Time for more stories from India!
So, our main ministry in India was Sarah’s Covenant Homes, which is an orphanage for over 160 special needs’ kids in Southern India. Our team of 9 spent time there every day. Then in the afternoons, we went out in the town and did relational ministry/prayer walking (like the night we went to a mosque).
We were a team of 9 people (1 man and 8 women; and one of the women was from South Africa, so we were an international team!), all who love the Lord and love serving him. Two of my teammates were once long term missionaries in the Middle East and another served in Zimbabwe, and a 3rd went on the World Race. Hearing their stories was incredible!
(Us with our favorite auto driver)
We went every morning to SCH and did whatever they needed: admin work, cleaning/washing walls, clearing trash, playing with children, helping with preschool, painting, taking pictures for their files and brochures, etc. We even had a pediatric nurse on our team, so she was able to help with some medical things. It was great to go and be a support to an existing ministry and help with felt needs. As staff, it was cool to see SCH in person. This is a strategic ministry partner of Adventures, so experiencing it in person was priceless.
At first, I was really intimidated by SCH. I don’t have a lot of experience working with kids in general, let alone special needs. So I wasn’t sure what I was going to do there; I was just willing to do whatever. Connie placed me on the photography team, so most mornings I just went around, talked with whoever, got involved in/helped with whatever, and took as many pictures as I could. (The photos I took with faces are only for SCH so they can use them for files, brochures, and to update the children’s sponsors – due to Indian privacy law, we can’t post any faces online… hence all the feet and hands in this post!). From shelling peas to attending preschool, I found myself in some fun places!
So, I have two favorite moments from SCH. One came on Friday morning, when I heard preschool was going up to the roof of Rescue House. That seemed like the place to be, so I climbed 3 stories and headed to the wiggling pile of joy in the center. Some kids sat in swings, others in chairs or bean bags; other crawled around an inflatable kiddie pool that had been filled with uncooked rice and random toys. Another plastic tote was filled with beans. The kids sat there playing and digging their hands in, which was good for their sensory development. Donna*, a little girl I’d met the first day who pretty much captivated me with her sweet giggle and outgoing personality (not to mention her awesome hair… it was a full-on mullet), let me pour rice into her hand and give her random foam letters of the alphabet, telling her things like, “today’s preschool was brought to her by the letter ‘k’“.
*Photo of me by Connie Rock.
For the next hour, I sat there and listened to the foster parents and volunteers talk about life at SCH and life in general, all while digging beans out of the kids’ mouths (well, it IS food – even if it dry!) and encouraging them to keep the rice inside the pool. At some point, Connie came up and crawled into a plastic tube, chasing kids around. Laughter filled the air and preschool turned into a circus in about 2.5 seconds.
The other moment I won’t forget came on the last day, as we said good-bye to everyone at the last house, Courage. We’d been asked to help with making a very special video for the kids. You see, two years ago, a girl came on a short term team to SCH and fell in love with the ministry – and one boy in particular. Now, in 2015, this same girl is back in the States, still in love with this ministry, and dating a man who is in love with her.
He contacted SCH and asked that they make a proposal video for her!
So on that last day we all went up the roof and gathered the kids there (there were some from 2 homes). We passed out signs Connie painted, with hearts, a “WILL YOU MARRY ME!?” and a ring.
I couldn’t stop laughing as we watched Tori, the foster mom for the house, trying to get all the kids to look, yell “Will you marry me!”, and hold up their signs all at the same time. It was hysterical.
We were told he was going to pop the question on Saturday, August 22… and I can say now that she said yes!
What a cool way to end our trip, and what a blessing to be a very, very small part of this couple’s story!
So, this is SCH. If you’d like more information about the kids or the ministry, please check them out here!
