Update

Greetings in the name of Jesus!

Time for an update. The children are doing well. They have been busy during their summer attending Vacation Bible School in different villages. This is a very positive experience for all of them. It is hard on Sandhya to get them to the different villages, but she feels it is important. The heat has been terrible and the government cuts off the power to the village until 11:00 pm so they have no means of relief.

The children are busy collecting stones in the evenings. They would like to build a wall so they can have an "outhouse" for the children. The stones cost $1.00 for a basin full and this amount of money is too great, so they are trying to find stones. My son sent his $1.00 with our last check so they could buy a basin full. Wouldn't this be a wonderful project for a Sunday School class? The cost of a soda can buy a basin full of rocks for these children. Our children have so much...

From Sandhya: "Summer has just come to the end. It really tortured and tormented us. Many people died of sunstroke. We were kept under the mighty wings of the Lord and so we are safe. The monsoons have entered just. We are soon going to have rains. Summer is season for us for the Gospel out reach work and we do a great deal of Gospel work in this season. But the rainy seasons hinders almost all the out reach work. Villages are covered with the stagnated water and the muddy roads will not allow reaching our destinations. We have to wait until the rains stop and the muddy roads are dried."

I am happy to report we have another wonderful woman who has joined us in supporting these children. We have sent another check and will soon hopefully have another supporter so we can make a monthly commitment to this ministry. The financial support has been such a blessing to the children, but I am told that their spirits have been lifted and they smile so much more knowing they are loved. Unconditional love is unknown to children of abuse and abandonment. They know that this support comes from Christians that love them with the love of Christ. We have all truly become a family in Christ!

Here is some explanation of what life is like in Sandhya's words:
"We belong to backward government. Our community is called Madiga (cobblers) .We have no honor and so we are not allowed to live in the society where the people of higher community live. We live at the out skirt of the village in the slum area where the whole garbage is thrown. We have no sanitation facility and people from the whole village use our area as a public toilet. I can't explain the situation how filthy and dirty it is. Many kinds of diseases await us. There are thousands of villages like this in Andhra Pradesh ( South India ) and the same is the condition.

Our government has a greatest compassion and is kindest enough to classify us as Scheduled caste. We have a constructional and a legal privilege and right to receive many benefits such as own house, own land, a prosperous job, few education for the children, free hostels, promotions in the jobs and many a like that. But the scheduled caste people must not be Christians. The very moment they become Christians they will lose all the benefits and must compensate the loss to the government because of them. We have been Christians since the days of our fore fathers and we will be Christians until the Lord returns. We live as Christians and die as Christians. "

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Please remember to keep these children in your prayers. Sandhya is hoping to be able to start helping more soon.