Their Mother Tried to Kill Them

With the Street Kids Orphanage

We arrived at the Chennai Street Kids Orphanage, and immediately were greeted by 34 of the most wonderful kids you could ever imagine.  These kids come from a WIDE assortment of backgrounds.  Some are true orphans, one little 11 year old girl was dropped off on the streets of Chennai (a city of 8,000,000 people!) because her mother thought she was ‘cursed’ and needed to be sent out of the house.  Freddy and Daisy rescued her and she is now a happy little girl safely protected by “Daddy and Mommy”, the children’s name for Freddy and Daisy.

Others were orphaned, and no family was willing to take them in.  Only Freddy and Daisy were willing.  Not only were they willing, they were delighted to rescue these little lives.  Others were abandoned by family who just didn’t care or who could no longer take care of their children.  Every story is heartbreaking, and yet, every story has a happy ending.  The happy ending is that they are now loved and nurtured in this wonderful home.  The kids are getting a tremendous education, and will be doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers and other professions.

Maggie and Sam Today

We met Maggie and Sam a year and a half ago.  They were extremely small for their ages, and they showed signs of extreme malnutrition.  They had been rescued for a horrifically abusive situation where their mother decided to starve them to heath to get rid of her “problem”.  Daisy rescued them from the home and took the children directly to the hospital, just to save their lives.  When I first met them, they were emaciated, and were just beginning the long road to restore their health.  BUT, that was a year and a half ago.  Maggie and Sam are different children today.  They are bright and funny.  They’re full of life, and Wow! Can they ever eat!  All the devastating effects of a home where the mother wanted them dead are now gone. It was so fun to be with them.

Maggie and Sam at Dinner Tonight

We provided a special meal for the kids tonight.  We wanted to totally bless them, and even ended the meal with ice cream, a treat they seldom get.  It was a good day at the Street Kids Orphanage, because lives are being saved and redeemed.  Thank you, Freddy and Daisy!

*Written by Wick Nease

Have you Loved a Child with Aids Today? - The Chennai Aids Kids Orphanage

Lawrence

His Name is Lawrence, and he’s 9.  As I walked into the Aids Kids Orphanage in Chennai, I was drawn to Lawrence right away.  He has a gentle smile and kind eyes.  Lawrence is not the most outgoing child in the home.  As a matter of fact, he’s a pretty quiet child in the midst of many young extroverts.  But when he sat near me, I put my hand on his shoulder.  Lawrence turned and looked at me and smiled.  My heart melted.

Lawrence's Sister, Priya

Lawrence’s story is similar to most of the kids in the home.  His mom and dad died of Aids and left Lawrence and his sister, Priya, as orphans.  They’re both HIV positive and no extended family member was willing to take them in.  This ministry took them in, and cares for them in this wonderful environment.  The home is one of the orphanages that we support every month in Streams of Mercy.  As I sit here, with Lawrence near me, I know why.

Aids Orphanage Kids Special Program

The Aids Kids home in Chennai is part of a larger ministry to people “Infected with, or affected by, HIV”.  They have a sponsorship program for HIV positive kids to go to school.  They help 150 children!  They have an ongoing ministry to people in two Aids hospitals.  They have set up micro-businesses for women left widowed through Aids, and of course they have the Aids Kids Home.

As I write this blog, I’m fighting tears.  My heart is torn by the injustice that a little boy and his sister should have to fight this dreaded disease.  There’s not a lot I can do except to tell their story, to help support this amazing orphanage, and to put my hand on Lawrence shoulder. Somehow, that’s what I think Jesus would do.

*written by Wick Nease

I Touched a Leper Today

Our India Team in front of the Leper's Medical Clinic

Today we visited the Bharathapuram Leper colony outside of Chennai.  We heard of the plight of Lepers in India, and the stories were heartbreaking.  A person contracting leprosy is immediately an outcast to all of their family and friends.  Leprosy levels the ground. It affects the very poor, and the very wealthy, but the common factor is that it separates you from all of your normal relationships and consigns you to live as an outcast in a leper colony.  Leper colonies cover the nation of India.

Our visit today was to the medical clinic of the Chennai Lepers Ministry.  The dedicated staff care for these dear folks and provide medical care three days a week in this colony and in 12 other colonies.  Today was a holiday, so only a dozen people came while we were there.  On a normal day, they care for 100-150 people.

Leper Colony Medical Clinic

The common ailment for these patients is ulcerated feel, ankles and hands.  The effects of leprosy are staggering!  It robs the person of all feeling in their feet, hands and face, and makes them vulnerable to injury, and then to serious infection.  The team lovingly cleans wounds, pours in antiseptic, and re-bandages their feet.  We watched as they cleaned and cut out infected flesh.

