A few lines from each of the team on our last day..

Traveling back on the bus...

Life as I knew it before has definitely changed, I have now seen the best example of community which has enriched the lives of the people in Zakhira slum with happiness, they absolutely know what is the most important and blessed gift that God gave humans, have learnt and enjoyed this trip to its max!

Rosie

This week has been incredible. The work that asha does is truly amazing. I have been humbled by the perseverance of the people in the slum despite their very difficult circumstances. I Have thoroughly enjoyed the welcome we received and the love that they have shown us. I will miss them a lot.

Nadine

I will never forget my time at Zakhira. All the people there have been so inspiring and it has been such a privilege getting to know them. It is so humbling seeing how welcoming and joyful the people are despite their incredibly difficult circumstances. It is so sad to be leaving and I will miss everyone, especially the children, very much.

Holly

I loved hearing one of the Community Health Volunteers who gave a speech at the ceremony talk about how when ASHA first came she didnt go out of her house. But now she knows her neighbours and was giving a speech in front of a big crowd of people.

Karen

Its very hard to find the words to describe the last nine days. Today has been amazing, the hospitality, welcome and love we have seen. Leaving, I know I will take the people of zakhira with me forever. They have given me the greatest sense of Gods love and blessing and sense of community.

Hannah x

It was so hard to leave today and I feel like I am leaving behind part of my family. It has been an incredible experience and such a privilege to meet so many wonderful people and be on a great team! The people here have showed us so much kindness and acceptance. I will remember them forever! God has taught me to trust in Him and have faith, the faith of those in Zakhira is inspirational may God bless them now and forever, Amen x

Kay-Marie x

Today was just as hard as I had thought it might be. The wonderful people of ZAKHIRA broke my heart with their welcome, opening their homes to us, spending time with the children and the students, making us part of the colony even though we have only been with them for a week. The way they care for all those in their community is a lesson in humility for all of us in the West. Dr Kiran moved us to tears with her profound love for the lost, how they love her too along with Rani, Shiny and their ladies. I pray that as we leave for home tomorrow we will carry our new friends in our hearts forever. May God bless the work of ASHA and all who serve them.

Anita xx

Well, the team have been wonderful and so have the people in Zakhira....they really demonstrate how to love your neighbour. We have much to learn from them, and are poor in ways that they are rich and vice versa. I thank God for all that He has done in the last 10 days.....and am now looking forward to some sleep!

Amanda xxx

Ps Galatians 5:16-25

Evening a the hotel...

Somehow our small actions of group work, painting and praying for people seem to have had an amazingly deep impact on the community of Zakhira. Their words of appreciation were profound and deeply meant. It has been wonderful to see God at work through us. Thank you Lord and thank you Asha for your incredible work. Thank you those of you at home for your prayerful support. Alex

(falling asleep)

I'll never forget the little girl that kept running up to me giving me hugs, I hold a very special place in my heart for everyone in Zachira.

Sarah

(gone midnight)

I hope our team effort has helped the people in Zachira, I know God loves them and has blessed us both just by sharing the last week together. For sure I saw first hand how happiness is dependant on our disposition and not by our circumstances! God bless them and keep them, both Zachira and the work Asha is doing there. As Gandhi once said "we must be the change we want to see in this world"

Alan

Ps Galatians 5:16-25

(saturday morning on way to airport)

Last day at the slum, or should i say another home :) Even though it was short i have made several friends, They are a part of God family, my family. It breaks me to leave them, but i know my God is there with them. He will guide them as he

guides me. Can't wait to go back, to see how they would of grown.

Peter

What a day! We started off the day with worship, and then headed out towards Zakhira for our last full day of painting and playing with the children.

