Tomorrow (31st) is Rachel's Birthday...she'll complete 16! We have been warned several times not to visit her (by members of that particular community-the family wanting her to come back to us notwithstanding), we are planning to visit her and give a birthday surprise to her...! We have bought a nice dress for her and a pair of earrings! We'll pick up the cake on the way!

Rachel was finally able to make it to the Hope Home this evening - albeit only for an hour or so. Her father reached her to the pick up point when the other male members as also the mother was away (the Muslims celebrated the festival of Eid yesterday) and a couple of our staff picked her up and brought her to the Hope Home. She was REALLY, REALLY  happy and so were the rest of the Hope Home Calcutta family. But soon after she left and even before she could reach back home, we started receiving telephone calls - some threatening - that she should not have come over to the Hope Home. Her father DENIED that he ever accompanied her upto the pick up place and everyone was very, very agitated. They have threatened to come over to the Hope Home tomorrow morning. Please pray for Rachel's own safety and protection and also for all of us at the Hope Home Calcutta. Pray that better sense would prevail and she be allowed to resume her stay nearby and also her education in our school program. Would keep all of you posted as and when further developments takes place!

And here they are...Ranjit (Jonah) and Rohit (Noah) who were 'released' from the 'hellish' conditions of the government sponsored 'Home' by the Social Welfare Department last week, finally arrived in Calcutta yesterday morning! They are back in school this morning! Ranjit would resume his violin training next week and Rohit his classical guitar from the coming Sunday. The brothers are planning on writing to the Human Rights Commission detailing their horrid story and the waste of a full school year because of the callousness of the social welfare department. However our joy is ALMOST complete at the Hope Home Calcutta!

I, along with Ruth, Leah and Rebecca were able to visit Rachel (Khusboo) yesterday afternoon in the slums of the second largest red-light area of Calcutta. And immediately brought to our tears...such pathetic condition...and the reason why the relatives and male family members are so against her is not just because they are die-hard Muslims, but because of all the threats and psychological pressure the Child Welfare Committee in Calcutta had put on them, especially on the mother (they first refused to accept that she was indeed Khusboo's mother, in spite of providing all the documents). In all of this, Rachel lost one school year (she used to stand first in her class) and her dance training at Tanusree Shankar's Dance Academy. Would the social welfare people explain who would pay for this loss or how would they 'make it up'...would they do this to their own sons and daughters...making them lose one school year for no fault of their own?

The good news is that the family would probably allow her to attend our school from later this week. Keep praying please...

THE GREAT NEWS CAME WHILE WE WERE IN THE MIDST OF CELEBRATING OUR 9TH FOUNDATION DAY AT THE HOPE HOME CALCUTTA - THE LAST OF OUR KIDS: RANJIT (JONAH) AND ROHIT (NOAH) WERE RELEASED FROM THE GOVERNMENT SPONSORED HOME BY THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT YESTERDAY...OUR CELEBRATION AND JOY WERE COMPLETE! THE BOYS WERE ABLE TO SEE AND BE WITH THEIR MOTHER AFTER 7 LONG YEARS...WE ARE PLANNING ON ENABLING THEM TO RENEW THEIR EDUCATION AFTER A ENFORCED GAP OF 5 MONTHS! GOD IS GOOD!!