It felt so great to roll into Lucknow on the train early this morning, 24 hours after leaving Pokhara, Nepal. Our journey yesterday took us across Nepal's beautiful mountain landscape in a hired jeep, we then crossed the crazy crowded dusty Indian border in cycle rickshaws piled high with our stuff, travelled via minibus through North India to Gorakhpur, and finally took a sleeper on the overnight train to Lucknow.
Today being Sunday, we had the privilege of spending most of the day at a 'Jesus Celebration' an hour's drive from here. Many of the Good Shepherd churches from the surrounding area come together for this celebration once a year and today around 2,000 people had gathered. Some came from 30 miles away and many had walked to get there. Most of the people are from Dalit background and some may be the only Christian in their village. The meeting lasted from 10am until 3pm, with people coming and going and children wandering around. Afterwards there was a huge pot luck lunch eaten out on the dusty grass. I was so touched by the main message by the Bishop, which explained in simple terms that Jesus understands and cares about those who are poor, fatherless, toiling hard and ridiculed by society - because that is what life was like for him. This is life giving for people who have lived as outcasts all their lives as a result of being born outside or at the bottom of India's caste system.
Driving into Gorakhpur last night (a big polluted crowded city) I felt overwhelmed and depressed looking at the crowds of people everywhere. It's impossible to imagine the mass of humanity that is North India unless you have experienced it for yourself. So many faces, so much poverty, so much hard labour with no apparent reward. Noise everywhere! I kept thinking of the verse in Mark that says Jesus looked at the crowd and 'had compassion'. I now keep thinking of this everywhere I go. To God these people are individuals created in his image, not the mass of faces that I see. Somehow that helps me deal with the scale of it all.
Our work starts tomorrow and I will be heading off to one of the schools in the morning to do a medical camp. My nurse's bag is all packed and ready!
Oh Nina how moving . Makes me want to go with you to the school in the morning nurses bag in hand .
ReplyDeleteKnow you will be sharing that same compassion wherever you go . God bless and give you grace in abundance xxx Carole