Why are Asia's Hope kids succeeding where so many are failing?

At Asia's Hope, we have a group of kids who, according to conventional wisdom, should be doing much worse than their peers. Most of them experienced severe early childhood trauma, and many of them were significantly behind in their studies when they first arrived at Asia's Hope. One might expect that these kids would tend to fail at extraordinarily high rates.

But as we take stock of the first generation of kids who have grown up at Asia's Hope, we see that they've achieved at significantly higher levels than anyone could have predicted. Our kids in Cambodia and Thailand, for instance, are dramatically more likely to graduate high school than their peers. 

In Cambodia, for example, the national high school graduation rate is 12%. And among the poorest Cambodian children, only 2–3% make it out of grade 12. At Asia's Hope, however, more than 87% of our kids are on track to graduate. Many of them are at the very top of their class, some of them are competing in athletics at a national level, and most speak two or even three languages. 

If only a handful of our kids were "making it," we could write them off as exceptions. But we're seeing the vast majority of our kids succeed in school when, statistically speaking, they should be failing. Something very powerful, very significant is going very right.

As pastor and leadership guru Andy Stanley says, "If you don't know why it's working, when it's working, you won't know how to fix it when it breaks." Something is clearly working at Asia's Hope, and we're committed to analyzing, articulating and applying our success factors across our organization and among others eager to duplicate our results.

When people ask me the "secret of our sauce," here are two key ingredients I always reveal: 

1) A stable, nurturing family environment. Kids at Asia's Hope enjoy the benefits of living in a family, not an institution. The adults caring for them see themselves as moms and dads, aunts and uncles, not nurses or nannies or wardens. In this environment, our kids receive comprehensive, holistic care. Beyond just physical needs, their emotional and spiritual deficits are systematically and lovingly rebuilt. This gives them an advantage not only compared to kids in institutional orphanages, but even to kids in a general populace beset with grinding poverty, poor education and inadequate or nonexistent healthcare. 

2) A credible hope for a rewarding future. Most kids born into extreme poverty have no hope for academic, social or economic success. They know that no matter how smart they are or how hard they work, they will attend school only sporadically as a child, and will have to enter the workforce before graduating high school. 

Many orphanages forcibly "age out" children at 16 or 18 years old, regardless of their academic progress or readiness for adulthood, and many of those children end up in a situation similar to that which orphaned them in the first place: homelessness, substance abuse, trafficking, crime, incarceration, disease.

At Asia's Hope, however, we don't force children out at an arbitrary age. We want all of our kids to go as far as they can in school, and we encourage them to stay with us until they complete their education. All of our kids know that if they finish high school and qualify for university or a vocational training program, we'll pay for them to attend. 

Despite these successes, we've no intention to rest on our laurels. That's why I'm thrilled to announce the near-completion of construction on the Asia's Hope Secondary School in Battambang, Cambodia, which is scheduled to open for classes in 2016. At capacity, this middle and high school will provide the city's finest education to more than 200 Asia's Hope students and up to 100 needy children from the surrounding community.

We're also intensifying our efforts to bolster our scholarship funding so we can continue to fulfill our promises to future generations of young Asia's Hope scholars. In 2016, we hope to raise an additional $100,000 for university education and vocational training.

If you've ever prayed for, spoken well of or donated to Asia's Hope, thank you. Together, we're making a real, measurable difference in the lives of hundreds of kids whose potential would otherwise be wasted.

If you're interested in finding out more about our scholarship program, visit http://www.asiashope.org/scholarship. Make sure you click on the videos featuring Chhem and Kakrona, two Asia's Hope university students who are working hard to make their dreams come true for themselves and for the poor and underprivileged in their community.

John McCollum Comment
Diane Tirakis and Team Hope: "What more can I do?"
Runners of all ages and experience levels gathered to raise funds for orphaned kids at the first ever Team Hope "Sock It To Child Trafficking 5k" in Wooster, Ohio.

