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PL861
18th October 2020
We are so grateful for yet another great week here on the Mission. It's easy to let 7 days go by without taking a moment to consider all the good things we have received. You may not realize this, but these newsletters are an amazing tool for us to take time out; to consider the continued blessings and incredible experiences we go through on a day-to-day basis. We hope that you too can celebrate along with us all the good things that God has done in our lives.
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Seeya with a lovely big smile on her face.
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We were able to complete the northern driveway to the S. Block building.
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Vishal, Dennis, Rampal and Vishwajeet pause their match for a moment to pose for a photograph.
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Sometimes, the best moments are just a lovely nap in the warm afternoon sun.
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Ikindar, Kamal and Clifford sit and laugh about how Ikindar managed to dislocate his shoulder while playing cricket that morning.
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Yellow mustard drying under the last few rays of the afternoon sun before being stored away for the winter (the mustard is ground for cooking oil).
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As you already know (with a big group like ours!) there are plenty of birthdays to celebrate each week. With 5 birthdays in the last 7 days we have had parties almost every day! In fact, Clifton came home early to write this newsletter from celebrating Clifford's 22nd birthday: a large dinner in the Senior Boys Hostel with many staff and friends in attendance.
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Clifford celebrating his 22nd birthday!
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Do you think Malik, Aaron, Dylan and Jared let Clifford blow out his own candles?
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The party will go on much after we hit "Send" on this week's newsletter.
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Amir celebrated his 25th year, 15 of which have been with us here on the Mission.
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A cute little side-story is that Amir was found in his hostel with an upside down bucket practicing to blow out candles in advance of his birthday party. He did a great job and knocked them all out in one clean breath!
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Peter's birthday was celebrated with a lovely dinner on Wednesday night.
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It was all topped off with our first pineapple upside-down cake!
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The dinner party went late into the night with dancing and celebrations.
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Priscilla and the Small Girls celebrating Malika's birthday!
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14 candles to mark the special day!
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There was a stampede for the dinner line!
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A big project we mentioned last week is the demolition of an old bathroom behind the main office. As one structure was brought down, another was erected nearby: a large fence to contain our chickens. It has been a few years now since we considered the idea of expanding the handful of chickens we have to a much larger number. The fence represents a decision we made about two months ago to go from 20 chickens to over 200 chickens. Soon, a steady stream of eggs will be gracing our breakfast tables each morning.
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Kamal was an absolute machine! The hot sun and hard work didn't slow him down.
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You may shudder at this but most of us prefer bare feet for work around this place.
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Demolition of the building was the easy part. Picking up all the pieces of brick took many hands to get it done swiftly.
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The broken pieces of brick will come in use for a base for the southern driveway of the S. Block building.
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An old stump was also removed from the site.
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Rampal enjoying the tractor ride to dump the broken bricks.
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Is that Clifton in there doing manual labor?!
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Rick and Sunny welding off one side of the chicken fence.
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Job giving Grandpa a hand to tension the wire mesh.
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With the building now gone and the fence in place, we have some new garden space to fill. Perhaps a project for next week.
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Thanks to the support of a new friend in Hobart, we were able to give our playground a facelift. Fresh paint, wooden boards and a few small repairs has breathed new life into the space. With the monsoon now over, it's the perfect time to get the playground back to 100% functionality. Thank you for making this possible Toni (and Frank!).
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Ganesh sands down some planks ready to become a new floor for the jungle gym.
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Sunny touts the Robocop look as he repairs the frame of the plaground.
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Pappu, our painter, gives a new coat of red paint to some old tires.
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In just a few days, the playground was restored to life!
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An identical twin makes the perfect see-saw partner.
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Just monkey-ing around with Ruhani.
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Thanks again Toni!
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For the last 5-6 years, we have worked with local farmers to provide a centralized space where they can come together to sell their wheat and rice paddy to the Government at a decent price. With paddy harvest season now in full swing, tractor after tractor comes into the mission day after day It's a small service, but makes the entire process incredibly easy for our neighbors and community members - we are happy to be able to help!
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A steady stream of tractors flow into the mission throughout the day to drop off load after load of rice paddy.
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The entire system is computerized and catalogued. Farmers receive their individual payments in their bank accounts.
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Richard, a local farmer and friend has brought his Massey Ferguson tractor loaded with grain ready to sell.
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Our paddy too is ready for harvest. We may start cutting next week.
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In preparation for the upcoming harvest, Rick and Sunny check the hydraulics on the tractor and make a few small repairs.
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There's always another project to do here on the Mission.
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The work and blessings never seem to end. We constantly move from task-to-task as we journey together to provide a home for the homeless and a hope for the hopeless. We thank you all for joining us on this incredible voyage - what an amazing adventure each week turns out to be!
Blessing on you,
Rick, Clifton, Eugene & Priscilla
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For Those Who Pray:
- We ask for your prayers for Uncle Malcolm. This morning, he underwent some complications with his heart and was quickly rushed to ICU in Bareilly. While he is home now, we are still concerned for his health.
- Please continue to pray for Vinod - he's doing great and we pray he continues in that direction.
- Pray for our upcoming paddy harvest. Pray we are able to get the labor we need, that the weather is favorable and the yield is good.
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