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PL740

17th June 2018

After weeks competing online against many worthy contestants, the winner of the S. Group Wonder Chaser Award was announced this week, and we're happy report...it was our very own Deputy Director, Clifton Shipway! Through the support of our amazing friends and family worldwide, he not only received the most votes, he'll soon be awarded the generous AUD $5000 prize!  This prize money will be used to help construct a fence around our school and help to keep our children safe.

We want to take a moment to say a massive thank you to S. Group for everything they do, not just for us, but for so many others around the world. For those interested, you can check out their latest project here:

Project Black Sands, Vanuatu
Mr. Wonder Chaser 2018
While winning the prize is a big deal for us, it was not the biggest news here on the mission this week. More importantly...Our pool is back in action! After about 3 weeks of being out of commission, our kids were able to get back in the cool waters and get some much needed relief from the incredibly hot weather we have been having lately.
New pool toys made for an exciting day back in the water.
Summertime is the perfect time to float.
Indro and the Dragon.
Evelyn and Niyati just chillin' like friends should.
Dylan ready to body-board off the waves from the pump water.
Shivani dipping back into the fresh pump water.
Jessica on lifeguard duty, keeping watch over the little ones.

Keeping this pool in working order is no small task. There are no filters or chemicals involved. Even the pumps need extra love from time to time. With a whole lot of elbow grease and know-how, Rick and Sunny were able to get the pumps running and the water flowing. Then our Small Girls took charge of cleaning out the pool after its long stagnancy: a slimy, messy, physical job that was surprisingly a lot of fun. There is still plenty more work to be done on the pool, but at least it is usable for now.

Rick & Sunny reconnecting the motor for the 4th time.
The Small Girls cleaning the pool early in the week.
Armed with brooms, brushes and a hose.
The pool from above.
Sareena scrubbing the slime away.
It is definitely a lot of hard work to clean the pool.
April's slimy hands and shiny fingernails.
A clean floor ready for water.
Great job girls! Let the water flow!

One of our current visitors is Clifton's long time friend Aaron Tuthill. From when they were teenagers Clifton and Aaron would hang out together, one of their favorite things was known as "Big Man Pizza Night." On a BMPN the gloves come off (replaced by oven mitts) and they cook homemade gourmet pizzas, play video games and watch movies. Of course exactly what constitutes a gourmet pizza is a matter of opinion. In days gone by, a BMPN pizza topping could have been anything from sun-dried peaches to pickled octopus; every item in the pantry was fair game.

As a tribute to their "good ol' days" and a special treat for the mission boys, Aaron and Clifton held the missions first ever BMPN. It was a brilliant night filled with fun and laughter and just happened to coincide with Rajesh's 15th birthday. The boys had an excellent time finishing up just a little before 2:00 am the following morning.

Big Man Pizza Night for Rajesh's birthday.
A Big Man Pizza Night is about more than just pizza. It is about older boys (in this case Aaron and Clifton) creating an opportunity to mentor, encourage and support younger boys. It is a chance to nurture a community of brothers and at the same time have a whole lot of fun.

For Shane, it was about even more than that. As an aspiring young cook, with the hopes of being a chef one day, Shane was excited by the chance to learn some new techniques, taste some new flavors and to be inspired. He spent the better part of 6 hours in the kitchen learning to make sauces and pizza dough. Like Shane, for most of our boys, this was their first time seeing pizza being made.
Shane working on a batch of BBQ pizza sauce.
Operating a can opener without any instruction is surprisingly hard.
Aaron and Parwat rolling out the bases.
Round? Who needs a round pizza. Big Man Pizza's can be any shape.
Shane, Parwat and Gordon prepare to pass out the first pizza slices.
Nothing like a friend egg baked on top of your pizza.
Fresh out of the oven, Shane is ready to attack!
Parwat felt the most important ingredient in his pizza was chili.
Parwat's pizza had jalapenos, ghost peppers, raja mirch, Bengali chili and tabasco sauce. It was not for the faint-hearted!

Not to be left out of the fun, the girls also had a party of their own this week. Rosie's sponsor, Susan Breen, provided a graduation party for Rosie after she passed Year 10. Rosie decided to give a lunch for EVERYONE and then a BBQ pool party for the girls. All the girls got involved with the preparation, set up twinkling lights, tables, music, the works. Even invitations were sent out.

Huge thanks go out to Susan who has been Rosie's sponsor for many years, blessing her with not only financial support, but with friendship and encouragement that is invaluable. We hope these pictures help you to share in the fun.

It's party time!
Rosie takes a break from squeezing lemons for lemonade.
Squeeze the day, girls!
Shane happily got involved in the preparation for his sister's graduation party.
Probably more chili than most BBQ's have.
Lisa, Sabithri and Jyotika working on the chicken shish kebabs.
Ready for the grill.

The night was a lot of fun. After a recent batch of early evening showers, we were worried this one might be called on account of rain... but God held back the heavens until everyone was full and ready for bed. Only then, when everything was packed up, with no warning at all, the rains came down. And they came down hard.

Stella and Malika taking a turn on the BBQ.
♬♩ This grill is on fire... ♪♫
Twinkling lights made the perfect canopy.
There was so much food and fun that night.
Just chillin' while grillin'.
The girls danced and swam almost till midnight.

Parties aside, our farm was a flurry of activity on Tuesday with the arrival of the combine harvester ready to bring in our Summer Paddy crop. As a separate mid-season crop, we planted 8.5 acres of the rice paddy with the sole intention of selling it. The harvest came off pretty well considering the strange weather we have faced lately.

The paddy heads slump over, weighed down by the ripe rice grains.
The combine making its way through the crop.
Harvested grain is dumped into a waiting trailer.
Harvested rice in the back of the trailer.
The grain is then sent straight off to the market to be sold.
Harvest complete.
We also are pleased (and sad) to announce that six of our older girls are moving on. All of them are heading to Nagpur for six months of Bible study before pursuing further education or the next chapter of their lives. While leaving is a necessary step, they will all be missed and we ask that you join us in prayers of support and safety as they step out into the wider world. 

It is especially hard to see April go as she has been the Small Girls' Hostel in-charge for many years and will be difficult to replace. Still, it has been a joy to have all of these beautiful girls with us and to watch them grow. As their family, we'll always be here with open arms, cheering them all on.
Left to Right: Chandini, Maya, Annie, Rick, Seema, April & Dolly.
The girls heading off around the campus to say their goodbyes.

For those who missed it, here is a video that CharityDesign put together for us of the opening of our school's new library last month. We are so excited to see how this building inspires and enables future students of Maxton Strong School. If you haven't taken a look inside...here is your chance.

Click to play...

And so another week comes to an end. As our kids come and go, as we celebrate the small and large accomplishments, as we harvest another field, as we simply share this life together through pizzas and dancing...we are always aware and thankful for how supported we are. Not simply by God whose blessings are visible all across the mission grounds, but by every sponsor, donor, and champion who encourages us week in and week out. We simply can not thank you enough.

Blessing on you,
Rick, Clifton, Eugene & Priscilla

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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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Strong Farm
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