I'm headed back to India! Many of you have been kind enough to ask about the trip, and this blog is a simple way to keep everyone updated. I had a blog for the 2009 trip, and it worked out pretty well. Here are the details for this trip:
Where are you going? We are going back to Good Shepherd Mission in Puttur, India. In the map above, the city of Chennai is circled. That is the closest major city. Puttur is a small rural village that is 2-3 hours inland. We are leaving on December 27th, 2010.
What is Good Shepherd Mission? It is a facility that serves a number of functions, but is primarily an orphanage and primitive medical clinic. It also has a building that houses elderly and some AIDS patients. Residents of that area rely on GSM when they have no where else to turn. The depth of the poverty is remarkable. Our church has partnered with Good Shepherd for a number of years and regularly sends groups over.
What are you doing? Like last time, we will be traveling to various villages providing immunizations to children along with some basic medical supplies. (I'm sure at some point I have hit you up for cash to send to GSM. A lot of it is used to buy these immunizations and supplies. Thanks!)
Other facts: The travel time is just over 24 hours. We are flying from KCI to Chicago to Brussels to Chennai. Those are some LONG flights. If you flip the clock, you can just about compensate for the time change. For instance, when it is noon in Missouri, it is 11:30 p.m. in Puttur. Although it is their winter, it will be in the neighborhood of 80 degrees. I'm going with a group of 11 total people.
In any event, keep checking back. Last time, whenever I could find coverage, I was able to use my phone to send blog updates and pictures back. Hopefully, I can do it again.
