A walk through Kolkata

I am back home now and it seems strange without the smells and sounds of India...though they are smells and sounds I'd prefer to live without. I wanted to update you all on our visit to Kolkata (Calcutta if you like) since I was unable to post there.

Here we met with a woman named Smriti who is quite possibly the most courageous woman I've ever met. Kolkata is a city of 18 million and 1/3 of those live in the slums (imagine the entire metroplex of Houston, TX living off $1 per day with no indoor plumbing or paved roads). Smriti works with families and children in three different slums where there has not been any Christian activity. She and two men help her by taking the kids snacks, teaching them Bible stories, singing songs, and counseling and praying with their families.

We visited one of these areas and walked through its swamp like corridors. Here, families consist of a mother and father along with their two or three children, one of whom may also be married. The homes are no larger than a 20x20 foot room with one bed. Since Smriti has been investing into the people here, several families have turned their devotion to Christ. We were able to meet a couple of these families who open their homes to Bible study and prayer for those in the slum. It was almost ironic to see the smiles and joy displayed on the faces of these families, a huge contrast to the conditions they live in and to the faces of so many others who live among them apart from Christ.

Smriti's goal is to have a home for bible study and a children's program in everyone of the slums. She would also like to start a tutoring program in these areas. Many of the children here drop out of school, only perpetuating the problem of poverty and leading many of the men into the cyclical disease of alcoholism. By keeping the children in school though, they have a greater chance to pursue a well paying vocation.

The problem of poverty is utterly overwhelming in Kolkata, to the point where one feels helpless even defeated when working with those in it. Yet this has always been the issue with poverty, for even Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." I am challenged though that it was in Kolkata that a small woman with an unwavering committment and selfless ambition served the poorest of the poor: Mother Teresa. It was here that she saw the suffering of men, women, and children and she responded. Sure she didn't alleviate all their problems or the presence of poverty, but she, like the amazing people we've worked with in India (Pastor Isaiah, Anunth, the pastors in the Deep Forest, and Smriti in Kolkata), they all use what God has given them to the best of their ability to help the poorest of the poor.

I am challenged to do the same. To see the needs of people not necessarily as something I must bring a definite solution to, but rather to use what God has given me as a means of serving them. Perhaps the streets of Kolkata are closer to home then we realize. Perhaps the poverty of lives is not measured by wealth or education. Maybe the poorest of the poor among us are those who live every day without true hope; without ever having the joyful assurance of being eternally loved and eternally cared for by the Creator of the universe. My prayer is that when walking through the streets of my home town, I see like my new friends in India see and respond like they respond. May God give us all the grace and courage to do the same.

Sunday worship at Rajah Boys Home

Sunday we were able to participate in the worship service of Pastor's Isaiah's church at the Rajah Boys home. This church is made up of the 20 boys who live in the home along with several of the boys' mothers and/or fathers who make the long journey (some over 1 hour). It is a very simple service and it is held in the upper room of the boys home. This is a concrete structure, probably around 700 sq. ft., with no walls on the perimeter. When you are in this room you get a sense of what the apostles would have been in during the upper room discourse.
The service began with several songs sung in Telagud (the language spoken here) by the boys. One of the boys plays the congo during all the songs while several others use tambourines...all of their songs are very upbeat, quite different than many of our hymns. Pastor Isaiah then asked each of us to say a few words and then Niall, one of the guys who recently joined us on the trip, gave a sermon. All of us have been very humbled when asked to teach because we feel as though these people have so much to teach us. Their faith here is so evident and so strident; it has to be in a place like this.
After the worship service, all of the adults in the congregation (about 20) asked for us to pray over them. Many of the adults came with their boys and other children. This was very overwhelming as these people approached us with such humility, the women draped their sari scarves over their heads and the men, who are generally very hardened here, approached with such timidity. It is a huge responsibility knowing that the boys at the Rajah boys home could very well be the future leaders in this area and in India. So when praying over them, with their little heads bowed, was almost surreal. What an incredibley worthy investment that Pastor Isaiah, his family, his brother Anunth, and all the donors who support this ministry are making. I consider myself extremely blessed to get to see the faces of such an investment and hope to see more fruit come of it.
After church we had lunch at Pastor Isaiah's home...more spicy food. One of the team members hasn't been feeling well the past couple of days and did not have much of an appetite. One of the ways they show hospitality here is to serve you your food while you sit at the table. So when they came around to serve him food he said he only wanted a little but they continued to offer him more. When he told Isaiah's wife his stomach didn't feel well she said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like some curry?" It was pretty funny.
The afternoon ended with me and a couple of the other guys going out to a field with all the boys to play a game of cricket. Cricket is huge here. It is kinda like baseball only there is only one base and the score gets really high. This was a lot of fun as we got to see the boys interact on a different level. They are very independent and diplomatic for their age.
Today we will be leaving for Hyderabad, a very modern city compared to Rajahmundry, where we will be spending the night before heading to Calcutta.

