India!

I'm not very good at this blog thing already :)


So I went to India January 7. I never thought I would make it to that part of the world. But I did! What an experience. I've wanted to go there since I watched the movie Slumdog millionaire. If you haven't seen that movie, you need to.


While we were there we brought Christmas to the kids. For most of them this was the first real gift they have ever gotten. It was so neat! We also brought dental, medical and construction. We worked all week as well as played and gave as much attention to the kids as possible. I didn't want to leave!

Just to give you a brief understanding of India...

-It is the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.18 billion people, more than a sixth of the world's population. 

-The population living in slums in the country is more than the whole population of Britain. India's slum population rose from 27.9 million in 1981 to over 40 million in 2001.

-11 Million children live on the streets.

-25-30% of the population earn about a dollar a day.

Street kids are considered the lowest of the low in India. They have no name. If they were a body part of a whole human, they would be the bottom of the foot. They are the trash of the streets and they are treated that way. Either they are sold into the slave/sex trade, drug trafficking or sometimes they are sold to the black market where their organs are sold.

When I was in India I was at an orphanage that is taking kids off the street and giving them a home. Its called Hope Mission Home. I was privileged to go there and love on these kids. Now not all the kids at this orphanage are "true orphans." Some of them have parents that just cant care for them.   

We showed up at the orphanage while the kids are at school so we had to wait until evening to see the kids. As we approach the home imagine the sound of 225 kids cheering, yelling and whooping! The are lined up on both sides of the road near the orphanage to greet us. Everyone of them wants to shake your hand and tell you "hello" in english. They absolutely love us! And we absolutely love them!

During the week I was there I became a "mum" :) They all called me "Kelsea mum!" I wanted to take about 225 of them home with me! I played a lot of jump rope, some hopscotch, painted a TON of nails (boys too. They loved it!), played ball, basket ball, got LOTS of hugs and kisses and gave a bunch too. They look and act just like normal little kids. They play, get in trouble, do their chores, do homework, eat and sleep. But on the inside they are hurt and broken. A lot of them have been abused, either sexually or physically. Many have never known what true love is. 

One special thing about Hope Mission Home is that it isn't just an Orphanage. It is a place where the kids learn what true love really is. It is a learning ground for Jesus Christ. The kids wake up early in the morning to sing and pray to God before school. They do go to a Hindu school, but the second they get back to the Home they get off the bus and thank God for their home. They all line up and pray before they run off to their chores or homework. Every night they are taught from the bible before they go to bed.

God is doing great things in India at Hope Mission Home. He has some big plans for those kids. If you want to check out their website it is-

www.hopemisisonhome.org 

God willing I will be going back in July!