My last blog posting was rather abbreviated in favor of boarding my airplane, but I would like to take the time now to share about my last few days in India. I was hoping that I would have been able to keep you updated more regularly during those last few days, but alas, the internet was down at the volunteer centre. I had to snicker about this because when I asked Orijeet and Philip about why the internet was down when we actually had electricity, Philip laughingly informed me that Kolkata's internet companies don't want to pay for/hang their own wiring, so they steal the wiring from the phone companies. When the phone companies find this, they cut the wires and tada- no internet. From my western cultural perspective, I find this wire battle quite amusing. Apparently there is no such thing as forming a partnership and legally wire sharing. There is only stealing and splicing. :-)
All this to say, no internet meant no blog updating, so now that I'm in the US and the internet wires remain in tact, without further ado, the play-by-play of my last 4 days in Kolkata...
On my last Saturday in Kolkata, I spent the morning working at the ICCU. After this, Sushma and I went on a quick shopping trip for some Indian gold. She assured me that we could be back by 2:30 so that I could go on an errand to get nurse charting system supplies with Erica and Orijeet. We, of course, did not make it back until 3:30, but in typical India form, Erica and Orijeet had not yet left, so I joined them on the run to Big Bazaar under the promise that we would be back by 5 so that I could join Sushma, Richard, and Sudip for the dinner party they had scheduled for me. :-) Of course, we were an hour late for this commitment, but I did finally make it to hang out with them and Sudip's work friends and they took me to the place in Kolkata where you would take anyone from America- KFC. :-D I had to laugh. I never eat at KFC in the States! But it was so sweet of them! After dinner, Sudip bought me and Sushma red heart "I love you" balloons and we walked next to two men with monkeys on chains. There is no where like Kolkata.
On Sunday, I enjoyed another wonderful day at church. Both services were celebrating "Mission Sunday" and were hosting missionaries from Laos as the guest speakers. I was so convicted by the message that morning. The father/husband of the family made the point that guilt and obligation will only drive you so far in your relationship with the Lord and your work for the kingdom of Christ. You must have passion and zeal to fuel you onward. This passion and zeal is what I have needed more of in recent days and it was good to have that time to ask the Lord to renew that which I had been lacking.Monday, I spent the morning organizing at ICCU. This morning was difficult for me as I watched a scene I hope to never experience again in my lifetime. There was a 4-year old boy that had been brought into the ICCU that morning with complications related to bacterial meningitis. About an hour after he had been moved to the unit, I saw a number of doctors strolling into his room, many of them casually and lightheartedly talking on cellphones. Though a number of doctors were present, the scene in no way resembled what I later found out that it was: A code. The 4-year old had crashed. Two doctors were doing CPR with the other doctors talking on their phones and standing around. It took over 4 minutes before someone brought the defibrillator and by that time, it was too late. The small boy died. On top of this, the doctors and nurses left the room without closing the boy's now vacant eyes, leaving the door open for all who walked by to view him and the heart monitor to sound the alarm characteristic of his lifelessness.
After this somewhat traumatic morning, Erica and I prepared to visit the School of Nursing for the afternoon. We were given a tour, introduced to the instructors, and allowed to teach a class to the 2nd and 3rd year nursing students on infection control. This was an interesting experience, as students in India learn only through rote memorization, note-taking, and lectures. Our attempts to engage them in discussion were met with a bit of confusion and resistance at first, but eventually, we had a great class period with them!
Tuesday was my last full day in Kolkata. In the early morning, Orijeet took several of us to see the food program that the Assemblies of God church sponsors. This program delivers food every AM at 5:30 on the outskirts of Kolkata and feeds 25,000 people per day. At each food stop, the truck unloads HUGE buckets of rice to the local staff people and moves onward, eventually finishing by returning back along the same path to pick up the empty buckets. Orijeet explained to me that most of the people fed through this program will eat nothing more than this one meal of rice all day long. Along the route, we stopped at one of the villages and met some of the people. They were absolutely delightful. The rural area was far more beautiful, but Orijeet said that the gorgeous greenery was due to the excessive fertilization of garbage and sewage. Not quite as picturesque as it first seemed, is it?
When we returned from the feeding program, I took a short nap and then went to surgery to say good-bye to my nursing friends there and then spent the rest of the morning finishing my part in our organization of the ICCU. I was glad to be able to have the opportunity to say good-bye to the ICCU nursing supervisor and also the best ICCU doc, Dr. Harold. In the afternoon, I had a wonderful chat with Philip about his village in Orissa, gave a new volunteer, Robin, a tour of the hospital, and finished the ICCU organization. I then went over to Sushma's house to say good-bye to Richard and his father before they left for their village in Darjeeling. After their departure, Sushma and I made our way to Guriahat for some henna painting. For $4 and one hour of time, two men hand-painted my hands and wrists with henna. They are so talented! The challenge for me came in keeping their work in good condition while making my way through a crowded market and throwing myself on to a moving auto rickshaw without the use of either hand. Sushma found the adventure quite humorous. :-) I did manage to return to her house with minimal damage, where Sush and I had a last celebration with Sudip. I left them with tokens of love and appreciation (Bibles and some American goodies) and said my tear-filled good-byes, all the while hoping that I will be able to return to this land and these friends another day.
The completely reorganized crash cart. Beautiful. :-)After good-byes with Sushma and Sudip, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness to complete my time in Kolkata with a worship session with Midhuna, Rachel, Janna, and Erika. I have never before been so blessed in fellowship with the Lord and my sisters in Christ. Our prayer time and the time we had to simply weep before the Lord for the lost and the broken in this city were irreplaceable.
Wednesday morning I got up bright and early and left my Kolkata home with my lovely friends Midhuna, Rachel, and Philip and our delightful driver Bablu. As we drove the roads to the airport, passing the cleverly rhymed sign "Don't be rash and end in crash", I could hardly believe how quickly the time had passed and how much I had grown to love and care for this city and its people. God-willing, I will be back someday.
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