Wellington

Auckland

Pakistan

Landour

Lahore

Calcutta

Canada, Kabul

But first to getting from Kabul to Lahore. This was another form of adventure. I obtained the use of an International Travel all which was fitted up with a roof rack and into this vehicle all the belongings that we were transporting were packed. So we set out. Being like an international traveler we were able to circumvent most of the Customs and other problems to arrive in Delhi then to drive it back empty to Kabul again. In this I was assisted by an MCC fellow from the USA. Daryl Irwin. He enjoyed the adventure linked in with the venture.

In Delhi we found temporary quarters with some old missionary friends who were on leave. We lived in their house in Darya Ganj and then from there moved out to a house in Old Delhi to stay for the next couple of years. Delhi occupations were varied.

Mission Administration

The organizational and administrative qualities shown in Kabul lay rather dormant. Somewhat frustrating as there were gaps in the BMMF administration I could have filled but for various reasons my contribution was not wanted. I did some research related consulting type assignments but was kept out of the workings of the hierarchy. One opportunity came in 1972 due to the crisis in Bangladesh. I was dispatched over there to help out a foundering situation caused by the medical leave of Dr Goold. I went to Dacca for 6 week intervals returning to Delhi and then going back over a period of 6 months I was then offered the opportunity to go permanently to Bangladesh. Bengalis had never been my great love experience in Calcutta showing that they were difficult people to work with. This was not changed even by the possibilities of Bangladesh so I turned this down. For Gladys as well Bangladesh would have been another Kabul.

Administratively this was another Kabul type situation relating largely to the expat misho community. Frustrating because there were no clear guidelines on how much money could be spent or allocated. I was continually on the end of a shoe string. In the end I turned this over to Sandy Anderson who came out to look after the group of nurses. Eventually Hester Quirk was dispatched to bring to an end her time in Asia. The situation was never very tidy as that country is geared that way. To be easily successful you need access to large resources of largess type funds to meet all kinds of recurring emergencies. Interserve is poorly endowed this way so a source of continual tension for those in charge.

The end of this tunnel came when there was need to do more in the Gulf with Vivienne Stacey, particularly pushing for more BMMF involvement with the Indo- Pak diaspora moving over there. An opening was found in Tehran with the Bible Society to assist giving scope for a move in 1977 to that location Bible Teaching Early activity centred around Bible Bhavan. We attended in a dilatory fashion the meetings there no so much out of strong conviction but for lack of a viable alternative. In Old Delhi we had gone to St James at intervals but this was not really satisfactory dominated as it was by high church influences from the Cambridge Brotherhood nearby. Delhi Bible Fellowship where many of the ex pat evangelicals attended was very American and so not very culturally compatible.

I did some formal bible teaching in the Bible School linked in with the ministries of Bible Bhavan. The students were the real drop out type with very limited English coming the majority of them as a last resort and attempt by themselves and their parents to find a slot. The teaching was very low level elementary materials which filled blocks of time but did little to add much sense of purpose or satisfaction.

One spin off was to begin a Bachelor of Divinity course with Serampore. There was no real tuition offered just enrolment and then external examinations. Rudimentary but it did provide the opportunity to gain a basic theological foundation. I persevered with this over the period from 1875-1978 finally completing the examinations amid the tensions of the Iranian revolution in mid 1978. Tuition was found from a variety of sources from Wolsely Hall correspondence in UK to Fuller anthropology related materials. In time this then spun off into more interest in Fuller courses which were pursued over the period from 1977-1983.

The other breakthrough in this area came from leaving Bible Bhavan and moving across to the other Brethren related group in the Bakht Singh Assemblies. This become more possible when the children went up to Woodstock so not the same pressure for Sunday School or the need to take them to Church.

The Bakht Singh style routines were inimical to younger children the meetings being long up to 3 hours and in cramped difficult conditions. Gladys also gained little satisfaction from this exercise but did go along and do a kind of penance. Their unwillingness to allow her much expression of the kind she could offer in ministry and leading in prayer meant she made very little contribution.

My inputs were available on Sundays but the best results came from taking a series of weeknight Bible studies. This link with the old days of going out with the Brothers in Lahore continued on in the Gulf days when I shared in a similar manner in Bahrain at late night meetings where the challenge for many was to stay awake in the cramped close conditions. The event more than the message was important for those who attended.

Various

A number of other attempts were made over this period. I participated in some BMMF ventures with Ray Windsor; evaluations and finally an attempt to begin a Video ministry called ECCE which finally did not take off. It took a course in Toronto 1974 which made me realize this is not my media. I sought some involvement in ELFI but this too did not come to very much as ELFI was a foreign implant with little Indian roots or substance.

Another venture was to seek to work up the B Sc (Econ) obtained in the period 1971-1975 to gain entrance into a M Phil or Ph D program in an Indian university. The challenges of equivalence were very much present making it difficult to gain acceptance and in the end this was a failure.

