Chet's Trip #3

I just got a call from Chet. They've been in Calcutta for about 14 hours. All their luggage arrived. He described some of the things he's seeing in the city. Here are some of the things he said:

• There are people everywhere. Vendors selling random things throughout all the alleyways. Vehicles move so quickly and recklessly that it almost doesn't feel dangerous. He had a chance to hang out the windows of the vehicle they were in to take some photos as they drove down the road. Fun!
• There is a dramatic difference between the poor and the rich. He saw a Rolex billboard with people living in shanties underneath it. Some people live in abandoned buildings, and right next door is an upscale condo building. There are families living in tents in the streets.
• The poor people regularly grab onto the guys and ask them for money. They can't give them any money because the people in the streets would swarm them and not allow them to go anywhere. They would be followed everywhere they went. This is a hard thing to handle well, because Chet so wants to just give them some money. In addition to the beggars, there are many people who try to force the guys to allow them to work (i.e. carry their bags) in exchange for money. They have to be firm and do their own chores.
• He said the city reminds him quite a bit of New Orleans (before Katrina). The architecture, stark difference between the rich and poor all living/standing on the same street, activity level, lower level of cleanliness, sounds, etc.
• Their hotel is definitely not a chain. It's more like a mom-and-pop place. It has a very nice restaurant on the lower level. They have squatty potties in the hotel. We'll see how that goes.

Their schedule looks something like this:

• Tomorrow will be another slower-paced day. They'll have some meetings, familiarize themselves with more of the town, prepare for teaching, etc.
• Brian and Matt will leave tomorrow for a more remote area where the church is struggling. It's a 16-hour train ride. They'll return to Calcutta on Saturday.
• Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be teaching days. Chet and Ryan will do the main teachings on these days. All the guys will have opportunities to teach/lead smaller groups of men.
• Saturday and Sunday will be slower-paced days. They might go to the market or do other fun things. They'll go to church. They'll look for opportunities to interact with unbelievers. And they'll prepare for next week's teaching times.
• Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be teaching times again.
• Two groups of two guys will go out to villages during these teaching days.
• They're not exactly sure how the end of next week will unfold. They have some ideas, but their plans aren't settled.
• They start the return flight on Sunday, June 1. They'll arrive here very late on Monday night.

So, please keep praying for the guys as they prepare to teach, go out to other places in the country, and interact with unbelievers. Pray also that the Lord uses this experience to help them grow individually.

More updates as they come...