End of Year Recap

It’s been a great year full of change and excitement for the Baker family.  We wanted to give a short year end update to share everything that has been going on the past 6 months and year for everyone and share about ways you can continue to partner with our family over the next year.

We have been blessed with the addition of our 3rd daughter, Kayla (CK), as our adoption process was completed October 21st.  As a family, we have enjoyed learning together how to be a family of 5 and incorporating new routines that go along with a child who is blind.  CK is a spunky little girl who is fun and loves to make others laugh.  Her being blind has taught   us so much, especially how to love and engage in new ways.  She goes to a nearby international school 5 mornings a week with an aide.  She loves to learn and is also learning Braille at home from one of our awesome volunteers. 

Maddie and Myra continue to enjoy going to their school where they are able to be with friends and be involved in activities throughout the year.  Maddie made the middle school sports team, so she gets to go to Bangalore in Feb and play soccer and basketball against other schools, which she is pumped about!  The fact that they are able to go to school, get a pretty decent education, but maybe more importantly, get to socialize with other kids, and feel like “normal” kids has been a huge blessing to us.  As many of you know, Maddie and Myra had a pretty rough time the first 1.5 years here, not being able to make any friends, being home schooled, probably the fact that they had a bad math teacher…, but since they have been able to start school, their attitude has changed A LOT!   They of course, still miss America so much and all of their friends and family, but they have been able to thrive here now.  And it is a great reminder for them, we all prayed of them to make friends, to adjust here in India, and now to be able to point them back to the prayers we all prayed, and God answering them as been a huge boost to their confidence and belief in God.  The girls being away at school during the day has also allowed Cynt and myself the time and availability to do the work that we feel God has put us here to do, but has helped about tremendously not having to juggle as much as we originally had to do.

Besides our adoption, we have also had many adoptions in Anchor Navy which has been amazing.  We have seen Addie, Clay, Eli, Mia, Emi, Kiara, Isabelle.  It has been a lot of fun to watch all of these kids meet their forever families!  We have been so fortunate to be able to watch these kids grow over the past 2.5 years and we look forward to seeing all of these kids grow up in their families over the years to come.  Thank goodness for Facebook!

We were also able to host our church, 3 Circle in October, which was a lot of fun for us.  Being able to see our friends over here is pretty exciting for us!  We were able to spend some time with anchor kids, take our kids on an outing to a play center, build some much needed therapy equipment for anchor navy kids, and visit a slum feeding program. For the first time, we were able to take our church family on a five hour drive to Ongole, Andrha Pradesh where SCH and ICM started and show them a different aspect of India that they hadn’t seen before.  We still have 3 homes in Ongole, and bout 60 kids or so there.  We were also able to show them the ICM property where SCH hopes to build homes in the future for all of our adult kids who are not able to live by themselves.  It was a quick and busy trip, but we value our friends coming over here so much, and look forward to seeing them again next fall!

One of the biggest changes for us is that since we arrived back in India in July, we took over managing all the hyderabad homes here with SCH.  We have 80 kids here in Hyd at Anchor, Courage, Jubilee, and Joy home and it has been great and challenging at the same time!  Along with about 70 local staff, 12 foreigners here in Hyd, plus all the kids, we stay pretty busy!  If you remember when we started this journey of living overseas in 2013, we thought we would end up in Africa starting a family style children’s homes, but evidently we didn’t fully understand God’s plan, or our plan was different than His.  But through every step, it has been amazing to see His Faithfulness and provision along each step.  From us being able to learn so much in Honduras, to us leaving a bit early from there, which was the perfect time for us to be in the states, as a friend’s church had an open parsonage during that time.  Our plans changed dramatically when we felt God saying India, and not Africa, and then because we left Honduras a bit early, we were able to move to India about 5 months before we originally thought.  That timing allowed us to meet an American family who was only in India for a couple of more months, and they were then able to introduce to an organization ABC, which we volunteered with weekly and then who finally introduced us to SCH in May 2015.  If all that had not happened in the timing that it did, I’m not sure what we would be doing right now.  And from volunteering at SCH, and then becoming Foster’s at SCH, helping with their finances, which i learned to do in Honduras, and now managing the 4 homes in Hyd, it has been amazing to watch how God has unfolded everything for us over the years.  I hope that God’s story in our life the past several years is encouraging to you, doesn’t mean the journey God puts you on is easy, or makes sense, or will be without struggle, But He is always with us, He is faithful to where He has placed you, and He does provide!  As Psalm 119:105 says, “Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path”.  That verse has meant so much to us over our journey, and I remember our very old preacher at the time at 3 Circle, Chris Bell, explaining at the first Wed night service he did, that the lamp shows very little in front of us, just the next step, so we def do not know all the steps in front of us, but we do see the end of the path that we are focusing on, Jesus.  We haven’t been able to see much in front of our next steps over the years, but God has always provided just enough info for the next step, and been with us every step of the way.  We are excited about the upcoming new year and the journey ahead of us here in India!

