Back in the USA!!!

I am writing today from the newly renovated 'Day Room' at Holly Knoll, the historic home of Dr. Robert Russa Moton, in Gloucester, VA.  It is such a beautiful spot, and it is a glorious day here on the York River!  A few years back, I worked for the Gloucester Institute, and it is always a joy to spend time with the Emerging Leaders, African American university students, during any or all of their four weekends together.  This is their last weekend of the year, the topic of the weekend being I missed their last gathering because I was in India.   I am still getting over what almost feels like a dream as the place where I am sitting was sort of a furniture warehouse when I frequented this historic site, giving tours of the house or overseeing events.

On April 8th, I will have been back for two weeks.  It feels like lots longer!!!  In other words, time is flying, I am over jet lag, the mail is read, and it feels pretty 'normal' to be back here.  My thoughts are still often with my Kolkata family, especially the boys of Anandoloy.  Fortunately I am friends on Facebook with several of them, which is the way I feel up with them a little bit.  The ones who go to Bengali medium school have had exams this week and the ones who go to Calcutta Emmanuel School, which is English medium began a new school year on April 2nd.  I also know that India beat South Africa in cricket yesterday.  I love it that I can imagine them watching the match, and being absolutely delighted at India's triumph!!!

The trip home was long and tiring!!!  Oh my, I left the EMC office about 2:30 p.m. on Mar 24.  I had a three hour flight to Mumbai to get my international flight.  Because of my standby status, I was on the 'other side' of immigration until about an hour before the flight.  That doesn't sound so bad until I add that there isn't much to eat on that side, nor is there any place to plug in your iPad.  The flight to Amsterdam is 8 hours, 45 minutes.  Time enough to do a little bit of shopping.  Then, the waiting game again.  This time, I was the last person with a boarding pass.   That flight to Atlanta is 9 hours and 15 minutes.   A rough landing, due to weather, and just general fatigue left me feeling like I couldn't get back to Richmond fast enough.  Just as I had all upgrades going to India, I had NO upgrades returning.  Dear Keallie was awaiting my return at the RIC airport with a welcome home sign, fruit, as well as cheese and crackers.  I was so glad to be home when we got there . . . just after 7 p.m. EDT.  (There is a 9.5 time change between Kolkata and Richmond!)  So, if I figured it correctly, I was vertical for a very long time, and in transit for about 36 hours.  I managed to stay up until 10 p.m. that night and every night during the first week back, part of my strategy to get myself back on EDT.  Thankfully, I was also able to stay in bed until 6 a.m.

I will have to admit that recovering from two months away is easier to recover from than I usually find it.  Now that the weather has turned, I am really looking forward to Spring time in Richmond.  I am teaching during the Women's Bible study at church three times, beginning on the 8th, back to tutoring at CHAT, looking forward to going on a church mission adventure in June, and just asking The Lord to show me what is next.

Yes, I do want to go back to Kolkata, and I would like to stay longer next time.  I did so love being with the boys and wonder if this might be the way that The Lord wants to use me in building the church in India, encouraging and teaching them as well as helping the women who teach in the Pavement clubs in their English acquisition.

I love being Aunty!!!

This time next week, if all goes according to plan, I should be on my way home to the USA!  It has gotten VERY hot here, and though I know Southern women aren't supposed to sweat, this one does, and it is helping me to feel better about leaving!  (The temp is predicted to reach 98 today and it isn't even summer . . . this is why I leave in Mar!!!)

The boys of Anandoloy are going to sing THE FINGERPRINTS OF GOD by Steven Curtis Chapman Sun at church.  It has been such a joy to teach them the meaning of the words and to hear them singing it around the house!  We have also looked at Ps. 139, a real favorite of mine and talked about when their hearts started beating . . . they didn't know how long it had been.  When you think of their backgrounds and what some of them have been through to reassure them that they aren't mistakes, that God can and does forgive everything . . . what a blessing!!!

