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