Spending December in India was different than I ever would have imagined it would be. My team was blessed to work with Jireh Children Home in Bangalore. It was not the ministry that I had expected coming into this month, (let’s be honest, all expectations have been shattered and nothing is really as you think it will be here on the Race) but it was better than anything I could have imagined.
Basically, I have 13 new siblings; each of them is as much a part of my family as my actual family. It was like living with cousins all month, and it was a wonderful thing. It’s a beautiful thing to be accepted and adopted into a family. I absolutely loved the kids at Jireh and I enjoyed every moment spent with them.
A fantastic couple – Morong & Sendme Khaling – founded Jireh Children’s Home and their vision for it is inspiring. They have been wrecked by the gospel in the best way possible and they desire to pass along what they have. They have a heart for the children of India and want to see the next generation flourish. They desire to see children not only grow up in faith but also have an education and live in a loving environment. Everything they have is held with open hands before the Lord; they live by faith. When they began Jireh they had five children, now they take care of eleven and have two of their own.
Jehovah Jireh means “God Will Provide” and comes from the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. Just as the Lord provided a ram for the sacrifice in Genesis, Morong and Sendme believe that the Lord will provide for the children they take care of. The best part? He has and does. Faith is not just an abstract word to the Khaling family. When they need something, they pray and the Lord answers. What a blessing that the children to grow up actively seeking God! What a testament to the gospel! It’s crazy amazing.
These children that they’ve taken in are living in a uniquely beautiful community; they share everything and function as a family. They aren’t actually family (a few of them are) but they act like siblings – they take care of each other, play with each other, joke with each other. I have two siblings and I love them dearly but I can only imagine how wonderful it would have been to grow up with a big family. Teja is the youngest at a whopping six years old; Kodam is the eldest at sixteen.
Our time was spent teaching them English, doing Bible studies with them and playing with them. I had the best task ever; I got to teach the older half English lessons. We wrote stories, we went over contractions and possessives, I told them about adverbs. I loved it.
They would absorb everything we told them and ask for more; they asked questions and pondered about our lessons. For a while now I have toyed with the idea of teaching after the Race and Jireh was a wonderful place to practice; the kids had a thirst for knowledge and were very good students. I couldn’t have asked for a better ministry.
As a team, we fell in love. We picked up mannerisms and phrases from them and taught them a few of our own. They were adorable, fun loving, well mannered, joyful… the list of positive adjectives continues.
Tears were shed when we left that place.
It was a phenomenal month and Jireh will always hold a special place in my heart.
