Leslene in India

(Leslene pictured with Mr Sugamani, a visitor to the Guest House. Leslene was a participant in the Short Term Exposure Trip (STET) to India in late 2006).

'We had one funny (sort of) experience while we were in Chennai. Sandy and I had to meet other members of the group who had gone up country and were returning by train, supposedly at 5.30am. So we were up at 4.30, and made a mad dash to the station to meet the train. It got in at 20 to 8! As we all had mobiles, there were several frustrated calls from the group along the lines “we are stopped; we don’t know why;” then another call “We have started again; here we come.” Then later “We’ve stopped again.” And so on. After a full night on the train, the poor things were exhausted by the time they did arrive. But I must admit waiting at the station was fascinating, watching trains come and go, porters rushing around, and an entire microcosm of Indian life unwinding. Old station, very “British Raj-ish” with arrivals and departures in both English and Tamil, which could make for tricky reading.
I did have one very interesting experience during a church service in Tamil at one of Chennai’s suburban churches. The only place for me to sit was in a small group of pews in the very front of the church reserved for the local poor. Yes, all the 'yuppies' sit in the body of the church while the lower castes sit in this front section. So there am I, quite happy, along with these old ladies who I think must all have been born during the latter days of the British Raj. You could see from their faces the hard lives they had all had. Somehow, and I can’t say why to this day, it made the service very special for me. Perhaps because for just a short time I shared their lives. I felt part of this little group. Sandy, from People in Mission in Adelaide, is a minister, and I managed to get to her side of the altar to receive communion from her. That also made the service special for me.
For more information about People in Mission and STET opportunities, contact Kathy Periera, People in Mission Coordinator, kathyp@nat.uca.org.au, 02 8267 4230