Runners of all ages and experience levels gathered to raise funds for orphaned kids at the first ever Team Hope "Sock It To Child Trafficking 5k" in Wooster, Ohio.

People are often astonished when they realize that Asia's Hope has only 3 full-time staff in our U.S. headquarters. How does an organization with such a huge impact — 31 children's homes, 2 schools, more than 140 full-time indigenous staff providing loving families for more than 750 orphaned kids — operate without a huge staff and complex bureaucracy?

At the risk of oversimplifying, I'd say the answer is "volunteers." We don't have a "development department," and we don't hire expensive fundraising firms to help us pay our bills. But we do have an incredible network of pastors, churches and advocates who work hard every day to fill the roles — for free — that other organizations have to shell out huge bucks to replicate on-staff and in-house. 

At Asia's Hope, "simplicity" is one of our organizational values. And because we have so many supporters who are willing and able to work hard on our behalf, we're able to concentrate on other matters of vital importance, most importantly, encouraging and supporting our indigenous staff and advocating for our unique model of family-style, indigenous-led orphan care.

Diane Tirakis, founder and director of Team Hope International

Diane Tirakis, founder and director of Team Hope International

One such volunteer is Diane Tirakis. Along with her husband Ed and some of their friends from Wooster Grace Church (Sponsoring congregation of two Asia's Hope homes in Cambodia and two in Thailand), Diane founded Team Hope in 2009. 

According to Diane, "Team Hope funds organizations that are on the front line, identifying, rescuing and restoring the lives of orphaned and abandoned children who would otherwise face a life of exploitations and abuse. And we do it by helping ordinary people enroll in endurance events — 5ks, 10ks, half- or full-marathons, triathlons, and cycling events — and raise money that goes directly to kids who are in desperate need of our help."

"God simply asked me to do this. A few years ago, He moved me to action when I listened to a sermon about the poverty and hopelessness of orphaned children in Cambodia. After hearing the sermon and hearing that our church was going to build and support an Asia's Hope children's home, I asked God to show me what more I could do. He just began to open one door after the next."

"As a mother of 2  children, to think of my little ones living a life of forced prostitution or labor is incredibly overwhelming. No child should live this way. I have always hoped that God would allow me to do something for Him and His kingdom. I believe that the first time I went running was the beginning of His plan."

Diane didn't start Team Hope with lots of fundraising experience or a lifetime of competitive racing. She was just a self-described "ordinary person" who believed that God might use her in the lives of suffering children.

Over the past few years, Team Hope has raised more than $150,000 for orphaned kids at risk of sexual and economic exploitation. The funds we've received from Team Hope have been a real blessing, and they've always seemed to come at exactly the time we've needed them most!

Last weekend, Team Hope hosted the first Annual "Sock It To Child Trafficking 5k" in Wooster, Ohio. More than 400 people showed up — an incredible turnout for an inaugural event. Avid competitors and first-time racers alike registered and raised funds to support orphaned kids. Senior citizens, middle-agers, high school students and small children all had a fantastic time crossing the finish line on foot, in strollers and even wheelchairs. In the end, they raised more than $25,000 for some of the poorest, most endangered kids in the world.

It was an special privilege to meet Daniel Pasteur, an 8 year old boy who raised more than $1,500 for Team Hope! Daniel's father, Drew, is justifiably proud of his son!

It was an special privilege to meet Daniel Pasteur, an 8 year old boy who raised more than $1,500 for Team Hope! Daniel's father, Drew, is justifiably proud of his son!

One 8 year old boy, Daniel Pasteur, ran more than 50 miles in preparation for this race, and personally raised $1,500 for Team Hope. It was an honor to stand next to Diane and offer a special "Team Hope Hero" trophy to a young man who represents the newest generation of world-changers.

