Hosanna

Hey Guys!!

I want to tell you a little bit about Hosanna :)

Hosanna lives in one of the Children's Covenant Homes that is supported by ICM. These homes provide a loving atmosphere for children that are orphaned and abandoned. Their goal is for Hosanna and all of the other children with in the CCH homes is to "learn" their way out of poverty by enrolling them in private school, teaching them English, and preparing them for college. They live with a pastor and his wife who care for them like their own children.

Hosanna, like the other children, are really lucky to live in an environment like this! However, Hosanna is experiencing a sort of "bump in his path". Hosanna is Leukemia. When I heard this it was strange to me because Leukemia isn't up there on the list of "diseases" you hear of in developing countries. Hosanna has been taken to Hyderabad and put in a hospital there better equipped to handle his cancer. Hosanna is turning ten years old today and we have made it possible for his brothers, the other nine boys in the home, to go and visit him in the hospital. Unfortunately his birthday is also the day that he starts treatment.

Hosanna's chemotherapy is fully covered by the government but any blood transfusions are not covered.  He is in need of 10 days of treatment to put white blood cells in his system as well as red blood cells.  This treatment is $40 per day.  We ask that you also commit to praying for his complete healing.  We would also love to have pictures of everyone donating so we can send them to Hosanna and tell him that there are people praying for him.  If you are interested, could you please email Paige at info@cch-india.com OR you can email me at christinegrace315@gmail.com

Another thing that you could do for Hosanna is make him get well cards!! I will be going to visit Hosanna the weekend after Thanksgiving and I would LOVE to have a handful of get-well cards to take with me to give to him! He can read English so you can write any nice note you'd like, and you can also send your picture and tell him that you are praying for him and hoping for his speedy recovery! These kids don't get a lot of things such as these so anything you do will be special. I can't tell you enough how much they LOVE photos so a photo of you with a note telling him you are praying for him would be absolutely incredible for him.

Thank you for considering donating your time towards Hosanna. 

Love,
Grace  

40 more things you need to know about living in another country.....

I thought that since we passed our half way mark this past week it was time to share 40 more things your need to know about living in another country:

1. Retail therapy helps no matter what country your in. Its just better when $20 can get you 6 outfits instead of just a shirt.

2. There is a reason God made Sunday a day of rest. APPRECIATE IT!

3. Buying a pet bird on a whim is not actually a good idea. Even if it is only $12 for two birds; cage and food included.

4. By month three your taste buds will have been completely burned off and become unresponsive.  This is OK because it allows your imagination to do things you never thought possible in terms of creating imaginary taste.

5. Sometimes there are just parades at 3:30AM and they usually last until 8AM. Its better just to laugh about these rather than focus on the 3 hours of sleep you will be getting that night.

6. Hug the nearest American nurse and be nice to her. She will not slap you, not let her friends stare at what a freak you are, and she will put your IV in correctly. If that is all she does for you, she deserves a pay raise.

7. A good solution to "crunchy clothes" (previously mentioned) is to just hire a cleaning lady. When in India...do as the Indians do. Plus you'll be providing jobs...

8. Do NOT accidentally hire two cleaning ladies! Its really embarrassing when they show up at the same time and you can't speak the language to explain the mistake!

9. Bacon is glorious.

10. It's better just to laugh when your shoes grow green mold on them over night and not question why.

11. Its more likely for you to break down in the middle of no where than in the city...so just always be prepared with snacks and water

12. Life still goes on at home even when you are not there. People get married, have babies, move away, and die. There's nothing you can do to stop that. But it sure is a reality check.

13. You would probably brush your teeth more if you thought there would be a chance of needing to get your tooth pulled in a thatch roof hut with minimal lighting ....ouch!

14. $30 can go a long way.

15. Imagine the perfect world: People walk by you on the streets. They don't stare at you. They don't shout things at you. They don't try and hold your hand and walk with you. And most important they just ignore you COMPLETELY! You live in this fantasy world.

16. Towards month four you welcome ANY and ALL American people that speak English. You even welcome Canadians (they're close enough)

17. Also around month four, you start to question if the food you're eating actually tastes good or if you just don't know what good tastes like anymore.

