So we’ve been back from India for a couple of days now and we’ve been looking back on what was a fantastic trip where we were able to achieve a great deal. Here’s a summary of what we did…

        In Mumbai we were able to spend the evening worshipping with a ministering to a group of migrant Christian construction workers being paid about £1.20 a day to work in unbearable conditions.

·         Through our project money, we were able to pay for 80 of them to have a time of fellowship and a feast to celebrate Easter together.

·         We also took a group of 11 rescued street children living in a Life Association home to a pizza restaurant for the evening. It was great to see these kids, who had endured so much in their young lives, enjoying their food and having fun!

·         In the Life Association school and children’s home in the village of Gopavuragudem near Gannavaram, we were able to use the project money to arrange the replacement of all the worn and sometimes broken plastic classroom chairs with purpose built steel framed benches.

·         Project money will also provide cupboards for each of the classrooms to protect the textbooks and workbooks.

·         Fans will also be fitted in the classrooms so that the children can work in a more comfortable environment during the hot afternoons.

·         We also repainted all the classroom tables and renovated the playground as part of the practical element of our trip.

·         The team also took out nearly 35 kilos of books, classroom resources, art/craft materials and toys. These were put to great use between the schools at Gannavaram and Machilipatnam, the home in Mumbai and a new Life Association project working with disabled children in the southern city of Madurai.   

·         There were also many opportunities for ministry which all members of the team engaged in…

·         We lead worship and preached at the Life Church located in the school compound, and the team lead the ‘7 words from the cross’ service on Good Friday.

·         We preached to and worshipped with the local Pentecostal church in Gopavuragudem too.

·         We led a time of worship and preached to the community in the village of Gopavuragudem and also the nearby slum village of Gudivada. We took lollipops for all the children in Gudivada and to the other Life Association school in Machilipatnam.

·         We spent a day in Machilipatnam. The men in the team spent the time in the school with the children, teaching them songs and playing with them.

·         Whilst this was happening, the ladies in the team ran a special service for the ladies in the village, who spend all day at home alone whilst the men are out working in the fields. The ladies came back very encouraged, with powerful stories of testimony.      

·         We were also able to spend time each day praying for the school and the ministry by ‘prayer walking’ around the compound.  

·         Throughout our time at the school we also did a lot of work with the children, leading them in worship, hearing them read, doing craft activities, playing games, face painting and even having a giant water fight where the team dropped water bombs from the top floor of the school onto the playground!

·         Before we left, we were able to present 45 children at the school with a Kinder Egg to celebrate Easter.

The trip really lived up to the SoapBox motto, ‘Making a world of difference’. By the grace of God and in the power of His Holy Spirit, we were able to see our prayers that we would be vessels of grace and love well and truly answered. The huge privilege of bringing the joy of our Lord Jesus into some very dark and oppressed situations was a true blessing to each one of us.   

Thanks to all those who supported us during our time away, and in particular to Shaun & Kathy from SoapBox for organising and facilitating an excellent trip.