Being in Southern India has been a pleasant change. The weather is hot, there are palm trees everywhere, we can actually see the countryside, the people are friendly and we eat with our hands off of banana leaves. The past week has been very eventful. In the city of Guruvayoor, we saw a Theyyam, which is a Hindu religious festival At this particular Theyyam, a man jumped into a pile of burning coals face first over 100 times. I think he wanted to quit sooner. But the people in the crowd kept cheering him on.

Later in the week, we went to our home stays in Mala. The Kandam Kaluthy household was very energetic. The house was owned by the grandfather and was shared with his son and his wife and kids. Three or four aunts and uncles were also staying at the house during our stay, in order to help our and make our stay more enjoyable. One of the little kids, Paul, was a lot of fun to play with. He would often take Bryce’s camera and take over 70 pictures in a 20 minute period.

During the days we worked in the rice fields and in the evenings we either went to a cultural show put on by the community or we played soccer against the local team.

On our last morning, a few of us got up at 6:30 to go to church with the family. Even though the entire service was in Malayalam, it was a great opportunity to see a group of people who live on the other side of the world worshipping God in their own way.

-Jeff Swartzendruber

We awoke on Sunday morning at 2 a.m. to prepare for our early morning flight from New Delhi to the city of Kanur in Southern India. We made our refuge at a local resort style hotel. Unfortunately for me, I became sick on Monday and for half the day I remained at the hotel. My peers on the other hand went to an early morning theyyam (Hindu festival). That afternoon, however, I finally felt better, which let me go with the group to the beach.

On Tuesday, we visited St. Angelo’s Fort, built by the Portuguese. The weather there seemed at the time to be the hottest and the most humid that I have ever felt. This much heat on a January morning made me wonder how soldiers could have survived here in the summer months. We also visited a weaving factory where the workers make clothing and other goods in a pre-Industrial Revolution fashion.

Wednesday, we got on the road again to head for the city of Guruvayoor, after seeing master workers make pottery. The following day, we visited the world’s largest Krishna temple, also located in Guruvayoor. Then we headed to a small village for our home stay and worked in the rice paddy fields. No longer were we just tourists, but we were farmers planting rice in a traditional manner. We used water shovels, water wheels, water buffalo and hoes to plant our field. As a result we got cuts, blisters and sunburns. But at the end, we planted a rice field! I should also say that I have never spent so much quality time in a watery mud pit-not even my nights of frog hunting come close!

Our host and hostess were amazing while we were farming. They provided us with entertainment, including performances of Keralan dances and songs. We presented Mennonite hymns as a form of cross-cultural exchange.

-Jonathan Lamb