“Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” -Hal Borland
The start of a new calendar year is always a worthy cause for reflection. So last night, after we watched the ball drop, I asked Paul what he thought our 2010 highlights were. It didn’t take us long to come up with a list:
1. A SWEETER MARRIAGE
Admittedly, we had a rough go at it for the first 10 months or so. Paul was a full-time student at the College of Charleston, dealing with the pressure of working his way into dental school. I started working my first real job on staff with my college basketball team. On top of that, I was a full-time grad student and we both worked food & bev jobs on the weekends. Needless to say, life was stressful. And learning how to be married under those circumstances was challenging. But we had great support from our families and friends, and from our Newlywed group at church. We relied on the Lord to make something out of what sometimes seemed like nothing. God has a funny way of refining us, and that was exactly what he did. We didn’t think it was funny at the time. But now we look back at things like the failure of a 1st Christmas, the Hilton Head vacation disaster, and the infamous broken champagne glass—and laugh :) Year Two was much improved, and we’re looking forward to many, many more!
2. ERIKA FINISHING GRADUATE SCHOOL
I remember one of my undergraduate professors telling us that only 1% of the world’s population gets a degree in higher education. So, I have very much appreciated the academic opportunities I’ve had. Nevertheless, walking across that stage to get my Master’s signified freedom! No more homework and studying for tests…need I say more?!
3. PAUL FINISHING HIS 1st YEAR OF DENTAL SCHOOL
Completing the 1st of 4 years was certainly an accomplishment. At this point, Paul has 1 semester left of the “book years,” before he moves on to the “clinic years” this Summer. And he’s going to make a great dentist! C’mon, who wouldn’t trust Paul to put sharp objects in their mouth? No but seriously, I’ve seen such a transformation in my husband during his time in dental school. He’s gone from totally stressing out about everything to taking it all in stride. God never puts more on us than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13), and seeking His kingdom FIRST comes with many blessings (Matthew 6:33).
Completing the 1st of 4 years was certainly an accomplishment. At this point, Paul has 1 semester left of the “book years,” before he moves on to the “clinic years” this Summer. And he’s going to make a great dentist! C’mon, who wouldn’t trust Paul to put sharp objects in their mouth? No but seriously, I’ve seen such a transformation in my husband during his time in dental school. He’s gone from totally stressing out about everything to taking it all in stride. God never puts more on us than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13), and seeking His kingdom FIRST comes with many blessings (Matthew 6:33).
4. OUR EUROPEAN VACATION
What a treat!! We wandered the streets of Venice, climbed up to the Parthenon, drove an ATV around Santorini, walked the fortress wall in Dubrovnik, and watched the sunset from our seaside dinner table in Mykonos. We’re definitely not the hopeless romantic-type, but we couldn’t help but be swept away on this adventure!
What a treat!! We wandered the streets of Venice, climbed up to the Parthenon, drove an ATV around Santorini, walked the fortress wall in Dubrovnik, and watched the sunset from our seaside dinner table in Mykonos. We’re definitely not the hopeless romantic-type, but we couldn’t help but be swept away on this adventure!
5. FINDING OUT WE WERE PREGNANT
2011 is the year of the baby! Our daughter has already captured our hearts, even though she still doesn’t have a name! The debate continues between Ava Leigh (my vote) and Caleigh Ray (Paul’s vote). In baseball, the tie goes to the runner. I have jokingly said that, in this case, the tie goes to the one who has to push it out! But really, we are praying and asking for clarity on what her name should be. God cares about even the details of our lives (Matthew 10:29-31) .
2011 is the year of the baby! Our daughter has already captured our hearts, even though she still doesn’t have a name! The debate continues between Ava Leigh (my vote) and Caleigh Ray (Paul’s vote). In baseball, the tie goes to the runner. I have jokingly said that, in this case, the tie goes to the one who has to push it out! But really, we are praying and asking for clarity on what her name should be. God cares about even the details of our lives (Matthew 10:29-31) .
