India!

   
Hello!! As you know, I am in Southeast Asia, I have been in Kolkata, India for the last 5 weeks! So this is gonna be long 🙂

Please check my instagram for more pictures!! @paytonwiningham

I would describe it as a time of learning, community, and a very pure joy. We had American ministry hosts and Indian ministry hosts that were best friends and both absolutely amazing. Our American hosts had a beautiful family and community that we were able to bless in different ways, and gain so much wisdom from. Our Indian ministry hosts were the sweetest people and we got to laugh so much with them. They both made us feel like family so early on!

On a weekly basis, we had Monday Sabbath  which also was the only time I really had service to talk to people from home. Tuesday through Friday we went to our Indian Ministry host’s community center church in the slums from 2pm-10pm where we mostly hungout and built relationships. We would help teach computer classes (that we barely knew anything about haha), teach English (one time I taught English for three hours and didn’t know I was doing that until the teacher said we were starting class right then haha), play games with the people that came in and out, and lots of music!! We were with ages ranging from 10 years old to 24. Some of the games were Karam (no idea if I spelled it right), we taught them “spoons”(the card game) and they LOVED that one, taught a bunch of 13 year olds “Down By the Banks” (it was the cutest thing to hear them try singing it), I played street soccer one night which was so fun, lots of badminton, and we also learned Cuppidi (please Google this, it’s an Olympic sport). I played cuppidi one time with a bunch of 13 year old boys and got tackled to the ground round one… oops hahaha. We also did house fellowships in different people’s houses in the community. Music was also a huge part of our time in India which was SO FUN. We learned so many Hindi worship songs and played guitar, cajon, and tambourine.

Sundays were also ministry days where we went to our American host’s house for house church. They had a community of them and some locals and other missionary families, and we were able to bless them by babysitting during service and then for four hours in the afternoon so they could get some time to themselves. They all had so much wisdom and every conversation was just so cool and to learn about their stories was amazing.

On Saturdays, we had adventure days and typically our American hosts would take us somewhere fun in the town or suggest something. We went to Victoria Memorial, St. Paul’s Cathedral, an international trade fair at Science City, got henna, toured a different smaller city, went to a flower market, and cafes. Variety of things to do because we were IN the city and when I say it was loud, it was LOUD.

So let me tell you about the city experience and our living situation. In Kolkata, there is basically never a moment of silence, there is a car honking 24/7 and if by the grace of God there isn’t someone honking, there’s a dog barking outside your window instead. Our transportation was either Uber, our ministry host’s car (two people were always in the trunk), or public bus transportation and I promise you have never experienced it unless you have been in India. We were squished up against everyone and yet more people got on the bus every stop haha. My leader, Sadie, is like 5ft and we could barely see her and she couldn’t reach the handlebars so that was funny. We did have very good conversation on our bus rides and got to meet a lot of people. Every time we took a car though, there was just an insane amount of traffic. It takes a minimum of half an hour to get somewhere 3 miles away. Our living situation was an apartment with 3 beds and 2 1/2 baths, and a kitchen, we liked to call it our “penthouse”. To be clear, it was not really a penthouse, there were handprints on the wall, no fridge, I got a rash from the headboard, and our feet were black when walking on the floor hahaha. But we had a great time in our penthouse and have lots of good memories.

Holidays!! On Christmas Eve, we spent time with just our team in the penthouse, we did secret santa and played games. For Christmas, we went to our Indian host’s house and community center and got to borrow sarees to wear. They were beautiful and all the girls helped get us dressed, did our hair, gave us jewelry, and it ended up taking about four hours four us to all get ready, which was crazy but so fun. Then there was a church service and dinner afterwards. For New Years, we were with our American hosts and we played games and hungout.

FOOD. So Kolkata is known for having the best food in India, we ate your classic Indian food for dinner which was typically rice, Dahl, and chicken or egg. We had naan, chicken Biriyani YUM, and street food. The street food was so good. We especially loved Puchka which was a hollow fried shell filled with a potato mixture in a broth. And we went to the same guy every time and it was good EVERY TIME. There were plenty of other great street foods as well, ask me some time.

Quick facts about Kolkata

• 79 sq miles with 14 million people in comparison to Denver that is 154 sq miles with 720,000. Half the size, 14x the number of people
• biggest red light district (sex trafficking) in all of Asia
• Nickname “City of Joy”
• City where Mother Theresa started her ministry, she’s also buried there

Oh also, I got lice. It’s my worst fear. Bugs crawling in your head. It was bad. My head was infested bc we had checked earlier and didn’t see anything then thought my head was itchy because of the water or soap or something. We were wrong. No, I did not conquer my fear, only traumatized. I do not suggest. Good thing God is good.

I feel like I can’t end this on the fact that I got lice, so different funny stories rapid fire real quick: I taught the group of 13 year old boys what “onomatopoeia” was when I taught English. I got asked on the bus one day what my “motherland” was. Day one of meeting our Indian hosts, he goes “so you are all from America? even you?”. Oh and I learned how to play Poker right before we left for India, I may or may not be addicted, depends on who you ask haha. But my friend got me poker chips for Christmas and yes, of course I will be carrying throughout the rest of the race, I’d drop my jeans over the chips.

Anyways, I know that was so much, yet I know I’m missing so many things haha, but thank you for reading!!