Shedding Some Light on Things…

This morning we have had the opportunity to join the EMI staff at Oaklands (the central working office for EMI here in Musoorie). The scene is almost surreal…unimaginable. I’m sure there is a level of instant nostalgia involved, as things encountered for the first time always seem to hive a brighter sheen and a warmer glow, but it must be said that the folks here have really established an amazing place to live and work. I feel like I’m getting ahead of myself though, so let me back up a bit.

For the past couple of days I have felt a strange sense of guilt and obligation since our post about our experience in Agra. I wish we could have had a chance to access the internet sooner, because our impressions of this place have been so radically altered in the past 48 hours! Previously, I had posted that there is a lot of darkness in India, and this is true. Now we have had a chance, however, to see India in a whole new light (literally). After our trip to Agra, we returned to Delhi and spent a few hours sleeping in our hotel before making our way to the train station once again for a 6 hour trip north to the town of Dehradun. The train ride that morning was interesting, as the topography of the landscape slowly changed from the sweltering plains of India to the hilly beginnings of the Himalayan foothills. The change was a slow one, but over the six hours we were on the train we were amazing to see the transformation of not only the land itself, but of our impressions of things. We suddenly found ourselves in a hilly region with large, well maintained farmlands and a clean tang in the air. The contrast was dramatic, and we all held a sense of hopeful expectation for what was to come next.

After we arrived in the Dehradun station, we met up with one of the folks from EMI who took us by car on an incredible 90 minute ride to our final destination, Musoorie. As much as I was at a loss for words over the darkness we saw in Agra, I am equally fumbling for description of the ride up to Musoorie. I will let the pictures we are posting do some of the talking, but suffice to say, there is something peaceful and transcendent about this place. The subcontinent of India collides with the main continent of Asia right here; the sweltering heat of the Indian plains colliding head on with the unimaginable heights of the Himalayan mountains. Suffice to say, the juxtaposition of the two locales is incredible; God’s creativity and limitless imagination is demonstrated so clearly in this it takes my breath away.

When we arrived at Oaklands two nights ago, the entire team felt as if we finally had found a place that could be “home” for a while. The compound is nestled high in the clouds on the side of what feels like a mountain, but what is in reality barely the beginnings of the tendrils of the Himalayan foothills. Musoorie rests at about 6000 feet above sea level, so the temperature is very similar to what we are accustomed to back home (though the humidity is dramatically different). The jungle clings to the sides of the mountain face at what seems to be impossible angles, monkeys jump through the trees, unseen and unnamed insects chirp and buzz in the thick canopy overhead, and in the midst of all of that the crazy switchback roads wind their way through the hills to the buildings that dot the landscape everywhere. Oaklands itself is tucked away high on one such hill, with a commanding view of the whole world, it seems. It was amazing for the team to walk into Oaklands and feel immediately welcomed, accepted, and loved by the people here. We shared a wonderful meal together, toured the complex, and then walked down to Tipperary, the compound where Ryan and a few of the other male members of the EMI staff live.
[Simeon Turner]