As I watched, I was reminded why I wouldn’t make a good doctor.  I couldn’t do what they do, AND they did it all with love and grace.  What a ministry!!  The worst situation that we saw today was a woman with a very bad infection in her ankle.  They begin by pouring in peroxide.  I was shocked to see maggots coming out of the wound.  The woman had no idea how serious her infection was.  The medical staff carefully dug into the wound and cleaned it out.  It was quite a procedure.

We Were Privileged to Pray for Lepers

The best part of our time there was when they had finished getting their medical procedure done, they came to us and asked us for prayer.  Our hearts were deeply touched when we remembered that Jesus touched a leper in his day, and healed him… a supreme act of love and acceptance.  We laid our hands on their shoulder (Yes, we actually touched lepers), and prayed for His touch in their lives, just like Jesus did when He walked the face of this earth.

*written by Wick Nease

“The Chennai Hut Slum Preschool”

The Hut Slum

Today, we headed off to go to the Chennai Hut Slum preschool.  It’s hard to believe that a slum could be in the middle of a major Indian city, but it is.  You drive a short distance from the center of the city to an open-air parts market, and wind your way around the market to the entrance to the slum.  Chennai is a huge city, with millions of people, and in the midst of it all, a large slum where thousands live in huts, without even the barest of essentials.  We followed our guide past small grass huts and saw women cooking on open fires.  It was shocking to realize that one spark could burn down the whole slum with thousands of people in it.

We made our way through the slum to the little kids preschool.  Our Street Kids orphanage directors have started this school for the children living in the slum.  The kids get a wonderful education, prayer and worship, and a snack and noonday meal.  For many of the kids, it will be the only meal they have that day.

Lunch at the Hut Slum Preschool

We arrived for the final portion of the day’s teaching, and then saw the delight of the kids as they washed up and prepared for lunch.  The dedicated staff prepare lunch for these kids every day…it is a wonderful act of love.

Big Mike strikes again… 

Big Mike was with us again in the hut slum.  Again the kids began to yell “WWF”, because he looks so much like a WWF wrestler.  It’s funny, because he is a gentle giant who loves kids with a passion.  His favorite activity is to hand out lollypops, which have been a big hit in every location.

85 Year Old Noah

After being with the kids for lunch, people from the slum started coming up to us asking us to pray for them.  One of the people who came was a man named Noah.  Noah had white hair and was 85 years old.  He’s in poor health and asked us to pray for the Lord to heal him.  It was great to meet a precious man of faith in this desperate place.  How impacting it is for Noah to be a testimony of a loving God there.

Sharing at the Hut Slum Church

The final ministry time today was to head off to another slum area where a friend and I would speak to a slum church.  About 50 people crammed into the small church, and worshipped the Lord in Tamil, the local language. I shared about Lazarus being set free after being raised from the dead.  A dear friend on the trip shared as well.

The Parts Market - The Entrance to the Hut Slum

Tomorrow we head off to a leper colony medical clinic.  This will be a “first” for me.  I can’t wait to share what it’s like… And I can’t wait to share it with you.

*written by Wick Nease

India Children of Lepers

We arrived in Chennai, and finally made it to our hotel at 2:00am. Wow! It’s a long way to India from Dallas.  The next day, we met with several of the orphanage directors to hear updates on what has been happening in their homes.   We were amazed at the scope of their ministries and their hearts for the needy, for those in their homes, and those they have not been able to help yet.

We headed off through the streets of this massive city, and a little over an hour later arrived at the children of lepers home.  This is one of my personal favorite homes in Streams of Mercy.  The kids are funny, bright, and absolutely beautiful.  We had “BIG Mike" with us on this trip.  He’s a businessman from Texas who looks like a WWF wrestler.  The kids were enthralled at his size and appearance.  One of the little girls was not intimidated at all, and came up to him and said “I run and you chase”.  I laughed to see this great big man chasing a beautiful little Indian girl who was laughing with delight.  They were all delighted when Mike broke out the lollypops and gave everyone one.

We were so blessed when the kids program began.  They began to sing worship songs and to do dances for us.  I loved their drama of being set free from sin into the freedom of Christ.

How could these kids be so free?  They come from the worst situation imaginable.  In their society, to be in a leper’s family means that you are a total outcast.  You have to live in a leper colony, and can never go where most people go.  You are consigned to begging or to do the most menial tasks.  But these kids have been set free from that bondage, and are now free to be anything they want to be.  Tears came to my eyes as the director told me “Wick, they can be doctors or lawyers, they can be politicians or missionaries”.  I stood amazed at the wonderful way that God sets people free.

More later as we head off to the preschool in the Hut Slum.  This is just the beginning of the adventure.

*written by Wick Nease