The Adilabad district in Andhra Pradesh comes under the “Red Corridor”. The areas encompassed by the Red Corridor tend to have stratified societies, with caste and feudal divisions. The districts that comprise the Red Corridor are the areas that suffer from the greatest illiteracy, poverty and overpopulation in modern India. These regions also experience considerable Naxalite communist insurgency.

  The Adilabad district is mostly covered with hills and the availability of non-arable

land is sizeable which is covered with field grasses.  Animal Husbandry is second to agriculture in terms of contributing to the gross income and employment in this district. Sheep and goat rearing is an important livelihood activity of the poor. The poor and the marginal can improve their holdings by rearing and breeding sheep or goats, which is an income generating activity.

The distribution of goats by GHI under their Village Development Project through Covenant Christian Churches (CCC) has generated a new hope among the poor. The office of CCC at Ongole has been flooded with many letters expressing their happiness and gratitude and a few letters are even undersigned with their thumbprints! The following are the few letters thanking GHI and CCC.

1.“My name is Kakne Digamber. My wife Anjamma and our three sons are daily wage laborers. I have broken my leg in an accident. We just depend on our day to day earnings and we have no savings and no medical insurances. There was no hope for a better future but we have seen the love of God in the people of GHI, who with Covenant Church in our Shastrinagar distributed freely a goat to my family on 24^th April 2012. It helps us to benefit by generating an income to our family and I have made a promise not to sell or sacrifice this goat. My heart is filled with happiness. And I am grateful to you all. I thank God for giving me a goat. We want to be good witnesses in the society”.

  2.“My name is Sirra Navneetha. I sell vegetables and fruits for a living. I am a widow and have three daughters. As my husband passed away, the burden of my family fell on my shoulders. From then I have been struggling to make both ends meet. I come from a very poor family, but God created a new hope in me by giving a goat to my family. I was so thrilled to receive it and I know my family is going to benefit by its breeding! I really thank GHI and CCC from the bottom of my heart.  I thank the Lord for His love towards me. Aww, freely a goat!! It’s like having a bank account! I praise God for helping me in this way”.

3. “Hi, I am Akrpe Siddharth. My wife’s name is Bharath Bai. I have two sons. On 24^th April 2012 Covenant Church in Shastrinagar gave me a goat. I felt so happy to get this goat freely, because I can’t afford to buy one. I thank God for GHI and its VDP that distributed goats to poor people like me.

GHI has given us a chance to improve our living and helping to overcome financial strains to a poor man like me. I praise God for the love He has shown to me. I and my family will testify this love of God to all people.”

For more information on Village Development Projects and how to sponsor a village, click here

See photos of the village development project here:

Allison Newby

Dylan Hale

Jason Green

Kelsy Fuller

Megan Dionne

Nick Childers

Sheep and goats are important species of livestock for India. They contribute greatly to the agrarian economy, especially in areas where crop and dairy farming are not economical, and play an important role in the livelihood of a large proportion of small and marginal farmers and landless laborers.

The goat is known as a “Poor man’s cow” in India and is a very important component in a dry land farming system. In marginal or undulating lands that are unsuitable for other types of animals like cow or buffalo, a goat is the best alternative. With very low investments goat rearing can be made into a profitable venture for small and marginal farmers.

Free distribution of goats by Global Hope India under its Village Development Project in the Adilabad district has created a optimism in the lives of many poor people. Covenant Christian Churches has received many letters saying thank you to the people of GHI.

Below are a few of the letters.

1. “My name is Medipalli Narsamma. I and my husband Narsinghulu are daily wagers. Our mere earnings are not supporting us in any way. At many times we were shattered in our poverty. Everyday it’s like ‘what am I supposed to do my God??’ We lost our hope in our government and its schemes, but on Wednesday 24^th of April the Covenant Church gave away a goat freely. I thank God and also GHI because this will enable me to live life without any fear. This is the first of its kind perhaps in my country. Never before did anyone come to help us in this way. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I pray that God bless GHI and help many underprivileged like me under its VDP.

Never will I give a thought of selling it but will always be ready to be a good witness in sharing His love. Praise be to God”.

2. “ My name is Yasam Parvati Bai. I have two sons and I am a widow.  A goat is given freely to me??….. Its still hard to believe. I have been struggling hard to bring up both of my kids with my very little compensation that doesn’t help us in any way.  But, this goat given to me by GHI on 24-04-2012 through Covenant Church has sprouted a hope in me to face the future. This is like a banking policy.  I am so happy to receive God’s grace in this manner. This goat always will remind us of the love of Christ and I will never think of selling it. I have decided to be a good witness among my family and neighbors sharing this testimony of mine. Thank you so much for helping us.

3. “My name is Sunkari Anitha and my husband is Jeevan. We both thank God from the bottom of our hearts for the goat you have given to me. Thank you for your kindness towards me. We thank GHI and CCC and our church pastor, who was so kind enough in including my name. No one has ever really done anything like this  before. You have taught us each to make our own living in a better way. I feel so proud to be the owner of a goat! I pray that the returns we get in future from this goat be a great blessing to my family. I will never sell it nor sacrifice it, or give to someone to sacrifice. I thank God once again for this gift”.

These stories are encouraging to our ministry and we pray that the Lord would multiply His kingdom through the church in India.  For more information on our Village Development Projects click here.

Continue to pray for a break in the heat and for the Lord to bring rain. Pray for those who are working in the fields and for those that do not have drinking water.  Pray that the heat would draw people to the new wells at the churches so that they may hear the gospel.

