We had kind of a low key day today. We met in the courtyard of the compound at ten for some team devotion time. We got to listen to hymns and songs of praise from a Baptist church adjacent to the compound where we are staying. We had a time of sharing, some prayer time, a devotional time, and closed in prayer. This is a good team. Everybody is involved and everybody shares and encourages each other. We all shared today the things that had the biggest impact on us so far. I would say that we have all been changed by this experience. We could not be at FBCN today so we have FBCN Calcutta annex here. You sent us out as your missionaries, you have supported us, and you have and are praying for us. We cannot wait to come back to you, like Paul and Barnabas, with our report on the saints in Calcutta
Ellen made an observation that I will try to share but I cannot remember her exact phrasing. It was about the beautiful colors of the clothing that the Indian women wear. She said, “They bring amazing colors into a very drab place.” I hadn’t seen it that way until she said it. This place is very crowded and run down. There are a lot of shades of gray and black. There are also many faded pastels. The brightest things around are the clothing the women wear. They are like many types and colors of flowers everywhere and it brightens up everything around them.
This evening we attended a worship service at the Church on the flat roof of a three story house. We participated first during the children’s time and then in the service for older teens, young adults, and adults. During the children’s worship we sang with them and for them. We decided to do “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” for them since it seemed so appropriate. We changed the words a little to “Brown and Yellow, Black and White” since it seemed appropriate.
I taught a Bible story and spoke of Jesus’ love and esteem for children. How He chastised the disciples for turning away the parents who wanted Him to hold and bless their children and told they, “Let the little children come to me”. I also spoke of how Jesus used the faith of a child as an example for adults and said that unless you had faith “like a child” you could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven
As the children were dismissed they came up to us and shook our hands and said, “Thank you sir” or “Thank you Mam” as was appropriate. As the young people and adults came in there was much interaction. All of the ladies, Mary, Cheryl, Ellen, Christy, and Alison, have bonded with the girls and there was much hugging and smiling. Each has formed extra strong bonds with certain girls. Two of the girls, and Cheryl have come to love each other very much. The girls constantly want to hold her hands and hug her. Bill and I have spent a good amount of time with two fine young men. They are both college students and they both also teach at the schools. They are mighty men of God. I cannot believe the depth of love we have for them in such a short time. It is because we all have the love of our Lord in us and we recognize God’s spirit in each other. That has allowed us to bond and grow to love each other so quickly. The pastor, and his wife are also very dear to us all. It will be hard to leave them.
During the worship service the air cools as the sun goes down and we get a nice “Jesus Breeze” as Ellen has called it. The back drop of the service is the remains of an old blue tarp. On a white board hanging from a bamboo structure in the middle of the tarp is written in green dry marker, the church name. There is not railing around the roof so it is best to keep back from the edges. We sing hymns and songs of praise in three different languages, Hindi, Bengali, and English. The songs sung in Hindi and Bengali are very beautiful and the believers sing out with joy that can be heard in their voices and seen in their faces.
After the signing is a time of prayer and praise request and prayer. Several of the young people praise God for bringing us to them. We praise God for allowing us to see His work here. After the prayer Alison shared her testimony and one of the young men interpreted. She did a great job sharing a powerful testimony. Her testimony if very relevant to the women here and they need to hear a testimony of God’s love, God’s plans, and God’s restoration. The church had six visitors tonight, all women. It was ordained by God before the creation that Alison would be sharing her testimony tonight on the roof of a house in Calcutta
From the roof as we worship we can see the basis of the pastor’s vision for the area. All around the church there are many multistory building being constructed in this area which they call New Town. From the roof you can see the new and modern encroaching on the old and dilapidated. The pastor said that they estimate that in the next five or so year’s, 5 million people will inhabit these high rises and he and his church want to reach these people as they move in. The roof is almost at maximum capacity for they will have to find more space soon.
While the pastor was preaching his message on faith, character, and being the light, a man in the building right next to the church opens his window two floors above the church. As the pastor preaches the man stops and listens for a while. There are advantages to an open air church.
After the service we interact with the people and probably keep them too long. The pastor’s wife has to get up at 5 AM tomorrow to get to the school. She and the pastor both put in many long days. They have done an amazing job discipling these young people. Part of their worship service is scripture memorization. The other day, while Bill and I were prayer walking in the village with one of the young men, he shared his testimony with us. He is about 22 and he told us how he had been and how God had changed him. I said to him, “The Bible says that when a man is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come.” He immediately looked at me and said 2 Corinthians 5:17. The pastor is helping these young disciples plant the Word of God in their hearts.
It is hard to leave these people. Most of them we will not see again before we leave. Some we will see for a brief time on Friday, just a quick goodbye. We share email addresses and even Facebook names for those who have them. They ask us when we will come back. I can only answer with, “When God tells me to.” I hope that we can come back and see the church that they will build. Not a building, but the people. The building is irrelevant. It is what is in the hearts of the people that matters. They have no sound systems and very few instruments. They have limited materials and curriculum. They have no air conditioning. Let’s face it, they do not even have a roof or any walls and it does not matter. What they do have are hearts fully devoted to God. They have faith that is growing and will one day move mountains. They boldly proclaim the name of Jesus in a hostile environment. They are the light that God is shining brightly here in a very dark place, a place where most people worship idols that they construct with their own hands instead of the creator of all things. We believe that God will multiple their numbers because they honor Him with their lives.
Today was a good day here at the FBCN Calcutta annex.
