Home Sweet Home

We are back at home in India! After a VERY long flight with an 18 month old on my lap the entire time we are glad to say we have made it and survived! We are glad we will not have to do that again for awhile! Returning reminds me of how small our home is and how desperately our ministry needs to move!

My home office where ALL emails and correspondence flow from!

We had a wonderful visit in the USA and appreciate all the families who invited us in their homes to stay and fed us (too!) well. We were very encouraged and returned with renewed zeal and excitement for what we are a part of here.

While we were in the US Nikki Clifton travelled with us and was a great blessing. She helped manage the kids while we visited and shared. We appreciate her sacrifice since it was also her last days in the US for awhile. She returned to India with us to stay for 6 months!


During our absence the work here has continued strong. I was surprised to find my "Titus Women" continued to meet every Monday. This was a surprise to me since we just began meeting earlier this year. We had grown quickly and I did not know if the group was strong enough to gather on their own. They are! They had a small welcome party for me this past Monday as I returned to my group of ladies. Praise God.


The children are doing well. I see many of them have grown even in just 2 months! Their pants from last year are now 2 inches too short. I have been informed our grocery bill has also nearly doubled this year. We are thankful for the many who sponsor our children so we can care for them- all 65!

Visiting the future home of Nagpur Children's Home!!!

We had a construction team from Memphis, TN come the day after we arrived. They were able to lay some of the foundation for the wall on the campus land and also paint the inside of the boys dorm (our blue building in the city). They painted the downstairs floor the first day and had the boys assist them with the rollers. The paint rollers were a new concept. We do not have them here. They returned 36 hours later to find 40+ boys had finished the rest of the building! The team did an excellent job of teaching the boys how to do it. We appreciate all their hard work.

Now we are preparing for Christmas again. Christmas is a BIG time of year when you have 68 children. We have begun wrapping and buying and are excited about this special time of year. I hope you also will consider how you will share the gospel this holiday season.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We are happy to be home and appreciate everyone who makes that possible.

RJP

Arrived!

Hey Friends,
We have arrived in the US. We had a wonderful trip without any difficulties. We have moved into our temporary home and are getting ready to travel this weekend. We do not have email at home and are finding it hard to take 3 kids to the coffee shop, so if you can call about scheduling etc. please do. Our number is 828-385-2145. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Amol & Rachel Pawar

The Pawars will be traveling to the US from August 20- October 20 for the purpose of fundraising for the mission in India. Below are dates and places you can meet them and hear personally about what God is doing in the people in their ministry.

Travel/ Speaking Schedule 2009

August 20- CLT arrival 3:20
August 22- PPC Homecoming
August 23- 9:30AM- Buck Hill Presbyterian Church- Newland, NC
August 23 – 6PM Riverview Baptist Church- Erwin, TN
August 30- 8:30 and 10:30 AM –Evangelical Methodist Church-Rutherford College, NC
August 30 –6:30 PM Balsam Missionary Baptist Church- Balsam, NC
September 3-4 Lynchburg, VA
September 6- AM Bartlett United Methodist Church, Bartlett, TN
September 7-10 – California
Sept 13-AM Friendship Baptist Church, Baxley, GA
September 13- PM- First Baptist Church of Grey- Grey, GA
September 20-10 AM- Riverside Christian Fellowship, Hernando, FL
September 23 - 6pm? Dellwood Baptist Church, Waynesville, NC
September 30-October 4- First Baptist Church of Fairfield- Fairfield, TX
October 11-AM First Baptist Church of Glasgow- Glasgow, KY
October 11-PM First Baptist Church of Hodgenville- Hodgenville, KY
October 14-7pm- Snowhill Baptist Church, Ledger, NC
October 17- Day of Prayer for India- Spruce Pine, NC
October 19- departure CLT

If you are interested in having them come and speak to your church please contact them by email at: amolpawar@crosspointofindia.org

Summer Update 2009

4 months has officially passed since I last posted on this blog...read on to find out why!

Orphanage

Over the summer we had over 40 new applications come in to the orphanage. We do not have room for that many new children so we had to select those with the most urgent need. That is a very difficult job! We have over 65 children now in the home.

Priyanka (not shown) is 8 years old. Her sister Priya has been with us for 3 years now. This year her mother brought her as well. She has never been to school and is now officially 5 years behind! She is very poor and has not had a new dress in over a year. We are glad to finally have her in the home. She went to school for the first time this July!

We will be sharing more about the new children in our upcoming newsletter.

Bible School

We had our first day of classes today at Nagpur Training Center. Presently we have 17 students and are expecting a few more . (You can pray for 4 who are coming from Bihar, but have been delayed because of flooding.) This is our 10th year of training workers for the harvest and we are ready to go!

Construction
The wall around the ministry property is coming along! After much delay we have been able to complete nearly half of the wall up to the final height of 7 feet tall. It looks amazing! We have stopped constuction during the monsoon season and will start up again as soon as we are able. We have 2 construction teams planned for the end of this year and hope to accomplish the wall in 2009! Please pray for this!


