We planned on waking around 5:30 and getting an early start to the leper colony, in order to avoid the heavy traffic, but lets just say that plan failed miserably. We actually got up around 6:00, took our sweet time eating breakfast, and left around 7:00. We did alright for about the first half hour, but the traffic became increasingly congested until we were barely putting along through the streets. Poor Caleb ended up waiting on the roadside for a full hour by the time we got to Vandalur to pick him up. IT was another 45 mintutes to the leper colony from there.
The leper colony we visited today is the same one we have gone to for the past three years. Last year, one of the needs we met here was that they needed to update their P.A. system. The old one no longer worked and they needed a way to let everyone in the village know when there are meetings and events. So, we provided the funds to purchase a new system, and it was nice to see the fruit of that.
This year, the most pressing need they presented us with was to install a pump at the well. It is difficult for someone with no fingers to pull a pail up on a rope to get drinking water. They showed us how they already have a storage tank ready to go, and all thats needed it a simple pump to get the water to the surface. That way, they will be able to open a tap for water rather than struggle to get it up from the well. Josh is going to get a plumber to give us a quote for that expense.
We walked up and down the streets, inviting people to the meeting hall, where Linda and Bryan both gave them a message of how much we love them and how much God loves them, and then we handed out bags of rice and provisions. The people are always grateful for these donations, and we were humbled as they showed genuine gratitude. 
After the leper colony, we headed over to the gypsy day care center in Vandalur which is run by Caleb’s church. Pastor Deva and Maria live at the building with the children and are their caretakers. Initially, they were just taking the kids during the day and having them go back to their parents at night, but after an incident a few years back where the local villages attacked the gypsy colony, they fled the area and left their children with Deva and Maria because they offered them such a better life. Now the children live at the center, and are provided for and taught school daily. It’s actually quite impressive to see the progress that has been made in their lives after coming year after year.
We played games with them, sang songs, did a skit, passed out candies and toys, and just loved on them for a while. We have a support network at Calvary that donates monthly to the operations of this Day Care Center, but there is a pressing need. Last year, the government came in for an inspection and told them that they need to have a separate building to house boys and girls. Obviously they don’t have that, and even if they did, it would require more staff. So, they are looking to either find the funds to build or rent a different area, or put the children on individual sponsorships and move them into families homes within their church. The government has not returned since the first visit, so they have been buying time until now, but they know that its just a matter of time before they coe back and enforce the laws. Please be praying for them.
We had another crusade in a different slum tonight. Actually, we held a crusade in this slum in 2012, and the local pastor asked us to come back again, so we obliged. The smells and sights and sounds were pretty much the same here as they were last night, excepting the new faces in the crowd. This time there were two dances before the preaching, which seems to always draw a crowd of people. Bryan opened with some Scriptures and encouragement, and Zach preached a message around John 3:16. At the altar call, a forest of hands went up as he challenged them to abandon their false gods and trust Jesus Christ alone. We were so happy to see that people are looking for truth and are willing to respond to it when its presented to them.
Again, we laid hands on and prayed for everyone who would come forward, which just about every person did.
It was a long day, so we headed back to Josh’s place and crashed out. We are all excited to see what tomorrow brings.
Thank you for your faithful prayers.