India update || Zach Fry || 7/28/2024 || 10:30 am

Ye soldiers of the cross. Would you want to welcome me this morning to Calvary Chapel and those online with us? And we want to ask that you just join us in prayer now. Father, we thank you for this opportunity to gather this morning to worship you in song, to study your word together. Just bless our service. We want to lift up the children's church teachers down at the other end of the hall.

Would you bless them as they teach the youngsters and give them listening ears? Lift up the nursery workers. Please bless their time in there with those youngsters, those little bitties. And that you'd bless the toddler class and those working with them, Lord. Encourage the ushers to strengthen us all to live and walk for you and to serve you as you give us opportunity.

And we just want to give you thanks, Lord, in Jesus' name. In person, this blessed Trinity. Father, we thank you for before the foundation. We thank you for the foundation of the world planning to save us. We thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ who saved us. And we thank you for the Holy Spirit who sealed us and leads and guides and keeps us. We thank you for that.

We give you praise, Lord Jesus. You may be seated.

Fill us afresh this morning. Look to you. Trust you. And his faith worship you. Worship you.

God is good.

We're on top this side of the earth. Love you and serve you. We pray for you. When we sin. Confess. And we're blessed. Praise you for it. Praise you in the good and the bad. Knowing that you're working in us both to will and do it for your good pleasure. All things are worked together for the good. For those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

And we know it's bringing us in closer to that image of you, Lord. Preparing us for that day that we'll be glorified with you in glory. We'll be up there serving you, Lord. Worshiping you. And that new electricity of your life is because you'll be the light. Amen. Praise you. Would you all stand?

So, Father, as we are singing worship to you, we thank you for the way you provide for us. The way in which you meet our needs. The way in which you allow trials and tests in our life to not show you anything that you already know. But to show us that we're yours. And that truly, those tests just... Encourage us that we belong to you, Lord. And that you take us through those times of testing.

Those times that get a little hard. You're the same God. You love us. And you're building character in our life that wouldn't be built in otherwise, Lord. So, would you help us to just trust you in all these areas of our life, Lord? These things that concern us. We have been so blessed here in America, Lord.

And so easily take for granted and trust you.

Would you all stand? I think I said that.

Oh, Saul.

Take this time.

Let's have a little fellowship. Lord, bless our timing. As Zach and Laura share too. In Jesus' name, amen.

Looking at this. This is all going on this week except for two things. Tonight's 6.30 study with the college group isn't going to be going on. Because Ryan isn't back yet. He should be back early this week. And then on Tuesday, we aren't going to be having our home fellowship. For two weeks, because we're going to be, Marianne and I are going to be gone. Otherwise, everything's going on.

And so, definitely get involved in any of the studies. What's happening in the center section, remember that on the Calvary's Lady event that Lisa shared about last week and a couple weeks before, that the registration is due today. So, make sure that if you're wanting to take part in that, that you let them know. The QR code there is how you'd get registered.

And if you need help, maybe we can help.

The Kansas Bible Conference is the same weekend up at Calvert Chapel, Johnson County. And so, Ryan is going to be teaching at that. So, if you're interested to be part of that, you can go up. I know it's a free conference to go to. But you're going to be up in the Olathe area. So, you're going to have some place to stay unless you like to drive a lot.

And the following week, on Sunday, 8-11, we do have a baptism. And we're excited. We're excited about that. If you haven't spoken with Ryan about getting baptized, definitely do that. And then the women's retreat in September. This is a Wichita Calvary event. But they would love to have you be a part of that. So, go online there as described and take part in that if you're a woman.

Other than that, let me see. If I've got everything else taken care of. I think so. So, tonight, or today, Zach and Laura Fry are here with their family. And Zach is going to share mostly about the ministry that they love and they're a part of. So, I'll have Zach come up and give him the mic. So, he can. So, I'll have Zach come up and share with you all the excitement that he's got going on.

Good morning. I'm excited to be here and excited to get to share with you all this morning. Thank you all for having me. So, I want to give you an update. Some of you may remember I was here last year and I spoke briefly and kind of gave you guys an update of the time of a ministry that my wife and I are involved with over in India. But we were able to go back this past year.

January and February. And so, I just want to give you guys a more fuller update, a picture of this ministry. You all have been involved since the very beginning in helping to sponsor this ministry. So, I wanted to give you guys an update of what's going on over there and to share our heart and share some of the stories from over there, from our time there.

