Ana helped the teachers and played with the kids. She was clearly in her element and the children absolutely adored her. They crowded around her and clung to her so eagerly, she could hardly move sometimes.

Many of the kids had never been outside the slum, so one day we hired several vans and took the teachers and 50 children to the zoo. It was a sad little zoo, but the children responded as though it were Disneyland. We also provided a picnic lunch and then took them to town for their first ice-cream cone. What a beautiful mess that was. If you wish to sponsor one of these children for $30 a month, please contact me.

When I go to India, I take supplies of Juice Plus (the fruit and vegetable supplement I have mentioned before. Click Juice Plus+ under the Et Cetera tab at the top of the page). This supplement is good for everyone, but works wonders on undernourished pregnant women in India. Women I have given it to say their pregnancies were much better and their babies were born bigger and healthier. I took enough for thirty women this time.

During our final days, Ana and I traveled across part of southern India on a train to a city called Japur. I preached in various churches and outdoor venues and dedicated a church building. If you are looking for a memorable experience, I recommend spending a day on an Indian train.

Future trips include: Korea, East Africa, Brazil, Australia, and Tonga.

Thank you for supporting Good News to the Poor and helping people you will never meet till they thank you personally on the other side.

Peace and all good,

Ken

India,  March 2006  

Ana and I recently returned from India. It was a rich experience for both of us. We did good in teaching pastors and missionaries and helping some of the poorest of the poor in the slums of Visak.

Over the past few years, I have been providing theological training to a group of missionaries and pastors who lead 100 or so churches in Orissa State, India and in Nepal. These brothers are humble and courageous men who work primarily in the poorest of India’s states. Orissa is also the area of India where the church is most persecuted. Before converting to Christ, a number of these brothers were part of the radical Hindu movement in Orissa. Some of them burned down church buildings. Their conversions were not unlike Paul’s on the road to Damascus. They are very smart, eager to learn, and a joy for me to teach.

In addition to teaching and training leaders, I also dedicated a training center and a church building. We are making progress there, despite difficult circumstances.

While I worked with the pastors and missionaries, Ana (my 12 year old daughter) spent her days at a childcare school in one of the most horrendous slums imaginable. The slum is ‘built’ on and around an open sewage canal that drains Visak city. So called Untouchables squat on this land because no one else wants it – for obvious reasons. During the rainy season, the sewage flow rises and floods the homes. Disease breaks out and many, especially children, die.

In the midst of this squalor, something beautiful has emerged. A ministry based in Canada recently established a home (on high ground) that serves as a day care and school for 40 children from the slum. We are partnering with them to provide these children with two nutritious meals a day, school uniforms, an education, and the love and knowledge of Jesus.