We arrived in Dharamshala late in the day, even after getting a fairly early start. Though Dharamshala is only about 100 miles straight shot, you don’t get strait shot roads in the Himalayas. So it took around 8 hours. We actually were staying in a mountainous section called Mcleod Gunj, and this is where the Dalai Lama lives. As such, the streets are full of red robed Buddhist monks and white hippies who idolize the Dalai Lama. (Joey actually waved at the Dalai Lama when he drove by, and the Dalai waved back. They made eye contact. A highlight of Joey’s life, I’m sure. just kidding – sorry joey.) We went to eat at Jimmy’s, which is actually a fairly common Tibetan name. We were planning to make arrangements to play there, and we met with the owner and he kind of reluctantly said we could play the next night. Meanwhile, Joey and Levi were there to meet with local church planters to help train them. While they were busy doing that, Sean and I made some flyers and got copies to promote the show. There are signs everywhere promoting various gurus, swamis, and sadus, so we just kind of went with that theme for our flyers since Sean looks so much like the guys in those signs. So the next night, we showed up to Jimmy’s to play. The owner approached us in a much different attitude, and let us know that he had done a google search of sean’s name and saw his American Idol audition on youtube. He told us he was very honored to have us, and told all his friends to come to the show. By the time the show started, the place was packed with a mix of Tibetans, Hippies, Indians, and even a Buddhist monk. The church planting trainees also attended, and it was probably a special thrill for them since they are all villagers and probably have never seen a live rock n’ roll show before – however scaled down it may have been on this occasion.
The next day we played at a YWAM coffee shop called Cafe Oasis. The space was smaller, and the crowd more sparse, but Sean brought it like always and we ended up really encouraging the guy who was running the joint at a time in his life when he really needed it. We enjoyed fellowship with him, and got to hang out with some British guys who were busy doing… whatever it is white people do in this part of the world. Questing for spiritual enlightenment, I suppose. Hopefully through the songs and conversation we were able to point those boys the right way.
We went and stayed the night in a nearby village with one of the believers Joey and Levi trained. His name is Madan, and he was really excited to have us. We were less excited by the lack of running water or a toilet of any kind – not even a hole in the ground. Sean actually got sick and spent most of the time with the runs. But it was a great time for us to encourage Madan, and he really unloaded on us about his burden for the lostness of his family – who we got to meet – and we were able to really exhort him in his task to establish churches in his village and those nearby.
We were almost deterred by Sean’s sickness, but decided to press on with our initial plans. It turned out to be a good decision.
Here’s a video of Sean playing at Jimmy’s, with Joey on the djembe:
We’ve spent the last couple days in Shimla with our friend Joey and his family. Its been great to spend time with them. Shimla is a town built vertically. It lays on the side of mountains, and the mountains are steep. The layout of the town is a series of switchback roads. Its been fairly hazy since we got here, and the weather couldn’t be more opposed to that in Delhi. Its been cool, and we have had to layer our clothes a bit.
Sunday night, Sean led worship at a house church gathering. We had a good meal (chicken and mashed potatoes) and Bible study. Our plans for a show in a coffee shop in Shimla fell through today, so we decided to just have Sean play outside. There is a ridge at the top of the town with a pavilion area. It also has a church, which was built in 1844 by the British (This whole town was originally laid out by the British). There has since been a temple built next to the church, along with a large statue of Ghandi. We didn’t get up there till late, and it had been raining off and on all day. The clouds were rolling over the mountains, and there was a haze at the top. As Sean was unloading his guitar, a Sikh man came and wanted to inquire about Sean’s beard. The Sikh’s grow their beards and hair out like Sean’s, but they tie theirs up in turbans. This man wanted to know why Sean had grown his hair out and what religious significance it had. Sean was able to share the gospel with that man as he listened attentively, which is surprising since the Sikh are known to be devoted Hindus. The man said Sean had “peaceful eyes” and knew it was because a Good Spirit rested on him. We likely won’t get to follow up with that guy, but hopefully seeds have been planted in him that will grow to bear fruit one day. As Sean began to play, a pretty large crowd developed. We were able to interact with some of the crowd, but as it got later some of the crowd got rowdy. The Punjab are a group known for their affinity for alcohol, and several Punjab had gathered. Some of the others in the crowd told us that we should probably leave, with one man even saying, ” you are too talented for these people. they don’t appreciate you.” As Sean packed his stuff and met with some people afterwards, a large group of the drunken Punjabs started screaming and chanting. We weren’t sure what they were riled up about, but we knew that it wouldn’t take much for things to turn ugly. So we headed on back to the house.