I am going to protect the children and their privacy and the safety of the children's home. I'm not going to be able to say any names of the couple that runs the ministry. The name of the ministry or the name of the children. So, it's challenging for me to speak about them without using their names. And hopefully, it doesn't sound too impersonal. But we've always had to be a little bit careful.

But over the years, it's gotten more and more difficult and challenging because of the government in India and their laws and regulations. And so, we're just trying to protect them. So, for those of you on the live stream, you won't be able to see the photos. Which does have the names on it. So, I apologize if it seems like I'm just not giving you very many details.

But for those of you who are in here this morning, the photos will have names of people and children. So, you can look there to see that information. Like I said, the political system has become a greater challenge over the years for ministries to deal with. It's a... Very Hindu nationalist ideology. And many ministries involving orphan and child care have had to close down.

And almost all foreign ministries that have any sort of Christian ties have had to leave the country. Compassion International was forced to leave in 2017. When the government started blocking all their funding. And unfortunately, at that time when they left, there were 147,000 babies. Children. And young adults. And mothers who were no longer able to receive the benefits of Compassion International.

There were 589 churches that they had to end their partnerships with. And they had 127 staff members that they were no longer able to support. That had dedicated their lives to serving the poorest of the poor in these remote regions in India. And they tried everything. They tried different angles. So, that unfortunately is becoming a more and more common reality in India.

And even during our own time, when we went and visited, we were able to go back and visit the orphanage where we adopted our daughter, Nathra. And we were sad to learn that their orphanage, which was a very well-run orphanage, was going to be closing their doors this summer. Same reasons the government regulations have made it too difficult. After they placed the last two little girls that were in their orphanage, then they were closing their doors.

And we heard... Several stories, while we were there, of some orphanages that we had visited in the past that are now closed and no longer in operation.

And I don't know... It's important to mention, I mean, India is a very large country and lots of... Every state has their own culture, their own language. We're only familiar with this particular state in southern India. So, I don't know if this is happening all over India. But I do know it's happening in the south. And historically, this south... India has been more favorable to Christianity.

Parts of it are what they would call the Bible Belt of India. So, to see it happening in the south is particularly sad. And I assume it's happening all over. But I don't know that part for a fact. So, I want to give you a little bit of backstory of the ministry that we're involved with, how it came to be. So, back in 14 years ago, 2010, my wife and I joined Youth at the Mission and did a discipleship training school with them.

And we were sent to India for... A three-month outreach. We were involved in various ministries while we were there. Leper colonies, orphan ministries, slum ministries, going out and doing village evangelism. But Laura and I were always drawn to the children. Whenever possible, we would love to go into the orphanages and just to spend time loving on these kids.

While we were in India, we met a pastor and his wife. And I won't share their names, but they are up there on this... On the slide, you can see. And we learned that his wife had a dream to start a children's home. One thing led to another. And after talking with them, and we returned home and to our church, Calvary Chapel over in Oak Falls. And after we shared their story, a check was written and the ministry was born.

They started by just taking two children other than their own three children, bringing in two more boys into their home. And back in... In 2011, and they quickly grew to 11 children by 2012. Over the years, the numbers have gone up and the numbers have gone down. Their children's home is not an orphanage in the sense that we often think of an orphanage. Many of the children do still have parents, but their parents are unable to care for them for a variety of reasons.

Some have a single parent that works very long hours or away from the home. Some have... Some of the children have parents that are in jail. Some of the parents have alcoholic fathers or mothers that are involved in less than reputable professions. Some of them are being cared for by... Or were being cared for by older siblings who just were unable to really provide what they needed.

And some of them have no parents at all. For the first three or four years, this couple just took the children in and brought them into their home. It was a one-bedroom home. That they remodeled to be sufficient. Here you can see, this is a picture of the home. The lower level was actually... Someone else lived there. So the upper level was they just rented.

And it had one bedroom, a small kitchen, and a kind of a common space. So that was where they started, and they just brought these children in and made it work. But these children were provided with things that they'd never had before. They were given genuine care. Consistent meals, an education, Christian disciplines, and a family atmosphere. Now whenever Laura retells this story and tells how this all came about,

she likes to highlight the power of a single yes. Saying yes to God whenever he prompts. And as I reflected and was preparing for today, I was struck by the profound impact of a ripple of yeses. A whole string of yeses. And how they all... Come to accomplish God's plan. And I know God is sovereign. And he can most definitely accomplish his plan without our help.

But I also know that for whatever reason, God chooses to use us. All of us. To accomplish his plan.

