Bethania: An Introduction

Made it in to Chennai (just barely... cheepie Indian airlines are a nightmare) and met up with my father! He had us checked into the Hotel Residency: a three-starish, $50 a night affair which, compared to where I've been sleeping, comes off as the Four Seasons-meets-The Belagio-meets-Heaven. That first hot shower in three weeks sure had me enraptured!

So traveling with Dad is going to be a tad less punk rock, but it's not for want of India experience. Rather, my father grew up in this country, the son of Lutheran missionaries who came to the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu in 1957. By the time he had graduated from Kodaikanal International School eight years later, most of the grungy backpacking experiences I've been relating to y'all were already under the old man's belt. So now when Gene Hennig comes to India, he can leave the $6 Goan beach bungalows to me. Besides, he's got more important business here...

My family's connection to India these days -- and a major reason for my making THIS trip -- is something special we helped start nearly twenty years ago. It's called Bethania.

Bethania is a series of orphanages, schools, day care centers, and clinics spread across three distinct parts of Tamil Nadu. (We'll be visiting all three!)

Posting a full history would be a bit much; suffice it to say that Bethania has come a long way, baby. What started in 1987 as one home and thirty kids (for which my grade school fingers were made to fold and stuff innumerable newsletters) has blossomed into more than a dozen sites providing for close to 1,000 children!

How is it all made possible? By donations, silly! This is quite easily done on Bethania's website, so if we're all clear on this point, I'll stop inserting hyperlinks. Starting now.

That out of the way, let loose the floodgates of torrents of photos of unconscionably cute kids!