Pray for the children of India. Christ said, “whatever you do to the least of these you are doing to me.”

  The numbers of children sold into child slavery is staggering. Girls as young as 8 years old are being sold into brothels and dedicated to temples as prostitutes. This is mainly due to the extreme poverty and lack of education in the rural villages. Pray for our child development centers that will help break this cycle. Pray for sponsors to fund the building of these centers and supporters to walk stand beside these children. Pray also for the health and safety of the children in the existing centers as they continue to deal with the extreme summer heat.

Pray for Christ’s light to shine even brighter in the lives of His children in India. Pray that lives would be changed through the Holy Spirit working through the believers and that the gospel would continue to grow and spread through India.

The team then had the opportunity to visit with Sarah’s Covenant Home for orphans.  There they prayed over the children and had the opportunity to witness how God is using Sarah and ICM to truly care for the orphans.  Please continue to pray for these children as they are experiencing some of the hottest temperatures of the year.

Please continue to lift up the team as they travel home to the United States.  Pray that their flights and layovers would go smoothly.  Pray that the Lord would affirm in their hearts the need for the gospel in India.  Now ask God how he would use YOU to help spread the gospel in India.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

The team then traveled approximately 6 hours to Ongole, Andhra Pradesh.  This is the home of one of our most strategic partners, India Christian Ministries. The temperature there today was 106 degrees so please pray that they would stay well hydrated and that rains would fall to cool the ground.  The remaining days of their trip are jammed packed and we hope to bring you more updates each day. To receive multiple updates from the team follow us on twitter @globalhopeindia

Pray for continued favor for our village development projects, favor from the government as we move forward, and favor from sponsors for the funding of these projects. Above all, we seek favor from God that the wells continue to supply water thru the dry season. Ask Him to provide new wells full of fresh pure water. Ultimately our prayer is that these projects will not only bring life to the body but draw the people to the water of life found in Jesus.

The higher ranges of the Amrabad Plateau are pure, dense forests and are almost exclusively inhabited by the Chenchu. The Chenchu are an aboriginal tribe of the central hill regions of Andhra Pradesh, India.

  Life for the Chenchu revolves around the struggle to survive. Whenever food resources become scarce, they migrate to another place in search of new possibilities. A market economy and sophisticated machinery are totally absent from this group of hunters and gatherers. Likewise, concepts such as ‘profit’ or ‘accumulation of wealth’ are unknown to them. As Hindus, the Chenchu hold a relatively high caste (social class) status. They prefer to remain segregated from other groups, living on the outskirts of multi-ethnic villages.

Alcoholism is a serious problem for many of the Chenchu. Their addictions allow them to temporarily escape from the reality of their difficult lives, but they need to find the permanent source of peace.

In search of that peace, this Chenchu man named Kondal found out that JESUS is that source of peace. He is now the first generation Christian of the Chenchu tribe in the Maddimadugu village. Let’s hear his words.

“My name is Kondal. I am 25 years old. Before I came to Christ, my life was like a hell. I was addicted to alcohol and Gutkha (chewable tobacco). I was unable to quit my habits. I developed a very sore throat and later it became infected. I also found out that I had contracted TB (Tuberculosis). I experienced severe weight loss and thought I would die soon. At this time my mother offered many prayers to our Hindu ‘gods’. She offered many sacrifices before all of my then ‘gods’. There was no cure in me and my family had lost all hope.

  Meanwhile a pastor from Communion of Covenant Churches (CCC) was visiting my village. My mother who was desperate to save me from death, wanted to give a try to this ‘God’ of whom the pastor was sharing about. My mother and the pastor prayed fervently for my health. I am totally healed now but even better, I am a born again Christian!!

The people in my village struggled to find pure drinking water. God answered our prayers by providing a bore well through GHI. While the digging was done, there was a lot of mocking and humiliation from the local Hindus. It was a great challenge for us as new believers in Christ. We praise and thank God for His mighty works in our lives. Now we are drinking water from this new bore well!!

Being a new believer I realized there is inevitable victory over inevitable challenges in a Christian life. Please continue to pray for all those Chenchu young people who are yet to know Christ Jesus.”

                   

Ask the Lord how he would use you to rescue the orphans and widows of India.  Your efforts can make a huge difference and save lives.  Would God be calling you to sponsor a well in a village or a child to receive education and a meal each day?  Click here to find out how you can make a difference.

  “My new name is Lot, which was given to me by my pastor who also baptized me; however, most people know me as ‘Shedaru’. I am from the Maddimadugu village of Mahabubnagar, Andhra Pradesh. Being the oldest son in my family, it was my duty to offer a sacrifice before the Hindu god “Mai Samma.” This would be done as offering from my family during the community feasts and festivals. The transformation from a strong devotee of Hindu gods to a committed believer of Jesus wasn’t very easy for me, but now that I have found the True and Living God, I am the witness of many wonderful and amazing miracles of Jesus Christ.

One such miracle is a bore well in my village!! Many said “it’s impossible to get water in such a rocky region,” I knew the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and also of Moses could do it. Just like in Horeb where God told Moses to  “Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink”, He told my village church and GHI to strike the rock.  With much faith and prayer, the rock was struck. Now we are drinking water from this new bore well that God has gifted us.  Thank you to all of the people of GHI and Covenant Christian Churches for bringing water to my village.

See more of the Maddimadugu VDP here: