We’ve come to the end of our time in Kolkata.  We leave for the airport in less than two hours.  We’re still saying goodbyes to all our favorite places, and the amazing people we’ve met here, and the time seems way too short.  Especially once I remembered it was my turn for a blog entry!   I’m trusting that God, being as amazing as He is, will be able to work through a hastily written post anyways!

There are definitely things I’m not sorry to be leaving behind – the pollution, the dirt, and the crows, to name a few.  But even so, many of us have all ready stated our intention to come back…God-willing.  I couldn’t imagine falling in love with Kolkata when I first arrived, but I have, and I hope I have the opportunity to share this experience with people I care about at home, through pictures, stories, and maybe even a trip back to Kolkata…any takers??

It amazes me how God has blessed me…here in Kolkata, I was away from everything familiar, away from every other source of comfort, stripped from all that I relied on, and from all the mediocrity that I had founded my identity on.  And once God alone had my attention, He brought my focus away from myself, so that I could more clearly see and take part in the beauty and mystery around me, in particular that of the human person.  And then, through daily encounters with Him in the Eucharist, the poor,my teammates, and other volunteers I’ve met here, He gave me the gift of joy.  It seems odd that God decided to teach me a little about the gift and beauty of joy admist so much need and suffering.  But it just adds to the depth and mystery of joy.

Mother Teresa said that you can find Kolkata wherever you go.  The poor, lonely, and suffering at home are just as much in need of our love and joyful service as the poor in Kolkata.  And yet God called us here nevertheless, and I think it was not so much so that we could do something for them, but so THEY could do something for US.  I feel I have been given so much more than I have given.

Please keep us in our prayers, as we prepare for the challenges of taking home  all that we’ve been taught here.  And we will keep you all in ours!

God bless!

Alanna

“I thirst,” Jesus said on the cross when Jesus was deprived of every consolation, dying in absolute Poverty, left alone, despised and broken in body and soul. He spoke of His thirst – not for water – but for love, for sacrifice…

-Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

I am sitting here in India on this very hot and humid day thinking how hard it is going to be to say goodbye to Calcutta. I have been so blessed to work these past six weeks at Prem Dan. Prem Dan means gift of love, and in these weeks I have realized just how much love I have been gifted with. These women in Prem Dan who are sick, worried and hungry greet me every day with big warm embraces, kisses, and words of endearment. These women who have no family and have spent their lives alone on the street know better than anyone I have ever met, how to love. When I read the quote above in the book ‘Come be My Light” I immediately thought of how those I have encountered here who have absolutely nothing, know exactly how to quench Jesus’ thirst. Despite being ‘deprived of every consolation, dying in absolute Poverty, left alone, despised and broken in body and soul’ they are ready to love you. Even when it takes me time to open myself up to their love, even when I become destracted by tasks that need to be done or places I need to be, even when I can’t give them, whole heartedly, my love…they always love me. I don’t know what I have done to deserve their love, or Christ’s love but I do know being here and encountering the poor here in Calcutta has deepened my desire to quench Christ’s thirst.

I will miss so much about Calcutta. It has brought me so much joy and has opened my heart to encounter Christ’s love in completely new ways. Mother Teresa said that we don’t need to travel to Calcutta to find Calcutta, that all over the world there are people who are unloved and forgotten. But I am so greatful that I have been able to encounter Christ in the poorest of the poor, to see His thirst here. I believe that my experience of Calcutta will open my eyes to the poverty (both spiritual and material) in Canada. Calcutta has taught me how to love those around me whole heartedly and without reserve. It won’t always be easy, just like my work here, but it will always be life giving.

Thank you again for all your love and support and for joining us in our mission here. You are all in our thoughts and prayers always!

God Bless
Amy

We passed a burning building today on our way to work. The entire 2nd floor was destroyed. We could see the smoke, the flames. We could see the people on the street below watching what used to be their home dissapear. A snapshot image for a heart wrenching situation.