Family Affairs

Although somewhat frustrating vocationally for me this proved to be one of the best family times. The children were happy first at the British School in Delhi going each day crammed into a taxi along with the Basil and Shirley Scott's as well as the Stone children over to New Delhi then returning around 13.00 to the swimming pool at Maidens Hotel which compensated for the hot summer days of Delhi.

Later on they were to go to Woodstock School again a very happy and positive experience for them. Some significant holidays lay within this period. I was not very comfortable in Landour it being such a missionary ghetto. Gladys handled it better finding many people to talk with and share. One summer we went on trip through the lesser Himalaya taking the train to Barrielly and then going up through Almorah and on to Ranikhet and Nainithal staying in little dingy hotels along the way traveling by bus between the locations.

Another opportunity came in 1972 when I was active in Bangladesh. A somewhat hair brain scheme to utilize a Land Rover given by Tear Fund saw us on the way to Tansen and Kathmandu. In the end it all fell through but made for an interesting family holiday in Nepal; Christmas in Kathmandu then a journey back through Banaras, Agra - the Taj by moonlight! And other such.

An extension of term to stay on in Delhi for another two years (welcomed by me as Canada and deputation had little interest) gave an opening to make another trip back to Kabul. I insisted that as the children were not getting a leave that we should have an extended holiday. This opened up an opportunity to go to Iran and visit around interesting places. Gladys had little interest in such escapades so stayed on in Kabul visiting with different people there. I took off with the three of them in the bus for Heart, Meshed, Tehran Persepolis and Shiraz. A great 3 week tour full of interest with a familiarity which was congenial. The same old dingy hotels and dynamics. This proved to be a forerunner for the next major venture which was the overland journey of 1974.

Medical Challenges

Delhi wound out with a major medical problem for Gladys. In Kabul they had found cysts in her womb which in time led to uncomfortable discharges. Finally the answer was sought in a hysterectomy operation which took place in Ludhiana in 1974. The doctors recommended rest for 6 weeks. Three weeks of this was in Ludhiana and another three in Delhi. As we were about to go home that year Gladys decided to go on and stay quietly in Canada until the return of the children following their completion of the Woodstock year in December. Gladys, however, once she cleared India forgot about all the precautions and spent her time visiting around and doing her own thing much as usual. When we arrived in Toronto after the overland tour she was hale and hearty waiting in the airport.

Overland Tour

I had decided that as there were all these world travelers and hippies around spending time in aimless activities that I did not want my children involved in such . So decided that we would together make our own overland tour. If following this the itch still remained then later on they could do it again on their own.

Along these lines we had been to Kathmandu and around the hash shops that dominated certain parts of that city. Observed the derelicts who frequented them and so seen something of the current drug scene. In Banaras going around the Ghats and Temples another insight into the world of Hinduism as it was in the raw. Near us in Delhi were Tibetan Buddhist shrines so they were exposed to all this Eastern mysticism and could gain some evaluation of it. The overland journey formed part of this scenario.

Gladys was not interested in this kind of tourism nor was physically up to taking it on. If she has really wanted to do it this in turn would not have proved a great obstacle.

The tour began by coming down from Mussoorie and boarding the train for Amritsar, the coach being detached from the Delhi bound train and then left in Hardwar. To await the incoming Howrah train arriving up from Calcutta. At about 03.00 there was much noise and coupling up when we were then bound for Amritsar on the main line through Saharanpur. In Amritsar station we went to the restaurant to have breakfast. The toast made over charcoal still has about it a taste and aroma to this day. Across the border to Lahore that time honored journey full of taxis, coolies and the like. At Lahore staying in the Railway Station hotels then up to Peshawar and through to Kabul - old familiar territory.

By this time considerable turmoil in Kabul as the Church building having been declared an illegal structure due to irregularities in the building permit was dismantled and pulled down. Christy Wilson, Howard Harper and Gene Glassman had their visas cancelled by the Afghan government for undisclosed reasons.

On to Herat and a memorable border crossing as the mini bus was a mix of Hippie type travelers and Afghans. The Hippies insisted on lighting up and blowing their hash smoke through the bus. The Afghans responded by opening all the windows to blow it out again.

Later on this became a major incident as in the bus for Tehran these same fellows lit up only to find the bus promptly stopped and themselves ordered off unless they threw the hashish. The reason being the driver and the conductor if found by the police could be jailed for carrying Hash. Iran proved to be a very different society to Afghanistan.

Tehran leaves little impression only that we took the TBT through bus to Europe getting off in Erzurum in Turkey.

Turkey was a new experience. The food great. The kebab shops did a roaring trade with their competent waiters who could cut the bread (ekmek) with great speed and dispatch it into waiting drawers.