Ephesians 2.10, right after the part where it says that we are saved by grace through faith. And not through works that no man can boast. Right after that it says, that for we are his. His workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus for good works. Which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. And I find that fascinating that God prepared the good work for us in advance.

We just have to say yes to doing them. He's prepared the way. He's lined it all up. We just have to say yes and walk in them. This married couple in India. Just said yes and brought children into their existing home. They could have easily said, well, but we need a bigger space. We need a separate facility. We need more money. We need beds. We need the promise of financial support.

We need financial stability. But they simply said yes and just brought two boys in. Later someone in our church said yes and wrote a check for a thousand dollars. That allowed for this whole thing to begin. And if we go back up the line. There was a ripple of yeses that made this ministry possible. My wife and I contributed our own yes to that string of yeses.

By taking a leave from work or in Laura's case resigning from her job. When we stepped into the unknown to do a discipleship training school. Which led us to India where we made lifelong friends. So as I share some of these stories with you today of this ministry. And some of the children's personal stories. I don't want you to just hear these stories. As some random couples sharing about some kids in a faraway country.

But rather hold on to the hope of what God can and does do through all of us when we step out in obedience. We don't have to see the whole picture. In fact God rarely gives us more than what we need to just take the next step. So do you feel something or a prompting in your own life? That maybe is something that's on God's heart? Or is God asking you to take a small step of faith?

And I want you to be encouraged that a simple yes can have a ripple effect with other yeses. And we may get to play a part in God's unfolding story and see lives transformed. Over the next several years we raised well over $100,000. And they were able to buy their own land. As you'll see on the next slide. And they were able to start construction of a three story home.

To continue to bring new children into their care. This was shortly after they bought the land and they had built a retaining wall. That wall, while it is also the start of the foundation, it is the border to the land they purchased. It's very common in India to build your house all the way to the borders of your property. So you don't really have a yard. But that is the land that they were able to purchase.

So I'm going to show you a quick compilation video. That shows the building progress. And I apologize. The video was pulled from somewhere else and sped up. And so there's a lot of zooming in and out. And hopefully you don't get seasick from that. But it gives you kind of an idea of where they were and what they have now.

So when the video finished, the first level was completed. Which is how it was when we returned in 2014. And we were able to spend a significant amount of time living with them. But eventually they were able to raise more funds and build the second and third story. And because, again, of some of the government regulations, they have never been able to fully use the building as they initially intended for it to be.

A full building of children. But they have been able to use the building for other ministries as well. And they are fully utilizing the building now. That is how the building looks today. The three stories. And then their neighbors connected right onto their building. And I've shared this before. But the couple are both first generation Christians coming from Hindu backgrounds.

I've heard to the pastor refer to the children in their care as second generation. And he likes to call them the Joshua generation. We've been reading through the Exodus count at our church's Wednesday night Bible study. And I've been encouraged to see how that second generation, after Moses led the first generation out of Egypt. And after the first generation died off.

How the second generation had a stronger foundation. And they were able to do things that the first generation was not able to do. Joshua himself was mentored by Moses. And was able to enter into the promised land. This second generation had the benefit of being raised with the law. And not in slavery. They had a different world view than their parents. This last Wednesday we were reading Joshua chapter 24.

Where Joshua famously commanded them to choose for themselves who they would serve. Would they serve the gods of their ancestors? Would they serve the gods of the people in the land where they were living? Or would they serve Yahweh? And I think it is fitting to make that comparison. In a country where people serve thousands of lives. In a country where people serve thousands of gods.

And these children are being raised with a counter culture world view. That like Joshua and his generation has the potential to change the whole trajectory of their family line. On our third trip to India we were able to stay and live with them in the children's home for about four months. And that was a very impactful trip. Where we really got to know the kids.

And we spent a lot of time working with them. And the children that we loved on and worked with. Daily during that time will always hold a very, very special place. And Laura is in my heart. One thing as I was reflecting over the last service I did. I don't know that I fully conveyed it. But we absolutely love India and the people of India. We love everything about the country, the culture, the people.

We love being involved in the children's lives. So we were able to finally go back after almost a six year absence. We were able to go back this past January and February and take our whole family. Our three children. And spend some time with some of our dearest friends. We also took our pastor from Calvary over in Oak Falls. So he could meet the people and the faces behind the ministry and the children that are there.

