BEHIND THE SCENES. I realize that I am being given a very privileged introduction to India. I am coming in not so much as a tourist staying in the finest resorts, being pampered with the best accommodations. I am coming in as one privileged to see and experience a more authentic India, its real side, perhaps. I know I am not seeing it completely, but what I have seen helps me begin to understand and appreciate this people.TEACHING AND LEARNING. From Friday through Monday, Joe James and I participated in a conference and training retreat. We shared the teaching/training responsibilities for 200 rural workers from across India. I taught four sessions at the conference. Many participants had traveled 12-18 hours by train to participate.
HOWRAH BRIDGE WALK. We walked on the Howrah Bridge today. It’s the third longest cantilever bridge in the world, a massive structure that spans the nearly one-mile wide Hoogley River. 200,000 people cross between Kolkata and Howrah each day, perhaps half on foot. We walked on the bridge among this incredible mass of humanity. Many people carry large, heavy bundles on their heads.
MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY. We visited the mother house of the Missionaries of Charity and sat awhile by the crypt of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic order founded by Mother Teresa, have committed themselves to serve and love the poorest of the poor here and around the world. I came away with a sense of awe and thanksgiving for the depth, magnitude, joy, and simplicity of the Missionaries of Charity’s work.
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