After several visits to our ministries in India, the kids now recognize him and affectionately refer to him as “Uncle Carl.” Today they showed him all they have been learning—reciting their numbers, the English and Bengali alphabets, and rhymes with hand gestures. Before Carl left the preschool, the kids crowded around him for a picture. Next stop, the Rajah Children’s Home in Rajahmundry. Safe travels, Uncle Carl!

On the morning of the 29th a fire swept through much of the Cessito’s home. The roof, office, all the computers, books, printers and modems were burned and destroyed. With the rainy season coming, they fear their will be more damaged due to the missing roof and no way to protect the inside of their home.

The Cessito’s have been part of the CRI family for 11 years. Their loss and heartache is ours too.
We would like to raise $10,000 to help. Please consider a gift to the Cessito’s to restore their home and replace items that were destroyed.

To give a gift via credit card, go to our donate page.

Under Give to our Projects you can choose Emergency Fund – Cessito’s Fire Repair. (All gifts are tax deductible)

This year the Taste of Africa event will feature experiencing Africa. Awaken your senses to smell and taste authentic African cuisine; feel the rhythms of Africa in music and dancing; see A Day in the Life of Louisa, and hear stories about children in Africa.

Date: Sunday December11, 2011
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Veterans of Foreign Wars 39 E Saint Charles Rd, Villa Park, IL60181-2411 Parking will be next door in the Jewel parking lot.
RSVP: RSVP to the event by purchasing your tickets.  Once you’ve purchased your tickets an e-ticket will be e-mailed to you within 24 hrs. Purchase Tickets Here.

Photo taken at last year’s “Taste of Africa”

This spring as we were dividing plants, we decided to hold a giveaway. Our perennials overflowed from our garden beds. Then we decided to set out a can and ask people to give a donation when they came. My children wanted to sell lemonade and brownies and drew a dozen beautiful plant pictures to sell for the cause. They predicted we would collect $10, $20, or $30 from the sale. We prayed and then dug and dug plants, mixed and mixed juice, and drew and drew pictures for a whole week! Dozens came, and at the end we counted $240 in our jar. It was an amazing experience for us all! 

Thank you Christa, Lainey, Callie, Ginger, Ethan and Elliot for making a difference in the lives of the poor.

Visit our How You Can Help page to join us in serving the poorest of the poor.

Sonia, from Kalighat (the Red Light District), was so excited as we celebrated her birthday yesterday. Isn’t she beautiful! She called her neighbors and friends to share her joy and showed them the gift and special cake she had received. That was her first time to hear prayer rejoicing that Lord Jesus has added another year into her life. Also we prayed for His protection, His wisdom and asked for His blessings upon this little girl. Truly she was touched, loved and blessed.

Like  Sonia, around 20-27 children are attending in our class. Of course we end each lesson with story of Jesus. Each of them are interested to know Christ deeply. God has entrusted in our care to minister to those precious children. Transforming and softening hearts of vulnerable children, broken moms, impoverished communities is only possible with God’s miraculous touch.

What makes the work worth doing is the God we are serving.

If you would like to be a part of God’s work in the slums of Kolkata, India click here to learn How You Can Help.

Smriti Maity (our partner in India) hosted a VBS program for over 100 children in the slums of Kolkata. Much like in the US, the kids sang songs, heard a Bible story and colored pictures. Afterwards a hot, nutritious meal was served. The program was so popular, there wasn’t enough room for all the kids! Smriti split the children into two groups in order to squeeze them all in.

She says, “As you can see children really enjoyed being part of  the activities. Praise God for His provision of everything.” Smriti also sends her thanks to all those who give to CRI’s Mudpaths Ministry for making this possible.

Smriti would love to reach more children (and so would we!), but to do so she needs more space. Click here to learn How You Can Help.

Last year at the Women’s Conference I became friendly with Addelina.  Approaching 40 years of age, she looks and acts like a silly twenty-something.  The Conference was like a giant slumber party for several hundred women, and she bounced from group to group, joking around at appropriate, and not always appropriate, times.  Later I found out her age, that she had 3 children and that she had AIDS.

Several years ago, Addelina was a pre-school teacher, then she became an Activista in Project Life, and when she could no longer do that work well, she began to sell beans in the market. Last September, as I hugged my very thin friend good-bye, I gave her the yellow sun hat that I wore.