I am, in this country, Aunty!!!  People 'call' me that on the street.  Most of the people that I know here call me that, except my peers.  This a.m. I decided to leave home earlier than usual so that I could get a ride on the EMC bus that brings children from Ripon Street, where the office is, to the Pavement Club that meets at Creek Rowe (it is for older children).  As the children got off the bus, each of them greeted me, "Good morning, Aunty!"  How dear is that?

My friend Rita, who is the headmistress of the junior school at Calcutta Emmanuel School, lost her son in the night.  We are all feeling very sad.  Abishek lived in Delhi.  They will bring him here for burial.  It isn't easy, apparently, to do that because of cultural 'rules' about handling dead bodies even when they are in a coffin.

I am feeling the pinch of this being my last week.  There are more than a few things to do, and I am feeling a bit powerless to do them because I can't do them alone on this side of town where I don't know 'the lay of the land'.

This has been a GREAT time.  I look forward to what's ahead, even though I don't know what it is!  Thanks for following me.

It's a different world!!!

I feel quite determined to write today!   Life has been a series of transitions since I left home on Jan 21st.  I am in my last one now, and I feel like the dust is beginning to settle.  I am very thankful for that.

On Jan 21/22 I was in the air about 17 hours, not including time in airports waiting for the next flight, and when I arrived in India in the middle of the night I knew that I was in a DIFFERENT WORLD!  This great land with all of its people, colors, general chaos, and unbelievable hospitality when you are in a more one on one situation isn't RVA!

On Feb 5/6, I spent 17 hours on an overnight 'express' train from Kolkata to Hamiltongunj.  They are both in the same state, and it shouldn't have taken that long, but . . . it did!!!  I was so glad to get OFF the train, and I was also grateful for a young man, a student here in Kolkata, who was going home to visit his parents.  He helped me keep track of where I was along the route.  His mother kept calling him, and Nicholas kept calling me!!!  When I arrived in Purba Satali, about a 15 minute car ride from the station, and settled into life there for 2.5 weeks, I also knew that I had arrived in a DIFFERENT WORLD!!!  I had traded the busy, noisey life in Kolkata for a quiet, peaceful existence with wide open spaces, quieter children and a relaxed schedule.  I was very tired upon arrival.  I think that was a combination of jet lag and relationship overload.  I was able to rest well in this more peaceful life, and enjoyed the interaction with children that I was helping with their English acquisition and doing all sorts of other things that I wasn't expecting to do, of course!  For example, for all intents and purposes, I was the music teacher in Nursery and KG, both sections . . . not an age group I am drawn to, and I cannot tell you how many times I have been told that I don't carry a tune very well without music!  Well, no one knew that, and I racked my brain for all of the 'little kid songs' that I could remember.  They loved it, and some of the teachers said that they were writing down the words that I was teaching!  So, the songs will live on!  PTL!  Of course, I was also asked to share in church both weeks that I was there, as I entered the church!!!  Thankfully, because church is conducted in a language that I didn't understand, I could think about that as the service was going on.  The second week, I actually was the sermon!!!  I was really quite surprised by that, and they certainly got a nice short one!  Highlights of the time were getting to know more about this sweet community and insights into the rural poor.  Precious people!!!

I was able to fly back to Kolkata on the 22nd.  It took an hour!   The nearest airport is more than a three hour drive from Purba Satali, but a vehicle was going with someone else so I took advantage of that!  I really wasn't excited about another long train ride.

After one night at Premila's, I moved into the flat (apartment) up on the fourth floor at the property on Creek Rowe.  The building is a 'happening place'!  A pavement club (informal education) and drop in center for boys who are street children and drug dependent occupy the first floor during the day.  About 30 boys who are apart of the residential program of EMC, live on the second floor.  There is an HIV/Aids drop in and treatment center on the third floor.  This building is more centrally located in the city than the place I lived the past two years.  I can walk to the office which has Yi Fy, and is where I do my primary English classes and the weekly women's study.  As I have walked the crowded streets this week past all kinds of people and things that I didn't encounter in Jadavpur the chorus, "IT'S A DIFFERENT WORLD", rings in my ears.

