It was my first draw to India. Several years ago I read a book talking about the work that Mother Teresa was doing in India, and since that day, my heart's desire has been to go and see the amazing ways that God used this extraordinary woman to impact a city and this world. The way the story goes, whenever people asked Mother Teresa about what she was doing in Kolkata, her response would always be simple: "Come and see." So with her words echoing in the back of my mind, I decided to check a major item off my bucket list last week and set out to Kolkata to see the legendary work that was taking place there.
I arrived in the city on Sunday afternoon and spent the afternoon and evening getting settled in and trying to get my bearings straight. The city is huge! Much larger than my rural city of Ongole where not too many people drive cars. Instead the streets of Kolkata are filled with cars and cabs racing back and forth, always in a hurry. Fortunately enough, I had come prepared with my map and the addresses and phone numbers of all the Western restaurants I could find online so I knew that no matter how big the city was, I wasn't going hungry. So after enjoying a delightful pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut and an Oreo McFlurry from McDonald's, I was able to spend the rest of Sunday evening relaxing-- something that I felt like I hadn't done in quite some time. Monday was the first day of my experiences with Missionaries of Charity. In the afternoon, I set out to orientation and learned about all the things that the sisters are doing in the city. I was astonished at the sheer quantity of people from around the globe that showed up at orientation (something they do THREE times a week so you can imagine how many people they have volunteer with about 50 people per orientation...). People from Great Britain, Norway, Ireland, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Canada, France, Spain, and then us Americans. People from all over the world heeding Mother Teresa's request to come and see, but also experience, the work being done in Kolkata. The sisters run seven centers in the city and their outreach ranges from caring for mentally handicapped men, women, and children to running a school center for street children to caring for the "destitute and dying", those with a broader range of needs that will eventually lead to their death, which is where I was assigned.
Tuesday and Wednesday were the only days I was able to work at the Prem Dan center (with Thursday being a day of prayer and rest for the sisters). So each morning I would get up extra early and set out to be at the Mother House by 6:00 am for Morning Mass, the volunteers breakfast, and the volunteers prayer and announcements. After all that, those of us working at Prem Dan walked to the center, which was like an oasis with flowers, palm trees, and cleanliness in the midst of the slums of Kolkata.
We spent the morning doing laundry, loving on the people living there, and serving lunch. I helped in the women's ward which served 184 women from 30 to 80 years old with needs ranging from cerebral palsy to polio to mental disabilities-- all the downcast, unloved, unwanted, and rejected of society. The job was basically a labor of love. The sisters just asked that we poured out as much love as possible on these women. I put lotion on arms, hands, legs, and feet. I painted nails. I took them to the restroom. I gave massages. I sang and talked to them. I was told to do anything that would make them feel special and know they were loved. After a couple of hours of this, I helped serve lunch, wash dishes, and the day was over. I had the afternoons and evenings to explore the city and to relax and reflect on my days.
Thursday was a day of exploration and enjoying the sights of Kolkata that I hadn't gotten to on my other days. Throughout my time there I was able to cover quite a bit of ground in the city, seeing Victoria Memorial, a large marble museum dedicated to Queen Victoria of England, India's First Empress,
Birla Planetarium, India's largest planetarium,
a sunset on the Hooghly River with the Howrah Bridge in the background,
and several other smaller sights, including some wonderful Western food :)
Since returning "home" to Ongole, several people have asked me about my time in Kolkata. It seems for foreigners and Indians alike, Mother Teresa's work is inspiring and an item to see on the bucket list of so many. My experiences at Missionaries of Charity (MC) aren't easy to explain. It was a wonderful memory that I will have forever, and I truly think that every person needs to go and see it, but at the same time, I didn't walk away thinking that I had to return someday someday.
Missionaries of Charity is making an impact on this world. The Sisters are touching lives daily that otherwise would have been forgotten forever. They and the volunteers there are reaching out and finding value in those lives that according to this world, hold no value. And it is truly inspiring that this all came about by one woman, one woman who listened to and answered God's call to serve the least of these.
