FInal day and final reflections ( Friday 14 February)

Yesterday, just before sundown, Anu took us for a walk through a beautiful park and then along by the Hooghly river. This was such a lovely place and there were lots of couples and families strolling along the riverside. As the sun set over the Hooghly, it was a good time to unwind a little and reflect on the last two weeks.

There were signs up everywhere asking people to use the rubbish bins and declaring that this was a no spitting area! Quite a contrast from the rest of Kolkata.

Kathy, me, Charlotte and Anj

Later that evening we took the four action teamers out to dinner to B-B-Que to say thank you as they have been brilliant company and such a help to us. Their family and friends have every reason to be very proud of them.

This morning having checked in and printed our boarding passes we went to see the Victoria Memorial which was built between 1906 and 1921 and dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria. It is now a museum and tourist destination. Being Valentines Day there were loads of couples and families enjoying the beautiful surroundings. As we sat on the steps leading up to the main building we became a bit of a spectacle ourselves with a number of families and couples asking to have their photos taken with us.

Following lunch we met with Benjamin Francis who gave us a gift of a Big Life mug each. He also prayed for us as a team and thanked us for what we had shared and done on the overnight visit.

Anu had invited us to join the staff for tea in the garden at 4pm and we were very touched to find a table set out with a white table cloth and eight chairs a bit like the top table at a wedding. Pizza, cakes and chai were served and the staff gave us gifts of handmade leather purses and a small bouquet of flowers each. They then sang to us and prayed for us. Kathy led us beautifully as always in an Irish blessing and it seemed a fitting way to share the last little bit of our time with them. As we mingled with the staff I realised I would never forget the love and care we had experienced here and what an asset they all are to the guest house. It was very emotional and there were quite a few tears! None of us felt that we deserved this treatment from the staff as they had been the ones who had served us for the past two weeks. Again we all felt humbled.

Farewell tea party in the garden

It was then time to leave for the airport and apart from a bit of a chaotic episode through immigration in Mumbai airport we were on our way home.

What will I take away from my time in India? Well for one I was continually surprised and humbled by the people we met. Yes Kolkata is dirty, messy, noisy and smelly in places but also vibrant, exciting, challenging and memorable and as one of my colleagues alluded to after a recent visit, a 'city of contrasts!' It was also a privilege working with an amazing group of people who made up the BMS team. We all have grown closer through this and supported each other so well.

The work of GNCEM and Big Life took on a whole new meaning because we saw it for ourselves. These people are working on the front line so to speak and having the opportunity to be part of it albeit for a very short time was such a privilege. The visit to Freeset, Connections and Kolkata City Mission again helped us to understand a little of the immense need that these people have and to admire the incredible people that give so much of their time and efforts to help them.

During my time here I had wondered why it had taken coming to India to find a more meaningful relationship with God. I now believe this is because it is so easy for your vision of God to become clouded when you are living your normal life as other things can get in the way and you become complacent.  I believe it took me coming out of my comfort zone and witnessing the many individuals and organisations we met living Christ to see God in action more clearly. Also having to rely more in His strength through some challenging times has helped me to grow in my faith.


God is as much in Grove, where I live,  as he is in India. The challenge for me is to now live Christ more in my own life and my own community.


I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Love and God Bess! Steph xx

Visit to Connexions and China Town!

This morning we visited Connexions where women living in the slum area make bags, scarves, purses and bed covers from recycled saris. We met Bapi Bag who gave us a tour. Connexions was founded 12 years ago by a couple from Switzerland who were greatly moved  when they witnessed the immense need for women living in the slum areas to be able to work to help support their families. The project began with just six women who following  a six month training period were able to begin work on orders getting paid per piece. They now have over 150 women working, many of these women from home, and their hope is to become more widely known so that more orders can be fulfilled and more women are able to receive the training. They would like to  be in the position to pay the women salaries but are currently not able to do so and can only pay them per piece. This means when the orders are few that the women do not earn much.

We were also told that the women take part in a Christian worship session every morning as well as weekly Bible studies.

Krishna

Krishna, one of the longest serving workers,  shared her story with us of how she came to be working at Connexions. She came from a Hindustani family and when she was widowed and left with two small children she made the decision to move to Kolkata  to live with her mother. Krishna needed a job badly and heard about Connexions and was fortunate to be accepted to go on the six month training course. When Krishna contracted tuberculosis  the Swiss couple made  sure that her children were cared for and that Krishna was admitted into a very good hospital and covered all the expenses. Krishna later had appendicitis and again was cared for by the couple from Switzerland.

Whilst recuperating she returned home to her family for a while and it was at that time her husband's youngest brother proposed to her. After some deliberation and her family's blessing they were married and they both moved back to Kolkata where he has also found work.

She had no knowledge about God before she came to work for Connexions but she is currently getting ready to be baptised. I was touched by the women working here and the impact this has had and is having on their lives. Connexions wants to be a place where women's educational, vocational, social, emotional and spiritual needs are met.

