Going to Market in India
December 30, 2007 email #14
Because we are desperately trying to cut costs as much as possible, we are re-evaluating every area of the campus operations.  One prime area has been the PBI student kitchen.  When Loren had Q and A time with the students he found that we are feeding the students an excess of food. . .much more that they would ever get at home.  We don’t want to starve them, but also we don’t want to put them in a lifestyle they will not be able to maintain for themselves.  Our mission today was to see where the food was being purchased and if it was the best and cheapest.  They have been going to the same wholesale market for over 20 years and sometimes that is no longer the most economical.  Anyway, I said I wanted to go------BIG MISTAKE!!!!  I don’t know if I can even describe this place.  The market covers about 10 acres. It started in a huge building (Ashok’s father designed it) and now has expanded to all the surrounding area.  The hustle and bustle with cars, rickshaws, motorcycles, bicycles, carts and PEOPLE carrying loads that are unbelievable, the men on their backs and the women on their heads.  They have a rhythm and I soon learned that the TSK, TSK sound meant, “Get out of my way I am coming through!” Literally I would have been run over if Loren hadn’t saved me a couple of times.  I was trying to take some video and if it wasn’t a cow, it was a person who didn’t care if I was in the way they WERE coming through.  I can’t even begin to portray the scene.  The soggy ground is mud, old gunny sacks, rotten vegetables, cow you know what and who knows what else???? Loren, said, “If it is not squishing between your toes, don’t worry about it.” UGG!!!  I asked the House Father who does the buying what it was like in the monsoon season.  He said,
“I simply adjust, and wear hip boots.” No kidding!!! The noise level was so loud that we could not even talk to each other.  It is a mass of people on a mission with baskets full of vegetables or sacks on their backs with a 100 lbs of potatoes or onions or vendors vying for your attention. . .especially mine, to get their PHOTO taken.
The flies were so thick that it changed the color of some of the fruits and vegetables.  The heat was oppressive, and one vendor told me I looked like one of his tomatoes----red faced.  Needless to say, I completely disinfected my shoes and feet when we returned to our room.  We still have a couple of markets to go assess.  Do I NEED to go???  They assured me that the others are cleaner and nicer.  What God has called some of these staff people to do, we have no idea how hard it is on them.  We pray that we can make it better and more efficient.

My tooth decided to break off some more, so I could no longer delay going to a dentist.  I know some the brightest and most clever minds are in India and I have no qualms with the doctor’s abilities---it is the cleanliness of the facilities that bother me. We called Ashok and he arranged for an appointment with his personal dentist.  When we got out of the car he said, “The way is not good”. (Understatement of the year.) The smell almost made me gag, but when we finally got up two flights of stairs and to the office it was beautifully appointed and CLEAN. 
The doctor asked me to take off my shoes, and for those of you who know me; this is more than hard for me.  But, would I want what those shoes had just gone through to be on my office floor? I don’t think so.  This doctor was very impressed with my teeth and he did an absolutely perfect job of filling/capping my tooth. The color is so good it is impossible to tell it has been fixed.  Best of all, there was no charge!  God has such a way of humbling us and He also just saved us several hundred dollars.  PTL

Loren is on a mission to clean out all the old storage and get rid of junk.  We have actually made some rupees by selling the tree stumps, old iron/metal and old newspapers.  He loves being out on the tractor and working with the staff.

Sorry, I can’t answer each one of you individually, but we love hearing from each one of you.  Today, we will probably see the “berry-picking” kids again.  Pray for our witness.

http://www.prakash4india.org
Sylvia H. Eckhardt
Prakash for India