In the women's area of Prem Dan there are 184 women. Each one of them is beautiful; each one of them is in desperate need of help. And I couldn't be more thankful for the work that MC is doing in each one of these 184 women's lives. And I don't want to sound negative or pessimistic so I'm going to try to be careful in how I word this, but in the grand scheme of things, 184 lives isn't that many women compared to the number roaming the streets of Kolkata every night. Mother's work is making a difference in each of these women's lives and is SO necessary, but when you look out across this world, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the fact that this one center isn't making that big of a dent in the problem.
As I sat by the Hooghly River on Wednesday night, this is what I thought about. And my mind kept coming back to a quote by Mother Teresa that says:
and the lonely right there where you are-- in your own homes
and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools...
you can find Kolkata all over the world, if you have the eyes to see.
Everywhere, wherever you go, you can find people
who are unwanted, unloved and uncared for,
just rejected by society-- completely forgotten, completely left alone.
I think Mother Teresa's purpose of telling people to "come and see" is summed up in this quote. I know that my time in Kolkata did make a difference in several of those women's lives- perhaps my smile was the one smile that reminded them of Jesus' love that day. But I think Mother Teresa told people to come, not just because she needed the help, but because she hoped that maybe she would inspire others to go out and dream big dreams about finding their own Kolkatas in this big world. She knew that the world is full of Kolkatas-- its full of cities and towns that desperately need someone to reach out and impact them. Maybe, like she said, our Kolkata is in our homes, maybe at work, maybe at school. It might be somewhere that we like to go, or it might be somewhere we hate. Sometimes its clean, and sometimes its in the middle of the dirty slums. Wherever it is, I think in the back of our minds, we all know where our Kolkata is, whether we acknowledge it or not.
For me, my Kolkata is Ongole right now. Last week, I found myself longing to be here with my girls, knowing that Ongole is the place where God has placed the lowly, unloved and rejected in my path. But as I go home in less than two months, my Kolkata will change. I will still have the responsibility to care for these girls and advocate on their behalf, but I also have the responsibility to go out and find the next forgotten person that God places in my life.
So for those of you that have found your Kolkata, keep at it. I know there are days when you don't feel like facing it. I know there are days when you just want to stay in bed and pull the covers over your head. But I also know there are those days when there's no other place that you'd rather be, the days when God gives you a little glimpse into why He's placed you there and the impact that you're making. Continue to let Him lead you. Continue to let Him guide you. And continue to let Him give you the heart of Christ to serve those that we are commanded to serve.
And for those of you that haven't found your Kolkata, please find it. Please seek it out and stop at nothing till you know what or who it is. Stay where you are and look around you. Maybe its right in front of you or maybe its on the other side of the world, but don't let the busyness of life get in the way. Don't miss the opportunity to change this world. Don't let the fear of failure stop you. I can only imagine the setbacks and opposition that Mother Teresa must have faced as she started her work with Missionaries of Charity 62 years ago and now look at the legend that she has left behind. Places like Missionaries of Charity and even Sarah's Covenant Homes can't serve this world on their own. They can't reach the lives of the homeless man on the corner or the lady at the nursing home down the street. They can't get into your homes and care for your sick loved one. They can't go to your job and listen to a hurting co-worker. Nor can they be a mentor to the child who has gotten in trouble with the law at juvenile court. But we can. We can allow God to do extraordinary things with our ordinary lives just like He's done through Mother Teresa and Sarah Rebbavarapu (founder of SCH).
So may today be a day that God gives us the eyes to see and find our Kolkata. May it be a day that we seek it out and not allow anything or anyone to stop us from finding it. May our hearts be captured by and find value in the ones that represent Christ. And may today be the day that this world is changed because those Kolkatas that were once lost and forgotten, are now found because we have learned to "love one another" as Christ loves us...
Haley, my dear friend, your words and work continue to inspire me. Love you much my sister in Christ! :)
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