Meet Marta, a single mom to one son.
A year ago, she was struggling to make ends meet. Selling food on the streets was her only way to make a living.
But this all changed.
This month marks one year that she has been with Diaconia, our local partner in Paraguay.
“A year ago I was struggling to make ends meet,” shares Marta. “I was living in a constant deep sadness due to the passing away of my father who had always been such a support.
I heard of Diaconia and joined.
Before I knew it, I was cooking and selling meals from home on a consistent basis and making really good money with it.
Today, I don’t have to go out on the streets anymore to sell food.
Through the chaplain that visits my Trust Group, I was able to hear about God’s love for me. Today, I am free from the sadness that had overtaken my life,” shares Marta, “I have been blessed above and beyond what I hoped for. God has been good to me!”
With tears of joy, Marta thanked Diaconia for creating an opportunity for her to have a better life, meet Jesus and for being a catalyst of change in her life.
Proudly Marta showed others how the walls were going up in her new home. As she expressed: ”I have been blessed above and beyond what I hoped for. God has been good to me! Thank you Diaconia!”
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP MORE WOMEN EXPERIENCE THIS SAME FREEDOM, JOY AND INDEPENDENCE?
Rufina received an opportunity to create a new life.
As a wife and mother of five, Rufina now had hope that she could provide for her youngest adopted daughter, Anita.
Rufina had always fought to overcome the many obstacles in her life, but it wasn’t until she joined Diaconia, our local partner in Paraguay, that she received an opportunity to move forward.
This is what she shares:
“Two years ago I joined Diaconia with the hopes of growing financially by investing into my clothing store.
We were struggling to put food on the table and were having a difficult time with my daughter.
I was taking medication to sleep at night, which made me very exhausted throughout the day.
I was struggling and my family and friends were worried about me.
It was during this time that a Diaconia chaplain started to work with ou micro-finance Trust Group each week. I began to build a relationship with her and she led me to explained how God loved me. Since the chaplain lived in my community, I would go over to her house whenever I could and we would spend time together.
Today, I am off sleeping pills and my business is thriving.
My daughter’s life is improving as a result of knowing Christ.
We now attend a local church and I can only say that Diaconia has brought a change into every area of my personal and family life!”
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP MORE WOMEN EXPERIENCE THIS SAME FREEDOM, JOY AND INDEPENDENCE?
“I received hands-on experience [with] an organization that makes a positive difference in the lives of needy and destitute girls and women in the world.” – Bob, India LIFE Team participant
“Aaron, please take care of our girls for the next two weeks,” Anil Francis, deputy director of Mukti Mission said to Aaron Rogers, GAiN’s chief operating officer and India LIFE Team leader. “They are not in school right now, they’re on holidays. They’re stuck here [with] nothing to do.”
In late October to early November 2016, GAiN sent 10 enthusiastic LIFE Team participants to Mukti Mission in India to lead a children’s camp.
The plan was to host a camp for orphaned girls who did not have family to return home to during the Diwali holiday. But 10 days before the team’s arrival, they got news that laws were changed and no children were to be sent home for the holidays – bringing the number of anticipated camp attendees from 130 to 300.
With this abrupt change came the pressure to accommodate more girls and still run an effective camp.
“We thought, there are so many different [flower] families, we’d like to give everybody an opportunity to partake in the camps,” explained Aaron.To make the camps more efficient, Aaron and the team decided to do sessions with one or two flower families (homes that Mukti girls are separated into based on their age) at a time. They ended up doing 12 two hour music workshops and craft workshops, twice a day for six days straight.
“I’m always amazed at how God brings individuals together,” said Aaron. “As a leader, my job is to see how we can make them work together as a team; all different personalities – with jetlag and cultural adjustments and other challenges.”
Team members took on roles where they could best use their skills and talents to serve the Mukti community. A couple on the team with a music ministry background were able to lead music sessions for the camp.
They were joined by two other members, one who also played an instrument and one who led the kids in actions to accompany praise and worship songs.
Other team members ran a crafts workshop with the girls while some worked on the fields, helping build a polyhouse to grow vegetables.
While the team spent a great amount of time with the girls during the camp, they also made an impact on the lives of older women, who tend to be overlooked when visitors come to Mukti.
“There’s a home, called the Sunshine Home. It’s located on the back of the Mukti hospital,” Aaron explained. “One afternoon, Jenny [LIFE Team participant] took a team there to do crafts with the women.
That was a huge highlight because when you go to Mukti, everyone loves hanging out with the girls; they’re fun, they’re cheerful. Hardly anyone goes to [visit] the women because it’s quiet and it’s not as exciting or vibrant. They’re quieter, they’re softer spoken.