Rock Quarry visit

This morning we went out to visit the Rock Quarry. This is an area on the outskirts of the city that is made up of 10,000 people in the Dalit or "untouchable" caste. Here, people will break large rocks into smaller pieces by hand as a way to earn some money. The problem is, they have to take out loans to buy rock to break and the loan officers charge so much for interest that they will never be able to escape their debt and are therefore in bondage to life in the quarry. We also visited one of the homes that one of the boys from the Rajah boys home lived in. It is in an area next to the quarry. The road to get to this area was in very poor conditions so we had to walk. There is trash, animal feces, and standing water all along the roadway. The homes are nothing more than thatched roof huts. This particular one we entered had holes in the roof and in a place where rainful comes in a moments notice, this would not be much of a shelter. The floor is dirt, which is also where the women and children sleep. It is incomprehensible that people, real mothers with real children, live in a place like this.

There is a way to improve these families living conditions. It is through a program the Pastor Isaiah and his brother Ananth came up with in coordination with CRI. It is called microfinancing. Through donations, money is given to these families who are able to buy more rock without having to worry about the unjust interest rates, thereby making the income they receive for their work more just. This allows them to pay for more of the necessities of life for their families and possibly send their children to better schools. If you are interested in helping with the microfinance project, please visit CRI's website.

There is something you need to know about the poor in India. It is expected that the women and mothers are the workers. They will either work in the rice fields, do laundry for the wealthy, or work in the rock quarry, while the men and husbands spend the day sitting around drinking or doing nothing. This is a vicious cycle and has made me extremely angry and hateful towards the men who do this. However, it is also one of the reasons that Pastor Isaiah started the Rajah boys home. These boys are given the opportunity to sleep on a bed, eat a three meals a day, receive health care, get an education, and eventually earn a living for themselves. It's amazing that $30 per month makes this possible for one of these boys. We were talking with Anunth, Pastor Isaiah's brother, about what happens after the boys graduate from school. He told us that they can go on to junior college, which makes it possible for them to get a respectable job. If they don't go to junior college they can receive vocational training for a specific trade, again allowing them to get a respectable job. This option costs around $125 per year while junior college and bachelor's program costs a bit more. CRI may be considering helping the boys in this, it is all a matter of gathering enough donors. If you would be interested and willing to support one of the boys, please visit CRI's website.

This afternoon we will be taking the boys to the water park in the city. This will be a big treat for the boys. Hopefully they don't run water slides the same way the run the roadways here.

Final day with the pastors

Today was our final day with the pastors. Myself and another member taught the sessions today. I spoke on the high calling of preaching and a model for how to preach. I was very surprised and humbled by the pastors response afterwards as several of them stood (they always stand when they have something to share) and expressed how helpful the lesson was.

After the lessons we took some time to listen to their feedback about the last 3 days of teaching and everyone of them expressed the most heartfelt and simple gestures of gratitude. These are the most humble men I have ever encountered. Every morning that we arrive at the church they rush to the doorway like little kids anticipating mom coming home with presents. Because we wanted to discover what would be beneficial for them in the future, we had to ask them to please keep the thank yous short and express their desire for future training. Of course they wouldn't stand for such and proceeded to lavish us with thanks (about a 3 minute diatribe of gratitude) before offering their requests for future training. By the way, you should have seen their faces when Jason, the CRI leader of the trip, told them he would be returning next year with another team...have you ever seen a grown man giddy...incredible!

