Dec. 2005
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Give strength to hands that are tired and to knees that tremble with weakness. Isaiah 35:3

Christmas is the time when we share about our family. Doris and I have been busy with the rural ministry. We both are happy as the caretakers of 125 desperate children who live on the same campus with us. It is a joy to participate in their regular prayers and watch them in their daily
activities.

We have been doing well health wise. Traveling back and forth from Hyderabad  to Devarkonda by public transport (three hours) is tiring, but we recover during the week.

Nathan, our son, is managing the Matilda school at Mallepalli. He has made some changes so that children have more access to the teachers and the school campus during the evening hours.

We are happy that our daughter Esther and her husband Brent (Elkhart, Indiana) will spend Christmas with us this year. Jessica and Jeremy have not visited us in ten years. They live in British Columbia.

THE TSUNAMI:

The year 2005 has been quite uneventful after the December 26, 2004 Tsunami disaster. Being 250 kilometers away from the coast, we shuttled there several times before deciding what to do and where to begin relief work. I went to coastal Andhra Pradesh to assess the damage, talked to officials, and consulted with NGOs who had already reached there. We gathered stories of
the survivors, took some pictures of the damages caused to human beings. We prayed much about how to go about and what to do. Being locals without many resources, we felt the financial restrictions.

The Matilda school children and staff answered many of our unspoken questions. They came up with 10,000 rupees collected from their meagre resources.

I took a team of six persons from our area, including four pastors. We contacted the people on the beach who suffered the most. We understood that they had many needs that we could not meet, but we decided to do something within our capacity. They were a lost people, having lost everything that they once called their own. They held on to their lives for a tomorrow that may be better than today.

Our initial survey led us to get involved in three areas of relief work:

  1. To provide fishing nets to the beach people,
  2. To repair damaged boats, and
  3. To distribute clothing, school kits and steel plates and glasses.

In the following months organizations, churches and individuals partnered with us in the relief work:

  1. Mennonite Central Committee-India (MCC) provided fishing nets, school kits, and plates and glasses and offered to help repair boats that were repairable. They also offered technical guidance in management.
  2. The Taipei International (TIC) Church in Taiwan helped with building a church that was washed out.
  3. The Mennonite Church Net work of USA offered to rebuild three churches.
  4. Friends through Canadian sources( Larry Kehler) helped towards general Tsunami needs.
  5. Reba Place Church offered funds to repair small churches that were badly in need of repair.
  6. The Schmidt Family Foundation (SFF) of Canada purchased sewing machines and other equipment and provided thousands of yards of dress material to stitch, thus creating employment for 20 young women in making dresses for the Tsunami children.

All this help came in the name of Christ, whom the people didn't know before. Our organization, the Matilda Education Society (MES), had the opportunity to be a witness through its daily involvement.

In December we decided to venture into the second phase of involvement.  TSUNAMI Re-construction in Bapatla and Chirala, Prakasham District.

  1. Build 50 two-room permanent houses @ IRs.100,000 each (CDN$2,500)
  2. Build 2 shelters for Tsunami children @ IRs 300,000 each (CDN$7,500)
  3. Build additions to 3 damaged primary schools @ IRs 400,000 each (CDN$10,000)
  4. Reconstruct 3 independent churches @ IRs. 400,000 each (CDN$10,000)

ONGOING MATILDA EDUCATION SOCIETY (MES) PROJECTS

  1. Spiritual Ministry:
    • The Rural pastors. There are 21 pastors who serve the Lord in interior  places of Andhra Pradesh. Most time they are exposed to threats from the locals for sharing the gospel. Most pastors are independent and have no organizational support. MES shares undesignated funds with them from time to time and invites them for prayer fellowships.
    • The stone cutter's church at Anjaiah colony (Little Church on the Rock) is at the stage of cement plastering to the ceiling and side walls. The wooden door and window frames are fitted. There is much work needed to be done including flooring, electrical wiring and plumbing and coloring.
    • In October we laid the foundation for the Gajinagar church, a 20x30 square foot building, in the outskirts of Devarkonda. Earlier we had a sewing class for young women there.
  2. Bindu home shelter: There are 125 children in this shelter both boys and girls. They are well attended to their needs and most have a record of keeping scholastic achievements. There are 15 children who need sponsorship.
  3. Matilda educational institutions: Two schools, one at Mallepalli and the other at Devarkonda, serve the needs of about 1,000 rural and town children.  We have finished the construction of the second floor of Devarkonda school on a two-acre plot of land, and we started new construction at Mallepalli.  It will be completed in six months.
  4. Grace children's clinic: In the beginning of November we started a free eye treatment for the elderly. An optholmologist comes every week and checks the patients and in the following week we provide transport to Miryalguda where he performs free surgery with a team of doctors. This ministry is drawing many elderly people to the clinic. All Bindu children are screened for eye problems.
  5. Sewing centers: In the months of May and June we made 1000 dresses for the tsunami children and tailored 600 pairs of school uniforms for Matilda Education Society (MES). Nearly 30 women find daily employment.
  6. Informal schools for child laborers: Each year we conduct informal schools at nights for children who are day laborers. They learn to read and write and learn folk arts. There are 150 children this year in these schools. The Lord has enabled us to sustain our projects through your generous involvement. Thank you.

PRAYER AND FINANCIAL NEEDS :

  • Completion of stone cutters church CDN$12,500 Rs 5,00,000
  • 18 pastors need support (CDN$35 each per month) CDN$420 per year per pastor
  • New church at Gajinagar CDN$2,700 Rs.107500
  • 15 sponsors for Bindu home (CDN$30 each per month) CDN$360 per year per child
  • 33-seat school bus CDN$24,700
  • Desks and play equipment for Matilda schools CDN$ 2,925
  • Grace Children Clinic CDN$ 2,925 per month