just some thoughts.

quotes i've been thinking on:

"mission is the announcement of a fact. it is not the launching of a program. it is not the promulgation of a new doctrine. it is not a call to moral or religious reformation. it is, strictly speaking, a news-flash. something has happened. there is a new fact to be reckoned with. the kingdom, the reign of god, has come near." --lesslie newbigin.

"for not for this life and its concerns do we exist: this is only a pilgrimage, and its concerns are only for the temporary needs of the pilgrims. heaven is our country, hence our care should be about heavenly things." --john amos comenius.

"we have been created for greater things, to love and to be loved." --mother teresa.

things i will never get used to:

• dr. stroope eating with his hands.
• never ever ever not sweating.
• naked babies begging on the side of the road.
• massive amounts of street children.
• saying no to people asking for money or food.
• trash everywhere....i mean, literally everywhere.
• men peeing on the side of the road all the time.
• being stared at always.
• crazy traffic and psycho driving.
• elephants, camels, horses, donkeys, cows, dogs, cats.....everywhere. just hanging out in the middle of the street like they own the place...maybe because the cows actually do. the animals here are treated better than a lot of the people. terrible. oh but sidenote: i got to ride a camel on my last night in jaipur. yep. i freaked out.
  
• a BILLION people in this one country.
  
• favoring tea over coffee. no no no.
• no tex-mex.
  

questions i can't quit wrestling with:

• what is mission?
• what is the westerner's role in a place like this?
• what is the kingdom of god?
• what would it look like for the gospel to intersect this culture?
• is this way of life somehow ordered chaos or just a chaotic mess?
• do i love well? do i live with purpose?
• am i devoted to what i know is the truth even half as much as these people are devoted to golden calves, elephants, and handmade idols?
  
• do i really believe that god created every single one of these people?
• do i really believe that god loves every single one of these people?
• for someone who literally spends their entire life picking up trash and begging--what is their purpose? why where they created?
• is god going to save some of them?

just some thoughts. thanks for not thinking i'm crazy.

i can't come up with words to describe calcutta. the poverty here is so in-your-face, so intense, so unlike anything i've ever seen. seeing mother teresa's tomb and where she lived was kinda overwhelming for me. working in her house for disabled children is even more overwhelming. we're here until tuesday night when we'll take a train to varanasi. this trip is so unbelievable, but so good. thanks for your prayers.