We appreciate all of our partners over the years.  We have so many needs here living overseas, the main need that all of us need in prayer!  Please continue to pray for us here.  Pray that we would continue to follow God grow closer to Him each day.  Pray that our family stays untied with each other, and united with Jesus!  Pray for love to always flow from our hearts and mouths, for wisdom to manage the four homes and kids at SCH, and for continued grace through all our missteps and mistakes.  Please continue to reach out to us through Facebook messages, texts, etc.  It is so encouraging for us here to be able to stay in contact with all of our friends and family back home!  We also have been so appreciative of everyone’s financial partnership over the years!  With the addition of our 3 kids school expenses, our financial needs have grown a lot.  For all 3 children, the total cost of school is close to $20,000 additional to our families living costs.  That is a huge mountain in front of us.  We are so fortunate that our church partners with us for about 25% of their school fee, but still need about 75% to help cover expenses.  We would love for you to continue to partner with us for that!

Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support over 2017, and look forward to a great 2018.

Thanks and God bless!

-Bakers

 

Visa exit in the States!

We left South Asia for our visa exit on the first of June.  Our time in the States has been filled with sweet family time and memories, as well as catching friends and family up on life in South Asia.  Maddie and Myra completed grades 6 and 4 and will move up to their next grades in August.  They miss their friends in SA, but are soaking up so much fun time with friends and family in the States over the break.

Maddie and Bob.

We have spent time with grandparents playing at the farm, playing with animals, riding ponies, swimming, and fishing.

Gigi and Maddie having fun with Prince.

Myra and Bob.

Myra and Bob in the lake.

Maddie and Myra left for camp for 2 weeks where they were able to be with other young girls they have been getting to know over the last 3 years.  It is a camp that focuses on the girls’ spiritual growth as well as encourages them how to be a true follower of Christ.  Maddie and Myra look forward to summer camp every year and we are grateful for wonderful grandparents that send them to Camp Skyline each year!

Maddie and Myra at camp with their cousin, Emma.

Our family has been blessed to visit with friends and family in Georgia and Alabama.  We have had so many encouraging people listen to our story and we hope you are encouraged by the same love and power that Jesus has given all followers  to love God and love others.  Thank you to all who have welcomed us into your homes and have been a part of helping us feel refreshed and to stay connected with those we love and miss.

Maddie, Carson, Myra, and Cooper. A forever special bond!

Fun lemonade stand with precious friends in Fairhope.

Enjoying the beautiful beach in Destin, Florida.

Thank you to all of our friends and family that love, support, and pray for us.  Also thank you to 3 Circle Church who have continued to show us love as we’ve been on this journey.  It is a blessing to be a part of what God is doing in South Asia and we would not be able to take part in it without the support you have provided.

We look forward to continuing the adoption process of CK and hope to be able to bring her to the States with us over Christmas.  Please keep our family in your prayers as we continue working through the process and as our family welcomes this precious addition.  You can also stay up to date with all the kids at anchor home on a password protected blog, Anchor Navy .  Message us for the password!

CK!!

 

Just a little update!

The past few months have been busy here!  Maddie and Myra are still loving school where they have made friends from all over the world.  Recently Myra tried out for the school play where she will play the role of Athena.  She’s loved getting to be a part of the production and we’re excited to watch her in action in a few weeks!  She’s also enjoyed getting to participate in many of the other school activities.

Maddie has been busy joining a few of the sports teams which allows her to travel to different cities and compete with other International schools.  In Feb.  she participated in a sports festival where she played soccer and basketball with other middle schoolers.

The kids of Anchor Navy have also been busy and blowing us away with all of their progress.  We did have 8 of the 15 (at that time) kids in our home come down with the Measles.  That was a pretty rough couple of weeks as we had to keep them quarantined attempting to not get the others sick.  They were troopers and we all survived the craziness the virus brought on!

Kiara, Emi,  Zack, Clay, Eli, Nevaeh, Jamila, and Addie are all talking machines.  Their vocabularies have blossomed and they are talking, talking, talking all day long.  They love pretend play with baby dolls and the toy kitchen and have really started loving outside play where they run, jump on the trampoline, and play on ride on toys.  They also enjoy circle time and small group instruction with our Anchor home teachers.

Connor, Abigail, Margaret, Blaire, and Kristy, are big fans of circle time and their adaptive class time with Puri.  During this time they get to explore different textures, smells (each smell represents a different day of the week for their calendar time), music, and story time.  We love having special time that accommodates the learning of all of our kiddo’s!

