Greetings Family and Friends!
First things first, this is a collective support letter from Rebecca Bossart, Melissa, Jankov, Nick Mengis, Jonathan Meister, Nick Cummings, Katie Maasberg, Josh DuBrille, Robby Rasmussen, and Jessi Cummings, and therefore it is written from the we perspective. We have chosen to raise support in a collective fashion because we are all in this together.
This year has been an awesome and crazy year for each of us in so many different and spectacular ways. One way it has been similar is an interest and spark placed on our heart for Mission work in Calcutta India. Several months ago a few of us had an opportunity to learn about the hardships of India from a friend who supports orphanages there. After this conversation we were hooked on going to India. Our plans have changed and our team has grown, but we still have the same country.
What We Are Doing
In June of 2010 a group of 6 will be traveling to India to work in conjunction with Calcutta Mercy Ministries (http://www.buntain.org/) to minister to local people in a hospital setting. As you have heard in many other support letters this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Well, it is, and we have been blessed with the opportunity of going here. We will be departing the first week of July and returning at the end of the month. Calcutta Mercy Ministries has agreed to host us in their guesthouse once we arrive.
While at the hospital we will be providing basic care to patients, participating in building projects, praying with families, creating press material, learning about procedures, experiencing poverty, becoming familiar with Indian ailments, feeding people who are homeless, and much more. The beauty of this ministry is they can plug us in where we will best be able to serve.
Staying Connected
While we are in India we plan on maintaining a blog, Internet willing, to keep you updated on our successes, triumphs, failures, tears, and hopes. The address is http://thekidsincalcutta.blogspot.com/. Prior to leaving we will be updating it, introducing the members of the team, and keeping you posted on our fears and hopes prior to departure.
How You Can Help
Like we said earlier this is a mission and this is a support letter. First and foremost we want to ask for your support in the form of prayers, positive thoughts, and encouragement on this endeavor. Traveling to Calcutta will surely challenge us. It is considered one of the most impoverished parts of the world. Seeing this type of poverty will be hard, so your support is greatly needed.
A second way to support us is financially. We need monetary support for visas, insurance, and airfare. We would also like to bless the organization with something they need once we get there. We aren’t sure what that is yet, but are sure that once we meet them a need will present itself. With all of this we will each need to raise $2,500 and collectively raise $15,000. Ya, this is a lot of money.
Please do not feel obligated to give. If you can great, either send it to your favorite team member and it will be deposited into a collective account or you can deposit it directly Wells Fargo into account number 6403467639. Whether you choose to financially support us or not that please consider joining our blog http://thekidsincalcutta.blogspot.com/ and following us on our journey.
Thank you for reading this letter and we look forward to sharing our mission with you!