There were many new kids that we had never met before since it had been an extended period of time since we had been back. But over the three weeks that we were there we got to know each and every one of them. And learn their story. So I wanted to share with you all some of those stories that we were able to learn while we were there. I'm going to ask my wife to come up and share a little bit about this family.

The couple and their children that are running the ministry. But when we walked in after being gone for a long time. We walked into the open hall on the ground level. I don't know that I can fully describe just the flood of emotions we felt. And all the memories that came back from our time that we spent there previously helping the children. All right. Well, the first group was my guinea pig.

So hopefully my part in this presentation got better by the second service today. Every single time. And first I'm going to have a hard time talking without using their names. Because they're such treasures and such good friends of ours now. Every time I get to speak about this family on the screen. I feel just as overwhelming. Pressure to make the audience understand just how much they radiate the love of Jesus to others.

And I was thinking about this as I was preparing for this. We homeschool our three children. And Felix, our youngest one. We were studying the sun and the moon the other day. And basically it came down to the curriculum we use. Talking about that we are basically the moon reflecting the sun. And so we are. And so we are reflecting Jesus' love to other people.

And so when I look at this family, I oftentimes think, you know, they totally 100% embody the moon. Because they just reflect the love to so many people in the country of India. I'm just going to go off my, I'm going to forget my notes and just talk. I told Zach earlier it's just easier for me to talk. And hopefully I won't say their names. The mother is the one that has impacted my life probably the most out of anybody I've ever met.

She just serves selflessly. She to me is the Proverbs 31 woman. She is completely embodies that. I have to take care of three children every day. Feed them. Shuttle them. Take them places. You know, do all the mom stuff. And I can get really worn out from that and just feel, you know, sympathy for myself. And then I go to India and I see this woman who serves 11 children every day selflessly.

And then in her free time she's in her room praying and worshiping the Lord. And I have just, I've just gotten so much from watching that over the years as we've gone back and forth from India to America. And I think the biggest thing is I just see that she just realizes she cannot do life apart from the father. And so she feels she just has to have a constant feeling of him in order to pour out love to these children.

And we hear that. But to actually see that happening on a daily basis. And just to not desire to do other things. But just desire to be in the presence of the Lord in every free second she had was so powerful and just struck me to the very core. Her husband, which I'll call him the pastor, he has sacrificed a lot for this ministry. This was her dream when we met them like in 2011.

This was her dream. And he has supported her wholly and has had to actually walk away from some things in the church to serve at home in this ministry. And then we move on to the third part. And that's the three kids that they have had. I think about, you know, my three kids. And if we had brought in 11 additional children into our home, what would that look like for them?

So these three kids have sacrificed so much. And you will get to hear at the very end, Zach will play a video at the end of this presentation. And you will get to hear the three of them speak on how much this children's home has impacted their lives. I mean, yes, they've had to share their parents. They've had to open up their home. They've had to share time.

You know, with their family. With other children. And just sacrifice items and lots of things they've had to do. But you'll get to hear at the end of the presentation two of them that speak out about how much it was a blessing to them. And it was really cool when we went back. The son, the oldest boy, the only boy they have, he has such great friendships with these boys that are now men that were raised from this children's home.

Like they're his best friends. And so that's just really neat. This is a little bit about their family. The two girls are, well, okay, the two, it's so hard to talk without saying their names. The two oldest ones are in college. And so they're doing amazing things, medical school and then like some artificial intelligence beyond my knowledge. They're doing that.

And then the youngest one is actually going into ninth grade. But that's just a little bit about them. I'm trying to think if there's anything I can add to that. I think I'll just end with this. When we were over there, my four-year-old son, five-year-old son, he looked at me when we were flying out. And he says, Mom, I wish we could just put them all in our suitcase and bring them back with us.

Because it was a really emotional goodbye for our family, taking three kids over, spending three weeks living in this children's home. And I come home and I'm like, man, I wish I could just take all of you, put you in my suitcase and take you over there so you could fully understand that these people are really living out the gospel. To the very fullest. So while we were there in the children's home on this last trip, you know, we were involved with helping them with their reading.

Laura taught them some basic phonics. And we started a cognitive therapy program with the kids. We taught them English worship songs. And when you don't speak a common language, one of the best ways to make connections is to play. So we joined the children's home. We joined in their soccer games and so many other new games that they taught us that we had no idea what the rules were.

But we joined in. They get typically about an hour of free time after school every day before they start studying. And so after speaking with some of the kids who were in the home when we were there in the past who are now grown and hearing their stories, and these kids that we had spent months with at a time over multiple trips, they shared stories. And we learned that our feeble efforts to teach English in the past actually mattered and actually made a difference to them.

