Saying Goodbye to India

We had such a wonderful time at Jireh Children’s Home and Trust (JCH).  Our hosts, Morong and Sendme are from Manipur and their Pastor Daniel and his wife Mercy are from Bangalore, so we got to learn about Northeast and Southern India.  The 11 children are from Northeast and Southern India as well.  From the different foods that we got to taste, the difference in culture,  traditional dress to customs, we all have the one thing that united us: Jesus.  We led devotions every morning with the children before school, did afternoon Bible studies focusing on Jonah, Noah, Zackious, Job and Daniel, taught and learned songs from one another, played games like soccer, badminton, steal the bacon and karambol.  We had kid’s clubs a few times a week, were children from the community came and joined us to learn about the Lord.  They are starting up Awana at Bangalore Bible Church on Friday nights and we participated in that.  The children at JCH have a great Sunday School knowledge base, so we really focused on Jesus being our friend.  We encouraged them to share with the Lord as they would a friend, not to just talk to him in a chanting or religious way but to make their talks personal.  We also encouraged each child to speak life to one another and we had them practice this several times.  It was uncomfortable for them but the more they affirm one another, the better they will become.  

I was able to have several one on one conversations with the children.  One boy, Thom Ta has been at the home for 8 years and he went back to his village in April (summer time in India).  This was the first time he had seen any of his family since leaving home at age 8.  He said it was hard to go and he was scared at first.  When he first arrived at home, he felt like a guest but by the end of his 5 week stay, he was settled in more.  One reason for his visit was to see if it was a good time for his family to take him back into their care but they asked that he be able to finish his +2 (11th and 12th grades) before he could come back home.  Thom Ta is so gentle and caring with the younger children, he will get down and wrestle with them and let them win.  He wants to work in Hotel Management when he finishes his education.  He would love to travel some and send money to his family once he gets a job.

Reisheldar is 12 years old.  Her father left her Mother with 3 children to care for when he ran off.  Women working outside of the home is still an uncommon occurrence in India, unless it is a servants type of work; washing clothes, cleaning houses, working in the fields.  It has been very hard for Reisheldar’s mother to provide for her family.  Reisheldar came to JCH 3 years ago.  She, like many of the children who come to JCH had not been going to school regularly before she came to the home.  Once she arrived, Morong and Sendme evaluated her educational abilities and thought she would do well in 1st standard (grade) even though she was 10 years old.  Reisheldar is now 12 and feels bad about being in 3rd standard but she is thriving with learning.  She has a lot of guilt about not being able to help her Mom earn money to take care of her family.  Reisheldar has a wide, caring smile and she lights up a room when she lets her smile shine.  She is a wonderful helper for Sendme in preparing food and keeping the house organized but she feels very overwhelmed by her responsibilities at times.

Teja is the sweetest 9 year old.  He smiles so big when he understands something!  He loves physical touch, he is quick to run up to you for a hug or want to walk with you and hold your hand.   He is small for his age.  He and his brother Naveen came to JCH 3 years ago.  Teja has not grown since he came but he eats the most.  At school, he will have 5 or 6 cups of porridge for breakfast and at lunch he was making sure to be first in line to eat, wash his plate and then he would get in line again to get lunch.  This was causing a bit of a problem when he first arrived because the school noticed his eating so much and they were thinking that JCH was not feeding him properly.  Morong and Sendme take the children for yearly check ups and if they are sick, then they take them to the doctor.  I asked Sendme to take Teja to the doctor and get him tested to see if he has a problem with his pituitary gland or his growth hormone.  His brother Naveen has been growing each year.  

JCH had a lovely ceremony for us the last day we were with them.  The children and staff had made cards for us.  We did a receiving line and some of the children were crying for 30 minutes or more.  I was a bit surprised by the amount of tears they were shedding.  I know that they really enjoyed us being with them and being able to spend time with them one on one, in small groups or all together, really investing in them.  Morong and Sendme do a great job with the children but 2 adults with 14 children (including their 3 biological children) is a lot for them with the chores, cooking and teaching at the school.

Prayer Warriors, please be praying for:

Italy

Pekhu  (Pee-koo)

Thom Ta (Tom-Tha)

Moi Hei Sang (Moy Hi Shang)

Robin

Reisheldar (Rey-Schell-Dar)

Naveen (Na-Veen)

Chandru (Chund-Ru)

Blessy

Thadar Shang (Te-Dar-Shang)

Teja (Te-Ja)

Thelpong Shang (Thel-Pong-Shang)

Senderson

Jenna