SPRING 2010 2010-02-24 Dear Reader Hello and welcome to our latest newsletter. It is with great pleasure that we bring you this update on the work of Stepping Stones in India and we hope that you will be both encouraged and inspired by the progress that has taken place over the Winter. CATALOGUE In November we launched our first Christmas catalogue to give supporters the opportunity to purchase items that would bless the children in our care and improve the living conditions at our specialist children’s home Bethel House in Ranaghat, West Bengal.  The response from supporters was very encouraging and we managed to buy most of the items that were listed, in fact items were selling so fast in December that we had to update the catalogue 5 times! The boys at Bethel House were thrilled to receive their Christmas gifts, sports, games and musical equipment which were presented during the Christmas celebrations. You can view most of the Christmas items and much more by following the ‘Gallery’ link on this site. BETHEL HOUSE BOYS The first 6 boys that came to Bethel House, 4 years ago were all classified as destitute, some had lost both parent’s, some were very weak, malnourished and sick. All were uneducated and arrived without any personal possessions. Some were so ill that we thought they might not survive. But 4 years later what a transformation! All the boys are strong, healthy, and thirsty for knowledge and enjoying school. They know that they are very blessed and enjoy each day participating in all the daily activities at Bethel House. The boys are aged between 3 - 16  and their love for each other and their acceptance and care for subsequent new additions is exceptional. In January we received Prokas aged 6 and Motisil aged 8 from Jarkhand, bringing the total to 28 boys now living at the new Bethel House. Procas and Motisil, have quickly adjusted to their new home and will start their new school once they have learned the local language (Bengali) which they are taught daily at B.H.   A number of our boys like Ragu, Sonu and David are pre school age so they receive daily lessons at the home in preparation for when they are age 5. Like other 3 and 4 year olds they love to sing and play and it is always great fun to watch them enjoying each other’s company.                 One of our boys, Monaj, has recently had a plaster cast removed from his arm following an accident practising the long jump. He is OK now but is convinced he would have won the competition if he hadn’t tripped!. Oldest boy Rakesh has made a complete recovery from T.B. and has started back at school following a 3 month absence.  Rakesh has a particularly caring nature and once he was out of the contagious stage of his illness he used his absence from school as an opportunity to help staff with the smaller preschool boys at Bethel House.   At point of writing, the older boys have just completed their school exams determine if they will graduate to the next class come September. I am pleased to say that they all passed, Isaac recieving a distinction with top marks in his school year!   Our final 2 boys should arrive in the next few weeks. More about them in the next news item. BETHEL HOUSE The new boy’s home is all that we hoped it would be with lots of space and good facilities for the boys to develop in and a great staff team who love and support them. As a result of a number of generous donations received over the Christmas period, we have been able to complete all the necessary work on the ground floor including – electrics, plastering, tiling, kitchen - including work surfaces, storage, gas cooker and new pans, paintwork (inside and out), dining tables and benches, bunk beds, mattresses and bedding for all the boys, ceiling and extractor fans, staff bathroom suite, curtains, office equipment including a large desk, filing cabinets and a new computer! Although the electricity board have still not given us a permanent connection we were blessed in October ‘09 by a supporter who provided the home with a generator which has been used daily.  Although this is a great temporary measure we are still praying that the authorities will fulfil their obligation soon. Let’s hope so! We really are thrilled with all the new developments as are the boys and staff and thank all our supporters for their help in making it possible. Bethel House is an amazing home. MISSION TEAM –Jan’10 A small team from Scarborough including Tracey, Jean, Jade, Sharon, Ben and I spent 3 weeks in West Bengal, India as hosts of our Indian Secretary and his family. Their home is a great base for the teams as it is only a short walk to the Stepping Stones mission centre and the boys at Bethel House.  We were joined for a few days by Elim Missionaries Johnny and Heather Prentice and their friend Jolene who is a mission doctor from North East India. Our boys all received a medical check from Dr Jolene who also gave us lots of advice and ideas about running a future health clinic. A week of rehearsals, face mask and scenery making produced an amazing production of Noah and the Flood with all the boys participating as Noah’s family and the animals. (Well done team, you know who you are) The boys then performed at a special outreach event on stage, attended by about 300 local villagers. The outreach included preaching from Tracey and dance and lively worship from 15 members of Agape church in Kolkata who came to support the event. The team also spent time visiting some of our village projects including one of the schools in Krisnagar where they distributed clothing and blankets to all the kids. On the final weekend the Bethel Boys sadly lost at football to the village boys but all had a brilliant sports day with lots of fun, although some of the English team leaders got a bit competitive (Yes, you know who you are). The day was great fun and ended with a water fight and ice cream later which the boys, team and staff all loved! CHURCH MISSION CENTRE Bethel Church, as it is now known, has been a great location to host a wide variety of teaching and worship seminars as well as being the home for our local church under the leadership of Pastor Belsay.  