They shared with us memories of us teaching them phonics, which is not at all how they learned to read English in India. And how those repetitive lessons actually helped them. And they shared that some of the English DVDs we left them of reading, they would watch over and over and over again. And Laura and I were struck with the realization that some of these short-term visits actually did make an impact on these children.

They shared memories of us getting up before dawn to do daily exercises with the children on the roof. They reminisced about a talent show we put on. And they each discussed their acts that they had prepared and rehearsed over and over again. And they surprised us by still being able to sing the English worship songs we taught them over a decade ago. And so because of those stories, we were inspired and encouraged to spend as much time as possible with these new children that we had never met.

Even though in our flesh we just wanted to just spend time with the older kids who were returning to visit and spend time with them. And just relive memories and do some of the other fun things. We realized that it was impactful and important to spend time with these children who were just living in the home. Every night before they, well usually after dinner, before bed, they do Bible reading and worship time.

And our boys were able to join in on that a little bit. Our son Ruben was able to share some Bible stories and have them translated and shared. So it was neat to see our whole family get involved on this trip. Our boys absolutely loved being around these seven boys. Not just me. We were able to be around them nonstop and having friends that were rather rough and tough Indian boys.

But they quickly became great friends even though they didn't speak the same language at all. And our daughter Nathra, she loved all the Indian food, the daily chai tea. And then she got to help teach some of the cognitive brain training games to the kids that she herself does in therapy every day. So overall it was one of our best trips to India. To see our whole family get involved.

But then to hear the stories of the children as they have grown. And I will get to that in a minute. I also mentioned earlier that they aren't using the building the way that they initially intended. As a full orphanage on every level. Or a full children's home on every level. But they're currently renting out the second level to a YWAM ministry, Youth with a Mission, to a School of Biblical Studies course.

And it's a nine month course where young adult Indians come to be trained. And equipped to know the Bible. They learn the inductive study method of the Bible. And they read through the Bible five times in nine months. The first time they read through each book aloud in one setting. So they'll, whatever book they're ready for, they read the entire book from start to finish in one setting out loud.

The second time they read through, they highlight and color code text for observation. The third time they create each book aloud. These horizontal charts for the whole book. The fourth time they create vertical charts for each segment. And the fifth time they write out the main idea. And use a critical method to find who wrote the book. Who it was written to.

Where it was written. When it was written. Key words. Key ideas. And the big picture of the whole book. And they do all of this without any commentaries or Bible dictionaries. And they're encouraged to get everything just from the text. And become extremely familiar with the Bible. So to say that this is an intense course is an understatement. While we were there, the couple's oldest daughter, she was going through this course.

So she was in the thick of it. So we didn't actually get to see her or spend a lot of time with her. Because she was always studying. She was always reading. Very busy. In fact, before we came, the pastor and his wife said they never see her anymore. And she's just on a different level in the same house. But they never see her. Because she is from sunup to sundown.

Busy studying and reading. And then one of the older boys that has already left the children's home. Got a degree. Has came back. And he went through the New Testament portion of the course. About half the course. And then there's various other young Indians that are going through this course. And being trained to go out and to preach the gospel. And to start other ministries.

Our pastor, Steve Bliss, was able to teach the book of Jonah while we were there. So I think that was maybe one of the highlights of him. Maybe one of the highlights of his trip was to be involved in this very intentional Bible teaching school. But the absolute highlight for Laura and I of this trip was seeing the fruit of this ministry. Seeing all the children that we had known so well when they were younger return as young adults to visit us.

It was one of the most rewarding things I've ever experienced. And as I mentioned earlier, you know, we saw some fruit of some things we did. But it wasn't just that. It was the fruit of this ministry as a whole. How it has shaped their lives. Transformed their lives. And the things that they're now doing as adults. Their lives have been changed from the day in, day out care that they received from this ministry and this children's home.

And so I want to share with you some of the stories of these children. So the first one I'm going to talk about are the two brothers. These are two of the original children in the home. They've been there since almost the very beginning. They have different fathers that were never in the picture as far as I understand. And their mother would be away for work all day.

So the older of the two would care for them. He would cook rice and then just pour water over the rice because he didn't know how to make anything else. And so that was their daily nourishment. And these boys came from a Hindu background. But now after being raised in the children's home, they're both Christian. And they have both gone on to do other things.

