home of compassion orphanage newsletter

Volume 8 MAY 2014

INDEPENDENT CHURCH IN INDIA

Annual Home of Compassion Orphanage UpdateAnnual Home of Compassion Orphanage UpdateAnnual Home of Compassion Orphanage UpdateAnnual Home of Compassion Orphanage Update

The Home of Compassion orphanage children with Lowell and Kathy along with Pastor Richard’s family.

Home of Compassion Home of Compassion Home of Compassion Home of Compassion Orphanage has been able to Orphanage has been able to Orphanage has been able to Orphanage has been able to provide a Christprovide a Christprovide a Christprovide a Christ----like home like home like home like home

for children because of your for children because of your for children because of your for children because of your compassion and generosity. compassion and generosity. compassion and generosity. compassion and generosity. These children were rescued These children were rescued These children were rescued These children were rescued from desperation and given from desperation and given from desperation and given from desperation and given

a hope for the future. a hope for the future. a hope for the future. a hope for the future. Thank you so much!Thank you so much!Thank you so much!Thank you so much!

Birthday Parties!Birthday Parties!Birthday Parties!Birthday Parties! We want to thank everyone who sponsored a birthday party. Unlike most children in the US, the poor children of India are not able to celebrate their birthdays. They never had a celebration of their lives before coming to live at the orphanage. Now

their birthdays are special and filled with cake, ice cream, and fun!

This year we

celebrate 8 years

at the Home of

Compassion

Orphanage!

To learn more about sponsoring a birthday

celebration, please see the enclosed sheet.

Christmas 2013 Every child living at the Home of Compassion

orphanage received a new outfit and a selection of gifts for

Christmas! In these photos, the boys and girls are wearing their

new clothing and holding one of the gifts they received on

Christmas day. ICII and the children want to say thank you to

their sponsors for giving them a wonderful Christmas!

A huge thank you to all of you who sent an extra gift last year so that your child could have a wonderful Christmas! All of the kids at the Home of Compassion Orphanage had

so much fun and completely enjoyed their Christmas celebration. The children loved all of their gifts and their

new clothes. They truly feel how much their sponsors love them for providing these gifts! The children are

always so excited to share with their sponsors how thankful they are for their presents each year! To save

postage each year, we will post photos of the orphanage children with their gifts on our website. We will try to have

all their photos posted sometime in January 2015. Don’t forget to check for your child’s photo!

For additional Christmas photos visit our website:

http://indchurch.org/wp/?page_id=371

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HOME OF COMPASSION ORPHANAGE 2014 ANNUAL NEWSLETTER

Gibson

Stalin Anand

Muthaiya Raj Kumar

Manson Veeran

Surya Prahash

Tamilarasan Suthersan

CHRISTMAS DAY 2013

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Rajee Emimaal

Saranya Christy Venila

Karthika

Vijayalaksmi

Susee

Pandeeswari

Helen Mary

Sasikala Naveena

For more photos of the Home of Compassion 2013, see our blog on our website:

http://indchurch.org/wp/?page_id=371

Chinnakaal

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As with every year, the largest program that is conducted is VBS. Throughout Tamil Nadu, thousands of children are taught stories and songs about Jesus, and shown His love in ways that they have never experi-enced. This year in 30 villages surrounding the Home of Compassion Orphanage, VBS classes were held in the evenings, conducted by ICII missionaries, Bible School students, and the older children living at the HOC orphanage. Bible lessons were taught, songs were sung, memory verses were memorized, skits were per-formed, and games were played, reaching an average of 50 children in each village.

Before the VBS program began this year, the HOC Orphanage kids shared, “Our main burden this year for the VBS is to share the gospel with the children who have never heard the gospel. Each of us wants to go to up to 8 villages so we can share the gospel to the children so they can come to the Lord, they can come to church, and they can get baptized. We want to equip them also so they can bring their friends to the church. We know lots of children in the villages who follow different gods, we want to tell them that Jesus is the true God. We want everyone to get saved.”

One of the HOC kids gave a testimony about how she benefited by being a teacher: “Some of the other teach-ers and I were angered by the bad behavior of some of the kids as we were trying to teach. They would act up while we were singing songs and teaching the lessons. This experience taught us self-control and how to trust Jesus even more when we are being tested.”

Chinnakkal, Vennila, and a handful of the other VBS teachers worked to put together special gift packs for each of the kids who participated in this year’s vacation Bible school. Each pack included a small stainless steel dinner plate, a comb, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a small pack of Marie biscuits, a pencil, a New Testament Bible, a Gospel of John, and a kids Gospel tract. The children in the remote villages were very excited to receive their prizes.


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A few days after the VBS final day celebrations were over, Pastor Richard took the available VBS teachers on a day trip to thank them for their hard work. Pastor Richard took everyone to Thekady, Kerala. The first stop was a waterfall, where everyone was able to play in the water. Then they went to a nature preserve and took an hour long pontoon boat ride to view the birds, buffalo, and other ani-mals that live on the land. Among the attendees were Chinnakkal and Karthika who really enjoyed the tour.

