Day 3: Meeting Compassion East India

This morning Doug led us in a great time of worship, and Brian encouraged us with some things to remember for the week. God has blessed our team with amazing unity so far - pray that it continues for the next two weeks!

This morning we set out to see the Compassion East India office and meet the people that work there. On the way, we got a much better view of the city of Kolkata. Abject poverty sits next to modern buildings and businesses, and bamboo scaffolding surrounds modern buildings for painting or cleaning.

Pastor Henry, from the East India office, spoke to us about the strategies Compassion uses to reach children and their families here in India. Compassion has only been in East India for 8 years, but has already grown to helping nearly 50,000 children! We were all inspired as we listened to the staff's enthusiasm about the work that they do. For them, this isn't just a job - it's a calling.

Then we got to see the staff's offices, and see where they process sponsor letters. Even if a sponsor doesn't write their child, this staff makes sure each of the 50,000 child receives a letter every other month. Talk about an enormous task! Talk about enormous love!

Then we headed out to lunch and to visit Mother Theresa's home. We saw more of the city... And the Compassion staff at all times were there to guide us and make sure we felt safe.

Days 1 and 2: In the Air

We met early at church to say farewell to our families and head to O'Hare. Bill Whalen graciously agreed to drive us all in a 15-passenger van to Chicago. Once there, we met up with 5 individuals from a church in Racine and a member of the Compassion staff that would accompany us on the whole trip.

We boarded our Air India 777 - which holds close to 400 people - and settled in for our 14 hour flight. Luckily, the plane was only half full, so we got to spread out a little. We left nearly on time, and soon got our first taste of India (literaly) with a delicious spicy dinner.

We passed the time reading, talking, and watching movies onboard. But soon we were drifting off to sleep - some better than others. To help get our internal clocks adjusted, they woke us up at 3:30 am (central time) to feed us breakfast - again a very impressive meal for airplane food!

And then we landed in Delhi, and the adventure began. Our fearless leader led us through customs and we got our visas stamped. But soon we found out that was the wrong thing to do, and we weren't supposed to go through customs until we got to Kolkata. So then we stood around for an hour while they tried to "cancel" our visa stamps. It was one of the many chances we will a get on this trip to trust that God is in control - seeing someone walk away with all your passports and disappear for any amount of time is always a little scary.

But soon we were back to where we were supposed to be, and on our flight to Kolkata. Once we got there, around 11 pm, the Compassion India staff were waiting with a bus to take us on an hour ride through the streets of Kolkata. Wow, what a different world it is here. The streets were still packed with Taxis and cars, and a constant honking of horns. But soon we checked in to the BMS retreat center, thankful for an actual bed, and exhausted after a long two days of travel.

We made it!

After hours of flights, and a small snafu in the Delhi airport, we got into Kolkata around 11pm last night, and then took a 45 min bus ride to the BMS Retreat Center, and got a few hours of sleep. Just ate breakfast and getting ready to go visit the Compassion office!

Updated Prayer Requests

Our trip is almost here - we leave on Wednesday! Please continue to pray while we are gone. Below, you’ll find some specifics on what we think we’ll be doing each day on the trip, so that you can be praying for the opportunities we’ll have.

Date	What We're Doing	Please Pray…
Wed - Thur 2/9 - 2/10	Fly to Kolkata, India	Travel mercies; sleep
Fri, 2/11	Orientation Visit Mother Teresa’s home	Open minds as we learn more about the culture
Sat, 2/12	Fly, drive to Alipurduar	Strong stomachs and no motion sickness
Sun, 2/13	Teach Sunday School at Church Lead worship and teach at youth service	Courage and boldness as we began teaching and meeting with the church
Mon, 2/14	Meet with our sponsored children Help with household chores Help with the Compassion program	That we can communicate love even with the language barrier
Tue, 2/15	Construct Classroom Help with the Compassion program	Good teamwork; that we can connect with the children
Wed, 2/16	Community evangelism Lead special games, crafts, and object lessons	Boldness and leading That God uses the crafts and object lesson to impact the children.
Thur, 2/17	Badminton court construction and tournament with children Special women’s ministry	Fun time playing with the children Cultural sensitivity
Fri, 2/18	Closing ceremony with church and Compassion staff	That we can humbly give encouragement to the pastors and staff
Sat, 2/19	Drive, fly back to Kolkata	Travel mercies
Sun, 2/20	Attend church service in Kolkata Fly home	That we would not leave unchanged