Thoughts During the Journey Home

On the first of their three flights, Clay wrote this and shared it with us ...

It is finished. 16 months of prayer and preparation, complete. God blessed all along the way. 

Travel to Kolkata India went smooth and easy, Complete. God blessed all along the way. 

5 clinics held with roughly 750 people hearing the gospel, Complete. God blessed all along the way.

Friends met and shared experiences and have grown deeper as brothers and sisters in Christ, complete. God blessed all along the way. 

Wheels up at 6:45. The work is done. The return flight has begun, but the blessings continue.

Praise God for a fantastic trip! And we pray for traveling mercies and the people we served might come to know Jesus personally, and tell others. May God's blessings come along the way. 

We are so proud of their work and their trust in God's plan and provision. We know God will continue that work among the Kolkata community. He will send workers to water the seeds that were planted. We plant or water ... whichever God calls us to do ... but only God can make those seeds grow! We commend those seeds into His hands, trusting He will grow them.

As the team was preparing for their last day in India and the beginning of the journey home, they were getting the updates on the big game! Deanna was quite excited with the outcome!

Thank you for your continued prayers for the Lions fans, err ... I mean, for the team.

Last Day of Clinic

The fifth, and final, day of clinic was another new location, but close to the hotel.

The team was, again, treated to a very warm welcome and clinic opening, including a welcome from a local government official. They received beautiful flowers and scarves. 

Deanna had the privilege as the team leader to speak words of appreciation to the community and church members.

I believe this was the first location that was predominantly indoors, except the registration table.

Registration begins and they are off to a great day of serving the people in this village.

On day 5, the total served was 157 people, with 179 eyeglasses distributed, along with 158 sunglasses. Praise be to God for this day!

The "Eye Camp," as it's referred to in India, was closed out with a beautiful dance by these beautiful young women.

That evening, the team was blessed with another Sunday worship service with the local host congregation. It was a time of worship, learning, and fellowshiping. 

I didn't get the story on if Larry was being punished and sent to the mezzanine during church, or if it was his choice for the good view. 

Thank you for your prayers for the team as they are currently en route back this side of the world. 

Here are a couple bonus pictures of some fun things Becky saw at the last location:

If you look closely, this picture is made from matches.

Shopping and Tourism (So many photos!)

The team got a much needed and appreciated time for sight-seeing (not just while commuting), shopping, and resting. I received a couple hundred awesome photos and obviously can't share them all, so I'll do my best to give a sampling of most of the stops they made. 

Kolkata (some of us remember it as Calcutta) has amazing history and many monuments and museums to represent this history. 

I'm sure that I'm not the only one that, when hearing of Calcutta (Kolkata), thinks immediately of Mother Theresa.

Imagine how powerful it was for our missionaries to visit the home of one of the most famous missionaries of all time. 

Some of the other sites they visited were a Hindu temple, several monuments to "freedom fighters", and the Victoria Memorial.

There were many statues of freedom fighters from the 1947 war against Great Britain. Interestingly, they also visited the world's largest monument to a monarch. The Victoria Memorial was built between 1906 and 1921 to serve as a monument and a museum.

And per usual, we also got a lot of pictures of interesting things seen while driving and out and about. 

Gotta train their balance early!

You never know when there might be random cows on the side of the road, or sometimes in the road.

This is a rickshaw ...

This is an auto-rickshaw, sometimes called a tuk-tuk, and sometimes an "auto".

This kind of yellow cab is only in Kolkata.

I've never seen a jackfruit tree before. Have you?

Oh hey, do you remember the electrical wires from a few days ago? Check these out ...

 

The team got the chance to eat at that hanging restaurant. 

I was quite jealous when I saw these next pictures of everyone taking a chai break.

Here are some more great photos of the fellowship and fun.

I hope you enjoyed some fun pictures and a little glimpse into the touristy side of the mission trip. Pray for the team as they prepare to head home (yes, I'm a little behind and they already finished Day 5 of the clinic). Pray for their health (physical, emotional, and Spiritual). It's often a hard transition back home. And pray God's work to take root and grow even more in Kolkata. 

God's blessings!