When I think about the special needs orphanage in India that New Hope Initiative supports, I think about the gospel. Honestly, what an amazing picture of the heavenly Father. I think about the words accepted, redeemed, loved. Without Christ Jesus, we were rejected, condemned and alone. But, Christ turned that around for us. As His children, we are accepted, redeemed, loved.
So are the children in our special needs orphanage. They have been rejected by the culture, condemned for their needs and left fatherless. But, our God is a good Father and in His great kindness, He has recued these children from the cruel world around them. Through the leadership of Pastor Timothy and his family, these children not only have a home, education and healthcare, but they also have had the opportunity to learn about our great God, His love and His power to save.
““…in You the orphan finds mercy.” Hosea 14:3b”
Pastor Timothy’s daughter, Grace, has started to take a larger role in the leadership of the orphanage, and we are excited about her dreams for the future. We have seen great change in some of the special needs children after hiring a full-time therapist to teach them and work with them to learn basic life skills. Small things like learning to write their names and dress themselves have been great accomplishments over the past year for these children but also for the orphanage as a whole.
Also, Grace was excited to tell me that she has developed good relationships with the local government and awarded some funding to help take care of the children. This is a helpful acknowledgement of the orphanage by the government and the good work we are doing to care for the children.
In addition, God has provided a new supporting partner in the States to help raise funds for special projects. So far, we have received funding to upgrade the plumbing and fix the washrooms. And, just recently, we were told the funding is coming for a much needed upgrade to our security wall around the compound.
We are grateful for how the LORD is providing for His children and thankful that we get to be a part of His work in India towards special needs children. We continue to look for new partners in our work and are hoping to visit late 2016 or early 2017. Feel free to contact Lauren Allgood at lkallgood@gmail.com if you have interest.