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| Lund family travels to India |
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By: Norma Dittman, staff writer |
January 14, 2004 |
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The Lund family, back left, Bryan, Daniel, Jasmine, David, Linda and Michael pose for a picture with Pastor Marah?s family. 
Linda befriends a baby elephant. 
Bryan receives a traditional Garo vest from members of the Tura baptist church. 
The Lund family tours an Animal Reserve by elephant. 
Lunds during the safari 
A store in India | During the month of December, the Bryan and Linda Lund family traveled to Garo Hills, Tura, India. |
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During the month of December, the Bryan and Linda Lund family traveled to Garo Hills, Tura, India. Garo Hills is Linda's birthplace as Linda's mom and dad served as missionaries in Garo Hills for 23 years. "Three of the four of us kids were born there," Linda stated. "When they decided to return home, the last big project dad did was to complete the building of the new church. We left Garo Hills in 1969." Six years ago, Linda and Bryan traveled with Linda's sister, her brother and family, and her parents to Garo Hills. Bryan fell in love with the people of Garo Hills on that trip. "You're instantly family. You walk in and you're part of their family," Bryan stated. At that time, the people of the Tura Baptist Church invited the Lunds to return in December of 2003 for the church's Quasquicentenary Jubilee. For six years, the Lund family saved funds to keep their promise to return to Tura for the 125th year church celebration. Thirty-eight committees in all planned and executed this magnificent celebration. Hospitality was a large part of the church's planning. For example, for the Lunds' arrival, members of the travel committee met their family at a point in India which was four hours from Garo Hills. The three-day celebration began on December 12. Six services were held during the celebration with two services per day. Approximately 20,000 people were in attendance at the closing worship service. "In India, 3% of the population is Christian. It is kind of like a cluster of grapes in the way that India is shaped and there is a little pocket up in northeast India, which is where we were, that is Christian. There is also a little pocket down in south India that is mostly Christian, but aside from that, the whole rest of the country is Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist." The Lunds find that Christian areas of India are more practical and that the cleanliness of those areas are also greatly improved compared to the non-Christian areas. The Garo tribe, at one time, were head-hunters, but are now one of the most educated tribes in India. This tribe attributes their survival and education to the missionaries who have served in that area of India. For the Lund children, Jasmine, Michael, Daniel and David, their favorite part of India was the people. They found that the people of India were very open, friendly, honest and loving. As a gift to them, the Tura baptist Church members had traditional Garo vests made for Bryan and Linda. "Without me knowing it, measurements were taken of me on Thursday evening, and the vests were presented to us on Saturday morning before services. Linda received one, too," Bryan proudly stated. The entire Lund family were honored guests at the celebration and for every service were seated on the stage directly in front of the choir. The members of the church felt greatly honored that Bryan and Linda had kept their promise and had returned to Garo with their family to help celebrate the church's 125th anniversary. At the closing celebration service, the Lunds' were also presented with a very special compact disc. On the disc is the very last service that Linda's father, Rev. James Moody Wood, held at the church. "It's a keepsake we didn't even know existed," Linda stated. After having been a part of the three-day Quasquicentenary Jubilee, the Lund family traveled to south India where they visited an Animal Reserve. One of the amazing sights that they saw were bamboo groves. The bamboo can grow more than thirty feet tall, and is used for several different purposes, but one major purpose is for paper. The paper is a very good quality paper and feels somewhat like the very thin, delicate paper from years gone by. The Lunds also had an opportunity to take elephant rides through the reserve. A guide, bearing a gun, went with them. Taking part in a jeep safari at the Animal Reserve, the Lunds saw a rare breed of deer, wild elephants, and a tiger as well as a lot of rhinos. They were told that it is a very rare opportunity when one gets to view the deer and a tiger all on the same day. After visiting the animal reserve, the Lunds traveled to Kodia, India, to visit the Kodia International School where Linda had attended boarding school, more than 1,500 miles from Garo Hills. Leaving Kodia, the Lunds traveled to Delhi, where their airplane was delayed for two hours causing the Lunds to miss their return flight. But, upon arrival in Bangkok, airport officials sought the Lund party out by stationing an airport employee at the top of a flight of stairs with a sign signaling them. When they greeted this woman, they were informed that their airplane was just leaving and that the Bangkok airport would be establishing them at the Airport Hotel for the night because there would be no flight for them until the following day. The Lunds spent Christmas Eve night at the Airport Hotel where they were provided a huge buffet, which included a table ladened with horsd?oeuvres, salads, and main dishes; one table with just local fruits; and another table with just desserts. ?Included in the displays in the hotel dining room were several ice sculptures where the table and the entire decorations were made from ice," Linda stated. The Lunds left Bangkok at 2 a.m. on Christmas morning and arrived in the Twin Cities at 2 p.m. Christmas afternoon. "Our Christmas Day was 37 hours long," Bryan grinned. "If you're going to spend a long day, Christmas is a good day to do it," Linda laughed. Their trip was a very exciting, once-in-a-lifetime trip...and they only lost one suitcase during the whole trip. Linda stated that, "The spiritual experience was overwhelming and it was so awesome that God had provided us the opportunity to be a part of the churches celebration. We had a good time and it was a fun family time." When Bryan and Linda were asked if any plans were being made for a return trip to Garo Hills, Bryan's quick response was, "In about six years!" |
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