There is so much need here. Day unto day there is hunger, thirst, nakedness, loneliness. And I believe that as a volunteer there is much that I do not see, cannot know  about the various realities of Calcutta.

This is the world to which Mother came. This is the environment in which she loved. She submitted her whole being to God and let God show her both the evil and the good. And she loved regardless. Some days it is a test to my will to face the streets of Calcutta. I feel burdened at times by the depth of hunger (in all it’s forms).  And I feel small.

I am small. Who am I? What am I? I am human, imperfect, quirky,  flawed… yet ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’. I am ransomed with the most precious blood of God. And for me, each day is made new.  There are hard realities here. I seek God with my fears and questions. But I see love everyday. Kindness weighs like gold and there is light in the darkness. Christ is the light.

Catherine

Good day everyone!

We’ve just come back from our 3 day holiday in Sundarbans; a little country village about 5 hrs outside of Calcutta. Getting there was half the fun. We took a train, 2 bamboo boats, 2 motorbike rickshaws and one bike rickshaw. Amy got to drive one of the motorbike rickshaws. The looks of surprise on the Indians passing by were priceless. Very few women drive here,  so to see a foreign woman driving is spectacular.

On our second day we took a boat cruise in the Sudarbans Tiger Reserve area. There are about 250 Bengal tigers that live in the reserve, but we didn’t see any.  We did see Kingfisher birds (blue & orange colored), crocodiles, monkeys, water monitor lizards, deer, jellyfish & wild boar. We spent most of our time relaxing on the boat as we were traveling to different watch towers. It was such a blessing to have a break from Calcutta city and all it’s noise and pollution.

Being able to explore India’s countryside gave me a richer experience. Seeing the mud huts, rice fields and exotic plants made me feel like I was inside a National Geographics magazine. It was so beautiful. I felt God’s loving presence through nature in a huge way.

Now that we’re back in Calcutta, I’m ready to go back to Prem Dan refreshed and full of energy. Our prayer is that we will live every moment to the fullest and not think or talk about how many days are left. Please pray for us as we are praying for you.

I just want to leave you with a quote from Mother Teresa. “You will never know how much good a simple smile can do.” I challenge you to live out this quote. It will make a big difference in your life and in the lives of the people around you.

Elaine

The girls have done a great job of blogging and letting you know about our lives here in Calcutta.  It’s hard to imagine this city without some visuals though, so here are a few pictures to go along with our stories. I’m including a team picture that we took at St. John’s church. The little sister in the picture is Sr. Barbara.  We all fell in love with her, and will be returning to St. John’s again to soak up some of her wisdom.  We are not allowed to take pictures at our volunteer assignments until our last day, so you’ll have to wait for those. Here are a few pictures to wet your appetite though.  Enjoy!Kerry

the team at the Botanical Gardens

men reading the newspaper at the bus stop

at the flower market

some VERY cute street kids

A view of the shore line from the ferrya croud at the victoria memorial

The team with Sr. Barbara

I must confess that I have never seen Schindler’s list – a movie about the Nazi Haulocaust, but I have heard about the most heart wrenching scene. A small girl in a pretty red petty coat walks through the black and white scene of the streets of Poland. In a later scene, also black and white, the same pretty red petty coat is seen on the lifeless body of a child amongst dozens of other dead bodies. The red coat made the victims of the haulocaust real people.

Yesterday on my way home from the dispensary a woman walked towards me – barefeet, hair matted, wearing a dirty torn red dress. The red of her dress seemed to pop out despite the myriad of color in the background. The other colors faded as I rememebered Schindler’s list. In that moment I came to know personally, even if only through a kind glance and a smile a victim of Calcutta’s haulocaust – POVERTY. We have seen the victims of povery. We have held their cold hands, looked into their sick eyes, touched their dead bodies. 

This is when it gets hard. I find it more difficult to write home. I think it’s due in part to how personal the poverty has become. It’s hard to put into words the ache in my heart. For the lost, the last and the least. It is difficult to put into words my own brokenness I am faced with as I discover my own poverty. And what’s more offensive my lack of poverty. It offends my mind to try to reconcile these two realities and what’s worse the identities I own within them. 

