We are Christ-centered Friends who equip and encourage all people
to respond to God's love and transforming Spirit.

THE GIFT OF POVERTY

by Lynda Baker, Professor of Humanities

"We are born with nothing, and we die with nothing," Raja told us, his arms raised in a gesture of submission. "So I have dedicated myself to helping others in the short time I have here on earth." We sat in surprised silence, a bit startled by the unexpected revelation of our Hindu guide as he quietly explained why he ate only one meal a day, why he worked so hard, why he owned so little. His great desire was to build a school for homeless children in Kolkatta (Calcutta). He was small and thin, wearing a cotton shirt so worn that you could see the outline of his body underneath. At first glance he seemed so ordinary, yet his face was radiant with intensity and purpose. We were suddenly conscious of being in the presence of a sadhu, a holy man.

This was one of the defining moments of our time in India. We were a small group of Americans, four men and four women, sitting in the foyer of Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying Destitute. We had come to work with the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta and Banaras. This brief encounter with Raja taught us to look deeply. We began to see the mystery and beauty of India everywhere.

Our "trip of perspective," organized and led by Dale Stitt, co-founder of Journey Into Freedom, a non-profit, ecumenical ministry out of Portland, Oregon, brought us to India to learn from the poor, to meet with development and relief workers, to study social justice issues, and to allow ourselves to be transformed by the joys and the harsh truths of the impoverished third world.

Truth came to us in many forms. We worked shoulder to shoulder with the Sisters and Brothers of Charity at Kalighat, Home for the Dying; Prem Dan, Centre for the Physically and Mentally Disabled; and Shishu Bhavan, the Children's Home in Calcutta, and the Hospital for the Dying Destitute in Banaras. We visited the Gandhiji Prem Nevas Leprosy Centre and the City of Joy, one of the most infamous slums in Kolkatta.

We were challenged physically and emotionally by the heat, the pollution, the noise, the beggars, the squalor, the chaos. Daily we struggled with paradox. We came to India so abundantly wealthy by worldly standards, so well fed, so accustomed to comfort and security, but quickly realized the great privilege of working with the poor. Our complacency was shattered, our hearts broken open. With new eyes we began to appreciate the gift of poverty. We were welcomed with open arms, open hearts, smiling eyes and gracious hospitality. It wasn't long before we felt in our bones the truth of the first line of the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
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Lynda Baker, Professor of Humanities at OIT, will share slides, stories and insights from her recent trip to India at the Friends Church Peace Supper, 6pm Saturday, February 7th, 1918 Oregon Avenue. The community is invited.