They don’t get a lot of visits. But we, as a Canadian team always make it a point to visit the older women’s homes.”
Not only were the elderly women at Mukti blessed by the presence of the team, in the same way, team members felt just as blessed to be able to serve.
“I was encouraged to realize God could use us in this way, even in our older age, and that we were freed to lead without anxiety,” Catherine, LIFE Team member, expressed.
Overall, the trip had an impact on the lives of both Mukti residents and LIFE Team participants. Another participant, Barb, expressed how she experienced word and deed at Mukti. “I always felt I was [showing the love of God in word and deed] but [people at Mukti] also gave me back so much and demonstrated so much love toward me.”
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING US FOR OUR NEXT LIFE TEAM PROJECT TO INDIA IN OCTOBER, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
“I don’t think I have quite enjoyed worship and prayer as [much as] I have with the residents of Mukti. Seeing their simple faith has inspired me and the commitment of the staff has made me re-think what a restored and transformed community looks like.” – India LIFE Team Member
When the LIFE Team project to India spent two weeks at Mukti Mission in August, jam packed schedules had the team mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted – but they left Mukti feeling spiritually enlivened.
“I think our team was challenged by seeing the residents at Mukti being so joyful and rejoicing because Mukti was very different from how you would experience a senior’s home in Canada,” explained Stephanie McDonald, India LIFE Team leader. “Maybe if you met someone in the same physical circumstances in Canada, they wouldn’t have the peace and joy that these women and children had – and it was very evident that that came from the Lord.”
The India LIFE Team was made up of ten people. With the exception of two members, everybody on the team had come on the trip with a member of their family or someone they knew. The combination of the older generation with the younger generation, as well as the ease of knowing at least one other person, created a team dynamic that mimicked a big family.
Participants visited with different houses at Mukti, spending time with residents and doing daily assignments in different areas. Daily jobs were assigned based on interests, skill and need. Some of the assignments were at the school, the hospital, the farm, in the office or doing maintenance work.
This team spent a majority of their time visiting the homes of girls and women at Mukti. They would break up into smaller groups to visit different homes to do devotionals, worship and pray with the residents.
“What was so moving was that [with] the women who don’t really speak English, we can all come together and worship the Lord and sing songs that we all know,” said Charmaine Wee, India LIFE Team leader. “It really was incredible and moving that we can go halfway across the world and find people who are believing and worshipping the same God.”
LIFE Team members quickly realized that a simple smile or display of attentiveness was more than enough to overcome any challenges that would arise due to language differences.
“Even the little things, [such] as holding someone’s hand or asking for their name can lift them up [despite] language barriers,” said one of the LIFE Team participants.
While team members set out to show God’s love to residents, they found that they were also deeply moved by the joy, passion and faith of the people they had come across at Mukti.
One of the home visits that touched many LIFE Team participants’ hearts was Bartimi Sadan, a home for blind women named after Bartimaeus from the bible. While these women would normally be devalued by society, at Mukti they are cherished and encouraged to become independent, creative individuals. This was apparent when the team got to witness the women weaving baskets, cleaning and cooking.
“They would crack jokes. We had some funny moments with them,” McDonald recalled. “And they recognize you based on your voice. They would remember names really well.”
Upon their arrival at the Bartimaeus home, LIFE Team members were greeted with chairs that were laid out in the front of the room for them, but they ended up sitting with the residents to sing with them instead of perform for them.
“One of the women played the electric keyboard and another one played an accordion-organ type instrument and they could both play by ear. That was a huge blessing to be able to sing with them,” said McDonald, who described the house as her favourite, having visited it twice during the trip.
“LIFE Team participants were encouraged by seeing how faithful the Christians were at Mukti. I think our participants left being more affected than any resident [of Mukti] would have been affected by our team being there,” said McDonald.
“For short-term missions, one of the goals is that you would leave being impacted and the trip would change your life, even in a small way. On the last day where we did our debrief, you can definitely tell that people thought: ‘how will my life not be different because of what I have seen and what I have experienced and the relationships that I have made and the way that I’ve seen God be so present?’”
OUR NEXT LIFE TEAM PROJECT TO INDIA IS IN AUGUST.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN MORE INFORMATION, CLICK HERE OR CONTACT US AT LIFETEAMS@GLOBALAID.NET.
Team member is blessed by the change in plan –
As someone who has been on mission trips every year for six years, Jenny knows that you should not merely expect the unexpected – you should embrace it.
“Really be open to change and expect that what you’re thinking might happen, might not happen. If you’re open to different opportunities, you might find out that it ends up being better than what it would have been.”