English classes started yesterday.  I must admit that they were a little chaotic due to widely differing abilities and personalities!  Some of my students are with me for the third time, a couple are brand new.  I am only here for a short time this year, but let's see what we can accomplish.  One of the students who has been with me all three years is making amazing progress, and that feels so rewarding.   I am going to do two smaller classes for conversation and one for writing to try and help with the ability discrepancies and felt needs.  My schedule is a bit freer this year, too, as I won't be working at the school because the children are in their final exams now, and then there will be a two week holiday.  These women 'slog' it out in the tranches day after day, year after year with slum kids helping them get something of an education.  It is my privilege to serve them in this way.

I am so delighted to be in daily contact with the boys of Anandaloy!  They are a lively bunch.  About half of them don't speak English which means I can't communicate with them very well.  I do think my Hindi might improve because they at least understand that though Bengali is their mother tongue and the medium in which they are being educated.  They seem to like having me around, and I am studying with various and sundry who go to English medium schools.  I have realized that it is often the vocabulary in their text books that they don't understand.  So, I can help with that.  Sometimes I am also just a listening ear.  I LOVE it and told Premila the other day that I feel like I have landed on my feet!!!  I remember as a young girl wanting to work in an orphanage.  My mother told me that she thought I was too soft hearted that that my heart would always be broken.  Well, I don't know what has changed, but I am loving this time!

It is warming up!  I am grateful for ceiling fans.

Praying that His purposes for this time will be accomplished, and that when the dust settles on the exam front that I will also be able to spend more time with the dear girls that I have lived with previously.

Probably my last blast for awhile!

It is a holiday here in India because of a Hindu festival.  I cannot remember the goddess's name, but she is the goddess of education.

I am in the cyber cafe after not being able to get my little iPad to upload.  I am not sure what that is all about, but . . . I suspect it has something to do with speed of the internet.

I do have a significant cold/cough, but it is improving.  I am grateful for that.

When I leave here I will be off to Anandoloy to study with Raja.  He asked me the other night about helping him with Chemistry.  I don't know a thing about Chemistry, but have realized that what he wants is for me to read the information with him.  I can certainly do that.

Fri and Mon I was out at Calcutta Emmanuel School and received a very warm welcome from students and staff.  Wisdom is needed about future involvement there.

Tomorrow Dave and Cathy Hicks arrive from Malda where they have been visiting with a partner.  We will spend the day together here, and then I take off for N. Bengal . . . they were there earlier in their visit!  It is an overnight train ride away, and I am praying for the journey and how to be a blessing to the Narjinary family and their ministry while I am there.

Premila has been ill again, not her usual dust allergy.  She says she is better, but certainly isn't resting as she prepares for the onslaught of guests that will be arriving in the days to come!

Is it possible!!!???

Today I realize that I have begun my second week in India.  So much has happened that it feels like I have been here a very long time.  The FB posts of the challenging weather at home bring with them a reality check. Am I allowed to say that the weather here is delightful!?  The locals are finding it quite cool.  It feels like early Richmond Spring to me!!!

I was able to meet with Kedu and Rebecca on Fri night before leaving Mumbai on Sat.  It was so good to catch up.  Thurs and Fri nights I slept really well.  The flight to Kolkata left an hour late, but arrived with only a half an hour's delay.  Yakoob, one of the EMC drivers, was at the airport to meet me and take me to Premila's.

Sun a.m. at Jeevan Joyti Fellowship was quite exciting.  Reunions with the EMC family and my friends from Ukraine were indeed special!  After church I stayed for Youth Fellowship in order to get more visiting time in with the teenagers here that I have grown so fond of.

It was super to get a ride with Premila out to Pauline Bhavan, where I have lived the past two visits, on Monday afternoon.  This followed more reunions at the office during the a.m.  Getting more time with the girls and other staff members at PB was an added bonus as I was also able to get things from the store room where I left them. The moth ball smell prevails especially in the paper that I had stored, but the clothes aired out nicely, and it is good to be back to my Indian wardrobe!

I am writing today from a cyber cafe near Mother Theresa's Home and will leave here soon to go and have my second visit with the boys who live at Anandoloy.  It is 4:30 before many of them get back from school. Some are taking computer classes with one of the men from the Ukraine team.  A couple of others from the Ukraine team are coming every day to spend time playing with the younger boys.  Exams are hovering over us, so it is more of just a 'touch base' time.

