Tipperary

The walk to Tipperary from Oaklands takes about 5 minutes. The walk from Tipperary to Oaklands, however, takes more like 15 minutes. The reason for this is a simple one: Tipperary is nestled into the hill several hundred feet below Oaklands, and the roads between the two are divided between steep paved switchbacks and crazy jungle pathways covered with broken slate winding through the trees. These jungle paths wind up and down at dramatically steep angles and emerge onto yet more impossibly steep paved switchbacks. The walk UP to Oaklands is quite a workout; anyone looking for an excellent weight loss program would do well to consider simply moving to Mussoorie and joining Ryan in his daily commute to and from work! Several of the male staff members at EMI live at Tipperary, but everyone works at Oaklands, so Ryan gets to walk this crazy commute everyday (I have yet to talk to him about what that is like when there are several inches of snow on the ground).

Jared described Tipperary this way: “it’s like a bachelor pad, or a frat house, only tranquil and holy.” I think he summed it up nicely. There is something special, indeed, holy, about a place filled with men who love the Lord and are seeking to serve him. There is a peacefulness in the building that permeates everything. Sitting in the kitchen/dining area drinking chai and talking in quiet tones, I can’t help but believe that this is a place with which God is well pleased.
[Simeon Turner]