Diane's is only one of many stories of dedicated volunteers I could share. And she's probably a little embarassed for all of the attention she's getting. But I wanted you to know about Diane, hear her story, and maybe encourage you to ask yourself the question that transformed her life, "What more can I do?"

If you have ideas about how you can help Asia's Hope, we'd love to hear them. Email me, and I'd be happy to brainstorm with you. I'll introduce you to Diane and others who are using their passions and talents to help orphaned kids at high risk of sexual and economic exploitation find a safe, loving, permanent home at Asia's Hope.

And if you're a cyclist of any age looking for an opportunity to ride on behalf of Asia's Hope, register today for next weekend's EduGo Road to Success Ride in Dublin, Ohio, an event organized by Jeremy Slagle and Stacy Keyerleber, another two of our many dedicated supporters!

To all of our volunteers, thank you! We quite literally couldn't do it without you.

John McCollum Comment
Relaxation — but not necessarily rest — in Darjeeling

Kori and I are are relaxing — though not really resting — in chilly Darjeeling before heading to Delhi and then home. Our time in Kalimpong was brief, but lovely. We enjoyed spending time at all five of our children's homes, and felt encouraged not only by our staff, but also by the leaders who joined us on the trip. 

I already miss the kids in Kalimpong, but I'm enjoying a couple of days with Kori. This is a great opportunity to regroup before heading back into what is sure to be a very busy year at the Asia's Hope office.

It really is cold here in Darjeeling, much more than I had imagined. As no hotels here enjoy the benefits of central heating, I may have erred in reserving one of the cheaper ones in town. When we checked into our room, we could see our breath. The tiny, portable heater is doing its best, but it's never quite enough to keep us warm. 

I'm certain that this hotel lacks even the most basic insulation, and the large windows that dominate the main wall in our room do not close completely. They do however provide hot water bags for the bed upon request, and we've requested them a number of times already. We also bought ourselves some long-johns last night. I'm not sure we would have been able to sleep without them.

This morning we got up to find the entire town shuttered. A beloved local politician has apparently died, and nearly every restaurant and shop has closed for the day to honor his passing. We were lucky enough to find found one small place that consented to make breakfast for us, although they made us walk through the kitchen, and they kept their front doors blocked and locked so no one would think they were dishonoring the dead.

After a decent breakfast of toast, eggs and hashbrowns, we decided to walk the town. We traipsed about the neighborhood for around two hours. Despite the cold, this would not be particularly strenuous at home. But at 7,000 feet above sea level in Darjeeling, where every road is a hill, it was pretty exhausting. Thank God I'm not suffering from altitude sickness (I had it last year and it was not fun at all), but I still feel like my lungs are wrapped tightly in an ACE bandage.

We did find one other place that was open for business, the bakery at Glenarry's. We shared a pot of tea and a couple of cookies before returning for a rest to our hotel. The hotel is still very cold, but we've cuddled up together with some hot water bottles, and we're trying to decide if and when we should search for some place to serve us lunch.

Despite the fact that the mountains are shrouded in clouds and we are a bit cold, Kori and I are having a really nice time. This is an amazing country — every dish is delicious, and every street is filled with sights, sounds and smells that we can't find at home. 

I find that I'm not taking many photos on this leg of the trip, so you'll have to take my word for it: India is beautiful, it's people are amazing, and Darjeeling is a place you really want to visit. You may, however, want to find a warmer time of year to do so.

John McCollumComment

I really enjoyed the Leadership Conference. It was a real joy to meet new friends and colleagues from around the region. But I have to admit that there were times during the sessions — especially those sessions given entirely in Nepali — that I couldn't help thinking, "I'd sure love to be playing with the kids right now."

Over the last couple of days, we've made up for lost time and jumped into the playing, the dancing and the laughing — with gusto. Monday was Republic Day, a celebration of the country's full independence from British rule, which was finally achieved 66 years ago when India's first constitution took effect. We spent a couple of hours in the morning attending a parade at the town's stadium.

