Flying Home

We left India, the sights, smells, wonderful people and amazing places, along with one of our teammates. Mark decided back when flights were booked, that he wanted an extra week in Delhi, so we left him behind. It was weird traveling with one less. The head count seemed cut short.

The days on the plane, because it felt like days, were spent trying to make our clocks function back on home time. We all attempted to sleep during the first flight and keep ourselves awake on the second. More easily said than done. Those dimmed lights just beg you to sleep. However, on our second flight we were surrounded by a large group of dancers who were coming to Vancouver to perform in the Chutzpah Festival. They were loud and fun and excited to be going to Vancouver.

Midway through the flight one of the dancers became violently ill and Taryne got to practice her nursing skills off the ground along with a paramedic who was also on the flight. I have no doubt that the dancer felt very cared for. When we arrived in Vancouver we were all asked to remain seated so that on duty paramedics could board and get to the patient quickly.

Disembarking and gathering luggage we all seemed to be a little reluctant to leave. Hmm, actually most of us seemed reluctant to leave, some of us (cough Bonnie) zoomed away. To be fair she went to young adults practically straight after she chucked her suitcase in the door so we’ll forgive her.

The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort

Our very last day in India was spent like this: bus, bus, bus, bus, bus, Taj Mahal, (1/4)bus, Fort, bus, bus, bus, bus, bus. Now replace each time I said bus with an hour and that’s how much time was spent on a bus. Was it worth it? OH YEAH!

The Taj was kind of surreal. Standing there and taking in the fact that we were actually looking at an icon of India was pretty amazing. We picked up a tour guide on the way in and learned some facts from him. Fact one: tour guides in India are demanding (adding this info to the info of our tour in the Muslim fort in Hyderabad), their favourite phrases are “Come, come” or “Stop here.” Fact two: The pillars surrounding four sides of the Taj were built at slight angles so that if there is ever an earthquake the pillars will fall away from the building, not towards it. Fact three: The queen buried in the Taj was the king’s third and favourite wife- she gave him 14 children after his first two wives were barren- and she was a tiny lady based on the size of her tomb. She is buried underground and what we saw was a full-size replica.

Due to the fact that we wanted to see the Fort as well we did not linger too long at the Taj- a pity but I think in the end we were glad we went to see the fort as well.

The Red Fort or Agra Fort- pretty sure it is called both names- is indeed made of red stone. It is a HUGE palace and is really old. There is a view of the Taj from many of the windows. There’s some grass in a middle courtyard. Monkeys think they own the place now. The security guards don’t like it if you climb the ruins. Can you tell we didn’t opt for a tour guide on this site?

After 45 minutes of roaming the fort we were on the road again (we just couldn’t wait to be on the road again…). It was goodbye Agra and hello again Delhi. We rolled in around 8:30-ish (I think, may have been later) and went straight to a restaurant because we were hhhhhhhuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnggggggggggrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy. We chose a delightful little place called Pindi’s. What an extremely fun name. Food was good but most people were exhausted and just eating quietly. Sandy, Brandon, Taryne and Emily had slipped over the edge however and were so boisterous that the wait staff gave several sly looks, seeming to assess the sobriety of said characters.

We went back to the hotel and good news awaited us. Our flight out in the morning had been delayed, changing our leave time from 4:15 to 5:45. Huzzah! It also meant that our 6-hour layover in London shrank to about 4 hours. It felt like we were getting home faster.

Delhi Debrief

Early the next morning we left for Delhi. It was a direct flight, which we were thankful for, on a recognizable airline with more room and an overall safer feel than our little hopper flights. We were once again greeted at the airport and ushered to a 13 passenger bus… for the 15 of us plus driver. Good thing we were well practiced at this point and barely even batted an eyelash. Scott sat on his guitar in the aisle and four girls sat in the back on the bench seat. Easy peasy. However, due to the small stature of the bus we were forced to rope our luggage to the top. I am pretty sure most of us prayed over that luggage.

