Go Beyond

Kolkata, India

Yesterday was our final day of service at Mother Teresa’s homes. In just a few hours, we will begin the long journey back to Texas. Our students have experienced so much as they have compassionately served the least of these at Prem Dan and Shanti Dan. Among the lessons they have learned is the importance of closing the distance that separates us from those who are hurting and in great pain. They have learned that being the hands and feet of Jesus ultimately means drawing near to others, taking a personal interest in them, noticing the color of their eyes, and serving them without expecting anything in return. They have learned how fragile life can be and how much joy a smile and a touch can bring to those who have lived a lifetime in the shadows and filth of Kolkata’s streets. They have also learned that one person who is willing to serve others can make a difference.

On our final morning, we joined the other volunteers from around the world for breakfast at Mother’s House, the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity. I always enjoy this opportunity to meet others who have come here to serve. I also enjoy listening to their stories about why they came to serve. Yesterday morning, an Italian man approached me and asked me if I remembered him. “My friend and I met you at Kalighat (Mother Teresa’s home for the dying) in 2009,” he reminded me. How could I forget. As I reflected on that trip, I wrote the following on my blog on January 30, 2009:



The Italian volunteers were my favorites. I looked forward to doing laundry with them each morning. They lifted our spirits by singing at the top of their lungs. Mother Teresa said, “I very often tell the Sisters to approach the poor with joy, knowing that they have plenty of reasons to be sad. They don’t need us to confirm their sadness for them.” The Italian volunteers filled the air with joy.

My Italian friend still radiated the joy that had so impressed me in 2009. I was so happy to know that he had returned to serve. This time, we exchanged contact information.

After all of the volunteers left for their respective assignments, I stayed behind to chat with Sister Margaret and Sister Mercy Marie. Because I was scheduled to speak at International Justice Mission later in the morning, I was unable to return to Prem Dan yesterday and was therefore able to stay a little longer at Mother’s House. These two Missionaries of Charity who have become good friends thanked me for returning to serve with our students. They also gave me a tiny piece of one of Mother Teresa’s saris as a token of their appreciation — a gesture of kindness that I will always remember.

Mother Teresa was not a complicated person. She just fell in love with Jesus and gave her life without reservation to serve Him. And, by so doing, she unwittingly captured the attention of the world. I think that Mother Teresa’s ABCs (something that the Missionaries of Charity distribute to volunteers) sums up much of what made her such a beautiful person. Each of us should certainly make it our aim to learn Mother Teresa’s ABCs.

Always have the courage to say sorry.
Be kind, be compassionate.
Control your judgments.
Don’t let yourself get discouraged.
Every minute is precious — don’t waste your time.
Find out what is nice in each other.
Give until it hurts.
Have deep respect for each other.
If you really want to love God, love one another.
Just do small things with great love.
Keep your heart clean.
Learn to pray, love to pray, and pray often.
Make time for each other in your family.
Never tell lies.
Only believe — you are precious to God.
Put love in whatever you do.
Quite a lot of people have forgotten what love is, so begin to give the joy of loving.
Refrain from prejudice.
Smile at each other.
Take the trouble to listen.
Use your talents for the glory of God.
Very often, we look but we don’t see. Let us look and see.
When humiliation comes, accept it and offer it.
eXcuse rather than accuse.
You must learn to forgive.
Zeal is a second name for love. Do not lose that zeal!

Kolkata, India

One of the most important things I have learned by serving at Mother Teresa’s homes is that you don’t have to speak the same language in order to communicate with others. Volunteers from all over the world come to Kolkata to serve in Mother Teresa’s homes. However, not all of these volunteers speak English and even less speak Hindi or Bangla, the two languages spoken by those who reside in Mother Teresa’s homes. What makes the process of communication work is that those who come here to serve have a measure of fluency in the language of smiles. I have once again enjoyed my time with the men at Prem Dan. Whether I walk through the courtyard or the dormitories, I make it a point to stop and engage with the men and make every effort to make them smile. Mother Teresa said, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

I appreciate how our students have embraced and cared for the least of these. By so doing they have unwittingly become ambassadors of smiles, not only at Mother Teresa’s homes but also at the aftercare homes and other places where they have interacted with others. They have generated lots of laughter and brought smiles to the faces of those they have met. This afternoon Devon, one of the young ladies on our team, told me about a woman at Prem Dan who refused to smile. Devon told me that she made it her aim to bring a smile to this woman’s face but to no apparent avail. However, when we returned to Prem Dan this morning, the woman not only smiled when she saw Devon, she embraced her — a reminder that you can make a difference in the lives of others if you will just keep trying no matter what.

We should never underestimate the value of making others smile. Doing so may not seem like something that is particularly deep or spiritual, but it is. We can never know the kind of pain, hurt, or despair that others may be dealing with and how God can use something as simple as a smile to bring a measure of relief or to remind others that He has not forgotten them. The great thing about being an ambassador of smiles is that you do not need any money to purchase your inventory. You just have to be intentional about noticing others around you and then delivering your smile to them free of charge. They may not necessarily acknowledge your gift but do not lose heart — trust that God will use it. It may take time, as in the case of the woman that Devon spoke to me about, but it’s worth the wait to see the results. And, as Mother Teresa said, that’s a beautiful thing!

