Pune - Part 3

From the Good Shephard home we traveled about an hour to meet the kids from a 3rd orphanage, Hope of Glory, at MacDonalds for dinner! In January we spent a lot of time with these kids, so they were eager to give hugs and eat a wonderful meal of french fries, chicken sandwiches and ice cream. This is a rare treat for the kids. Daniel* said "why are you only staying one day?", next time you need to stay a whole week! 

One highlight of the night for all of us was to see Rahni*, who in January we saw sleeping on the streets covered with flies (she is pictured in our brochure) but is now living in the HOGF home. What a precious girl, and now she is in a safe place, with food to eat and a warm bed to sleep in, and lots of love(I've attached a photo of Rhani* with Uncle Wick). What an awesome privilege to be a part of seeing kids like Rhani's lives transformed!

After a very full day...3 orphanages in one day our staff group crashed. The next morning we flew to Chennai to meet up with a group from Kansas City!
Check back soon for our first report from Chennai. You won't want to miss it.


*names changed to protect their identities

Pune-Part 2

Our next stop was the Good Shepherd Home. GSH is home to 122 orphans. Most of the kids have come off of the streets, and now fit into several homes that operate as a family unit. Their heart is to provide a family-style living for the kids. 

We were impressed by these bright children, and the atmosphere of this orphanage allows the kids' individuality & creativity to come out. GSH is doing an amazing job of rescuing children from life on the streets, where the life expectancy of a child is approximately 1 year. We are not yet able to sponsor the Good Shepherd home, but we have a desire to help them in their amazing calling.

Check back for Pune-Part 3.

India adventure- Pune - Part 1

After 36 ours of flying and driving, we landed at our hotel at 6:30 am. We slept for 2 hours, and then hopped up and headed out for our wild first day of connecting with orphanages. The first orphanage we visited was a children's AIDS home. Most of the kids are HIV+ and many of their mothers are prostitutes. For many of them, both parents have died of aids. Our hearts broke as we heard each of the 22 kids' stories, but we were also impressed by their joyful hearts. They danced and sang a song about how it is God who heals them.

This ministry includes the AIDS orphanage, a drop in home for children of prostitues, and they hope to add a medical clinic that will serve the "untouchables", who no one else will treat. What an awesome place where kids are being loved and cared for!

Check back for Pune - Part 2!

Heading To India...

This Tuesday, October 7th we're heading back to India. The first few days we'll be scouting out 2 new orphanages that are in need of sponsorship, and then it's on to stop #2 where we'll meet up with a group of 12 volunteers from Kansas City. Together we will be:

• Working in 3 orphanages
• Doing various hands on projects
• Spending time with the kids
• Distributing food in a slum of 6,000
• Helping with a medical clinic

Our goal during this time is to come alongside the orphange staff and bring some much needed assistance to their life changing work. We'll be blogging from India, so check back for regular updates in the coming few weeks!