18. Showering becomes irrelevant until you can smell yourself

19. "No Shave November" is REALLY easy to participate in; though, I have heard it doesn't count if you've also participated in No shave August, September and October.

20. What are wet wipes?

21. The point you realize that the only way to cure malaria is to take the pills you're already taking to prevent it, it becomes less of a scare. You might think to yourself: "I think I'll risk it"

22. We're living in another country, not another world. So, yes, we STILL have access to the new Taylor Swift album

23. Do not expect grace to be given. However, expect grace to be needed.

24. True friends get scarcer and scarcer as the months go by. But the real ones will stick around, even through the hard times, remember to love them extra!

25. As stated before. Western toilets are heaven on earth...they're even worth getting locked in the bathroom for an hour to use one.

26. Remember that time you complained about what you were eating for dinner just because it was boring and you didn't feel like eating it? TAKE IT BACK!

27. You decide how your day is going to go. You can wake up happy or you can wake up unhappy. If you wake up unhappy its your loss, because you'll probably miss out on the great things that we take for granted.

28. You haven't dined Indian style until you've dined with a rat

29. Being in India during the election reminded me that we have the freedom to choose our leaders. We even have the freedom to choose to impeach them. Even if we don't agree with him/her remember that you're allowed to disagree!

30. Boils are not an eighteenth century problem. Who knew...

31. Its OK to tell God how you're really feeling. Even if you're mad at Him. He knows anyways...and He'll help you through it!

32. Sometimes all you need is to just yell. Yell about everything. It doesn't matter if anyone cares or is listening.

33. This is just as much an emotional journey as a physical one. Its like PMS on steroids.

34. You stop feeling sad about the dog fights that happen at 2AM and begin to hope one of them just wins already

35. Everyone wants to be your friend, which is pretty cool, even if they could care less about your personality

36. True happiness is humbling. If you've never been humbled by someone else's joy you've never seen real happiness.

37. You know you're in a foreign country when good dreams are filled with pedicures, manicures, crest whitening strips, and tanning beds, and other worldly, selfish desires.

38. Remember that Jesus loves YOU. He loves widows and orphans. He loves pastors and priests. And He even loves the scary men that will do anything to stop us from talking about Him. He created them and he forgives them. And He wants us to do the same...even when its hard

39. It's hard to love all the time. It's harder when you forget to ask Him for help.

40. You can change the world from your house in America. America is part of the world. But its a lot more fun to do it from India.

Love,
G

Inheritance

Hai! (as my translator always types in her emails)

This Baby was all smiles when we left the Hospital.

It has been a crazy ride with the new job that I have been given. It was hard to get it off its feet at first. I have never done anything with web design so that was a struggle to overcome, and then my translator quit and that was a set back, but now I have an AMAZING translator, Sandhya Rani, who is such a big help and I have a web designer who, coincidentally, is also a Christian and is so excited about our program, which is more than I could ever ask for! 

Komalajoy

ICM focuses a lot of their programs on child rescue. One example of this is the CCDC program that reaches kids in their own villages, providing them with after school help and dinner every night. This protects them from being sold by their families into labor or into human trafficking. Programs such as these are made possible with the help of American sponsors that donate monthly to these after school programs and ALSO by the local missionaries and their families who dedicate their entire lives to serving Christ with in the villages. These missionaries are the ones who run the CCDC's and make sure that they are happening every night. Many of these missionaries have children themselves and they have sacrificed everything to answer a call from God, even their children's education, medical care, and even nutritional values. They have faith that God will continuously provide for them!

Komalajoy and her dad

ICM and I wanted to figure out a way to give back to these missionaries. Show them how thankful we all are for the selfless work they do. The work they do is hard. They live within some of the most dirtiest, most remote places in India. They often don't have clean water or any access to health care. It's heart breaking to see how some of these people live. So we came up with a program that we are calling Inheritance. This program searches for sponsors and advocates that will raise awareness for the missionaries' children. So many programs focus on orphans and the children of widows, but we forget that these children also need our love and attention. They are at risk for malnutrition, sickness, and poor education just as much as any other child living in these conditions. We want to lift this burden off these missionaries shoulders and help them provide for their families! 