We then passed out our gifts of umbrellas, tambourines, and bibles to the pastors, and again they were like kids on Christmas morning. After passing out the gifts, one pastor, who we call the little firecracker (70 years old, about 4'10', with more spunk and energy than most children), began leading the group in a Christian Indian folk song. Their music is very upbeat and they sing with a cross between yodeling and Native American chanting...a captivating sound, especially when 11 men are singing and clapping in unison. We also sang some American praise songs for them, as Chris, one of our team members, brought along a guitar.

Our time with the pastors concluded by all of us praying over each of them individually. This was a really humbling and meaningful time for us as we all felt the weight of responsibility for caring for our newly discovered brothers. It was almost like saying goodbye to a close friend who was going off to war, not knowing if you'd ever see them again in this lifetime but hoping that you would.

I have been so challenged by the unwavering commitment these men have to their calling as pastors. That they would walk, some for over 2 hours everyday, just to come and hear some teaching about the Scripture and theology. That they would endure ridicule from their communities and even family members for believing in the one true God. That they would stay firm in their faith in the midst of an environment that constantly asks them to demonstrate that their God is real (for example, most people in their villages will not believe in Jesus unless they witness a miracle like a healing from a disease). That they would have such compassion on their people to continue showing them unmerited love through praying for them daily and helping with their physical needs. And finally, that in the midst of all of this, and this is just a very broad brush stroke of the full picture, that they would exhibit an immense amount of joy.

May God give me the grace to be like these men and may he give them the grace to continue running the race.

Hard day but a harder life for some

Yesterday was a hard day, sorry I was too exhausted to post then.
We spent another day with the pastors from the Deep Forest (Pictured at left in front of the new church. The man on the far right is Isaiah, director of the boys home and mentor for the pastors. The man on far left is his brother Ananth, our translator and administrator for the ministry)and one of team members did a session on persecution of the early church. After the lesson we spent a couple hours listening to the pastors tell of their encounters with persecution. Several of the men experience persecution in the form of being shunned by their families and are kicked out of their homes. Others are shunned by their villages due to a political party here called the BJP. Just recently, there were some people caught converting others to Christianity in the bordering state (nearly 5 hours away) and they were killed by some extremist from this group. Some members of this party will travel to these villages and threaten its people that anyone who is caught trying to convert others to Christianity will be hanged. They also tell them that they must force any of the Christians in the village to live on the outskirts of the village.
One pastor told a very compelling story. He said that some men in his village found out that he was a Christian and decided to test the power of the Christian God. So, they took the pastor, tied him to a chair and told him they were going to get a coconut that was used as an offering in one of the Hindu temples and bring it back to the pastor to eat. They told the pastor that if his God were real he would not allow the pastor to eat any offerings made to false gods. When the men left, the pastor began to pray that God would show himself to be the one true God. After hours of waiting the men with the coconut returned. To the pastors surprise, the men told him that they were on their way back to the village with the coconut when all of a sudden it began to smell horrible and turn black in color. The coconut had spoiled so it was no longer edible. The pastor told the men that it was God who had done this and as a result these men came to believe in Jesus.

After our day with the pastors we headed back into the city and went into the market, otherwise known as "let's see how many thousands of people we can squeeze into a two lane roadway." There we bought all 11 pastors umbrellas, tamburines, and three bibles for their congregations. These were just a few of the items they had expressed a need for earlier in the day.

I find it puzzling that in the midst of the difficulties these men face (ridicule, doubt, physical suffering, extreme poverty, etc.) that they would request such seemingly insignificant items as a way to bring them great satisfaction.

"What could I do in return?"

Today was why I came to India. We drove out of Rajahmundry to the Deep Forest, about 1 hour, which was probably the most intense car rides I've been on...tailgating is not in their vocabulary. We arrived at a village in the area where a new church building had just been finished for one of the pastors who has seen significant growth in conversions in the village.