Away we went from the airport and off to our hotel. We had been told that we would be staying in a rather nice place and so most of us were most likely daydreaming about not having bedbugs and mosquitoes as roommates, when we got pulled over by the police. We were confused. The driver got out and the police charged him a fine for being overloaded with the luggage. Hmmm. Methinks some priorities may be slightly askew.

We had a pretty slow day at the hotel, enjoying our rooms and the company of each other. We a had a debrief session in the lobby and it was great to be able to start to process the idea of coming home as a group. It was neat to hear the different things that had touched our hearts, the things we were anxious about going back home to, the things we were excited about.

We walked to a small shopping area for dinner and ended up at Pizza Hut. It was bizarre to be there. They played all the latest radio hits including Justin Bieber, it was just like being back home. Probably a good thing that we had started our debriefing already.

Another Stretching Day

Our last full day in Calcutta began with another early morning. We went to the Missionaries of Charity again, this time armed with the knowledge that we could have breakfast there and forgo our power bars (always a plus). It was fun to be there and mingle with the volunteers that we had already made connections with and see the new recruits. Amazing that one day of volunteering makes you feel completely different about the whole experience.

We were being split between three homes this time (at our choosing)- Prem Dan and Shanti Dan again (some of the same girls really felt called to go back) as well as the addition of Daya Dan which was a home for mentally and physically disabled children that was open to volunteers of both genders. The day was familiar for those of us at Prem Dan and Shanti Dan and those at Daya Dan had the pleasure of a new experience. The day was really positive for us, especially because we went in better prepared with what we were going to see and how we would serve.

In the afternoon Sandy and Scott asked us to go and minister to the people on Sudder Street. Sudder Street is where most of the international community that volunteers with the Missionaries of Charity, stay. We were commissioned to strike up conversation with those we felt led to, be they locals or visitors. Due to the international community, Sudder Street is an easy place to get everything from souvenirs to drugs to ‘companions’ so it is a pretty heartbreaking reality check.

The afternoon went by- some of us chose to go back to Prem Dan for part of the afternoon shift- and we met back at Motherhouse to be a part of the special Friday mass that they hold. Mass was a confusing experience, the mix of Mother Teresa reverence, along with the solid Christian creeds and references to the Mary made it hard to feel totally great about everything. However, it was special to be there as the sisters sang hymns and allowed us to worship with them.

The day closed with dinner at the same buffet as the first day. We had learned our lesson from the first time though, and paced ourselves this time. It was at dinner that we heard that Pastor’s mother had shown marked improvement and had been able to get up and cook lunch. Praise the Lord that he would use vessels such as us.

The Ganges

Thursday morning we had a bit of a sleep in, not meeting until 9:00. What a luxury! We met in the morning in Larry and Myra’s room for prayer, worship and encouraging each other with some things that we had noticed particularly up to that point. It was nice to have a slice of time to rest and refresh.

We were met by one of the OM pastors who graciously agreed to be our tour guide for the day. We started out at Victoria Palace. It was built for (you guessed it) Queen Victoria and it was a lovely building that attested to India’s British influence. Inside was a museum and gallery. We didn’t spend an overly long time there but it was really nice to get a bit of the history of Calcutta and the surrounding area.

We went to (cough of embarrassment) Dominos for lunch. And then it was on to a ferry to get a view of the Ganges from the river itself. We were lucky enough to get to go past the famous cremation site. It was incredible to see the river and watch people wash their laundry, themselves, their dishes in the dirty, disgusting, swirling water.

Once the ferry dropped us off we went to the slum that OM is working in to meet the women’s self-help group that was meeting in the evening. We had a wonderful interaction with the ladies and Bonnie had the opportunity to share her testimony with them. It was a neat view into the work that OM is doing and also a great chance for them to hear some solid gospel truth from someone other than their pastors. Most of the women still ascribe to the Hindu faith and so it was amazing to be able to have the space to share. We packed probably 80 people into an 18x12 room. Squishy!