Some of the scarves that the women make from recycled saris.

At present most of the products they produce are for the export market and they work with Freeset to help them with exporting the items as Connexions do not yet have an export licence. All the products are very beautiful. Their latest initiative is to make clothing for the local market such as Salwar Kamise as the other products would prove too expensive for the locals to buy.

We were then given the opportunity to purchase some of the items which of course we were only too happy to do!

Bapi with some of the women we met today

After this we returned briefly to the guest house before being taken out for lunch by Mr Asit Ghose, Pastor Asis and Anu. They took us to a wonderful restaurant in China Town and this was a real treat!

Me, Anu and Anj

Serampore College and the Mother House

This morning ( Wednesday) Pastor Asis accompanied us to Serampore College which lies about an hour an a half's drive north of Kolkata. We crossed the Hooghly River ( also known as the Ganges) however on approaching our destination unfortunately due to a temporary diversion the drive ended up taking over two hours and meant driving through the town of Serampore and in the process getting caught up in an awful traffic jam.

Crossing the Hooghly River ( Ganges)

On the way to Serampore

 Once we arrived at Serampore College which is situated on the bank of the Hooghly river, we were taken to Carey's house which was in the campus grounds and was where the current principal, Prof Laitluanliana Khiangte lives.

Carey House

 He met with us briefly but had an engagement in Bangalore and so we soon found ourselves in the company of the Vice Pincipal, Rev Dr Pratap C Gine who gave us a tour of the grounds including showing us Carey's pulpit and the Carey Archive.

Bust of William Carey

Me in front of Carey's pulpit

Carey archives

William Carey's desk

We then were offered coffee in Rev Dr Gine's office and he regaled us with stories of William Carey. He was obviously a Carey enthusiast! It was a very interesting visit and a beautiful location for the students to study.

Pastor Asis took us to the Serampore Baptist Church where his cousin is currently the minister. This is the church where William Carey preached.

Interior of Serampore Baptist Church

We were then taken on a short drive to the graveyard where William Carey and several members of his family are buried.

Carey's grave

 We then had the drive back to Kolkata where we were dropped at La Bon Pain where we had a lovely western style lunch! Then back to the guest house on foot via The Mother House which is situated a two minute walk away from the guest house.

It was very humbling to be here and seeing the room she had slept in and the exhibition I felt a fresh admiration for this remarkable woman who put Jesus at the centre of everything she did.

I spent a little time in the room where her tomb is and the only room where photography is allowed and noted that whilst Mother Teresa was respected for all she had accomplished Jesus was still the most important aspect of her work and there were scriptures everywhere echoing the great love she had for Him.

In contrast,  Serampore College whilst remarkable in itself and a testament to William Carey's accomplishments appeared to hold William Carey in the highest esteem but not once was the name of Jesus mentioned by any of the people we came into contact with. William Carey was mentioned constantly and I thought this rather strange and a little sad.

I was however pleased to have had the opportunity to visit the college but I think the visit to the Mother House had the greatest impact on me today.

Tomb of Mother Teresa

Kolkata City Mission and the Soya Milk project

BMS Staff Team, staff at BMS guest house and the Kolkata Action Team

This morning ( Tuesday) after an impromptu photo shoot, Pastor Asis accompanied us to see some of the work of the Kolkata City Mission. We visited a small school in one of the slum areas where in a tiny classroom a female teacher had a class of around 10 - 12 children and was teaching them the basics in preparation for reaching the  required standard for school.

Pastor Asis with the children in the first school we visited today

Some of the lovely children we met

We also met Mangal Murmu who was a manager overseeing the work of schools such as these as well as teaching adult literacy and managing the soya milk project in Mundapara. The children sang to us in Hindi and one child recited the ten commandments in Bengali. We then sang for them and also prayed for them.

Hannah giving some sweets to the children in Mundapara

We then travelled on to Mundapara and visited another small school similar to the one before. Again we prayed for the children. It took a while to find the correct location as there had been so much building work done since Pastor Asis had last visited that nothing looked familiar. The government were funding houses for everyone in this locality and there was a great deal of building work taking place which was good to see.

Mangal then took us further into the village to show us where the soya milk was produced. The milk is provided free of charge to small children, pregnant women and the elderly in the local area  being extremely high  in protein. They are hoping to increase productivity so that more people can benefit. We were given some to taste and it was  actually delicious - hot and malty a little like Horlicks but not as strong. Mangal also teaches literacy skills to the four ladies who produce the milk.

The kitchen where the soya milk is produced

The straining process

One of the four ladies who work in the kitchen producing soya milk

The kind of scenery we passed on our travels today

Some of the building work taking place in Mundapara

It was really positive to see the soya milk project and encouraging to hear from Mangal that apart from an initial grant to set the project up , their aim was to be self sufficient. A very interesting morning.