This year the VBS Final Celebration was different than in years past. We held a meeting for the children local to Vadipatti at the Compassion Prayer House next to the HOC Orphanage; a little over 350 children attended to share the many things they learned during the VBS program. The re-maining villages celebrated individually with their teachers. One boy shared, “Now I know that Jesus loves me and I am looking forward to learning more about Him at church.” One village did experience some opposition when a drunk man disturbed the lessons and tried to chase everyone away; the children were not deterred and quickly found a new place to meet. All of the children asked for Bibles and accepted the Lord in their hearts. A new children’s church has been started in the village at their request.


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Testimonies at Home of Compassion Orphanage: Every year when we interview the children living at the Home of Compassion (HOC) orphanage, it brings us such hope to hear how each one is growing, learning, and experienc-ing more of Jesus. The children are happy, healthy, hopeful for their futures and grateful for the ways that they were rescued from the bleakness of their pasts. Love and compassion have changed their lives forever; provision and a family setting have given them something they weren’t able to receive from their blood relatives. Each of the children told us what they like most about HOC, what they want to be when they grow up, and some shared testi-monies of how God is using them. Here is what a few of the children shared:

What I like best about Home of Compassion: “God gave me a new life here at the home. He healed me from sick-

ness and I no longer get any beatings. I like the food here and I feel

a lot of love here at the home.” (Sasikala—age 10)

“When I lived in my home, I didn’t have enough food to eat and I

couldn’t go to school, but since I came here, I don’t have to worry

about food and I can do my studies. Jesus has blessed me, and I

have learned a lot of discipline here”. (Susee—age 11)

“In my family I suffered a lot. When I would get in trouble my uncle

would burn me with a hot iron. But since I have been living here at

this home I have been very happy. I have learned a lot with my edu-

cation”. (Vijayalakshmi –age 16)

What I want to be when I grow up: “A doctor—because I want to help other people”. (Karthika—age 12)

“I want to serve the Lord” (Veeran—age 14)

Testimonies:

"One day a girl came to the school from an-

other part of Tamil Nadu as an exchange stu-

dent. After a week this girl was really de-

pressed and one day she drank the poison.

The nursing school saved her life. I was able

to sit with her and I shared the gospel to her

and told her that Jesus has a purpose in her

life. Now she has accepted Christ and she is

doing well. I am also sharing the gospel to

some friends at school and some of them also

have received Jesus into their lives!" (Helen Mary –age 17)

Growing a Spiritual Life

Spiritual growth is very important at the HOC Orphanage. Every morning and evening the children have a time of praise and prayer. They have a group Bible study twice a week and at-tend church on Sundays. They have also been growing in their personal prayer lives, spending time alone with God. The children share, “We intercede for the ministry and we pray for our sponsors. Our heart burden is to reach souls. We feel like we have unity here. When we go to school the teachers know that we are good, obedient children.”

Helen Mary treating a badly infected foot.

Helen Mary

Home of Compassion Children Reach Out to Those with Leprosy/ Helen Mary and her sister came from a very poor leprosy colony and were both in danger of being sold into prostitution. ICII missionaries learned about their situa-tion and rescued them from a life that would have completely ruined their child-hood and lives forever. After first living at ICII’s Promised Land Children’s Home for a few years, Helen Mary grew in her love for Jesus and had a desire to go to nursing school so she could help people with leprosy. Through the love of ICII sponsors, Helen Mary had the chance to go to nursing school and is about to com-plete her first year of studies. She is living at the HOC orphanage while attending nursing school since the school is in the same area. The Lord is using Helen Mary in amazing ways to touch many hurting lives for Christ. At least twice a month Helen Mary and one of the other children from HOC as her assistant will treat the wounds of those with leprosy at ICII’s church service. This service is just for those

with leprosy. Helen Mary shared; “I want to help the people with leprosy and the poor people. The nursing school I am really enjoying. I go to the government hospital and I will be giving shots for polio in different villages to the children. I am doing well in my studies”. When Helen Mary treats these leprosy victims wounds, she does it in complete love and gentleness. She is setting a wonderful example of how much Jesus loves and cares for them. Through your sponsorship, this is a perfect example of a life that was saved from child slavery into one that is glorifying Jesus!

Karthika helping Helen Mary

to wrap the wounds.


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Sometimes it is fun to look back at the past and see how God has changed lives for the better.

Featured are three of the girls who were rescued from a life of poverty eight years ago

and the awesome ways that their lives have transformed since coming to live

at the Home of Compassion Orphanage when it began.

