The last 2 days we visited 2 more homes. Both homes double as the church building. The first was Galilee Grace. We got there at about 9:30am, half-way through their Sunday morning service. To give it a little perspecitve, the service started at 8am. That is after a service that lasted from about 10:30pm-4am the night before to ring in the New Year! (Our interpretuer had the same kind of service at his own church on New Year's eve as well. It's a little humbling to see that they celebrate every holiday by giving glory to God as a church body and we often just do our own thing.)
Anyway, we got there in the middle of the service and they called us up on stage to honor us. Again, very humbling. Andy and I feel so undeserving of all the thanks and honor we have received at these homes. The Boaz Projet is the the one who has been supporting these homes financially and in prayer - not us. After this trip it will definitely be something that we will be pursuing, but to this point we haven't had anything to do with the support they receive from Boaz, yet we've been treated like royalty everywhere we go.
After the service we enjoyed a wonderful meal with the pastor. (Prepared by his wife, but, as with everywhere we've gone, she doesn't eat with us. And neither do the children.) During that meal we got to hear a little more of the pastor's story. He has 2 daughters and had a son in 2003.
One thing I found interesting and unique to this home was that some of the children are products of temple prostitution. I thought this was something that you just read about in the Old Testament, not something that happens today. The last few days I've almost felt like I'm living in another time, not the 21st century. Between the conditions most of the people live in, to the stories of injustice, it just seems like another world. But God is here. And His Spirit is working.
During lunch the pastor also told us that a few months ago their rice turned bad. (Rice is the main ingredient in every meal they eat here - they buy huge bags of it at a time.) They didn't have money to buy more so they called out to God for help. That afternoon a Catholic priest brought them a bag of 50 kilo's of rice and told them that God told him to give it to them.
Another day, one of the boys was sent home from school because they hadn't paid their fees. (School isn't free here... even public school) Again, they prayed for God's provision. The next day, a local Hindu organization came to them and gave them enough money to pay for school. Wow. Again, God is working here.
The kids prayed for us before we left. Talk about humbling....
The view from the roof. If you look closely, there's a woman digging through the trash under the wires.
Anyway, we got there in the middle of the service and they called us up on stage to honor us. Again, very humbling. Andy and I feel so undeserving of all the thanks and honor we have received at these homes. The Boaz Projet is the the one who has been supporting these homes financially and in prayer - not us. After this trip it will definitely be something that we will be pursuing, but to this point we haven't had anything to do with the support they receive from Boaz, yet we've been treated like royalty everywhere we go.
After the service we enjoyed a wonderful meal with the pastor. (Prepared by his wife, but, as with everywhere we've gone, she doesn't eat with us. And neither do the children.) During that meal we got to hear a little more of the pastor's story. He has 2 daughters and had a son in 2003.
*Here's a good place to input a little more about Indian culture & why girls are not wanted. First, as I mentioned in previous posts, fathers must pay a dowry to the groom's family when their daughter gets married. She then goes to live with his family. Second, the son is the one who supports his parents when they get old. In America, we save for retirement, but in India your livelihood when you are too old to work depends on your son. So, when you have a daughter she is seen as a burden. When you have a son, he is seen as a joy & a hope for the future.
Back to the pastor's story.... While he was still a baby, his son became sick (with Hepatitus B) and died. Amist his sorrow, the Lord called the pastor to praise. Not long after, someone brough them an orphaned boy and asked them to care for him. Since then, they've been taking children in - 16 total. 
One thing I found interesting and unique to this home was that some of the children are products of temple prostitution. I thought this was something that you just read about in the Old Testament, not something that happens today. The last few days I've almost felt like I'm living in another time, not the 21st century. Between the conditions most of the people live in, to the stories of injustice, it just seems like another world. But God is here. And His Spirit is working.
During lunch the pastor also told us that a few months ago their rice turned bad. (Rice is the main ingredient in every meal they eat here - they buy huge bags of it at a time.) They didn't have money to buy more so they called out to God for help. That afternoon a Catholic priest brought them a bag of 50 kilo's of rice and told them that God told him to give it to them.
Another day, one of the boys was sent home from school because they hadn't paid their fees. (School isn't free here... even public school) Again, they prayed for God's provision. The next day, a local Hindu organization came to them and gave them enough money to pay for school. Wow. Again, God is working here.
 |
| Her mother was a temple prostitute. Once she was born, her mother abandoned her so she could live her life without the burden of an illegitimate child. |
The kids prayed for us before we left. Talk about humbling....
