November 3, 1996 Frank Sherman

Jessica Davey founded the City of Joy Scholars in the fall of 1993. I was fortunate enough to join the
second trip to Calcutta and this is a small attempt to relay some feelings, ideas, thoughts and information
about the experience. Jessica started the program after she had a wonderful experience in Calcutta
volunteering for a summer with the Missionaries of charity. Jessica's initiative, foresight and determination
opened a door for an incredible journey that will forever impact my life. With the help of Wake Forest
faculty like Dr. Cecil Price and Dr. Sam Gladding we had a fantastic experience that could not be
duplicated. Each member of our group also added something special to the trip that we could not have
achieved by traveling and volunteering alone.

The trip began in the spring of 1995 with an application process. About forty people applied for the ten
spots. Several faculty members and students from the first trip worked together to choose our group.
After the ten of us were chosen, we met with our fearless leader, Sarah Lawlor, and brave faculty
member, Sam Gladding before we left for the summer. Sarah gave us some reading for the summer and
we shook hands and smiled at each other. In the fall we met weekly to get to know each other, learn
about skin diseases, talk about India, try to prepare as much as we could for that first step off the plane in
Calcutta, plan fund-raisers and talk. This "team building" played an essential part in our trip. We leaned a
little about each other; our few similarities, our varied ideas, philosophies and political heroes an of course
our common need for continuous laughter. All this bonding time would play an essential role in support
and group morale in Calcutta. The unique and humorous chemistry we developed and the ability to play
off each other in both serious times and times of fun proved especially helpful.

After a whirlwind semester of meetings and fund-raisers we parted for our Christmas break. The day after
Christmas we were back together, nervous, anxious, excited, scared, wired, sleepy-eyed, and above all
smiling! The following hours or days it took us to get to Calcutta seemed to drag on forever and the time
changes made it impossible to know exactly how long it took. Finally, we arrived in Calcutta! The first
step into that Calcutta air was quite a change from good ol’ North Carolina but not shocking thanks to
Sarah’s efforts of preparation. The taxi ride into the city kept my eyes wide and my camera clicking. One
of those video games where you are a jet pilot and must dodge and weave to avoid crashing is the best
way to describe the ride!!! That afternoon we settled into the Sonali Guest House Resort. We spent five
days here and then moved to the YMCA on Chowringhee.

Most of our time in Calcutta involved volunteering with the Missionaries of Charity. Often we would
begin the day at 5:30am with a morning stroll to the Mother House for Mass then head off to one of the
homes. I spent the most time volunteering with the boys at Nabo Jibon across the Hooghly river in
Howrah. The bus rides there provided stories that could last for days all by themselves. Nabo Jibon is a
home for mentally and physically handicapped men and boys. If we arrived early enough (depending on
the bus ride) we began with manual labor chores like the laundry and scrubbing floors. However, our
main job and the main part of most volunteers’ day at any of Mother Teresa’s homes is simply to be with
the patients. Whether you are kicking a ball with a kid or giving a piggy-back ride or simply holding a child
who cannot move or speak or talking with an adult or massaging a patients sore muscles, the most
important time is this time spent extending God’s love to others.

The lesson in love is the most important aspect of the trip to me. All of us encountered each experience a
little different and each brought home a different message or meaning. Listening to other viewpoints and
interpretations of the day’s events really added a tremendous amount of substance to our experience that
would have remained undiscovered on a solo trip. Even in the months following the trip my mind
constantly processed events and feelings from those eighteen days. We gave several presentations to large
groups and I have since shared the trip with family and friends a countless number of times, each time
learning something new from the response and questions of others. Here are two questions that often
arose, "How did this trip change your life?" and "What is the most important thing you learned on your
trip?" Throughout the spring following the trip I could not answer this question. This summer at camp I
finally realized what had impacted me the most on the trip. It was the love.

The love shown by the sisters and brothers of the Missionaries of Charity had struck my heart. The
Missionaries of charity have a love for people beyond all imagination. Mother Teresa’s mission is simple;
To love people. Her mission of love works not only with poor and destitute of Calcutta, we can apply it in
our daily lives. We were fortunate enough to have a chance to speak with her one afternoon and she
wanted to make sure we left with one clear message. She reminded us that there are poor people all over
the world; in our own country, in our own cities, even in our own families. Often we forget that people
can not only be poor materially but poor emotionally and spiritually. Every day we come in contact with
"poor" people. The message that I brought home from Calcutta is to let God’s love for us show in our
daily interactions with others. Mother Teresa’s book, A Simple Path, provides wonderful examples of
sharing God's love with others. Almost every page had something I could use at camp with the kids or in
my daily life.