A Time of Growth (Part 2)

Besides the volunteering we have been doing which I mentioned in the last entry, there are other things worth mentioning. We have been living at a wonderful place (for Calcutta) which is the YWCA. The great benefit it offers is hot water! That is something you don't usually find in most budget and mid-range hotels. We have a wonderful attendant named Mary, an Asian lady who speaks perfect English. She looks after us to make sure we are getting everything we need. The security guard is the kindest person you have ever known. He touches his heart each time we come by him to tell us hello. He is very sweet!God has surrounded us at the Y with wonderful people. During registration the first Monday at the Mother House, we had met a German doctor who was doing a study on the effects that Calcutta would have on foreign volunteers. Because we are participating in the study we get free health care and advice from him and another well known Indian doctor. I was sick in the first week (I will get to that) and he came by the hotel to check on me. Now, I believe that he is going to be moving into our hotel so he will be even closer if a problem should arise. I am amazed at how God provides! The doctors even gave us there mobile numbers for when we are traveling outside of India so that we can call them if something comes up. They would be able to refer us to another doctor in that area. I didn't mention that the YWCA has two clay tennis court that Derek and I play a little tennis every now and then. I also use it to run laps around the edge of it. You don't see anyone jogging or exercising in the city. It is just not something they think about. Most Indians are frail looking and are smaller and shorter in size. We are definitely 'giants' in this city. I am still not used to being stared at by everyone as I walk down the street like I am some sort of movie star. Everyone also says 'hello' to you and a lot ask where you are from and what you are doing here. There are many beggars (children and adults) asking for money or food. On a five minute walk to a restaurant, I will encounter 10 to 20 people asking me for something: money, food, milk for their baby, etc. You want to help them but you just simply learn to keep walking. It is actually quite difficult to do, especially when you see the state some of them are in. Many families have their homes on the street. You see mothers with several babies lying on the sidewalk under blankets. I've told you that it is a dirty city as well. There are no trash cans, so everyone just throws trash into the streets. Somehow it gets piled up and taken away. There are really not public restrooms if you are not in a restaurant or a hotel, so the street is used for that as well. You cannot really imagine what goes on here. The conversations I've had with well-to-do Indians and foreigners regarding the state of the city, all point to a reversal of growth. Since the British left around the 1920's (I think), the city has gone down hill, fast. Not to mention, the population has grown tremendously. There are over 12 million people here to date. People seem to think that Calcutta cannot hold anymore people. So we'll see what happens to it. You can see that the city was once beautiful when the British first came here. There are great buildings with lavish architecture but there has not been any effort to keep them up. So, that reversal of growth is definitely continuing. India alone has surpassed China in population, as well.

So, on to the biggest way God has moved me thus far. Early in the first week on Tuesday night I became very sick, most likely from drinking some water that wasn't properly filtered. It started out as diarrhea and then went to more of that, along with nausea and flu symptoms. So, from Tuesday night until Sunday I was basically bed-ridden. I don't think that I have ever been that sick before. It was hard for me to be happy in a far away land and not be well. I suddenly missed the comforts of home, family, and friends. It was also difficult not to be able to volunteer. I had expected to have a wonderful week of working with children where God would truly speak to my heart in so many ways. Not that I really came into the trip with any 'expectations', but I didn't anticipate being laid up not being able to do anything. Anything that is, except PRAY. This is how the Lord spoke to me so incredibly. He simply wanted me to be completely at His mercy. He literally sent me to my knees and made me realize more than ever that I am completely dependent on Him. The first week for me was 'draining' in a lot of great ways! Emotionally, I was spent. I had given all of my energy to the Lord. Physically, I could not really function. I was too weak to do anything but stay in my room. So, through the tears and pain the Lord spoke to me in a way that I never thought possible. In my devotions, I read 2 Corinthians 4, 'Treasures in Jars of Clay.' In vs. 6ff. Paul says, 'For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. WE ARE HARD PRESSED ON EVERY SIDE, BUT NOT CRUSHED; PERPLEXED, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR; PERSECUTED, BUT NOT ABANDONED; STRUCK DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED...SO THEN, DEATH IS AT WORK IN US, BUT LIFE IS AT WORK IN YOU...Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.' Those words truly moved me to tears. It brought me hope as I was feeling sorry for myself that it wasn't 'fair' to be in this predicament. I realized that the Lord's ways are the best and that I cannot try to second guess Him or expect things to happen as I would want them to. I also think of Paul as he writes to his friends from the prison cell. Although he has been beaten and was in those conditions, he writes to others with a 'joy' in his heart proclaiming the glory of Christ. He cries out for the Lord to show him more joy in this way. What he has done is completely 'die' to every thing that is of the flesh (worldly things)and given over his life to trust in the Lord. What that means to me is that we need to be completely at His mercy and will and let Him do with our lives as He wants. I hope to be able to see this play out in my life more as this trip goes on and especially when I return. I think of all the distractions that we have in the States. There are too many things to occupy our time with. A lot of the time, what we want to do comes first before praying or spending any time with God. I was blind to it in the States and always thought that I got by okay. I am certainly challenged to look at what my priorities are and make sure that the Lord comes first.

So, the first week, as you've read has been absolutely life-changing. The Lord wanted to tell me something but He wanted me quiet and where He could speak to me. That meant me being laid up for a week. It would certainly not have been my plan of how the first week would have unfolded. But I know that the Lord's timing is perfect and so His plan is the best. I believe that He has me where He wants me for the rest of the trip. I am so excited to see how it will unfold. We still have another 12 days left in Calcutta and then we are off to Delhi and Agra in India to see the Taj Mahal and a few other magnificent sites.

There will be more updates though on how the volunteering turns out and all of my experiences there with those amazing children.

Please pray for my time at Nabo Jibon with them that the Lord would use me to love them and to reach them in some way.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. I know that what happened this past week had everything to do with the intercession going on back in the states with so many faithful family and friends! Thank you!

Love in Christ,

Trey