preaching appointments I came across and purchased a handheld scale for weighing luggage, which we used and reused as we packed and shifted contents back and forth until we satisfied the weight requirements for individual bags. Packing for our trips is a little like working at a puzzle until one gets it right! October 3 Sunday morning, we headed out to the Charleston Church of Christ, an hour's drive north. I filled in for brother Robert Rawson who was away in a Gospel meeting. The brethren requested that I provide yet another update about our foreign mission work, and I acquainted them with our summer trip to Myanmar to teach English (and Bible) to Buddhists, Catholics and Baptists. For worship, I presented, "What Is Jesus' Plan for Me?" We were the beneficiaries of financial gifts for our mission work from the congregation and individual Christian families. As always, but not always the same family, we were taken to the best restaurant around those parts; to my delight, meatloaf was on the menu.October 1-2 After attending to more office work in the morning, Bonnie and I left Winona, MS for Hamilton, AL. Specifically, we went to Maywood Christian Camp, where with our daughter, Rebecca, we were to participate in the Collierville, TN Church of Christ's Family Harvest Weekend. Saturday morning, I spoke on my assigned topic to the adults: "What Is Jesus' Plan for Me?" Though I prepared this lesson for this occasion, I first presented it on our northward trip a week earlier to the Vermilion, OH Church of Christ's men's class on a Sunday morning; habitually, I try to use widely the studies and preparation I make, and also I use former studies as foundations for additional studies for lessons on future occasions. After a day's activities and fellowship with these dear brethren, and after supper, Bonnie and I headed back to Winona so we could be in place to meet our Lord's Day appointment in Charleston, MS. |