Happy New Year!

Greetings from Bapatla India!  It is the new year here and the kids have a holiday.  We will still run the dental clinic today for the boys who are here.  The kids drew a beautiful Happy New Year greeting in he sand last night. We really didn't do much to celebrate last night, most of us retired early and relaxed and caught up on sleep. Currently Mom and I are trying to get Skype going to call into Faith Lutheran and give Happy New Year Greetings at midnight.

So today we will take turns running the clinic some of us will go to the girls hostel to visit and tomorrow we may go to the leper colony.

It is Friday Dec. 31st here in India, new Years Eve. We had a program last night with the chidren performing that lasted til 11:00. We are very tired, so we hope we can stay up to watch them. They love performing their talents.

Today was another day at our dental clinic. I was again the assistant for the morning. We have Kusuma's neice who runs the orphange when Kusuma isn't around, to interpret for the children. Many of them are very frightened about the shots and dental work. We are mainly filling teeth and pulling teeth. Whatever we are not able to do wil be referred to the local dentist. We were moving along with the patients til we blew a fuse in the equipment. There is a loss of electricty during different times of the day. They have a generator for a back up when needed. However the power surge wasn't good for the equipment. We had to shut down for an hour while new fuses were found. I was able to take a break from the dental work when one of the nursing students from the orphanage helped out along with Kimberly. It was good on the back for a break.

Over all, things are going great. We had requested sweaters from church to bring over with us because the children think 80 degrees is cold. I helped Kusuma pass out the sweaters to the children the principal selected. To my amazement, I was told by Kusuma the pink turtleneck shirts were boys. The girls agreed, and the boys seem to like them. I tried to set them straight to no avail. So I have pictures to show te children wearing the sweters. The new little 1 year old boy is now wearing a pint sweater with a pink furry collar. Well...I tried.

Penny

In Bapatla

We made it by train to Bapatla yesterday and arrived to Reach and ere greeted by all the children. All 250 of them shook our hands and introduced themselves to us, then laughed when we couldn't say their names. Today we will be doing dental screenings and work for the children. We will try to post more later when we ahve more time.

We Made It!

Namaste!

All ten crew members have finally made it to India safely!  Pete, Betty and Lynn flew in from MN to Chicago where they met up with Penny and Kimberly who had arrived by bus at Chicago O'Hare.  We hung out at O'Hare for 5 hours before enduring a 15 hour flight to Delhi, an 8 hour layover, then a short 2 hour flight to Hyderabad.  After 38 hours of travel, minimal sleep and losing a half day, we met Dan, Sharon, Leah, Mike, and Siri at Kusuma's house.  Then went shopping for traditional Indian clothing and a few odds and ins to take with us to the orphanage. Hopefully we will get a good nights sleep because we leave for the train station at 5 in the morning!  We are excited about getting to the orphanage and meeting/reuniting with the children.

So far everyone is a little sleep deprived, but otherwise healthy.  Please keep us in your prayers and thank you so much for your support!

God Bless!

Reaching Out to India

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!  I hope and pray everything is well for you!

In the summer of 2005, I traveled with my mother, Penny Wright, and a crew of 16 other people to the Reach Home in Bapatla, India.  God had called us to an impoverished place where Kusuma Paul, a caring, God-fearing woman, took in children who had been abandoned by family or orphaned due to AIDS and other diseases.  During our stay in India, our crew painted the girls home in bright, cheerful colors, contracted to have a chimney built so that the smoke fumes from the cook stove would not pollute their sleeping rooms, and brought them the word of Christ through music, dancing and caring conversations.  I also spent time walking through the slums of Hyderabad and the conditions there moved the group to purchase tarps to put on the huts to keep the rain out.  The experience changed both my mom and me.

God has called us to return to India and share his love with the children again.  From December 26, through January 9, my mom and I, along with several others from St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in North St. Paul, MN, will travel to India.  The church in Minnesota runs the sponsorship program for the children at the REACH Home.  While at the orphanage, we will be witnesses to the great love of Christ by doing several work projects and interacting with the children.  I would like to invite you to be a part of the spiritual journey and mission by prayerfully and/or financially supporting me on this journey. 

First, would you please pray for me and the crew?  Pray that we may have a safe journey, that we may grow in faith, and that we may provide valuable service to the children and people of India.  James 5:16 says, “the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective.”

Second, would you please consider helping financially?  My goal is to raise $3,000 to cover the costs of transportation, food, lodging, and service projects.  Any money over $3000 will go to do additional service projects or provide support to the orphanage.  Any gift, large or small, is a gift from God and is very much appreciated.  Would you prayerfully consider supporting me in this service opportunity?

If God has put it on your heart to financially sponsor this mission, you can send donations to Faith Lutheran Church, 520 E. US Highway 50, O’Fallon, IL 62269.  Make checks payable to Faith Lutheran Church and mark them for Kimberly India Mission Trip.

I am looking forward to ministering and being ministered to in India this winter.  I am confident that it will be a challenging and rewarding experience for me.  I look forward to sharing my stories with you when I return.  Thank you for considering becoming a part of this ministry to the REACH Home!  If you have any questions, please comment to this post.

In Christian Service,

 

Kimberly Wolfe