The more I come in contact with the poor the more I pray to become a victim of love. To die to self, to live for Christ. To offer my all to Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor. To imitate Mother Teresa in her attempt to satiate the thirst of Christ by being a light in the dark holes of the poor.

God is doing GREAT things here. Keep praying for us.

Blessings, Micheline

“Have you received new life?”, Rahul, of about 13 years of age asked me a week ago. “On Tuesday, I will receive new life at my First Communion. Have you received new life?”…How blessed I was to witness the First Holy Communion of four of the children from Daya Dan. Upon being asked this question by Rahul, I was touched by his understanding -  his wisdom – at such a young age. The three boys and one girl who received the sacrament were beautifully dressed in white (two boys proudly showed me some pictures of this event today!). They received Jesus so innocently and reverently, completely full of excitement knowing that Jesus was going to enter into their lives in a very special way.What a celebration it was! And what a privilege to witness.

God has been very extravagant to us. I think also about the “new life” I get to experience everyday, should I have the heart to experience it, the eyes to see it, the ears to hear it. Each moments offers the opportunity for new life – new perspectives, new realizations, and reminders. One such experience that holds prominence in my mind is our encounter with Sr. Barbara…

On Thursday, Kerry and Micheline guided us through a journey in the footsteps of Mother Teresa. We visited the Loreto convent – a beautiful compound where Mother first served as a sister prior to sacrificing this life for the call of the Missionaries of Charity. We also saw the first church Mother worked in, St. Theresa of Avila Church, as well as the nearby home where the Gomes family allowed Mother and about 15 of her first followers to live (a single room which served as a chapel by day, and a dorm by night). We also walked to St. Paul’s Church, where the contemplative Missionaries of Charity reside, where the sisters are burried, and where Sr. Barbara greeted us so lovingly.

If anything made Mother Teresa more real for me, it was Sr. Barbara. Standing at about half my height, and 4 times my age, sari slightly askew, one missing front tooth, she is probably one of the most beautiful women I have ever met in person. Her hands were rediculous: leathery to the touch, slightly dirty, dark, beautiful. Hands that I can only aspire to have. Hands that have touched so many people. Hands that reflect the incredible heart this woman has. How rare it is to see someone who actually lives what they preach. She greeted us with a simple message: Be nothing but holy. Not much more can be said, for by seeking  new life in Christ everyday, as this old woman does, perhaps being nothing but holy is possible (with lots of prayer!).

Pray for us! And pray for Sister Barbara too, as we promised we would pray for her!Your prayer has blessed our journey so much. You continually remain in our intentions also.

God Bless,

Serena

What an amazing experience!  I’ve been here about two and a half weeks now, having arrived one week later than the rest of my team, but so much has happened in that short period of time that it feels like so much longer.

None of the days we’ve spent here could be called “ordinary” but yesterday needs a special mention.  We were blessed to meet an aunt of a friend of Serena’s and so we spent the afternoon and evening with her having adventures around Kolkata.  She has such a generous and beautiful spirit, and she made the day incredibly memorable for us all.  I will be laughing for a long time at the memory of eleven of us crammed into a VERY compact 8 passenger vehicle, having a man try to sell us peanuts to feed the zoo animals directly under a sign reading: “Feeding the animals is strictly prohibited” (I don’t think he appreciated the irony when we pointed the sign out to him), and watching a white tiger urinate on Amanda.  Did I mention Amanda got peed on by a white tiger?  True Story

Anways, my volunteer assignment is at Shishu Bhavan, the orphanage founded by Mother Teresa.  At first the work was incredibly draining, emotionally and physically, and I’d be counting down the hours until I could leave the chaos.  However it didn’t take long before I fell head over heels in love with the kids, and challenging though it can be, I now thoroughly enjoy spending time there with them, the volunteers, the moshes (permanent workers) and the sisters.

