Updates from the Field

I wanted to let you know that I got home from India on Feb. 13 - safe and sound and with a very full heart. From the moment we arrived in India until we were on the plane heading home, our days were full to overflowing. Tracey was a great partner in this adventure!

This was my 4th trip to visit Karna's and family and St. John's School. My time with my family was precious. The time at school amazing. And then there is all the other great stuff that happened. With each trip, I leave a little more of my heart in India and bring a little more of my Indian family and St. John's School home with me. I always struggle with how to summarize and share the zillions of moments that make a trip like this so meaningful and memorable. There are the big moments and so many small ones that join hands to fill my heart with so much joy and gratitude. I am missing my family in India and the staff and students of St. John's so much.

Please see the photos below, including the one of Amaranad, the little boy we met on my February 2016 trip to St. John's - you can read about him under the “Stories” link. He has grown so much, and is so healthy now - what a joy to see his family again. He is really “all boy” - and has a scrape on his nose in my recent photos to prove it!

Please never hesitate to ask about my trip - I have so many other great stories to tell and I love to share them.

For now, thank you so much for all your encouragement and prayers! They were very evident throughout our visit.

Construction of the first section of permanent buildings at St. John's was finished at the end of August, 2016, and on September 10th, a great celebration was had! In attendance at the building inauguration were over 550 people, including students, family members, staff, neighbors and friends of the ministry. Special guests from The Talking Tech Foundation attended and were honored for making the new building possible - thank you Talking Tech!

The new building includes new classrooms, a library, a computer lab, and a girls' bathroom block.

This post contains a report from our visit to St. John's in February/March, 2016:

I had prayed for one person to go to India with me but instead God gave me the privilege of bringing four wonderful and uniquely gifted people to go with me to visit the people I love and the ministry I am passionate about. Our team (Jay, Pam & George C., Alexia and me) bonded well with each other and with the folks from India. Together, we worked hard, laughed, played and shared our lives. Karna and his team took great care of us – honoring us, hosting us, and joyfully meeting all our needs.

Flexibility was key! Not everything that had been planned happened, but the things that were supposed to get done did (including some unexpected and wonderful things – see Amaranad's story under “stories”). We faced some challenges (visa issues, stitches, cranky stomachs, etc.) that could have discouraged or derailed us, but everyone rose to the challenges and God was victorious!

We spent our first few days in India in Hyderabad with Karna's friend and his family, while most of the team was getting their first taste of India. We worshiped together on Sunday at a “home church” and did some sight seeing the rest of the time. We had a wonderful time.

After a long day of travel, we spent the next five days in Karna & Sandy's community and at St. John's School. The days were long and packed with full days at the school, church meetings, community visits, adventures around town, business meetings for the school, eating, hanging out and sharing our lives with family and new friends. We loved and were loved in the name of Jesus. It was fantastic!

We were all very impressed with what we saw and experienced at St. John's School. Meeting the staff and the 76 students - 58 boys and 18 girls in grades preK to 1st - was wonderful and so encouraging. The staff is amazing – such a faithful, loving and sacrificial group of men and women serving the students, the school and the community in challenging circumstances. Their commitment and hard work is evident in the students' lives. It is obvious that the students feel safe and loved at school. The students are great! They are bright, they have learned and are learning so much, their English is improving, they pick things up quickly, they are well behaved and well disciplined, confident and seem to be thriving. God is clearly at work touching lives and making an impact on the students, their families and the community through the staff and the school.

While we were at St. John's, we taught lessons (Bible stories, science, health lessons), sang, danced, did crafts, acted silly, hung out and had fun! “Simon Says” was a favorite game and they were rarely fooled! (When they were saying their good-byes on the last day, they said, “Simon says, don't go!”) We were so impressed by how comfortable and capable the students were. The days were long, full, hot and tiring but the children's energy recharged us whenever we started to fade. Each child was a delight and captured our hearts! They were all so wonderful, enthusiastic and full of joy that it was sometimes easy to forget how difficult their lives are!

Since we have been home, a lot has happened at the school. Construction of the first five permanent school rooms continues – to be completed in August/September, 2016. The students took year-end exams and did very well making their parents and the staff very happy. The school year ended mid-April with a celebration attended by family members and neighbors celebrating the children's successful year. The school will resume in early June with four grades (preK – 2nd) and about 130 students. The staff is busy preparing for the upcoming year, including visiting the various villages and encouraging enrollment of new students.

As the school grows, there continue to be many needs and challenges, as well as many opportunities to reach out to the students, their families and their communities. Please, continue to pray for the staff, students and their families.