Greetings from an internet cafe here on Rippon Street!  It is just a short walk from the office of Emmanuel Ministries of Calcutta.  We are in a season of holidays, Hindu festivals, so schools are close as are some shops.  The office isn't closed, but everyone isn't there.  I went out to the school today with a lot of my purchases, but didn't stay long.  Things out there are pretty dirty, and when things "power up" a bit more on Sat we'll have a cleaning party, and make some progress.  I would like to start sleeping out there soon, possibly even next week.  That will depend on getting curtains at the bedroom windows, I think along with some other things.

I'm finding my independent American self getting a bit frustrated with my circumstances.  It was nice to have Cathy Hicks in town this week to debrief with on Mon.  Things just take longer to happen, and it is sometimes difficult to clarify expectations.  It is good for me to hang back and wait for the right moment to ask, and to think about how best to ask.

I did help at the school Mon and Tues, before the holidays started.  I have learned how to get out to school on the Metro which is incredibly cheap and so much faster than going by road.  I even came back with one of the boys on the bus Tues to the office!  It went well.  I do admit that I am very proud of myself and very surprised at how nice both modes of transport were! 

Closing for today as my hour is up, and wondering if it isn't just easier and cheaper to find a place to hang out for an hour a day rather than get a portable internet connection!

So much news!!!

I have now been in India for two weeks!  It seems like an eternity since I was in the US!  I suspect part of that is because so much is happening here, and because it is still a struggle to be online regularly!!!  I am once again typing from the little laptop that belongs to Premila.  I am seated at the dining room table.  The overhead fan is whirling.  The house is quiet.  Our Finnish guest is having an early night.  Premila is in her room.  I can hear her coughing.  She hasn't been well for several days, but that hasn't stopped her!  She did see a doctor today, though, and is on antibiodics, something that she hates.  Apparently they make her feel ill.  She probably has junk in her lungs, and is just tired and stretched.  She also visited a "rag pickers" slum last week where the germs would have been plentiful!  She wouldn't let me go, and hasn't been herself since.

I really enjoyed my time with the women in the ministry on Fri.  Timothy came roaring in playing his guitar which made things much more festive!  He runs the various Pavement Club projects, and is a recoviring addict himself.  The way he plays the guitar, and his lively personality made me think of days that I have spent in Mexico.  Later I found out that he is from Goa, the huge beach just South of Mumbai.  The area was settled years ago by the Portugese.  They are fun loving folk.  Timothy is no exception.  It is always fun to be around him.  He and his teachers are so excited about Children's Day, Nov. 14th.  I can't wait to see what they come up with.  I know that there will be singing and dancing!!!

I shared my testimony with the women, focusing on what I have learned about receiving God's grace rather than focusing on working to be pleasing, acceptable . . . Matt 11: 28 - 30 which had been so meaningful to me before I left the US.  It was a precious time!  Natually, we had tea, samosas and jalabies afterward!!! 

On Sat we had a cleaning party here!!!  There were five of us working on the house.  Premila had been away, the monsoon is over, and we were expecting a series of guests this week.  Ajay, one of the boys from the home for abandoned boys came over, and he and I worked most of five hours cleaning up the office which had essentially become a store room.  I appreciated getting to know him better.  He speaks good English though he studies in a Bengali medium school.  He is in Class 8 and runs the sound system at church.  He left us about 4 to go off to practice for worship.

I must tell you about my first Sunday at Jeevah Joyti (life of joy is the literal translation) church!!!   Our first song was a Hindi one, Timothy at the guitar.  It was just fun.  The rest of the service was in English.  There is a Bengali service in the afternoon.  David, who played the base guitar, shared his testimony.  I was so blessed!  He is from Mizoram, one of the NEastern tribal states where many profess to be Christians.  David is in drug recovery and has been clean for 5 months!  I was able to speak with him after church.  He has a very sweet spirit, though he says that this is the first time in his life that he has really let the Word of God change him.  Please pray for David that he would be able to stay clean.  Emmanuel Ministries is all about supporting people like David.

The message was from the same passage of scripture that I had shared with the women on Fri.  Guess the Lord has something special to say to us from that.  The emphasis was a bit different, but meaningful.

