A reflection by Erin:

Sitting on an upside-down bucket, I watch her line-up and pour six cups of milk tea while she hands two other customers samosas. She asks me how my day was and what I had eaten for lunch. My friend, who we’ll call “lady cha,” owns and operates a tea stand near our house. It’s a small tarp-covered structure surrounded by a few red and blue stools, a bucket or two and one bench. When I first met lady cha, we only exchanged perfunctory greetings – but after a few months we have become friends…well as much as our limited ability to converse in the same language allows us to be. My friend never lets me pay for cha. If I try, she says “we’re friends aren’t we – done.”

Lady cha’s hospitality is not a rarity here in Kolkata. During my short time in this city, I have been given and gifted with deep kindness that I cannot truly convey with words. It’s crazy really when I think about it. Four months ago, I was a stranger in this sometimes overwhelming, sometimes glorious, always incredible place, but I am no longer a stranger. I have been welcomed and loved by so many. The hospitality I have been shown is without measure. If you have a spare moment-or week-or month, come on over to Kolkata and we’ll treat you to some good ole fashioned Bengali hospitality. Or better yet, gift someone in your neck-of-the-woods, maybe a stranger or “newbie”, with some kindness. I hear nothing beats a warm cup of tea on a cold day!

photo credit - Taylor Fuller

Last week we had the joy of celebrating Christmas at all 3 Sari Bari units. It may be the most beautiful (and exhausting) trilogy ever!

There are images from the parties floating around in my head. Snapshots of beauty, joy, freedom and celebration.

We dressed up. We ate a beautiful meal together. We danced. We celebrated.

A Reflection by Natalie:

One of the joys for me at Sari Bari has been playing with the ladies’ kids when they come to visit the office. While at Sari Bari I have followed a five-year-old as we were sneaking around and he pointed out his favorite part of the office, a kite he got stuck on a light. I have been the tickle monster and slayed like a dragon all while the sound of laughter fills the Sari Bari buildings. The laughter is a reminder that joy fills the offices as freedom is not only for one lady but for her children as well.

A reflection by Taylor

I arrived in Kolkata without knowing how to speak even a single word of Bangla. After visiting the Sari Bari offices and realizing how difficult communication with these ladies would be, I was so hesitant to believe true relationships could be formed. But if I leave with any small treasure of wisdom, it will be that words do not have the all-consuming power to create or negate relationships with these beautiful women. The ladies of Sari Bari have hearts that will melt any barrier that can be erected…language or not. They love so well, and have so much to give. Whether it’s by passing you a plate full of rice at lunch or by applying hand cream to your dry hands, they will show you how welcome you are into their family…and they will do so without using words.

As you begin making shopping lists, and looking for that perfect gift for someone you love, we’d like to invite you to join in the Sari Bari Christmas celebration! India is a land with seemingly endless religious festivals. At Sari Bari we have a culture of celebration – and we go all out for Christmas! Each of the women will receive a Sari (the perfect gift for every occasion here!), and we’ll share a celebration meal together, laughter, dancing and the holiday spirit.  Already the anticipation for this year’s Christmas party is running high! A gift of $25 will sponsor Christmas for one member of the Sari Bari family. If you would like to celebrate with us, you can make a donation by check to WMF, PO Box 70, Omaha, NE 68101 (on a separate paper, please indicate that the gift is for Sari Bari Christmas) or at https://portal.ftnirdc.com/Checkout (there is a link to “donate” on the lower left side of the Word Made Flesh home page (www.wordmadeflesh.org). Please indicate the gift is for Sari Bari Christmas.

A Reflection by Kyle:

I sat quietly on the floor, nervously waiting for a response from the Sari Bari ladies. I had just told them that I would soon be leaving our Sari Bari family to return to the States, to be with my family there. I had no idea what their response might be. I was afraid of their reply. I had been dreading this conversation for days, months, thinking through it many nights on end. Slowly, they began to speak, to ask questions. They quietly understood what I was saying. I starred at the ground. I waited. I had nothing more I could say. To come bearing such news was agonizing.

And then it happened. The women began consoling me. “Don’t worry yourself sick,” they said. “We understand.” Eyes locked as their love lifted my head.  I had come dreading their questions, wondering how to give answer, how to console.  And in my silence, they were so gracious. Words of grief and frustration could easily have been spoken by them about my forthcoming departure, but they affirmed my struggle with the decision and the sadness that came with it. Countless times I have known their love in the smaller moments we share together; when they worry about how little I’m eating and when I seem bothered or tired. That day I understood a love much deeper, one which I could never forget.

A Reflection by Erin

Usually, crooked lines are not encouraged when one is hand sticking an item, but folks, as I began sewing my very first blanket; I saw the lines skirt back and forth in a “non-pattern” on the fabric.  Rest easy, I am not a seamstress, only an enthusiastic, textile-loving individual who found herself sitting among delightful, hilarious ladies who can sew with the best-of-them. As I began the “great thread adventure,” that’s what I’m calling my attempt at sewing a baby blanket, I was, and continue to be assisted and shepherded by the ladies at Sari Bari. I am constantly encouraged and given advice on not just sewing, but all facets of life. As we sit and converse in a Bengali/English mix, peace settles in, and rests like a fragrance over the room.  It’s a strange thing, beginning something new. It’s also so humbling, but one of the most beautiful things about being taught and encouraged, is being able to celebrate the unique gifts that people bring to life and to relationships.  May there be great beauty in all the new beginnings of your lives.

A reflection by Taylor:

There is something so sweet about sharing a meal with the ladies at Sari Bari. It’s just that – sharing. I sit amazed as they pass around their own lunch for other to take part of. And with the presence of any guest or friend without a meal, you will find them each sacrificing a bit of their food to feed a hungry mouth. Lunch time at Sari Bari is a truly unique experience to partake in and a blessing to witness. There you find the heartbeat of the family these women have become to one another.

Thursday was not what I expected.
Before I even left the house my plan for the day changed twice.
It was not a great day.
It was one of those days…
…where tasks that need to be done force aside the things I’m passionate about, the things that make me feel most alive.
…where I failed at everything I tried to do. From the book store that was closed for 2 hrs over lunch, to the trip to the tailor where the top I had made didn’t fit, to the ATM being out of money, to the grocery store being out of 1/2 the stuff I needed to buy.
…where you think, “I just need a win” and keep trying to succeed at just one small thing, but keep failing.

And then I finally made it to the Sari Bari unit where I was supposed to be all day (I happen to love Thursdays cause I get to spend all day at our unit in the south, where there are less tasks for me to do, where my time is spent in a much more relational way, and where I can work on the blanket I’m sewing).

I never know quite how to respond when the ladies say things like, “yes, I can tell you are tired. Your face looks horrible” or, “oh, you have so much tension on your face.” But those were the comments that greeted me today…and they were true.

So I ended up sitting in one of the rooms with the ladies and had the most absurd and hilarious conversation with them. They were peer-pressuring me…and they were good at it…and I laughed and laughed. I reveled in their love, and acceptance, in the relationships that have been formed between us. And for awhile the day faded away and I laughed with my friends, my sisters.

What a gift. I told them before I left. I told them that I was having a horrible day, but when I got to spend time with them I laughed and laughed, and that they gave me such a beautiful gift. I told them that today they gave me joy. And it’s true.