We did say goodbye to one of our sweeties as she went to be with her forever family!  Isabella has been greatly missed as our home is a lot quieter, but we are so happy that she is with a family who loves her so much!   We know the Lord has big plans for this amazing little girl and we feel truly blessed to have been a small part of her life.  Thank you to all of her supporters that partnered with Isabella over the years!

We are so grateful for our friends and family who have partnered with us and with the children over the years!  If you would like to partner with one of our kiddo’s, or just make a one time donation to Anchor home.  Here are a few links you can follow.

Nevaeh is a beautiful, energetic little girl that brings light into any room she enters.  Recently, she underwent an operation correcting her clubbed feet and is now marching around so well!  She is only $85 dollars a month away to being fully sponsored.  If you would like to partner with this little fire cracker and become one of her monthly sponsors, please follow this link!

https://schindia.kindful.com/?campaign=250117

We are also looking for sponsors for our amazing Anchor home teacher, Puri. This sweet soul is the backbone of our home.  She loves and teaches these children so well.  Puri’s monthly salary is 9000 rupees a month ( $137.00).  If you would like to become a monthly salary towards this important lady, you can follow this link.

https://schindia.kindful.com/?campaign=251003

It’s Christmas time!

It has been a great but busy past 2 months.  It all started towards the end of October when we were blessed to have an amazing team from our home church, 3 Circle, come and visit with us for a week!  We had 15 people come and spend some time here, meet all the kids and to see what all God is doing here at SCH and in south India.  We hoped to show them some different ways people here are reaching out to their communities.  Of course they were here at SCH meeting all the kids at anchor home, getting to know them, helping us organize the kid’s school room, place some protective barriers on our porches so kids don’t climb up the rails or fall through down the staircases, and also helped with some decorating and painting.  

It is always exciting for us to see our friends meet these amazing kids and to be able to see their faces and their excitement with all that God is doing here.  

It’s also a lot of fun to hear people talk about adoption and their desires to see these kids in forever families.

We have been fortunate over the past 2 years to meet lots of local people doing some other works around Hyderabad and the surrounding areas and we love showing our family and friends those areas also.  There is a great local family here that works with children living in a garbage slum. 

They help provide dinners for the children and also after school studying, tutoring, singing and lots of other fun things.  We were able to take the group their 2 different times, and let them share about their personal stories of God saving them and encourage the kids there.  We also were able to go with another friend of works out in villages, providing whatever care he can, whether it be food, blankets, helping kids get enrolled in school, whatever he and his friends can do to help, all the while building relationships and sharing about Christ and His message of Hope and Salvation.

I have always enjoyed getting out of the city and doing that type of work, and it’s loads of fun for me to see all those city folks from the states come over and jump right in sharing stories, meeting the lady’s, the moms, the kids and talking with them.  From some of the team fees, we were blessed to be able to help 2 kids from the village enroll in school and also able to provide the feeding program here in the city with a salary for a tutor for a year and a year’s supply of cooking gas.  So even though the team is gone for now, they are able to still help for at least of year with these friends of ours.

Of course, some of our closest friends were on the trip, so truly is a huge blessing for us to be around those that we miss all the time.  To be able to strike up conversations, act ourselves, and just hang out and enjoy each other’s company.  And there were even a couple of guys on the trip, which is a little something different than what I’m used to with all the kids and lady volunteers here!  Since we started this journey, our home church, 3 Circle, has been behind us, praying for us, encouraging us, supporting us, and it has made a huge difference in our journey and something that we are extremely thankful for!

Then in November, just about all of Cynthia’s family showed up for a visit!  We had parents, sister’s, brother’s friends, a big ol’ crew and it meant so much to Cynt and me to be able to show them what all is going on here.  They stayed several days with us, meeting all the kids, helping us take family pictures with all the kids, and then we were able to introduce them to some of the culture here.  From eating delicious spicy curry and biryani, to battering at the markets, eating with your hands, fun driving through the streets, lots of honking, and meeting all of our incredible staff here.  Finally it was time for our 6 month visa exit, so the whole family jumped on a plane, taking up 3 rows and headed off to Dubai.  Man, those are some crazy, but amazing malls there.  And beef, lots of beef.  Usually we love taking part in the local culture, experiencing new foods, but this trip was all about missing some parts of America and diving right in and enjoying all the things American in Dubai.  From Shake Shack to Five guys, and back to Shake Shack, and then some Cheesecake Factory, and did I mention Shake Shack?  It was a great time to spend with everyone, resting, having fun, seeing new sights and going snow tubing.  Yes, snow tubing in Dubai.  Me, Maddie and Myra, and then the much older sister in law and Emma, were able to do some snow tubing, sledding, and some snow balls, etc.  Lots of fun for the girls, and me!  Sadly they took off, but we were able to spend a couple more days in Dubai and and enjoy some family time, some good food, and rest. 