Since this program is new it does not have a website yet, nor does it have anything about the families that need our help. My job is to create the website and also get profiles together for future sponsors. I do this by meeting these families out in the villages and interviewing them! I want sponsors to know everything about the children they are sponsoring, the good and the bad! 

Yesterday I was able to visit a family in the village of Tekkallapadu (try saying that 5 times fast). This family broke my heart and made me realize how necessary this program really is. 

This local misisonary's name is G. Williams. He has been been married to his wife since 2005 and they have three children: two girls, Komalajoy (6) and Sara Angel (3), and a baby boy who is seven months old. The interview started out much like any other. I have grown somewhat used to the rough living conditions that many of these families endure, but this village was particularly rural and dirty. We pulled up to a small building which was obviously the church and a crowd of people were waiting outside. I met the children and the missionary pastor and began my interview. Very early on in the interview I learned that his family did not have a home. They used to live in a concrete hut (which is better than a thatch roofed hut) but their landlord kicked them out. His reasoning was so that he could let a higher caste family live there, but another reason could be because Williams was a Christian (in my opinion they're equally as bad). They have been living in the church and sleeping on the church floor. The church is not meant for people to live in and as the nights are getting cooler it is getting drafty. This has caused his baby to be sick with pneumonia. Now he is currently in the hospital indefinitely. 

Today I was able to meet this baby. When I came in it was obvious that he did not feel well. He was coughing and there was no sign of sweet, rosy, baby cheeks. My heart broke for this family who were desperate for their son to get better but didn't know how they were going to pay their medical bills. They told me that doctor's fee each day was 200 rupees ($4) and that the hospital room was 450 rupees (about $8). In addition there are the costs for medicines and IV fluids and any other procedures. In all it is about $15 a day. That is NOTHING to us, and yet here is a family who can not afford any of it. Here is a man who has a degree and is perfectly qualified to work a higher paying job and who left a higher paying job and a nice house to serve God in the villages and help God's people. He sacrificed these things because he knew that God was calling him there. And yet here is his son, in the hospital, with a potentially fatal sickness. Despite all of this, I did not see a man whose faith was wavering, I did not see a man who was angry with God, or a man who was bitter. I saw a man who kept telling me that God would provide, that God never fails, and that all we could do was pray. Pray for the baby's health and pray that things would work out financially. 

So that's what we did, we prayed. Never have I ever experienced anything like it. We couldn't understand a word the other was saying and yet we were connected and united through prayer for this sweet baby. Even cooler, God heard our prayers and could understand both of us. When I left the hospital an hour later I saw a smiling baby who had color in his cheeks and I knew that I had just witnessed the power of prayer like I had never before. 

After we left the translator told me how happy and grateful the family was that I had came and prayed for their baby and I was completely blown away. I was so honored to be able to pray with this man and his wife for their baby, and to witness their display of complete faithfulness. I have given God six months of discomfort and they have give Him their entire lives. To be humbled in this way was overwhelming and heartbreaking. Here are such faithful and amazing people they deserved to be thanked! 

It's families like this that deserve our help and our time. We can help them and we can do it at next to nothing. Its only $30 a month to help a family like this provide their children with basic medical care, three meals a day, and to cover tuition costs so that their children can attend good schools. That's less then many of us spend on a tanning membership or a haircut. That's 120 Roo Cup refills, and less than some of us would spend on a nice dress. That is less than 3 trips to the movies, and less than any of us EVER spend at Target (you know its true). Thirty dollars is nothing! 

This is not a guilt trip. I am the first to admit that I don't value what I have enough. I will also be the first to admit that I too spend too much on material things and have no problem throwing $30 down the drain (at Target- what is it with that place??). I do, however, see my attitude towards money changing as I meet these families and see first hand their needs and struggles and how something as small as $30 could help them!

Komalajoy and Sara Angel

I am not asking you for money. I am asking you to consider where your money is going. I am asking you to "check yourself" and see if among the fast food, new clothes, gasoline, college costs, and guilty pleasures there is a part of your wealth that is changing someone's life. Though it might not feel like it, your $30 can do that! Haha cue the Sarah McLachlan right? I think its so hard for us to comprehend how only thirty dollars can make any difference because of how easy it is to spend that much on nothing in America. But I can only assure you that here it makes a world of a difference.








