So it turns out that Kolkata had quite the effect on both of us. Are you surprised? It had such in effect in fact that we both wrote a post trying to describe it. I wrote this a few weeks back and since I wrote it I didn’t want to put it to waste. Although Ryans Kolkata post is a hard act to follow I still figured it was worth while. Now that I have read his I realize we both describe some of the same things but also many different things. I’m not sure I’m quiet the inspirational author he is but if you have the time…..please, find this:

Inspired by Kolkata

If I ever write a post and want to say where do I begin, this is it…without a doubt. I say this because my mind is thinking in circles. How do I properly explain the vivid pictures in my head or or the things I’ve learned? I don’t know and maybe that’s more of the problem?It turns out that I have found a place to start this post but I have no idea how to express what I would like you to envision. Are you catching my drift here? It’s been twelve days that I can not properly put into words. I suppose you can stop and think for a second, about a time in your life when you felt most inspired. BUT, think about a time where that inspiration came through a humbling experience. Can you find one? I’m sure you can and I suppose that inspiration and humbleness can work hand and hand but more often than not I think inspiration is driven by money or worldly things. My inspiration has been driven by Mother Teresa and God’s work through some gifts he has given me. It was his work though, not mine, and for the last 12 days I’ve been his self giving servant which in turn happens to be quite humbling.

So now that I’ve got the ball rolling here let’s talk for a minute about Mother Teresa. Who was she? Well I can tell you that she kicked some serious butt and that in no way am I worthy of writing about her. Somewhere though, in the past few weeks, I have stood at the desk she worked at, prayed at her tomb, attended mass where she did, spent time in the room where she took her last breaths and had conversations with people that she knew directly. Doing these things and being surrounded by the foundation and starting point of her charities gave me a pretty good idea of what she was about. This is also what drove my inspiration. I guess for Mother Teresa it came down to three pretty simple things. Love (most importantly) followed by compassion and serving (for the less fortunate through God). She did what she did through a calling from God. Her relationship with God was very real and she did not doubt it for a second. Because of this we now have the Missionaries of Charity, which is established in every country on earth, except one.

  

So what did we do for the Missionaries of Charity? As our journey began in Kolkata we knew that we had one purpose. That purpose was to be as self giving as possible. In order to achieve that purpose we headed for The Mother House which is the headquarters for the Missionaries. At Mother House (called Mother House because this is where Mother Teresa lived) we signed up to work in two different homes/hospices. The first being Prem Don which serves the sick and dying and the second being Daya Don which serves disabled children.

As we walked to Prem Don on our first day we found ourselves walking through many different areas of Kolkata. From the Kolkata Muslim Quarter to the heart of the Kolkata Slums, all being quite surreal. Just entering the slums alone is enough to make you want to cover your nose first but then give everything you have to each and every kid that is begging you for a sip of water. Also, As we walked it was easy to observe that more people than not, slept on the sidewalk instead of under a covered roof, ate scraps out of the waste piles instead of buying street food and used the sidewalk as their toilet in lieu of using a bathroom.

         

 I don’t think I need to explain in detail what it smelled like so let me get back to Prem Don. At Prem Don we were young servants to the sick and dying. We worked closely with the sisters and other volunteers to accommodate the needs of every patient. The things we experienced behind the walls of Prem Don may be better left unsaid so I won’t go into to much detail but I’ll never forget some of the volunteers and patients we met. First there was Helmut (pronounced Hel Moot). Helmut is a German Protestant who has dedicated his last nine years of retirement to helping the people of Prem Don. His only drive for being there is his compassion for the patients. It turns out that he also had some compassion for us too. He was our mentor as we were often intimidated by the patients and would not know what attention they required. Whenever we were lost he would guide us and help us establish relationships with each of them. He is truly one of neatest people I have ever met and I would like to thank him for his kindness. Then there was Rim Krishnaw who was a poor, disabled, yet wise Indian man. For some reason Rim liked to use me for one thing in particular. Let’s just say that on my first day I had to quickly learn how to take a man #2 with an English to Hindi language barrier in the way. I remember actually sitting there praying that I get through this. Well I did get through it…..so that’s what I did everyday, at ten o’clock, for 8 eight days strait. That is Prem Don in a nut shell.

On to Daya Don. At Daya Don we were able to work with disabled children. This one of the more memorable experiences during our volunteer time. Each kid was so amazing in their own way and it didn’t take long to feel attached to them. One thing I immediately realized was that these kids were no different than any other children around the world or in the United States for that matter. They were loving individuals that just like to have fun and bond with someone. There is one problem though and that is that no one in India will adopt children like this. The reason for this is because they have no earning power. This made me so frustrated and when I heard this I immediately wanted to adopt everyone of them. It is sad to think that they will continue to live the rest of their lives in a hospice and never know the comfort of a real family. Outside of this we didn’t only play with these kiddos but we were also required to feed them. I must say this was quite the task. This picture should do a good job summing it up:

 

Of all the kids there was one that was particularly special to me. His name was Sanchu. Sanchu struggles with a hormonal disorder which doesn’t allow his body or mind to mature. He is actually six years old but as you can tell from the picture below he certainly doesn’t look it. Other than his hormonal disorder he was such a well behaved playful child with the best smile. I’ll miss him and it was difficult saying goodbye to him on the last day. Here are a few pictures:

   

Now that you have a brief picture of what we were doing I would just like to say a few more things about Kolkata, the people we met and the experiences we had. First let me say that the experiences described above in no way paint a full picture of what we went through while in this city. To me, now, India is like the worlds classroom more than any other country I have experienced yet. At the heartbeat of that classroom is the city of Kolkata. Right now you probably have a picture in your head. Yes Kolkata is very poor, yes it is very dirty, yes it is loud and yes it has a smell you will never forget. But outside of all this, Kolkata is magical. It served two of the greatest people that have ever lived being Mother Teresa and Gandhi. Also, you often ask yourself how a city with such poor infrastructure meets the demands of so many citizens. To me it seems impossible. Somehow though it all works almost like a fine tuned instrument. If you ever travel there stop and observe for a minute. Put the poverty and chaos aside and you will surly recognize something beautiful.

A last thought for you and for me. From this day on I am going to think about what self giving truly means. What is it to truly give your hands and heart to a greater purpose? There are people all over the world that are less fortunate than us and those people need our help. We are simply capable of helping them which is an amazing thing. We have two hands that work and a mind that can process thoughts clearly so let’s use them for the better to help those that don’t have these simple gifts. I challenge you and myself to be more self giving everyday to everyone you love and to all those that could use a helping hand. Lets all be good samaritans. I would like to thank God first and foremost for letting me realize this importance and after that I would like to thank Mother Teresa. There are also a few others we met while in this great city that I don’t want to forget about! Thank you Jason, Johnny, Joe, Marie, Joel, Johan, Pau and Eric. You are all amazing people and I thank you for also inspiring and educating me. Anyone reading this – please check out Marie Millers website at www.mariemiller.net. She is a blessed and talented artist out of Nashville, TN. Thanks to her we had several nights on the roof top of the Modern Lodge listening to great live music.

     

Love you all! Until next time,

Jamie

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