 

The past 2 weeks has been about getting ready for Christmas and the girls finishing up their first semester at school.  One of Cynt’s favorite thing around Christmas is the smells of Christmas.  

We were fortunate to have friends and family bring Christmas candles for us to burn, while we have been decorating out tree and the house.  We have received huge support from our friends with help for SCH kids Christmas presents and we are so excited to the kids open their presents of outfits and toys!  We also are looking forward to creating new traditions with them and all of our local caregivers here at Anchor home!  Not only our kids, but all of our staff, including our fearless watchman will get new saree’s and button down shirts!  All from our friends back in the states. Thanks so much for helping with all the needs here.

We have had such a great response, we figured, why not throw some more requests for support before the end of the year. We know so many people have tons of extra money right around Christmas that they are just dieing to unload, for tax benefits of course, before the end of the year, and we have a great way for you to get involved.  One of the things we are excited about with this upcoming year, Anchor home will be setting up its own individual account here in India.  This does several thing, for one, if Anchor home is independent, than all general money donated to SCH, goes to the other homes.  This helps the homes that maybe do not have the advocates we have here in Anchor.  So it frees up money for several other homes, and allows Anchor to take care of its own staff, provisions, bills, etc.  But with that, since our home typically has the most vulnerable and medically compromised children, we have a lot more emergency medical needs than some of the other homes, so we are trying to do a fundraiser to help cover some of our expected upcoming emergency hospitalizations.  This won’t be going towards the surgeries that we try to plan and fundraise for, but for the emergency needs that come up. So you can be apart of helping Anchor home be independent, helping provide medical care, and because of Anchor’s own account, you are also helping all the other homes.  Here is a link where you can join in and partner with Anchor home.  Just click here! Donation Of course this is a tax deductible gift, which I know we all love to take part in.

Besides that we have one last thing, and this you actually can to take with you and enjoy yourself. We are selling t-shirts, because who doesn’t love good comfortable t-shirt which supports a great cause.  We have partnered with Fund the Nations who helped us with our design and will be selling shirts for the next month to help with Anchor home’s medical and education needs.  Here is what the shirt will look like.  We are selling the shirts for $25, that includes shipping.  We have Small/Medium/Large/Xlarge available as supplies last! Here is our paypal account email, 1step1day1mission@gmail.com  In the notes, please put your size and mailing address.  

 

God bless!

-Bakers

 

 

 

Gosh!!!

So over the last month a ton of things have taken place.  As we noted last month, or family move into a new flat beneath  Anchor home, which is the building where our now 15 foster children live.  We’ve somewhat settled into our own space as a family and even hung a few pictures on the wall!  The girls are still loving their new school, praise God.  Both girls have joined the soccer team and Myra has also  joined swim team!  We are loving their school and the fact that they are able to interact with children from all over the world.

We FINALLY were able to move our little babies into Anchor home.  Over the move, we acquired a few new cuties and are thrilled to have them as a  part of our family.   We’re still sorting our a schedule and routines and spacial issues, but all is well and the kiddo’s are so loved.  One of our favorite new activities is family worship in the evening before the kids go to bed.  We sing worship songs in English and Telugu, pray, and share how much they are loved and how God created them for a purpose.  The care givers love this time as well!

Please continue to pray for our family as we constantly battle health issues.  Jacob was in the hospital last week with dengue fever and the girls have had stomach issues.  I have had a cold, but nothing unmanageable!  God is good and the great Healer and has shown this to us over and over again.

We are so grateful for your prayers for our family as well as our foster babies.  We would not be able to do any of this without your support and prayers.  Our family misses all of you like crazy and with the holiday season as well as football season coming up, we REALLY miss our friends and family.  We love y’all!

Bakers

Here is a link to our amazon.in link if interested.  As you know, it’s not easy starting a new home and we gratefully appreciate any help!

http://www.amazon.in/registry/wishlist/1QX0VH57ZEK9E

 

Aslo, as we’re always saying…. WE could use more sponsors for our children.  If you are interested please follow this link.  We would love to get the amazing Zack sponsored fully as soon as possible.  This little guy is a true gem.  Consider being a part of his team!

https://schindia.kindful.com/?campaign=250089

Zack

 

If you are interested in continuing to sponsor the Baker family, feel free to click on the link  to the right of the page and if you are considering sponsoring 1Path which contributes to needs in areas such as pastoral care, orphan care, widow care, dental care, as well as other needs, please click on the 1Path link.  Thank you and God Bless!

Change Change Change!

One word to sum up the last few weeks is change! Change can be both exciting and intense all rolled up together. Our family has been taking this season of change into stride pretty well, I think. Maddie and Myra started a new school last week, so far they are loving it. It’s crazy that they’re in the 4th and 6th grade now.

 

Maddie and Myra on the first day of school.

