Gujurati Express

So wow. I think today I will start my story from the end.

We began this journey with the desire to travel the roads my great-grandfather did as a missionary for the Church of the Brethren, from 1906 to 1925. We have his old diary, some letters, my grandfather's recollections of his years in India, and a book on the 51 years the Church of the Brethren had a mission here. Though we came with hopes, the most we felt we could truly hope for was to see approximate locations of their bungalow and  mission area.

We got off the train, and it was immediately apparent that this is not a tourist area. We stand out here. A lot. Our driver picked us up, and we started to ty to explain for what it was we were looking. He drove us through Valsad,  looking at the older areas of town, which have mostly been razed and rebuilt in the 100+ years since E.H. and Emma Eby were here. Dad has a picture of he bungalow in which they lived, but this is like finding a needle in a haystack. We searched around a bit, and then saw some of the local sights. We were just about to leave Valsad, when my brother pointed out a Church of the Brethren church. 

Church of the Brethren, Valsad, Gujurat, India

Bungalows like the one my great-grandparents
and grandfather lived in.

We stopped to take pictures. Dad noticed some bungalows that were next to the church, so we went to look at those. They were all about the right era, the right style, and matched each other - looking much like a compound for missionaries. While we were taking more pictures, our driver came over and said the church was being opened for us. We went in, accompanied by the pastor and several others who were involved in the church operations. It was founded in 1908 by Wilber Stover, who was the founder of the Church of the Brethren mission in India. It is very likely that my great-grandfather was in that building at some point, perhaps for a few years as one of the church's missionaries.  The men at the church did not recognize their names, but they recognized that they had been part of this church.

Rear view of the church

Inside the Church of the Brethren, Valsad.

Then as we were preparing to leave, someone mentioned Wilber Stover's bungalow, which is still standing, across the street. We went over and saw his bungalow,  the great banyan tree he planted in the yard, and the ancient baptistry that could have been where my grandfather and his two brothers were baptized.

Baptistry, likely where my grandfather
and his brothers were baptized

Banyan Tree in the yard of Wilber Stover's bungalow.

My dad is elated. None of us expected to be able to find anything, and we were prepared to walk away having seen only the area. And we now have some new friends in India. 

As for this southern part of Gujurat, we have seen so much poverty today it breaks your heart. Mile upon mile of slum cities line the railway and pepper themselves through the towns. They are interspersed with a landscape of cultivation - fields of castor beans, sugar cane, cotton, corn, and banana trees spread out before us as the miles flew by. Rivers and streams flow toward the sea, carrying human detritus with them.

In Gujurat, we are noticing that there is a lot less English spoken and written than in the other places we've been. At lunch, the waiter had to call over the one English-speaker to help take our order.

Our driver took us to a beach on the Arabian Sea. It had fine black sand and the biggest difference I've ever seen between high and low tides. There were camels and horses on the beach, ready to give rides.

We also visited two Hindu temples, one for Swaminaranya and one for Sai Baba, who our driver said is his guru.

We ended our day at McDonald's, the first we've seen in India. It was good to get the Teenlet some food he would eat that was not spicy, though about half the menu was spicy.

Tomorrow we go back to Ahmedabad for one final night in India. This has been an amazing trip, but I am anxious to get home.