MONSOON

I set my alarm this morning at 5:10... when I awoke it was pouring rain outside, so i figured... maybe i'll sleep in a little and see if it clears up. 5:30 I woke up and looked outside and the water was about calf-high water. I figured maybe today I'll miss mass and take the metro straight to Daya Dan... I woke up later at 6:30 and the water was now knee-high. The bottom hostel floor was flooded up to the door (which is raised... there's about 3 steps before you enter into the bottom floor's room.) I heard the metro was closed and figured today was another day off. All the volunteers I saw in the hotel room felt the same. Honestly, I felt kind of bad because yesterday I wasn't there in the morning and today I wasn't going either. I had a slow morning getting going and decided ... I'll end up getting wet anyways, so why not roam the streets. I went to go find a internet cafe around 9:30 this morning and many were closed but I found one open. It was so excited walking through the monsoon water but at the same time the most disgusting thing. There was garbage, poop, dead rats and all sorts of stuff floating in the water, and you had to brush by a lot of them while trudding through the water. I ended up eating at JoJo's for lunch and dinner (the closest place to my hostel). After lunch i was already wet walking from place to place so and i wanted to make it over to Mother house because i felt so lazy and useless today. So I walked through the streets that were flooded with all sorts of crap towards the mother house. I took the long way around (staying on the main streets) because I knew my usual route lead me by the dump, the cows, the slaughter house, and all sorts of junk in the water so I decided to walk around it all... it took about 30 minutes to get there and I was drenched by the time I reached Mother House. I meet up with Sr Karina along with about 10 other volunteers for a bible study/catechists class. Before I sister came I was roaming the room and stumbled across two book shevles full of books... opening it up I saw the best collections of catholic books I've ever seen. Scott Hahn's books, St loui Demontford, The dairy of St Faustina, Fulton Sheen, Immitation of Christ....the list goes on and on and every book i picked up I had the biggest grin on my face. I recommend to my friend Mazie; Rome Sweet Home because I thought she'd enjoy that and Sr Karina came by and was really excited that we were holding that book... so Mazie took it back to read, I barrowed "the World's First Love" by Fulton Sheen and was so excited I found it there because I was meaning to bring it.
Our bible study was amazing! We started off writing out some questions so sister can go through them for next week or so. And than there was a volunteer, Justin, that was with us that wasnt a Catholic and he had some of the most wonderful questions about the faith. The foundation of the Church and the Early Fathers, and on scripture/tradition. It was really wonderful and I was able to help explain somethings also. The teachings of Theology of the Body really help me explain a lot of things... such as the convanet (Jesus and mary), talked about apostolic sucession, and the fall of man. We brought up reconciliation when we were digging through Genesis 3, and Sister gave me the most beautiful examination of concious that we should reflect before reconciliation. And it was the questions that God asked Adam and Eve in chapter 3... when he came that evening and they were hidding. "Where are you?" "Who have you listened to" and "What are you doing?", I really connected with this and realize this is a way i need to prepare myself every night, since I do not know when the time will come, and also before every reconciliation... to recall where I'm at in life, where is my relationship with Christ at, to call out my deceptions, the faults i've bought into, and then recall my offenses against our lord. What a beautiful way to reflect our relationship with Christ.
Our study went a little late and Sr. Karina had to be at prayers but it was so fruitful and amazing that when she said, I'll see you next tuesday at four... I poutted. She looked over and said "do you guys want to have it more than once a week". Gleefully we all nooded! So Saturdays and Tuesdays at 4 are our bible study time! We're so blessed with Sr. Karina and many other MC sisters that give of their time to help us grow closer to Christ.
When Bible study was finished it was half an hour till adoration so I stayed around because I wanted to attend but didn't want to have to walk back to sudder than back to Mother house. Adoration was beautiful like always. During adoration lightening and thunder lit up the sky. And heavy rain come pouring down. We celebrated St. Thomas's feast day, a patron st of India. And apparently from what I heard from the MCsisters is that every year on his feast day it rains in Kolkata.
Walking home from Mother House at 8:30pm was quite the experience. I was dark out, pouring rain and water was knee-high. I had on a coat that got drenched with water and absolutely useless after 10 minutes in the rain. The sky would flash compeletly white and was followed by the rolling of thunder clashes, that rumbled my chest. I was terrified that lightening was going to hit the ground that was already flooded and that was I walking through and prayed all the way back towards sudder.
... Well I'm here safe, and had my dinner and now blogging. I really hope I'll be able to go to Daya Dan tomorrow. I hope the Metro is open, if not I'll need to try to take a taxi from Sudder or go to Mother House than take a bus and rickshaw through the water. yeah... it's amazing that the cars are still running and the manrickshaw/autorickshaw still runs through this deep water.

Well, the excitment starts! And it'll be a very inviting welcome for caitlin when she arrives in a couple of days but I'll be sure to pick her up from the airport. I also think that it'll die down within the next 5 days. I guess we'll just wait and see. Caitlin... no worries, it's going to be freak'n awesome here!

Tuan nguyen

Let our struggles and burdens be a way we become united in the passion of Christ.