This morning I woke up thrilled to have gotten a solid four hours of sleep but completely unaware that the day before me would prove to be one of the most momentous days of my life. Today we visited the slums that have arguably made Calcutta so famous. Just when I thought I had seen poverty in its purest form, we took a giant leap into a whole different echelon. I should warn you in advance that I am a sloppy mess today. My hard heart finally broke today and it spilled itself all over the streets of Calcutta.
First, we headed to the program site where several hundred bright-eyed children greeted us, fifty of whom do not have sponsors yet. Almost all of the children at this site are from the slums.  This group of children brought me unspeakable joy.  My heart hurt when we had to leave them.  Check some of them out.
After playing with the kids, our team then set out for our home-visits in the slums. During the home-visits we go along with several of the Compassion children and we survey their living conditions and listen to their stories. Most of all, we get to inquire to our heart’s content about how Compassion’s child sponsorship program has changed their lives. So, we parked our van and huddled around Spence, as he warned us with unusual sobriety that we needed to be extremely careful taking pictures in the slums. We were informed that had the Compassion India field staff not accompanied us, we could have been in danger walking in the slums. So, with this slightly unsettling piece of information, we made our way through and we saw unimaginable things right before our eyes.Â
We kneeled around and listened to Kiran tell her story through a translator. Her beaming smile and joyous spirit were enough to distract from the oppressive heat. She told us about how she loves to study, how much she loves Jesus, and how she wants to be a teacher someday.Â
There I was. Â A Compassion sponsor. Being mentored by a Compassion child on what is really important in life. I realized that we often assume people are completely hopeless just because they don’t have the material wealth that we deem necessary for a quality life. But sometimes those who are in the most difficult circumstances know best of all where to find hope. Â Kiran sure did. Â She had hope because through God’s grace via Compassion International she has a safe place to learn, to get a hot meal, and to hear more about Jesus. Â
Tomorrow is the big day when we get to meet our sponsor children! Please do check out the posts from my fellow bloggers. Â Actually, they are no longer just my fellow bloggers, they’re my friends. Â A special bond has been forged. They are people who have dared a selfish coward to stare into the face of poverty. People who are willing to face the reality of a broken world, to have their hearts torn apart, and then to use whatever is left of it to usher in the kingdom of God here on this earth.Â
With Love,
MelissaÂ