By God’s grace, I was born into a family of pastors, teachers, and missionaries. Many of those servant years were spent in the country of India. My great uncle, The Late Reverend Erwin Meinzen (“Uncle Babe”), served his LORD as a missionary to the Indian people for the majority of his pastoral career. Uncle Babe married a daughter of my great grandfather, The Late Reverend Frederick Markworth. And finally, my dad’s sister, married a pastor, the Late Reverend Robert Trautmann – a fourth generation pastor. Following in his uncle Babe’s footsteps, uncle Bob and my aunt Anita followed as missionaries to India in 1949.
My memory and history of Uncle Babe’s service to his LORD in India is almost void, and furthermore, my uncle Bob has been called to his LORD and Savior in 2005 leaving a void in my research. I did interview my aunt Anita in 2019, but she too has been called home to be with her Savior this past year.
Revisiting Uncle Bob’s career, he graduated from seminary in 1948 and his first assignment was in the mission field of India! His father was the pastor of the local congregation in the rural community of Indianapolis. He was dating and in love with my grandfather’s daughter. They were married soon after his graduation then sent back to the seminary for some training in the mission field prior to leaving for India.
My uncle’s great grandfather was a missionary from the now country of Germany to the United States, arriving in the 1840s. Located in the greater Cleveland area, he was evangelizing the American Indian. Now several generations later, his great grandson was enroute to India! What were things like in 1949 when they arrived? India was a country with new-found independence (1948). Their travel from the US to India was quite lengthy – by sea and land sources.
If we look back in time to review the status of Christianity in India, history will tell us that the Apostle Thomas introduced Jesus to the Indian people in 52 AD as he came to India in search of Indian Jews. The current Caesar in 52 AD was Claudius, the stepfather of Nero. Claudius served from 41-54 AD. Claudius was married three times, the last of which was his niece, Agrippina. Claudius adopted her son, Nero. Then, Agrippina served her husband with poisoned mushrooms causing his death. History also reminds us that Nero was also ruthless and caused a great persecution of the Christian population, especially in Rome.
The current status of Christianity in India is reported to be the third largest religious group (per 2011) comprising some twenty-six million people. The status of Christianity waxed and waned over the years until the western routes were discovered by Vasco de Gama in the 15th century. As such, multiple Christian communities were established by the Catholic Church and Protestantism. The result was the formation of the churches in North and South India as well as Pakistan.
When Constantinople fell in 1453, it marked the end of the Byzantine empire and was a massive blow to Christianity. Following the fall, the Portuguese generated a foothold into India via the Latin Church. Again we observe the rise and fall of the church until the 1700’s when the first German Lutheran missionaries entered the scene. They were instrumental in translating the Holy Bible into Tamil and then later into Hindustan. Missionary Fabricius arrived in 1740 and published the first Tamil to English dictionary and then refined the Tamil Bible translation.
German missionary Schwarz followed in 1759 and was instrumental in converting Tamil Nadu Christians. Later, another German, Herman Gundert was responsible for translating the Bible into Malayalam. And another German, Liedendorfer, a missionary MD, built hospitals.
It is no secret that a translation of the Bible in the “heart language” is very desirable. Work on the Tamil language Bible took much time. Ziegenbalg, a German missionary with a gift of languages, completed the translation of the New Testament (“N. T.”) within five years of his arrival in India in the Tamil area. It was published in 1714, and by 1719, he finished the Old Testament (“O. T.”). More work continued with Missionary Fabricius, spending twenty-four years in his translation work that was published in 1777. Later, Dr. Buchanan reported (1806) that “there was a great cry for Bibles.” Their words were, “we don’t want bread or money from you, but we want the Word of God.”
It is highly likely that my uncle used the Fabricius version of the Tamil Bible in his missionary voyage of twenty years (1949 – 1968). Interestingly, my aunt and uncle were not introduced to the Tamil language in mission school prior to their departure to India. Rather, they were instructed in Sanskrit, which my aunt told me was “worthless!” But God has His time and means to equip the saints with every tool necessary to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Direct from my now departed aunt Anita, uncle Bob learned Tamil and preached in their heart language. Their three tours in India were mixed in terms of their base of operation. Their service included a term as hospital administrator and chaplain as well as head of school for the Mission School for all the Christian missionary children.
Unfortunately, I was not able to interview my Uncle Bob prior to his death in 2005, but I did interview his widow. What I can tell you is the impact these two individuals made on me in my youth. My parents along with my aunt and uncle, were instrumental in preparing a gift package for their Christmas each year. Their planning and purchasing began in the summer months and concluded with the mailing in early September – yes, just to arrive by Christmas.
Our family communicated with the Trautmann’s on a regular basis using a thin-skinned airmail letter. My father was the scribe as we all gathered around the dining room table contributing to the letter. The Trautmann’s returned to the states on two furloughs during their twenty year stay in India. But my aunt Anita made an emergency trip home with her three young children as her father was dying of cancer. Anita already missed her mother’s passing, so being with her daddy was important! Prior to my aunt’s passing, she prepared a detailed summary of her trip home in 1954. She made eleven stops on as many flights. With the help of flight crew and passengers alike, my aunt arrived safely in Indianapolis.
Their final journey home from India in 1968 landed them in St. Louis for the remainder of their pastoral service as a parish pastor and chaplain.
My uncle Bob also served as one of my three pastor mentors. He was instrumental in encouraging me to “search the Scriptures,” and continue writing Saturday’s Notes. To God be praised!
Peace
Connected in Him, I stand
GHR