A number of our Bethel House boys and some of the local village children play musical instruments and lead worship on Sundays. The meetings are always vibrant, challenging and good fun. Plans to further develop the building with the addition of 2 new rooms, a balcony, windows and doors  has been put on hold until after Easter as there are a number of seminars and outreach events already scheduled for this period.  Our vision to use part of the building as a base for our mobile clinic will hopefully take shape later this year when we have a qualified worker in place. OUTREACH Pastor Belsay and his team continue to take the love of God to villagers in and around Eruli, which in the past has included providing, education, safe water, medicines and hospital treatment for those who cannot afford it. This year 6 villagers with cataracts have received their sight back through medical support from the team!.   In November we hosted our second government blood camp. Local villagers donated 25 pints of blood (2 pints were mine and Pete's) that was then stored in the local hospital for future use. Last year’s blood bank saved 6 lives. Regular mid week children’s meetings where they learn Bible stories, songs, dance and drama have proved popular and we now have a thriving village house church which Tracey, I and this year’s mission team attended recently. Approximately 25 people managed to squeeze into the tiny mud and bamboo house with about another 80 spectators and some worshippers left outside. Our plan to purchase land here and build our next mission centre which will incorporate a purpose built girl’s orphanage, a clinic and a place of worship is still in the pipe line and subject to funding. Not too far from there is the village of Krisnagar where a young man voluntarily teaches 80 local children who all receive tuition whilst sat on the floor in the open air. Many families here are either too poor to allow their children to attend full time education or simply live too far from the nearest school. A few kilometres away another student tutors 20 children daily. Both classes run between 8 and 10am, 5 days a week.  Stepping Stones are supporting this work by providing teaching materials and practical helps. GIRLS ORPHANAGE (Bethany Girls Home) People are always asking us, ‘Why don’t you have a girl’s home?’ The truth is it has always been our hope to set up a girl’s home once our boy’s home was running properly and to capacity. We thank God that this time has come and we are now looking to rent a property near Bethel House where we can take in 10 girls. Please pray as we proceed to find a suitable property, staff team and new sponsors for the girls. CYCLONE RELIEF In November 09 Pete Hick and I took a trip down to the Sunderbands region of West Bengal to meet with some of the villagers who lost family, homes and possessions during the devastation of Cyclone Aila in May 09. Our purpose was to see the effects first hand, to meet some of the villagers that we helped with aid during the aftermath and to distribute warm blankets to as many as possible in preparation for the coming winter. The people we met are very resilient and immensely grateful for the help they received but we in turn were overwhelmed by the destruction and unmet needs in that area. One man I met asked for prayer. He told me that he used to make a moderate living as a fisherman but Cyclone Aila had smashed his boat to pieces, then destroyed his house and took all his belongings. Thankfully his wife and son survived and he used a tarpaulin that one of our workers gave him to make a temporary home on a high mud bank that they still live in. All these hardships he has accepted and still hopes one day to get a new boat and build a new home. However, to put food on the table he now has to wade waist deep in filthy water to try and catch fish with a small hand thrown net that he borrows. As a result he contracted an awful skin condition covering most of his body. I prayed trusting in God’s mercy and added a prayer for myself too asking forgiveness for all the benefits that I take for granted. God willing, this year’s monsoon season (April – August) will not be so costly in terms of lives and human suffering. Our small team of volunteers will be on standby again to do what they can when they are needed. Please pray for them and for finances to purchase essential food, water, shelter and medical supplies. RAKESH (By Tracey) Rakesh came to Bethel House in May 2006 and very soon became big brother to all the smaller boys.  He is slightly lame and also has some hearing difficulties, he does not know how old he is, but the current estimate is about 16. During our recent trip to India Rakesh told me his story.  He lived with his Father, Mother and elder sister in a village called Chottisippur in the Sunderbahns area.  His father died when he was about 4 years old and at some point after that, his sister decided to become a Catholic.  Rakesh wanted to join her but his Mother forbade him, telling him that he would have to leave the family home if  he chose to go ahead.  However, in 2006 his mother also died and he was left an orphan, but rather than let this put him down, he used it as his chance to follow the God he had started to love.  It was shortly after this he joined us at Bethel House.  Since that time, although he has lost the end of his finger in an accident and contracted TB (now totally recovered), in all that time he has continued to Praise God and look for ways to love those around him.  He told me that while he was praising God on his sick bed, during his bout of TB, he had a vision of Jesus who put his hand on his head and told him to go and preach the Gospel in his own village.  Wow!   Just before we returned to the UK, he saw me sitting on a step looking contemplative and said to me (in Bengali) “Aunty, are you thinking/worrying?” ‘Yes’ I replied. His response was, “Aunty, I don’t think, I simply rejoice!”