Hi,
Today the team spent the whole day at the Compassion International site in Delhi. This was an incredible, eye opening experience. We were taken to the site by Deep the CI representative for this area. He's a great guy & we asked him a couple questions on the drive to the site after which he told us very interesting info about his life & how he came to the Lord.
Upon arrival at the CI site we were met by Sunanita, a wonderful woman that runs a lot of the programs. We also met Pastor Abraham who's a very interesting man of God as well as most of the teachers & staff. One staff member was actually a student that was rescued from the slum. The site contains some 300 orphans or single mom kids that they're helping with both physical & spiritual needs. The mothers of the children that are blessed enough to still have a mom are also included in many wonderful programs that educate them, train them in proper child care & even help them start small businesses.
After a delicious lunch prepared by staff members, we toured the slum. The poverty & living conditions were mind boggling. There was trash , raw sewage & animals (dogs, pigs, cows) everywhere so you can imagine the smell. Among this is 100's of kids playing on the small streets/alleyways, rooftops, ladders, etc... That being said, it was very apparent the work our Lord was doing through CI. These people greeted us very friendly for the most part, something not all that common with westerners in India. We were invited in a couple of these houses that measured approx. 8'X8' very graciously by host that offered us tea & warm smiles. Amazing considering the lives they lead. These people are clearly running on the love of God. We prayed over a number of them including a home where the woman's husband was ill with leprosy. Another home was being run by an 18 year old girl who's father died & mother went crazy, running away & leaving the responsibility of the little kids to her when she was only 14.
Your India Impact Team is keeping in good spirit considering about 1/2 are sick & all of us are extremely physically tired. I believe seeing Gods work up close & personal is what keeps us going. Tomorrow will finally be a day of rest, a debrief & preparation for the 20 something hour trip home late that night.
We found out that there are 5 kids available for sponsorship at our good friend Albert Das' orphanage. OOPS, make that 4, Teresa & I just scooped up an adorable little girl named Sandhya. The kids are so cute so don't wait or they'll be gone :-) Honestly, you can tell by the smiles & hugs that these kids are being loved. (especially when you consider how their 1st few years started).
God Bless,
Mike Gordon