School children join in a parade to celebrate India's Republic Day.

Later, we capped a full afternoon and evening of home visits and playing by attending a concert given in our honor by our kids. We gathered in the upper room at one of our houses, and enjoyed a full two hours (maybe more!) of songs, skits and dances, prepared by our kids for our enjoyment. 

You would not believe the beauty, the skill, the joy — but you'll have to, because my camera battery died right before the concert, and I had somehow failed to charge my backup. I took some iPhone video, but the room was dimly lit and the footage looks like it was smuggled out of cold war East Berlin, shot with a 70s-era CIA-issue potato-camera. So, about an hour or so into the concert, I committed to not stressing out about the lack of a decent camera, and I just threw myself into enjoying the evening.

After the concert, we ate a delicious dinner prepared by our staff. Our team assumed that we would leave for our hotel shortly after dinner. We had no idea that the staff had prepared a bonfire in the front yard — perfect for the chilly mountain evening — and had set up speakers for a dance party.

And so we danced. From the oldest — Dr. John Campbell — to the youngest — tiny two-year-old Sabina — we all twisted and shouted, boogied and bopped. After more than two hours, with our hearts full and our strength emptied, the moms and dads turned off the music and sent us stumbling back to our hotel.

I regret not having good pictures and video from the evening, but I wonder if I would have had as much fun if I'd been trying to capture it all for posterity. Some moments are best lived only once. Perhaps this was one of them.

Yesterday was more relaxed. We walked around the town and did a little shopping in the morning and then headed out to visit home 2 in the afternoon. We played cricket, carem and badminton and shared tea and prayers with Pastor Sunil, his wife Punam, their wonderful daughters, the staff and kids.

Today will be more of the same. I have a little bit of work work to do — new headshot photos of each of the kids, some strategy discussion with our national director — but I expect to have plenty of time for fun and games with the kids.

John McCollumComment
Old and young, from near and far.

Our first-ever Himalayan Leaders Conference is finished, and the hundreds of leaders who attended are now making their way back home. They arrived and are leaving via planes, trains, motorcycles, buses and taxis. Some came from three days away, as far as Thimpu, Bhutan.

It was a special pleasure to be joined by Savorn Ou, director of Asia's Hope, Cambodia. He spoke on "Renewing Our Vision." Pastors Jay O'Brien (Scarlet City Church, Columbus, Ohio) and Brad Isch (Narrow Road Church, Columbus, Ohio) also shared encouraging and inspiring words with the Himalayan leaders in attendance.

We invited and expected around 250 delegates: around 450 arrived. No one was turned away, everyone was hosted and fed. Our main auditorium was packed; we had to open two overflow rooms — at one point, there were more people watching via closed-caption TV outside the auditorium than in the seats we had originally expected to be filled. 

The logistics of this sort of endeavor escape me, but our staff and a small army of volunteers made it work, seemingly without stress.

We were led in worship by an excellent gospel ensemble, the Hallelujah Choir from the neighboring state of Sikkim, and by our own Asia's Hope kids. And we were honored by the presence of many notable pastors, church planters and movement leaders.

I believe that, for a number of reasons I could share with you in person, this is a crucial time for our movement. Many changes are underway in India, and the relationships we have invested in will prove invaluable as we face rapidly a changing political and social climate.

I was encouraged both by the number of young, dynamic leaders in attendance and the mature — even elderly — leaders who are still working hard every day.

Despite many challenges the future is extraordinarily bright for the Himalayan region and the nation of India. I look forward to seeing the kids in our care grow in confidence and experience and take leadership positions in their society.

There are many more things I could share about our time at the Himalayan Leaders Conference, but those will have to wait for a face-to-face opportunity. Thank you for your prayers and support.


John McCollumComment
Surrounded by beauty

We're surrounded by beauty here in Kalimpong.