The older of the two, the next slide, he's 22 years old. And he was actually working in the children's home while we were there. There we go. He was between jobs. So he came back and the pastor was employing him to help out at the children's home. And so that was a joy for us to get to spend time with him daily, get to talk to him and see what he's done over the past six years.

So he has now received a degree in biomedical engineering. And I remember as a kid spending countless hours helping him with his studies. He's a bright kid, but school was hard for him. He would spend a lot of time working through it. So it's really encouraging to see now having this degree what he's doing. And he hopes to work in Chennai, but he's still between jobs.

He's very responsible. He has a quiet presence. And he's always willing to serve in any capacity. The next slide shows the youngest brother. He's now 20 years old. And he's studying to be a neuro-optometrist. And while we were there, he was finishing up the last part of his internship. He came to visit several times while we were there. And seeing him walk into the children's home wearing his scrubs just brought us so much joy to see this boy and to see how far he's come.

One of the neat things I didn't anticipate was a lot of the photos I had had from our previous trips were all backed up in the cloud. So I had them on my phone. And these boys loved seeing these photos of their childhood. And they didn't have photos from their childhood. So even though we were only there for brief snippets every year or two, it was all they had.

And they absolutely loved seeing photos of themselves. And so they were, of course, wanting us to text them photos or send them to their Instagram account or whatever. But that was really neat to see. They would all gather around the photos and reminisce about their childhood. And it was a beautiful thing just to watch them laugh and share memories together.

So this young man. Finished his diploma course in optometry. And he just finished up his internship last month. And I talked to him yesterday. And he is now getting his full degree in optometry in a large city. And he's staying at a hostel. He told me he's having difficulty paying all the fees and trying to keep up with the bills. But they're doing well. And it is really exciting to see.

Where they're at now. And knowing what they came from. Just basically living on the streets. The next slide is one of the other boys that has now grown up. He was one of the most difficult and challenging boys that they had had in their home up until present. I think they maybe have one now that trumps him. But at the time, he was a real struggle for them. And I remember having conversations with the pastor.

Whether or not they should send him home. Because he was making it so difficult for the other boys and for them to just live in peace. But he had had a very rough childhood. He witnessed the murder of his own father at a very young age. He lived in a small palm leaf hut with his mother and younger sister. So when he came to the children's home. His mother would come visit whenever she could.

She was very loving. She loved to come and to bring him little treats if she was able. And one time I remember when we were there. We were able to go visit his mother. And it was a very humbling experience. I remember it was a long bus ride to get to her village. And then we walked up to her hut. And she was so excited to see us. She was overflowing with excitement.

She instantly welcomed us and invited us in. Come into her hut. And she quickly started preparing a meal for us cooking outside over an open fire. And I remember being inside the hut. And of course it takes a while to prepare a meal in India. Especially when you just have an open fire. So while we're waiting of course it got dark. And this hut is very dimly lit.

It's very small. You weren't able to stand up in it. The floor was just a dried polished cow dung floor. Um. But I remember just being amazed by this woman's generosity and her hospitality. Um. Just giving us the little she had. Um. Feeding all of us and not even eating herself. And that has always made an impact on us. And anyone who's been to India or really any southern Asian country will instantly recognize this hospitality.

This over the top generosity that they often show strangers. And that has deeply impacted us. Um. The way that they love. The way that they serve strangers. The way that they welcome people in. And um. Will share with you the little that they have. So this boy. He left the children's home when he was in ninth grade. And they hadn't seen him since. That had been about five years ago.

So no one had seen him or heard from him. Um. But he came back to visit while we were there. Which was really, really neat. We learned that he is now working with a local pastor two days a week. Doing um. Some ministry with the pastor. And he has received some sort of. Degree or certificate in hotel management. Which basically. Um. I believe equates to just being able to cook restaurant food.

Uh. He came back and he butchered a chicken while we were there. And barbecued it for us. And um. But everyone was very surprised. And um. Really impressed with the transformation that they saw in this young man. Who used to be such a challenge. Um. And now has just grown up into such a neat young man. That is involved in ministry. Um. He loved our children.

Spent a lot of time with them while we were there. Um. And of course by our boys. Way too many sweets from the local bakery. Um. And then. One more young man I want to share with you. Um. He came a little older. He was 13 years old when he came to the children's home. And his younger brother is still in the home. Um. He's now 22. Um. But before coming to the children's home.

