Back on Sunday, April 9th Anand and Rosie Thandu came to a mission’s potluck lunch at LOL. They presented what they were doing at their orphanage and how the Lord was using their ministry. This year the orphanage doubled in size, and therefore has many more needs. While we observed pictures of the children and heard stories of how the orphanage was changing their lived and giving them a chance we felt moved to become involved.
On the ride home I asked Heather, “So how do you feel about going and working in an orphanage for a week?” Heather was up for it and excited. We both felt so drawn to this opportunity. We reflected a bit about the cost and the work involved, and we prayed and we left it in God’s hands.
That week we called to find out if there was any chance we could visit India to help out. Anand and Rosie were very excited to have us come and we discussed the details. Every step of the way seemed to have God’s hand pushing it along. From the visit from Anand and Rosie to our church to how the schedule just fell into to place and it continues.
Now it’s finalized and we are going the 1st week in January ’07 for 10 days. There is a lot for us to do in the meantime, like getting passports and vaccinations. At first we worried about how we would come up with such a large sum of money. God is moving! We came up with a three part plan.
- We are collecting cans.
- We have a savings plan in place.
- We asked friends and family to sponsor our trip.
All three plans are doing extremely well. In the first week we got 2 huge bags from the bank where we opened a savings account. (Thanks Chase Bank of Batavia!) 2 days after getting a can at my office my boss called and told me to pick up my cans because it was overflowing! (Thanks Adesta!)
The savings plan is going well too. Heather had a sudden rush in commissions which will cover almost 1/3 of the expenses. Last our friends and family have given an enormous response to our letter we sent out last month. People are giving very generously. (Thank you everyone!)
We ask that you continue to pray for us on this trip. Pray for safety, that we effectively share the gospel; and for the children in the orphanage.
Jesus said, "And whoever welcomes a little child like this welcomes me." -Matthew 18:5