Our team woke up early this morning and took a short drive up to the Tharpa Choling monastery for a spectactular view of the snow-capped Himalayas. I have neither the photographic equipment nor the skills to adequately capture the majesty of the view, but the pics I snapped give an approximation — a thumbnail sketch — of the amazing scenery.

After a delicious lunch at the King Thai Multicuisine Restaurant (it's not Thai, so the name remains a mystery to me), we headed out to visit Kalimpong 3, and experienced true beauty of a different kind. 

Pastor Brad Isch and his congregation, Narrow Road Church in Heath, Ohio, have been working hard to raise the funds to fully support the Kalimpong 3 children's home for more than a year. Until today, no one from the church has had the chance to actually visit the home. Today, Brad's faith and faithfulness were rewarded with sparkling smiles, tender hugs and some intense games of steal-the-bacon, tug-of-war and red-light-green-light.

The kids were a little bewildered that Brad, a man they'd never met, seemed to know each of their names. "Hello, Wangden. Hi, Susmita!" he'd say. They had no idea that he had spent hours poring over a tiny flip-book with each of their pictures, working hard to memorize the names and faces so he could greet them personally.

After a couple of hours at Kalimpong 3, we reluctantly pulled ourselves away; this was not our only new begining to celebrate today. We drove a short distance down the road and arrived at our Kalimpong43 home. Tonight was the first visit as sponsors by representatives from Vista Church in Dublin, Ohio and Scarlet City Church in Columbus. Scarlet City's pastor, Jay O'Brien, visited Asia's Hope India last summer, but his church had not yet entered into a long-term partnership with Asia's Hope. Greg Smith, a representative from Vista, which co-sponsors  this project with Scarlet City, visited a couple of years ago, and has been working hard ever since to raise support and awareness for our ministry in Kalimpong. He's joined on this trip by his wife Linda. It's her very first visit to India.

It was a real treat for me to watch the kids and staff of KP4 introduce themselves one-by-one to Jay, Greg and Linda. I was especially touched to see that one of the girls who at the time of admission into the home had been extremely malnourished, depressed and psychologically fragile was now smiling confidently and playing with the other children. The transformation was striking — when I saw her, I did a double take and had to confirm with Pastor Nandu that this was indeed the same child. 

The beauty of the Himalayan mountains is often described as unmatched. But I know I speak for our entire team when I say that the smiles and the laughter we experienced today are more memorable, more beautiful by far.

John McCollum Comment
A day full of Delhi

January 19, 2015

Our plane...

January 21, 2015

Two words: "Our plane..." That was all I wrote for my blog post on the day we traveled from the U.S. to India. I think I fell asleep, drooling on the keyboard after penning that scintillating travelogue masterpiece.

Yeah. We were tired.

Our original flight plan had us leaving Columbus, flying to DC, crossing the pond to Vienna and swinging down to Delhi on Austrian Airlines. Unfortunately, our Delhi connection was cancelled, and we had to scramble. The airline booked us on a flight that took us from Vienna to London (hours in the wrong direction) and then from London to Delhi — on Air India.

Ah, Air India. How I hope to never see you again.

I'm an intrepid traveler, and I have a relatively high threshold for personal discomfort. But our trip had already been a bit stressful, and we were entering the zombification stage of world travel, the only cure for which is a long sleep in a reasonably comfortable chair. The seats on our newly-booked flights were standard-issue Guantanamo-transfer surplus, wooden deck chairs wrapped in Band Aids and covered with a burlap sack. My back is still killing me; I could have gotten better sleep in one of the overhead luggage compartments.

I'm sure it wasn't as bad as I'm making it sound, but after a day of missed flights, long layovers and little-to-no sleep, it sure seemed like it. And our new schedule deposited us in Delhi at 6am, rather than 1am, robbing us of the few hours of sleep we'd been counting on to get us ready for a day of sightseeing.

