The joy of serving Christ

Our 2 day weekend was setup for brothers and sisters, to give them an overview of what the bible says about how ecclesia's should run, to help them understand that the ecclesia has many different aspects - including preaching, and sustaining the membears (as one brother wrote, and we've run with), and how we are here to show love to each other as if we are all Christ's.

The talks were very blunt, as there had been many issues that hadn't been clearly addressed to this point and I thought they were going to be negative at the beginning of the weekend, but by the end, I felt encouraged by the scriptual guidance. We looked at recovering lost sheep, that the leaders are meant to be shepherds, caring for the membears in the ecclesia, in effect washing each others feet. We closed the meeting with a meditation on 3 things I need to change, etc... quite powerful, as I don't think they'd been in a learning environment like that before. It was truely a training and development session on the path to the kingdom. We closed with 2 examples of literal feet washing, brother & sister.

At the end of the meeting Dad said a few brief words, to me it felt like Paul leaving Ephesus, cause most of these membears we won't see again until possibly we can come back to this area... and so the words were few but meaningful. Dad wanted to see them all by God's grace accepted as sheep in the day of judgement. Brother Swapan Mondal got up and said a few words of encouragement to us, that our time here has not been in vain, and that the brethren and sisters are grateful for the love that has been shown to them, and that they have learnt at least in theory that to move forward in this area they need to start caring for each other, and helping each other to the kingdom. As soon as he finished talking most of the sisters rushed to the front, trying to wash Dad's feet..it was truely moving, and then some of the sisters came to the front to say goodbye and started to cry. We felt loved.

Then it was decided to stay at the camp an extra night. There was no way some of them could leave because of bus strikes. The spontaneity was fab. There was no massive program so we decided to have another sisters class which I led on 'endurance' and we had an evening class on prophecy. The brothers wanted the class to go all night, but most of them had to leave first thing in the morning so we ended at 10 when we were kicked out of the room by security. They need so much more food. They were all enjoying learning, but they only get fed once a year at bible week, and most of them don't see any Christadelphians till the next year. How would I do in that sort of situation? I'd go insane.

That night Wes had been into Sudder St and brought back some Flurry's cake for us all to much on, while mum told Erina the story of Goldilocks and the 3 bears. It all came from a letter one of the brethren had written, using the word members, but spelling it as membears as I've already alluded to..and just went from there. You might think it strange, but there was definitely a time to let off steam at night in mum and dad's room:-)

I was much saddened to hear of a brother who was baptised 2 years ago who had got gangrene in his foot due to not being visited by the Christadelphians in his area, which shows the real state of the ecclesia there (not really a functioning body) and he now has to get it amputated. I've been so upset ever since I heard this report when I got back from Bangalore early December. Anyways, I tried to spend some time with him and his unbaptised daughter on the weekend, and as they were saying goodbye to me, they asked me to come visit Contai as they have a talking cat there. I was like, 'but cat's don't talk'. 'This one does', they said. I walked away devastated. I'd heard the joke about the prophesying cat in Contai, but somehow it would've been different if it hadn't been this mans cat. He's finally back at a meeting, and fellowshipping, and we find out he believes his cat is talking. He is old, and possibly a little senile, but his daughter was the backing up everything he said. There is still so much learning to be done in this area. The newly baptised are trying to lead ecclesia's, but don't actually have much knowledge themselves.

Arriving back the next day we went to Amazon for dinner, and when we asked for a serve of 'plain rice' he responded, 'not available'. Sometimes you can contain your laughter, this wasn't one of those occasions. We exploded. An Indian restaurant, not selling rice?? We said it two or three times and then another waiter came along to help out, there was a side nod, and the dish was noted. I don't think we'd stopped laughing by the time it was served!!

I have to go. We're having a memorial with David before he starts work tomorrow, and although it is our last night, we have to be somehow functioning to complete the packout of here tomorrow.

The night watchment is blowing his whistle.

And tonight we responded with ours.

