The pastors I mentioned above and the slum kids we care for are from the cast referred to as Untouchable. For more than 3,000 years the Hindu cast system has dictated India’s social structure with the Dolits (Untouchables) at the bottom. There are over three hundred million Dolits in India. That’s roughly the population of the United States. Dolits live out their days begging, picking up trash or doing some other menial work, including prostitution. It is no surprise that these people are the most receptive to the Gospel, which says they are not the bottom of the Hindu cast system, but royalty in God’s family.

Please pray that we effectively do our small part in bringing good news to these poor in India. I will be in India the last two weeks of January, through the first week of February. Sometime after that, I will write a report on how it went.

Peace and all good,

Ken

January 2007

Happy New Year! May God bless you with His felt presence and with fulfilled dreams that accomplish His good will in you.

I waited until after the Christmas rush to write this letter in the hopes that it might get a little more of your attention. By the time you read this, I will be finalizing plans for a trip to India. I am returning to teach and train the pastors and church planters whom I have been serving for many years. Most are from Orissa State (the poorest and most repressive state in India) and some are from Nepal. Together, they serve more than 100 churches. Most of which are in villages. We will all gather for a week and I will lay down the next installment of their theological training. Following that, I will travel to some of their village churches to provide more personalized support.

I will also visit three children’s homes that we help support. The homes are directed by friends in Canada and are for Untouchable children in the slums. My daughter, Ana, spent a week working at one of these homes last year. Good News To the Poor sponsors some of these kids. If you wish to participate, sponsorship for a child is $30 per month.