Be a life changer!!!!! :)
G

Sweet baby

Inside of the church

The crowd that waved goodbye!

Outside of the church

Pictures of the hospital room

This is where the family is staying for now

 

Throw Back Thursday!!

Many of the social media websites have this thing called Throw Back Thursday where people post very old, and usually embarrassing, photos of themselves and their friends from many years ago. I thought to myself: what a great idea to write a "Throw Back Thursday" type blog post of some of the reasons why I even decided to come on this crazy adventure!

I decided in November of 2012 that I wanted to go on a Missions Trip. I had never been on one before and I thought that it was important that I go and experience a new group of people that God loves just as much as you and I. I believe that God calls us to go and serve the needy, the widows, and the orphans, and I thought it was important to acknowledge how blessed I was and give back, in a way. ("And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation!" Mark 16:15) I was excited to go and before I knew it I was on a plane, flying across the ocean, all the way to INDIA!!!!

We landed in a city called Hyderabad, and the first thing you noticed coming off the plane was the smell. It was an intense smell which pretty much consumed your nostrils. We were warned prior to this about the smell, but nothing really prepares you for it. Its one of the first things you realize you take for granted every day: clean air. After getting our many bags, full of orphan care bags, toothbrushes, and medical supplies, we checked through customs, and headed out into the Indian night. When met our party we were greeted with real flower leis by a man named Raja who has an orphanage in Hyderabad

Our first visit to Rajas in January

Raja's Home in January

Raja's in August

Raja's In January

One of the huge things that really impacted my heart was Raja's Children Home. Raja used to work for the government but he saw a need and quit his job to open an orphanage and run it full time! He rescues many children off the streets who are employed to beg and are exploited, and he offers them a place to sleep, school, and food! There are around thirty children that live there ages four to seventeen! The children are so happy and fun to be around. This was my first exposure to real joy and thankfulness and it was amazing. Here were children who had nothing and yet they were happier than any American child that I had ever met.

Raja's in August!

Our stay in Hyderabad was short and in the morning we were headed to Ongole where we would spend the rest of our trip. The ride was long and the roads were rough, causing a lot of discomfort and carsickness, but we finally made it all in one piece! Our hotel was less than appealing but we were all grateful for a soft bed and AC! We rested that night because we new our official journey would start the next day!

















It would take hours to tell you about the whole trip and all that was experienced but there were a few specific things that really broke my heart and, while I didn't know it then, lit a fire inside of me for the children of India.

Little girl in the village in the mountains

A group of cousins!

Sweet baby :)

One of the villages we went too was in the Indian mountains. We had to travel up a long, steep, mountain to get there. It was probably one of the scariest car rides of my entire life. There were no guardrails and our driver was driving like the typical Indian maniac driver. One wrong move and it was a very long way down to the bottom! When we got there we were greeted with flower leis and some very big smiles! We were told that we were the only white people that anyone in this village had ever seen! I remember thinking how incredibly wild that was. Can you honestly say that there is a race of people that you have never seen before? In America we see different races and nationalities everyday! It's such a strange thing to take for granted everyday. We are so culturally privileged in America and we don't even realize it! Another thing about this village that was crazy to me was that everyone was related in some way. It was such a small village that everyone was basically a big family. One of the old ladies showed me her grandchildren and it was about 50% of the children there. Could you imagine living in a village where everyone is related! Eventually you would run into some serious problems, and that was a very real issue for this village. We saw a lot of "problems" in some of the younger children there. One of the girls on our trip worked in genetics and she said that some of these issues looked like they were related to inbreeding. Yikes!!! None the less, these children were adorable and completely loveable. They were so happy we were there and it was such a pleasure to shower them with gifts of toothbrushes, small toys, tattoos, and candy! Though it was a long ride it was probably one of my favorite places that we visited.

Waving goodbye to us! We will miss you!!

