Day One - New Delhi

After a 14-hour flight from Newark and a hectic ride to our hotel, we were happy to start a new day with less fog in our brains as we venture out into the endless city known to locals as Nai Dilli, India. India, the land of the Vedas, and the ‘mother’ of nine prominent religions; perhaps no other country rivals the variegated expressions of her beliefs. We know that many Christians have preceded us to this mysterious land, and we pray that we will not be like other travelers, who John P. Jones characterizes as “amusing…they have rushed through India, published their misconceptions and ill-digested theories about the people with an oracular emphasis which is equaled only by their ignorance.”*

We—there are seven of us; our ‘guides’ are Rajan and his son Jijo; they work with the ministry of Dr. P.P. Job, the long-time Indian Christian minister, my wife Karen, Tom and Carol Hayes; we met Tom and Dr. Job at a Christian chamber of commerce event in Orlando, and their granddaughter Zoe—load up into a van and merge into a boisterous city that is as old as Damascus and Varanasi. Karen and I have come at Dr. Job’s request to speak at the commencement of his school and orphanage for women; we will also participate in a march for young women’s rights in India and speak about Christian leadership at a few venues. We hear (above the constant blaring horns that referee the melee known as ‘driving’ in New Delhi) that over the millennia, Delhi has been built and destroyed 11 times. It seems more built than destroyed these days, but there is plenty of both as we drive past remnants of the long British rule and even some ruins that date back to Anangpal, who may have created the first fort—‘Lal Kot.’ Our stop on these grounds is one of the day’s finest memories; we walk past the legendary tower named “Qutab Minar,” built across three generations and finally completed in 1220 AD.

The other memorable stop was at CBN India, where we arrive to hear a group of about nine praying and singing over the requests they had received over the phone that day. The staff repeat this practice of faith and hope three times a day, and we are privileged to join them as we each placed our palms on a sheet of paper that had about 25 separate requests from local viewers. Before we leave, the magnetic general manager “Priti” Chaudary walks us through the gleaming new studio, already dedicated and ready to open almost any day. We all pray once again for the on-air talent and production crew; may the Lord bless this mighty ministry that takes in some 7,000 monthly calls.

Our first day in New Delhi is noisy, historic, frenetic, exhausting, mysterious and pulsating with humanity. How early can we start in the morning?

*Jones, John Peter. India, Its Life and Thought, MacMillan, 1908.

One of New Delhi's auto rickshaws.

Qutab Minar