Beautiful disaster…

There is something special about Calcutta. What I like to call a beautiful disaster…
I am inspired myself this month with this place. It’s so cool to see a city desperate for something more… a spirit of truth. What I have realized is that I don’t have to pray for God to come here because he’s really already here… Always has been always will be. It’s funny how the people who don’t know him, the ones who are seeking after other gods in hope for hope essentially are the ones I see Jesus radiating through. They hunger and thirst for it but don’t know what “it” is. The Hindu culture is so funny though because I will tell them I am Christian and believe in Jesus and they are like” oh yes he’s a great one, but there’s also this god for luck and this one for health…” haha no no sir just one for all of it!! But they are so rapped up in what they know it’s very difficult for them to comprehend it all!  It’s really great to see every ones heart once you start to realize how HUGE they really are. We really are in such a run down, crazy, noisy place, with crowded streets that seem disastrous… But there is a mysterious beauty to it all… And I don’t fully understand it… But I know God is moving. I honestly feel SO VERY lucky to be able to experience it all.
The reality of human suffering is apparent throughout the entire city… It breaks my heart with every person I pass.

You see the radiance it in the kids faces, the joy of the people you meet randomly, the way they love and look out for eachother ALL the time. It’s clear God is right there IN ALL of it… They just don’t know how simple it all really is. The poor take care of the poor, its like second nature. It happens all around us…the shop owners, taxi drivers all trying to help each other out. It’s about their brothers and sisters around them, not about themselves.

There is a boy we met… poorest of the poor. He lives with a bunch of squatters and his family, his dad died 1 year ago and after his fathers death it turns out that his father somehow had all this money the family never knew about. So the boy took the money and is building a 4 story building for like 200 people (squatters with bamboo poles and tarps for homes) to set up their “homesâ€� for free, to live together in community… with real shelter, a REAL ROOF over their heads.

He could of taken that money & gotten his family out of there for good but instead he sees the bigger picture… The mural and not just the brushstrokes…It’s like I want to scream ” you got it! You get it!! The kingdom is yours if you want it!!” He is truly bringing heaven to earth, and does not even know it. Unfortunately it is not that easy here to spread the good news… So we make friends with the people of Calcutta we hang out and get to hear their hearts for their life, family, the city…. we either plant the seed for the reaper who will come at a later time or if we feel like God telling us to go for it and we are able to initiate the conversation, we do! What I have realized in my own life from being here in Calcutta is that to be filled you can not just fill yourself… you gotta let it FLOW out of you. By seeking after the father he fills me with love and joy and patience and all the other fruits of the spirits so that I can FILL OTHERS! Children, prostitutes, mothers with no husbands to support them, lepers, beggars, THE FORGOTTEN… Something I strive to achieve daily is to show people Jesus’ LOVE… whether through a smile, a friendly conversation, blessing someone with a meal, encouragement. Encouragement is a big one with the children we have been working with in a school across the river from Calcutta. Truly the poorest of the poor in India. They live along the railroad tracks, near the coal factory. They come to school every day… same clothes, greasy hair, covered in soot, their backpacks falling apart with holes and just dirttyy conditions, no shoes, malnourished (big bellies and reddish hair which is a sign of lack of proper vitamins and nutrition). BUT THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL… I MEAN TRULY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. Between the ages of 5-11ish and we have the true honor of being blessed by them every time we cross the river.

I worked with the youngest kids, anywhere from 5-9 years old depending on their education level. We learn ABCs, 123s, colors, sing songs play games… I absolutely loved it! What’s funny though is as I was there I realized that Gods plan in me being there was not to teach ABC 123 but instead to teach LOVE, COMPASSION, to give them the attention they cravveee and don’t get from home. They are so loveable. They draw pictures and I get to tell them how creative and beautiful their pictures are and see that PRICELESS SMILE on their faces as they hear it. AHHH I LOVE IT! All they want is LOVE, all they need is LOVE and I did all I could do to LOVE THEM with everything that God has given me.
It’s a constant festival of human existence being played out before our eyes daily- on the crazy loud fun streets that to some can seem disastrous but its life for these people, day in and day out and I think God brought us here to see that… to get a chance to understand what these people go through daily. Of course there are the beggars that are on every street and every time you turn the corner, but that too can be a drag because you want to give to all of them but that would be impossible and we have heard if you buy something for them they will just go sell it back to the market and get money for it… its really a tough cycle. So I take Gods perspective on these people. They are humans trying to live life just like you and me, they need love and attention too, and God loves them just as much as he loves you and me! They are genuinely in need of things, like shoes, and food, and shelter. But all I have to give is LOVE and that’s what I give… I know that with God the pain and the sufferings in their hearts will be washed away in his love and grace. So I try to show them Jesus daily.
Like the song:
All who are thirsty and all who are weak- come to the fountain, dip your heart in the stream of life, let the pain and the sorrow be washed away in his mercy…

While the poverty here will always remain in your face and throughout the city… the streets come alive through the people. It’s 95 and sunny (not to mention HUMID as heck) but that’s life in Calcutta. Best way to describe it is that we are absolutely positively BAKING- the cool wind sure is a blessing when it does come.

I’ve tasted, heard and seen the food the flavor, the people, the pollution, the noise, honking honking honking, the amazing character and charm of the old buildings, the unique identity this city has. It is one of the poorest and over populated cities in India, but it is a city of simple JOY everywhere… you just have to look for it in the little things. 

It’s a constant eye opening experience…constant.

 I came across a quote by Mother Teresa the other day, well a few quotes (you know me:) ) and they put things in perspective for me because she worked here for so long and had such a heart for this place and even though she did sooooooo much for this area the poverty still exists and probably always will… she brings light to the situation at hand.

She says :
” We can do no great things, only small things with great love”

“Like Jesus we belong to the world living not for ourselves but 
others. The joy of the lord is my strength”

“Jesus made it very clear… Whatever you do to the least of my 
brethren you do to me. Give a glass of water, you give it to me. 
Recieve a child, you recieve me”

“Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in the little 
things is a great thing!”

“Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great 
things on the condition that you believe much in his LOVE than in your own weakness”

LOVE WINS. ALWAYS.