There are many things that I could be doing tonight, like getting ready for school in the a.m. Monday is my busiest and most demanding day of the week. I have been out much of the day, and so now all I really have the energy to do is to sit and rest a bit! I have made a list of the things I want to talk about, and it is very long!!! So, better get writing lest I forget! It helps me so to process, too.
This a.m. I was asked to share something in church. I was shopping in New Market with George Verwer's daughter and grandson when I got the call on Tues. I wasn't sure what I would share. It has been such a busy week, and as I mentioned in the last post, I was feeling quite depleted. As I thought about it, though, I decided to share about some of the things that we have talked about in the Ruth study. Ruth's life parallels the lives of more than a few of the women who attend the study. All of them are connected in some way with Emmanuel Ministries Calcutta (EMC) or Jeevan Joyti Fellowship (JJF). The cultural things that the study goes into great detail about for its Western readers don't need long explanations here. Women who attend the study are recovering addicts, women who work in one of our "cottage industries" called the Erica Project, women who work with slum children day in and day out. Some are widows, some are single, I'm not the only foreigner . . . we "get" it! In a country such as India where one caste would not be allowed to drink from the same tap as one from a higher caste, we get it when Boaz offered Ruth water from his vessels. I mentioned in church this a.m. that Ruth isn't just a 'girly' book, and told the men that we had learned more about "real men" from Boaz! The rich landowner who stepped in to help a vulnerable woman whose character and work ethic had caught his attention. Boaz, the manager . . . I'm wondering if any of the men who were there will dip into Ruth this week!
I enjoyed worship this a.m. I was sitting between two of the guys who live in one of our residential projects. Both of them will be in my Scripture classes tomorrow. I am particularly drawn to one of them. His story is remarkable. He says he is 15, studies in Class 7, but I think he looks older than 15. More than a few of our kids didn't know their birthdays when they came to live with us. So, they celebrate that day as their b'day. (Birthdays aren't celebrated here as they are in the West either, but that is a whole other story!) My eyes got misty as I thought about the fact that I am likely only to be at JJF four more Sundays. On one hand, I am looking forward to moving on, and in other ways it is going to be so hard!!!
Alistair from England spoke from Isaiah this a.m. It was excellent, and one of the things he spoke about confirmed to me that I should seek to 'unplug' from here a couple of weeks before departure from India to regroup and be refreshed by friendships and my beautiful Mussoorie mountains! I was so pleased after church to get a word with Alistair and his wife Lilly. They worked here for 6 years and were instrumental in getting two of the children who live here in Pauline Bhavan (PB) into the project. They worked with Free Set which is involved with helping set women free from "the trade". It dawned on me today that my dear I's mother 'survives' that way. This little boy is in the 2nd grade, can't really read, has had a life that most of us can't imagine. Still, he is so dear. He loves to build and is good at it. The other child that they helped I am pretty sure I have talked about before. She was almost given to a brothel. Both of these children has a special place in my heart.
The girls are coming up for their bedtime story soon, but I do want to mention a sight that I cannot get out of my mind for a number of reasons! A couple of weeks ago, I was waiting for the bus across the street from the South City Mall. (When you walk into the mall, you could be in any Western country!) A mother was bathing her daughter on the curb. Just behind them was a "lunch counter/tea stall" kind of place where the family obviously lives and works. This mother was caring for her child in the best way that she knew how. The breakfast rush was over, and people had gone to work. I know of at least two of the older teen girls who live here at PB whose parents run a tea stall down at Victoria Memorial . . . one of the big tourist attractions here. They live there, and I have been told that the Maidan area, at least at one time, became a brothel like place after the sun goes down. I could just imagine the two girls, sisters, being bathed in days gone by on the side of the street like this. I have also recently proofed an article being published by one of the departments at work about the homeless population here, opening night shelters . . . I am being called to think in ways that I have not thought before. Lord, what do you want me to do with all of this!!!???
Pretty much all of our guests have left for this season anyway. We have had a steady stream of them since early Jan. It will be nice not to have so many, and I am sure that the cooks and the drivers are among the most relieved. They are kept so busy!!!
Premila isn't well. I haven't seen her in more than a week as she did not come into the office on Thurs or Fri, and didn't come to church today. That is unusual. I am pretty sure she has a trip coming up this week. She was in Delhi for a couple of days last week meeting with gov't officials!
