Joy

Today's word is joy.

After a relatively brief ride to the neighborhood where the child development center (CDC) was located, we were told the buses were too large to navigate the last few miles. We would take rickshaws from there.

Hooray! It was such a fun experience! I sat up front. Our guide looked at me and said "hold on or you will fall out" with a very serious look!

It was great to ride through the jungle area and see everything from a normal point of view instead of up high from a tour bus. The coconut and banana trees were amazing. The smells were overwhelming-- both good and bad.

When we arrived at the CDC the older children were prepared in marching band fashion with a song to welcome us!! All the younger children lined each side of the dirt road as we were paraded in. Even in the sweltering heat it was fantastic!

Every little boy and girl wanted their photo taken and we all obliged them. Mothers would shove their children forward to have their little ones memorialized in our minds forever.

We enjoyed fresh bananas as we listened to the priest talk about the work that Compassion is doing in the area. He oversees this particular CDC alone and he asked us to pray for him. The Muslim and Hindu religions are equally popular in that particular area and although there have not been any issues, he is alone and would like another Christian leader to come alongside him to help with the work. Obviously the Compassion staff are there but to lead the church and oversee the project is a huge undertaking.

We were able to hear stories from mothers enrolled in the child survival program (CSP) and visit some of their homes. The home my group visited was really like an entire village!

The grandfather (a Muslim), his daughter, his granddaughter (the mom enrolled in CSP), grandsons and grandchildren live together in the same section of the cluster of homes. Despite his religion, he welcomed us in and wanted us to take pictures of him and his family.

The joy that the CSP enables is evident on each face. One mother brings back valuable information to her entire village and the CSP offers programs and meetings for the entire family-- especially targeting the in-laws who's religion is mostly Muslim with some Hindu.

These mothers learn life saving health information that especially benefits themselves while they are pregnant and once they give birth. But those lessons carry over to all of the other children as well.

While enrolled in the program they come together with other moms and moms to be for Bible study and quizzes. They sing songs of praise and dance. They pray for one another.

Seeing the impact of the CSP was so wonderful today. God is doing amazing things and each mother enrolled is doing his work.

Please pray for the CSP's here in India and all over the world.