Both boys lived with an older sister. And she was caring for them. But it became difficult. Because she was also going to school at the same time. So they came to the children's home. And while we were back. He was also between jobs. So he was working there as well. So again another opportunity to connect with one of the boys. From before. Um. And learn more about his story.

He's extremely talented. Anything mechanical or hands on. Um. He's great with plumbing. Electrical work. He went to some sort of training or degree. That is basically the equivalent of like a vo-tech school. Um. Our kids absolutely loved him. He was very. Um. Very good with the kids. Um. Always brought us smiles. Your face could make. Make you laugh. Uh. At any time.

So the older sister that he and his brother lived with before was Christian. But they or their family came from a Muslim background. And unfortunately what sometimes happens. When a. Christian girl doesn't have Christian parents or Christian relatives. To arrange a Christian marriage. Um. They don't get an offer of marriage. So. Afraid that she would never marry.

And be able to. Have a supported. Life. She converted back to Islam. Um. To marry a Muslim man. So now this young man is also being conflicted and feeling pressured. To convert. Um. Back to a faith that he really doesn't know much about. But is. His family's faith. Um. So he was. Very involved in the church. But now is becoming less involved. And. Just feeling conflicted.

So I. I would ask if you remember this. Young man to. To please pray for him. I know he's going through a lot. And then really to make. Make it. Worse. And further complicate the issue. Um. Because of a single letter difference in the spelling of his name. He is not really welcomed by the Muslim community. Because he has a Hindu name. Um. And because both of his parents are deceased.

He doesn't have a family certificate. Which as I understand it is an important government document. That serves as official proof. For their family's history. Uh. And without that. He. Can't work in any career job. And it's required for a lot of different. Leads. Um. Um. So. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I think he has a interpretable background. So he'd be able to apply.

If he's someone in public services. Or if. If that is what they're looking. For the password for a lot of different. Legal situations. So he could apply for a new family certificate. But because of this. Misspelling in his name on the documents. Um. It's not accepted. Because it doesn't match. His. Family background. So he cannot obtain a family certificate.

Um. And so. It is impossible. For him to get. Um. Any sort of salary job. He. Can get odd jobs. Connect. One-off jobs. But any sort of. Long-term job. He's not able to get. about this trying to understand it because I'm like there's got to be like something he can do like maybe he can't work in these big industries but surely there's something but I don't fully

understand the way their system works and part of it's built in with the caste system but the pastor was telling me and he's working to trying to get him a job but he's telling me it's easier and they're looking at the possibility of sending him overseas to work it would potentially be easier for him to get a passport and a visa and maybe send him to somewhere like Dubai to get a job than to get a job in India which is really sad the only family he has is there in India the few relatives he has and then all of his friends so it's just one of those situations that's we don't have to think about and worry about here in America but when you hear their stories and the

the trials and struggles they go through it's it's heartbreaking to hear some of these things but he never complained he never got I didn't hear about it from him I only heard about it from the pastor he was always such a joyful personality and he would always be sleeping during the day and I'd ask the pastor you know why is he always sleeping he's like well he doesn't tell us but oftentimes he'll go out at night and get these jobs that I don't know if they're kind of like they're not your typical jobs but he would do really hard work manual labor at night and he get paid at night and so during the day he would be tired and he'd be sleeping a lot but he is a really special young man and then the last boy I want to share with

you this morning is this young boy he's one of the current boys in the home and he really stood out to us while we were there our boys absolutely loved him and we're instantly friends he was about the same age as our son and we all fell in love with his contagious smile he also went through a lot of trauma in his young childhood before he came to the children's home he was living on the streets his mother was an alcoholic and his father died of alcohol addiction his mother remarried and the new husband wanted nothing to do with him and would get upset when his mother would feed him so he was basically living on the streets and some of the neighbors would feed him but he was not getting any sort of regular care

and certainly didn't have any stability in his life he's in third grade while we're there although I think he just started fourth grade this last month and he's incredibly smart he does really really well in his studies and he was constantly asking us to help him with reading or to learn something new or did to teach him some new cognitive game and he was a joy to be around so I'm really excited to see what happens with this boy as I believe his life is being changed by being at this children's home and then here you can see these are the seven boys that were in the home while we were there you can see these are the seven boys that were in the home while we were there they each one has their own story and I would love to share them all with you

