It’s very hard to sum up my feelings about the experience because we did and saw so much, but it has been a wonderful opportunity to see what God has been and is doing in another part of the world.

One of the highlights was that first morning on the GNCEM (Good News Children’s Education Mission) minibus with the street children. They have so little, but their joy and enthusiasm for life is infectious.

Another highlight  was visiting the remote island village in the Sunderbans (wetland area) with Big Life Ministries: an exciting ‘ adventure’ to get there, but then even more exciting to hear the reaction to the Gospel, with four villagers who had heard the Good News of Jesus for the first time wanting be baptised as soon as possible. I really felt that I was witnessing God at work!

Key things I think I learnt from the trip or perhaps rather the experience brought more clearly to mind, as modelled by the people in and around Kolkata and particularly the Christians there:

•    Happiness can come from simple pleasures rather than monetary wealth
•    Dedication and devotion to God and the work of His Kingdom – not counting the cost
•    The key importance of prayer and reliance and trust in God
•    Hospitality
•    Social action in the name of Jesus
•    Church planting – fruitfulness for God
•    Real cooperation amongst different Christian groups

None of these things should have been new or a surprise to me, but it was really great to see them in action. My prayer is that I/we can echo these things in our church and this town – and therefore (to quote a song we sang a lot when we were in India), ‘Shine from the inside out that the world will see Jesus lives in me’.