India

To conclude, Howard and I would like to share with you what we perceived to be the purposes of our going to India:

On Thursday, March 4, Howard and I attended morning worship for the Christian Hospital, which takes place in its chapel.  There was a

On Wednesday, March 3, Howard and I got to actually visit Christian English College, the school that Gabriel is the Business Manager of.  I explained Christian English College in detail in my blog post describing Gabriel’s and Suzana’s ministry.  We also got to visit Friends Church, which is the name of the church where Gabriel is a Bishop.  The church and th

On Tuesday, March 2, Gabriel took Howard and me to see his farm, which consists of 4.5 acres of land on the outskirts of Chhatarpur.  While at the farm, we were able to see the site and frame for the new house being constructed there.  This is the house where Gabriel and Suzana plan to hold the sewing classes and the clinics that they normally have in the villages. 

When we arrived in Chhatarpur, the area was in the midst of a Hindu festival that took place over several days and was called Holi, the Festival of Colors.  During the festival, the people gather in groups, march through the village, and throw coloring on each other, and this is a sign of brotherhood.  As a result, we stayed inside Gabriel’s house for most of the day because he did not think it would be

On Sunday, February 28, we left Dharwad and Arun drove us to Hubli, and adjacent town, as we were flying out of the Hubli Airport.  There are only two flights daily that come in and out of the Hubli Airport – one to Bangalore and one to Mumbai, and we were on the flight to Mumbai.  We successfully transferred in Mumbai and then flew to Delhi.  A helpful piece

On Saturday, February 27, Arun and his brother-in-law, Dinkar, who has been involved in the Caring Hands Ministry with Arun since it began, drove us to one of the local villages where Arun has established a Share and Care Program.  I will describe our visit to the village in more detail in another entry, as I told Arun that I would send it to him to review before I posted it due to the sensitive nature of the subject.

On Friday, February 26, Howard and I visited Arun's Bible Training Center, which is a relatively new four-storey building near the Girls’ Home in Dharwad.

I am writing this blog entry from my home in Media PA, and it is good to be back.  Howard and I had smooth travels home, and we are very thankful for that.  We had a great trip, and due to busy days and lack of internet access during the second half of our time in India, I wasn't able to post any more blog entries.  I plan on posting the remainder as soon as possible for everybody to read, and I hope that you all find them informative and meaningful.

On Thursday evening after we ate dinner, Howard and I had a nice talk with Arun and Shobha, and during this time they provided us with a good description of their Caring Hands Program.  In 1995, Arun and Shobha began their ministry, which focuses on the Devadasi system (this is the system of the temple prostitutes), and the children that come from the prostitutes.  The Devadasi system involves Hindus who feel that prostitution is a religious process.  For generation after generation, the daughters will follow their mothers into prostitution.  By starting t