Proverbs 31:8-9 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.   Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”

You may be wondering about the title of this article, Speaking Up, but in reading Proverbs 31:8-9 the bottom line is for us to”speak up for the poor”, so that is what I am doing.  

From time to time, Evangelist & Pastor Sikila Cornelius, also the caretaker of the Grace Children’s Home for orphans, will send us photos of the many needs of those he sees on a regular basis.  This includes village women who for the lack of good wells, go for water wherever they can find it.  To dig a well for fresh, potable water is about  $650. 

It includes residents of a leper colony.  Can you imagine what it must be like to be a Dalit (considered untouchable because of an archaic caste system) and also a leper?   It must be an unbearable life for them.  They need food, blankets, and the usual necessities of life.  When he is able, Rev. Cornelius gives them rice and blankets.   Any amount towards this worthy cause is appreciated.  

His photos also include the orphans of Grace Children’s  Home.  This ministry, C.M.M., is the sole supporter of the orphanage.  The cost of maintaining the orphanage of 40 to 50 children and paying the staff is about $150 per week.  With that amount of money, Rev. Cornelius can feed the children and a few widows with rice, hardboiled eggs, and curry (vegetables in sauce).   Less than that amount and the orphans only get rice and the staff goes unpaid until more money is offered.  So, the orphanage goes through some pretty rough times when there are no offerings but the children always seem happy.  They play simple games in the orphanage’s walled-in compound.   They need sports equipment such as soccer balls, badminton sets, and other things to give them lots of fun and exercise during the day when they are not studying.  We have tried sending some things through the mail but most of it was stolen in transit.  Rev. Cornelius advised us to send the money instead so he could purchase the equipment there. 

In a couple of the photos, you will see a man in a wheelchair.  He is an evangelist who is paralyzed from the waist down.  But that doesn’t stop him from preaching the Gospel.   He is in need of a megaphone and Bibles to give to the poor.  Bibles are $4 each.  A battery-operated megaphone costs about $100.  A better one is $125.  

Rev. Cornelius is a friend of evangelists living in small villages who would like to reach out more but lack transportation.  All they ask is for bicycles and Bibles.  A bicycle costs about $100.  With a bicycle, those evangelists could reach many more people with the Gospel.  Each evangelist would also like a megaphone to use in their preaching.  

Rev. Cornelius never asks anything for himself or his family.  But he needs living expenses, i.e., payments on an apartment, school fees for his son, and incidental expenses such as lights, heating, etc.   The most needed item at this time is to pay school fees for his son.  This amounts to $700 per year, including books, etc.  Rev. Cornelius pays this on a quarterly basis which would amount to $175.  

As you can see, there are many needs and all are worthy causes.   We realize the U.S. is going through some hard times too.  Inflation keeps increasing.  The price of gasoline is setting records.  But we should all be thankful for that which God has blessed us.  We’re not lepers.  We’re not sleeping in the streets or under a bridge.  We can go to a faucet and get a drink of water any time we like.  We’re not orphans (and even the orphans at Grace Children’s Home are not true orphans as they have a Heavenly Father and a worldwide family of Christians).   We in the U.S. take so, so much for granted, don’t we?  

Below are various photos.  Please look them over and let them remind you how much you are blessed and if you feel blessed enough to help one of these, click on one of the donation buttons to the right.  May God richly bless you even more as you do.  

“He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.”  (Luke 3:11)   – – – – “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”   (James 1:27)

This first group of photos shows how women draw water from make-shift wells, from an obvious poluted pool, and simply from a muddy hole in the ground: 

These photos below are of the leper colony:

Photos below are of typical village people that Rev. Cornelius evangelizes and gives aid to when possible.

Lastly, these photos below are of some of the orphans on the day we were able to wire money for rice but also eggs, and curry: