Emmanuel: God with us

This post will be short, but my message is of great importance. We may at times ask ourselves the question: What is Christianity? Or where is Christianity? Or where is the God we confess in and pray to? But this I tell you. God has not abandoned the people of Calcutta. He is here. Though it may be hard for you at home to comprehend, He is truly present here. He lives here among the poorest of the poor. He has moved the hearts of people to come to Calcutta, to be carrier of His Love. He has risen believes from all over the world to go out in the name of Jesus to serve the unloved, unwanted and the uncared for.

As I share with you the stories of the brokenness and suffering I witness here, it’s my hope they create in you a heart that cries out to God. In Matthew 9:36, God’s Word tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds he had compassion on them. As you meet the suffering people of India through me, I pray for God to move in your heart and to fill you with the compassion of Jesus. It’s difficult to be a voice for these people, but I hope my witness will call you to pray for these people and to look at them with compassion. God may not look like what we expect, but He is truly present. When we make God present to each other, He steps out of Scripture and becomes Emmanuel. He becomes God with us. When we are present, available, to one another, God becomes present too.

Getting closer to people helps us to see and hear them more clearly. The last six weeks I have seen and heard things, I would normally not see or hear, because I was close and not far. I have seen the faces of the poorest of the poor, I have touched their broken and fragile bodies, I have held their hands, I have heard their cries, and I watched them die. They are no longer the people I have read about, they are now people I have walked among. I don’t think I will ever be the same again.

I know some of you would like to read about my volunteering experience, and I promise to write a blog about it, when I have allowed all to sink in. I am off to the Philippines tonight. I hope I will be returning to Calcutta to serve the poorest of the poor again, hopefully in near future. In the meantime, I will look for Jesus in His distressing disguise in my own community.

Regardless of how, who or what have led you to my blog, I want to thank you for stopping by. I hope and pray that what I have written so far has encouraged, convinced, inspired or challenged you in some way to go beyond yourself – to do more than you have ever done for God and His purposes.

I dedicate this post to everyone, who makes Jesus present to me. Thanks for your time, love, support and encouragement. Thank you for being available. Thank you for your witness. I love you all dearly.

Wherever you are in life, be all there. Find Jesus where you are and serve Him.

Love one another!

With love, Mette

Pierce my heart to spread your word

A few days ago I was exposed to one of life’s cruelest realities. Trade in human beings, modern slavery, is occurring right under our noses. We walked through the streets of Sonagachi, one of the largest red light districts in South Asia. The brokenness of this place and this world truly hit me, as we walked the narrow, winding streets polluted with sin and despair. This place of human weakness and darkness was a devastating realization. I think, in that moment, I caught a glimpse, of how God must feel, when He sees His children driven by their flesh.

It’s all too common among the girls and women here that they have been sold or betrayed by close family members, including parents. Poverty and false promises of honest employment have led these innocent souls to a world they never imagined existed. We cannot begin to imagine the mixture of fear, despair, disappointment and anger these victims may feel, as they realize that they have been caught in a trafficker’s net. Their only option in life is to continue to suffer abuse at the hands of those who enter through the door or to escape through the door of death.

Regardless of the reason why this area’s girls and women are here, they deserve better. They deserve a way out. They deserve an option. They deserve freedom. Their right is affirmed in Galatians 5:1: “it was for freedom that Christ set us free”.

Now one question remains, who will go? Who will tell them about Jesus? Who will tell them about freedom in Christ?  Who will bring the Truth to these vulnerable and broken souls? This question continues to pierce every inch of my heart. All I recall, as I write, are the faces of the young girls who are forced to submit to it. The faces of these innocent souls, lined up, all dressed up in pretty dresses and with red color on their lips. I ask you all to pray for victims of human trafficking. Pray for people who are sold, used and humiliated against their own will. Pray also for the conversion of the ones behind the crime.

Human trafficking is a hidden crime and it often goes undetected by authorities. I believe a lack of public awareness, together with a lack of understanding the victims, present major barriers to combating the crime. I urge you all to stay informed about human trafficking and support organizations that help the women break the chains (like Freeset here in Calcutta).

Living Hope, with a heavy heart I come to you. Comfort all who are held in slavery. Heal the wounds of these souls. Look upon them with compassion and bless them with a renewed sense of trust in relationships of love. Only You God can take away their hurt and put them back together. Reveal to them Your Love, Mercy and Goodness. Make your purpose for each one of them clear, so that they may find Hope in You. Grace them with the power of the Holy Spirit so that they may recognize and accept their Savior. Thank You Father, that because of Jesus freedom is possible.

Most Holy Virgin, Mother of Compassion, comfort those in chains and intercede for their souls, that by your powerful intercession they may find freedom in Your Son.