Markus, from Switzerland, also shared.  I had heard about him.  He and his wife used to live here and they started ConneXions which is a cottage industries venture giving girls from the slums a way to earn a living.  He now works with the Leporosy Mission and is traveling with a French pastor, who sang in French, to Bangladesh and couldn't not stop by to see people here.  I was able to visit with them briefly in the office yesterday, having just visited ConneXions for the first time.  The things that the women make are really lovely.  We also celebrated a mother/son birthday after church.  Here when it is your birthday, you treat everyone else!

I was also able to visit the Pauline Bhavan compound this week and speak to the principal and the head mistress of the Calcutta Emmanuel School.  I have been there twice before, but the school has been closed!  What a lovely place when everything is in session!  The children are all from poor families in the surrounding neighborhoods, but you would never know that from looking at them.  CES is an English medium school, and it is accredited by one of the higher boards here.  So, academics are a bit tougher, and there isn't necessarily a lot of support at home.  It seems that having me around as a native English speaker to operate in a sort of tutoring capacity is going to work out well, especially since I will be living there!  We are looking at me working with small groups, reading to the children and helping them in conversational English.  I will start with the youngest students who are about aged four.  Initially we are planning on me doing that three days a week.  Premila wants me to spend one day a week at the office, doing conversational English with some of the Pavement Club teachers, helping with newsletters, and sponsorships . . . I think that might be something more time consuming.  There may also be responsibilities with the girls who live at PB. 

Today I have been trying to finish up my shopping . . .Aktar, Premila's driver, took me to the area of town where you buy curtain material.  I thought he was just going to "drop" me, and I'd get a rickshaw or a taxi back to the office.  Oh, no, that was not the case.  He took me to several shops and patiently waited with me until we finally found something that I liked for the living room and my bedroom.  It was a hot experience, but once again I was just so warmed by the whole thing.  Why do I love India I am often asked . . . well, this would be one of the reasons!  Aktar, the young man at whose shop I purchased faric, the chai wallah who came by and served tea, and everyone leaving you feeling happy with you and for you!!!  It's the people, the wonderful hospitality, at least for starters!!!

Later in the day Ajay came over and took me shopping at New Market.  What a place!!!  Everything under the sun is there.  We got the remaining kitchen things, bargained and got better prices than initially quoted, and managed to get back after being stuck in a major traffic jam.  One thing I learned today is that In Kolkata one doesn't just take a rickshaw by one's self.  Coming back there were four passengers, and the ride was a fraction of the price!!!  I guess that is all apart of traveling in a very overpopulated city!

Before I finish, I should also mention Hussein.  He also lives at the boys' home, but works as an accountant at the school.  That means that he has gone from his state of abandonment to finishing school and getting some sort of a qualification to work as an accountant . . . we were with him last week when he made it through his first audit!  What a joy.  He took our Finnish guest and me to ConneXions after we had visited the school.  Then he got us a taxi to return to the office.  He was so concerned that all would go well that his final instructions to me were , "Aunty, please have someone contact me when you get back to the office so I won't worry about you!!!"  On Sun after church he told me that I looked beautiful!!!  I know, he's a charmer, but . . . why do I love India?

We are off to school in the a.m.  Premila has to go there for some work, and perhaps I will start meeting with some students.  Tomorrow is our Finnish visitor's last day with us, and we may visit some Emporiums on the way home so that she can buy some souvenirs, and I can see what I might want to think about buying for my new home.  I am told that it will be ready for me to move in this weekend. 

Dave and Cathy Hicks are in town attending a 4 - 14 conference.  It's all about children in India.  Those who fall between the ages of 4 - 14 are a huge segment of the population here.  Several from the office are presenting.  They will then come to us on Fri and stay until Mon, I believe.  It will be great to see them.

Before closing, it just may be worth mentioning that the winds shifted today and the breeze is cooler though the sun is hot especially during the middle of the day.  But, temperatures should moderate some, and I am definitely looking forward to that especially since my flat is on the top floor of the building in which it is situated!!!  There is an ac in the bedroom, and lots of open windows, balconies, and even a terrace!  Pictures, I can hear you saying!  Maybe I'll drag out my camera once I am settled!

What a visit!

