The Calcutta Diary, Part I

Sat, 8/22
It is hard to describe all of the things I saw while driving through Calcutta from the airport. There are no traffic rules here. Cars, rickshaws, pedestrians, hand-carts, bicycles, buses, and cows all plow their way through the same streets. Lots and LOTS of people!...hut-like dwellings and shops everywhere…market places…unfinished construction projects with squatters…Dominoes! We all went to dinner at a nice place near the guys’ hotel. It was called the Charcoal Grill. I had tandoori (Indian-style bbq) stuffed mushrooms and some delicious nan. I am staying at Don and Dale Getty’s guest room. They live in a 17th-story flat just south of downtown.


Sun, 8/23
This morning we went to a local church. Subir, a native of Calcutta, is the pastor and his Korean wife, Enoch, works for the ministry also. When he picked up the three of us at the Bella Vista, Subir asked us which one would be giving the sermon. What?!? No one told us about this ahead of time. We all just stared at him. Surely it wouldn’t be me, the female…not in this culture. Tim stammered that he would try to teach something. I guess that’s why we should always be prepared!
Subir warned us that the church was “small and poor,” but we loved it as soon as we got there. The congregation was about 100 people, all packed into this one small room (with no A/C of course). Everyone sat Indian-style on the floor with their shoes off. The people worshipped so joyfully! I was actually surprised that they had music and stereo equipment. I couldn’t tell if they were singing in Bengali or Hindi, but it didn’t really matter since I only understood one word anyhow: “Hallelujah!” The highest praise is universal…

The pastor invited us to sit in chairs at the pulpit. We each introduced ourselves and thanked everyone for having us. The three of us sang ‘How Great is Our God’ for the congregation. Wes and I shared our testimonies and Tim preached a lesson from Acts and Ezekiel (the stories of Simon the Sorcerer and how God breathed life into the bones): Someone who appears to be your adversary needs Christ too. And nothing is too difficult for God. After the service, the church members socialized with us in broken English and they were extremely kind.

We went to lunch at a mall food court with Subir, Enoch and their three kids. We also met some of the Western missionaries there that we’d be working with for the week. We ate TONS of Indian food…food from the different regions of the country is all distinct, and we got to try a bit of everything. The nan is my favorite so far—playing it safe! I spent the rest of the day listening to stories from the Gettys about their time in the mission field. I was happy to catch Paul on g-chat just before he went to church. In Calcutta, we are 9.5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.


Mon, 8/24
Today, I felt like a complete failure…

Matt and I took a cab to the guys’ guest house this morning. We chatted over breakfast and then had “orientation.” Matt taught us a lesson from the book of Jonah (we’re like Jonah and Kolkata is like the city of Ninevah). Then he taught us about the Camel Method for sharing the gospel with Muslims, using parts of the Quran. I realized that I only know bits and pieces of the Muslims’ holy book. Maybe I’ll read it sometime soon…

Matt explained the Amazing Race evangelism activity to us which, at least for me, seemed far from amazing. Street evangelism is definitely not my strong point. And now I’m supposed to try it in a Muslim area of town?! At least I got to go with an Indian who knew her way around—Zeenut is a Christian girl, just a little older than me, who was born and raised in Calcutta. The guys were totally on their own. Zeenut and I took a cab to a Muslim neighborhood (and by the way, when I say cab, I mean a car that looks like it was made sometime in the 1970’s and never had any maintenance done on it whatsoever). When we got there, we started with lunch at the Royal Indian Hotel. It was a pretty fancy restaurant by Indian standards, and we both ate biryani, a rice and meat dish with special spices which is traditional Muslim fare. Apparently, you would never attend a Muslim wedding without eating this. I picked up the tab for both of us and the grand total?? 216 rupees; $4.32.

Once we started walking around, Zeenut and I had to separate because no one would speak English with me if she was beside me…duh. I was in search of Muslim women to dialogue with. The ultimate goal was to get into a conversation about religious beliefs, but we were supposed to figure out answers to some Muslim culture-questions along the way. I did not accomplish any of that. I felt like every possible circumstance that could have worked against me today, did. To begin with, there were barely any women on the streets in general, let alone English-speaking ones. Apparently, Muslim ladies don’t go out much during Ramadan (the month-long fast; they stay at home and cook all afternoon for iftar, which is the breaking of the fast every night after 6pm or so). Add to that the fact that it was raining, making it near impossible for me to distinguish Muslim from Hindu since all the women covered their heads with scarves. Many Muslim women wear the traditional burka, but not all of them do. With the weather as it was, no one was interested in stopping to chat. I made several attempts, but only had one actual conversation. It was with a young Hindu woman, but it was just small talk.

I was overwhelmed by all of the stares, gawking, and comments that came my way (mostly by men and boys). I felt ridiculous in the traditional Hindu dress I was wearing, but it would have been even worse had I been in Western clothes. The streets are insane and there is no organization to the commercial side of things here. I tried to at least admire some architecture, which I usually love, but there wasn’t much to see. Just a lot of dilapidation and disrepair. I wanted to cry today. I have a much better appreciation of what the career missionaries do here. All the honking, barking by wild dogs, and fumes gave me a headache.


Tues, 8/25
Today was a good day. We were in the field from 7am-8:30pm. We were working with Subir and his ministry: the Good News Children’s Education Mission (GNCEM). First, we spent time at the two Mobile Schools. We rode on the bus to pick up the Mobile School kids. The bus was actually pretty nice compared to many buses on the road. Our church at home in Charleston was associated with financing this bus, so it was cool to see the fruit of that. Subir, who speaks decent English, told us that the kids we would pick up first “live in the garbage.” So we picked them up from the huge city dump. We made one more stop nearby and the bus was packed with adorable, screaming, filthy children.
At the school, the kids first get a “bucket shower.” I’m not sure who was more thankful for that: the kids? Or Wes, Tim and me? Then, in the classroom, we put on the kids’ uniform shirts, introduced ourselves, sang songs with them, and shared our testimonies. We fed them breakfast—2 biscuits (cookies) and a shot glass of milk. After eating, the three of us taught their lessons in English. I was in charge of the youngest group. We worked on numbers and counting 1-10, and words for body parts (remember the song ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes?’) Then…play time! It was tiring with them crawling all over us but it was great.
We left that Mobile School and visited the other one, in Calcutta’s “China Town.” The kids at that school are not homeless at the dump, but live in the slums. We did much of the same at the second school. At each place, we were honored as esteemed guests with flower wreaths. It’s very interesting how the older children (like, 7+ years old) care for the younger children here. During shower time this morning, it was the older kids at the front of the line ready with the soapy cloth to scrub down the others. If a baby is crying, it’s often an older child that will go comfort them.
Lunchtime was spent at Subir’s flat. Homes are very different here. We got to meet some of his ministry staff (there are 50 in all.) In the afternoon, we visited GNCEM’s baby care center and the regular day schools for grades 4-10 (there are two schools). In each classroom, we got to share our testimonies and encourage the kids in the Lord. We sang songs and played games with the kids. We were treated to tea and biscuits at each place. It was strange drinking hot tea while simultaneously sweating my butt off.

At 6pm, we went to a “house fellowship” (like bible study or small group) with Subir although, in America, the structure would definitely not be considered a house (more like a utility shed). The host was a former Hindu priest who converted to Christianity and led his family & followers to do the same. Wes, Tim and I taught a lesson from 2 Corinthians 4:13-16. We were treated to a big dinner by our hosts. They were so generous even though they have so little. I do not like Indian sweets.