Chinnakkal was 8 years old when she came to the orphan-age. Her father had died when she was young and her mother had been killed. She had never been to school and spent her days with her nearly blind grandfather who could not provide her needs. As an outcast, she had no future. Now she is 16 and getting ready to start her final year in High school, finishing last year with very good grades. Her favorite class this year was accounting. She continues to be a top scorer for her Kabadi team, one of the top teams in Tamil Nadu. She loves doing village ministry and teaching VBS classes. She shares, “Every time I go to school I share the gospel with my friends. This year I even got to share the gospel with another [Kabadi] team that my school was play-ing against. Two of the other team members accepted the Lord! She is excited for what the next year will bring and is looking forward to her future.

Venila, now 16, was also 8 years old when she came to live at the orphanage. Both her parents abandoned her and her sister, leaving them with their grandmother. While her grandmother worked all day to try to provide for the girls, at a very young age she had to keep the house—carry water, find fire wood, cook, clean, etc.—all while car-ing for her younger sister. She never had the chance to be a child. Today, she is thriving, studying well and getting ready to finish High School next year. This year her favor-ite subject in school was English and she really loves to play chess. Venila expresses a desire to be a missionary in the future, already participating in helping conduct vil-lage ministry, Bible studies, and VBS. She shares, “I want to be a missionary because many people do not know about Jesus and I want to share the gospel because many people are lost.” Her future is filled with joy and hope.

Karthika came to the orphanage at the age of 4. Her fam-ily was torn apart through violence and she was sent to live with her uncle. With so many of his own children in the house already, her uncle sold her off to be a house slave, required to do whatever work her owners wanted her to do. Nearly a baby, she was forced to beg for food to stay alive. Since coming to live at the orphanage, she has had the opportunity to be a child, to grow up sur-rounded by other children to play with, to go to school and learn, and to eat three meals a day without having to beg for it. This year she is 12 and just completed 7th grade; she is a good student. She has a very compas-sionate heart, and loves caring for animals and children who are smaller than her. Though her life started out without any prospects, today she anticipates what God will do in her life as she continues to grow in His grace.

Give a gift that will change lives for all eternity... Please kindly cut out this box and send with check or money order. [ ] I want to sponsor an orphanage for $_____ (write amount) per month. [ ] I want to sponsor a native missionary for $30 per month. [ ] I want to sponsor a leprosy colony for $_____ (write amount) per month. [ ] I would like to give a one time gift to help provide the needs of Independent Church in India of the amount of $______.

NAME______________________________________________________ ADDRESS __________________________________________________ CITY________________________ STATE________ ZIP______________ E-MAIL_______________________PHONE ( ) __________________

Please make checks or money orders out to “Independent Church in India” or ”ICII” Please send gifts to: Independent Church in India, PO Box 238, Fredericksburg, Pa. 17026

Website: www.indchurch.org E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (717) 865-7885

Healing the Broken HeartedHealing the Broken HeartedHealing the Broken HeartedHealing the Broken Hearted How you can get more involved!How you can get more involved!How you can get more involved!How you can get more involved!

Sponsors will receive a photo

and testimony of the native mis-

sionary they are helping to sup-

port, and updates on orphanage

and leprosy colony sponsorships.

Each sponsor will also have

opportunities to

purchase their sponsored

person additional gifts to

help them even more.

Independent Church in India’s Sponsorship Programs:

1). Sponsor the Orphanage - Sponsor one of ICII’s homes for children. This will

help to cover extra expenses of the home. For a gift of any amount per month you

can be a part of all the children’s lives that live at one of the orphanages.

2). Sponsor a Missionary - You can send a native missionary in India to tell others

about Jesus, to have Bible studies with new believers, and to start churches. Your

$30 a month support will help to provide for their physical needs and will enable

them to have Gospel supplies such as tracts, Bibles, transportation, and other

ministry tools.

3). Sponsor a Leprosy Colony - For a gift of any amount will provide a poor and

needy leprosy colony with their greatest needs: food, medical needs, clothing,

sandals, personal needs, and more!

Let them know about Independent Church in India’s sponsorship programs and the joyful bless-ings you have received by helping. We have sponsorships to sponsor one of the orphanages, a leprosy colony, or a native missionary. .

All gifts

are tax-

deductible

HOME OF COMPASSION 2014 ANNUAL NEWSLETTER

Joyful Blessings

The official registration and financial information of Independent Church In India may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1 (800) 732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

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When you sponsor a child or the orphanage, you get to make the differ-ence in the lives of children who had no future. You are following Je-sus’ example in loving the little children. Have you shared how the Lord has used your sponsorship to heal the broken hearted and transformed lives in India in the love of Jesus? Would you consider sponsoring an-other area of ministry, and help to change more lives? Or do you know anyone else who may be interested in sponsorship?

Susee was saved from a life of slavery.

home of compassion orphanage newsletter

Documents

poor children of india

christmas celebration

birthday parties

wonderful christmas

birthday celebration

additional christmas

birthday party

selection of gifts