Us with pastor Charles (next to Andy) and his brother-in-law, Reuben (next to Thor). Reuben sang at church and does a lot with the kids.
While playing with the kids, we noticed lots of muslims outside. When we left there was a tent set up literally right next to the church with a muslim celebration going on. In this cramped city, there were 3 totally different religions living practically on top of each other. I have to be honest, my heart beat a little faster until we left. I don't know if I could live like that. But that caused me to think about the disciples. Isn't that how they lived? Out on the street, sharing the Good News of Jesus with the threat of being killed for doing so? Literally laying down their lives for the sake of the Gospel. Why am I so scared to be more open about my faith? I worry about others thinking I'm weird, but I don't fear that my neighbors would phycially harm me or my children because of our faith. In fact, usually, our neighbors look up to us for our "discipline" or "self-control." I have no concept of what it's like to live in persecution for your faith.
It's hard to see (we took this as we were driving away) but the building on the right behind the truck with the slanted, red roof is the church. If you look closely, you can see the street is partially blocked off by a tent-type structure. That was the muslim function.
"Come Back" Home
This brings me to today......it was our last day in India. We leave for the airport at 4:30am tomorrow morning. We have witnessed so much over the past week, it’s hard to sum it all up. We’re also still not sure exactly where God is leading us through all of this. But we’re incredibly grateful that we got to come here and feel like we have seen the Holy Spirit working in amazing ways.
This morning we went to Come Back Home. It was probably the smallest home (space-wise) that we’ve been to. There were 8 orphans. The building is four stories, but each floor is smaller than our bedroom. The first floor serves as the church. They have 30 people who attend. I can’t imagine cramming 30 people in that small room. (Oh, and they too had a New Year’s Eve celebration from 10pm-3am with singing and dancing! I don’t know how you’d have room to move with that many people in that room, let alone sing & dance for 5 hours!)
The second floor is a small living area, wash room (including the washing machine & refrigerator the Boaz Project bought them last year), and the pastor’s family’s room (His wife & 2 daughters). The third floor was similar to the second, but the pastor’s sister’s family of 4 live there. And the top floor was the kid’s room and kitchen. The Boaz project gave them the money to put a roof over this floor – before they were all crammed on the second floor, including the kitchen! Oh, and did I mention that the pastor’s brother and sister-in-law and their 2 children sleep on the first floor? So, there’s a total 24 people living in this TINY building.
But, again, they were all joyful. They have food in their stomachs and a roof over their head. If it weren’t for Pastor Christopher and his wife, all of these kids would have been street children - most likely to become victims of some kind of forced labor or trafficking - or left in a dump to die as a baby.
We asked Pastor Christopher who the first child they took in was. She’s pictured above. Her name is Epsiba. She was brought to them less than a day after she was born. Her mother was not married, so she didn’t want her. She didn’t even clean her off after giving birth. The child’s grandmother wrapped her in a blanket and brought her to Pastor & his wife. If they wouldn’t have accepted her, the grandmother was going to throw her in a dump. The days leading up to this, Pastor Christopher & his wife had been asking God for a sign as to whether or not they should help orphans. Needless to say, God answered their prayer.
Another cool story: the boy in the purple shirt above was not wanted by either of his parents. They separated and each remarried. The step-parents did not want him, so they kicked him out. He was 7 at the time. He is now the TOP students in Bangalore in his grade. He received an cash reward for his excellence at school. Praise God that this family took him in and he wasn’t left to a life on the streets!
Their "new" kitchen
Pastor & his wife
The roof top
You can also see above the Pastor's wife. Her love for these children was SO evident to me. She had such a joyful spirit & you could tell the children looked at her as their mom. She asked me about my children and loved the pictures I showed her. I hope that when people visit my home they feel as welcomed as I did in her's!
There's so much more to share, but this is getting REALLY long and we're about to go to dinner. We both can't wait to share more with all of you about this trip. Please pray for a safe trip home. I miss Josh & Ellie and can't wait to see them! Also, pray for no delays & our transition home as Andy will be leaving on Wendesday evening to spend a few days in Florida with some other teachers from school.
Thanks! We're looking forward to coming home!
Love,
Andy & Vanessa
No comments:
Post a Comment