Final Thoughts from Roger:
India has been a great place to visit. There is so much history and beauty here, although we sometimes have to look past the dirt and grime to appreciate where we are. A land of contrasts that just don't seem to end.... Clear skies with hardly an airplane to be seen, but smoke and smog that often causes haze that limits our vision and makes it difficult for us to breathe. Beautiful and colorful women's clothing to be seen at all times day and night, but some of those same outfits being worn digging trenches alongside the road as the women also work construction jobs. Churches, mosques, and temples all claiming their spaces and offering conflicting belief systems. Children dressed neatly in uniforms going off to school in a taxi or rickshaw and passing naked children on the street that will probably never see the inside of a classroom. Filthy blankets and clothing belonging to street people who live just outside our hotel where we have a beautiful garden with blossoming flowers, hot showers and AC. Nice, comfortable and smooth Metro (subway) but when you get off you can ride in a rickshaw pulled by a barefoot man sharing the road with buses, taxis, motorcycles, bicycles, tuk-tuks, goats and cows.

Probably the most refreshing thing about India is the welcome that we have felt everywhere we have traveled. All seem ready to help with directions and most people smile and act very agreeable. Just this morning I saw two children (probably siblings) fighting as we got off of a ferry that had brought us across the river. The boy had the girl by the hair and appeared to be very angry with her. Adults nearby appeared to be concerned and ready to assist if necessary. This aggression was very unusual to see and it made me realize how seldom we have seen any conflict here. Pretty amazing in a city of some 15,000,000 people. I think they somehow realize that if they don't make efforts to get along with each other the whole system cannot survive. Maybe that is what we are also learning about the entire world as we rub shoulders with Yoshi from Hiroshima (when I met him and he told me where he was from I said, "I'm so sorry about what happened there". Then we met Chii from Denmark (a Viet Nam refugee) and again I felt that I needed to say "Sorry about what happened in your homeland". Have we really done enough to try to get along with the rest of the world? Why are so often involved in conflicts? Can our world survive if America doesn't make a greater effort? I'm not really sure what that might look like but I'm pretty sure that it doesn't look like guns and bombs.

Another refreshing thing about being here has been getting to know the boys at Daya Dan. Here in the midst of great poverty and pollution is a mission where handicapped boys (1st floor)and girls (3rd floor) are cared for in a loving atmosphere and stimulated with the help of volunteers from all over the world. I had the fortune to meet and care for many of the kids there. Bernard, with legs badly twisted and incapable of supporting him, always had a big smile and would unfailingly ask "Book?" and often I would sit beside him to read. Rakesh, also unable to walk, usually had a story to tell (often with many embellishments so I didn't know what to believe) and Rahul, who could walk with a slight limp, was very capable and eager to learn, assumed many resposibilities and liked to have us think he ran the place. I was nearly convinced until he got put in his place by Sister Jonava for using a book without permission! Joakim, Joy, Ankur, Dilip and Anand-all with problems but just the same kids that love to laugh, play with balloons, eat ice cream, and play catch even if that means rolling a tennis ball to one another on the floor(this was Bernard's favorite thing to do because he could actually trap the ball between his legs if it rolled up to him slowly and he could even throw the ball. If the ball rolled slightly out of his reach he would laugh so hard that he would tip over and wouldn't be able to sit up again without help. This always made him laugh even more!).

As great as the kids are I have to admit that I really did not expect to meet people here from so many different countries of the world. Each morning we would meet at Mother Teresa's Mission (just a minute or two from our hotel) for breakfast and visit with other volunteers who have come to help. Ususally there were 75-125 volunteers and soon we were striking up conversations and learning about each other. It really was amazing how it seemed that everyone had come with a giving heart and I felt that all were good peole to know. Our final evening will be spent at Blue Sky Restaurant on Sudder Street sharing a meal with many of the friends that we have made while here in Kolkata. Some will visit us in the states and we look forward to seeing them again whenever the opporunity may arise. Sayaka from Osaka, Japan had just met us a day or so before it was time for us to say goodbye. I didn't even know her name and she didn't know mine but when I told her it was our last day she started to get teary and fanned her face. She apologized and said she will miss us! I laughingly said, "You just met us!" "But, I will miss your smile", she replied. And I will miss hers as well.

Final Thoughts from Jane:
Did my mom know when she taught me the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi that it would some day make me realize I was destined to come to Mother Teresa's in Kolkata. That prayer hung in my childhood home, today in my bedroom and over Mother Teresa's tomb. I leave knowing I made little difference to most here who need so much...but also knowing Roger and I did bring a bit of love and happiness to a few...Dilip, Bernard, Rakesh, Mukul, Rahul, Joakim, Prince, Anamitia, Bovita, Maya, Shoba and probably one of the last smiles for Mita and Paruiti. And for that...and much more...I feel privileged and thankful.