Another day of amazing contrast! We were to spend the day with the Good News Children’s Education Mission (GNCEM) visiting other aspects of their work beyond Hatibagan. We started our visits at the school and church at Daspara. This, like the girls’ hostel or boarding school that we were to visit later in the day, was an oasis of calm and beauty in its setting beside three fishing lakes that stretched away into the distance. In total we visited this school, a girls’ and then a boys’ hostel and a boys’ school before returning to the church for the evening service at 6pm. We introduced ourselves and sang and told stories at each centre. Each group of children treated us to a rendition of several songs, many of which we are coming to recognise, especially “Telephone to Jesus”. At the boys’ and girls’ hostels we were also offered “a programme”. These were delightful Indian dances which included “We Love India” in both places. The children, some of whom were as old as 16, enjoy dancing and had taught themselves the routines to traditional music. The hospitality given to us was again humbling, drinks and biscuits at each centre and lunch at the girls’ hostel was followed, after the church service, by a meal cooked by Eunok the wife of Pastor Subir.  The service closed with 10 minutes of prayer in a darkened room in a way that many of us hadn’t experienced before; everyone on their knees,  the sounds of the pastor speaking passionately through a microphone, a keyboard playing Indian style music, many, many voices crying and calling to God was incredible.

As we were driven back to BMS at 8pm we rounded off  our day with sights of Kolkata as we had never experienced them; still noisy, bustling traffic now rushing through places illuminated in a different way, a Muslim gathering all facing Mecca, markets and shops still open, ‘Street People’ setting out their home for the night.

Indeed a day to remember in two weeks of so many impressions creating so many memories. A day of great faith once again shared between people of such diverse cultures.

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