Most of the pastors had to walk 2 hours to come to the site today and several more had an even longer journey due to the recent flooding here which renders the roadways useless. These men were so excited to see all of us. They have a beautiful expression of thank you here, they place both hands together in a prayer gesture and approach you then bow. The church is called Mrs. Melody Gospel Church, named after Melody Pieratt, the wife of CRI's president.

The church dedication began with several songs led by one of the pastors, a very small elderly man with as much spunk as a 5 year old---it was awesome. I was then given the privilege of sharing a word of encouragement to the pastors and several members of the church. It went well as I involved all of our team members in the talk, giving them an opportunity to share how the local church has impacted their lives.

Then the 10 pastors shared their stories. Everyone of these men have experienced the power of God's grace in such incredible ways. Life change has been quite dramatic in their lives as some were thiefs, entrenched in Hinduism, and extremely doubtful of Jesus Christ. One man's story stood out for me. He spent years doubting the one true God, yet continued to seek him. After several experiences of testing God, he finally came to believe. He was utterly broken that God would forgive and accept him as his child and asked, "What could I do in return?" His answer, "I will give my life to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ." I find these men to be extremely humble and simple and am challenged by their devotion and desire to see people in their villages come to believe in the one true God.

As we left the church, many in the village requested that we pray for their sick family members. We were told that many of the Hindu people will not believe in Jesus Christ unless the see a miracle. We were told that there have been some. How do explain to people that God is not a vending machine, here to do what you wish upon your request, but at the same time, that He is all-powerful and able to do what He desires? These prayers were an interesting and challenging experience and I hope that in spite of those who may never be healed, that God would still be praised.
P.S. I'm sorry I don't have pictures up yet...the internet is very slow here so loading pics can be difficult.

Arrival

It's hard to believe that I left Austin on Sunday at 7:30am CST and arrived in Rajahmundry, India on Tuesday 10:30am here (1:00am CST)! The flight went smoothly aside from a sore butt and a long layover in Hyderabad, India where we had to wait outside of the airport for 4 hours among the locals...who are primarily Muslim. Needless to say we turned some heads.

The best part was arriving in Rajahmundry at the small delapitated building they call an airport. We were greeted by 20 boys from the Rajah boys home, all holding signs with our names on them and huge smiles on their faces...unbelievable. This was very humbling as the boys sang songs on our bus ride to the hotel located in the heart of downtown Rajahmundry.
Later that evening Pastor Isaiah and his brother Ananth took us through the heart of downtown Rajahmundry. The streets were literally overflowing with people not to mention the scooters, motorcycles, bicycles and buses squeezing their way through. If any of you think driving in Dallas or Austin is bad, you aint seen nothin'!

We were then taken down to the banks of the famous Godavari River where every 12 years over 1 million Hindus from all over the world come to be "cleansed" of their sins. It is believed that the river and her god have the power to do this. While there, we witnessed several people being cleansed in the river by a Hindu priest. Sadly, this cleansing is something insufficient to relieve them of their sin as they come to the river over and over again.

The evening concluded by going to the Rajah boys home (the place Pastor Isaiah and his wife started a few years ago) and we were entertained by the singing and skits of the boys. There are about 20 boys ages 8 to 14 living here who receive a school education, love from Isaiah and his wife, and hear the love of Christ. It was very humbling to see the joy on the faces of these boys who are living in a city that is extremely poor and filthy by American standards. I sat at our table on the second floor of that home as we joined them in song and wondered if I exhibit the same amount of joy these boys have. I was overwhelmed by the reality that the same hope these boys have is the same hope I have, a hope that will never perish, spoil, or fade despite how filthy or shiny our conditions are.

Today will be going to the Deep Forest region (a rural area outside of Rajahmundry) to celebrate the completion of a new church building of one of the pastors we will be working with. This was not on our agenda and we were asked as to address the congregation during the celebration. I will be leading our group in this address so please pray that is a message of encouragment and well received by the congregation.