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Reluctant Sacrifice
6/29/09
Wow, God is good!
I don't often have times when I can say that with my whole heart and mind and soul, but today I feel it as much as I could ever want to. Somehow I forget how good God is, and then he blesses me in huge ways, and all I can do is shake my head and accept it.
We started our placements this week, and it feels great to get into the rhythm that will carry us through the rest of July. Time is split between traveling (bus, train, and metro/subway), working at placements, daily shopping or cleaning, community building and sleeping on mats under fans, which have to be God's greatest gift to Kolkata.
Our placements are at a variety of sites throughout the city, and they involve varying kinds of commitment and activity. Several of us work with street children, playing games and facilitating educational programs. Others visit nearby slums, and still others sit with women while they work on crafts – handbags, purses, t-shirts and more. There are ministries of being and ministries of doing. Each of us spends at least one day each week at one of Mother Teresa's Sisters of Mercy charities.
My placement is at a business that hires commercial sex workers from one of the largest Red Light districts in Southeast Asia. It involves both "being" and "doing," since my partner and I spend time with the women while they work, and will also be helping with the launch of a new product.
It is very exciting work, and it brings home the point of just how well God knows us. I struggled with double vision before the trip – seeing how God would work through it, but also thinking about the things that I would miss by being in India. I realize that I am like the reluctant animal sacrifice in "My Utmost For His Highest" – I keep trying to crawl off the altar.
However, God has blessed us by giving us exactly what we need, and now that we are here, we see how many doors he has opened. It turns out that many of the things I thought I was giving up by leaving the US are here in Kolkata.
Whether living in close community, accepting an opportunity to grow in a skill, or learning the skills to apply to future work for the Kingdom, God knows what we need and will provide it in the way that is best. How excellent to have access to the ultimate big picture thinker!
He also blesses us by providing people to share life with and in whom we can find support. Please keep the prayers coming, and know that we are happy, (relatively) healthy, and working hard.
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