Yesterday I had a brief visit with last year's English language learning class before women's Bible study which I led on Luke 8: 16 - 18.  Premila, who translates for me, felt that the things we spoke of were well received. It was nice to see familiar faces and meet some new women who are recovering from addictions.  A couple of them are just teenagers.

Tomorrow I plan to spend the day at school catching up with friends there.  Fri afternoons YPF (Young People's Fellowship) meets, and I am looking forward to being apart of that!  Pauline Bhavan is on the same 'compound' so again relationships abound.

I have spoken with Nicolas Narjinary who will be welcoming me up in N. Bengal in a week.  Dave and Cathy arrive here on the 5th a.m,. and I leave on the 5th night.  We plan to visit the workshop where girls rescued from the human trafficing scene here learn a new trade . . . jewelry making and also to visit the boys together before I take off!  Most of these girls were rescued by Freedom Firm, founded and run by Dave and Cathy's daughter and son in law.

I seem to have picked up a lot of congestion during the flights and no doubt from the pollution in the city. I don't feel badly, but it is rather annoying!

I am experiencing some sensory overload, more through the richness of relationships than the culture.  There is a big political gathering in the city today which is making life interesting for some, but doesn't really affect the part of the city where I am.

Praising God for all of the safe travel and updates, as well as the joy of relationships.  I am hoping for a bit of down time over the weekend.  I know we need it.

Another guest who was here and staying at Premila's left today.  That will help.  Please pray for her.  She has a nasty UTI which isn't keeping her down, but . . . She says that she feels better since going on meds.

'Guest season' is upon us as this is the best time weatherwise to visit India.  I am secretly glad to be going away from the fray.  It should be mostly over by the time I return on the 23rd.

A busy three days!

With storms predicted along the I 95 corridor on Tues, many events were canceled, and so I had the a.m. to leisurely get the last of my preparations completed.  Ginny (Laramore) and I decided to leave for the airport earlier than we thought necessary to insure that we were there, and she was back, before the snow started. Long story short, when I went to check in for my 2:19 flight, about 11:30, the man said to me, "I'm putting you on the 12:40 flight.  It's going to get crazy around here!"  So, about the time I was supposed to leave Richmond, I was in ATL.

The flight out of RIC was crowded and the attendant at the desk continually urged, "There will not be room in the overhead bins because the flight is full, check your luggage at the gate."  When I got my boarding pass, at the 11th hour, she suggested that I heed her advice.  My response was, "I am going to Mumbai, and I am flying standby."  She nodded, and down the gateway I went with an economy class seat assignment on my boarding pass.  I had just gotten into the plane when another attendant came in with a new boarding pass for me . . . a seat in First Class!  No problem with room for my luggage.

As I was early to ATL, there was plenty of time for me to walk from Terminal B to Terminal E, where the international flights take off.  I was hungry, and found a restaurant, with Yi FI, out of the fray; and enjoyed my last hamburger for at least two months.

When I went to the counter to 'report', I heard the Delta employee explaining to some women who were not too happy about new seat assignments that the likely explanation was that the computer didn't know they were together when it reassigned seats because we were flying to AMS on a different aircraft.  To keep another long story short, I got onto the flight to Amsterdam in Business Class!!!  I had been told my by friend Dave who had checked the 'loads' earlier in the week that it was unlikely that I would get the upgrade on that flight!  Maybe it was the change of aircraft.  Who knows!?

Though comfortable, I didn't really sleep on the overnight flight.  So, life seemed a little rugged when I got off the plane in AMS Wed a.m.  That same plane was going on to Mumbai in a couple of hours, but I had to go through the whole stand by procedure.  Again, I got on in Business Class.  Thank you, Lord.  I may have napped on that second flight, but was really quite out of it when I got into the Mumbai airport.  Certainly another perk of flying Business Class is that there is even a different line for you to go through immigration, and it is certainly shorter than the one for Economy.