.  A message to us all – ‘Stop worrying and be grateful for what you have’.! FINALLY If you would like to find out more about Stepping Stones or recieve information about sponsoring a child or worker in West Bengal, India please write to us leaving your phone number and we will call you back. We look forward to hearing from you. God bless and have a great Spring. Richard and Tracey P.S. Dont forget to have a look at the latest pictures on the GALLERY.     AUTUMN 2009 2009-10-20 Dear Friend Greetings from Tracey and I and all at Stepping Stones. It is with great pleasure that we bring you our latest update from Stepping Stones in India and I hope that you will be encouraged when you read about the great work that has taken place over this Summer. Bethel House Since we gave up the rental of our original boy’s home in April ’09 and moved all our boys into the new building, construction work has continued to ensure that the children and staff have all the facilities they need to live comfortably. When Tracey and I left at the end of April only the children’s rooms and bath rooms were complete with much work yet to be done on the staff quarters, office, reception area and kitchen. But, I am pleased to say that all the major construction work is now completed though we are still in need of some wiring, doors, windows and a full paint job! But more about this later… A major problem we have been dealing with is that so far the electricity board has not connected the home to the national grid, even though we paid for the pylons, wiring and connection in March! In practical terms it has meant that the boys and staff have had to use limited battery power for lighting. The water pump for the showers can’t be used and the home has also been without fans throughout the summer months. Despite our trustee’s best efforts including constant trips to the relevant authorities, who so far have been incredibly uncooperative, making countless unfulfilled promises, we are seemingly no further forward.  There seems to be no logical reason why they have delayed so long, the pylons have been in place for months and the whole thing has been authorized. At the moment all we can do is pray and hope that the connection will be done soon. I will be looking into it personally when I go over at the end of the month. On a ‘brighter’ note, we have just received donations to supply the home with a generator that will help with the present electric crisis and provide electricity during the many power cuts and during outreach events. Thanks to a number of very kind, recent donations we shall be employing local contractors to completely paint the new premises and complete all the above mentioned work. Boys Update Generally the boys are all doing well in their school studies, some now speaking good English and as the new boys are learning the local language they are finding places in the local Bengali medium schools where we have very good relationships with the Principles and Teachers. On our visit in April the Principal of the local secondary school, which some of our boys attend, gave us a full tour of his school and introduced us to all his pupils and teachers. He went on to tell us that one of our boys was the top student in his year and all the others were dedicated and competent pupils. Not bad when you think that none of them had ever been to school or even spoke the local language when they first came to us! In June we received a further 4 boys to join the family at Bethel House.  They had been waiting to join us for a few weeks but the National elections are not a safe time for young boys to be travelling.  One of these new boys is only 3 years old and the other 3 boys don’t have any parents at all. As with all the new children they have undergone a full medical assessment and received whatever specialist care they needed, including lots of love and support from staff and their new brothers. In September Jeet and Susanta aged 7 and 8 brought the total number of boys living at Bethel House to 27. Since the move to the new home and surrounding land the boys have planted all manner of fruit and vegetables under the supervision of staff and a local farmer. The purpose is to ensure that all the children receive a basic knowledge of agriculture and farming which is by far the largest employer in India. The land is already rich with mango, papaya and coconut trees and is ideal for this purpose. The boys continue to receive extra home tuition and support for their school studies and are very much enjoying the daily program of physical education that we have introduced in the new home. The boys are very competitive and are looking forward to winning back the football trophy that was lost to the village boys last November. Come on lads ! New Church Mission Centre The new Church building can accommodate up to 400 worshipers or seminar delegates (seated on the floor Indian style). Over the summer Pastor Belsay and his team visited surrounding villages to make people aware of their services and planned a specific week of outreach in June that concluded with a day of worship and celebration that was attended by almost 200 villagers. Later, in September a further 150 village children attended a children’s conference organised by Pastor Belsay and some of our former students and their friends. The kids had a great time with lots of food, games, art workshops and singing, followed by some drama and a Bible story. Attendance at church services is rising gradually and Pastor Belsay has trained members of the church to take on responsibility for leading various aspects including worship, prayer, communion, teaching, etc. All the singing during services is accompanied by a small hand pumped organ, bongos and guitar. At some stage we would like to provide the church with a electric organ and its own p.a. system which can also be used for other health and training seminars and events. On 25th October we will be hosting a 2 day blood camp and inviting locals to give blood that will be stored at the local hospital for their future benefit.  