The first day I was there the toddlers I was helping out with took me by the hand and showed me the pictures of the couples adopting them, “Mami” and”Papi”, that were taped to the walls.  In the two weeks I’ve been there I’ve witnessed five couples come to the orphanage and welcome a child into their lives and hearts.  It is so beautiful!  The volunteers I’ve met are also really interesting, inspiring and incredibly diverse.  They all have completely different backgrounds, different reasons for being here, different expectations and so on.  I’ve definitely enjoyed getting to know them!

Day to day life here is definitely challenging, but Gods outpouring of grace is evident everywhere I look.  Everyday God is challenging us to recognize the dignity and value of every human life, and to love and serve them, totally and selflessly as He does.  John Paul II often urged people to not be satisfied with mediocrity, and God is certainly giving us many opportunities, as He does wherever we are, to enter into the mystery of His love more fully everyday.

Anyways, I hope you are all doing amazingly well, and I can’t wait to see you all!

Alanna

The other day we attended a beautiful volunteer recollection day hosted by the Sisters. It was great to have an afternoon of stories of Mother Theresa, a GREAT meal (chicken included), and some time to pray with other volunteers from all over the world. We prayed the rosary in 3 different languages, and I realized how lovely it is that we all pray to the same God, that so many people have been called here to serve him in the poor, and that so many of us came to sing a simple song of praise.

Sr. Micheal gave an inspiring talk about what Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, “you did it to me.” This is how Blessed Mother Theresa came to summarize her life of living the Gospels, “you did it to me.” That we can live the Gospels everyday, and that all too often the only Gospel that most people read is us. So do we live the these words fully, that whatsoever we do to the least of God’s people, that we do unto him? Do we let Jesus become human again through us; to let him use our eyes to see the faces of his beloved children as he wills, to listen to his children as he wants to hear them, to let him use our hands to touch those whom he longs to touch, and to say to his children what he so desperately wants to tell them?

I’m realizing more and more that I have a great poverty. That often we are called not to give things of our material wealth. That in our world today, I cannot change the ways that people have to go about living in the slums. My poverty is that I can only give so much, and that only goes so far. But God can give everything in his love, and sometimes that means all I am meant for is a smile; to give people a reason to smile, and trust me, the smiles of these people are the most spectacular smiles I have ever seen (i especially love the toothless ones).

I hope that home is well, and know that we pray for you daily; in thanksgiving of your prayers, and anticipation of our return. We love you all dearly, and may the good Lord bless you and bring you many smiles today.

With great joy,

Jacinta

Hello friends and family! So a couple of weeks have gone by here in Calcutta and I am loving it! I have to admit at first I was worried that it would be a very long seven weeks, but as soon as I started getting used to the city, (the smells ,the noise,the busy streets, marching band practice while your trying to sleep), I started to realize what a blessing it is to be here! My volunteer assignment is at a place called Shanti Dan. I work with malnourished children or children whose parents aren’t well enough to take care of them. There are about 25 kids (age 0-10) and they are fantastic! We teach them, play with them, sing, feed them etc. It is so great to come into these kids’ lives and just shower them with love. It is also neat to be their “teacher” since this is the only schooling some of them will ever recieve…and as much as we are there to help them, they bless us, teach us, and love us more than i could have imagined!

A moment that was special to me was special to me was the other day another volunteer brought each child their own notebook and pencil. It was like christmas for them! The joy on their faces was priceless, and it made me think that some of these kids have probably never had anything that was just theirs in their whole lives. It was really great to be a part of.  Another thing that blesses me so much is doing laundry with the Indian ladies in the morning. It is such a simple, monotonous task but they do it with so much love. It made me realize how simple life can be,  and how much life can get complicated for no reason.

It is cool working with other volunteers as well, meeting people from all different places around the world, and on different walks of life, but all here together for the same purpose. Its really great getting to know people. We said goodbye to an amazing group from Texas today, i miss them already!

I’m anxious to see what else God has in store for us in the coming weeks! Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers!

God bless,

Amanda