I booked a hotel while still inside the airport, and was on my way out to meet the car that they were going to send for me, when who should I see but Dave Hicks!  He was waiting for Doug, his new colleague, who was also arriving, having been delayed because of the storm.  If I hadn't had a place, I could have gone to the same hotel where they were staying, but they leave today, so I just left things as they were  This place isn't great, but clean sheets, a Western toilet and AC . . . all of the essentials are here.  There is TV, too, which I haven't used yet.  (I later tried it, but it didn't work!)

I have managed to get some sleep and to eat breakfast and lunch.  I have not managed to get in touch with the old students from Woodstock School that I want to see, but . . . It is just about 4:45 Indian Standard Time, 10.5 hours ahead of EST.  I have heard from Rebecca via FB.  They are both working women.  Kedu is a surgeon, so no doubt she has had a busy day.  I'm going to try to stay awake now until after eating supper, and hopefully get a good sleep tonight.  That will help me get onto the right time zone and not feel so tired!

Almost ready!

Today has been a little bit hectic at times, but now that it is past 4:30, I am feeling a little bit better about things.  A trip to the Apple Store this a.m. was helpful, but I am still not overly confident on my new machine!  I can do the basics, though, and I think I will be fine.

I heard from Dave Hicks today, my friend who books the standby flights for me.  He can 'check the loads' and says that it looks hopeful that I will get ON all of my scheduled flights, but that it is UNLIKELY that I will get the upgrade on the ATL to Amsterdam flight.  If I only get one upgrade, I would prefer it be on the Amsterdam to Mumbai leg of the trip.  I'm still praying, and asking for at least an Economy Comfort seat!  Four extra inches makes a big difference on an 8 hour flight!

Admittedly I am disappointed that I will be missing Richmond's first real snow.  I am happy to be flying S from here, and trust that the storm won't affect getting to Europe.  Let's see.

Since I will have my little machine with me, I will try to update along the way.  I will put something criptic on FB, but don't want to give too much information to anyone who might be lerking.

I posted a link to some information about pornography and how bad it is in our society these days, and the affect that it has on human trafficking.  If you are a friend on FB, I ask you to take time to look at it.  Porn is becoming a problem for younger and younger males.  We need to educate and encourage.  A couple of weekends ago, I attended a conference about ending modern day slavery.  I was reminded again of how important it is to educate young people, both male and female, of the dangers.

Back to the task at hand.  Really looking forward to locking the door behind me for ahile and getting the journey started

Underneath are the everlasting arms!!!

The devotional book that I read regularly has been challenging me of late to TRUST instead of feverishly planning.  I have to smile as I am a planner, and can also be something of a control freak.  I like things to go smoothly, have what I need . . . the list goes on.  Since my self proclaimed 'retirement' I find myself so very unorganized and procrastinate way too much.  If all goes according to my attempt at planning my next adventure in India, however, I will be there in two weeks!!!  I am just not ready for that and know that I need to get down to the work of preparation, packing, et al.  To read the above this a.m. helped put it all in perspective.  I need to get busy, but HE has it all under control.  How grateful I am for that!!!

I mentioned in the last post about my stress test.  It went really well.  The cardiologist I saw comes originally from India, and we had a really lovely talk!  He reported to me that his daughter, a teenager, wants to do things like 'work among the poor' or with 'rescuing girls from the sex trade'.  I gave him some suggestions of organizations to Google, and he did it!  He said he would follow up with me when I get back in March, and that he wants me to meet his daughter!  Let's see.  I would love it, of course.  

The Delta flights that I am booked on are standby.  I did this last year, and was delayed in Amsterdam a day going out and in Mumbai a day coming back.  I am praying that this will not happen this time.  I am told that my position is good at the moment, though things can fill up as you get closer to departure.  My route is Richmond, Atlanta, Amsterdam, Mumbai.  Departure is scheduled for the 21st with arrival on the 22nd.

There are two old students from Woodstock School that I hope to see in Mumbai.  I will spend up to three nights in the city which will help facilitate that, help me get over the 10.5 hour time change and the long flight. It will be like Richmond summer when I arrive in Mumbai!  My plan is to fly to Kolkata, not on standby, on the 25th.

