Wednesday 22 February 2012

Trip to India

Hello dear friends sorry I have been silent for some time. I have had an opportunity to go to India (Kolkata) for 2 weeks and have since my return raced through days trying to write newsletter and then get some volunteers to help with stamping labelling and folding of same newsletters so in less than a week back its been a mad rush.
Thank you to Creos (who now lives in India and was mediator in this exercise of going to India) I experienced something which I probably never thought I would get a chance to do. Sit at the tomb of a saint, Mother Teresa. And to see the work she started and continues.
On arival we were met by Creos's friends (they had beautiful flower  for me..how lovely of them) and also by Marjorie and Clare two sisters who promote the Divine Mercy Apostolate in Kolkata (they were holding an image of Divine Mercy-how lovely flowers and Mercy, not a bad start!)
I had a long sleep at "hotel Heaven" about 50 metres from mother House the Missionaries of Charity house where the tomb of mother Teresa is and where the Missionaries of Charity live.
After a long sleep (about 18 hours getting there) Creos took me to Mother house and introduced me to Very Revered Sister Superior Sr. Prema now the Sister in charge of all Missionaries of charity, the second superior after Mother Teresa, and also Sr Lumen a doctor from USA, and Sister Joseph from Australia, and Sister Mercy Maria and Sr Andrea and I am sure many others but my head was in whirl and couldnt remember.
For the first several days I just wandered around and tried to acclamatise myself to the culture shock, coming from "clean" Australia to a place of great poverty. Something I never in my wildest imagination thought existed in our day. But it does. and I felt sad. I wanted to shake the government of India to make them do something to alleviate such poverty and suffering and indignity.
Over the many days I slowly began to visit people I had gone to see (Pro lifers) and speak at various places including schools,  and met with people who pray for pro life workers in the field, and met a coule Dolly and John and a Missionary of Charity priest Fr Joel who are interested in starting a pro life group and Carmelite order and Sister from Holy Cross convent, and so many others.  It was good to be there.
One of the greatest pleasures I had was visiting daily a child in the Mother Teresa orphanage, Umang, who is severely disabled and not expected to survive, he just lies there and he simply stole my heart. I started seeing him whenever I could and we played "clap hands" (he couldnt see me-blind) but could hear me and by the time I had to leave I think he could recognize my voice, though he was very sick with an infection. He even smiled at me once. that was a great gift to me.  I have since heard from one of the other volunteers that he just lies there alone, I am sad.He is very visibly disabled and doent look "nice" so its hard also he cannot be lifted up (though only six months old) so he lies in a cot, washed, fed, cleaned but just lies there.  I wish I could have brough him with me.
It was a trip organised in hurry but a marvellous experience, met some lovely people and have been invited to go back which I am happy to do.
Please pray for the Missionaries of Charity and their fabulous work for the poor. saw the leper colony and the work they do there magnificent..Shishu Bhavan the orphanage, Prem Dan house for dying and other special homes sarted by mother Teresa and which continue helping.
Please pray for me and for them.
"Whatever you did for th least of these you did it to me" (Jesus) I hope I did well for Him.