Amen

Small things with great love

Tonight, while we are snuggled up in our comfortable beds in our comfortable homes in some of the wealthiest nations on earth, an estimated 100 million homeless will be curling up in boxes, in doorways and under bridges. Tomorrow when they awaken, they’ll begin another day of survival of the fittest.

We have been travelling India for a month now, and we have witnessed a variety of ways in which tourist and locals deal with poverty.  The most common response when faced with the beggars is ignoring their existence, focusing eyes elsewhere.

The beggars here in Calcutta are very persistent. The children will follow you for blocks. If you ignore them, they take your hand. If you put your arms around them, they will reach for your purse. It’s difficult to tell who is a professional beggar, and who really is in need. You may at times help those, who lacks nothing and refuse those who lacks everything. The faces and voices of those you send away will hunt you for days and leave you with a feeling of guilt and helplessness. It's easier to make these people annoyances rather than human beings. It's easier to see them as the poor, as unfortunate. It’s easier to ignore them and make them invisible or a faceless statistic, but it does solve anything. All you can do is pray. I pray because I don’t know what else do. I pray because He hears me, and He sees them. He knows their needs and only He can direct me.

There are many reasons why giving money is not the best response to an outstretched hand. During the last weeks I have discovered that the greatest gift you can give is your time. Everyone needs recognition. Everyone needs to feel appreciated and loved – and everyone is worthy. Here in Calcutta I continue to receive from the poorest of the poor, and today I was given a beautiful chance to give back. Together with ten other volunteers I went to Nabo Jibon, a home run by Missionaries of Charity Brothers, to bathe and feed the street children of Calcutta. Children, who yearn for love and who are oh-so-ready to respond to your affection and caring. The children today have touched me deeply, and I pray that they have someone in their lives, who celebrates the fact that they exist and that they grow. To see the smile on their faces, as they were all covered in soap from top to toe, reminds me to be more thankful. To hear their laughter as they got tossed into the air by the male volunteers, reminds me to laugh more. To see them close their eyes when being hugged creates in me a desire to give more. Last Monday I was sent to the hospital and this week has been tough. Apparently I don’t have super hero power.

To look a beggar in the eyes and smile and acknowledging their existence is a small thing.  Putting your hand into an outstretched hand and holding it tight for a moment is a small thing. Bathing someone is also a small thing. Serving someone food is a small thing too – but Mother Teresa said that “if you cannot do great things, you can do small things with great love”.

I urge you all to not only pray with your hearts, but to pray with action—to volunteer, work, serve, and build in accordance with God’s Kingdom. God should be glorified through our work for a better world. Pray for the health and safety of all homeless people. Ask God to lead them to people, who will care for them. Pray also for the caregivers, organizations etc., who offer assistance and work for a change. I urge to all to do small things with great love.

Love, Mette

Jesus in disguise

We tend to think that poverty is merely about being hungry, naked and homeless, but poverty is also to be unwanted, unloved and uncared for. The streets of Calcutta are packed with these people, unfortunate individuals, living a desperate existence. Their faces and bodies reflect hardship, neglect and sickness. Their belongings are rolled up into a pile, in the place they will be spending the night. The faces of these people are etched in my mind. Each one of them is unique in what she/he handles and represents. They are real. They are alive, some barely, but they are breathing.

You walk the streets of Calcutta hesitantly, at every turn a new harsh reality comes alive. Poverty in its rawest form is nothing to smile about, but I walk the streets of Calcutta with a smile on my face. I greet the people in the streets. Occasionally we shake hands. I see them. I hear them. I think of them before I go to sleep and they even come to me in my dreams. I wonder what these people are all about. What they dream of. What their hope in life is?

In one sense or another we are all like these people: We are poor. We all have a place deep inside ourselves, where poverty lives. A cross to carry. A place of pain and suffering, but yet also a place of hope.  I encourage you to travel to that place deep within. Feel this place, this poverty deep inside yourself and sit for a moment.

My goal with this post is to get us thinking beyond ourselves and try to stir in our hearts a deep love and passion for loving our neighbors as ourselves. We are to look at each other and see sacred beings, who are worthy of love and acceptance. Appearance can deceive. We must not let the poverty of one another blind us. We are not called to judge or disapprove. We are called to love, even those hard to love. We must look at each other with compassion and patience and remember that God is represented in each one of us. We are all created in His image, in His beauty and in His goodness. Each one of us carries His Love inside of us. We are all worthy.

