Holy Poluted Ganges

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My 15 hour overnight train to the epicenter for Hinduism arrived at about 9:30a. I spent the majority of the morning roaming around the ghats (steps) of the river Ganges and observing the multitude of people dipping their bodies into the sewage of a river. The irony of a water polluted with dead bodies and sewage is the same water which is said to cleans their souls and allow them passage into the afterlife. Foolishness. But, after some thought on this I realized that my own faith is founded on a similar irony that I have often overlooked simply because of the it's familiarity. The reality is that our salvation does not come through dirty water, but it does come through a brutal death and blood of our very God. Perhaps the Hindus hear our teachings and think it is foolishness. I suppose Paul knew what he was talking about when he said that to pagan's our teaching is foolishness.

I hung around a few other backpackers the majority of the morning. We observed the burning ghats and many pools and such. but after lunch i set myself free and sat myself down on the main ghat to have a little writing time.

It did not take long before a 14 year old beautiful girl named Mony approached me with a smile asking if i would like to buy a postcard. This is no rarity as i had already been asked this scores of times before this day! I simple smiled and said no thank you. But, i did ask her if she would like to have a seat next to me as I could tell she could speak english well. She was very happy to do so.
For the next 30 minutes we talked about random subjects of India, games, music, school, and family. She was one of the top in her class until her mom left her dad because her dad got another wife. Due to this she no longer was able to afford school and is now selling postcards all day. She pays the rent - at a cost of about $2 a day. Funny, 2 dollars a day and this girl could afford to go to school. Anyway. she asked if she could leave for 5 minutes in come back...of course i said.
Returning her eyes were filled with tears. She just said goodbye to her 15y/o brother who has gone to live with his dad for 10 months. She could not hardly contain herself. We talked about the situation for a bit but she asked if we could talk of something different bc she didn't want to cry anymore. I gave her my journal and she spend a good amount of time drawing pictures for me and writing some English words. She was very proud of her work. Of course, we are directly in the middle of the ghats and the sight of us sitting close together has drawn attention. We are surrounded by men and other children looking over her shoulder to see what she was drawing. Mony did not appreciate this and told many of them to leave, but they didn't.
Altogether we talked for about 2 hours. After 90 minutes you can imagine how my heart went out to this girl. She was wearing a charm around her neck. When I asked about it she responded that it is over a particular god that is her god she worships. i was just filled with dread. This was an amazing young girl who I hoped the very best for! I couldn't be happier than to sit with her and hopefully make her feel loved and valuable for 2 hours. I even told her a bit about Jesus. But, the hard reality is that after I leave this girl will return to her god. She will probably be a Hindu until the day she dies. I do hate the fact that in our faith, we do believe that anyone outside of Christ is outside of forgiveness. I wish it was otherwise. I wish Mony had hope but she has very little.

After thinking about Mony for a longtime on the 19 hour train ride to Kolkata I began to realize that Mony's story is not much different than nearly all of Rachel's students in the states. In fact, I imagine that many of Rochelle's kids in ehr ministry have stories that are even more sad. I would venture to guess that Mony has a decent shot in this world to feel loved and even happy. But I have to guess that she does not have much of an opportunity for Jesus.

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Photos

Moni
As you can imagine, we took multiple pictures. Here is one.

selling
want to buy a postcard?

Comments

[jason koster]

hopefully tomorrow I will add a picture of Mony for you all. Thank you for your prayers.

[Emilee Read]

(none)
I think what you said about the irony that the saving of our lives is done through the brutal death of the man we're said to love the most was very profound. This really made me think about how we do look at other religions in a rather condescending way, when in reality, our relationship with God and Jesus Christ is looked upon in a similar way by people with differen't beliefs. I imagine that they don't understand the joy we can get from the death of our savior. It really is a shame that in our belief system we do see that salvation comes only through faith in Christ, I do have some hope that God will show the same mercy that he shows to us, to people like Mony. I'll be praying for you and your work in India, I can't think of a better way to be spending one's time. Be safe, we all miss you. Love, Emilee

[Michelle]

Jason, I would dare say that your incredible love and kindness to her has opened the door for Jesus to that little girl. I'm sure you have made more of an impact on her life than you realize. Don't under estimate God's power through you!!

[Raman]

hi there
hi, I'm a design student and an architect here in India and I'm researching on the problems that tourists face while finding there way in Indian Cities. Please mail me your comments, ideas, observations on this. I'm based in Delhi and this research is for the improvement of signage systems in the city. Thanks Raman

[LouAnn]

Praying for your safety, your faith, your health, and the spreading of His word.

[anonymous]

It's sad the you have condemned the whole of the Indian nation to hell just because you erroneously believe that Jesus was exclusive. Wake up, people !

[anonymous]

that last line was depressing D: remember who you are there to tell people about , Our God who ANYHTINGG is possible through! Don't give up hopes on Mony, im sure you planted a seed through God that he will continue oneday, in his own way somehow. your in my prayers, be careful & come back safe! we <3 and miss you

[Traci Carr]

Foundation
Jason, You are probably the first person to ever speak Truth to this precious young girl! I can see God's hand working in the time that you spent with her and how He used you to minister to her needs. You gave her your time, which was obviously needed and appreciated by her. You kept your promise to wait until she came back, showing that you are dependable and trustworthy. You listened to her in her time of distress and gave her comfort and hope. I imagine that Mony will always remember the American guy who sat with her and spoke of a savior named Jesus. I will pray that other missionaries will follow you in the years to come to water the seed that you have planted and pray to God that he will make it grow! "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." 1 Cor. 3:6 "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is buiding on it..." 1 Cor. 3:10a I love it that you have such a merciful heart. God is going to use you in a mighty way in India. < Traci Carr (Danielle Reed's Foster Mom)

[hayley]

man, that was really special and touching...