Lessons from India (for real this time)

So about 6 months ago when I first came home from India I wrote a blog titled "What Did I Learn in India?"  I didn't really answer the question in the blog but instead talked about how I was annoyed with everyone asking me that question.  Well, now I am apologizing to my readers because it is actually very important to reflect on how the stories we live out impact our worldview and sense of personal growth.  It's a question that my mentor asked me last Thursday and so yesterday I sat down for four hours and tried to process some of the events from my time in India.  I discovered that almost every memory and story had a lesson behind it that I had already accepted as a part of my story and identity and had applied in various ways in my life without even realizing it.  I came up with about fifteen stories that imparted important life lessons.  Here are three of them. 

One of my first weeks of ministry in the slums ended in chaotic disaster.  There were two teams of volunteers, named according to the train stations where they went searching for desperate and dying people; Sealdah and Howrah.  Because there was no overall leader each team ran things their own way and had little interaction with each other.  Whoever had the most experience acted as the general leader for each team.  Our ministry was exclusive, not just any volunteer could join, and the Howrah team disapproved of one of the volunteers that the Sealdah team 'let in'.  So she called a meeting.  Neither side would budge.  Howrah demanded he leave and Sealdah insisted he stay.  There was yelling, tension, and hurt feelings on both sides.  The worst part was, the volunteer in question was also one of the meeting attendees!  As part of the solution I volunteered to switch teams.  After having worked with both sides for a while I came to enjoy both and understood why the philosophy needed to be different for each team.  Lessons learned:

1. All relationships are important.  Your coworkers are just as important as the people you are working to reach. 
2. Making an effort to walk in someone else's shoes brings reconciliation. 
3. Mission work is difficult and stressful and missionaries are normal people who need as much grace as anyone else.

Train Station

One of my favorite memories from Kolkata was of a man I approached on a train platform.  I noticed he was homeless and sat down next to him.  He didn't speak any English or Bangla so we couldn't talk but I offered him a little fried snack and he was obviously surprised and excited.  He smiled and gave me a hug, then he rummaged around in his bag for something he could give me.  He didn’t have much of anything, no changes of clothes, no food, no money.  The only thing he had a was a bit of red twisted thread.  It was dirty, knotted and ripped but it was all he owned.  He placed it in my hand and motioned that I should clean it and then turn it into an anklet.  I walked away feeling more encouraged and uplifted than if I had been given a million dollars.  That anklet is one of my favorite possessions to this day.  Lessons learned:

1. Although ministering to the poor is generally thankless and uncompensated work, the times when you are shown gratitude are worth more than all the money and recognition in the world. 
2. Sitting next to someone on the street communicates love.  It is an acknowledgement that you have time for them and that you are both of equal importance and stature. 
3. The poor have as much, if not more, to teach us as we do them. 

Train Platform

The nuns of the Missionaries of Charity taught me a lot in all aspects of life, but the most impactful part of my time with them was probably their Adoration service.  It was basically a daily prayer service an  hour and a half long in a room offering only a concrete floor to kneel on.  Most of the prayer was silent but every once in a while they would sing a hymn a-cappella.  I had to walk over a mile in hundred degree heat to get there and it was at the most inconvenient time possible but I found I could connect with God better than any church I had been to.  Lessons learned:

1. Even worship songs and the Bible can be distractions at times.
2. Being together with other people in prayer is powerful, even when there are no words spoken out loud.
3. There is something about dedicating time to God and prioritizing that time that opens communication with Him.  It might have something to do with the fact that we value things more that we sacrifice more for.

Near the end of my time in Kolkata

It is never too late to process an experience.  I am finding that just taking a few hours to sit down and write out experiences and then asking "what did I learn from that experience?" can be almost as impactful as the experience itself.  It helps you understand yourself better and have some wisdom to share with other people as well. I highly recommend it.