This gallery contains 7 photos.
I had not heard this praise song until last week when the Canadians introduced it to me. This song describes perfectly the attitude of this group. Everywhere we have gone — to our two development centers, to a three-day gospel meeting in a nearby village, “regular” worship services, a birthday party, today’s medical camp and […]
This gallery contains 20 photos.
Did you know “Children’s Day” is an official thing? According to Wikipedia Children’s Day was “established in 1954 to protect children working long hours in dangerous circumstances and allow all children access to an education and is normally celebrated with a night off educational duties.” (Nothing celebrates the importance of education like taking a break […]
Sure, sprinkle bleach powder. Bleach fixes anything.
After a week of being closed we were able to resume all the programs at Pearly Gates this past Monday, November 12. The path to the building’s stairs was still pretty muddy so the kids laid out bricks and pieces of old cement blocks along the way.
There was apparently a strong (read: bad) smell leftover from so much standing water so Read the rest of this entry
This gallery contains 6 photos.
How many times have you been walking by a friend’s house or driving past a friend’s neighborhood and stopped in or called on a whim to see if you could pay them a visit? Correct me if I’m wrong but in the DC Metro area we don’t have a habit of visiting friends without having […]
Tuesday November 6, 2012 … It’s Election Day in the USA…
Meanwhile back at the ranch…
This is what the area around the Pearly Gates center looked like yesterday, Monday November 5.
Yesterday morning while crossing the bridge to the Pearly Gates Center I passed a young mother who is one of our most faithful program attendees. I gave her a confused look like, “Aren’t you going the wrong way?”
“Holiday, madame!” she said cheerfully.
Turns out the Center had to be closed yesterday and today due to flooding caused by rain from Cyclone Nilam. The Center was surrounded by water at least three feet deep.
Praise! The water has receded about a foot since yesterday.
We’ve locked the gate to keep kids from swimming, I mean playing in yard. Already one of the younger kids from the Center was caught swimming (more like doggy-paddling) down the street that runs parallel to the Center. His father called him out and then sent him to school. His mother then yelled at his father for sending him to school soaking wet.
I’m told the river hasn’t flooded like this in three years. Still, things aren’t nearly as bad here in Vijayawada as they are farther east along the coast of Andhra Pradesh. (Thank goodness).
I was worried about what this will do to our mosquito and snake population (as in, cause it to increase). Vijayachandran said we can also expect more of the big black scorpions. Great.
Here are some more photos from around the area.
This is the canal bridge that got washed out less than 2km from the Pearly Gates Center.
New multi-family housing is being built next door to the Pearly Gates Center. The construction must go on. I don’t want to think about what these guys are wading through.
Made To Be Me 