Hello friends!
We arrived safely in Mumbai at about 2:30 am this morning....thank you for your prayers! It is now Friday evening and we are quite tuckered out after traveling for over 20 hours as we made our way to the other side of the world. After about 3 hours sleep, we spent out first day in Mumbai, India.
For those of us who have never been to India, the craziness of the roads was enough to create a bit of culture shock. Think mass chaos...no lanes, people crossing in front of heavy traffic, cows roaming and everything from large trucks to little rickshaws to old English looking taxis nearly hitting each other.
Regardless, we made it through the city and spent most of our day at the "Bombay Teen Challenge." Bombay Teen Challenge is a remarkable Christian ministry founded by Mr. Devaraj that focuses on rescuing women of all ages from sex slavery. Mr. Devaraj has an unbelievable heart for rescuing people from this terrible trade and sharing the gospel with them. Many who we met today have come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior thru Mr. Devaraj's work. You can see the restoration and love they have for Jesus in their eyes...truly beautiful! Over lunch, he gave us a more detailed overview of the ministry and also told us of his calling - to "Stop Sex Slavery" worldwide in the next 15 years. He estimates that there are over 100,000 people in sex slavery in Mumbai alone.
The ministry has also grown into many other areas, including an orphanage for 40 children who have HIV and or AIDS. We were able to stop here as well today. When we arrived the children were waiting for us at the entry way, smiling and singing! They were so darling. Each child handed us a homemade card and eagerly took our hands to show us their home. The pictures below are worth a thousand words. We finished our day seeing the Bombay Teen Challenge dormitories and handicraft center (called the International Princess Project) where the women at Bombay Teen Challenge create beautiful jewelry, scarves, wallets and pajamas. These items are sold in the US to raise money for the organization. We did a bit of shopping as well and enjoyed spending more time with the girls.
At the end of our day, we were blessed to be part of their chapel service. The service was lead by a fantastic worship band who enthusiastically praised Jesus, singing many songs we know from home. It was such a blessing to see God so clearly at work in everyone's lives. We were struck by the stark contrast between the darkness they had all come from and the light which they now experience knowing Jesus Christ. We pray God continues to bless this ministry and everyone involved.
Thank you all for your support and prayers. Tomorrow we are headed to Chennai where we will get to meet Colleen and begin our time at CMCT.
