We were supposed to leave for the
airport at 10AM, but the visas for India that they had been working on all
month had still not gone through. We sat at the orphanage in Manila; waiting
anxiously to hear back from the embassy. At noon the decision was made- go to
the airport. Although we still had no passports, we started the hour and half
trek to the airport. We got to the airport around 1:30 in the afternoon and
unloaded our bags and headed inside. The announcement was that the visas were
granted and that they were en route to the airport via scooter. We began to
check in for our flight; being very thankful that they allowed copies of our
passports in order to do this. At about 2PM all 57 of our passports arrived to
the airport with the correct granted visas for India. The agents hustled behind
the desks, printing out all 57 of our boarding passes in record time. We passed
through immigration and security beginning at about 2:45PM and were at the gate
just in time for our 3:05 flight that was now delayed because of us. We made
the flight and traveled safely to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were we sat for about
3 hours waiting for our next flight that would take us to Hyderabad, India.
We made it to Hyderabad just
after 1AM on February 2. We quickly breezed through immigration and security,
and then collected our bags. From there we took a bus to the hostel where we
would spend the night. We spent the next day resting, worshiping, and getting
culturally acclimated to India. That night we took an 8 hour bus ride from
Hyderabad to a city that is in the state of Andhra Pradesh, which is east
India. I cannot say the name of the city to protect the ministry. We were in
that city for only one day. Again we rested, interneted, and took a jaunt
through the Indian streets to get a glimpse of the unique culture. As our team
leaders figured out the schedules, we waited anxiously.
What is team Thriven doing this
month?
Well, we are the special force
task team. We will be the traveling team this month. We are on the schedule to visit four different orphanage houses this month, three in the state of
Andhra Pradesh, one that is in a different state. Each orphan house has
either ten boys, or ten girls that are between the ages of 6-14. Each house
also has a pastor and wife that are living in the house taking care of the
children. We will be having breakfast with the children, and then the children
will be going to school. After the children leave for school, we will be
painting the outside of the house. After the children return from school, we
will be tutoring and helping them with their homework, as well as enjoying the
evening meal together. We will be visiting two children’s homes before having a
mid-month break. This will be the time where I will have wifi again. After the
mid-month break we will be visiting two more homes.
Covenant Children’s Homes (www.cch-india.com) is the ministry we will
be working under. Please check out their website for more information about who runs the ministry, what they do, and their overall vision.
India Christian Ministries (http://www.indiachristianministries.org)
is the ministry that most of the other teams on my squad are working under. Please check out their website for more information!
Please be in prayer for the
following things:
-We would be safe from the
frequent traveling that we will be doing.
-We would connect with the
children in amazing ways at each of the homes.
-We would have positive attitudes
though we may be tired, frustrated, or HOT.
-We would have a great internet
connection at the mid-month break (biggie!).
I really feel blessed by God to
have made it so far into the race and into India! I can already tell that it’s a country like no other. I’m excited to really reach out to these forty children during this month and the awesome impact that I can make on their lives.