Final weeks in Kolk

We're leaving tomorrow and our days in Kolkata will be over. I'm not going to be very sad to say goodbye to the thick pollution that coats my skin with filth everyday, but I have grown familiar with living in Jodphur Park on and off for the last 2 months. It's been a blessing to be able to make the decision most mornings of whether I want to eat the brown 'sugar and spice' bread with peanut butter, or have banana and cornflakes. Sounds weird, but when it's not your own home, you have no choice but to buy off the street and eat something oily, or a curry.
We've had a quiet space, away from the noise to come home to at the end of each trip. There will be no more Amazon's or South Indian noodles, or seeing the dripping water pipe at the end of the road which was my landmark for coming home, or spending time with the kid downstairs, being crazy with him! No more metro trips into town to pickup various things, including the occasional strawberry pack (which we just discovered the other week), or even knowing where to buy the imported apples for a treat. I bought some last week to say goodbye to Wes and Darryl, and then forgot to cut them up...so we've been enjoying them this week, little by little.

Last week we arrived back from Serenga to find the entrance to our road blocked and the cement all dug up. Cool..and interesting, something going on. 2 weeks later, it's all finished. But the road no longer looks like a road. Instead of recementing, they've just tried to fill up the gaps with the old cement. Random bits lying all around. No concept of cleaning up after themselves.

We've been watching block of flats go up down the road, and yesterday as I walked past I just stopped and watched. The scaffolding is wood. Two men are standing on different levels doing the same job, covering the bricks with cement. There is someone down the bottom mixing cement, and a pully system with ropes and a bucket to send the cement up and down. Amazing.

Another building project is going on in the opposite direction. We have a mall bigger than marion going up so so quickly. Within 3 mins walking distance, if we stayed, we'd never have to spend money travelling to buy anything!! Although maybe that's not going to be true as last night Jona and I set out to buy something for dinner. We had two places to visit. After arriving at one major supermarket and finding that there is no refrigeration section selling meat and wasn't much more than a massive roadside stall with clothes added, we moved onto the next one and got taken to the wrong place and ended up in a market place. Where we walked past isles and isles of men selling fruit and vege, also managed to see some goats heads just sitting there, and a chicken being wrenched apart. Wasn't feeling so much like eating meat at the end of that, and was too exhausted to bother taking a taxi any further and the excursion took a total of 2 hours to get to 2 places. Was thinking of my Woolworths at home at the end of that exercise... just wanting to reach my hand into the freezer and pull out..... something different.

Although I can't really complain, the food isn't bad, and while in the flat we've been quite spoilt. I made a chicken pasta to bid goodbye to Wes before he flew to Bangladesh for the bw, and we've had banana caramel pie a few times, and also choc brownie, (c/o Dad).


Last week.

There are a few things best forgotten... and our trip to Serenga was horrific from start to finish. It began with the most hideous bus ride I've ever been through... closed my eyes for the majority of it, and held on. On the way back it was even worse, as the driver just put his hand on the horn and his foot on the brake, and only slowed down a fraction to let people jump off. So we grasped the chair in front and kept praying!!!
Arriving in Serenga, feeling like you'd just been on a show ride that you weren't allowed to get off, we were thinking it was going to be nice to have a rest, shower and then meet up with the bre and sisters, but we were escorted straight into their hall and began our fellowship with them. That evening we went to buy water, and then realised that this is the town that you can't buy any mineral water. They have no need, no tourists would go there, so they just don't supply any bottled drinks at all to the town. You can imagine how poor it is. The feel was awful as well. I've never walked through a town where I've felt uncomfortable or the people weren't friendly before.
So no water, no nice aura, then there was the food ordeal. The first night we had a dinner of biscuits, because our study went too late, and the shops were closed. Our one reprieve was the clean hotel rooms.
The ecclesia had quite a few issues to sort through.

While in the village it was the time of the rice harvest. It was a total education to me, how it all works without big machinery, and how it really is, in the sweat of your face eating bread. The rice had been dried by the time we got to it, and I helped with the threshing machines, blowing away the grain from the husks, and then moving the grains to the store house. This was all done once the classes were finished for the morning. They said they'd hire me for 40 rups a morning, which would've been cool, it's a lot more than payment for tutoring English.