It will be exciting to reconnect with my Emmanuel Ministries family.  In addition to them, I will over lap with friends from Ukraine.  This will be the third time for some of us to meet in Kolkata, the second for others, and the second meeting at least for others that I met for the first time in Aug when I visited Ukraine.  Dave and Cathy Hicks will arrive at the beginning of Feb for a few days, and I am looing forward to overlapping with them.

On Feb 5 I leave on an overnight train for Hamiltongunj in N. Bengal.  I will be there for 2.5 weeks volunteering with NORTH BENGAL OUTREACH MINISTRIES (NBOM).   I visited there in Dec 2009 with Dave and Cathy Hicks. Nicholas Narginary, our dear friend and colleague from our days together with OM in Calcutta back in the '70's leads this work.  My heart was so touched, and Nicholas has been asking me to return since.  

Nicholas, among some of the first Indians to join OM,  led outreach teams until the mid 70's when he returned to his home area to focus on church planting.  This area is the northernmost point of W. Bengal in eastern India.  He lives 20 miles from the Bhutan border (China is 200 miles to the north); Bangladesh is 35 miles to the south; Nepal is just 75 miles to the west and Myanmar is to the east.  God is working in a special way in the Himalayan region.

When he returned to the area, he married Pushpa and bought land that they have developed into a ministry center.  They have three grown children, a hostel housing 100 orphaned or very poor children, cash crop gardens for food and for training the children in productive farming methods, and a primary through 12th grade school educating 430 students.

Joshua and Meni Narginary work alongside his parents in this great work of God.  They focus primarily on the school.  Noel (10) and Joanna (7) are their children.  They have asked that I help the children improve their English and to be an encouragement to them spiritually.

NBOM's primary focus is the unreached people of north Bengal and neighboring regions, bringing transformation and healing in their physical, educational, mental, emotional and spiritual lives.  Ninety five NBOM pastors and evangelists are placed strategically to preach the Gospel, shepherd and plant more churches.  As a result, hundreds are baptized and many new churches are started each year.

This area of Bengal is so very different from Kolkata . . . a big, crowded, dirty and noisy city.  Somewhat isolated and rural it will be a different experience for me.  I will stay in guest accommodation and be well looked after.  It is my prayer that I can quickly fit in, not as the foreign guest, but as a sister/aunty in Christ.

Back in Kolkata, I will not live in the same place, but otherwise plan to do many of the things that I have done in the past . . . Conversational English classes and Bible studies with women and teenagers.  It is my plan to pick up where we left off in the Bible studies on the doctrine of Grace which were so well received during my last visit.  I am looking forward to spending time with the children and teens in the residential programs as well as many young adults who have become very precious to me during previous visits.  Then, too, there are adults who work in EMC to reconnect with.  And, of course, I want to be an encouragement to Premila in whatever way I can be.

It's been a lovely day!!!

It is quite cold here in Richmond, but we haven't gotten any of the snow that has affected much of the country.  It was a week ago today that I made my final drive home after being in Pensacola with family for just over a week during Christmas.  Jackson and Maddie both turned a year older in Dec, and Seth will follow suit later this month.  I cannot get over how much they are growing and changing!  Admittedly, I would love to live closer to them so that I could see them more frequently!  Four days on the road round trip is becoming less enjoyable!  Getting to visit friends in the Atlanta area is a perk, but . . .

As usual, getting back into the groove in Richmond is a challenge.  But, the clothes are all clean, there is food in the house to eat, the Christmas decorations are down, and I am getting things done that I have been procrastinating over for weeks!  It is hard to believe that if all goes according to plan, I will be in Kolkata in three weeks.

It has been nice to spend time with friends since returning, and I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks here, just to see how things will all come together.  I have a stress test on Mon which I am pretty sure will say that I am fine, but I have had a few symptoms and wanted to leave for India with a clean bill of health.  Something funny is also going on with my heating system.  Someone is coming about that on Mon, too!  Hopefully it can be taken care of easily, quickly and inexpensively.

I think now that Christmas is over . . . the kids go back to school around here on Mon . . . I can put my head down, make a list of what needs to be done, and get it taken care of!