We were welcomed (as always) by a roomful of boys cheering and sticking out their hands for us to shake them.They were their usual enthusiastic selves, and kept asking for the "paper" game (a game where each team had to fit everyone in the team on one sheet of newspaper while we tore bits off, and which usually ended in all the smaller children being lifted above our heads!). This was followed by some quiet entertainment of making chatter boxes out of paper, and the boys teaching us how to write our names in Hindi. There was then huge excitement as a wedding procession passed through the slum, and everyone rushed out to see the beautifully dressed groom riding a horse and covered in what we thought were real money notes. We then discovered that the notes were just duplicates and quite similar to Monopoly money! It was an interesting experience to see the effort that went into the groom's robes and the marching band, that was right next to the normalities of slum life, like the open drain along the road.

We were then treated to a delicious lunch of rice and daal with poppadums, which was made for us by the lovely ASHA staff. We sat in a circle on mats on the floor and had a truly authentic experience!

After lunch, we split into two groups: those going on the prayer walk and those staying at the ASHA centre. The afternoon was quite calm, with the girls quietly making paper butterflies in the main room, and everyone else hurriedly finishing their painting (while being continuously reminded that it was our last chance to finish it all). The student boys entertained us in the jungle room by singing along to Justin Bieber songs on their phones, and showing us pictures from the party that was given for the groom that we had just seen riding on the horse.

Shama

I can't quite believe its thursday already, we are so quickly close to the finish of our time here. Last night we went for a lovely meal as guests of Freddie and Kirin The founders of Asha, there we met a team from Belfast who are working in another slum, plus a few volunteers from America , we all had a lovely time sharing our experiences and Freddie & Kirin were as thankful as ever, it was also nice to eat somewhere else other than the YWCA!

Unfortunatly Thursday kicked of to a bad start with me accidentally knocking my daughter Sarah's camera on to the floor , breaking the expensive lens, ( she studies media so her camera is a bit special) then the news that Karen had fallen ill during the night, she would have to stay at the Hostel today, we are hoping & praying she recovers quickly. It was particularly sad because after working the morning at Zachira we were off on a trip to another slum that a previous St Stephens team had been too, which Karen was a member.

We spent the morning painting, so Peter at last had a break from being our super hero kids worker, mural's were refined and plans were made on how to finish everything, we then stopped before we were to depart to pray for the team there, these ladies that run the Asha centres have so many mountains to climb in running the children's clubs , caring for families, campaigning for education and fresh water pumps in the slum, I hope they were blessed by our words.

An hour or more journey across the myriad of road conditions was like a concrete safari to get to Seelampur , the previous slum we were visiting, fortunately Nadine and Tracy had made Tuna and Sweetcorn sandwiches with our first bread of the week! So that helped lighten the atmosphere with a make shift in van picnic. Seeing the slum again brought back so many memories for Amanda & myself as we were also there two years ago, the faces & the lives of so many that we had spent time with, it was if it was only last week we had seen them.

They had a little presentation from some of the children, each one standing to tell us about their studies , their lives and what Asha had enabled them to do, also what our team had helped them achieve , this was a direct as it gets from the words of a small child saying thank you for the books St Stephens helped her buy as her parents could never afford books at 120 - 250 Rupees each. ( that's approx 1.50 -3 pounds) . All of the team fell in love with the children and I think realised the difference we make by sending a team here, because here was the fruits of our labour and Gods spirit. After a tour of the slums and visits to a few homes we said our goodbyes once more, everyone of them saying please come back again, they were so thankful and so loving I think all the team were blessed with encouragement in what they are doing.

I think Alex summed it up, when he was standing next me said, "this is what it's about seeing the Gospel at work"

All the best

Alan x x

Hi everyone! We are writing this on Alan's iPad in the minibus on the way back from Zakhira to the YWCA, which is a challenge given the bumpy roads and the crazy stop-start traffic! Everyone is well again, so thank you so much for your prayers.

Today we have done what seems like a million things, everyone has been busy and the Asha centre has been filled with chatter, laughter and the noise of boys and girls playing games. As we arrived at the slum, the children who were already waiting started shouting hooray and clapping. In the morning we continued with our painting, beautiful shoals of fish, colourful corals and a submarine in one room then a gorgeous tiger, cheeky monkey and a magnificent snake in the other, with the help of the amazing paint man (who mixes every colour by hand with his hands!) and the very unstable bamboo ladder.

