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

Something beautiful for God

“Follow me”, a simple phrase of Jesus used in different ways throughout the Gospels. Two simple words encouraging us to conversion and inviting us to become more like Him. In other words, Jesus asks that we choose the way of the Cross, that we follow the path He has already laid out for us and prepared for us. He wants us to imitate Him. He wants us to keep our eyes on Him and stay in His presence and seek Him with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength.

I’m leaving Denmark today to go on a mission trip in Calcutta, India. My decision to travel across the world to seek God in the faces of the poorest of the poor is not an overnight decision. Many of you have asked me why I feel urged to make this trip, and there is no better explanation than the one Paul lays out in Galatians 2:20: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”.  To make my point more clear let me quote Saint Teresa of Avila:
"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which God's compassion will look upon the world; yours are the feet with which God will go about doing good; yours are the hands with which God will bless others now."

To be the “hands of Christ” means to walk by His example. It´s means to not only preach the message, but to be the message. We must reflect that Jesus Christ is living in our hearts. We live in a world of extreme suffering, a world in desperate need of compassion. We have become ignorant of the suffering of others. I am no better, but I now feel humanity to the point where I am moved to act, to sacrifice and to reach out to meet the needs of those enduring hardship. I feel moved to put my faith to use. To get out there and get my hands dirty, for God. We spend our lives running from suffering, brokenness, sickness and death, and in Gospels we find Jesus meeting it face to face. If we want to become more like Christ, we have to do the same. We have to roll our sleeves up and touch other people in their brokenness. In the 21^st century no one bothers getting their hands dirty with other people’s problems. We blame God for the poverty and suffering in this world, while asking each other why He allows so much injustice to take place. Consider this, God may be asking us the same question. Why do we allow so much poverty, suffering and injustice? Why are we not doing something about it?

It is easy to dream of making a difference from the comfort of your living room couch. It is one thing to recognize and realize what has to be done, but quite another thing to actually do it. So here I am, a few hours before departure, with a mix of emotions. I am excited that this long planned trip is about to begin, but at the same time I am also nervous about what lies ahead of me. Those of you close to me know it hasn’t been an easy decision. Following Jesus is not always easy. It takes a lot more than just willingness. The symbol of the Cross speaks to me of God’s Love for man. God’s Love for me. We too must love: until it hurts. Love is not merely to be based on feelings. Love should be an active decision, an act of will. God lives in me, and I feel called to pass that Love on. I feel called to glorify God by demonstrating His Love, by reaching out to the unreached with the message of the Cross. I’m letting go and letting God.  I’m letting God do something beautiful. I’m offering Him my hands to serve and my heart to love. I am asking Him to make me a witness to the Mercy, the Hope and the Love that He offers us though His Son Jesus Christ. We are called to be carriers of this Love. We are all called to be instruments of peace and compassion in the world. We are created to love and to be loved, and therefore I am willing to sacrifice, willing to love until it hurts. I am willing to get my hands dirty for the One, who lives in me.

This website will accompany me in my walk with Jesus in Calcutta, India. While giving friends and loved ones at home a little window into the journey, I hope, by sharing my thoughts with all of you, I will become more aware of what I am living. Some of you have encouraged me to put into words, what I am expecting and hoping for in the months to come, so here is what comes to my mind:

To experience a radically different culture | To live outside of my comfort zone | To be challenged | To go beyond myself | To see things I thought I would never see | To meet people I thought I would never meet | To worry | To cry | To be moved | To be changed | To love | To bond | To serve | To feel humbled | To experience God in a new way | To be strengthen in my walk with Him | To be held | To be broken | To be healed | To feel insecure | To work hard | To discover new things about myself | To miss everyone I love back home | To feel helpless | To feel tested | To pray a lot | To be blessed | To fall short | To laugh | To grow | To hesitate | To learn | To worship | To fear | To share.

I ask you all to keep both Camilla and I in your thoughts and prayers. If you want to know how you can pray for us, then click “pray with me” to the right.

Everyone, this is it! I love you all and I will miss you every single day!

Pursuing God,

Mette