A few days before they started school we moved into a new flat that’s in the same building as our foster children will be living. We’re looking forward to welcoming the children into Anchor home soon, we’re just waiting on a few details to be worked out.
The month of August brought with it 4 short term teams to SCH. These teams have been a huge blessing in helping us get our house moved as well as doing other projects around all 4 of the SCH homes. They have done everything from painting bed rooms, to cleaning baby bed mattresses, scrubbing kitchens, taking kids to the park,creating therapy rooms, painting 3D murals, and setting up new school rooms, amongst thousands of other things! We are so thankful for such a productive season!

Members of a World Race team painted this inside Anchor home.

Amazingly talented girls from North Ireland painted this 3D scene inside Anchor home.

Art work North Ireland team did with our kids.

As we prepare to move the kids into Anchor home, we have taken in 3 new foster children. 2 little guys that have been with SCH from birth (Clay and Eli) , and 1 baby girl who was brought to us just 2 days ago, Blaire.
Blaire is a year and a half old and was left by her parents at a local hospital with a fever and lung infection, amongst other issues. Today was spent gathering blood work and visiting doctors to determine how to best begin caring for Blaire. She started a round of antibiotics for the infection and is getting lots of love and attention. From what we observe, Blaire has cerebral palsy as well as some vision impairments. We look forward to getting to know Blaire and learn what makes her happy in the upcoming days!  Consider sponsoring Blaire monthly and watching her story unfold!  To partner with Blaire click the link in the comments and remember to choose the reoccurring  payment option.

Blaire waiting to see one of the doctors.

The doctors put an IV in her hand to giver her antibiotics.

We are so humbled by the opportunity to be here to love on the people and kids of South Asia.  The past year and a half has definitely been full of change, this is the kids 4th school, and our 3rd home, but through all of that, we have definitely felt God’s hand and provision though all of the seasons.  We can’t wait to see how this new season will unfold, but already our 2 girls are excited as can be and having a blast at their new school.  Maddie said tonight, “I used to think riding in a bus for 45 minutes to and from school would be tough, but now I get to ride with all my friends and talk, so it’s great!”  As many of you know, we have been praying for Maddie for quite awhile to adjust to living here, and this school and other international people her age is definitely started helping!  Thanks again for all your prayers, we are excited about all the changes and look forward to settling in to our new house with the kids as soon as they get to move in!

A Few Updates

We’ve enjoyed getting back in the swing of things as it’s been over a month since we’ve returned from our visa break to the States.  Our girls are adjusting back well and looking forward to starting school August 8th.  Currently we have 3 fun visitors in our home which has been so refreshing!

It’s been great being back with our kids and getting back in a routine.  Each day we have school at Rescue home from 10:00-1:00.  These kids have loved being back in circle time and working on their developmental goals again.  Some of the kids had many new things to show off!

Zack is combining 2 words together, waving, and making choices.

Zack loves playing with shaving cream.

Emi has started walking and is working on saying more words.  It took her a while to warm back up to us once we came back, but we’re making great progress!!

Emi

Kiara and Isabella are both walking around everywhere and are now attempting to say more words.  They are also learning how to walk up and down stairs.

Kiara and Isabella playing together.

Eden is responding more to her implants.  She is making sounds and shows when she is pleased with a sound or is scared by it by her facial expressions.  She was sick with a fever for a week so wasn’t able to attend preschool or therapy, but she is feeling much better now!  She also celebrated her 2nd birthday earlier this month and is taking up to 10 steps independently.

Eden pushing her toy around.

Abigail is getting so tall and now has a new wheel chair thanks to a sweet family from the Birmingham, Al area.  She loves being bounced on the trampoline and will hold out her hand to play with a large beach ball.

Abigail and one of the other babies getting physical therapy.

Kristy still loves to snuggle and swing.  She is bearing more weight on her feet and continues to sit independently.  We did learn that Kristy has moderate hearing loss and we’re working towards having a pair of donated hearing aids programmed to meet her needs.

Kristy sitting like a big girl!

Connor is still a small little guy.  Lately he has been more fussy and only wanting his caregiver.  He has a difficult time soothing himself.  We work with him by bouncing him on a ball, swinging him, singing to him, and blowing bubbles with him.  Recently someone from he States donated an overnight feeding pump for him to use so we’re really looking forward to helping him put on a little weight with that as well as supplementing with pediasure as well as other nutritional calories.

Connor enjoying some outside time.

Margaret is still as beautiful as always.   She will reach out to grab a toy and bring it to her. She loves music and will sit with support.  Her ear surgery was a success and at her follow up yesterday her doctor was pleased with the results.  Each day she seems to be a little more comfortable and in less pain.   Margaret is in need of a wheelchair to help her position her body in a healthy way.  Stay tuned for more updates on the wheelchair and how you can help Margaret!