The Village by the ocean in January

Sweet little girl in January

Another village that stuck out to me was a small village near the beach that I was actually lucky enough to go back to this August. Many of the children there were rescued from harsh child labor and allowed to go to school through sponsors back in the US. This is such a huge blessing that I am not sure many people understand. We, as Americans, can not comprehend what an incredible privilege it is that most children in the US do not have to worry about being forced into child labor, or sold by their parents so that their younger siblings can eat, because in the rural villages in India this is a reality for some children. Many of these children were rescued from working in cashew fields. The juices from the cashews had permanently stained and damaged some of the children's hands. It was chaos from the moment we arrived. The power kept going off and on and the children kept coming. Our small crowd went from fifteen children to almost fifty! It was impossible to contain them, especially when we started passing out the care bags. It was then I realized the desperation in these children. Here were children who had probably never been given anything in their entire lives! Who could blame them for being pushy and over excited. It was insane, but it was amazing to be able to give these children gifts and a small hope for something new. While we were there we broke the ground for their new school. This august we were able to see the school, completely built, and sit in while lessons were taught. How amazing!!!!

School! Fully built in August!!

Two students

Learning about the digestive system!!!

Cutie!!!

No notebooks, every child gets their own personal chalkboard!

 It helps to look through pictures from January sometimes. It helps me remember why I am here and the reason I felt so called to come back. God loves these children so much and none of us can fathom it. It makes me so grateful for my wonderful family back home and all the wonderful things I have been blessed with. These children have next to nothing, and yet they are always happy and thankful. There is something to be learned from these children, and we often do not thank God enough every day for the things He has given us. If you are reading this it means you probably have a phone, or a computer, or iPad; remember that there are children all over the world that have nothing, and yet, are still happy and thankful.

My point is not to make you feel bad or feel guilty about having these wonderful things. God has blessed you and me and we are so lucky!! We should not waste those blessing but instead be thankful and appreciative. He gave us these things to enjoy!  God still cares about our problems even though we are not homeless, starving, or being sold by our parents! I am always reminding people that God cares about "first world problems" too! My point is to remind you to be thankful! To feel blessed and to be happy! Every day is a great day and though you face hard times and troubles remember the good times and the sweet things in life! God loves all of us despite our short comings and wants us all to be happy!!! I would encourage you to remember that today, as you live out your amazing life!!! Remember to thank God as you get in your car, talk on your iPhone, or open your mouth in shower and not have to worry about getting e-coli (haha). Remember that He loves you so much, just as much as He loves me and all of the children here, and that in His eyes you are His favorite.

"...who shows no partiality to princes, and does not favor the rich over the poor for they are all the work of his hands!" Job 34:19

Love. Love. Love. Love. you all!!!!!!!


Grace :)
 
And its a GREAT day to be alive
I know the sun's still shining 
When I close my eyes
There might be hard times in the neighborhood
But why can't every day be just this good
-Travis Tritt
**Certainly not biblical, but applicable and a very good message ;)

Second Saturday

Oh how I have missed India's kiddos :)

My good friend Sumati and I :)

Being bedridden has really prevented me from seeing some of the worlds most beautiful babies. Then I remembered I never posted about Second Saturday!!!! Plus I thought you guys needed a break from the hard and honest truth and needed to read something a little more light ;)

Second Saturday is just like it sounds. It's the second Saturday of every month. ICM gets all the kids who are in our Covenant Children Homes together for a really long VBS day! It is so much fun! The kids are amazing of course and so great to be around.

Tressa and I ran this first Second Saturday together. We taught the kids some new bible songs (Oh Happy Day and If You're Happy and You Know It) and we told them the story of Esther. We gave the kids tons of coloring pages and they were so excited (apparently they usually only get one but we printed them out an entire booklet haha) Then we broke for lunch. Tressa and I forgot lunch (typical) but one of the guys that works with us offered us some of his Yellow Rice, which is AMAZING!!!! So far the best Indian food I have tasted yet. When the kids returned from lunch we played games. We had them split into boys and girls and we had them play a game of hot potato that was morphed with duck duck goose. Instead of getting out the kids would just sit in the middle until the next person got out. It was so much fun and we played some classic American tunes for them of course, which they loved!!

Finally we ended the day with some presentations that the kids had prepared for us! They were all so cute and I want to post all of them but I don't think my computer will allow it. The kids were so enthusiastic and wonderful, it was so much fun to watch!!

This post isn't really about reading its more about looking at the pictures :)

 Please make sure you watch this video! Its possibly the cutest thing EVER!!!!! :)