In the morning we (Sean, Jay, Joey, and guy from Mississippi named Levi) leave for Dharmsala. That’s the place were the Dalai Lama is exiled, and there are probably more Tibetans living there than Indians. We have some contacts up that way, and hopefully have a show arranged at a venue there tomorrow night. We’ll see what we can do about getting audience with the Dalai…
We ran into this guy yesterday, and he took us to Pizza Hut. It was Indian Pizza Hut, though, so probably not what you’re thinking. That guy’s name is Todd, and I talked to him on skype and realized he was staying in a hotel only a few blocks from ours. So we met up, and he used Lottie Moon money to cover our lunch only hours before he headed home. Todd – say hello to Arkansas for me. It’ll be a while before we see her again, so let her know we miss her.
Quick rundown:
– played a show at a YWAM coffee shop, got shut down by cranky neighbors. Made some great connections, though, and I think we were able to encourage the believers there.
– Delhi’s been having a record drought (temps touching 12o F!), but my left knee started getting tight and I predicted rain. Sure enough, the monsoons started this morning. Crazy how fast the roads turn into rivers. I looked out the window this morning a saw a cow knee deep in the middle of the street.
– Went to the slums today on the outskirts of Delhi. Had to turn down kids begging. Broke our heart. Met a pastor who leads the slum mission, as well as others. Turns out Saddleback Church pastors are in town doing a Purpose Driven Conference for local pastors. We were scheduled to have dinner with pastor Mark from Saddleback, but he backed out. The pastor we did meet with is the dad of the guy who started Wild Fire Tribe (he’s also apparently good buds with Rick Warren), and has his own group (which is the group that works in the slums) called the Cooperative Outreach of India. Check it out.
-We’re leaving Delhi in the morning – catching a train to Chandigarh, where we meet our good friend from college Joey. He’ll then drive us up to his hometown in Shimla. The weather is supposed to be considerably cooler there – only in the 90’s at worst. That’s what happens when you hit the Himalayas. Someone told us the girls are good lookin’ there too. Always a plus, though there may be cultural differences on what constitutes ‘good- lookin’. Either way – got some travelin’ to do tomorrow.
Here’s a scene we barely were able to catch on film.
enjoy.
We’ve arrived in India, and are staying for the next few days here at the Mandakini Grand in Delhi. As you might notice, its not really all that grand. But its got wifi, and they brought us coke so I can’t complain. Our flight arrived at midnight last night, and Vijay from the Wild Fire Tribe picked us up at the airport and brought us to the hotel. We’ll be working with members of Wild Fire Tribe while we’re in Delhi. This morning, Ajay picked us up and took us to run some errands (ATM, etc…) and thought we might need some acclimating to Indian cuisine so he started us slow at the Central Market MacDonalds. In case you forgot, cows are sacred so the McD’s was chicken only. Sean and I both had the Chicken Maharaja Mac combo meal. And since I know you were wondering, no – they don’t do free refills. So later, we got dropped off at a place called UEF, which stands for something but I’m not sure what. Something to do with colllege ministry, since that’s what it is – a basement center for college worship gatherings. Sean met some dudes to play with him, and after blowing a fuse trying to figure out the power conversion Sean spent the next couple hours teaching them some of his songs. I met a pastor named Rocky who spent a few years in Illinois but is now working at the UEF. Later, we went to a nearby coffee shop that’s frequented by local co-eds and Sean played a set with his new band – but not before they played a couple of originals of their own along with a cover of Chris Tomlin’s “Jesus, Messiah” (which I thought was a pretty bold move on their part, considering the gospel ain’t exactly popular around here). So anyway, afterwards we got a legit dose of Indian food. We were sweating the entire time. It was like eating in a sauna. The food burned our mouths, but it was so good we couldn’t stop. That’s the catch-22 of Indian food. So anyway – its past the 24 hour mark of our arrival, and Sean wants to list the things he’s learned about India in less than 24 hours:
1- The only prerequisite to riding in a car in India is having no fear of death.
2 – Even Indians like the blues.
3 – Eating here is a workout.
4 – The “after dinner mouth freshener” is really just a pack of nerds that taste like laundry detergent.
Here’s a video clip from the performance tonight… I can’t find a free video converter that won’t put a watermark on the video, so please ignore the “evaluation copy”… i’ll try to figure that out before the next upload. Let me introducet the New Delhi version of Sean’s band: Drums – Living Stone, Bass – Awar, Guitar – Poison, and Djembe – Ajay.
enjoy.
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