Time with Sandy went well in English class on Friday. My students seemed to have a good time though I wouldn't have called it "conversation" class. They had their pens and paper out, and were writing things down. I am hoping to do some role playing Tues with another speaker of English who doesn't attend the class.
Sadhana is one of the dear women who teaches in one of our Pavement Clubs and attends Bible study. She is single, has a skin problem . . . pigmentation . . . and is the dearest woman. Friday she made my day when she said, "Aunty, I like you!" (This was after class was officially over and we were just chatting . . . well sort of.) I told her that I liked her, too. Then she said, "You are just like a child!" I know that it was a compliment from the way that she said it, but I wish I could find out more about her thoughts on the matter! Maybe someday!
One of the youngest residents at PB is a boy who is in KG and is an orphan. He is very tiny, has a lovely side most of the time, but a stubborn side as well. He was up here the other night and spied his drawing on my fridge that he had given me after Sunday School one week. He was so thrilled!!! Well, today I got another picture and he communicated with me in his limited English and with gestures that I was to put it on the fridge . . . it's there!!!
Rebecca is a young American woman who attends JJF and the Ruth study. Four of us, all foreigners, went out to lunch after church and then R and I went shopping at New Market. With the weather heating up, I need some cooler clothes. I really appreciated what I saw of R today. She is 29 and basically here on her own. She is teaching slum children, and today we stopped by one of the families that she deals with. They live on the sidewalk not far off one of the main streets in the city . . . on the way to New Market. She had gotten the mother some medicine which she is trying to get her to take. The children were really dirty, but she scooped them up anyway. Bless her heart. It was nice to have someone to shop with and get some opinions on things. I got two new outfits! Someone asked if she were my daughter, which, of course, she could be, but . . . she told me last week that she wanted to become my friend. I thought that was really sweet!
Some guests that really didn't have anything to do with EMC that came through this week were George, Christa, and Jonathan Verwer. Rosemary Morris was also traveling with them. They were here on Mon and Tues. Our visits were brief, and I spent the most time with Christa. I lived with them when Christa was just 5. She is 47 now. Forty two years ago we traveled overland from England to India together. She thought it was pretty cool to be together again in India!
Calling it a day!
This a.m. I was asked to share something in church. I was shopping in New Market with George Verwer's daughter and grandson when I got the call on Tues. I wasn't sure what I would share. It has been such a busy week, and as I mentioned in the last post, I was feeling quite depleted. As I thought about it, though, I decided to share about some of the things that we have talked about in the Ruth study. Ruth's life parallels the lives of more than a few of the women who attend the study. All of them are connected in some way with Emmanuel Ministries Calcutta (EMC) or Jeevan Joyti Fellowship (JJF). The cultural things that the study goes into great detail about for its Western readers don't need long explanations here. Women who attend the study are recovering addicts, women who work in one of our "cottage industries" called the Erica Project, women who work with slum children day in and day out. Some are widows, some are single, I'm not the only foreigner . . . we "get" it! In a country such as India where one caste would not be allowed to drink from the same tap as one from a higher caste, we get it when Boaz offered Ruth water from his vessels. I mentioned in church this a.m. that Ruth isn't just a 'girly' book, and told the men that we had learned more about "real men" from Boaz! The rich landowner who stepped in to help a vulnerable woman whose character and work ethic had caught his attention. Boaz, the manager . . . I'm wondering if any of the men who were there will dip into Ruth this week!
I enjoyed worship this a.m. I was sitting between two of the guys who live in one of our residential projects. Both of them will be in my Scripture classes tomorrow. I am particularly drawn to one of them. His story is remarkable. He says he is 15, studies in Class 7, but I think he looks older than 15. More than a few of our kids didn't know their birthdays when they came to live with us. So, they celebrate that day as their b'day. (Birthdays aren't celebrated here as they are in the West either, but that is a whole other story!) My eyes got misty as I thought about the fact that I am likely only to be at JJF four more Sundays. On one hand, I am looking forward to moving on, and in other ways it is going to be so hard!!!
