Another day, a different world.

It’s snowing again. Hopefully not enough to stop the flight tomorrow.

From snow to heat. Temperatures around 100F. Another day, but a very different world.

Tomorrow I take a team of 7 to Andhra Pradesh, India for 8 days of mission and charity work. I’ll be doing some teaching in the church, and as a team we will also be working in the villages, taking out medical supplies, and working with a local doctor. Many villagers are too poor to be able to get to a doctor, and sadly some who do go in for operations, come out of hospital without body parts, sold off through the black market.

One of the trip highlights will be working in the Esther homes. These are homes for rescued girls of sex workers. Their mothers have asked us to care for them, to give them a hope and a future different to the one the mothers have endured as temple prostitutes.

Through the local church we help the mothers too. Some want to get away from their current lifestyles. We offer them training as seamstresses. Once qualified, they get a sewing machine and an offer of help from a church somewhere else, away from the temptation to return to their old way of life.

Girls born to poor families in India sometimes face a bleak future. They may even be discarded at birth, due to the dowry system and the fact the parents would not be able to pay for a future marriage. We help in a small way, supporting local churches to care for unwanted children, rescuing them, giving them an education.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

Another day. A different world.