I am thankful.

Anna and I had Cafe Coffee Day for an early morning treat! Soooo good.

Getting into my creative side...

Finally mopped and swept the floor!

I love the colours in this apartment. They are washed out, but so beautiful at the same time.

This week has been intense. I am quite tired, and so I have been taking this Sunday morning to take a few hours of alone-time by drawing, embroidering, and listening to music. Feeling refreshed!

Justin + I were taken out on Friday night to do a couple of house-visits after work, so we could have some insight to how some of the women at FS live... the first lady lives on the roof of one building in tiny room with her husband, they have no fan, share a single bed, and apparently in the heat of summer it is nearly unbearable. She made us some cha (tea), and gave us each a biscuit. I really respect how generous they are when they live so simply. It is actually quite inspiring, and I want to live with as few possessions as I need, and no more.

Afterwards we sat in one of the alley-ways with one woman who used to work for FS, and they had helped fund surgery to remove a cataract from each eye so she could see again. She had such a sweet spirit. Her daughter came over with her baby boy (who was super gorgeous), and John held him for awhile - he was super bouncy and excited! I then got to hold him, and of course I was the one to get peed on... haha. But his cute cheeks totally made it worth it.

We walked to the last woman's house, and as we did this, we passed a few women who were sitting outside against the walls... it took me a moment to realise the reason for this. They were some of the women who have been trafficked/forced into prostitution. One of them smiled at me, and it was a heart-warming moment. Sometimes it feels like these women are so different to me, but in that moment it made my heart melt at the realisation that they are all human, they all have a past, and a story. I don't want to sound naive in that realisation, but I have had no way to relate to them, but with that smile I could.

At the last woman's house, we sat on the roof of the building, drinking cha and eating biscuits, and later rosogolla - a bengali sweet. We heard her heart to see 10,000 women freed, and we also listened to how she is sad these days, because her husband died a few years back from a stroke. It made my heart break, and I sat back, stared at the few stars we could see, and held back the tears.

My life in NZ seems so far away right now, and some of the things I have worried about or been concerned about are so pointless in comparison to some of the things the women go through here.

But I am thankful for my life in NZ; I have loving family and friends, a roof over my head that I know will stay up through the rain, and an education. I am privileged to have been brought up in the way I have - and now I am seeing this so much more vividly than ever before.

x

A revelation:

Tonight with Britt and Larissa, we attended a small gathering of friends to hear this awesome guy Sean speak about the biblical book of Ephesians. Something that really made me stop in my tracks and choke back tears was the revelation that the women I am going to be helping in Kolkata are barely considered 'human' to many Indians - they are outcasts, and pretty much they are modern day slaves. It was when he mentioned the slaves in the historical Roman days BCE (before common era), and the lack of human rights they possessed that I realised he was describing the prostitutes of Sonagachi in parallel.

These women have no rights, they cannot get alternative jobs because of the 'profession' of prostitution, and their pimps pretty much have complete control over them. They can do what they like to these girls and women: rape, steal, beat, force etc.

So often we hear of slavery and associate it with history we learn at high school - in such a Western world, it is very difficult to grasp the concept of a slave today.

But what really struck me was when Sean mentioned how slaves are still children of God, and that they are made in his image - they have value. For me, it really opened my eyes to the bigger purpose of my trip to India - to help these women realise their worth, their value in Christ, and that they are entitled to rights. Sure, I am going to be helping out a business run that tiny bit smoother, but it is operating for the very same purpose - freedom and worth.

He mentioned a conversation he had with someone, about how he asked them, "Is it wrong to rape a young girl?" To which the man replied an obvious, "Yes!"

It wasn't until he was asked why it was wrong and immoral that he was unable to give a clear answer with a real reason as to why this was; "It just is."

I think so many people just acknowledge the fact that some things are moral and some are not, and whether some things conflict with 'human rights' or not. 

What defines immorality? - why do you consider something to be immoral or going against what is considered 'human rights'?

Sean highlighted that it wasn't until Jesus spoke of the need to forgive that it became common practice, and it is the same with human rights.

Why raping a young girl, or turning a human being into a slave might be considered immoral, is because they are creations of God, and so they possess value - harming someone is in turn defacing a creation of God, his daughter or son, whom he loves. An analogy he used was painting over an artists completed picture - you are defacing their creation.

These women have worth. They need to be shown that there is such thing as having a right to speak. They have value.

I also hope that you can see their value too.

~~~

So that was very lengthy and intense, so congratulations for making it through my little thought process. I am sure there are probably a few conflicting opinions, and you are welcome to voice them!

I just needed a way of sorting through some emotions, and piecing together the puzzle - every revelation or discovery I focus on equals a new connection, until I am able to step back and look down at the picture created.

x