Kerala
I flew to Cochin city of Kerala State in India to investigate potential sites for starting an orphanage to rescue child prostitutes. Some months ago God put the word Kerala on my heart. That is not much guidance so I doubted that I was using resources correctly by going to a place when I had so little understanding of my purpose or contacts. However, every time I prayed about it I would come back to convicting Bible verses like:
Jas 1:27 NIV
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Lk 12:48 NIV
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Mt 25:40 NIV
The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
So with a strong conviction to help the most abused of the world’s precious children, I went to Kerala on faith.
Dani and I had visited Kerala in 2007 and we used a Christian travel agent based in Cochin. I emailed my friend Sudha, who is from the opposite coast of India, and asked for the contact information. Sudha sent me the name Jimmy Joseph, but there was no email and the phone number was disconnected. Through an on-line search I found a new phone number and Jimmy was willing to help me but confused as to who our mutual friends were. He did not know any of the names I gave him. Exactly how we got connected remains a mystery.
It turns out Jimmy is a God-hungry evangelical Catholic. Sadly, I am not sure either of us would have trusted the other’s denominational labels to forge a relationship if we had known them at the outset. God had to trick us to work together.
I explained to Jimmy my reason for coming to Kerala and he was concerned on two fronts. First he feared I would become a target for the many unscrupulous operators looking to make money on clueless Americans. Second, Jimmy wondered if I was another of the many who use orphanage work for sexual exploitation or for making money from donors. I am told the majority of orphanages are in business to make money or bring self-glory.
Jimmy kept my reasons for being in Kerala a secret from all, even his boss, so he could prevent thieves from knowing a target was near. He began showing me around existing good orphanages so I could see how they operated. In Jimmy’s circles, he knew mostly Catholic orphanages. As he and I spent time together we began to see into one another’s heart. I saw that Jimmy was a man of unusual integrity and zeal for Jesus. As I prayed over his friends and connected with his spiritual mentors who serve as priests, he knew my intentions were likewise genuine.
Next we launched into three days of looking for potential properties, with or without structures, and for purchase or lease. It was grueling work as we drove up and down the coast during the year’s highest heat and looked at nearly 20 potentials.
I was getting disappointed as common sense and the Lord’s voice did not line up on any of the properties. All we saw were overpriced, swampy, littered, smelly lots in the slums. Anything nice was way out of our price range. Because of the popular tourist destinations in the famed backwaters and beach areas, the real-estate values are higher than the USA.
By noon on my forth day in Kerala, we had nothing and the realtor said, “That is the last one.”
We were headed back to the hotel and I was thinking, We need to look up in the mountains away from the tourist areas. We don’t have time to do anything further on this trip. I will use the Internet at the hotel to look for potentials in the mountains. But I can’t say anything to Jimmy because he has worked so hard and now I can’t suddenly change my parameters. If this project happens it will have to wait until another trip.
Then I prayed, “Lord I really don’t understand because I am more sure of your call to work in Kerala then when I came, but you have said nothing to my heart about any of these properties.”
Jimmy interrupted my silent prayer, “I think we need to look in the mountains. I have not said anything, but my family owns a small property in an area that only received roads two years ago. The original British road slid away 50 years ago and the tourist resorts developed near the new road built in another place. This land is one of the last unspoiled places and perfect for damaged children to heal. There are clean rivers, wild elephants, and electricity has been put in but not yet energized.”
I was eager to see it so Jimmy asked me to stay another day. “Sorry Jimmy, I cannot do it. I have other ministry appointments in Chennai and Nellore. It is today, or it will have to wait for a future trip.”
Jimmy went to work on his cell phone to see if the family was amiable to the project and willing to let me see the property. The key relative was Uncle George. It turned out George had been away for all the days we were looking in the backwaters and had just landed at the airport. He was 17 kilometers ahead of us and headed to the mountain property himself.
Over the phone Jimmy explained my ministry and interest in helping children. He told George of the blessings we had already received from the priests and Catholic leaders. George was favorable to meeting me. He abandoned his taxi and waited at the roadside. We picked him up and all headed up the mountains together.
During the four-hour trip, we went into mist-cloaked mountains covered in palms, mahoganies, and rubber tree and tea plantations. Wild flowers and waterfalls became frequent as we rose above the jungle heat. The paved road ended and we transferred to a Mahindra (Indian Jeep). After driving through a river that had boys laughing and swimming in a deep pool, the truck bounced up to the family property.
Now I had an internal struggle. The general area was perfect, but the property was too steep and small for much use. I realized I was being too picky and bringing my western expectations into the decision.
I prayed, “Okay Lord, you clearly have your hand on these circumstances, so with your help I will accept this property and make it work.”
We met Jimmy’s family in their humble trailside house and then had to leave on account of the coming nighttime. On the way down, Uncle George asked me, through the interpreter, what I though about the property.
I was silent a while then gave him my true concerns. Right off he said, “There is no reason you have to use our property. I know of another place close to ours that is more lever, bigger, and in site of the river.”
He even knew the price to buy the other land and it was well within our budget.
It was now too dark to go back, but George went on, “Use our place temporarily and move to something more suitable when you can. I will help you find the right one.”
The results of this trip are:
· New friends in Christ; some of whom can serve as board members for the orphanage trust.
· A viable, healthy, and rare location.
· God’s clear provision for continuing the project.
I arrived at the hotel at midnight and got up at 2:30am for the flight to Chennai. Outside I am exhausted, inside I am energized.
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