Friday, October 31 to Sunday, November 2, 2008

Friday 31st at 3:30PM

Today, we left at 6:30AM and visited 3 mercy homes, including the one that we sponsor. They kept the kids home from school just to meet us. The conditions in each vary, but are all nothing that we would live in. The kids basically have nothing but their school uniform and maybe 1 or 2 other outfits. It all fits in one small suitcase. Yet, these kids were happy. We were so important to them. The first thing they say when they greet you is “Praise The Lord.” Many want to be in the ministry and when we ask why, it is because they want to do for others as they have been done for. Also, lawyers, engineers and mayors. They all sang songs for us. When we asked what they pray for, they said things like “wisdom” and pencils that are their own. Can u imagine a child praying for wisdom?

But the one that stands out is in one of the homes that has been open since June. They have been praying for a toilet. They have to go over a hill to an open field to go to the bathroom, so when it rains, etc. it is difficult. A toilet costs about $500 US, so we told them to build it. Their first response was “Praise the Lord.” Then they cheered and wanted to shake our hands. This toilet is basically a hole in the ground. See God does answer prayers, they said. I believe that one of the other reasons that we were here was just to be used by God to answer that specific prayer. At one home of all girls, we found out that in addition to the 4 girls in the home, there were 3 other girls that the pastor had been given to care for, but not through the mercy homes. You can imagine the strain .We are going to get them included so he can get money to care for them also. Where they slept was horrible. 6 boys on 2 twins thin mattresses. They are so proud to be able to go to school. Nobody has to motivate them. At 1 home, we had coconut juice straight from the nut!

The ministry just purchased some property that they want to build a retreat center on for the Mercy Home kids. Most of these kids have never been outside of their village. This would also give the pastors and their wives a break. We met 2 UK doctors, who are partnering with the Mercy Home ministry to provide medical care for the kids. Right now there is no medical care for them. Just in their initial diagnosis of some of the kids, they have identified kids with HIV, heart problems, and malaria. Nobody knew these kids were sick and for most their lives will be saved, when they would have died. What a great ministry! There are 7 homes still waiting to be sponsored, and 4 just lost their sponsorship due to the economic issues in the U.S. They are also seeking to put wells next to Mercy Homes for the villages. The cost is $1,000 per well. Some have to walk for miles to get drinkable water. In one of the homes, the water storage well that they had was also the baptismal for the church. They also drink that water.

We have seen some wild pigs and water buffalo today. Another elephant. The country is so beautiful with mountains and lush greenery, but the city is very different. The roads are really bad.

The doctors told us many facts from their experiences. Daughters being sold into slavery as prostitutes, as well as being sacrificed to appease the gods. 44,000 kids are missing every year and 11,000 never are found. They are all village kids that nobody really cares about.

Two girls in the Mercy Home didn’t have full Bibles, so we bought them; $8. I gave them pictures of my girls and they put them right on the wall. I told them that they are their sisters and they are now our daughters. They smiled.

Beds are very hard here. That is normal.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

We left our hotel and are on the way to the next Mercy Home about 2 hours away. After that we will be on the road for about 6 hours to get home. We went down to the beach to take some pictures and a young girl, about 4 or 5, came up to us begging. We were told that either her parents make her beg, or more likely, she is a street child who is forced to beg. If they refuse, they begin breaking limbs. She was very small. We gave her some money, but also some fruit. She grabbed it like she hadn’t eaten in days. Just heart breaking.

The poverty here is unreal. So many are malnurished. We saw a cof ouple girls, who were sisters in a Mercy Home. They were 9 and 14, but the same size. The growth was stunted due to malnurishment.

We saw a wedding yesterday. They actually parade down the street with a small band to the church. The singer sorta looked like Josh.

We visited another Mercy Home. 2 of the kids couldn’t afford to stay in computer class. The cost was about .20 per month, per kid. For the rest of the year it was about $4.00, we covered it. They just couldn't believe it. God answers another prayer. Danny got to play a ball game with the kids. They loved it! The kids always wanted to know about our families.

The rest of today was a travel day back to Cochin and Pastor Daniel’s home. It took about 12 hours to get back. We stopped at the Arabian Sea for lunch. It was amazing.

November 2, 2008

It is so cool. The ministry is now 8 years old and there are now stories of kids growing up in the homes and going to college. People are giving their lives to Christ in the villages because of what they see in the Mercy Homes. 2/3 of the homes are actually Indian sponsored.

We went to church this morning and it was amazing, They worshiped for about 45 minutes straight. Nobody sat down. The energy and passion was unreal. Loud. About 300 people. We both had the opportunity to share. It was so energizing. Mercy Home kids were there too. Afterward, every one was fed by the church. This was one of the highlights of the trip so far; to be worshiping Jesus Christ India with native Indians. They really love God and aren't afraid or embarrassed to express themselves.

We also went to an elephant park where their must have been 60 elephants. It really was amazing. This is great, we had EFC Ckicken today (European Fried Chicken).

That's it for now, peeps.....Love, Gary