After the ladies went off to their various homes and jobs some of the youth that the pastors work with came and we were able to lay hands on them and pray for them. They shared that they have been meeting nightly to study the Bible together and seek the Lord. It was beautiful to meet other young people with such strong faith and conviction.

Finally, the pastor mentioned that his mother was in great pain in her joints and that her mind has been clouded for some time, since his father died. He asked if we would pray for her and said that he was sure that she would be healed. She came and sat in the middle of our group and some of our number prayed out. It was extremely special to be able to pray for someone close to the pastor and to hear the faith he had that the Lord would use us to heal his Mom.

By that time it was getting late and so we headed back to the hotel.

Missionaries of Charity

Our first full day in Calcutta dawned bright and early. We were ready to go by 6am. We took three cabs to get to the Motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity (the order of nuns that Mother Teresa started). We were going to volunteer for the day wherever they decided to put us.
The morning at Motherhouse is very busy, a hub of foreigners. As you enter the compound the tomb of Mother Teresa is on your right, her old room a little further down to the left, and at the back is the volunteer room. They serve breakfast to the volunteers (we found out later) and the whole group prays and sings together before being sent out for the day. There were many, many volunteers. It was impressive to see the range of people that are drawn to help out the poor and broken of Calcutta through the legacy of Mother Teresa.
Some of our group went to Prem Dan, where there are men and women who are ill and dying, the other smaller group went to Shanti Dan where they have mentally and physically disabled girls and women.
Those of us at Prem Dan were directed to help out with the laundry first thing which was a good ease in for those of us who were nervous about being around people of such extreme circumstance. The rest of the day was caring for the residents, feeding them, lotioning their dry skin, cleaning their beds, smiling at them, shaving the with dull straight razors (a first for most).
The girls at Shanti Dan were given a little more of a learn as you go style. They were given a booklet to read which gave them the very basic idea of what they would be doing and then they went to it. They jumped in, helping in the classes offered to the girls, helped feed them, changed them, put them to bed, woke them up and played with them. The Shanti Dan experience was a bit much for those of the girls who have a healthcare background. The contrast of what kind of care they would have in Canada and the care they were receiving made it a long and trying day for all of them.
We met back at Motherhouse at the end of the day and it was a bit emotional for those who had had a trying day at Shanti Dan but it was something that really brought our team together and made us appreciate the fact that we had each other.
We were pretty exhausted but we went to a restaurant nearby to Motherhouse for dinner. Please ask a team member for a hilarious naan bread story. As soon as we had finished we went to the hotel and off to bed.

Off to Calcutta

We left Hyderabad very early in the morning. We were taking 2 flights to get to Calcutta through Raipur. The airport in Raipur is similar to what the Abbotsford airport used to be- 2 gates and walk onto the planes via the stairs attached to the plane. We had to deplane and get onto a different one in about 20 minutes so we saw only the airport. We arrived in Calcutta around 1:00 and were met by another OM worker. He was so pleasant and delighted that we were there. In Calcutta there are far fewer OM workers and they rarely have visitors.

We went straight to our hotel and were glad to have a home base. We decided that Calcutta is like Hyderabad heightened. It takes Hyderabad to the extreme. The cars were more plentiful, the pollution was more visible, the dogs were more vicious. We were glad to have started in the less crazy city in order to have time to adjust to the country.

We had a bit of time in the hotel and then we went a dinner experience. Dinner was in a mall, which in itself was a shock to our systems that were no longer used to North American-esque culture, but to get into the mall we had to go through a metal detector and rather thorough scan, ladies on one side, gents on the other.

The restaurant we went to was like none I had ever been to. It was a buffet, however, when we were all seated they replaced a piece in the table with a coal grill and started bringing our chicken and lamb and veggies and fish on skewers. We were all pretty hungry having eaten only power bars for breakfast and lunch. We were really mowing down. Shortly into shoveling the food down the hole, the word came down the line that this was just the appetizers… we all slowed down after that. The buffet was pretty delicious as well but I think that we all enjoyed the appetizers the most.

We rolled back to the hotel, and went to bed.