The train took us through to Istanbul a long slow ride on a meter gauge line. In Istanbul we found the train that went through to Greece in the middle of the night. This all went by without incident until we reached the Greek immigration. The officer there objected to the fact that there were no passport photos of the children. In pursuit of ease and economy I had us all on one passport. But only my photo graced it.

In the end they refused to let us board the train going on into Greece saying we must return and bring valid visas which showed all the children. It was warm enough on the platform but quite a quandry. We all sat down and prayed for a way out of the dilemma. Finally I was able to locate Youth Hostel cards which had photos ages etc. Finally on the basis of these the Immigration Officer accepted that there were the children. The next through train was not until the evening but by then we were on our way to Athens.

I had made a budget of $10 for accommodation and $10 for food. The food was not too much of a challenge but accommodation proved more demanding. I had canvassed the Lonely Planet style guide books and with their help was able to find cheaper places in Greece and Italy. The cost of travel and food in Switzerland, German and most of Scandinavia was beyond my budget so we took the train straight through to Stockholm and there linked up with a Swedish missionary friends of Gladys.

Lilly arranged for us to stay in a Swedish farm house near her home in Ostersund. From there we went to a Christian camping centre and then through to Trondhiem in Norway boarding the train at a whistle stop. In Trondhiem we boarded a cruise ship going around Norwegian Fiords and then crossing to Newcastle in England.

In London we holed up in the Interserve accommodation. Holed up is the word for I could hardly get the three of them out of the room. They were traveled up in the fullest sense of the word. They badly needed some decent clothes to arrive in Canada but how to get them out to buy them was the challenge. I was also keen to see a few of the sights of London but found the youngsters lacking interest and incentive. The many visits to museums in Rome, Florence and Greece had filled them up with sights and sounds. The TV a very passive for of entertainment was much more interesting and fascinating.

The other event of those days was the impeachment of Richard Nixon in the US. I was too tired to stay up to see Nixon in the grey hours of the morning but the children, They were rewarded in seeing that historic happening when Nixon resigned and admitted his error.

A visit was also made to Nth Ireland in this period. Not too much memory of that happening Streetsville 1974-1975 Flew on Dan Air to Toronto their half ticket being cheaper than a full economy fare! On the flight they offered Duty Free watches. My own watch had given up and the children said buy it! I put my hand in my pocket and out came 5 pounds which must have been slipped in there by Uncle Willie Barr, a typical PB thing to do. Something he had never done before. It was enough along with some other cash to buy the watch which remains with me to this day.

BMMF found us a place to stay in Streetsville. This was the home of the Goheens who had gone to Florida for studies. The plan was to give the children a complete year in a Canadian school as a preparation for return following their Grade 12 in Woodstock. Overall it was a success. Verona and Yvonne integrated more than Alister. Alister came straight back from school and holed up in a small upstairs room where there was a TV set to which he remained glued. It was an old model bought for $50 at the Salvation Army. Toward the end he did find a friend in Bruce Toombs but outside of this his isolation caused concern.

In order to balance the budget and pay the rent we took in as a boarder, Doug Rhude, a OBC graduate who was finding his way back into the market place again. He taught at a Christian school nearby. Much more Canadian than we were Doug was heavy into hockey and sports going off most weekends. A pleasant chap he added to the household. Sadly later on in life he made a marriage when ended in divorce and then from there he drifted away spiritually.

I was studying for the B Sc (Econ) and found help in the U of T college at Erindale,. A friend Prof Gregory was not much use for the normal students but through him I gained a lot of tutorial help by preparing questions then going once a week to have them reviewed. Later on I sat the balance of the examination under the direction of the U of T.

We attended Kenmuir but were not given much of a formal reception. I was never asked to give any real report or take any significant part. There were a lot of internal politics going on at that time. I was to do much better in 1978 on return from Iran when other opportunities opened up at Men's Breakfast and the like to talk about Iran and the political situation there this being of great interest to men particularly.

Delhi 1975-1977

Returning to Delhi was problematic. Like the return to Lahore in 1962 it was more a return to what was known than any clear plan. I purposed though to align myself not with Bible Bhavan which was a dead end but rather with the Bakht Singh group. This strategy worked well for the period as far as Bible teaching went. We found a place to stay behind South Extension. Rents were always a challenge and this place was reasonable. On leaving we turned it over to David and Ruth Thorne who lived there for sometime then moved on to Kailash.

I had hoped that Gladys might develop more ministry of her own and to this end purchased two small mopeds rather than one large scooter. Attempts to teach Gladys to drive failed which rather ambushed the plan as I would have been better with one sizable scooter rather than these two questionable mopeds. This was the period referred to earlier when I looked into the study program. It was all quite problematic without too much sense of real satisfaction in work activities. A good time for the children though who were enjoying Woodstock and all the life that went on up there. The Gulf activities built up over this period and in time a slot opened to go to Tehran and work there with the Bible Society as well as develop interests and activity in the Gulf region.