En Route to Panskura INDIA - Op Smile Mission #12

So I am sitting in the Newark airport and about  1/5 of my way to Panskura India. Just so I have this record for myself here is how I got to today.  My last mission was in March & then I was busy with a family vacation, Sarahs wedding and life in general. I was hoping for a mission in the fall - it is actually HARD as a Recovery Room Nurse to get on missions they have way more volunteers than needs on missions so it is a bit of good luck when you are able to secure one.  I contacted everyone I knew at Op Smile & was SO EXCITED to be asked to go on a mission in November in China. I started making contacts with a friend there & got my visa etc & then about a month before the mission it was canceled. I was super disappointed knowing I couldn’t fit a mission in during December & wondering when I might be able to go.  Fortunately the coordinator for the China mission said she would try to find me something and a few weeks later she called & asked me to go to India. The dates worked so I said yes without hesitation and in hindsight I was at home & where I needed to be in Nov. for some important events & family needs. I LOVE how things often work out as they should.  So now it’s January & here I am on my way to India.

 The last 2 nights were late ones, 2:30 am Monday & midnight last night packing & getting ready – as a result of the generosity of friends my largest 50 lb suitcase is filled with stuff for the children in India – about 20 dollies donated by Dollies for Daughters,  14 dresses made by a friend of mine, 30 CHOC t-Shirts, 10 blankets, 10 knitted caps, some books I bought,10  little boys outfits, lots of socks, dollies donated, and in full disclosure some for for me. I am not a curry or mutton fan & I have heard that is a staple there – so it’s tuna, peanut butter, protein bars, beef jerky and snacks for me for the next 2 weeks – I may try things but I need to stay healthy to do my job.

 Doug took me to LAX this morning and 2 movies later the first 5 ½ hours of flying are over & I am in Newark. I got a pass for the United Club so I enjoyed a few hours there then headed to the gate. My flight was delayed an hour but I knew that this morning & all it did was decrease my 5 hour layover to 4 hours in Delhi. I went to my gate at boarding time & had a mini heart attack – you had to have your Indian visa to board the plane – I had my visa application complete with barcode & photo but they wanted the email saying it was approved. Fortunately I have a great assistant at work who helped me sort thru the 15 emails & attachments I had & she did print the “VISA APPROVED” email for me & they signed off my boarding pass but I was panicked for a few minutes and could not imagine what I might do if I was stuck in Newark & missed my flight & all the rest of the transportation BUT crisis averted!!!  Then at the gate they told us that the pilots had “timed out” of their flying time so we are now another hour delayed while they get us a new crew. Again I am fine – and pretty certain that waiting in the Newark airport is a better option that waiting in the Delhi airport.

 This mission travel I think is the longest ever for me…25 hours of flights 8 hours of layovers and a 13 ½ hour time difference (I have no idea about the extra ½ hour time zone but that is what I am told!) I was fortunate to get economy Plus & those extra 6 inches do make a difference although I dream of the day I can be in a full bed recliner in Business Class!!! So the next flight is 14 hours to Delhi – I am trying to figure out which of those 14 hours I should sleep to try to get on the Indian time zone – I will let you know how that goes…..now I think I will only have a 2-3 hour layover in Delhi then a flight from Delhi to Calcutta (or Kolkata) where I arrive at 4:30 in the morning on the 12^th & the team leaves that day at noon for a 3 hour ride to the rural area of Panskura we will be. I have tried not to think too much about the travel or it is overwhelming!!!

 This mission is longer than the usual and it is being done in partnership with Inga Health in Mumbai India & is called the “Future of Smiles” mission. – Op Smile has been out of India for awhile so they anticipate a “backlog” of needs and we will do 8 days of surgery (typically it is 5) I am good with 5 & just a wee bit worried about 8 as the days are long like 5 am -10 pm then try to be in bed by 11 or midnight & do it all over again but I always manage 5 days & will just take the extra days one day at a time & KNOW that I will be lifted & carried by the love of the work, the lives being changed & the prayers of many friends & family at home.  I believe the goal is 175-200 surgeries??? That’s is A LOT of lives changed & my heart just swells thinking about it!  

Of course I have had Zero time to even figure out what I need to know about India – it is a very impoverished country, and last November the Prime Minister there demonetized the 500 & 1000 Rupee bills which I was told accounted for about 75% of the bills in circulation so there has been a huge financial impact on the people there who already struggle – it is so sad. I cannot imagine the government saying that US $50 & $100 bills now have no value??? We really are blessed to live in the USA. Panskura is a rural agricultural area & the primary income is from farming.  I have contacted some folks from my church there and in Calcutta there is a small congregation of 20 people. I don’t think I will see them on my way into the country based on my travel but I am hoping to connect as I depart. I have also reached out to a CHOC nurse who has a non-profit there that feeds & bathes the railroad children (orphans) and am trying to figure out when we can connect.

I am posting this intro to my mission now because I am unsure of my wifi resources in Panskura. We are told there is wifi in the lobby of the hotel but not the rooms & it is spotty – so I am hoping to be able to email & blog. It sounds a lot like Kenya where the lobby had wifi but it went in & out & I spent late nights in the lobby doing my blog/journal

Despite the travel, the uncertainty of where I am going & what it will be like I am so so HAPPY to be able to go & serve these people who I have yet to meet & who I know I will fall in love with. I am so blessed to be supported and encouraged by Doug, my family & so many on these missions – I so appreciate all the love & support I get & feel like I take a little part of my family, friends & CHOC with me when I go….I know there are many who will be praying specifically for me & for the team & patients & families & when times get tough I will draw on that for strength. On the plane I saw a young girl with a journal & on the front of it was the scripture Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who give me strength. That will be one of my mantras this mission. Time to get back to the gate for the flight to Delhi I am off again to “Change Lives One Smile at a Time”