Calcutta

One thing you learn quickly is that just because India is a powerhouse in the world when it comes to technology does not mean it is easy to find a time or a place to connect to the internet. It is hard to believe that a week has passed by since I last wrote from Delhi.

We flew to Calcutta on a 737 the way flying is supported to be...great service including a meal. It is hard to know how to describe the experience we had in Calcutta. At first, one is simply overwhelmed by the sights, the sounds, and the smells. But when we left a few days later, it felt like a friend.

The focus of the trip was MCC and the Mennonite Brethren church in Calcutta, a work that has been going on for 40 years. Inspiring is one way to describe what we experienced. The Global Families program is so impressive. Over 1700 students are being given support for school at the price of $240 a year. Life seems so unfair when you are in the middle of a truly poor place. For $240 a year, a child can receive an education...$20/month.

Then there are the 22 development programs around the country that MCC helps with, agriculture, tsumani relief, HIV/Aids, women's programs. All of the staff we met were Indian and deeply committed to the work.

Maybe the most touching experience was the visit to Mother Teresa's Mother House. As I looked at her memorial (she died in 1997), I was overcome with emotion. The power of her work was mightier than that of the forts we have visited.

But do not be misled. We visited some beautiful parts of the city with high rise buildings, beautiful parks, entertainment like dancing water timed to music with colored lights. I may try to add some pictures in my next posting. I think I might be able to figure it out.

We spend a half day as well with the Hastings Mennonite Brethren church. Moving in a word. They have a school, an afternoon child development program with Compassion International, a correspondence Bible college with over 10,000 active persons. Again, all Indian staff. A great thing has happened...foreign missionaries have largely been replaced by Indian staff. They are passionate about sharing Christ and meeting the needs of those around them.

That is the surface of our time in Calcutta. Our time had come to fly to south central India, landing in the airport at Hyderabad. Like Delhi and Calcutta, Hyderabad is a major city, not as large as the 40 million in Delhi or over 10 million in Calcutta, but big, really big...and hot. Summer has begun.

Here are a few photos from Calcutta.

Lawrence