Despite the lack of pink icing, we found out it was a girl! Ask us about the cake story if you don't know it already...;)
Thanksgiving Dinner in Charleston
Our very first Christmas tree!
The basketball team's Christmas Party was at our house. Here they are with their Secret Santa gifts!
Christmas morning in NY
We have had a wonderful end to 2010. We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Lambert family in Charleston, and went to my home in Upstate NY for Christmas. Basketball season is well underway, and our young CofC team is looking better every day. The baby’s nursery has a crib and a changing table (thank you to our family for the wonderful gifts!), and some paint samples on the wall. Who knew that painting the room purple would be such a task?! Cosmic Berry? Grape Juice? Lavender Whisper? We shall see…
January 2011 promises to be an interesting start to the new year! For me—Weeks #25-#28 of pregnancy and poundage to go with it; Childbirth Education & Breastfeeding classes; and lots of Southern Conference basketball action. For Paul—the start of a new dental school semester (this is when they get to start using the novocaine needle!); Boot Camp for Dads; and plenty of home improvement projects! And for you—we hope 2011 is a terrific year!
-Erika
Howrah Station is the busiest train station in Calcutta, and it is one of the largest in India. More than a million passengers travel by Howrah trains daily. The outside of the station is the first true architectural beauty that I’ve seen here (there may be more, but the buildings are all so moldy that it would be impossible to see it). The inside of the station is depressing. The three of us were immediately impressed with the courage of Nabine and his wife to take on such a challenging ministry.
Nabine’s ministry involves visiting the station and building trust with the kids by talking with them, showing love to them, and treating them like human beings. Their hearts have been hardened by circumstances. The police beat them like animals if they’re caught running around the station. There have even been reports of terrorist groups pretending to take railway boys to a better life, when they were actually recruiting them to carry out extremist acts. So, trust is not an easy thing to gain with these kids. But Nabine, his wife, and a handful of others kept praying and kept visiting.
It was evident to us that Nabine had built rapport with most of the Howrah kids by the time we visitied. When they saw him, their eyes lit up and they exclaimed, “Uncle! Uncle!” That was encouraging. Still, it was difficult to see the kids living in such filth and despair. I had never seen a 7-yr old strung out on drugs until today. I saw many children who had been “sniffing glue” that morning. Some were still reluctant to talk with Nabine. But we got to shake hands with the kids and spend time conversing with them as much as the language barrier would allow. We did not see any “railway girls.” Nabine says the girls are kept hidden, protected by the gang leaders, high on drugs, and used for sex. We saw young men who lived at the station, likely since their childhood. We saw elderly people sleeping on the concrete, and families who had set up camp there. All of them looked like they could use some serious medical attention and food.
There is no hope in life at the station. It’s a desperate existence there. As bad as it is, it’s the only constant that the kids know, and I believe many are afraid to leave. But Nabine offers the kids hope through Jesus Christ. His ministry does regular outreach for the railway kids. They have regular “open house” at a nearby location, where the kids can get some good food and good company. They are only allowed in if they are not under the influence of drugs. And, best of all, Nabine has rescued 11 children from the station! 7 boys and 4 girls. The girls were a special victory since it’s not likely that they are even seen at Howrah. Nabine’s first rescue occurred about a year ago. The boy was carried from the station with little life left in his body. At the hospital, the doctor said he would be dead within a week.
But through the railway ministry, God has proven that He is bigger than the station’s strongholds. To see the transformation in the boys was incredible. Two of the boys had just come from the station last week. Rahou, one of the new kids, was just as sweet as could be. He said the blessing before we ate lunch together, and later on he and I were singing praise songs together that he had first learned at church last Sunday. After lunch, all of the boys had their house chores to do before we could play, and they did them diligently. The oldest boy is 14. He was only with us for a few minutes, because he had to leave for the Bible seminar he is attending this month. He says he’s so grateful for what God has done in his life that he wants to become a pastor. The kids were so much fun to hang out with. They asked us all kinds of questions about America, and we played several games of UNO. We got to see some of the things they’ve been learning in their class lessons, and affirm their good work. I know God has a unique plan for each of the boys, and He will provide the means to care for the 7 that are with Nabine now, as well as more that will come.
