January/February 2011 - A new year with much to celebrate

The year has started off well and we’re really excited about what we have planned for 2011. Our rice crop is flourishing and local farmers say it looks like we should get a really good harvest. Compared to neighbouring properties, our rice crop appears much healthier and has heaps more rice grains forming. The well is continuing to re-fill each night, allowing us to keep the fields irrigated, and irrigation waters from Sathiyar Dam are keeping groundwater levels high.

Geoff and I just returned from another visit to Shalom during February. Our time went really quickly but it was great to see how everything was progressing. We had lots of fun with the boys, playing cricket, bathing at local waterfalls and the boys put on a talent show with lots of singing and dancing. On the project side of things we visited some of the people we gave goats to in September, and discussed building and farming plans for 2011.

2011 will be year of construction and expansion. To comply with Indian Government and GDG requirements we need to provide separate sleeping areas for staff and rooms with beds for the children. For the last 18 months everyone has been sleeping on the floor of the main hall, but this was only ever going to be a temporary set up. Just as we did with stage one, we’ve decided to start construction work with only a portion of the funds required, and trust God to bring in the rest of the money as needed.

We’re currently looking at three different design options, which Israel is working on with a local engineer. The new work will provide separate accommodation for staff including some widows who will help with farming, cooking and cleaning tasks. There’ll also be rooms and study areas for the older boys. Construction of a separate farm worker’s cottage began in January and is nearly finished. Once it’s complete, and our new livestock workers move in, we’ll start increasing our number of cows and goats.

Other great news is that we have a teacher and her husband, plus their 2 girls, planning to join us in May. They will take on the roles of tutor and warden and will help with setting up a free supervised homework and tutoring program for 100 children from our village. Local families that we spoke to are very excited about this new program, as many of the adults are uneducated and can’t assist their children with homework and reading tasks. Praise God, we have already been given a donation to cover the cost of employing 4 college students to help run the program for one year.

This month's featured photos show our rice and new farm workers building, playing cricket, our trip to the waterfalls, walking to school in the village and a few photos from the talent show. Next month I hope to include some photos of the new construction work.

This Month's Prayer Points

We'd value your prayers for the following:

• Wisdom in selecting the best building design, one that will come in under budget.
• The provision of funds to complete our new buildings as required.
• A good exchange rate.
• A bumper rice harvest.
• Sponsors for the rest of the boys to cover regular expenses during construction.
• Pray for our 5 oldest boys who are preparing for their final Year 10 exams.