Alistair from England spoke from Isaiah this a.m. It was excellent, and one of the things he spoke about confirmed to me that I should seek to 'unplug' from here a couple of weeks before departure from India to regroup and be refreshed by friendships and my beautiful Mussoorie mountains! I was so pleased after church to get a word with Alistair and his wife Lilly. They worked here for 6 years and were instrumental in getting two of the children who live here in Pauline Bhavan (PB) into the project. They worked with Free Set which is involved with helping set women free from "the trade". It dawned on me today that my dear I's mother 'survives' that way. This little boy is in the 2nd grade, can't really read, has had a life that most of us can't imagine. Still, he is so dear. He loves to build and is good at it. The other child that they helped I am pretty sure I have talked about before. She was almost given to a brothel. Both of these children has a special place in my heart.
The girls are coming up for their bedtime story soon, but I do want to mention a sight that I cannot get out of my mind for a number of reasons! A couple of weeks ago, I was waiting for the bus across the street from the South City Mall. (When you walk into the mall, you could be in any Western country!) A mother was bathing her daughter on the curb. Just behind them was a "lunch counter/tea stall" kind of place where the family obviously lives and works. This mother was caring for her child in the best way that she knew how. The breakfast rush was over, and people had gone to work. I know of at least two of the older teen girls who live here at PB whose parents run a tea stall down at Victoria Memorial . . . one of the big tourist attractions here. They live there, and I have been told that the Maidan area, at least at one time, became a brothel like place after the sun goes down. I could just imagine the two girls, sisters, being bathed in days gone by on the side of the street like this. I have also recently proofed an article being published by one of the departments at work about the homeless population here, opening night shelters . . . I am being called to think in ways that I have not thought before. Lord, what do you want me to do with all of this!!!???
Pretty much all of our guests have left for this season anyway. We have had a steady stream of them since early Jan. It will be nice not to have so many, and I am sure that the cooks and the drivers are among the most relieved. They are kept so busy!!!
Premila isn't well. I haven't seen her in more than a week as she did not come into the office on Thurs or Fri, and didn't come to church today. That is unusual. I am pretty sure she has a trip coming up this week. She was in Delhi for a couple of days last week meeting with gov't officials!
Time with Sandy went well in English class on Friday. My students seemed to have a good time though I wouldn't have called it "conversation" class. They had their pens and paper out, and were writing things down. I am hoping to do some role playing Tues with another speaker of English who doesn't attend the class.
Sadhana is one of the dear women who teaches in one of our Pavement Clubs and attends Bible study. She is single, has a skin problem . . . pigmentation . . . and is the dearest woman. Friday she made my day when she said, "Aunty, I like you!" (This was after class was officially over and we were just chatting . . . well sort of.) I told her that I liked her, too. Then she said, "You are just like a child!" I know that it was a compliment from the way that she said it, but I wish I could find out more about her thoughts on the matter! Maybe someday!
One of the youngest residents at PB is a boy who is in KG and is an orphan. He is very tiny, has a lovely side most of the time, but a stubborn side as well. He was up here the other night and spied his drawing on my fridge that he had given me after Sunday School one week. He was so thrilled!!! Well, today I got another picture and he communicated with me in his limited English and with gestures that I was to put it on the fridge . . . it's there!!!
Rebecca is a young American woman who attends JJF and the Ruth study. Four of us, all foreigners, went out to lunch after church and then R and I went shopping at New Market. With the weather heating up, I need some cooler clothes. I really appreciated what I saw of R today. She is 29 and basically here on her own. She is teaching slum children, and today we stopped by one of the families that she deals with. They live on the sidewalk not far off one of the main streets in the city . . . on the way to New Market. She had gotten the mother some medicine which she is trying to get her to take. The children were really dirty, but she scooped them up anyway. Bless her heart. It was nice to have someone to shop with and get some opinions on things. I got two new outfits! Someone asked if she were my daughter, which, of course, she could be, but . . . she told me last week that she wanted to become my friend. I thought that was really sweet!
Some guests that really didn't have anything to do with EMC that came through this week were George, Christa, and Jonathan Verwer. Rosemary Morris was also traveling with them. They were here on Mon and Tues. Our visits were brief, and I spent the most time with Christa. I lived with them when Christa was just 5. She is 47 now. Forty two years ago we traveled overland from England to India together. She thought it was pretty cool to be together again in India!
Calling it a day!
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