Thankfully, the cab ride was uneventful and we found ourselves at a lovely little hotel staffed by angels of mercy who checked us in quickly and didn't disturb us for 10 or 12 hours. We skipped breakfast, stayed in bed most of the day, grabbed a quick and unsatisfying lunch and returned to bed. After a nap, we had a nice dinner in the hotel and went immediately back to our extraordinarily comfortable bed.

Yesterday morning, we were born anew. We woke, showered, had an excellent breakfast at the hotel and headed out by autorickshaw to the nearest Metro station. The Delhi Metro is a wonder of modern technology and an indication that this city of 23 million isn't messing around. The metro is clean, comfortable, safe and efficient. And they're building new stations everywhere. It cost us $3 bucks for a day pass, and took us everywhere we wanted to go.

And we wanted to go to the Red Fort, one of Delhi's most iconic structures. Built in 1696 by Shah Jahan (who also built the Taj Mahal, the Jama Masjid mosque and dozens of other world-class joints), the former palace and the seat of the Mughal empire occupies about 300 acres in the heart of Old Delhi. 

Our short walk from the Metro station was a shocking reminder that much of Delhi has been left behind by the technological and urban-planning revolution underway. Hundreds of people were living on the streets, huddled together under light blankets unlikely to provide much protection from the cold; a few were up and about, staggering from exhaustion or intoxication, burning plastic bags and garbage for a little extra warmth. Some had scraped together enough money to buy a chapati and a spoonful of dal from the back of a truck. Others just stared, hollow-cheeked and empty hearted.

Despite its metal detectors, friskers, snipers, guards and machine gun nests, the Red Fort is an oasis of calm. We wandered its tree-lined avenues and marveled at its sandstone and marble construction bedecked with carvings and inset with semi-precious stones. We strolled through its museums and exhibitions and left with a deeper understanding of India's rich history of conquest and resistance.

After the Red Fort, we walked to Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. It can reportedly accommodate more than 30,000 worshippers, all of whom we encountered on our previous visit to the place. (Travel Pro Tip: don't visit a gigantic mosque at noon on the first day of Ramadam in 116F weather in pouring rain and with small children.) This visit was much, much nicer, the weather in the 50s andno crowds in sight.

We took a pedicab to through the ancient Chandni Chowk bazaar to our next metro stop, and had a relaxing lunch and afternoon stroll in Hauz Khaz, a lake-side shopping district packed with pubs, bistros and boutiques.

If it sounds like all we've been doing is sightseeing, well, that's all we've been doing. And we're having a grand time, just Kori and me. It's almost like a second honeymoon, one that will be ending in 3...2...1...

After a day of riding the rails, racing around in autorickshaws and leisurely rolling about in pedicabs, we made it back to our hotel, checked out and took a taxi to the Classic Diplomat, a tidy but downmarket transit hotel near the airport. We had dinner and then met up with the rest of our team: John Campbell, Jay O'Brien, Brad Isch and Greg and Linda Smith. We hung out for a while in the hotel pub and then stumbled back to our beds.

It's almost time for breakfast, after which we'll check out, pop over to the airport and board a plane for Siliguri. We'll be picked up by Pastor Nandu and enjoy a harrowing yet gorgeous drive through the foothills of the Himalayas, and will — Lord willin' and the road don't collapse — be in Kalimpong by nightfall.

Keep praying for us. We're all healthy and happy and ready to see what God has in store.

Talk to you again soon!

John McCollumComment
A festival of "firsts."

Jai Mashi (victory in Christ)!

On Saturday, Kori and I will kiss our kids goodbye and leave for a two-and-a-half-week trip to India. This is the first time we've traveled overseas without the kids, so there's a bit of anxiety all 'round. The boys are 16 and 17, so they'll barely notice our absence. But Xiu Dan is only 9; being without mom and dad for so long is likely to hit her a little harder.