but I wanted to just give you a taste of what this ministry is and what they're doing one thing that I think is really neat that as we were able to see these older kids come back and to see what they have done this ministry works to help them get higher education if that's the path they choose so they don't necessarily pay for their education they don't necessarily pay for their education for continuing degrees but they'll help them get that first start and help them get started with with the next step of whatever they want to do so that was really neat to see these children doing some really amazing things I mean these kids who had come from some pretty awful backgrounds are now getting some amazing

degrees this is the couple's two oldest children and I did want to share this with you guys they are continuing their education their son will be starting his second degree next week I believe in artificial intelligence and data science and their daughter just started medical college for physio for a physiotherapy degree which I talked to their son yesterday and he was telling me that their daughter is they live about two hours from the big city where the medical college is and they're going to be going to college in the same city next week when he starts but in the meantime that child is going to be time she's waiting for him to so they can stay together and so she is riding a bus every day

back and forth and so she gets up at 3 30 every morning so she can get ready to get on the bus to go two hours to college and then come back at night which shocked me because she would be your typical teenager loves to sleep is always running late can never be on time for things in the morning so it shocks me that she is doing that and and he was laughing about it and telling me yesterday that what she's going through and to start her medical school but it's it's such an important part of their lives college and getting a higher degree but one thing I wanted to share on that with the pastor came to me a couple weeks ago and asked if I could help find a sponsor or maybe provide a loan of some sort for their for his children to go

to college because he didn't want to assume that he could use the ministry funds for his own children to go on to college. So I met with our church board, and we unanimously agreed that it was absolutely fine to use the ministry money. And the couple doesn't receive a salary. They never have received a salary from the ministry, and they've proven themselves very trustworthy and responsible over the last 13 years and being faithful stewards with what we've given them.

And they've always been upfront with any costs or expenses. But I did want to share, and I'm in the process of letting all the supporters know that the money isn't just going for the boys in the children's home, but is now also being used for their own children's education as well. Laura and I were blown away by the maturity of their kids and just the sacrifices that they have made as a family to make this ministry possible. And we'll never know, what would have happened to any of these boys had this couple not said yes, had they not stepped out in faith to start this. But I do know that these boys have been forever changed. And I want

to thank all of you for the part that you've helped play in making all this possible. I talked to the pastor yesterday also, and he told me that they just brought in one more boy, another boy they brought into their care. And I can't help but wonder what the future holds for this new boy. That we haven't met yet. I wonder what God has planned for this child. And will future generations

be impacted by this couple's yes to take one more child into their care. So I want to end showing you a video, just a compilation of some videos and photos while we were there. But it introduces each one of the kids. Since I couldn't share the name of the live stream, it will introduce each of the children and you'll get to see their names and faces so you can get a better understanding.

So I hope you have a maybe more fuller picture and understanding of this ministry. I know we've been contacted a couple times by, I'm not sure who, but various ones of you asking how you could pray for this ministry. So hopefully now you have some stories in your mind that can go with this ministry that your church has faithfully been supporting. And you can share them with the church. And you can hold on to some of those stories and have a better, maybe know better how

you can pray for these children and the ministry. So thank you for having us here this morning. And I just want to end in prayer. Lord, I thank you for this church, this congregation, this fellowship that has invited us here this morning. Lord, I thank you for each person here. And Lord, I thank you for the work that is being done in their lives and the ministries and the

daily things that they're a part of. Lord, I pray that you would just encourage each person to the power of just saying yes to stepping out in simple obedience, to walking in the path that you've laid out and prepared for us. Give us courage to walk in that path. Give us courage to to step out in faith, even when we don't see the end and we don't know where the road is leading. Lord, I pray that you just give us the boldness to walk in faith, to not live by sight,

but by faith. Lord, I pray that you would just give us the boldness to walk in faith, to not live by sight, but by faith. And Lord, I pray that you would just give us the boldness to walk in faith, to not live by sight, but by faith. And Lord, I pray that you would just give us the boldness to walk in faith, to not live by sight, but by faith. And what you have already done, holding on to the promises of what you will do in the future.

Be with each person as they leave this place and go into the spheres that they get to influence on a daily basis and give them courage in their workplace, in their circles of influence, that you would help them shine a light and just to reflect you to the people around them. In your name I pray, amen.

Praise the Lord. The love of God. Amazing, huh? The providence of God continually working in the affairs of man.

That was just, that's heavy duty. Moves your heart.

We thank you, Lord, that you saved us by grace through faith.

Anything that we could do, not by words, but it was just by your gift of God, that eternal life. And we thank you. In Jesus' name. Lord bless you. Have a great week.