Having been mostly diving the rocky reefs of the west coast of India, the change to a coral reef atoll with low fishing pressure was quite astonishing. We began by working in the lagoon which was a maze of coral. The kids and Cindy could come along at some of the sites with Bobby snorkeling along with us. We would walk in the rich shallow areas looking for invertebrates and watching the fish dart in and out among the coral heads. It was everything you imagine a tropical coral reef to be including the backdrop of white sand beaches lined with coconut palm trees. One memorable find included Bobby picking up a fireworm. These are marine worms, distant relatives of earthworms, but which have tiny, very sharp silica spines in rows along the side and sometimes along the top of their bodies. We ended up spending a very long time with tweezers picking out these spines from his hands. The real treat came in getting out through the channel into the deeper areas which dropped from the surface to thousands of feet below. We dove down the wall as deep as we dared seeing many old friends that preferred the crystal-clear water and coral to the murky, rocky reefs of India’s coast.
In the evenings we were often invited to homes for meals and people were intrigued that we knew their language, at least to a passable level. One of the things we were interested in testing was whether some of the radio programs that were being developed for Maldivian followers of Christ were reaching those shores. We had brought a radio to listen in and found that we could hear it just fine. There were also internet resources developed especially to translate the Bible into Dhivehi and we went into an internet café to find the sites. They were blocked in Maldives, but we found that we could access them in Minicoy just fine. Banning books and information never works. Every time the Maldivian government banned a book or website it just increased the curiosity. Everyone should be able to believe as they feel they ought to in their own minds and that is a basic human right often taken away either by governments or cultures. Many Christian groups do this also; discouraging, warning, or punishing those who seek out answers to important questions.
The trip to Minicoy ended in a great success. On one of the last days I woke up and went off to a tea shop to enjoy my day around the island. The Reef Research Team had filled their tanks, developed their plan, went out and collected important information on never-before studied reefs, and then returned home safely. Many of those researchers continue to this day to use those skills to study and protect Indian coral reefs. Dr Anita works on soft corals and sponges and has collaborated on projects all over the world including being on a Fullbright Fellowship in the USA at a prominent university traveling to many spots over the country and giving lectures. I am very proud, especially of her, but also grateful for the years of friendship and experiences with my Indian colleagues. We have now begun working again together on A Rocha India's first marine project.
I am reminded of an experience we had in India with our Maldivian friends. We were picked up early one morning in a small bus – all twenty or so of us and I think just Bobby, so he must have been only 1 year old at the time. The Hindi music was loud and everyone was talkative all in Dhivehi. We were going on a road trip to the hill country. The hill country of Kerala is much cooler than the coast and has beautiful mountains often with waterfalls. We stopped along the way at a roadside area with lots of stalls, crowds, and car traffic. As we exited the bus, I saw a path through the woods off to our left and then to our right the crowds and noise where all our Maldivian friends were heading. Cindy and I looked at each other and headed left! Within minutes we were in a beautiful jungle along a path that we alone were walking. The quiet and beauty were amazing – of course, I don't think we thought about the fact that there were probably tigers back there, but still. For me, it illustrates the principle that Walden made famous, but really harkens back to Jesus’ own words about taking the narrow path rather than the wide one, the high road rather than the low road. Our path has been winding and not always easy but has been full of adventure and interesting people and places because we have often chosen the narrow path.
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