We've covered all of the bases — our dear friends Peter and Keilah will be staying at our house with the kids, and we've updated our wills (assets divided between the children; debts go to the cat) — so I think we'll be fine. Though I'll miss the my kids, I'm looking forward to some quality time with Kori. In just a few years, we'll be empty nesters. We'll consider this a dry run.

Some of the beautiful kids from Asia's Hope India. I can't wait to see them next week!

Some of the beautiful kids from Asia's Hope India. I can't wait to see them next week!

This trip represents a number of other "firsts," too. 

First ever Himalayan Leaders Conference

Our time in India will be dedicated to hosting Asia's Hope's first ever Himalayan Leaders Conference. We're bringing in hundreds of pastors from all over the region — paying for everything from their transportation to their food and lodging — for a few days of leadership training, networking and encouragement. Many of the leaders in attendance will be coming from countries where it's simply too dangerous to gather in the name of Jesus. 

These pastors comprise the front line of defense against human trafficking of children: many are caring for orphaned children in their homes and churches. All share their table with the needy. Most of the children in the care of Asia's Hope India have come from the villages in which these pastors minister.

We depend heavily on a wide network of indigenous churches, and I'm praying that this conference will build valuable connections and will increase the Himalayan church's capacity to care for orphaned children at high risk of sexual and economic exploitation.

Cambodia director's first visit to Asia's Hope India

Our conference is not only hosting guests from India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh: we're also honored to welcome Asia's Hope Cambodia's national director, Pastor Savorn Ou, who will be visiting Asia's Hope India for the very first time. 

The "cross-pollination" of leaders is a real priority for Asia's Hope. I can provide our national directors with funds, structure and philosophical guidance, but I can't fully appreciate the challenges they face on the ground. I can't give nuanced advice based on first-hand experience in the same way that one of their directly-analagous colleagues can. When Asia's Hope first began work in India in 2010 and 2011 we sent our director, Pastor Nandu, and his family to Cambodia to spend a few weeks with Savorn and his staff. I'm so pleased that Nandu and the staff of Asia's Hope India will be able to reciprocate the warm welcome Savorn gave them while in Cambodia, and I expect long-term benefits for Asia's Hope as our senior leaders share their wisdom, their vision and their passion for the work.

Savorn will be speaking at the conference. His topic is "Renewing Our Vision." I can't think of a better person to bring this message than Savorn, a man who has built one of the finest residential orphan care systems anywhere. As Savorn says, "Vision is hope with a blueprint." I believe in our blueprint. I also believe that we have the leadership framework and support network in India to see those plans come to life on a grand scale. And I know that Pastor Savorn's presence at this conference will be catalytic. I believe that we'll be looking back on this conference as a transformative moment in Asia's Hope's history.

First time visits from new sponsoring churches

We'll be joined on this trip by Brad Isch, Greg and Linda Smith and Jay O'Brien. Brad is the pastor of Narrow Road Church in Heath, Ohio, new sponsors of our Kalimpong 3 home. This will be his first trip to India, and the first person from his church to visit the kids at KP3. Greg and Linda are from Vista Church in Dublin, Ohio. Vista is co-sponsoring our Kalimpong 4 home with Jay's church, Scarlet City, in Columbus, Ohio. Greg  visited Asia's Hope India once before on a vision trip in 2012; this is Linda's first time. Jay has visited twice, but this is the first trip as a sponsoring pastor. 

This is going to be a wonderful time of celebration, something like a cross between an inauguration gala and an adoption party. The relationships that will be formed on this trip will transform countless lives in India and in America. Again, a historic day for Asia's Hope.

Anticipating new firsts

As you can probably tell, I have high expectations for this trip. Lord-willin'-an-the-internet-don't-fail, I'll be posting lots of stories and photos. Please follow along. Bookmark my blog, follow Asia's Hope on Twitter or like us on Facebook. And invite your friends to do the same. I could use the prayers, and I'm sure you can use the encouragement.

Until next week, Jai Mashi!

John McCollumComment