It is hard for me to imagine that it has been a week since I posted on the blog, and even harder to believe that I only left the US 8 days ago!  I am writing from Kolkata.  It is 9:15 p.m., and I am only going to begin to write about all that has happened in that last week.

I will say that I was able to connect with most of the people that I planned to connect with in Delhi which was really great!  Sunday was a great day as I worshipped with several old students and heard a sermon from a former parent of a Woodstock student!  I couldn't help but think that it was so great to be worshipping with them happily instead of being in Chapel where many of them didn't like to be!!!  God is great to bring somewhat rebellious hearts back to Himself!!!

In the evening I met with a young couple who is interested in getting into the field of educating people not to abort their daughters.  They have a 3 month old daughter themselves and were astonished at the number of people in the hospital who tried to encourage them even though they had a daughter!!!

Flying out of Delhi . . . a pretty modern and sofisticated airport into Kolkata where things were just chaotic was interesting. . . not a trolley to be found!!!  Finally I did get one.  Premila was outside to meet me.  I was grateful!  She had told me that she would be there.  Aktar, the driver, brought us safely home.  I have been here in a lovely apartment/flat since. 

On Tues I went to see Pauline Bhavan, the place where I will be moving in the next couple of weeks.  PB is the site of a children's home for abandoned girls and boys until they reach 8 years old.  The flat was occupied until recently by a family, he grew up in one of the homes.  They are about to have a second child so have found larger quarters, and another "adult" on the premises seems like a good thing.  There's getting furniture and other things to live there that need to be attended to.  We have begun that process.  I expect to move by the end of the month as two of Premila's daughters and their families will arrive in Nov.  Then there won't be room for me here.  We are expecting a couple of sets of guests next week, too!!!

Along with the Children's Home, the Calcutta Emmanuel School is also on the compound with the home.  So, I'll have a number of children to be involved with, teachers to encourage, et al.  One of the things that we have already talked about is having story hour every night.  English isn't anybody's mother tongue at PB, but they all speak English.  Who knows what I'll come back speaking.  Someone told me the other day in Delhi that my Hindi was better than Sonja Gandhi's.  (She's the foreign born Prime Minister here!)

Although most here seem to speak Bengali, a large number speak Hindi because they belong to the second largest religion here.  The area where the EMC (Emmanuel Ministries Calcutta) office is located is a teeming place, and many follow that religion!  Amazing.

I also visited the home for the older boys on Tues.  I am impressed by the obvious love that these children have for Premila.  Because of her other responsibilities, she cannot spend as much time with them as she once did.  It seems that this is a place for me to come and help!  

I have visited most of the Pavement Clubs now, and even walked through my first slum today.  The stench was horrible, but the kids and the teachers that teach them warmed my heart.  We are just finishing up the Puja (worship) Holidays.  All over the city make shift temples are being taken down.  Only one more puja to go . . .  this one for Kali, the goddess with all of the arms for whom the city was named.

I am so impressed by what I am seeing.  I am being loved very well not only by PP, but also by others in the ministry.  I am reminded of the wonderful hospitality of this land.  The great regard that the people have for PP means that they will love and care for me, too.  I am introduced as Aunty's good friend!!!

I'll be taking a Bible study with the women at the HQ tomorrow.  Hopefully eventually I can help with conversation classes with some of the teachers of the Pavement Clubs.  They would like to do that.  The possibilities are endless, seemingly.  May the Lord give wisdom in what to say yes to and what not to!

I have gotten over jet lag in record time.  

It is very hot here, and I am thankful for ac in my bedroom.  I have been sleeping well . . . last night was more like a night back in Richmond (up three times) so maybe I really have adjusted now.

I am using PP's little lap top now.  It is going to be more of a struggle for online time, perhaps.  The  plan is for me to be working on files and things at PB, and I do expect to have a computer.  Anyway, I am glad to be able to post tonight.

I feel at home here, but recognize nothing from my last visit 15 years ago, and absolutely nothing from living here in the 70's.  Maybe I'll be able to walk around some on Sat when we don't go to the office!  I remain convince that this is the right place to be for now.  I can't believe that I only left the US 8 days ago!!! 

A Tale of Four Airports!!!

The long journey is over, and I am in recovery mode!  It is hot here in Delhi, though not as hot as it would be if this were May/June! 