Mother Teresa, when speaking of the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, said that, "Each one of them is Jesus in disguise”. We don’t have to go to Calcutta to find “Jesus in disguise” though. He is living in our own communities among the sick, the hurting, the despised, the overlooked, the lonely, the hungry, the abused, the neglected, the imprisoned and so on. Jesus could be the unfriendly man next door or the old lady driving 60 km/h on the highway. Mother Teresa saw the beauty of God in the faces of the poorest of the poor. She regarded no one as an outcaste but as a unique being of worth, created in the image of God.

Let me draw a biblical parallel to this heartfelt message of mine by referring Matthew 25:31-40: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me”.

Let me repeat: We are all Jesus in disguise. What a revelation of truth!  Now, we must remember that when He comes to us in disguise, we will not be able to see Him. He will be masked. Our challenge is to learn to look into each other’s eyes, into the eyes of anyone in need of us, and recognize Jesus. “Love one another as I have loved you”, Jesus commands us. Eight words to summarize the Bible. The message is quite simple. Jesus wants us to love each other with a love that wishes the deepest joy for one another and that is willing to make sacrifices for each other. He wants us to bring one another before God in prayer. This message should sink completely into our hearts, minds and souls. This is the way God’s love can be spread throughout the world. The love of God can transform us, if we allow it.

Loving and serving the unloved, unwanted and the uncared for is not extra credit for followers of Jesus. It is the core of what it means to follow Him. It’s the core of what it means to love. Love is not something that needs to be earned or only felt. Love can be a decision as well. We are worthy of love by the fact of our presence, so I urge you all: choose to love! Be Love! Today, on Good Friday, we are reminded of Christ’s love for us. His willingness to die FOR US is the ultimate evidence of His love. What more can we ask for?

Let’s stand together and work together to build each other up. Let’s encourage one another and defend one another, so that the world may be filled with love, thanksgiving and goodness. Remember there is no one without fault and that appearance can deceive. Be Love!

If you spot me, smiling, in the streets one day, it’s because I just saw Jesus in disguise.

With love, Mette

Missionaries of Charity

I visited the tomb of Mother Teresa the other day. Every day I pass the tiny room where she lived, worked and died. Suddenly it’s all very real and overwhelming. Mother Teresa is no longer just a cool quote from a book. This woman is real. She is not only of the past; she is alive here and now.

Jesus words “I thirst”, spoken on the cross, explain the mission of Mother Teresa and her missionaries. They exist to quench the thirst of Jesus. They serve the unwanted, the unloved and the uncared for in the midst of the poorest of the poor.

Five days ago we had our orientation at the Mother House and we have been assigned to work at Shishu Bhavan, a home for abandoned handicapped children. So far the work has been challenging, tiring and intense. There is so much I want to share with each one of you, but I am struggling with what to share and what not to share. I won’t only be able to share positive things about this place, so maybe it’s better not to share my thoughts with you. My fear however is that I by not sharing will not allow it all to sink in, and when I leave, it will be as if it never happened - as if the reality of these children’s lives is not actually something that I’ve seen or entered into. 

When we first started working at Shishu Bhavan my biggest concern was my non-existing skills of working with children with special needs, but after five days I have learned, that you don’t need super hero strength or super hero skills to work with these children. I might not know if they are in the right position or how to stimulate them in the best possibly way, but I can assist them, care for them and love them. In return I get a lot of smiles and hugs. They keep me going.

I promise to post again soon. Next time I’ll try to be more inspiring also.

Love Mette

Arrived in Calcutta

We have arrived in the city, where our work begins: Calcutta, or Kolkata as the city is actually called now. This city of fifteen-plus million people is an attack on your senses. Everywhere you look and every breath you take fill you with Calcutta. It is a crowded, turbulent, and noisy city. The streets are the homes of thousands of people, who beg in order to survive, people who dig through rubbish piles in search of food, and sleep on filthy sidewalks. Life and death collide at every corner. It’s impossible to be in the midst of all this and not be changed. This city does not only attack your senses; it first and foremost attacks your heart. Let me make it short: Calcutta is overwhelming.

People back home have asked me how I’m doing and how I’m surviving India. It’s a good question and I understand everyone’s concern, however this trip is not about what’s comfortable or convenient for us. We have come here with open hearts and hands willing to serve, not to live a life in luxury. We want to give, not take. I’m not sure how I’m going to survive Calcutta, but I know I will. I’m hoping and praying that God toughens me up a little. I admit there have been some “interesting moments” along the way, but I’m hanging in. Trusting God’s promises, that’s how I’m surviving India and that’s how I’m going to survive Calcutta also. Also I owe thanks to the people back home who are encouraging and supporting me. I couldn’t do it without you, so from the bottom of my heart: thank you.