Margaret sitting in a borrowed wheel chair waiting for her turn with the physical therapist.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support as we are able to love on all of these children.  We are in the process of shifting the children out of Rescue home into a home a few streets over.  There are a few details that still need to be worked through, but we are looking forward to this fresh start.  Our family will also be shifting into a new flat which will be in the same building as the kids.  We will keep you updated on the exciting changes!

Most of our kids still need sponsorship.  We would love for all of our kids to one day be fully sponsored.  The cost of full sponsorship is 300$ a month with partial sponsorship starting at 25$.   Recently we’ve had a few sponsors who have had to end their commitment.  Would you be willing to partner with these kids and become a monthly sponsor?  Money goes towards a home, 3 meals a day, snack, therapies, and medical expenses.

Kiara

Kiara only needs 20$ a month to be fully sponsored.  If you would like to partner with Kiara, send us a message and we’ll help you get started.

Zack

Zack needs 75$ a month to be fully sponsored.  If you would like to partner with Zack, send us a message and we’ll help you get started.

 

Headed Back!

Well, looks like it is finally time to head back home, to South Asia. It has been a great time back in the States visiting with friends and family! Really, it is pretty overwhelming how well ya’ll take care of us. From beds to sleep in, food to eat, the encouragement and the prayers have been amazing and we are so thankful for all the ways everyone provided for us! But we really miss all the kids back at SCH, and the curry and spice! We are looking forward to getting back to our home and having the same place to sleep every night and driving on the opposite side of the road where we don’t have to follow as many traffic rules! We are looking forward to seeing Eden and how far she has come along since her cochlear implant processors were turned on. We look forward to taking back a wheelchair that someone donated for us that Kristy and Abigail can share until we are able to get both of them one. We are looking forward to seeing Zach’s huge smile, because he is always happy! Seeing Connor laid back and chilling with a smile on his face, and seeing Isabella walking and getting into all sorts of messes. We get to see how well Margaret is doing since she had surgery on both of her ears. And then there is Kiara and her beautiful smile! We look forward to seeing Emi finally walking!

We are also excited to get back and continue forward with relationships we have made with some of the locals there. And it has been a little while since I have pulled a tooth, I hope I haven’t forgotten how to grip and rip them out! We are excited about getting back and meeting with all the guys and girls who are long term volunteers on Tuesday nights, eating together and worshipping, praying and digging into scripture together. Well, maybe there aren’t any other guys, yet, but we are taking applications for more men! Feel free to email here for more info! We are also looking forward to getting back into trying to learn Telegu, a difficult language, but something that is necessary to learn in order to be able to share our story and God’s story to people. We look forward to seeing our friends from 3 Circle church this October as they prepare to bring 15 people over to serve. We are excited about hosting them and trying to figure out how to even host that many people! Last year was just 4, this year 15, next year, who knows???

As you can tell, that is a lot to be excited about, but also we will really miss our friends, our families, our church, and all of our partners here. We will miss Dr. Pepper, the food we grew up eating, Dinglewood scrambled dogs, bbq, steak, etc. It’s exciting to get back, but also wish we could take all of you and the food with us back over, so, does anyone want to come visit? 🙂 We would love to have you over to experience life with us over in South Asia and get to meet all these amazing kids that God has done some amazing things in. We are looking forward to having Ellie Northcutt staying with us for the month of July and then my sister and one of her roommates come also at the end of July. It’s exciting for us to see people following God and seeing what He is doing around the world!

We are still a little short on our monthly finances, so as always, we would love any partnerships that would help in that regards. Also, one of our goals during our trip back was to get more sponsors for our kids at SCH, and though we handed out a lot of prayer cards for them, we haven’t seen much towards their monthly sponsorships. We would love if you wanted to partner with us and SCH and our kids. All of our kids still need sponsorships, besides Connor and Kiara. So please contact us if you would like to sponsor one of our kids! For us personally, there is a link on the side of this page for our finances, fully tax-deductible as always! Thanks as always for the prayers, encouragement, support and partnership the past 3 years!

God Bless

-Bakers

What a Year!

What a year of change and excitement 2016 was.  It truly is hard to put into words the year when we look back on it.  We moved here to South Asia in 2015, knowing 2 local pastors and one American family.  God has really opened up some amazing doors since we have moved.  We have met many more local pastors and and foreigners serving here, sharing the love of Christ and the message of Salvation among the lost and that has been exciting to see!  Many people asked when we moved, what exactly our plan was, and we weren’t sure.  We knew God wanted us here, we knew we had hearts for children who had been abandoned, Cynt of course being a early childhood special needs teacher has a huge heart for children.  We also knew we wanted to work with local people or groups already working here.  We knew starting a children’s ministry in this country wasn’t allowed by the government for foreigners, so we would need to work alongside others already here.  And we knew we wanted to grip and rip some teeth out, helping people with dental needs.  Of course through all of this we knew we all are called to share His love and His message of Hope that he offers to all.

