SunFlowerTrust

The Sunflower Trust Trip to India in January 2008

Team Members

Rev Carol Burstow, Thelma Lynch,   Wales
Margeret Buick, Bridie Laverty,        N Ireland
Rita Varey, Betty Price, Kizzy Price,Amy Syed,  England
Melanie Price

We arranged to go back out to Andrapedesh in India,12 months ago, as we had been out last January, to assess the needs of the 33 children in the orphanage. The 33 children range from the ages of 2 years old, to 15. My team were so happy to see the children were well looked after now.

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 We wanted to see the newly built orphans home in Bhuttiprolu. We had been financing it, literally, brick, by brick. I’d been in communication with Pastor G.
for the last 3 years, and we decided, as The Lord had spoken, that a new building was absolutely vital for these 33 children, if they were  to survive, and become believers, to fulfil their destinies. There are a lot of children still living below the poverty line, and adding an added burdens on the poor extended families of the Tsunami victims.
They are all true Tsunami orphans, and on this trip we actually went down the Krishna River, on to the Bay of Bengal, to the Island, where the children’s parents, had been swept away by the Tsunami.
The building it self was more then we ever expected. It was big, and the building had 7 rooms. Pastor, had put inside toilets in the rooms. There were 2 big bedrooms, so the boys and girls, can sleep in separate rooms. They still sleep on mats on the floor, but this is normal in Andrapedesh.   Every one had to move in last August, as the old rented house collapsed, due to the cyclone, that came up from The Bay of Bengal.
 The building hasn’t got any windows and doors as yet, but we are working on it for this year. The weather was hot, and the rains won t come until August, by which time we hope we will have completed the hanging of the 8 doors, and the fitting of the 12 windows.

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 The children themselves, have achieved good marks at school, and 7 of them got Diplomas. They live a very, happy and stable life. Pastor and his wife J., and their son John, look after the children as their very own.

The children are shown much love, and all seemed very happy and healthy, and well balanced.  Team members, sung to them, and we told them stories, and did sketches, that made them laugh. We are very happy about the results of our work, over these 12 months. The herd of water buffalo is coming along, and one of them is pregnant, so breeding will bring more buffalo, which in turn, will make the orphanage, self-suffient.
A Ray Of Hope, sent us a lot of education supplies, and they were very much welcomed. We took, clothes, babies bottles and blankets. All will be used over and over again.
We looked at a parcel of land opposite the home. It is very suitable for the children to have a playground, and recreational space. The building is built in a very tight space, and hence the children have to stay in, or play out on the road.
The ladies of our team were presented with garlands of flowers, as the children thanked us for their new secure, water-proof, home. We officially opened the home, with a wonderful celebration. We sat on the floor, and ate together, that was so precious to us all.
We Blessed the children, and the building, dedicating it to The Lord Jesus, and we  assessed the building for further work and maintenance.
 The Sunflower Trust, has been set up in India.  Pastor and his wife are so dedicated to the work, and at the young age of 32 have sacrificed their lives to look after these precious little ones.
 We have been able to secure a teacher, who will teach the children after school hours, so they will learn English, and have extra tuition. We are in the process of marrying the home up with a school from Lancashire to unite children so they can understand each others cultures. On this trip we have definitely, fulfilled all our dreams for these children, further more we have made their dreams come true as well.
This work is not just about the children, or building homes for the orphans, but its about sharing what we have, and showing that we really do care, when disasters occur in places that we have never heard of. In 12 months we have given hope to Giribabau and his extended family of children, and also we have connected 5 Countries. India, and  England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and Hungary 
We had the privilege of putting on a Crusade, where never a Crusade had been. The local villagers had never seen white people before. We were amazed to see how many people came. They came by boat, by oxen, by rickshaw, and by foot. 6 nights of the Crusade, bought over 1000 souls. Many were Hindus, and many made a decision for Christ.

We were able to Minister to these lovely ladies, who suffered headaches, because they had to carry such heavy loads on their heads. Some ladies legs and feet were rotten, and infected, because they worked so long in the paddy fields, in the water. People put our hands on their tumours, as we couldn’t t always understand what they were saying. One thing we could do, was to worship with them. Beyond anything we could ever dream of, or imagine, God guided us to do His work, amongst the lovely souls of Asia. The Pastors Conferences were so fruitful, as over 250 Pastors turned up at one meeting.

These meeting last 5 to 6 hours at a time, and the expectant souls, just sat, and waited for the move of the Holy Spirit. Every night, miracles were wrought, and believers were encouraged, and souls were saved. The Church has had many added to its numbers. These are the reports from the Pastors, and the Churches, still coming in now 2 weeks later.  Our God is an awesome God. We told the Hindus, that Our God is a God of Love. We said, Jesus is a Holy Spirit God, and that we don’t worship a stone idol, or an image made of wood, or metal. We taught them how to pray, and how to worship, the living God, who was their Father, and loved them, from the foundation of the world.   They want us to come back, as soon as possible..........I wonder why?????
It’s all about Jesus, and telling the people The Good News  

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We will continue to support this project, until it is fully completed. Purpose, Destiny, and Satisfaction, is written over all our faces, here and in India, so we can say with confidence, Mission exceedingly accomplished.

Thank you for all the support
Melanie Price