God is Moving!!

So, even though I am living and teaching in Thailand, many of you know that I have been to India several times. There is an orphanage there with 28 children that have captured my heart! They are being well cared for and brought up in a Christ loving home. Our time there last fall was to begin to build up a support group for the orphanage. Things like food, school books and uniforms, tuition, and the occasional doctor's bill and other unexpected expenses need to be covered. Right now the Indian man that started the orphanage, Babu, lives in Florida with his wife and 3 daughters. He works at Walgreens and she works as a nurse, and they live off of very little so that they can send most of the money to support the orphanage. Our goal has been to find sponsors for the orphanage. Anything you can give, monthly donations or just a one time gift, is a blessing and is greatly appreciated.
You can read more about the orphanage and the children there by going to:

http://www.ashamission.com

We have seen God work in so many ways! We have been praying for quite a few months for a bigger vehicle. They just had a motorcycle and a small car (that in America might hold a driver and 4 children... in India we stretch that a bit!). On holidays, to take the kids to the park or on any kind of outing took several trips. The Lord answered our prayers when a large van was donated to the orphanage a few weeks ago! It holds 4 times as many as the small car and will be a huge help and will lift a large burden off of Saji, the man who fathers the orphanage.

When I was there in the fall, there were 5 children who didn't go to school. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but children in India aren't allowed to start in the middle of the school year. Because of this they had to wait until the next school year started. We tutored them at home, but every day they would ask when they would get to go to school. Well... school starts on Thursday! They finally get a chance to go, but we need to raise the money to send them, YES, by Thursday! We have seen God work so many miracles at Asha Mission that this is not too big for Him or out of His reach.

There was a missions group called HopeChest that had the opportunity to spend some time with the children and decided that they wanted to help send our students to school. Not only do these 5 homeschoolers need to be covered, but there is a total of 12 students who need funds to start/return to school. HopeChest has decided to take it upon themselves to raise awareness and funds to make it happen. If you want to be a part of it, go to their blog here:

http://www.brandilea.com

I remember being in India and feeling overwhelmed by the seemingly insurmountable obstacles staring back at me... the poor, the beggars, the lepers, the street children, the orphans, the widows. Every corner you turn it is staring you in the face. A feeling of helplessness just took over. But then I looked at these children. 28 children, amongst millions, may not seem like much, but let me tell you that these children are being trained to be followers and seekers of Christ. You can make a difference for one of them, and they in turn are going to grow up and make a difference in their country.

I plan on going back to India for 2 weeks at the end of October. I can't wait to go back... It hurts to be away from them for so long! Knowing that they are well cared for and loved puts my soul at ease, but to see their faces and hold their hands is something that I will never forget and never stop longing for.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and to care about the things that I care about. If you are interested in more about what I did in India, you can read some of my previous blogs on this site, because I used this same one for that trip.

Love you all! Pray for Asha Mission!