When I left school, I desperately wanted to go into acting. 'Oh no,' my parents protested. 'You'll always be broke. You'll never be in work or have a regular income; you won't be able to support a family, or get a house, or a car; and you'll barely be able to eat.' They got their way. Parents always seem to get their way.
So instead of acting in the West End, that year I found myself in West Bengal, India - teaching in a school for children living on the streets of Calcutta. It was my first experience of what we call 'mission', and there was something about it. Something attractive, and addictive in sharing the love of God and bringing his Good News to a hurting world.
Maybe it was the rawness of the experience. Sleeping on little more than wooden frames, shaking the freezing water from shower heads, donning the dirty clothes I lived and worked in, and enduring plate after plate of wet, lukewarm rice was strangely exhilarating.
I may have been living life at a basic level, but I was living! There was something about leaving behind luxuries and home comforts that made me feel freer than I ever had at home; and I loved every second of it! Just walking down the road was exciting, while crossing it was a life-and-death experience; and day-to-day tasks were an adventure and a challenge. And I caught the bug.
But it was hard work. I was often tired, ill and uncomfortable; I lost weight, I craved things from home, and I went right from elation to anger frequently, on a spectrum of emotions. It was tough. This kind of mission was the most challenging thing I'd ever attempted, but in every way I was rewarded by God for pushing myself to do it. I had never had to rely on God so much, and I never saw God's power and intervention as much as I did that year. Every day was incredible.
