Backpack for the kids of Chilakallu Village, India

Chilakallu Village, India
House of Hope
By: Gloria Gault Geary

We got settled into our rooms and had lunch. Jaipaul went over some of the customs and guidelines we needed to know. After a time of rest, we got to meet and play with the orphans for a while. They currently have 35 orphans. We had purchased school backpacks for all the kids and some toys and games (thank you Calvary United Methodist Church for your support of this!). They were thrilled to get the goodies and it turned into a playtime for all of us. We had bought some tea party type toys for the younger girls. When we gave them the toys, it didn’t appear they knew what to do with them, so I sat down in front of them and started playing.

They laughed as I pretended to drink tea and gobbled up the chicken.>
I offered the tea cup to a little girl who just looked at me, so I drank it again and then offered the cup to another. She caught on. My boys couldn’t help themselves and they jumped in too. Soon all the girls were cooking, serving and eating.


We had purchased games for the older kids and match box cars for the little boys. I wish I could have caught on camera the eyes of the little boys when they saw the cars. Everyone one of them came up to me at some point and showed me the car they had gotten.
Making roads in the sand for their cars.



They were proud of their car and wanted me to know it.>

The event turned into a giant playtime for everyone and at one point I stopped and just looked around. A very simple toy and some time focused on a child. I began praising God for bringing us to these precious children. What joy I felt to spend time loving on them and what joy exuded from their hearts to just be kids and play.

<Katrina and Hepsa

Katrina is part of our ministry team.
She grew up in Haiti where her parents were missionaries. She has a depth of knowledge about the Lord and a humble, giving heart.

Chilakallu Village, India

Monday June 30, 2008
House of Hope
By: Gloria Gault Geary

We left the hotel at 5:00 am to travel to the village. We were a convoy of three SUVs, the last one was carrying all the luggage. It was a 4 hour plus drive and we slept a good portion of the way. The Indian countryside was a mixture of beautiful sights and fascinating people. Watching individuals live their daily lives of walking their oxen to get water or move their lambs and goats to market provides great entertainment for new visitors.
We passed many shrines, temples and too many idols to count. Seeing the locals drive is a whole different story. In order to get a driver’s license in India, one simply buys it at the store. Traffic was heavy and there is a mixture of buses, large trucks, auto rickshaws, motorcycles, oxen, goats, bikes, and pedestrians, not to mention the occasional Mother Hen and her family.

In order to pass the slower traffic one must get in the lane of oncoming traffic. The traffic going in the other direction is also passing the slower traffic. There were many moments I spent in prayer for our safety as we would narrowly miss a head on collision going about 60-70 miles per hour. I noticed the locals were not the least bit fazed by it. This is normal travel for them. I felt like God had sent out an extra army of guardian angels for us this morning and they were going before us making the roads safe. My guess is the guardian angels who take care of India must do a lot of overtime on the road.

We stopped at one point and watched a local woman prepare a fresh coconut for us to drink. It was delicious. Suddenly our cars stopped and there seemed to be a parade in front of us. Isaac put the car in park and said, “It is a welcoming party!” We all jumped out and there filling the street were about 100 kids and adults. There were 5 men with drums beating them wildly and as we walked up each of us were greeted with a lay of fresh flowers. Harrison got two. They were shooting off fireworks and paper poppers everywhere. I was handed several small flowers from different girls and women and everyone was saying welcome to us. It was an overwhelming and humbling welcome. The boys were being welcomed too and everyone was trying to get close to shake hands or touch us and the girls who were a part of our team.

The welcoming party began walking down the street and locals were standing on the side watching and observing these missionaries who were visiting their village. We walked a couple of hundred feet and then entered the House of Hope compound. I looked up to notice large signs welcoming us by name. The fireworks and drums continued. We were all covered with colorful confetti. As we came near the main house, they brought our team up to the porch and the others stood on the lawn. Jaipaul spoke briefly in their native language and made some introductions. He then asked me to pray. I was so humbled by their warm welcome I wept as I prayed for God to bless these people and our time with them.

"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." Mark 9:37

Please pray for us as we minister, that God would guide us and would touch those here.

A scorpion comes to dinner!

We were enjoying a lovely dinner with our Indian friends when a scorpion showed up without an invitation!

Yes, George (far right) caught it and brought it in for us to see.

George is known for the animals he catches…snakes, monkeys, rats, and more.

Jaipaul offered to deep fry it if one of us would eat it!

We love our new friends and invite you to pray for them too!