I have a short story to share. When we began the wall construction the farming neighbors began to dispute the boundry lines, claiming that we were stealing land. We had the land surveyed twice to convince them it was correct. They still would not believe us. Amols father, Daddy- as we call him, called out the "big man" from the office to be present during the survey and witness the boundry for us. In the end we gained 30 feet on one side of the land! Praise the Lord!
Last Sunday I came across this verse, which seemed so fitting:


"Do not move an ancient boundry stone or enroach on the fields of the fatherless, for thier Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you." Proverbs 23:10-11

US visit
We leave for the US in 21 days! We will arrive in Charlotte, NC on August 20th. We will be busy from day 1 travelling and sharing about the needs of the ministry. Please pray for our safety and for many open doors to share about the work in India.
We need a vehicle to use while in the US from August 20-Oct 20. Please let us know if you or your church would be able to help! Please call and leave a message at 828-221-2082.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your continued support for this ministry. God IS working and we ARE growing and expanding! We look forward to seeing you soon!

RP

March 2009 update- Reunion and Graduation!

Dear Friends,

Greetings from a HOT India! I write you from my little office in the turn of our stairwell where it is 103 this afternoon! This is not the best time of day to work...but I must work when I have a chance!

There has been a lot going on in our ministry. My mother-in-law's surgery was the last time you heard from us. She has had 3 surgeries now on her hip and has an incision over a 12" long. Presently it has been nearly 3 months since her hip replacement and the Dr. has her laying flat on her back with very little movement. We have no idea if anything has been successful and it is very discouraging for her. She spent over 6 weeks in the hospital and we want to thank everyone who has given toward her medical expense. You have been such a blessing to her at this time. If you would like to you can send her a card at the address below to encourage her at this difficult time.

Ratnamala Pawar
Plot no 64, Durga Housing Society
Wena Nagar, Dattawadi, Nagpur 440023
Maharashtra INDIA

On March 12th we had a 3- day reunion for our graduates from the past 8 years. We had around 50 men and women attend from class of 2001 to 2008. They brought their spouses and children totaling over 100. It was such a blessing to hear what God is using them to do ALL over India! Pastor Ken Pruitt was the guest speaker and he brought 2 others with him from their church. Thank you FBC for sending your team from TX!

Our 9th Graduation service for Nagpur Training Center was March 14, 2009! We have graduated a total of 160 church planters in the past 9 years- 24 this year! This year Sujit, from our orphanage, completed the Bible School and graduated. We are so proud to see "our children" walking in the Lord. Please pray for ALL the graduates as they minister to their families.
Mangesh, who graduated this year, returned to his village to share with his family the truth that he had been in a Bible School the past 9 months. They are not Christians and thought he was studying computer in town. He was beaten by his family and called us within 3 days to ask for prayer for his life and his families souls. He came to Nagpur this week to tell us personally 5 people from his family have made decisions!!! PTL! This is what we have taught, encouraged and prayed for the past 9 months. PLEASE pray for them. It really is the least we can do!

This year it is really a miracle we were able to continue the Bible School. THANK YOU our dear student sponsors who understand the vision for this school. You have possibly made the greatest investment in these young people that you can ever make with money. One day when we meet together in front of God we will all understand not only your sacrifice, but the impact it has made for generations to come. THANK YOU! Becasue of the generous donation of The Knights from England, we were able to purchase bicycles and sewing machines for the graduates again. Thank you to BUMC in Bartlett, TN for your gift of NIV Bibles for the students.

The construction on our campus land has come to a halt. We have run out of funding and are unable to continue at this time. The wall is nearly half way around, with posts dug and poured all the way around. We need construction teams to help us complete this wall that is over a mile long. Please prayerfully consider how you can help. We are also nearly ready to bring the electric in and level the land. We have dug 2 more bore wells and continue to harvest crops on the land. We are in desperate need of a tractor as well. Please pray for us as we wait patiently on God for these next steps.
Please visit my facebook page for recent pictures!

The Pawar family continues to change. Abigail and Gabriel are doing wonderful in their homeschooling and I am amazed at how smart young minds are. Not only had they memorized their books of the Bible years ago, but they have learned over 100 verses this year. We are so proud of them as they recite Sunday after Sunday portions of God's words that are now in their hearts.
Luke is 5 weeks shy of his 1st birthday- and walking like a pro! His first tooth came through this morning and we are glad to see it! He is a delight and keeps us laughing with his constant "no" head shaking and laughing with extra expression. He is our new family clown for sure- actually we have 2 now!

We are gearing up for summer. The children are in the middle of their final exams at school. We have 49 now in the orphanage and are planning to take many more this summer. We have 8 children now who need sponsors- all boys. Please let us know if you are interested in helping with that.

Hope that you are well. We would love to hear an update from you and your family as too!

For more information, or if you have questions about the ministry, please email us at: rachelpawar@crosspointofindia.org

Working faithfully,
Rachel Pawar
www.crosspointofindia.org
facebook: Rachel Pawar
myspace: ForeverinIndia

To support this ministry please send support to:

Crosspoint of India
3714 Gailyn Dr.
Bartlett TN 38135-9444

All donations are tax-deductible