A Time to Give...

Today my reason for blogging is simply to share with you some of our financial needs. I know, I know, I don’t like to bring it up (especially if it is a personal need) but it is a big part of what I do- being a voice between this side of the world and yours.  

I am often overwhelmed at the generosity of our donors and partners. People often tell me it is impossible to raise money the way we do, giving 100% to the work in India and sending out as little news as we do. (While I’m here, let me mention that we are sending out no more than 2 mailings a year to reduce those costs. THIS is the BEST place to hear the latest- or LIKE our Facebook page for almost daily updates!)
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We have some financial needs in the ministry and for our family. The easiest way to share them is to just say it, so here they are.

We have been working on the construction of our ministry campus for several years now. We are ready to put in a septic system and the proposed costs exceed what has already been donated for this purpose. This is the right season to build, but we don’t have the finances we need.

 The need is $25,000

Our directors, A & R, are building a home for their family. The bottom floor will solely be used for hosting teams, visitors, and volunteers. The rest will be used for their family of 5. The entire ministry is housed in owned buildings and it is their turn.

The need is $120,000

Tree plantation on the campus.

The need is $2500

Tractor Equipment

The need is:

• Cultivator: $600
• Plough $800
• Seeder $1200
• Leveling blade $350
• Tiller $1500

We have 25 children who are still unsponsored. This means that undesignated giving that could be used towards future needs goes into the daily running of the home. If all the children were sponsored, this area of the ministry would be self-supportive through that support.

The need is $50 a month for each child

 I hope you will consider how you can help, pray about it (but not for too long!) and share this with others. Are you part of a small group? Does your church support Crosspoint of India? How about your upcoming VBS offering? Let’s get creative and see what we can do!

Support can be sent designated for these projects or undesignated to be used where it is needed the most to:

Crosspoint of India

3714 Gailyn Dr.

Bartlett TN 38135-9444

Summer has arrived!

This year is moving by quickly!

Resurrection Sunday is always an amazing time to celebrate with Believers and unbelievers alike. Here are a few highlights from that day.

Sunrise service on the roof

Titus Women who came to the service

Our oldest came from for the summer, and we already put him to work translating!

The kids have finally completed all of their exams and are out of school for the summer. We have a team coming from NC to lead the VBS, we are already holding daily computer & English classes and possibly have some fun outings in the future! The weather is already nearing 115F and we still have a ways to go. Fortunately, they sleep through the hottest part of the day!

Day 2 (and group 3) of English & Computer classes!

On a personal note we have begun the construction of our personal home. This is an exciting stage and we are grateful for your prayers and support for this need.

Construction materials are piling up!

As India heats up, construction work on the campus is slowing down.  We are working on plans for the sewer system and tree plantation; 2 areas we hope to complete by the end of the year.

A. will be visiting the US in June for 2 weeks. He is looking forward to updating some of you personally and visiting a few places that we have not been able to visit as a family the past few visits. The rest of us will be back in India- working hard hosting a team and teaching classes and holding meetings.  Your prayers are always appreciated.

We appreciate your faith and willingness to walk this journey with us.

228 workers into the largest, unreached harvest field in the world

On March 10th the12th class from the Discipleship and Training Center graduated. Since 2000, we have sent out 228 workers into the largest, unreached harvest field in the world.

The Graduation Procession

Exactly a year ago this month our Indian Board of Directors decided that if we were not able to raise support for the Training School for the 2011-2012 year- it would be our last. I am not proud to say that, but we had successfully run the school for 11 years while digging deeper  and deeper in debt with each passing year. We did not have permanent debt since we were able to pay for the school from undesignated support, but it was eating up ALL of it and left nothing extra for us to use for other unsupported needs. Most of all, we were very discouraged. How can it be that the focus of our entire ministry is "planting" yet we had not been able to effectively communicate the great need of training up people to GO?!

