Independence Day and Sports Day

Every year IGL carries out an annual Sports Day in celebration of India’s Independence Day. This year it was held on August 14th and all our children’s homes participated. The children played many sports, games, and contests. They enjoyed the day so much, many of them enthusiastically competing in these activities. It was a wonderful opportunity to showcase their talents and give them a platform to overcome their stage fright.

After the competition all the children enjoyed a delicious lunch and received prizes. Together they thanked God for the wonderful day of fun and praised Him for the independence that they now enjoy and remembered those who fought for their freedom.

Medical camps are organized every quarter for all the children’s homes to screen each child’s health. This is beneficial for those living in the children’s homes since it helps them track their growth and ensures they are healthy, and in some cases identifies the need for intervention. In their home village, many of these children would never meet a doctor to receive the care and treatment they need. The child would have to be extremely ill for a parent to even consider seeing a doctor as it is very expensive to visit a hospital. Health records are maintained for each child living in our homes. These records show what illnesses they have had, how much they have grown, and what they might need in the future. Last month’s medical camps were conducted at Embracing Mercy Home, Sharon Home, Elizabeth Home , Blessing Home, Rebekah Home, Bethel Care Home, and Chitoor Home with approximately 564 children cared for! The children were treated for various ailments such as fever, skin allergies, coughs, colds, and so much more. We praise God for His protection and for the overall good health of our children.

Sponsor’s Visit

Many children at the Sharon Home and the Chettichavadi Evening Study Center had the opportunity to visit with their sponsors. This time is precious for both the child and the sponsor, meaning much more to the children than the sponsor will ever know. The children love their sponsors and meeting them helps the children understand how someone halfway around the world could care for them. Many sponsors bring small gifts and candy to give the child which they greatly appreciate.

When a child meets his or her sponsor it is always a joyous occasion. While many children are shy upon first meeting their sponsor, after spending time together they will open up and play with them. With the help of a translator, they share about their family, their interests and their recent activities with their sponsors. As for the sponsors, this interaction builds a closer relationship with their sponsored child. They enjoy playing and sharing with the child about their life and how much they love them and care for them. The sponsor touches the child’s heart by getting to know them personally. Even simple things like learning the pronunciation of their child’s name means so much. It helps to develop a meaningful bond between the sponsor and child. It is at moments like these where sponsorship is a mutual blessing and encouragement to both the sponsor and the child.

Manikandan is eight years old. He has been coming to our Children’s Wellness Center since May 2017. His father, Madheswaran, works as a daily wage laborer at a shipping company and struggles to take care of his family with a meager income. This is especially difficult because Manikandan has a history of epileptic attacks, and is currently on two medications. Diagnosed with ADHD, he also developed aggressive behaviors that limited his social interactions. This made his mother anxious and kept her from taking him anywhere in public. To her astonishment, her mother-in-law even suggested that she kill the child rather than endure these hardships!

However, all that is changing. Manikandan is receiving therapy at the Sharon Children’s Wellness Center and is now integrated into the Sharon School with the help of a therapist and special educators. The Wellness Center staff are working on his behavior and helping him learn new ways to interact socially. With these inclusive strategies the staff is hopeful that he will do well. His family, particularly his mother, is very grateful for the changes they are witnessing in Manikandan.

Start Fest is a special event conducted for two days at the beginning of December for the children in the IGL Homes to exhibit their talents. This was the 16th year for the Star Fest event which took place on December 2nd and 3rd. The celebration was held at Sharon Gardens in the Carmel Conference Centre with close to 700 children in attendance.

The theme for Star Fest was “Come to Worship Him” from Matthew 2:2. Children were given the opportunity to showcase their talents on a beautiful stage which is set up specifically for them. The children performed dances, songs, mime, speeches, and memory verse recitation. They also participated in drawing competitions and Bible quizzes. The children thoroughly enjoyed these programs and it was a great opportunity to discover their hidden talents.

This year the child care staff performed a nativity play from the Bible. We praise God for such a meaningful play about the birth of our Savior and are thankful to the staff who did a wonderful job performing it! We also invited previous students to watch the performances who greatly enjoyed the show.

On Sunday, December 3rd, the children took part in a worship service. Children from each home took turns participating in various parts of the service. Some read the Bible, others sang songs, led worship, shared testimonies or gathered offerings. After the service over 150 people participated in Holy Communion. God spoke through the Pastor’s message and it helped everyone more clearly understand the meaning of Christmas.

After all the competitions were over prizes were distributed to the winners. Everyone praised God for allowing us to conduct the program this year. It proved to be meaningful and memorable for the children.

Pastor George expressing his thanks.

Two children from Elizabeth Home, Jeyashree and Lavanya, expressed their heartfelt thanks to God for the opportunity he gave them to attend Star Fest this year. They learned to develop their competitive spirit and helped them further their talents. More importantly, they committed their lives to serve the Lord and to share the true meaning of Christmas to others!

Pastor George, the superintendent from Rebecca Home, expressed his thanks to God for this time of celebration. He expressed that he was happy to see the children use their God given talents. He added that the nativity play put on by the staff was a wonderful way for the children to learn about the Christmas story according to the Bible.

Praise God for:

• All His provision and protection through the last three months.
• For the Children’s Wellness Center and for the staff there.
• For the success of the 16th Star Fest event.
• For the sponsor visits.

 

Pray for:

• God’s protection and guidance of the children in the homes.
• The house parents and superintendents.
• The children to excel in their education.
• The needs of the children in the homes to be met by God.
• The children who participated in Star Fest to continue to develop their talents for God’s glory.