Having been on a GAiN Life Team trip to Haiti every year from 2011 to 2015, Jenny is no stranger to plans changing – and that’s just what happened when she went to India with GAiN this past November. Instead of returning to Haiti to participate in medical clinics in the community of Leogane, like she had done for the past five years, she decided to serve in India at Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission to help host a kids’ camp.
“I thought, well, here’s an opportunity to do something with kids instead of a medical thing. These kids don’t have anything special, they don’t have any relatives to go home to. That’s what pulled me to go to this particular trip in India.”
But true to her previous experiences on mission trips, things didn’t exactly follow the original plan. Team leaders and Mukti staff saw an opportunity to involve the girls, but also create sessions for the older women as well.
The LIFE Team was initially formed to run a children’s camp for girls at Mukti who had no relatives to go home to during the Diwali holidays. Laws – which had children return home for two weeks during Diwali – were changed and instead, all the kids had to stay at Mukti. This meant that more than double the amount of girls (about 300) would be now attending, thereby adjusting the camp schedule.
Mukti residents were divided into thirteen groups of 15-30 people based on their age. Groups included children, women, special needs children, blind children, blind women, mentally ill women and elderly women.
Jenny volunteered to run a crafts workshop, dedicating six hours a day (two hour workshops, plus one hour of prep, twice a day) for six days straight. Girls and women of all ages had the opportunity to create bookmarks, cards, bead bracelets, foam crafts, paper and thread ornaments and fill out colouring pages.
“At the end, I probably spent more [quality] time with the adults than the children, which is pretty ironic because initially I had gone [on the trip] to spend more time with the kids. I still did crafts with the kids but when you’re teaching them, you’re not spending much time talking to them. You’re more in an instructive kind of role. I thought that was an interesting twist because that’s not what my original intention was when I thought I’d go to India, but in the end I think it actually worked out really well the way it did.”
Jenny, who is a psychiatric nurse, especially felt a connection to the mentally ill women she had the chance to get to know. So much so that she wishes to return to Mukti for a longer stay and hopes to spend a more concentrated amount of time with them. This is something she would not have experienced if everything had gone as initially intended.
“Be open and flexible to responding to whatever need is there when you get there,” Jenny advised. “It always works out well and always ends up being a blessing. You end up being a blessing and it ends up being a blessing to you. If you don’t go in with too many preconceived notions, it becomes a more enriching experience.”
WOULD YOU LIKE A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE TO JENNY?
Go to our LIFE Teams page for upcoming trips or contact us at info@globalaid.net.
Mukti was founded in 1889 in India, where it is known as Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission, after its founder Pandita Ramabai and the Marathi word ‘mukti’ which means freedom, liberation and salvation.
Pandita Ramabai was a pioneer in several ways. A recognized Indian Reformer, she was the first to promote the welfare and education of widows. She had a charismatic personality and was passionately interested in the freedom and welfare of her countrywomen.
She founded the Mukti Mission on March 11th, 1889, by starting the Sharada Sadan in Bombay, with two widows. In 1898, she established the Mission at Kedgaon on a 100-acre plot. By mid 1900, there were 2500 residents housed in the Mukti Mission at Kedgaon.
She struggled with and overcame prejudice, class and caste barriers, and the inhuman treatment of widows to help scores enter into a life of dignity.
Today, the needs are different, but the task at hand is still large and tough. Mukti focuses on bringing hope, and a positive future, to women and children in India. The desire is to change lives through a range of initiatives that demonstrate, in a practical way.
Primarily, Mukti provides secure homes for destitute women and children. Here, they find love, care and acceptance regardless of their backgrounds. And for some, the first home they have ever had in their lives.
For over 125 years, Mukti Mission has been caring for Indian women and children from its base at Kedgaon near Pune, in Maharashtra State. Mukti Mission now provides a full range of services to nearly 793 children and 263 women residing on the main campus and in the satellite extension homes.
LIFE TEAM PROJECT
On October 22, 2016, a team of ten from Canada partnered with us and went to Mukti Mission for 15 days to help with various projects and encourage local residents from the flower families. Jessica Howie was one of the LIFE Team participants.
JESSICA’S PROJECT
During Jessica’s time volunteering at Mukti Mission, she became deeply moved by the needs of the Violet family home.
This loving home consisted of both young and old adults who were either visually impaired, blind or intellectually disabled.
Wanting to spend her $150 from RBC for the #Make150Count campaign, Jessica initiated a time where the LIFE Team participants would host the Violet family home.
The celebration started off with some singing and dancing.