Class of 2012

Everything was different in 2011! God sent 26 individuals to support this area of our ministry and it has opened a floodgate of other blessings that have overflowed from that. Student sponsors, thank you, thank you, thank you for your passion for the kingdom and this investment in this country.

A special dance from the Children's Home girls 

The Graduation ceremony was amazing. About 600 invited guests joined us for a time of encouraging, commissioning, worship and thanksgiving for the year that was over, and a lifetime of service that is beginning. It was a powerful service and  I wish that each of you could have been there.

The crowd, we fed them all!

Sunday morning our church, where the students had been attending the past 8 months, had a sendoff for the students. A. and I washed each of their feet as they bawled and hung onto us for a last time of prayer. It was a very emotional day and for me personally, and time of harvesting. To be able to see the fruit of our labor from this past year is amazing. These are not the same people who came to us with an application in hand 8 months ago. These are confident, spirit filled, young people will a vision ready to go and die for the sake of reaching their people. Can there be anything more powerful?

Feet washing

Monday morning they all packed their bags, with about 3 times as many things as they came with, and headed back to the villages they came from….where they will began to practice what they learned. Many of them will not be welcomed, some may be beaten and all of them will want to give up at some point.

Saying goodbyes

Our very own Kajol, who grew up in our home, also left with another one of the female students. With 2 sewing machine, 2 young women and 5 suitcases they piled into an auto rickshaw and headed to the bus stand. It is hard to part with your children, but this is what we have raised them to do.

Kajol at her sewing machine

Your financial gift into our ministry this year has not only transformed their lives and possibly even their entire village, but you have renewed my faith. You have encouraged me by your giving. You have reminded me that what we are doing is worth it, there are people who are passionate for the world and that we will never give up.

With certificates in hand...

Until the whole world hears...

Dedication prayer

Moving forward...

We began this year by speaking in faith that "THIS is the year of the Lord's favor!" Each year is exciting to enter into. 2012 is no exception.
Already several exciting things have happened!

Our Board of Directors in India met last night and spent time planning and praying over this year. The most exciting news is the beginning of construction on our campus. Though you are not aware, we have been building the last section of wall around the land (minus the canal that is still under dispute). This is the very end of that process and then we move forward.

By faith we are planning to begin work in 2012! We hope that you will follow us and see:

• a massive septic system (if this your specialty, we could use your help!)
• Electricity ran up to the small home that is presently on the land . We need to buy the electric poles and pay for the connection- approx. $20,000
• The beginning of the first 2 cottages. We hope that by the time these 2 are done, the funding will be in for the top 2 cottages as well. We presently have planned to build 4 cottages in 1 block. One cottage hosts 25 children and a family to care for them. This is a picture of 1 block (4 cottages- a home for 100 children).

Until we are ready to move everyone to the land this first block may be used.... to open the school on the campus! (All you teachers have been waiting for this one!)

This is all very exciting, but a huge step of faith for us. If we were only doing construction it would be an easy task- however we must maintain and care for an orphanage of 80+ children, run the training center, visit the US for fundraising and hopefully build a house for our family sometime as well. It is easy to be overwhelmed! We are reminded that we have an incredible team of people to pray, support, encourage and share this burden.
Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. You simply cannot ever encourage or give too much! We appreciate your partnership and hope you will continue on in this journey with us. God gave us a 50 year vision and we are over 10 years in! Let's move forward in 2012...the best is yet to come!

Prayer walking past the one of the last gaps in the wall

RP

On another note, my name means "Motherly" but very soon I am going to be a "Grandmother!" One of our girls is expecting! (just to clarify, it is the one who got married last summer!) No names on here, but you can watch my FB page for more updates and pictures!

“A longing fulfilled is a tree of life…” Prov. 13:12

We began fundraising for a tractor back in 2006. It may not seem like a very big need, but we were plowing our 24 acres of land with a bullock cart and wooden plow and were dreaming of leveling land and starting construction. We began sharing the need and looking at tractors. Our prayers have continued all these years as have watched the price of tractors increase rapidly.

