Hello all you lovely people.  The site has just been updated.  Please check out the new images, stories, and needs and prayer lists.  The pictures Rocky sent me are absolutely amazing.

Anitha is one of the most adorable little girls ever.  Her smile is breathtaking.  it makes you want to take her pain away.

Saravana is indeed versed in the English language.  I sometimes get to talk to him when I call Rocky.

Muni’s life is heartbreaking.  I wish I could pick up some dirt, spit in it and rub it on his eyes so he would see.  That’s what Jesus did for those of you who didn’t know that.

Aishwarya’s eyes are the brightest I’ve seen in a long time.  I have a picture of her hanging on my wall that is right before she had to cut off her hair last summer.

Tamilarasi has always been one of the most recognizable orphan to me for some reason.  I think it’s because she seems very timid to me and I feel that I must speak up for her when she can’t speak herself.

Well, I just wanted to give everyone a heads up.

God bless and may you be inspired by the things you read and the images you see.

- Johnny

It’s funny I’ve been trying to finish this email for about a week and half I honestly am super afraid to just be me and speak from my heart. Actually I received some intense criticism and it just kind of drained me from wanting to share in fear that every thing I was sharing was seen as weird or improper. Basically someone I’ve never met said some discouraging things about hugging the children. I’ve spent so much time in prayer because I’m trying to find the right balance between pushing against what I feel is wrong and excepting the things I don’t understand. I’ve been really trying to consider what the love of Jesus would look like in a practical way if he spent the day in the orphanage. What vocabulary does he use as he admonishes the children? As he kneels down to look directly into their eyes what does his smile look like? Then I stop to consider the most controversial part of his love, his touch. How does he behave in light of a culture that is void of physical affection? I imagine an incredibly gentle touch by hands that ease the pain of loneliness. A warm reassuring hug that makes you feel like you’re the most important person in the world. I’m rather torn because I’m watching a miracle happen before my eyes everyday, I get to watch thirty-three AIDS orphans forget the pain of being rejected by their families. By no means do any of the children just give their love you really have to earn it by your faithfulness and commitment to them. Honestly I understand it, It’s not fair to come here and expect the children to give you their love in return. They have been let down far to much to give away their trust freely. It’s interesting after investing 7 months of time in India I for the first time the other day had one of the children come up to me and say “I love you”. It was beautiful and meant a lot but trust it was earned by promising to be faithful. (continue reading…)

I’m not sure how I want to start this letter off because there has been so much that has happened over the last two weeks. I figure I’ll just Share what comes out first and go from there.

Neelam’s Story
I want to tell you a sad story first because It’s late and I’m usually the most reminiscent at night. If you’re not in the mood for a sad tune just skip over it and come back.
I want to share about one of the women in the home because she is just an extraordinary woman in my eyes. The other night I was sitting alone on the roof because I was felt so discouraged. Randomly Neelam came up the steps and sat in front of me and asked why I was looking Romba Sogam (very Sad). I gave her a lame excuse because I just didn’t feel up to talking. I was surprised at what happened next, she seemed to try and earn my trust by sharing her life with me. Before I go any further I’m just going to try and put it in her exact words because it was so powerful and I don’t want to lose that. (continue reading…)

I wanted to share a story with you that has taken about a year to bring fully developed. I’ll start by saying I wish I could tell you that being here in India confirms that I have a truly radical unshakable love for people, but I really don’t. I’ll rewind to last year about midsummer where I met a young girl by the name of Keerty, She’s a very funny (continue reading…)

Hey sorry i haven’t written in a bit but I have been all over the place the last week and a half. A lot of this will be a series of random stories that have happen over the last two weeks, some of the writing will be directly from my journal.

Some days here i don’t even feel like a servant because the work is so easy it’s like I get way more out of it then I put in. It sometimes feels like I’m selfishly here because of how much i get out of each day. Then there is a flip side, which is days like today, when things are so challenging that you don’t know what to do. I don’t know if i told you or not about the boy Vignesh or not, but just in case I didn’t I’ll back up and tell you. Here is a little context first. Every year from May 1st to June 3rd the children are on summer break. During that time most of them will have a random family members come and take them to their village, usually it’s an uncle (continue reading…)