So with that we set out last year and we stand constantly amazed at what God has provided, the doors He has opened, the relationships he has put into our paths, the provision He has provided through all of our generous partners in the US.  Quickly after arriving, we were able to start doing dental camps through the help of the one American family we knew when we arrived.  They put us in touch with people doing weekly outreach and we were able to join them on Tuesdays and help people with their dental treatment.  Through that relationship, I was even able to receive my local dental license.  Through other relationships, we were able to start spending time on the weekend with a local children’s home.  Playing games, sharing bible stories, doing crafts, going to chili’s and playing in the arcades was a lot of fun with them.  It was pretty awesome seeing their eyes when they entered a mall for first time and trying out an escalator. 

We only had one fall through that experience with close to 40 kids, so we considered that a success, though several were carried up and down the escalator each time.  (on a side note, this is not just an issue with children from poorer areas,  this is quite common with people from all ages and walks of life.  Going to the mall can be filled with lots of laughter as you watch people approach the escalator, stop, try it with one foot, step back, stare, and then turn around and go to the elevator. Not that we would laugh at that or anything…)

 

We were able to partner with local pastors and put on a pastors conference in late spring in a village about 5 hours away, sharing the importance of prayer and reading the Word, sharing the Gospel and trying to encourage pastor’s who are living in meek conditions and sharing the message of Jesus.  We were also able to attend a conference with friends here from a group in the states about community development, which had tons of great ideas and ways to help people who a biblically and culturally honoring way.  About 2 months later we were able to also join that group in a very good story telling conference.  Every culture is different, and some, which are based on sharing things through stories, respond really well to telling our personal stories of what God has done in our life and telling the bible through stories.  We were also able to host a dental camp with that group in a smaller town about 4 hours away in a local church which went really well.

 

Cynt was able early on through some connections made to help a local school in a poorer area each week.  She was able to help teach english and also share bible stories to teachers and kids, the majority of which were non believers.  She was also able to quickly get into a group of both foreigners and locals who pray together each week, which has been really encouraging for her.  And then things started getting pretty interesting.  Before we moved,  while we were talking, Cynt said, i can just see us in a bigger house, with lots of children with special needs, and some locals living with us. So her first thought was lets rent a big house!  I hesitated a bit, since rent lease’s were for a year at a time, i figured we could start with something smaller, and then when we see  your vision start coming to fruition, then we can look to the bigger place.  Well last May, due to doors God opened, we were able to meet with Sarah’s Covenant Homes here in Hyderabad.  We were able to start partnering with SCH and moved after only 5 months to live right next door to one of the 4 SCH homes here in Hyderabad.  Check out SCH on their website, and awesome organization that God is doing some amazing things through Sarah and all the foster moms who have been here over the years.  

Sharing the love of Jesus with these children left behind by their culture and society, children who have been deemed unworthy and not useful, and to see how these children are growing, how their surgeries they need have been provided for, the care they have been given has been amazing for us to witness.  Technically, what she thought would happen hasn’t exactly happened, but it has been pretty darn close.  Living next door has been great, but eventually if there is a way to live in the same home, if the setup is right, would be awesome.

 

So the last 6 months has been a lot with SCH, and we have tried to learn a lot, and help however we can.  Rescue home is where we work most closely.  These children, most of whom are below 5 years old, are the kids who have been rescued out of government children’s homes.  They were sick, not thriving, needing surgeries that the government could not provide, and SCH has come to their “rescue” and provided loving and caring environment, food, surgery and medicines, and starting to provide therapies and therapy equipment that some of the children need that they would have never received if they had not come.  It has been really exciting getting to know all the children at Rescue, and to be able to see how far they have come since they came here in the past 2 years.  Cynthia has been able to help start a preschool in the morning with another of the foster moms here where the kids are able to sing songs work on gaining skills, learning colors, playing with musical instruments, etc. 

It has been a lot of fun seeing some of these children start to take their first steps, say their first words, etc.  We have really been so fortunate to be able to partner alongside SCH and look forward to the future working with them.

We were also to host our first team from 3 Circle Church which was a lot of fun, and definitely a learning experience for us.  We were able to spend a lot of time with SCH kids, doing some great art work which hangs on some of the kid’s home walls. 

We were also able to help a local feeding program in a very poor area of time, provide food, share the Gospel, and do some more painting.  

Also, we were able to partner with a local partner who shares in a tribal area, and go visit several villages outside the city, share the Gospel, share about what Jesus has done in our lives to people who do not know Jesus as their Savior.  All in all, we had a great time and look forward to our home church visiting again soon, join in with them, we would love to have you!