Jessica and her parents then gave a special gift to each individual from the home.
“It was a great time of singing, dancing and fellowship,” shares Manon Howie, Jessica’s mom.
“One that we will never forget.” Aaron Rogers, the LIFE Team co-leader and COO of GAiN, comments “It was encouraging to see Jessica take this initiative and use it to bless others.”
Two bright new faces shine in the Frangipani Flower Family since August 2016.
Sisters Trushala and Deepali were born in such an area where children and women are vulnerable and always at risk.
Unfortunately, their mom could not take proper care of them. She didn’t want them exposed to her work environment.
So, when she heard about the loving and supportive home at Mukti Mission, she felt that would be a good and safe place for her girls.
Quite quickly it became apparent how well the girls adjusted at Mukti.
Trushala, at six years, loves to play and sing. She listens attentively to stories and loves learning new songs. She chats amiably with everyone, especially when she should be studying! She is social and excels at playing with the other children.
Deepali, at nine years, studies in third Standard at the English Medium School. She is clever, enjoys studies and good in English. Quiet and respectful, she easily accepts the love of adults in her life.
Today, the girls are now settled at Mukti.
Being in a supportive environment has helped them begin to grow emotionally, spiriitually and with their studies.
Their mother can still come and visit. But, because of her work, the girls don’t go home for holidays.
Instead the love of their matron-mother and the happy welcome from their new sisters has made it easy for Mukti to provide for their needs and become their new home.
STORIES OF CHILDREN LIKE TRUSHALA AND DEEPALI ARE COMMON THROUGHOUT MUKTI.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MUKTI MISSION? CLICK HERE.
written by Ingrid ten Hoopen, Mukti volunteer –
“Ma….ma…! Pa…pa…!” Rutuja would call as she grabbed onto my arm with the plea of her heart and tears rolling down her face. In her first few months at Mukti, Rutuja cried a lot and could continually be heard asking for her parents. She was confused and didn’t understand why she was now at Mukti.
Rutuja has an intellectual disability and her speech is also delayed. The words that she does say are very difficult to understand. Last year, one sad and tragic day arose when her hand signals and cries for help to her neighbours went unheeded.
Rutuja and her brother were outside playing when the young boy slipped and fell into a barrel of water. Rutuja scrambled to help her brother but was unable to get him out so she raced to get help from her neighbours. Sadly, they didn’t understand her pleas and cries so they did not follow her to aid her brother. As a result, Rutuja’s younger brother drowned.
In June 2015, Rutuja’s parents, who are poor farm labourers, brought her to Mukti for shelter and education.
They feared that she might find herself in a dangerous situation if she accompanied them to work or stayed at home alone. They worked hard to feed and support the family, only earning a meagre income. They brought her to Mukti with the confidence that their special needs daughter would be kept safe from harm and be able to attend the Special Needs School.
Rutuja is now one of the ‘Violet Flower Family’ girls. It took a long time to adjust to the new environment that has become her home.
Her parents regularly come to Mukti to visit. At first, Rutuja found the visits and the periods after visitations quite traumatic, but now she has a better understanding and accepts that although the visits are temporary, her parents will return for another one soon.
She is now happy and settled in the Violet family, where she enjoys playing with her many friends. At the Mukti Special Needs School, Rutuja is grouped with the younger students. She has a love for learning Marathi (Indian language spoken at Mukti) and can read and write Marathi numbers to twenty. She has made a good start on learning to write letters.
Rutuja loves to help others and often initiates help without being asked. At lunchtimes and the end of the school day, Rutuja has made it her job to walk one of the blind girls home. She isn’t at all happy if one of the girls takes this on.
Now when she calls out, “Mama, Papa,” she is letting me know that they are going to visit. Her tears now overflow with joy as she takes hold of my hand and leads me to them.
Having only a 7th standard education, poor and struggling to make ends meet, Sakshi’s parents felt caught in a web from which they couldn’t free themselves. Their little daughter had special needs: she was an albino and virtually blind. In rural India, many people have misinformed, cruel beliefs.
Parents of children with special needs suffer from these beliefs that are often inflicted on them…indeed the parents themselves may believe that thy have been cursed by the gods for some unknown evil they committed and can’t undo. Their lives can be miserable, isolated from others, and they inwardly suffer.
External sufferings can pursue them as well. Sakshi’s parents worked long days in the hot sun in the fields for pitiful daily wages. Not able to leave their small daughter at home along, they took her into the fields with them. They had to worry about her wandering into hazards, unaware of dangers she could not see.
Since her skin had no pigment for protection from the sun’s rays, she often burned from sun exposure. Her eyes ached from the brightness of the sun and rendered her blind. In the dark, she could see a little and the eye pain eased.