This will be our second blood camp following the success of the one that we held in 2007. The blood which was stored in the local hospital and reserved for the villagers in our area was used to save at least 6 lives, including that of a female  neighbour who was in a near fatal road accident. The forthcoming blood camp will be fully sponsored by the Ranaghat Lions Club.   Cyclone Relief Firstly, thanks to all of you who responded to our appeal for Cyclone Relief Packs.  We were able to finance 40 packs by the time we went over in April, each one providing essential provisions that would help families get their lives back together again following the destruction of their home by a cyclone.   Our first step in helping these people was to establish a working team while we were in India in readiness of the inevitable storms that would come in forthcoming monsoon season. The team’s task is to stock pile materials and work with our partners to coordinate the distribution of emergency supplies to where ever they are needed. As expected, our efforts were put to the test as we were soon dealing with the aftermath of cyclone Aila which ripped through West Bengal the following month. Thankfully, although some minor damage was caused to our properties in Ranaghat and the surrounding area was left 3 feet underwater, the most affected areas were as predicted, further South in the Ganges Delta where West Bengal borders with Bangladesh. On 27th May Reuters reported that over 1 million people had been displaced in this area alone and a further 1.3 million in other parts of West Bengal. Obviously, this was a disaster on a huge scale but we were able to respond by sending our small team consisting of Sanjoy, Boni, Pastor Belsay and Anish down to the Sunderbans where our partners Rev Premenick and his parishioners did what they could to help those affected. Many thanks to all those that responded to our appeal sent out in May which raised a further £1,000 which our team received within 24hrs and was turned into much needed provisions including food, water, medicines, tarpaulin, clothes, pots and pans, etc. With the help of the local Anglican church in the region our team focused their efforts on the small island of Gosaba in the Ganges Delta where they were able to help 1,000 families with essential provisions!. Due to the remoteness of the island, our team was by far the first aid workers to reach Gosaba by boat which they laden with essentials. What they discovered on their arrival were thousands of confused bewildered people in shock, wallowing in mud and flood water, searching for any belongings they could salvage, which was precious little as the tidal surges and the hurricane force winds had shown no mercy. Our team was able to administer basic first aid, clean water and food rations as well as tarpaulin and blankets as they were needed. Apart from homes being lost, crops, livestock, and all communication was lost too with reports of crocodiles roaming freely through the villages, feeding on the carcasses of animals and humans alike.   Although, due to our limited funds we have had to leave all the follow up work to the local church and government aid services, we aim to return to Gosaba at the end of October to distribute as many blankets as we can purchase in readiness for the coming winter.Blankets cost only £3 each, but will make a world of difference to a family this winter. Our aim is to provide 400. If you wish to make a swift donation to our cyclone appeal (or any other project) you can by going into any HSBC bank and depositing your donation into our account – HSBC, sort code 404022, acc number 61606891, acc name 'Stepping Stones Ministries UK'.  Please leave a reference that your donation is to the ‘Stepping Stones Cyclone Appeal’ (or otherwise). If you want to do it online then that’s great too. Immediate Needs   Tracey and I are always amazed and moved by God’s provision and people’s generosity.  We have been able to do such a lot with the donations and sponsorship we receive because we can ensure that every donation goes exactly where it has been specified to go. If you want to send a special gift to a friend or loved one this Christmas you could purchase one of the following items and we will send you a gift card with a certificate stating the nature of the gift and how it will help a child, young person or family in India.   Your donations are really changing lives for which we can’t thank you enough and we would like to give you the opportunity once more to help with what we consider are our most immediate financial needs:   1.Winter Blankets for Cyclone Affected Families  (We need 400)         £3 each The following items are all for the Children’s Home. 2. Ceiling Fans                £20 each 3. Volley Ball net and ball    £25 each 4. Double Security Doors      £150 each 5. Children’s Lockers         £15 each 6. Children’s Bunk Beds       £100 each 7. Large Portable Blackboard   £25 each 8. Dinning/Activity Table     £170 each 9. Bench Seating               £20 each 10. Bicycle                    £30 each 11. Cricket Bat, Ball, etc     £25 each 12. Childs Matching Games Kit  £10 each 13. Pair of Bongo Drums        £30 each 14. Guitar                     £50 each 15. Portable Projector/Screen      £900 16. P.A. System                   £1200 Monthly Sponsorship 17.Part Sponsor a Child   £5 - £30 p.m. 18.Sponsor a Member of Staff  £5 + p.m. To purchase any of the above as a unique Christmas Gift for a friend or relative, simply email Tracey on tpshby@hotmail.com and she will arrange payment and send you a Gift Certificate in a specially made Christmas Card. Finally, Trustee Peter Hick and Richard will be flying over to India on 22nd October to work with our Indian staff and trustees for 2 weeks.  Please pray that we have a productive time and manage to achieve all that needs to be done. Many thanks and be blessed. Richard and Tracey Pashby