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.

Our school again!

Monday was Taryne’s birthday and she was wished a Happy Birthday as soon as she opened her eyes. Felicia had brought a card, which we all signed, and Sandy had thoughtfully wrapped some prunes up in a Ziploc for her. What can we say? We make birthdays in India a big deal okay?
We power-barred it for breakfast to get out of the hotel quick in order to hopefully avoid another long traffic delay in getting to the town**. However, best-laid plans oft go awry and the bus which was intended to pick us up at 7:00, instead arrived at 7:40. We made up time though by simply avoiding the city streets altogether.
The three hour trip went by quite quickly and we planned on the bus how we were going to split the team so that we could run our programs as soon as we got there. Thank you Myra and Larry for using for organization and administration gifts!
Before we got to the school to see the kids, the Community Development Officer (CDO) had arranged for us to plant some trees that will form a line from the gate to the school. All of the hard work was done for us, what with the holes being dug already. Brandon was a little disappointed to not be able to fully show his landscaping abilities but all of the ladies were happy the heavy lifting was done. We planted and watered the mango and palm trees and then it was off to the kids!
The kids seemed pretty excited to have us back and the interaction was clearly less overwhelming for them. It was so amazing to have the whole day devoted to our little sweeties and to be able to laugh and play and just be silly with them. We may have hindered their academic progress by a day but the time spent together with them was absolutely invaluable.
At the end of our visit we got the whole school together and sang some songs together. We gave them each a heart shaped container that had jellybeans in them. They became music makers until some of the kids discovered that the innards were edible. We made a joyful noise to the Lord nonetheless.
Finally, right before we left we gave each child a backpack that we had made by some of the Lydia workshops. They have a small maple leaf and say Canada on them. The kids were excited to have them but wanted to keep them in the plastic so that they would stay nice.
It was hard to say goodbye to them but we had to, so we did.

**Name changed to protect our school/town

A Muslim-filled Sunday

Sunday dawned lovely and warm (as per usual), the sun comes up here a blood red colour, I am told this is because of pollution but I prefer to just think of its loveliness and ignore the reason. We planned to leave the hotel at 8:30 to get to church for 9:00. Things went slightly askew when we hit the train crossing, they close the gates about 5-10 minutes before a train comes through in preparation for its passing. Yes. We were late for church and we have not one but two pastors with us.

Church was an incredible experience, to be able to celebrate freedom in the Lord with our brothers and sisters over here- moving to say the least. It was a special Sunday too because 8 or 9 of the congregation had been baptized in the morning before church. We got to see them receive their certificates of baptism and brand new Bibles to commemorate the day. The service that we went to was in English so it was easily followed by all of us,

We had some downtime between church and lunch so we spread ourselves around the base chatting with some of our brothers and sisters and playing with kids on a small playground near the dining hall. It was nice to have time for extended conversations.

After lunch we headed out in two vehicles to go to an old Muslim fort on a hill in the city of Hyderabad. This was our first experience (for most of us) out of the bus and seeing the traffic at street level was exhilarating for some and even more terrifying for others.

To get to the fort and to see a different part of the city, our drivers took us right into the heart of the Muslim quarter. What we were unaware of was that it was the day of celebration of Mohammed’s birth. As you can perhaps imagine this translated to chaos on the streets.

Everywhere we looked people on scooters were standing on the running boards holding flags and streamers aloft. The Indian version of the pickup truck, were jammed with crowds of people in the beds of the trucks chanting, singing, shouting. There were times when our vehicles were so surrounded by the sea of humanity that we dare not move an inch. The crowds were about 95% male.

Our drivers decided that it would be better to turn off on a side street and attempt a different route after about 40 minutes of being stuck in the melee. The smaller vehicle ended up in an alley. We toodled along fine until what should be facing us but a large van-type Toyota! There was no way both of us could fit in the alley at the same time and there was no backing up because of all the motorbikes and scooters that were coming behind each car. Luckily, there was a tiny spot to our left where our driver did some fancy maneuvering to get out of the way and voila- we were past each other. We were excited to only have to do that once, we met no more cars until we were out of the very tight alleyways.

Slowly but surely we made our way out of the area and to the fort. What a sight to behold high on a hill. It was an extremely touristy thing to do, we knew this because we weren’t the only white people around.

On the way in we collected a tour guide and he originally told us the tour would take an hour and a half. Scott told him it needed to be shorter and so we got him down to an hour and ten minutes. However, this meant that he went into drill sergeant mode and was unhappy with any sort of picture-induced lollygagging. And believe me, there was lots (and I mean lots) of picture-induced lollygagging. Not only were we taking our own photos but once again we were being asked to have pictures taken with us. Our tour guide angrily tried to shoo those people away but to no avail because whenever one of us fell behind we usually gave in.

After our hour and ten minute tour we went out for dinner to a restaurant with a metal detector and pat down on the way in that come free with any meal purchase. The restaurant had four levels, all serving the same food with varying levels of décor and service. We chose level three, the gold level.

