July 1995

Dear Saints and Aints.

Shalom from Nagpur.

 It is raining. The sound is soothing. The sight ... Close to the house, the drops getting entangled in the Kajarina tree, turn to silver and gold, transforming the tree into something of awesome beauty before they gently drop to the ground. It is a sight that evokes childhood memories of books of elves and fairies, of gentle creatures. A massive curtain of gray blocks some of the city lights that hug the hill to the south-east of us. The playground seems to form the center of a huge stadium/arena, the distant hill a perfect semi-circle of benches, and the light -- well, maybe some long since dead saints cheering us on ... The rains add to the coziness of my room. I feel like I am in a cocoon, enveloped by warmth and comfort. My mind reaches out to the kids huddled together in their dorms, safe and dry. The night, just the right temperature for comfort and good sleep, enhances the sense of well-being. Tonight they will sleep well. And I ... Our needs are still there. Our problems remain with us. But tonight is mine to forget, to rest, to dream. The gentle sound of rain and the pitter-patter of rain drops on the tiles outside my window are my lullaby...

The day brings - kids ... The multitudes are coming ... Kids, kids, kids ... Small kids, big kids, skinny kids, fat kids, happy kids and those who are otherwise disposed. Some slightly mentally handicapped, others physically handicapped. Kids from cities, towns, villages - jungles. Christian kids, Sikh kids, Hindu kids, Moslem kids, Buddhist kids, Animist kids ... To us -just needy kids. After a few days here -- Kids with cuts and bruises, with bandages at every conceivable and inconceivable part of their anatomy make the place look like a hospital after a major catastrophe. But how do you keep kids out of trees? Kids with an irresistible urge to dwell in trees make me wonder if Darwin, after all, didn't have something valid ...How do you keep them away from the top of buildings or from open wells? How do you prevent them from rushing where angels fear to tread? How do you keep them from swinging windows on their hinges, windows that have just been fitted with new glass because the old glass shattered --- because kids swung windows on their hinges …? How? While most kids escape their irresistible search for the unusual and the strange and the assertion of their own individuality with all its quirks with minor hurts some -- sadly -- don't.

The night of July 11th a little boy of seven drowned in one of our three open wells. At about 3 a.m. it started to rain and while the others went inside he took off by himself. Though the staff looked for him they could not find him and finally believed he was among the mass of little bodies that littered the big dorm. In the morning, not finding his box they assumed he had run away. Finally, shortly after 2 p.m. they found his little body floating in the well. The well is in the middle of the field and quite a distance from where the kids sleep. How he got there nobody knows. His little cousins who slept with him told us he was in the habit of sleep-walking. Though saddened by this tragedy, life must go on and - it does.

We increased the enrollment in the other hostels and decreased the number slightly here. We even started a small hostel with 8 kids in a hill track some 250 km from here. Next year we plan to reduce the number here even more and start a couple of smaller homes nearer to where some kids come from. That means, the small fry would be near their folks till they are a bit bigger and can handle being away from their parents. With the girls home now functioning we can see a drastic increase of the number of girls wanting a place...

Our school, Adivasi Academy (Adivasi=tribal) did well last year. We had 91% of the kids passing their year-end exams. This year we have 18 teachers and 650 students. Our five struggling little churches do exactly that - struggle in an hostile environment, consolidating their foothold and - by God's grace - grow.

The Pentecostal Assemblies of India has also been formed but will need a lot of tender love and care to grow to its full potential. No doubt - it will.

A number of friends suggested I have changed. No, I have not changed, I have developed. With Yohan having taken over as president of the society - it is only logic that I turn my mind, at least half of it, to that which motivated me to come to India in the first place.

Yohan is doing a good job, though he feels the tremendous pressure of the job. The other day he said, "I think I will get a heart attack from all the tension." I consoled him with the good news that only the good die young and hence he has a long fruitful life ahead of him. I am not sure he believes me.

Dave and Lorraine Dickson have adjusted well. They deserve a prize for just making it through the summer. Dave is doing a lot of computer work and Lorraine makes the best pizzas and apple pies this side of the Pacific.

In closing let me thank you all for your prayers, your gifts, your care for us. If they ever hand out a Nobel prize for kindness - I will nominate you.

Love from us all

Frank, Yohan, Staff and Kids.