Day 6 -- Gandhigram

Today was a day I have looked forward to for a long time. I first came to India a year ago planning to work in the Eye Hospital here on the mission campus. God had other plans. I felt a strong calling to help the kids in the mission's Project ASHA. ASHA (which means "love") is a child adoption program that provides all the needs for low caste children in small villages, including education and church.

Upon returning from India, several of us have worked very hard to get the program running in Amarillo. Today we visited Gandhigram, the first village of children for which we have been finding sponsors.

As we arrived to the meeting site, we were immediately surrounded by gleeful kids anxious to see us and shake our hands. Little did they know that our excitement probably exceeded theirs. Last year we only briefly visited with them. This year, we had the opportunity to play and teach them.

Judy had the full attention of over 85 little kids as she read the Max Lucado book "You Are Special." When she finished, the children exploded with applause. I leaned over to Judy and asked, "Have you ever received such an incredible ovation?" She then introduced the VeggieTales movie David and the Giant Pickle by telling the story of David and Goliath. The very talented folks at the media studio of the Mid India Christian Mission remarkably erased the sound from the English version and recorded new voices in Hindi. They were entranced by the animation as this was their first time to ever see a video.

Afterward, we divided the kids into smaller groups and each of us had the pleasure of playing Pin the Nose on Bob the Tomato. The kids had so much fun that some of the parents asked to have a turn. That created a ruckus.

We took photographs of each child and printed them with portable printers. We then taped the photos into a folded piece of paper and asked the kids to create a masterpiece with crayons we gave them. Kids and crayons, a win win situation. Once the children finished their drawings, they eagerly showed each of us...sometimes more than once in their exuberance. The joy on their faces overfilled our hearts.

As we loaded in the cars and drove away, you could tell in each of our eyes that this single afternoon made the whole trip worthwhile. --Alan