Valentine's Day, Ministry and More...

"Who is this guy?!?!" is exactly what my teammates said when we walked in the door after ministry yesterday to find 48 beautiful, long-stemmed red roses and tons of imported chocolate from "Jason Surratt, South Carolina, USA". Who knew that you could send flowers across the world? Especially to an address of "783 Near Merces Church" – no that is not the street name, just a general direction. God definitely had His hand in the success of Jason’s incredibly romantic Valentine’s Day display. I feel so blessed to have such a thoughtful and devoted fiancee! This one can go in the "Jason’s Guide to Romantic Moments" book.

Thankfully, ministry is going just as well as my love life. We have spent the past few weeks working with about 40 children – teaching songs and dances, playing games, giving English lessons, telling Bible stories and helping with homework. I felt like such a mom yesterday as I went back and forth between helping one girl, who was reading a story, with words she didn’t know and counting with another! It has truly been better than I could have ever imagined. Our last day with them is this Sunday and it is going to be so hard to say good-bye. Turns out that Hancee got a sponsor and is going to be able to attend a great school in June! She is really coming along with her reading and speaking.

Jason and I have decided to sponsor a sweet, very artistic (the first day that we were there he spent a couple of hours drawing me a picture of Jesus) little boy named Durgenai and I couldn’t be more excited. He came from a village on the outskirts of town and a Hindu background. His parents both passed away when he was very young and, before he came to the orphanage, he was living with a relative who also passed away. He came to the orphanage for what was supposed to be a short time as his relatives sorted out where he would live. When it came time to leave, he was very unhappy because he wanted to stay with the children. For his better interest, his relatives worked it out for him to stay in the orphanage temporarily. Now he will be able to stay permanently and is going to be enrolled in school in June! We are delighted to ensure that he will be raised in a Christian environment and get a good education. Even more so, I am glad to be able to support him and all of the other children in prayer. I can’t wait to get to a better computer where I can post pictures – they are so precious! If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please feel free to ask me for details.