We ordered a group meal called a Buryani, which is a famous Hyderabad dish. It was delish! It was also a chance to show off our newly perfected eating-with-our-hands technique. Ask any of the team to show you what it is when we’re home. Most of us are pro now.

School on Saturday?

On the fourth day of India our trip gave to us (sung to the 12 days of Christmas obviously)- a wonderful trip to a Good Shepherd school. The school was in a town that started with an N, the name escapes all of us sorry about that, and it was on the smaller side. They had begun construction on the second wing of the building but were using a smaller out building as a classroom until it is finished because they had outgrown the space. The classes went up to fifth grade.

We were greeted in what has become the usual manner, kids in their class rows and we were introduced to them and then they sang for us. After the formal greeting the kids were sent back to their rooms while we got organized to run the programs that we had planned. We were all pretty excited to finally be able to interact with some kids in a more meaningful manner. We played duck, duck, goose and made paper airplanes and told Bible stories and sang songs and it was so beautiful. What a joy to look into the kids’ eyes as we’re playing amongst them and show them that they are really being seen. It was amazing.

All the kids call us ‘teacher’ and so their calls of ‘teacher, teacher’ get really loud, confusing, wonderful. We always feel loved and sought after. They want to touch us and we have had to break up fights over holding our hands. Some of us have had our skin stroked in wonder.

Scott got some pretty good photos and videos so there’s that to look forward to at a later date.

After the school we headed to the OM base for yet another wonderful lunch and then it was off to an open-air market for a little shopping. We found out that Hyderabad is known for pearls.

The market was hilarious, we were STARED at, in addition to all the stall owners calling out to us. We kind of stick out like too many sore thumbs. We felt a bit like celebrities because we kept getting stopped and asked to have pictures taken with us. We did manage to get some shopping in between appearances though. Never fear.

Big School and Slum School

We were excited to head out for day three because it held two school visits for us. We had planned a whole bunch of activities to do with the kids and it seemed like we would have more time with these two schools in order to play and just be with the kids, showering them with attention.

We started at Big School**, a school that is in its tenth year of operation. It has 560 students and is at the second phase of construction where it has two levels. They are in the works to start the third level because their older grades are meeting outside, they have outgrown their large space.

We arrived to the students waiting outside for us. They were in rows and were very well behaved. We were pointed to a stage and so we went and sat there. The students sang for us, recited the Lord’s prayer and some of the little ones came and gave each of us a bouquet of flowers. We could tell the school was well established because they had a microphone and speaker to help with the whole process.

The lady who conducted our tour took us to each classroom where every level sang us an action song and recited a bible memory verse. It was delightful to see their personalities come out during this tour. The class clowns and the bold ones, the shy ones and the ones who had perhaps woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

Next year Big School will have its very first graduating class. We asked those students what they hope to do after high school and it was so encouraging and inspiring to hear them say things like doctor, scientist, artist. They have the courage and the education to be whatever they want to be. We found out that the colleges here hold spaces specifically for Dalit students so there really is no limit to what they can be.

Once our tour was complete we split into a few groups. Some of us were with the younger kids showing them how to make paper airplanes and some of us were with the older kids teaching them O Happy Day. It was so fun. The kids making airplanes all wanted to be helped, none of them really took the initiative to make their own so some of us made 50 or so paper planes while 50 or so sets of eyes watched. They were really excited to fly the planes. Some of us were used for target practice. In the older classes Sandy shared a bit of his testimony and then the kids asked to sing a song they recognized in our books My Redeemer Lives. It was beautiful to be able to sing with them a song that we all knew.

We went back to the OM base for lunch encouraged about what Our School school can grow to be in the future.

The afternoon held a slum school for us, which also happens to be OM’s very first school. It has been there for 20 years. It only goes up to seventh grade and the students have to transfer after that. We walked down the street and would never have known a school was there if we hadn’t been told. We were told to keep a close eye on our belongings.

This school was even smaller than Our School with one large room being divided with short, moveable walls. The kids were so sweet and once again we had the pleasure of being sung to by each class and having some memory verses said to us by the bolder kids. We got to chat with the sixth and seventh grades and the interaction was really life giving for us. We told them about snow and Canada and introduced ourselves and shared our favourite colours.

We had to leave quite quickly because the school day was over for the kids. As we were leaving we decided to leave some supplies with the principal to give out at her discretion. While organizing we learned a lesson, don’t leave soccer balls unattended. One ball was stolen right off the bus steps. We were pretty okay with it. Hopefully it will bring those boys a lot of joy.

We went back to the OM base and had some prayer time followed by free time. During free time most of us walked off the base to a store a short distance away. It was fun to experience being a pedestrian on a relatively quiet street (it is still an experience!). Pedestrians definitely do not have the right of way.

Then it was dinner, back to the hotel and bed.

**Name changed to protect the work that OM is doing.