I know this has been a little long, but it truly has been an amazing year for us.  We couldn’t have imagined all the doors that would have been opened, all the relationships that have been provided, all the love and support we have felt from home.  And we truly thank God everyday for all that He has provided.  It doesn’t mean it has all been easy, or we haven’t gotten sick, or felt the real presence of darkness, or missed our friends and families and Dr Pepper, and hamburgers, but we have really come to know that God is faithful to His call on us and on you, that He is there for us, His love never ends, it always endures, He is faithful to His words and His promises, and for that, we are extremely thankful!  We look forward to returning to the states for 2 months in march until may, we hope to see you soon and share more stories on this past year.  Thanks so much for your continued prayers, your partnership, your financial support and your emotional support of the past year and own into the future.  And a huge thanks to a God who loves, who saves, who redeems, who heals, provides, who is Faithful.

God bless,

-Bakers

The girl were able to be a part of a local church’s Christmas performance

Dressed up for a night on the town, (Chili’s) with our 3 Circle friends!

Sometimes people get desperate and ask us to Preach!

Just waiting in line for the foreign dentist…

This kid, Daylan, loves pizza, movies, kicking people, and laughing!

We have to leave every 6 months, and we were able to to go to Singapore for a couple days in November. It was awesome!

September Update

Penny, one of the SCH girls

Hey guys, we hope everyone is doing well back in the States. We have had a very good September. As we mentioned in our last update, we have been able to get preschool up and running at Rescue Home, one of four homes that Sarah’s Covenant Homes has here in the city. On most days we have from 20-24 kids attending and it has been pretty awesome seeing their improvements in many areas. From sitting still in chairs, to playing appropriately with toys, walking, crawling, etc., it has been lots of fun seeing all the kids do so well and enjoy the mornings with us.

Sensory day at Preschool

Water play at preschool

It has also been a huge blessing just to sit back and watch our girls enjoy playing with the kids here. Usually on the way back from school with Maddie and Myra, one of their first questions is,'”what are we doing the rest of the day? Can we go to the kids home?” It is always amazing to us to see how God has worked in their hearts and to see the compassion and the love they have for being here and doing this. That doesn’t mean they don’t miss Chik-fil-a, and their friends and steak, but they really enjoy being with all of them. Usually every friday night we do a pizza and movie night with just our family, and of course Cara, who is the baby living with us right now, but this past week, we decided to bring 3 of the kids over to watch with us. All the kids had a blast, eating pizza and breadsticks, and watching Pippy Longstocking.

Pizza party!

SCH and Rescue Home have many kids who currently need sponsors to help cover their food, housing, medical care, etc.  We would love for any of you to partner with us to help meet not only their basic needs, but also needs of physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc.  Partner with SCH, or better yet, do you have these skills? come over and help us and these amazing children!  To find out more info, please click on http://www.schindia.com or contact us.

We have been able to do a couple other things this month also. If you remember, our shipment of household items was on a container with about 12000 flip flops and items for a school. Last month we were able to join one of the flip flop clinics and do some dental work and provide free extractions for several students at the school where the clinic was being hosted and several women there also. It was great being able to help out with other locals and foreigners trying to help those in need as well as sharing the Gospel, because that is the true help everyone needs. Jesus is the hope for everyone, regardless of country, caste, color, etc. He is the hope, and we are so very fortunate to be able to be used by Him in so many different ways here.

Getting ready to take some teeth out!

People at flip flop clinic, and no we did not treat everyone here!

We also were able to speak at a church anniversary celebration.  I think every other foreigner was out of town so somehow I was asked to speak at a small village church to group of pastors from around the area and some of the congregation of the church.  I was asked to share about the Body of Christ working together.  Believers here sometimes have a very hard time working together, we were able to share from 1 Corinthians chapter 12 about God giving different gifts through the same Spirit. Just as our body parts work together for the good of the body, we as individual members of His Body, should work together as He planned.  Using all the different gifts together to further His kingdom and for His glory!

worship at Church anniversary celebration

Church celebration

We are looking forward to having friends from our home church, 3 Circle Church in Fairhope, come visit at the end of October. They will have room to bring items over that we could use here.  In the next week or so, we will be getting a list together so be on the lookout for some small ways that you could partner with us and get a few items for the kids home, and maybe a couple of items for us (like ranch dressing, grape jelly, and maybe even a delicious can of chili), because who doesn’t love canned chili?  We are so thankful again for all of our friends at home who are on this journey with us, through your prayers, your encouraging texts, your financial support.  Last month and this month has been pretty tight as far as financial donations go, so we would love for you to pray about doing a one time donation or a recurring monthly donation to either us personally or to 1 Path ministry.  Both paypal links are on the home page of this blog.  Thank you again for all your support these past couple of years.  Looking forward to to seeing everyone next spring when we come back for a short rest with friends and family!

God bless!

-Bakers

Getting some tats!