News from the Thomas Family at Woodstock School in Northern India – 15 November 2008
As we come to the end of another year, we are mindful of the many blessings God has blessed us with – most notably our supporting friends and church family. You have been great partners in 2008 – joining us in helping Woodstock students, employee families and now, distant villagers in the Tehri-Garhwal hills. Thank you for your prayers and financial support.
We recently visited the village of Bel Gaon, about a two-hour drive north of Mussoorie. We saw the tiny village nestled on the side of a mountain long before we crossed a steel bridge over the Aglar River and then drove up the Very Narrow zig-zag dirt road to the village. We were welcomed by a greeting written in Hindi on an entrance arch and then by the brightly dressed women coming in from the potato fields to see the visitors. Their well-swept homes were hung with drying cobs of corn – a good harvest this year. We were met by the village leader who took us proudly to a small plot of land dedicated for a new school building. We could see the village’s government-run school nearby, standing idle as the teacher never comes and the village is too remote for the government inspector to check. The village families decided that their children’s education is valuable, so they contacted Rev. Timothy from Mussoorie’s Kellogg Church, who had helped another village with piped water, and asked him to help them start a school. That he did last year and we shared a short video with some of you about the school children who met in the community grain storage building with two Christian school teachers. Since we reported to you last summer, one villager has become a Believer. But God is working in the hearts of this predominantly Hindu village – even the village leader prayed with us as we asked God’s blessing on the venture to build a proper school building for the children. One of the farmers is deeding the land for the new school building. Through your donations to the Thomas India Mission Fund, we will give a Christmas gift that will help rent rooms so that classes can continue once the grain storage room is full, buy school supplies, pay for legal documents to be drawn for the sale of property and for building permits, and provide seed money for the construction. We will keep you updated on the progress – knowing that this will all happen in God’s time.
Prayer Requests
All of us have been well this year – please join us in prayers of thanks for good health, often a luxury in this part of the world. We ask your prayers for discernment, as we consider our next steps at the end of our four year contracts with the school. Specifically, if we come back to the U.S., we will need jobs. Chris is diligently completing college and financial aid applications – we ask prayers for his acceptance into a good school and for funds to meet the costs. Coleman will be traveling to Nepal in January, and we ask for safe travels. Two of Barb’s sisters will travel to India to visit us in late January – we ask for safe travels and enriching family time. Pray for our students and staff as they rapidly close the semester and travel back to homes in time for Christmas. Please pray for the continued success of the “Monsters and More” project that Barb works with that helps local women sew their way out of debt. Join us in thanks to God for the completion of the renovation of our local church, St. Paul’s Church of North India!
Please consider coming to visit us in India in the new year – there is much to do in and around Woodstock School to engage a group of any age!
May you enjoy God’s richest blessing during the Christmas season and in the new year.
Namaste,
Correspondence: Donations - Please make checks out to:
The Thomas Family Presbyterian Church of Pleasantville
Woodstock School memo line: Thomas India Mission Fund
Mussoorie, UK c/o Doris Kersten, Presbyterian Church of Pleasantville
248 179 India 400 Bedford Rd.
barbarathomas@woodstock.ac.in Pleasantville, NY 10570