It is definitely hard here, and I admit it is harder than I thought, it would be. You can’t possible prepare yourself for this, but it’s all about God, and about His plans and purposes in all things. When God leads, He doesn’t always choose the path we would normally take ourselves, and I trust that He has chosen this path for a reason. St. Augustine tells us that God never asks us to do anything without giving us the grace to do it. “Ask and you will receive”, that’s also what Jesus tells us. I’ll survive, don’t you worry :) With God, all things are possible. Remember that Peter walked the waves. I am just excited to see, what God has planned for us here and where it will lead us. God has placed us in the midst of the poorest of the poor and is giving us the chance to be a light to the people living in darkness. We have the chance to be something beautiful for God. Yes - the unknown scares me, and yes - I miss a lot of things and yes – I am afraid, but I have come here to learn and to trust and to find out who I am in Christ.

In spite of all the intensity, we are living, I am glad to be here, and I desire to be here. Calcutta has been a dream of mine for years and the fact that I have been able to travel here I consider to be a blessing. I arrived! This is it! I am here! I am in city, where Mother Teresa began the work of the Missionaries of Charity, a religious order which today consists of more than 4.500 sisters and is active in 133 countries. This remarkable little woman is a huge inspiration for me. She is without doubt a sign for this generation, a sign of God’s Love. A modern hero – that’s what she is. She walked the talk, she truly lived the Gospel, and people from all over the world and from different walks of life, myself included, are drawn to Calcutta because of her mission of proclaiming God’s thirsting love for humanity. It was a “call within a call” that led to the foundation of her religious order, a call that was based on Jesus plea: “Come be my light”. She was and still is something beautiful for God.

Later today we have our orientation at the Mother House, and hopefully we will begin working tomorrow. I’ll keep you updated. Miss you all dearly, and I love you.

Trusting God,
Mette

A promise of salvation?

After a short-lived tour of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur we are now in Varanasi. In Hindu religion this city is considered to be the holiest place on earth. Millions of pilgrims come here every year in the hope of gaining eternal absolution and to be liberated from the cycle of life, death and reincarnation. The city runs along one side of Ganges, a river Hindus believe holds the promise of salvation. Every morning at dawn thousands of people descend the Ghats of Ganges to bathe and pray and to be cleansed of the sins of past rebirths.

In case you’re considering travelling to Varanasi to take a dip in the river, consider that nearly 60.000 bodies are cremated here every year. The pyres burn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the ash is immersed in the river. It’s India's most sacred, yet highly polluted, river. The river counts 3.000 more bacteria than WHO considers safe and still thousands of people come here on a daily basis to bathe, brush teeth and do laundry. Dead bodies and body parts of both humans and cattle can float by almost completely unnoticed. Children, pregnant women, lepers and poor people are not cremated. They are simply thrown into the river together with a stone.

This city is hot and filthy, and smoke from the pyres constantly hangs in the air. It literally feels like you are breathing in dead people. We found out the hard way, that just around the corner from where we live, you can actually witness the cremation and the ceremony when the ash is immersed in the river.  I have already seen a dead body being carried through the narrow streets down to Ganges, and that was more than enough for me. I have no desire to encounter death further.

There are serious, well thought-out reasons for everything you see here. The Hindus are aware of the pollution problem, but it falls on deaf ears. The river, personified as a goddess, is worshipped by the Hindus. It is their Mother Ganga, and they are convinced, that she will not bring them any harm. Let me remind you that there are dead bodies in this water and ash from millions of people, and people still come here to bathe and brush their teeth. Varanasi is a city of faith. A city of hope, but to be honest I find it all quite scary. This city makes me silent and reflective and confirms me in my own faith. Let me share Isaiah 43:10 with you:

“You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God - there never has been, and there never will be”.

With that knowledge we are given a tremendous responsibility to share the Truth with those who do not know Jesus Christ. After having spent a week in India I am so thankful for the gift of my faith and the witnesses that God has blessed me with. I can testify that the Hindus are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on the Truth. I feel helpless and I am struggling with a lot of questions and concerns about how to be a witness to these people.

Let me share with you a part from the letter to the Romans: “How can they believe in him if they have never heard of him? And how will they hear of him unless there is a preacher for them? And how will there be preachers if they are not sent?”. You can’t possibly prepare yourself for this country. In so many ways being here is so much harder than I ever imagined it would be. I long for peace, silence and a hug. In a few hours we will be heading towards Calcutta, and our work will begin. Keep us in your prayers.

I ask you also all to pray for the conversion and salvation of souls. Pray for those who do not believe in God, those who do not know Him and those who have separated themselves from the Church. Pray also for those who preach the word of the Good News and for more witnesses.

Feel free to add your prayers in the comment field below.

With love, Mette