Now I’m back in Mozambique. When I saw my silly friend at a Baby Dedication a few weeks ago we embraced warmly.  I was struck at how bony her body had become over the past year.  With smiles and laughter she said she was fine.  The next week I saw Addelina near the clinic and she had an open wound on her toe and several written prescriptions in her hand. She assured me she would take care of herself and be fine. Days later she was walking on the sandy roads with a pronounced limp and a homemade bandage on her toe.

No, the prescriptions had not been filled.  The reason, of course, was money.  How much?  Well, in American dollars the cost would be about $1.50.  To Addelina, the 45 metacash was well beyond her reach. I haven’t seen her since, but I pray that the money we easily and quickly gave her provided the necessary healing to her toe.  Having AIDS complicates healing significantly.  The fact that she wears flip-flops all day and walks on sandy dirt roads for miles between home and job adds more complications.

The people here in Mozambique are often teetering on the edge. One small illness or injury can have a dramatic impact on their lives and often ends in death. In spite of their circumstances my friends in Mozambique know how to find joy in life. They have learned to give thanks in all circumstances.

Keep Addelina, Mozambique and the Ray of Light project in your prayers, and click here to see How You Can Help.

The Nutrition Center has been my project focus this year.  What a remarkable place!  2 women and 1 Brazilian nurse see 80 moms and serve 100 children weekly, teaching good health habits and providing either formula or supplemental food to children 0-24 months old.  Home visits are made weekly hoping to find adequate hygiene habits to promote good health.

There is a nervous joy as we get ready to graduate a significant number of babies out of the program.  Toddlers with chubby thighs and cheeks are ready, with the grace of God,  to thrive on their own.  The flip side of that coin are the children who are chronically ill.  Francisco and John Paul are not related, however one is nine months and the other ten months.  Neither child has hit the 10lb mark yet.  We still have work to do.

Last year I  took part in a funeral for one of the women involved in our program. I witnessed the purchase of her casket, waited outside the morgue as her body was cleaned, and stood respectfully during the graveside service.  I also got to transport her tiny twin daughters, who were just several weeks old at the time, back to their father after the funeral service.  It was a sad time.  But today I saw those same two  little girls, having been nourished for the past year by the Nutrition Center, healthy and happy.  Being raised by Grandma, one was chatty and both were alert and engaging.  These lives are an affirmation of the work being done here.

If you would like to help our efforts at the Tessa Grace Nutrition Center, click here to learn How You Can Help.

Recently these meals touched the lives of a special group of people. At the church plant in Mafarinha 68 men and women waited in line—all of them were blind. Many had no idea what to expect, so they arrived without bags or boxes to transport their food home. As names were called, those who had bags shared with those who didn’t, and all received their portion.

Kathy Knight, one of CRI’s missionaries to Mozambique described the day.

I watched as their faces beamed with the light of joy even though their eyes could not see their providers. Their hearts rejoicing at the fact that the devil had lost again and they would indeed have meals for another month. They responded with singing and one elderly woman got up and did her best to dance for the King of blessing.

If you would like to become a part of God’s work in Mozambique visit our How You Can Help page.

They met us at the airport in Rajahmundry, all holding signs “Welcome Cherie”, but the flowers are what I remember—a long garland of yellow and orange flowers with a wonderful fragrance (although they did leave stains on our shirts).  Wow! What a welcome, but it didn’t stop there.

The next day we visited half of the churches in the Deep Forest tribal region.  Children’s Relief International pays the salaries of the pastors and the twice a month Biblical training for them.  Six have new concrete buildings with a fresh water well that everyone can use, including the Dalit “untouchable” people who make up much of the poor congregations.  At each of these, we are met by the pastor and the women of the church. The men are in the fields working on this Friday.  They have more garlands of flowers to give us.  At this church, a beautiful little girl drapes the garland around my neck.  They sing a song.  We tell them why we came and express our love for them.  They ask us to pray for them, one by one.  Some are sick and want healing.  Their faith makes us humble, knowing that we have no power to help.  Only our God has that power.

Then one lady tells us through Ananth, our interpreter, that she has never seen nor touched a white person.  Ananth explains that just our being there is viewed as a miracle.  As Dalit “untouchables” in this Deep Forest tribal region, they are not allowed to touch people outside their caste.  Our message that we are all the same in God’s eyes, followed by our prayers and hugs, takes on a whole new meaning.  We didn’t even know.  Only our all-powerful God knew.  It makes me wonder, What will be the future for this flower girl? Can Children’s Relief International break the cycle of destitution for her?

If you would like to support a pastor, build a church, drill a well, or sponsor a child visit our How You Can Help page.