The Richmond airport seemed almost deserted as I arrived there with Mary Jo!  My, Tues, is a good day to fly, I thought!  Of course, I had to show my passport in order to proceed with check in though I had boarding passes.  The heavy suitcases didn't even cause the man behind the counter to take a second glance!!!  PTL . . . first of many answers to prayer!  There was no line at security.  I was on my way!!!

A couple of hours later I was making my way from the B terminal in Detroit's airport to the A terminal.  It was good to walk, the "tunnel" was fullish, but certainly not hectic.  The sea of faces reflected the international nature of the terminal that I was approaching.  You're not in Richmond anymore, Gindy, was the thought that popped into my head!  That is kind of when the adrenaline started pumping for me!!!  At first I was to fly out of gate A 38.  I always like to find my gate first, and then find a place to eat, read, or whatever else I am going to do!  With a five hour lay over, I was not surprised to see that my flight wasn't the next one out, but to see that the next flight out was going to Shanghai . . . well that surprised me.  As I made my way to a restaurant for lunch, I passed so many Asian faces!!!  Announcements in Chinese and Japanese . . . Gindy, you are NOT in Richmond anymore!!!  My gate got changed to A56 which I didn't realize until it was nearing the time for boarding!  I am surely glad that I had to stop reading and take a bathroom break!!!

A woman with a little bit more gray in her hair than mine was my seat mate on the flight to Amsterdam.  She was going on a safari in Tanzania!!!  An interesting person though we read and rested more than we chatted until the journey was coming to an end! By the way, Barb, State of Wonder is a great read!!!

Though it was only about 9 a.m. local time when we arrived in Amsterdam, the place was definitely hopping!  Dutch was definitely the main language spoken, but . . . I only had two hours in Amsterdam.  I am used to having at least six, so I didn't get to amble around as much as usual.  I also realized almost at the eleventh hour that the "boarding pass" that had printed out the day before clearly stated that it was NOT a boarding pass.  I was so glad that I had found one of those little trolleys as my books were heavy on my shoulder.  I had passed the transfer desk earlier, so I knew where to go, and the deed was done quickly!

Then it was back to the gate for check in to Delhi!  My overwhelming thought at that point was, my people, my people . . . as much of an "India lover" as I am . . . my people, my people . . . moving a crowd of them is a time consuming, somewhat frustrating experience.  It is true that the British gave India a language that they could communicate with each other using, and a great railroad system.  But . . . alas, they were unable to teach them to queue (line up)!!!  Consequently, boarding was time consuming and somewhat stressful as was getting everyone's things loaded into the overheads.  On this flight I had two seat mates.  The last one to arrive was a woman of Indian origin who lives in Canada, and how she got on to the plane with all of her carry on luggage is a mystery to me!!!  It all worked out in the end, with several of us working on it with her, and we were in our seats with out seatbelts fastened by the time it was time to go!!!

Having already flown and traveled a long time by now, and with perhaps a nap on the overnight flight to Amsterdam . . . well it was a long day, the food was pretty bad and the service wasn't great!  Sorry, because it was KLM, and I am generally a lover of all things KLM, but they let me down on that flight!

We arrived on time in Delhi, and it didn't take us as long to deplane as I'd feared it would.  (The plane was huge . . . several hundred people on it.)  I remember being impressed two years by the new airport in Delhi, but this new wing, opened for the Commonwealth games last year . . . WOW!!!  It is huge, but it was very good to have the long walk to immigration because 24 hours of sitting was taking its toll!  The queue was long . . . the ropes made them queue this time.  As my Dutch seatmate and I were approaching the queue,they opened up the First Class lines for us as they weren't being utilized.  Thank you, Jesus! 

I found the pre-paid taxi stand and got my taxi booked.  I was told to go to "gate 31".  That was something new, but now they are more organied than ever, and my guy was awaiting me at Gate 31!  (Arriving in Delhi in the middle of the night used to be a very hectic experience.  This is just no longer true!) He didn't seem so sure that he knew where I was going.  So, I told him in my very best Hinglish that I had my friend's number and that her Hindi is good.  So, we made the call (on his mobile phone), and off we went.  It wasn't long before we were here, a couple of phone calls later, but not the wandering around that I experienced last time I was staying at the Wetherby B & B . . . it's a new location!

