Report on India-September 2007

Our team flew out Sept 1st, and only one of our team had been to India – so we were anticipating a new experience in a foreign land.
We spent one night in Singapore and enjoyed a day of seeing some of Singapore before carrying on to Cochin, India that evening.
Cochin is in southern India – in the province of Kerala. This is generally a high tourist area due to the beaches and favourable weather.
The population is several million. With a total population of over 1 billion people in India, each small community even into the hills, are filled with inhabitants. Life is very simple and poverty is so evident.
Upon arriving in India – we were met with hot, humid weather – which was the end of their monsoon weather, this was quite a contrast from our hot, dry weather here in Kamloops.

Our host met us at the airport and we were taken to our hotel which was just adjacent to the airport, where we would stay for the duration of our stay in India. Thank God for air conditioning and a good clean hotel.

We had many days filled with memorable experiences – visiting a new house church in the mountains – nearly a 2 hour journey each way by taxi, plus we were privileged to be part of a graduation ceremony of the Bible School graduates.
We had a ladies meeting and at the end of the service – the ladies sat around(on the floor) as we served them lunch – on a banana leaf – after we had served them lunch – then we also ate. The food was great – and we were blessed to have great health the entire trip.
There are a lot of details that I will not mention but I would like to tell you about our
Orphanage work in India.

The orphanage which we were blessed to go to, has about 20 children – mostly boys – children aging from 6 to 14 years old. We had a great day with the children. As we landed out the gifts, it was a delight to see the the children’s faces as they received their school supplies and small toys. They bowed each time someone would give them a gift, and at the end, they sang us a song in their language. We were all moved to tears. Under such primitive living conditions, their smiles shone through. We toured the home and since the government has not allowed the children to stay in this home, due to regulations, the children have been sleeping in private homes and on the floor of the church which is about 1 hour away.
The children come together during the day to this orphanage home and do their studies and eat together and then go home for the night. The beds that they had been sleeping on in the orphanage, stood empty. As I walked into the bedrooms – I was so taken back. On the head board of each bed was an inscription “In memory of Mrs Elsie Dilk” – each bed was bought by the funds that were raised at my mother’s memorial service 2 years ago. That was an emotional moment for me. I am sure that mom’s heart would be overwhelmed by the thought that her life was living on in the hearts of these children.
These children need a home and we were stirred at the small amount that it would cost to purchase land to build an orphanage so IHHS has donated money for the purchase of land and upon our next trip to India, the Pastor said, that we would be dedicating this new
Orphanage building.
This orphanage has never had a foreigner visit, or assist in any way. They also care for the widows and are planning to start up a sewing class to teach the widows how to sew so they can earn a livelihood for their families.
I was very impressed and moved by the warm hearts and kindness shown to us. It was even more rewarding to touch people who had never been touched by anyone in the world – Without the assistance of outside help, they have worked so diligently to scrape together money to help and needy, care for the orphans, and we consistently heard many reports of lives that were changed and a difference was made by this work in India. They have opened 48 such works all throughout southern India. Many of the workers have gone without food as they wanted to make sure the children were fed.

Will I go back to India? without a doubt – my heart has been touched so immensely by the work that is happening there and we have already booked for November 2008 to return.
We can assist with many projects there and as this work continues to grow and develop, we will keep you informed so that you too can be a part of touching lives in India.
We will keep you posted as to what can be purchased there, so taking money and purchasing items that are needed, would be a great asset. School supplies are costly there so we were able to bless the orphans with a lot of supplies. My sister Grace, has been
gracious to do a lot of the preparation for this trip and through her contact with this work, we have made a lot of new friends in India.
If you are interested in helping us with India – please make checks payable to IHHS
And all the funds will be directed to this mission.
Thank you for standing with us in the vision for India
Evelyn Picklyk
President