Settled in Mussoorie

Pictures
(1) A rainbow projected through a cloud - unlike anything I've ever seen. The sunsets in the village were absolutely gorgeous! (2) My team posed for a photo with all of the props that made our trip unique. :) All the ladies are wearing the sari outfits. (3) Myself with two five-year-old girls, Leah and Pavani, who I bonded with really well, as well as a boy named Sharit. (4) Lackshmie and her fiance at their engagement party. (5) Myself in traditional Indian garb standing by the cooling fan in the girl's living space.

My team and I arrived safely to the eMi² office in Mussoorie! The office is beautiful and cozy, and the weather here is refreshingly cool. Our week-long stay in the village was quite warm but absolutely amazing. The leaders of the ministry shared incredible testimonies with us and their faith in God’s provision was truly inspiring.

When we first arrived in the village, we were greeted by twenty-five beaming Indian orphans and the ministry leaders David and Yadama. The ministry constructed a temporary hut for the orphans and men to sleep in so that the women on my team could sleep in a roofed concrete building (about 12’ x 25’). The caretakers on staff were extremely hospitable during our stay – cooking us delicious Indian meals, serving us mango juice, chai, or coffee regularly, and washing our laundry for us. Yadama, an illiterate but brilliant woman, also designed and oversaw the construction of a toilet and bath house prior to our arrival so our team could have a Western toilet and a place to take “bucket-baths.” The children were also extremely obedient and servant-hearted, regularly carrying chairs for us, holding umbrellas over us when we were working in the sun, and filling up our water buckets.

The kindness and generous hospitality of the Indian people made such an impact on me. Not only did the ministry give out of their poverty, neighbors in the village brought us a unique Indian dessert, gave us a chicken to eat, and a local seamstress even made all the women on my team traditional sari outfits. The stories of orphans also deeply touched my heart. A couple of them spent years begging for food on the streets. Some of the young girls ran away or were rescued from families who wanted to kill them (many Indian families view daughters as nothing more than an expense).

One of the orphans named Lahkshmie had her engagement ceremony while we were in the village. Though she grew up at the orphanage and became a Christian, her Hindu relatives arranged her marriage to a young Hindu man. She is only sixteen years old and her fiancé is seventeen. She will not go to school again after her wedding later this month and will likely become the mother to four to six children before age twenty-five. Lahkshmie invited my team to watch part of the engagement ceremony, which consisted of a series of rituals consistently interrupted by an Indian photographer. It was very interesting but also very sad to watch because I knew the couple had never even had a conversation. After the church service on the Sunday following the engagement ceremony, the women of my team prayed over Lahkshmie and her future marriage. Please join with us and pray that her soon-to-be husband comes to know the Lord.

In addition to spending quality time with the children, our team spent most of our days surveying the site property and completing the preliminary design for the new orphanage and church building. Throughout the week we had meetings with David and Yadama to gain feedback on our design. I felt extremely privileged to offer my architecture skills to serve the ministry. I have never been more motivated to help a client! It is our hope that the ministry will raise the funds to construct the buildings in the next 3-5 years. The drawings and renderings that we are making here in Mussoorie will be critical for their fund-raising efforts.

Thank you so much for your prayers! God miraculously kept my entire team healthy and provided two large cooling fans that were donated to the ministry the week before we arrived – so we were able to stay cool enough to work during the hot afternoons. Please continue to pray for my team’s progress on the design documentation and for our overall health and safety. Please also pray for discernment for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with eMi and am seriously considering returning to work for eMi after I graduate for a four-month internship, whether in Colorado, India, or elsewhere. Please pray that God would continually give me peace about his plans for me and faith in this waiting season.

Feel free to send me an update about yourself or e-mail me with any questions! Internet access here in Mussoorie has been spotty so far (our box broke today and we don't exactly know if we'll have access to the office's wireless network for three months..) But I will try to access the web as often as I can. :)

In His service,
Hannah