I had my first piggyback ride on the back of a bicycle in Serenga. I just couldn't stay on... after about 50m I'd be jumping off to do some walking, and then getting back on, and off and on. Don't think I'll ever learn to keep my balance with my legs not being supported by anything, it's such bad posture for your back.

It was there that I found out the best way to transport goats from one place to another. Put them in bags and carry them on the handle bars of your bicycle. Amazing isn't it. There was a slaughter house in front of our hotel. And each day we'd see different goats tied up in the morning, and not there in the evening. The thing that I queried the most the first night was seeing a food joint being washed down for the evening, and then a man directing a goat inside to spend the evening there. We realised that it was being kept for milk, and that was just the easiest place to keep it!

We were glad to arrive back in Kolkata, even though it meant we had the serving brothers meeting to arrange for the weekend. We live in total luxury, compared to so many ppl in this world.

Socks and Saree

The title describes today. The weather is now cold in India and it was too cold to be barefoot in the flat today. And yes, after buying a saree in Gosaba, and having the blouse piece stitched, I ventured out to meeting today in a saree. The funniest thing was, I put it on, and then went downstairs to ask the landlady to help me complete it. Then the first sister arrived and remade it, and then the next sister came and started again from scratch...thankfully that was enough, I think i spent an hour having it put on all up. Crazy. But you must have it just right!

The weather has gotten really cold just this past week to the point where we had to buy blankets yesterday to keep brother DC warm when he arrives tomorrow.

He arrives and we leave. And the next lot of fieldworkers train up from Hyd before next weekend. Sad we couldn't have handed over.

Tonight is our last night in Kolk and Erina and David are sleeping the night and we're doing fireworks tonight on the rooftop, and then tomorrow morning having a memorial with David and a pancake brekky before the next crowd arrive and the handover takes place.

The good news from today is that we're going to be attending the whole of the visak camp. We had planned to go to Srikakulam for a week before end of years in Hyd started, but since contacting them all we've found that they're all heading down, so what is the point of visiting individual area's when we can see them all at once at Visak, so am real happy about that. Means a lot less travelling, to see everyone. We'll have 1 night and 1.5 days in Srik and then head on.

Trip to Gosaba

It's become our routine to have a 4 day trip leaving the flat early Monday morning during the week and then arrive back on Friday in time for our Contacts class at the Rajput house, a house visit or two on Saturday and then be here at the flat for our Kolkata memorial meeting and Kingdom Class in the afternoons on Sunday.

I was getting a little scared in the time leading up to heading out to Gosaba as I'd read a book 'House of blue mangoes' in Bangalore which talked about man eating tigers, and had heard that approx 300 people per year are killed by tigers and we were heading out to the tiger territory. Just before we left Erina told us that the tigers had been known to jump into the boats travelling along the river, and Dad had been making many jokes about buying caps with eyes sewn on because apparently they don't pounce on anything that is looking directly at them!! So there was quite a bit of buildup!!!
We started the journey with a prayer for safety, and our God heard our prayer. There were no Royal Bengal tigers to be seen:-)

It was one of the most beautiful journeys I've made. Apart from the bumpy 3 hour bus ride to start with, we had a gorgeous 2 hour ferry ride across to the island in the heat of the day. I was ready to jump in by the end!! All along the river bed were women dragging wooden frames to catch fish. Must've been hard work as they were sinking deep into the mud with every step they took. A job that in Australia would have been given to the men.

We clamboured ashore and were met by Dilip and Alekha Sen and taken pretty much straight to the hired premises for Sunday School. Mum led with Genesis ch 1. They're all supposed to be starting to use new Bengali course books, so everywhere we go... the lesson is creation.

Wes had also scared me about the accomodation saying that the hotel was solid brick on the outside, but the walls were made up of sheets on the inside. We had a lovely hotel when we got there, and my fears went! When your standard comforts are met, it's so much easier to do the job.

The main reason for visiting Gosaba was because there were 10 people ready for baptism. We started on Tuesday with interviews dividing into two groups and working through them. By Wednesday afternoon 7 out of the 10 were ready for baptism and we met by the pond at the end of the house. It was a beautiful occasion. I was very happy because most of those baptised were illiterate and some had been refused previously because they didn't have enough knowledge, but they had been taught more and understood the foundations now.

