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PL752

9th September 2018

As we mentioned last week, both Clifton and Rick are away this week and next so the newsletters will be a little shorter than usual.

Rick is currently South in the mystic city of Varanasi, floating on the Ganges river through the heart of what you imagine India to be. Accompanying his brother Kim and sister-in-law Kathy, Rick will spend the next 2 weeks touring India, seeing some of the most fascinating places on earth.

Varanasi is considered by most to be the spiritual capital of India. A sprawling city with thousands of temples scattered along the banks of the holy River Ganges, crowds of visitors both foreign and domestic descend on the city each year. Visiting the city gives one a sense of having glimpsed, just for a moment, the very soul of India.
Crowds gather to bathe at ghats in the Ganges river believing it washes away their sins.
Each evening Aarti worship ceremonies are held for a myriad of Gods.
Of the 88 ghats in Varanasi this is one of the less visited ones.

Clifton on the other hand has headed North, way North on a ride through the Himalayas with 23 other riders from around the world. In total their group will cover 2000km of some of the highest roads on the planet.
Geared up and fueling up with a last cup of coffee before heading off for 2 weeks.
A glacial fed Himalayan mountain river.
The mighty Himalayas.

Before heading off Rick and Kim managed to get a stack of the new desks welded up with the boys in the workshop; in there absence the work will continue, but at a slower pace. Monday was a school holiday so some of the older boys were able to get in and help with the painting. We want to thank the Rotary Club of Launceston West for the first 15 of these desks, specifically our good friends Winston and Marilyn.
Sunny welding up the sides of a desk.
Sunny & Kim at work together.
Gordon lending Flippy a hand with the painting.
A coat of rust proffing agent is applied first, followed by colour.
By the end of the week more than 25 desks had been painted.
We also received our brand new chop saw this week. It was provided by our friend Anthony who looked at our Projects Page a few weeks ago on our website. Anthony we are so grateful for the new saw! With all the cutting that we are doing for these desks the new saw, and particularly its safety guards, are a huge relief! Thank you!
Rick putting the new 2400W Bosch Chop Saw to good use.
Sparks fly in all directions as the pipe for the desk is cut.

The monsoon still has not left us, regular rains come without notice drenching anyone unlucky enough to be caught outside without an umbrella. The rain certainly doesn't both us, it's cool droplets an escape from an otherwise torturous humidity.
Some of the small boys just chilling out in the rain.
Rainy days rae the best days for play.
Malik and Aaron enjoying the slippery mud.
The playground wet and full of laughter.
Jyoti enjoying the downpour of water from our Dining Room roof.

Some of the kids went down to the river for a swim in the river, while there a small competition was held: "who can find the roundest stone". Amazingly this kept some busy for more than an hour, it was so serious in fact that the stones were taken home and a digital caliper was used to judge the winner!
Swimming in the flooded river.
Three feet of fast flowing water was a whole lot of fun.
Every child in the world should leisurely float down a monsoon filled river on a tire tube at least once in their lives.
Searching for the roundest stone...
...in the end Priscilla was declared to be the winner with just a 19.5% difference between the X-Y-Z axis of her stone.

And so we leave it at that. We ask for your prayers of support for Eugene & Priscilla who, along with our incredible team of staff, are leading the mission with Clifton and Rick away. Also please keep our travelers in prayer too, the monsoon roads are filled with hazards.

Blessing on you,
Rick, Clifton, Eugene & Priscilla
As a bonus photo this week here is Benny Chand receiving his 'Staff Member of the Year' award from all of our staff.
Congrats Benny!
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Copyright © 2018 The Good Shepherd Agricultural Mission
 
The Good Shepherd Agricultural Mission is a registered non-profit and society in Uttarakhand, India that undertakes the care of around 75 orphan and destitute children. The Mission works to be as self-supporting as possible through income generated internally by it's farm and school. For more information see our website.



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