Colton & Emily | Adventures of Our Life

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God . . .”

. . . to visit orphans and widows in their affliction . . .

The Pooj

Pooja is a seven-year-old wild card with abundant personality. Emily has the pleasure of having her as a first grade student. She is super smart and super naughty. She loves story time, learning to read, using her imagination, breaking crayons, eating erasers and pencils, and pretending to have a fever.

Sai Ram, Venkatesh, and Vishnu

Monday was Venkatesh’s eighth birthday, so it seems appropriate to share a little bit about him and his brothers. Last time we were at Shunem, Sai Ram and Venkatesh were here tearing it up. We met Vishnu once or twice when their parents came to visit. Now Vishnu is here, and may grow up to be the funniest of the lot.

An Anna and His Chelli

The last time we introduced you to Shiva Kumar he was a ticklish little boy who had a habit of using bad words all the time. He only knew a few words in English and communicated with me mostly through kisses.

Dustulu, Pyāṇṭu, Mariyu Cokkālu

Clothes are expensive. Clothes for over 100 children are really expensive. The Arlington, Virginia Christadelphians organized an Indian potluck and a clothing drive for the Shunem Home this past April. They sent nearly 100 pounds of dresses, shorts, and shirts with us on our trip.

Shunem Is Best Served Full

Sunday was the best day. We walked back from the conference centre in mid afternoon planning on taking a rest after a fun yet exhausting CYC weekend. Our plans were immediately cut short when we opened the Shunem gate. Ten or so of the little ones ran up shouting our names and wrapped their little arms around our legs.

India!? When, Where, and Why

We’ll be in India in less than a week! We will be leaving Virginia the night of August 2nd. Sometime on August third we will arrive in London, and then take off again for Hyderabad, India. We will arrive early on the morning of August 4th. We’ll be in India until December 20th, when we take the long trip home again. We will spend the majority of our time at the Shunem home, with a few side trips that we’ll know more about when we get there. With Colton graduating this past May and Emily transitioning to graduate school, this seemed like the perfect time to try and do some good. The Shunem home runs on donations and volunteer work, and we are just one piece of an ongoing project to help the kids who need it.

The Christadelphian Shunem Home

The home is situated to the south west of Hyderabad, India and was established in 1999 by Tim and Sarah Galbraith as a home for the children of street lepers. Over the years that home has grown and now has a dual role, it continues to be a home to 74 children between the ages of 2 and 18, but it is also a care home for 11 elderly residents. The young and the elderly live, work and play side by side in a secure and loving environment which is based upon a love and joy of God’s Word the Bible.

The primary role of the home is to provide for the basic physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of both the elderly and the young, i.e., food, shelter, clothing, education, friendship, mentoring, love, affection, guidance, and faith. The hope being that the vicious social and cultural stigma and prejudicial circle associated with leprosy can be overcome and that these children will then be able to support their own extended families through employment.

More information is available at theShunemHome.com