We visited a bit and then all fell into bed around 2 a.m.  (I left the airport at midnight.)  It took me awhile to unwind, but then the next time I looked at the clock it was 8:45!  I didn't get up for another hour!

It is a big Hindu festival here today so some shops are closed and there are truck loads of goddesses, bands, and of course Cricket games going on.  The goddesses will be thrown into the river by day's end.  A picture, I find, of hopelessness.  How glad I am to worship a God who neither slumbers or sleeps, who never changes, is eternal, et al!

Carolyn had a hair appointment today, so I went along and treated myself to a bit of pampering . . .pampering that cost me $6.00.  It was worth it . . . a back masage and a manicure!

We came home, picked up Dewy, our Costa coupons and walked over for coffee and cupcakes as an afternoon/lunch snack.  No Starbuck in India, according to Carolyn, but Costa, yes; and who knows what else.  Air conditioning, good coffee, good cupcakes, sharp Indian young men working there!

I am home alone right now as Carolyn is out giving a music lesson and Dewy is teaching English.  It was good to get a little organizing done in the one suitcase that I am opening before Kolkata.  After my QT I also just put my head down for a minute, but . . . no sleep until after dinner!  I need to get on this time zone!!!

One last "small world" thing before I leave you for today!  Last night in our catch up session, I asked Carolyn if she knew, by chance, Premila's daughter, married to am American who pastors here!  Well, don't you know that Probita is coming here tomorrow with her two children as they take piano from Carolyn.  I haven't seen Probita since she was a little girl!!!

It's D Day!!!

It's a red letter today, for sure!!!  As I write, I am about an hour away from leaving the house.  A load of clothes is in the dryer, and I have the feeling that 'I have made it'!!!  The great push that started two months ago comes to an end today!  All week I have thought that I couldn't wait for the day to come, and pondered how happy I would be to actually sit on the plane . . . no more housework, no more logistics, well . . . that's not totally true because I have a five hour lay over in Detroit, and there are a few things that I can work on!!!  I just might get involved in my book, though . . . those remaining logistics, of a clerical nature, can be attended to even after arrival in Delhi.  From Detroit I fly to Amsterdam, and only have a two hour lay over there.  I hope I have time to buy some chocolates . . . a tradition at the Amsterdam airport for me.  It is such a fun place.  I usually have longer than two hours there!

I arrive in Delhi tomorrow night, their time.  (Until the US goes off daylight time, we are 9 1/2 hours apart . . . India is ahead of us.  After DST ends, it is 10 1/2!)
I will be in Delhi for 5 days with Carolyn and Dewy Wetherby, friends from Woodstock days.  It will be fun to catch up with their world and hopefully see some old students.  Divali is going on in India, the largest Hindu festival, so some are on holiday, and I am guessing schools are closed!

I leave for Kolkata on Oct 10th.

The dryer buzzed!!!  Hooray!  Thanks for your prayers for safety and smooth sailing on the other end, especially in finding the Wetherby's apartment!  It will be about midnight there, and I will be very tired!!!

Blessings!

The dust is beginning to settle!!!

At the beginning of June the invitation came to return to India.  By the beginning of July, I began trying to meet with church leaders to discuss the matter.  By the beginning of Aug, the meeting took place, and life has been "full out" logistics ever since!!!  What an exhausting push, what an unbelievable response from many with words of encouragement and gifts to launch me into this new adventure!!!  Thank you, and thank you, Jesus, for helping me get it all done!  Here we are now at the beginning of Oct, and the dust is beginning to settle.  For all intents and purposes, I am 95% ready to go!!!  Departure is set for Tues, Oct 4th.

This a.m. my devotional book gave me what I sense is my passage for the next six months!  This was such an encouragement to me because just last week I told the Lord that I felt badly about the fact that I was just doing so much practical preparations that I wasn't really preparing my heart!  I have been consciously trying to prepare my heart since that realization.

