There is an India saying we learned while on our trip. If someone travels a long way to see you, it is described as traveling across seven seas and thirteen rivers. I believe our group did just that to get to India, or at least we felt that way by the time we arrived in our companion synod on Thursday, November 16. After our long journey across the ocean and though part of India, it was wonderful to be greeted by Moderator Borgoary and many people from the NELC. A group of people from the NELC met our bus outside the NELC mission compound and helped us off the bus and then sang and danced with us while they escorted us into the compound. This was the first of many beautiful welcomes we received throughout our trip.

The first portion of our trip was to share in the official celebrations of the NELC's 50th Anniversary as an indigenous church, the 25th Anniversary of their first bishop (or moderator), the 2000th Anniversary of Jesus' birth and the 50th Anniversary of one of their hospitals.

The first few days were spent attending the Anniversary Celebrations at a sports stadium near the NELC mission compound in Dumka. In addition to our group from the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin, there were people representing church partnerships from the Scandinavian countries and other partnerships in the United States. The celebration was open to the public and attracted Christians and non-Christians from Dumka and surrounding areas. Close to 10,000 people attended the four days of Anniversary Celebrations.

One of the highlights of these Anniversary Celebrations was a walk through downtown Dumka. On Saturday afternoon over 3,500 participants in the Anniversary Celebrations walked through most of the downtown area of Dumka singing Christian songs. The parade of people stretched as far as you could see. We must have held up traffic for most of the afternoon. The people in Dumka watched this procession with curiosity.

After the procession, we returned to the sports stadium and the whole group went to worship and Holy Communion. Moderator Borgoary told me afterwards that it was very important for the NELC to have this procession through town so the people in Dumka could see the Christians and know they are a strong group.

After participating in the Anniversary Celebrations for the church and the hospital, our group began our journey to Assam to visit another area of the NELC. We flew into Gauhati and were met at the airport by Benzjlazgra Moshahary (Bennie) who was to be our host, guide and friend during our stay in Assam. From the airport we began a long bus ride to Parkijuli, the village in northeast Assam where Bennie lives. Parkijuli is just a few kilometers from the Bhutan border and just below the foothills of the Himalayas.

The bus ride was long and interesting. Bennie had hoped we would make it to Parkijuli before dark. It is safer to travel in Assam during the daylight hours. Because of delays in Gauhati, the last hour and a half of our trip was made in the darkness. That night we did not get to see the beautiful countryside as we approached the foothills of the Himalayas, but we did have the experience of seeing many military personnel stationed along the route. One time our bus was stopped and all of the men had to get out to be frisked for possible weapons. (Apparently in India it is not considered likely that women would mount an armed resistance. This was one time I was really not interested in pressing the sexism issue!)

Finally we arrived in Parkijuli and what a reception we received. The women had been cooking most of the day for us and had prepared a wonderful feast. Bennie's father gave a beautiful talk for us telling us that we were part of their family. Then we shared in the special meal the women had prepared which was to honor their successful rice harvest. This was most appropriate for our group, as this was Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

For the next few days we traveled around Assam with Bennie. He took us to visit a hospital, mission sites, schools, guest hostels and many churches of the NELC. We visited rice farms and saw men and women working in the fields. We visited villages and saw places where rice was milled. We visited homes where families lived and saw women weaving cloth to make clothes or cooking food for meals.

Everywhere we went the people were extravagant in their welcome of our group. We were given traditional tribal clothes, served wonderful meals, experienced beautiful songs and dances performed by our hosts, and shared in wonderful worship.

One of the highlights of our stay in India was getting to see Lutheran World Relief quilts in use. At one of the communities we visited we stayed in homes of people. On each of our beds there was a Lutheran World Relief quilt. These quilts not only warmed our brothers and sisters in India, but they also warmed members of our group while we were traveling. It was such a welcoming feeling to see these quilts. They reminded us of our churches and families back home and helped us remember that we are truly connected to people throughout the world.