It's 17 years since we started the ministry. We now have a second children's home in DK Patnam so more work and more kids to get involved with.
At the present time we do not have a school on this second campus but it is our vision to see a second school established enabling us to see more children have the opportunity to get a good education and thereby change their future.
My Monsoon Pictures
Some of my monsoon pictures click to change them. We enjoy this season because its the only time we see rain all year.
Public Holidays Galore
I am always astounded by the number of days things are closed here. Public holidays amount to about 53 per year. This means there are some months with days and days when nothing happens. We choose not to give all the holidays to our school but for those who attend government schools from September through to November there are lots of days off. We have had so far since September 9 days of Elephant God festival, 14 days of Dussehra, Muharram, Deewali, Gandhi's Birthday, Nag Panchami, Govardhan Puja, Naraka Chaturdasi, Bhai Duj, Surya Sashthi,Guru Bahadur's Martyrdom Day. This of course is the list I have but it is probably incomplete. It does make for the challenge of trying to work school timetables out to fit in necessary exams etc.
In what I call the black God season we see the disciples of Ayapann (Son of Kali Goddess of Destruction) do their 60 days of puja and although this is not a public holiday they do camp out in a great crowd at the village temple and make a colossal din from 3.30am every morning for 60 days before they all go off to some temple. We call them the black god people as for the duration of their puja they wear all black clothing and no sandals. They leave their home for the period and so congregate in temples or halls and are supposed to eat no meat or drink or smoke. However a few do drift up the lane to near us for a quick cigarette and some alcohol whilst no one is watching. For me they always look evil, dressed all in black with strange white and red paint on their foreheads. They never smile just stare out of rather black looking eyes.
Building work
We started building on the campus on 2 January 2007 and so far have not really stopped. From building various churches around the area to doing things on the campus it seems to never end. I suspect builders are the same the world over, disappearing for days whilst they hover over more jobs than can reasonably be done. They always seem to take longer than planned and make more of a mess than is necessary. Quite often builders arrive with no tools and you have to buy your own so they can do the job. Fortunately we have no problem with tools although for me how much mess they make is the worst thing. painters seem to think that gloss paint should not be put on so thickly it all runs and drips onto the floor. Any plug sockets, switches or handles are just painted over!! It usually takes me longer to put it all right than it did for them to paint it all.
My next book
I'm still working on my next book this time it's a larger book detailing keys the Holy Spirit has shown to me. These keys open up some of the hidden pictures contained in scripture and open up the Scriptures in an exciting way. I hope too be able to finish it this year if I can navigate a way through the constant interruptions and demands on my time which seem to never end.