Nabine received a letter while we were at his house. It was from his brother, the pastor, whose church and home were located in a village south of Calcutta. I say “were,” in past tense because the brother, his family, and his congregation are now living in a makeshift camp in the jungle. The people were all forced out of the village. The Hindu people burned the Christians’ houses down, and 8 members of the church congregation were killed. When they ran for their lives into the jungle, huge trees were cut down behind them, making it very difficult to get out, back onto the road. The letter to Nabine chronicled the several weeks these people have spent living in dangerous conditions, with little food. They but themselves a path back to the road. But when the people sent two of their congregation to the village for food, they did not come back. They were killed.
We drove quite a distance away from downtown to visit the Girls’ Home. It is a very nice. The girls there are from the streets or the slums, and began their education at the Mobile Schools. They stay at the home, are fed 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, and their parents visit once per month. After we visited each of the classrooms, we had a lunch break there. We were offered coconut water straight from the coconut that they hacked down from a tree out back. It was a really nice gesture. The only problem: I hate coconut. I drank it anyway. Lunch was wonderful. As usual, the hospitality was ridiculously generous. I politely skipped out on the curry today, much to my stomach’s delight. After lunch, we had play time with the girls. We had brought them a bunch of little stress balls to play with and we had fun throwing them around. The girls put on a performance for us with songs and skits.
Onto the Boys’ Home. The kids were so excited when our vehicle drove up. I have been amazed at the honor shown to pastor Subir by his staff and the children, and the same shown to us. They call us “Auntie” and “Uncle”—terms of respect. The children are all very well-behaved. But boys will be boys. Tim and Wes thought it would be fun to play 2 v. 75 dodgeball with the stress balls…and it was fun. The kids loved it. Subir told us that the boys had been praying to God to give them one futbol (soccer ball) to play with. Wes brought them 10 soccer balls to keep. After lots of playing and testimony-sharing, we were treated to tea and cookies while the boys performed Bible skits and songs. They started to sing one particular song in Bengali and I thought I recognized it. ‘Oh yeah, I know this song in Korean!’ I remembered. So I sang along and translated it into English in my head. Our God is a really big God. And I’m reminded that He is sovereign over all the Earth. 
That evening, we attended another house fellowship. We taught a lesson from the book of Samuel, about David. Man judges by the external, but God knows our hearts so, 1) don’t judge appearances and 2) don’t try to fool God by looking good on the outside. Again, the people were passionate, the worship was wonderful, and the prayer requests were many. We were treated to dinner.
The three of us left at lunch time and went back to Matt & Shannon’s flat. After lunch, Shannon, Zeenut and I hailed a cab. I wore my salwar kameez. The plan was to visit a Muslim shrine, a mazar. We wanted to go and pray for the women who had come to the mazar for various needs. Shannon told me the Quran tells Muslims that if you pray in the name of Isa (Jesus), Allah (God) hears your prayer. So, even though Islam and Christianity are extremely different when it comes to believing in Jesus as Messiah, it can’t hurt to go and pray for these women. Zeenut’s mom, Anita, has visited a different mazar, and the women have approached her asking for help and for prayer. When Anita said she would pray for them in the name of Jesus, they generally welcomed it. We did not have such a positive experience.
Since we were in the area, they took me to see Mother Theresa’s house (Her grave is pictured above). It was interesting. Then we got a cab home. I went to Matt & Shannon’s a while longer and played with the girls. Then they insisted that I try their favorite dinner food. So we went to Rhamania restaurant and ordered “chicken rolls.” They were so good! When I got home to Don and Dale’s flat, they had ordered Dominoes…dinner #2 :) 
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…
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.