InQuiry : Discovery

Kovalum Beach & touring the inner-waterways of Kerala state

Meeting up with 2 sisters, learning the names of foods, and transportion in rural India

Upon arrival in Travandrum airport (newly built in last few years), we were greeted with confusion and loss of luggage due to an unclaimed battery charger in our checked luggage. Fortunately, the airport was relatively small and easily navigable. The airport workers were helpful but Indians love their paperwork...in fact the term Red Tape was defined here.. Within 24 hours, we had our bag back...sans charger as we had to give permission to remove it so it could be loaded on the next plane. This was one reason we elected to stay in the same hotel for the first two days or so after a flight...the other reason being careful of travel fatigue.

Luthergiri

A thriving Lutheran compound housing a school, church, and bungalows

Our parents, grandparents, and aunt & uncle along with many other "missionary families" spent quite a bit of time supporting Indians in their developmentof local Lutheran churches and schools. Their efforts can still be seen today. We visited the compound of Luthergiri in Kerala, South India and was warmly greeted by students and staff on the first day of January, 2025. For most of the seven of us, visiting Luthergiri compound (Church, Primary School, and Elder-care "bungalow") was the highlight of our visit to India.

As the senior staff showed us around the compound, we noticed the blessings that Our Lord has bestowed upon these people but also understood the common frustrations and limitations that exist still today. The most obvious was the lack of a dedicated playground for the children that existed only as an open-court sandy area. Hopefully, after the dedication of our former bungalow-turned-elderCare facility in late 2025, the congregation can turn to that project.

With only a few hours to visit Luthergiri, we took our leave as several other historical sites were on the agenda for thet day.

Family missionary Heritage

Luthergiri, IELC Seminary, and Kanyakumari (Southern-most point of India)

What is this?

This box is unusual in that it is a Time Capsule put in place in a concrete wall in our parent's old bungalow when it was built in the 1930's (or so.) The key has long been lost but this bungalow is being re-built and re-purposed to serve as a local Elder-care facility. Our parents would be overjoyed to see such a positive re-use of their old home.

Nagercoil

Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) Seminary.

Calvary Lutheran Church sits across a busy road from the Concordia Lutheran Seminary (CLS) in Nagercoil, India. CLS is the "heart" of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) as it is tasked with training the next generation of pastoral leaders for the many congregations that have grown there. Our Uncle Lu and Aunt Ginnie along with 4 children spent many years in Nagercoil so it was a pleasure to visit their old bungalow that is now used to house seminary students and their families.

Kovalam Beach