After the 7 baptisms we had a memorial meeting conducted by Wes on 1 Peter 1 & 2 on the importance of growing into Christ our example. While the exhortation was in progress a large size vegetable patch was being hoed and planted outside which was so amazing to watch. On the way back we were commenting on how the Kingdom will probably be very similiar to the village system. The people live such an uncomplicated life and just focus on their necessities for each day.

So our visit was a very positive one, and we came away rejoicing with the angels.

Thursday had been set aside for a quick boat trip to see the Tiger sanctuary which Wes had been to 2 years previously and had said it was worth a visit while we were in the area. We were aware that we needed permission from the Kolkatta government to go on a Tiger safari, but we thought we could get into the office and turtle hatchery without any documentation! We were wrong.

It was a fiasco. After hiring a boat to go across the river, and being totally tricked as to how much money we should have paid we started walking through the entrance. We'd been told we didn't need permission, and now unfortunately the rules had been changed...so many people arguing.... not so good, after some time Dad and I asked to see the Manager, cause it was our only possible trip there this year. The Manager said it was fine (we afterwards learnt that he was Manager of the hotel, and not government department) so after getting his approval we started wandering round until there was more shouting... it was very confusing, and not all in our own language. We were told we could look, and then we were told we couldn't... so we left. Not before a massive monkey jumped on the boat and stole a Britania cake out of Erina's hands. Sad fact. Feeling a little disgruntled we headed back for our last fried meal.

We ate every meal at the same place, there wasn't much variance for 4 days straight. Egg rolls, or bread ommlette, and every though they are amazing in themselves, after some time I became rather tired of eating the same foods, morning, lunch & evening. One night I went and bought aloo from the markets and took them to the restaurant and peeled them and asked them to cook them for me. They immediately coated them with curry, which I had to ask them politely remove before they started frying them. Was an interesting change but they charged me twice as much for using their oil than for ordering a standard meal! Most of our meals came to $3 for 8 people unless we had soda as well. We saved a lot on food this week!!

We had an rla on the way back to Kolkata. We took a ferry back across, and then found out the last bus had left at 2pm, so we had to get 2 large auto's to transport us and our luggage back to the river to cross to Canning to catch a train.

We crossed in the dark, holding onto the sides of a large canoe, praying that we wouldn't run into anything coming the other way. Getting out was somewhat difficult, we barged into another canoe and I think it injured wesley somewhat, before we had to find our way out. I stepped out on the wrong side and sunk into the grey slush that I was unable to see in the dark. Then another bahn ride to the station. A mad lady chewing tobacco attached herself to me at the station, and rode with us the whole way back in the train saying things that made Erina laugh out loud but she wouldn't repeat to us in English. It was a relief when we eventually got back to the flat. The whole day had been one adventure after another!! Safely back to the ark.

It's been nice having 3 days back in the flat. Friday night was our contact class at the Rajputs and we were very thankful to be given salad and a potato curry with NO frying there. Erina had put in her order for us:-) Kamelesh attended with his elder brother, and some of Erina's extended family was there as well as one of her friends. There were quite a few interested and the questions were good. So it's definitely a worthwhile setup.

Most of yesterday afternoon Mum and I spent frustrated trying to book train tickets for the end of year. To Visak, and Srikakulam, and on to Hyderabad...it was an effort I can assure you... between 3 buildings and many different counters. It took me 5 minutes in Hyd, but 2 hours in Kolk. Amazing. Things rarely are easy in India!!

And now today we're ready for our Kolkata meeting and Kingdom class. Today is Erina's 18th birthday and mum and dad have been cooking chocolate pudding, apple pies and banana caramel pie to celebrate the occasion with our bre & sis. After meeting, we're going to where David works to have dinner and to surprise him, so that should be fun.

This next week is our trip to Serenga with mum and dad. Wes, Jono & Darryl + K are heading back for a truth camp at Midnapur and we're meeting up again with them at CK Road on Wednesday night before travelling back here on Thursday evening.

Love to you all. Feel free to email me. I'd love to hear from you.