‘In the heart of Calcutta is the Heart of a King.’
It is still difficult
to put into words my feelings about my time in Calcutta, India. Those who were
on the World Race with me have heard some of my heart on my experience but even
then I cannot fully explain what I felt on those streets. Arriving in India
after 3 months in Africa was daunting enough, but I never expected to go
through what I went through during the 6th month of my World Race
trip. And God, though He seemed distant and quiet, ended up showing me His
Heart for mankind…
I recently went through my old journals from the World Race
and found some interesting things. Some were hilarious, like the picture I drew
of the first stage of Mario Bros. 3 on original Nintendo. Some were tiring,
like when I was too sick to think about much. But they show a little bit of
what my mind was experiencing in Calcutta. And there is one entry that seems to
have just about wrapped up the life-dilemma I personally faced there, and
perhaps throughout the world. I am not going to copy the entry, but recall what
happened that day-
I was frustrated by everything. Team Crux did not have to ask
me how my day was going in the morning, because they knew I hated being where
we were. I could not get out of India fast enough. Ask my teammate Katie how
she felt about our time in Calcutta and you will get a great picture of interesting smells, beautiful colors, wonderful character, life. But if you
were to ask me what I thought of Calcutta and you would get loud, chaotic,
confusing, sad, dirty, sick, death. Taxis honking throughout the night, hostel
rooms that were more like jail cells, food that had an instant effect on your
stomach, messed up religions. It was very difficult for me to hold onto my
sanity- like I have this little bird in place of my brain, and that bird jumps
out and tries to fly away, while I am running all around jumping on beds,
tables, walls, in order to catch just a little feather to get me through the
day.
I was trying to figure out why we were there- no ministry
contact, sickness, team dysfunction- ‘God, why are you keeping us here with all
of this?’ But one thing I remember very clearly is Father telling me, My Heart beats for this city.
There was one day I rode back to the hostel in a taxi with
some of my teammates. The driver and I agreed on a price for the transport. He
charged half the price of a normal taxi ride and I figured this guy is very
generous. We reached our hostel and I handed him the amount agreed upon. He
then told me that we did not agree on that, but on an amount ten times that! I
could not believe it.
How could this guy disrespect me so much?
I was furious, but felt I owed him the courtesy of the
normal price paid. He would not budge on his absurd price. Some of my teammates
began yelling for me to just give him the little bit and walk away. Another
teammate was tugging on my shirt for me to leave the taxi. I got more and more
frustrated that I could not work this out in a civilized manner. The teammate
pulling on my shirt then grabbed the money out of my hand and threw it at the
driver. I got out and did not know what to do with myself. I was furious at the
whole situation.
Why was I so upset?
There was miscommunication and the typical white-guy tax.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
It went deeper than that.
As much as I felt disrespected by this man, that he would
refuse to see me as a brother wishing to honor a relationship of our humanity,
there was still something in me that wanted a true reconciliation.
He is your brother.
It was that very thing- a
relationship of humanity. This man, though dark-skinned, uneducated, barely
able to speak English, was my brother. It did not matter how much he had
disrespected me, I owed him the courtesy of working something out. Even if I
stuck with the same price, I wanted him to know why. He deserved my time
because he is my brother. We walk under the same sun. We breathe in the same
polluted air. We both have two eyes to see, two ears to listen, a voice to
speak. And though we do not serve the same god, we were created by the same God.
That was it.
We were created in the same manner, designed by the same
Creator, loved by the same Father.
My Heart beats for
this city.
In my mind, there are so many reasons for God to hate
Calcutta. But that is where the real Love comes in. Redemption is reality
because though people turn away from Him, God still loves them. Him. Her. Us.
You. Me.
It took a lot for me to realize this (I just realized it),
but my time in Calcutta was one of the most redeeming months for me. Because I
finally understood the Redeeming Love of The Father. I know that Gods Heart
beats for Calcutta. He told me. And though I found every excuse to Hate it, God
just found millions more reasons to Love it. Every single person in that city
was designed and created by a Loving Father. The Kings Heart is there.
The reason why I was so hurt by my interaction with this
taxi driver was because I felt love for him. I was upset that he did not
respect me, but I still loved him. And there was nothing he could say that would
change that. That is the Heart of the King. And it is in the heart of Calcutta.
While in Calcutta, I
wrote a song that would eventually become the G-Squad Theme. I will record it soon and get it on here for all of you
to listen to.
Thanks for reading.