Matt 11:28 - 30 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  (NIV)

This is so meaningful to me on a number of levels.  On this date two years ago, my mother was in her last days.  She had taken a turn for the worst, and I sensed that the Lord was calling her home.  My sister and brother in law were on their way up from FL.  I called them and said, "Mom is waiting for you."  It was a Sat in the early afternoon when she said to me, "When are they coming?"  I replied, "Maybe around 4 or 5."  She sort of moaned, like that was too long to wait!  Early on Oct 4th, a Sun that year, the rehab facility where she was called to say that she was gone.  Immediately, the Lord gave me a picture of her walking the streets of gold, and EVERYTHING worked.

I had left my beloved India to return to the US in June of 2002 in order to be close to Mother.  I had asked the Lord to allow me to return.  I knew, however, that in my heart I wanted to return to what I call the "real" India, not the somewhat idyllic life lived in the beautiful Himalayas.  I also sensed that the Lord was going to do something big about the fact that the Gospel has been preached for so long in India and yet the percentage of the vast population hasn't responded.  Still, because of who He is, it was bound to come.  "May I be apart of it when it does, Lord?" I remember asking.  Reports indicate that there is a turning to the Lord in India that is new, fresh, and largely among the poor.  That is the part of society in which I will be working.

Shortly after Mother's departure from this world, I returned to India for six weeks.  It was the most wonderful time!  I saw Him at work in the generations.  I reconnected with many people that I love, a few that I hadn't seen for 35 years. I sort of wished that I had planned to stay longer, but my future was so uncertain, and I'd felt before I left the US that I needed to return before too much time passed in order to get things more settled.

Since that time I have struggled to find a spot in this world!  Either unemployed or underemployed, I asked the Lord for direction, but didn't seem to get any guidance!  Then, out of the blue, comes this invitation from an old friend who I didn't even know was in the US, let alone in the same city that I was visiting.  It struck a cord, was in a place that I had once lived, but was across the country from where I had most recently lived and sort of expected the Lord to return me.  Still, I could see the wisdom in having a fresh start.

How grateful I am for my history in India!  In the Spring of 1970 I went into India for the first time.  Due to extenuating circumstances, I went by train alone into Delhi.  I was young, and so inexperienced in all things cross cultural!  I don't remember much about that trip, but am so grateful for the time and the organization with which I worked.  They gave me the idea that I should go to serve my Indian brothers and sisters.  At that time, India was just 23 years into independence.  What a revolutionary thing that was at that time . . . something that I have just considered lately.  Now that democratic India and I are in our 60's, maybe I am older and wiser.  I am again going into Delhi alone, though this time on a plane, and this time into the arms of dear friends from my Woodstock days . . . both former staff and former students.  I can't wait to see them!!!  I will be in Delhi for four days before going on to Kolkata.  I didn't even think about this before it actually started coming together, but the experts in transitions tell you to plan in a buffer between departing one place and arriving in another!

I chose to fly on Mom's death anniversary for practical reasons . . . it is cheaper.  At the same time, I hope it honors her!  I came home to honor her.  I am leaving because she no longer needs me, and the Lord has apparently worked out enough in me that I am ready for something new.  I do sense that I am so very ready for a change!

Back to the verses.  I am weary, especially from the fast tracked preparations.  I have been burdened by life's uncertainities.  Now the Lord has begun to give me some rest in the fact that things are in place to leave.  I believe that He will give me rest in Delhi from the 24 hour trip and the 9 and 1/2 hour time change.  He will refresh me by time with old and dear friends!  Then, there is the yoke . . . something you see often in India.  The oxen yoked together, and you understand this verse more clearly than you might have if you hadn't seen them first hand.  What a joy to be yoked with my savior!  What a joy to be able to go and work with an Indian organization with no agenda other than to serve and see how I might lightened the burden of my friend Premila.  Thank you, Lord, for this reminder.  I am taking this with me as my verses for the next 6 months.  Please prepare my heart to serve, and to walk in closeness with you!!!

My house is cleaner and tidier than it has been in a while.  The weather outside is glorious and a chill is in the air.  I will miss both of these things, and though the weather isn't as hot in India as it is in the hot season, it will not require a wrap for a couple more months.  I'll miss my car, my freedom of movement, my independence.  Yes, and I will miss friends and family.  Still, I have this sense that there are new friends and a new family out there for me to meet and become apart of.  Thank you, Father, for working this out for me!!!  Lead on, oh King Eternal!