Cycle can Tell us Stories, Teach us Lessons

I used my cycle for 15 years...! 

If motorcycles can be used for 25 years or more, a cycle can be used much more. “I know missions well and every missionary in the organization should work as I worked in my native place”, is a serious attitude and a major management issue. This cycle’s story that I am going to tell briefly, can teach us more than what we can think.  

'Mr.Bicycle' belonged to a missionary couple who lived in a remote village in Maharashtra. There was a bus that came to the village twice a day. One of the missionary families lived here and there were a few other families in still farthest distances from here as far as ten kilometres, all trying to serve one particular people group. The main means of transport for people as well as missionaries here was either walking or cycling. The team was united; they met frequently for fellowship and prayer and visited every family that they could for sharing the gospel in their heart language. This was a wonderful team in acquiring the language, speaking it like a native speaker and sharing the gospel and reaching the area with the love of Christ.

Every missionary in the organization loved to have a motor bike one day and several had enrolled them for a bike to receive in the field. “Everyone wants a motorbike, but the problem did not end with giving a bike; then will come the petrol bill and maintenance every month”, said one of the leaders in the mission.  Two decades ago not everybody had a bike though. But if the missionary asked for a bicycle, the mission will grant it sooner. A good brand bicycle with a dynamo and light set costs about Rs.1,000 those days ! Our missionary here had been using his cycle thoroughly for eight years and felt he could sell it and buy a new one instead of spending more on repairing it. Using a carbon paper, taking copies, he wrote and posted an application to the concerned leaders in charge- his immediate team leader and to the Administrative Secretary in the head office in South India. There were no emails nor phones or mobiles those days. After two weeks the reply from the Administrative Secretary reached the field. He is responsible for all land, property and assets including vehicles. The most important portion of his letter had more questions like this: “How old is the cycle? When did you purchase it?” The missionary replied the next day with carbon copies duly marked to the concerned, and cycled to the post office to send his reply which communicated:  “The cycle is 8 years old, we bought it in …. But it is really worn out and maintaining it is more difficult; it will be good to buy new one”. He waited patiently another ten days for the response with the hope of changing the cycle. It did come in time.

The communications at the other end was always clear and faster, given the technology of the time. There were secretaries at the head office for every leader in charge, who typed and send those letters and file it properly with copies that will go to each file, including the file in the name of the missionary! After two weeks the reply had reached the mission filed. The main body of the letter read: “I have used a cycle at home for more than 15 years...It is better to maintain it and use your cycle instead of buying a new one”.

You can imagine the frustration the missionary couple had. Of course,  the whole team members in the field were aware of the communications so far. They shared everything in the field and encouraged one another as they met every week. It was almost one month now. The team too felt bad about it. But they had a solution. The missionary had bought the cycle eight years ago. But every missionary can get a cycle easily. So they decided to apply for one more cycle in the name of the missionary's wife who was also a missionary! The next afternoon bus from the village carried the post office mail bag to the district post office. It had the missionary’s application for a new cycle. After two weeks, the request was granted, the following field allowance cheque had the amount for the new cycle too.

The team had a new bicycle. But what happened to the old bicycle? It rested in peace, leaning on the back wall of the missionary's  rented hut, rusted well. When I happened to see the bicycle swollen with rust, my curiosity wakened and the answer I got is the story told so far. I had learned a lot about administration and leadership from this resting rusted bicycle. But the story does not end there.

The missionaries have moved out to different locations, so also everyone in the leadership. A few years later the administrative secretary too left the organization before retiring. Now he rides a Mahindra car. How this car came to him will be another story beyond the scope. But I have a few questions here; you can find the answers…

   1.How do we respond to needs and requests of others when we are in a better situation- be it a poor wanderer, a staff or a missionary of the organization we work?

   2.How do we treat individuals and do we consider them better than ourselves?

   3.Is a leadership position to show authority and control or a responsibility to serve?

   4. Do we ever think, we are passing by and we are not in charge all the time?

   5. What are the impressions others paint in their minds of us- our team and “subordinates”?

   6.Ultimately who are going to lose or win?

-  - Philipose Vaidyar

    

   (Pictures used are only illustrations)