My daughter, A, who was 4 at the time, began to pray daily during meals times for the tractor. I began to wonder if she would ever see the tractor she was praying for. When Titus Women was started it inspired her to start making glass bead earrings to sell to raise money for the tractor.

She would work for hours on them daily and even hung them on her bedroom door for people to see and purchase to raise money for the tractor. Still to this day she has them on her door. In 2010 she also began to make India necklaces. Her faith inspired me when I felt like giving up. She also inspired others to give to this need.

One of my relatives sends in money monthly for “Abigail’s Tractor Fund.” Another youth group got on board and did a fundraiser to help her out. Last year we had money donated to buy a bulldozer and half of the money for a tractor. This week we finally bought the tractor for the campus development and maintenance!

THANK YOU for giving to this need. Thanks for not giving up, and I am thankful for a child who has taught me to keep on in faith.  May you be inspired today for what you are holding out in faith for!

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Ps. 27:13,14

A New Season...

We are at a new season in our lives and ministry. A season we have always hoped for, and are a little surprised is here. It is a season of blessing by just maintaining and improving what God has given us. This is different for each area of ministry.

A great new change is our new offices. We went from one room with 4 very old computers to cubicles for each department, networked brand new computers and recently today, 10 cell phones for all our staff! Yes, most of them had one already, but they were unreliable and costly. These phones are free when we call each other. A great change!

In the orphanage, maintaining means giving out supplies when needed. Our new supply warehouse will really help keep us organized and use our resources well.  It also has separate libraries for the college students and the children.

Keeping the kids fed is a big part of our daily need. We have had a year’s supply of children’s multi-vitamins donated to keep them not only fed, but healthy as well! We are thankful for all the people who contribute in so many ways. It is a team effort of skills, donations and gifts that keep everything moving forward.

Titus Women has also seen a LOT of growth this year. We are at a place where we have a lot of potential, but are holding back the group to improve the quality of our products. This seems to be the theme of the entire ministry during this season- Less Growth, Improve Quality. This is something we are all passionate about and thrilled to be able to do, without the pressures of moving into new facilties, getting a new kitchen set up, or major medical issues to tend to.

Spiritually, we need to keep investing in the lives of all these individual people we are reaching. We are already planning VBS for the children this summer, outreach projects for the students before graduation and a Titus Women retreat this month. There are many things on the horizon- and this season is good- because of your partnership with us. Thank you.

RP

The blessing of a Mom...if you have one.

We are well into 2012 aren’t we? I am reminded daily how fast this year will go by. Every day I see another pair of shoes that do not fit and are cast aside. I see pants that are getting shorter and shorter and little bellies that are growing and popping out from under the kids short shirts! Our kids are growing up! Of course this type of development is more easily seen through glances at the children, but through spend time with them we see their spiritual development as well.

This year we have 8 of our kids who are taking their final exams for high school. Their future studies depend on how they do in this exam. If they do not score in the 90’s they will not be able to get into college. I found 3 of our young men studying on my porch last night. To see their discipline to study blessed me and I hope it will bless you also.

Growing up in an orphanage has lots of disadvantages, but mostly I love the discipline that the children have to learn. They must help take care of themselves. They learn to wash their own plate after each meal. Many of them wash their own clothes. When they do a poor job they wear dirty clothes. They learn very quickly. Did you know children are very smart? These things are important to me because I was taught this way.

I was taught when you get up in the morning you make up your bed. Very first thing you brush your teeth. You put your clothes in the wash at the end of the day and don’t let work pile up. Because my mom taught me how to clean, cook and be creative I am a disciplined adult and I appreciate her for that. This month is my Mom’s birthday month and I am thankful for her life and for the lessons she has taught me. I am reminded there are many children who grow up without a mom. I was blessed with one. Have you told your mom you love her recently? In India alone there are 36 million children who are orphaned or separated from their moms. Be thankful for yours.