Sakshi’s uncle knew of an amazing home. Someone near to him had a daughter, Ranjanan, who lived and prospered at Mukti Mission. She, too, was an albino who had been born into very similar circumstances. Entering Mukti as a toddler, Ranjana now was studying in college to become a teacher. These folks urged the uncle to encourage Sakshi’s parents to bring her.
How grateful they were!
Only a few days after being admitted into the Bougainvillea Family, Sakshi is being doted on by loving Mukti caregivers. Donned with a ruffled white bonnet to protect her face from the sun, she climbs into the arms of staff that cheerfully carry her about, introducing her to the vast wonders of her new home!
God’s love has been poured out toward those who would surely suffer from lifeliong inequalities and discrimination. Uniquely and wonderfully made, these little ones will have opportunities at Mukti that likely would have been impossible for them otherwise.
Written by Erika Pettigrew, LIFE Team participant
Money, school, friends, or family? Work, or vacations? Doubt, or fear? Maybe you think you can have the most impact close to home – that serving others short term hurts more than it helps. Maybe you’re scared or you don’t feel ready. You might feel like it’s not the right time. You might not want to go at all. Or maybe you want to go but don’t know where or how.
I’m going to tell you three reasons why you should consider joining a LIFE team this summer and how going on a project has changed my life.
Why you should join a LIFE team?
1. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
I don’t need to tell you that there are people around the world living in extreme poverty. Most of us are aware that hundreds of millions of people are currently suffering from abuse or lack of resources, yet we often don’t know what we can do to help. LIFE teams are a great way for you to get involved in the solution and actively work for change. I decided to participate in the India Summer Project last year because I longed to help women and children who were experiencing injustice. While I was serving at Mukti Mission, I had the opportunity to share hope with fatherless children and destitute women who had experienced terrible suffering. I am thankful that I was able to take part in making a difference, even if it was small.
Whether it’s going to Benin to work with the water wells, running summer camps and health training in Haiti, or caring for orphans and widows in India, you have an opportunity right in front of you to help others in need.
2. IT’S WORTH IT, EVEN IF IT’S SHORT
You might be wondering whether it’s worthwhile to travel across the world to do ordinary work that many other people could do.
In theory, it does sound inefficient to expend a large amount of resources to accomplish little projects. It seems as though it would be better to just send money to support the local churches that are already established in these countries. But from my personal experience, I’ve realized that local churches long for us to come and visit them.
Last year, I met an African pastor who had travelled to Canada to plead for us to go to encourage the church there. When I went to India, I could see how the local workers were so thankful that our team came. During our time at the mission, we were able to serve the workers and give them a much needed break – time when they could be refreshed and poured into so that they could keep working when we left.
Our presence and support encourages churches in a way that no amount of resources ever could. Churches are excited for you to come. In going, we also will be encouraged by learning from church’s amazing faith, which can help us to pour into our church when we return home and serve newcomers coming to Canada.
GAiN has long term projects established where they send LIFE teams, so in joining a project you can help work towards lasting change even if you can only go personally for just a season. These short-term trips can bring joy, hope and transformation in ways we can’t think or imagine.
3. YOU CAN USE YOUR SKILLS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
There is work out there that only you, with your personality, skills, passions, and experience can do. During my time in India, I was able to teach chemistry, work on a farm, and lead singing and music for a worship service. I was amazed to see how the skills I have could be used to serve others! You, too, have unique gifts and abilities that you can use to make a difference in the lives of those who need it.
I am the person I am today because of the summer projects I have participated in. In the past three years, I have helped with humanitarian projects in rural South Africa, shared God’s message of hope with those living in need in inner-city Toronto, and cared for orphans and widows in India.
My faith has grown through these projects as I have met people with profound faith and hope. I’ve tried to use the gifts God has given me to love and serve others. It is through these experiences that I was able to step out of my comfort zone and grow stronger in my faith.
My heart has been broken by the extreme poverty that I’ve seen, but I’ve also been encouraged as I’ve seen faces light up at hearing messages of hope for the first time. I can’t imagine anything more fulfilling – and so I can’t help but go. I am incredibly excited to travel to India again this summer and continue to develop the relationships I made last summer. I know great things will be done.
I’ve listed some reasons why I think everyone should participate in a GAiN LIFE team, but I understand it’s not always possible for everyone to go. Sometimes it just isn’t the right time, but that doesn’t mean you should give up completely. I wish for you to serve and care for others, wherever you are this summer, but consider joining a LIFE team (especially consider joining me in India)!