Amazing India

We want to invite you to be a part of an amazing experience as New Hope Initiative travels to India this coming September. You will have an opportunity to serve as a volunteer in our special needs orphanage as well as experiencing of of the worlds most distinctive and unique cultures. The trip dates are still a bit tentative however we are planning on departing Saturday September 27 and returning around Monday October 6. The cost cannot be finalized until we have the airfare booked however we estimate the cost of this all inclusive experience to be between $2200 and $2500 dollars.

The major focus of this trip will be to spend time and help with the developmental issues of our special needs children who live in our orphanage near Hyderabad India in the center of this amazing country. Even if you have no experience with special needs children we can train and prepare you to have a part in this mission. We will also, depending on the skill set of our team, spend some time working on the physical buildings, and possibly doing some training of the staff.

We want to have our team finalized by late May so that we can get the best prices on lodging and airfare so if you are interested please communicate with our director Sandy Baird at s.baird@newhopeintiative.org. Sandy is planning on personally taking part in this trip. He will put you in contact with our India project and team trip directors Miguel and Katrina Bustos. This promises to be an incredible experience, we would love to have you join us!

Meeting Wisdom in Sierra Leone

As I look back on my recent trip to Sierra Leone I must go back to my first trip in 2009. It was on that trip that I first encountered a young girl with the saddest eyes I had ever seen. We had split up into groups to share the gospel with the children and this young girl was in my group. Like the other children in the group she spoke little English so I needed an interpreter to communicate with her. That night as I lay in my bed reflecting on the day I could not get her out of my mind. So I asked God to show me how to reach out to her. The next time I saw her, I taught her how to say I love you in American Sign Language. From that time on whenever I saw her I would sign “I love you” and each time the hint of a smile would appear on her face. After returning home I emailed Pastor Rogers and shared my experience with him. He wrote back and told me her story which explained the sadness I saw. Over the course of the year I corresponded with “my girl” through Pastor Rogers. Then when I returned in 2010 for the dedication of the Karen Baird Children’s Home I was excited to find a different little girl. The sad eyes I saw the previous year now reflected joy. Flash forward to January 2013 when I returned to Sierra Leone for the first time in three years. How she has grown! My heart filled with such joy when Pastor Rogers told me he has given her the name “Wisdom” because she works hard in school and is very smart. Sometimes I wonder why I have remained single with no children of my own but then I think of my kids in Sierra Leone and I realize that God had other plans for me. He saw a woman with no children and two kids needing a mum and brought them together. He is amazing!

God is doing wonderful things through the Sierra Leone project. It was exciting to see the addition of a second building and with that the increased number of children whose lives are being changed. The children are healthy and happy. They know they are loved by people they may never meet and they are very thankful for them. Children who once had no hope for the future now think about where God will take them.

My life has changed tremendously since that first trip in 2009. I thank God for taking me out of my comfort zone and blessing me in ways I could never imagine.

Written by Lorraine Wood

Summer 2013

For some the number 13 has an unlucky connotation, however for New Hope Initiative the summer of 13 promises to be a season of amazing opportunities. We have an incredible schedule of nine teams, 150 motivated individuals, who will join us in East Africa with a great desire to make a difference through the work of NHI. We have some of the most diverse and talented teams we have ever assembled. Our work will include day camps, musical teams, sports camps, village ministry, medical opportunities, construction teams, and women’s initiatives. Also during this summer we will dedicate the new wing of our medical center in Arusha, Tanzania and begin a major building program for the school and clinic in Kibera. We also will focus in the coming weeks on major improvements to the Kibera New Hope School. We are confident these changes will help make the school one of the finest educational establishments not only in Kibera, but in all of Africa. We would ask you to pray for our leadership, the team leaders, and every team member coming to work with us in Kenya and Tanzania. Pray that this summer will be a life changing experience for all.