Finishing Up

Things have gone very well on this journey. Thanks to each of you who have remembered me and the team I am working with at this time.

We pulled the first outline of our report together and were able to share findings with the leadership of the work here. Tomorrow we talk with a further group of leaders related to this work.

With that accomplished the team starts to spread out to other assignments. Two head for Nepal for further work. One heads for South India and home. And on Wednesday morning I travel back across India to Delhi for a day. Then I too head for home.

It is a blessing to come along side ministries and to be an encouragement to them in their work. We trust that the work of these weeks will be an experience of "iron sharpening iron" as we press on in the tasks that are ours.

Pulling it Together

It is great to talk with people and get a big picture of all that organizations do in the midst of the work they are assigned to do. We have had a good time in doing this during the last days.

Now we are into the heavy part of the work as we seek to pull the things together and answer the questions, what did we hear and what does it say for the future?

Yesterday was a long day of conversation. Today we are at it again.

Remember us as we do this work. We want it to be for the best of all involved.

Pressings on!

The Rest of Our team

There are two of us from the US, one from Canada and one from India on this review team. Also in these pictures are those who work here in India and three young ladies who have just arrived for a year of service in India. It is quiet a group!

A Restaurant Experience

We have eaten in many different places during this trip. Our team had the oppotunity to go to Mocambo's here in Kolkata last evening. It is usually a lenghty process in most Indian restaurants because of the time involved with preparation of the food. The wait however is worth the time investment.

We arrived and sat around the table enjoying conversation.

After a while a special placemat was added to the area where four of us sat as we anticipated our evening meal.

The anticipation was clearly rewarded with a delightful and filling delight!

A Childhood Friend

We had taken a break for tea and I was out on the veranda with others. I noticed two women walking on the path into the guesthouse where we were for this set of conversations with an Indian church organization.

They walked by and then in a little while I saw them come back again and seemed to be looking strongly in my direction. It was one of those times when I found myself asking, “Do I know these people?”

They turned toward the veranda and then came in my direction. Soon I heard the question, “Kenny, you don’t know who I am, do you?” I knew immediately it was someone from my childhood when I was called “Kenny.” I thought quickly and tried to place the person. “You must be related to people with the last name of Strong,” I said. “No,” she responded, “Bennett.”

Here were Freda Bennett and her daughter, Natasha. Freda happened to be on the same train as a person who was coming to this same meeting. They started to talk and eventually he mentioned that I was also going to be in Kolkata. She decided she needed to try and make the connection.

I am so grateful she did. We had strong family connections from our childhood and it was so good to see her and her daughter now. I am so blessed to have friends in so many parts of the world! I never expected this connection to happen on this journey.

Doing the Work

We are here in India to do a review of the work being done by specific groups and those with whom they partner. These days back in Kolkata have had us in many conversations to this end.

It is good to talk with past staff members as well as those who are presently doing the work. It is also good to talk with significant people who are stake holders in the work of the organizations with whom we are having conversation. Each conversation helps us to see another facet of the work being accomplished.

A delightful time for us came in spending a few hours with the graduates of a specific program being operated here in India. We heard the stories of young women and men whose lives were transformed because of the opportunity for study that was afforded to them. Their joy and gratitude was a delight to experience.

Another special experience in hearing these many stories is that we have heard consistent accounts of the work being done. Of course there are a few words of critique and opportunities for growth and development. But again and again the responses of those we are talking with has given commendation. This gives a place of ongoing growth for the work being done in this part of the world.

The Banyan Tree