Nate and Jon bringing a smile to a resident at Prem Dan.

Kolkata, India

I will always remember the man who died in Bed Number 30 on January 23, 2009 at Kalighat, Mother Teresa’s hospice for the poor. When I arrived to serve at Kalighat that afternoon, one of the nuns told me about the man in Bed Number 30. Someone had found him in a hole and carried him to Kalighat. The man had suffered some kind of terrible physical trauma. His body was broken and he was barely conscious. Three women sat at his bedside all afternoon and ministered to him. Late in the afternoon, as they softly sang “Amazing Grace” to him, the man died. The Missionaries of Charity never knew his name or where he was from or if he had any family. One of the nuns told me that she was thankful that this man was able to die with dignity at Kalighat and not alone on the streets. Mother Teresa once said that she wanted for “people who had lived like animals to die like angels — loved and wanted.”

As we were getting ready to leave Prem Dan this morning, I noticed that Devon, one of the girls on our team, was weeping in the courtyard. When I asked her what had happened she told me that one of the women at Prem Dan had just died. Several of our girls witnessed this woman’s death. I later learned that Kay and Lisa, two of our adult sponsors, had sat with this woman in the final hours of her life. And, as they sang to her, the woman drew her final breath. When she died, the girls noticed that the mute woman in the adjacent bed was weeping. She too had witnessed the death of the woman who had occupied the bed next to her own. Although this was a difficult thing for our girls to experience, I am so proud of them for never leaving the dying woman’s side and for helping her to die with dignity. That’s what Mother Teresa would have wanted. She would be pleased to know that the volunteers who come to Kolkata to serve in her homes continue to help the least of these to die with dignity and respect.

This afternoon, we took the guys on our team to meet my friend Navin, a soft-spoken man who runs a ministry that rescues at-risk kids. He is a great example of the power of one, or in this case the power of two since Navin’s wife is also involved in this ministry. Years ago, Navin and his wife stepped out in faith to start a ministry to rescue kids from Kolkata’s rail yards and rehabilitate them. Our guys had the opportunity to hear the personal stories of three of the boys under Navin’s care. Amazing does not begin to describe what has happened in the lives of these kids since coming to live under the care of Navin and his wife. They are a great reminder of what it means to go beyond — to step across the line that defines the most we’ve ever done for God and His purposes. Navin and his wife have given up a lot of things in order to do what they do. But they have also gained some things that are beyond value. My friend Ashok Andrews, the pastor of Kolkata Christian Fellowship, sums it up best: “My life is a single candle. I therefore prefer to burn it in a place filled with darkness than in a place flooded with light.” Navin and Matilda are indeed lighting up some of Kolkata’s darkest places.

Our girls as they prepare to leave for their afternoon assignment at the aftercare home.

Our guys at Navin’s ministry to at-risk kids rescued from Kolkata’s train stations.

Kolkata, India

Jesus was known as “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 11:19). Although meant as a criticism against Jesus, I personally like this designation. Jesus made it a point to make meaningful connections with those despised by polite society — something that set Him distinctly apart from the religious leaders of His day. The religious leaders were so starched in self-righteousness that they avoided the wrinkles that result from contact with sinful humanity. Jesus, however, was “full of grace” (John 1:14) — something that allowed him to interact with sinful and hurting people in a way that the religious leaders did not understand nor comprehend. He knew that “those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Matt. 9:12). As a follower of Jesus, I want to befriend the disenfranchised and desperate, the poor and the oppressed, and those who are easily overlooked, avoided, and despised.

Among other things, Kolkata is a place known for its homeless masses. Estimates of homelessness in Kolkata range from the hundreds of thousands up to a million. Over the past several years I have come to know most of the homeless people who live on the sidewalks near the guesthouse where I always stay on my visits here. One family in particular has several children, one of which was kidnapped a couple of years ago. This family has staked out its little slice of sidewalk to call their own. When I am here I always make it a point to buy them meals or give them snacks. This afternoon, I watched as a couple of our girls walked over to this family and gave them the sack lunches we provide for our students at noon. They not only gave them their lunches, they embraced them — something that does not often happen. More often these children are pushed out of the way or scolded by passers-by for getting in their way. I was able to snap a quick photo of Amy, my assistant, with these homeless kids. One look at their faces is all it takes to realize that they too long for the same love and acceptance that we all want.

This afternoon our students also interacted with kids who live at the bottom of the caste system and young girls who are stigmatized because of unfortunate events in their lives. Our guys visited a tutoring center for the children of the poorest of the poor. Our girls worked with 25 young girls rescued from Kolkata’s brothels and now reside at the Mahima aftercare home. The best words I can use to describe what I witnessed are compassion and tenderness. Our students never hesitated to reach out to those they met. They truly were the hands and feet of Jesus and demonstrated what it means to be full of grace and kindness. We will visit these same groups again tomorrow afternoon after we finish our work at Mother Teresa’s homes. I can already feel the excitement and anticipation among our students. They don’t seem to mind getting their clothes a little dirty and wrinkled as a result of interacting with hurting humanity. I am confident that God Himself is pleased by the selfless service and unconditional love that our students are expressing to the least of these and the oppressed in Kolkata in the name of the one who was “full of grace.”