Several of us went for a slum walk in the Muslim area of the slum with Rani and Shiney. It is very poor, with even smaller homes and most of the roofs are just plastic sheeting. It was a privilege to pray but there were lots of tough situations, several women who were in very abusive marriages, a destitute widow, problems with infertility, alcohol abuse as well as health issues. It was humbling to pray for them and there were a few tears along the way, but God is good and we trust them to him. As usual there were some gorgeous children with the most amazing smiles, and some very cheeky looking little boys! Back at the Centre, Peter masterminded another fantastic session with the kids who adore him and his endless enthusiasm and fun craft activities (thanks Debs!) although we are starting to run out of idea's but Peter seems to be able to make games up on the spot, thank god!

After lunch some people went to see a pre-wedding ceremony, which involved a groom being covered in turmeric in his underpants and all the women in the slum dancing around and they do that 7 days in a row up to the wedding, Alex ran a session with the students on interview technique. Nadine is literally a God send with her Hindi translation and Shammah is learning fast too. Alex, Hannah and I were interviewed and videoed by Vinola from Asha HQ, so they can encourage others to come to the slums.

We are off out to dinner with Kiran and Freddy to Chicken Inn, remember it anyone, it is next to Have More in Pandara Market. Should be fun.

Tomorrow we are painting and praying for the Zakhira staff team in the morning, and then visiting Seelampur in the afternoon.

Love to all and pray for energy.....it's full on!

PS.

This little girl came running out to give me a big hug today, he is so cute it really made my day.

Amanda and Sarah

Xxxx

Hi folks

Well day 2 in Zakhira completed. What a day! The day felt a little more structured now we know the team, the children and have seen some of the slum. We ran a boys group of 15 in the morning, a girls group of 16 in the afternoon, 9 older children and students in a small work shop in the afternoon, painted all day and a smaller group of 5 visited a new part of the slum in the afternoon.

last night we met as a team to reflect on our first day in Zakhira. The experiences of the day had stirred so many different thoughts and emotions in the group. Often it was the experience of sitting in someone's hut and praying for them that touched us the most; one woman who had been trying for a child for 7 years asked us to pray that she would get the child she so desired- I thought of the gift of

life my year old Isobel is to me and felt a deep sadness for her. Another woman we prayed with was not feeling well, her husband had died a year ago, her children were struck out of school because they had gone back to their fathers village when he had died and where not allowed back, and she feared for one of her sons who was getting heavily into alcohol. As we stood on her 2.5 metre by 2.5 metre dark hut where 4 of them lived with two of her daughters working on the floor and prayed, we could feel some of the burden she felt pressing down on her.

Other reflections in our group were grappling with the intense poverty we had witnessed and yet the strong sense of community that was evident in the welcome we received, in the work of the community health volunteers and as we listened to the older children and students referring to each other as their friends and neighbours.

It is clear that Asha being present in this slum for the last 7 years has made many positive changes possible; community toilets, some concreted walkways, small loans for starting businesses, incredible health care and going from less than 30% of children going to school to 95% attending. Thank God for Asha and their incredible contribution to these many people's lives in over 45 slums.

Working with the older children and students today, they appear like teenagers from anywhere in the world, the 'MTV generation' I guess. Wearing clothing labels we know, full of fun and dreams of college, work and a good future. And yet they go back to a tiny hut, sharing with 3, 4, 5 or more, with open sewers outside, a busy train line within 30 metres......and need to study hard in this context to create a new life for themselves and their families. how challenging is this?

Two of the slum lads are travelling with us now on our way to old Delhi, normal teenagers, chatting and laughing with us, how easy it is to forget the conditions they will go home to tonight.

Please pray God works through us and uses our contribution to make a lasting difference for the Asha team and the families we meet and work with.

Thanks Alex

First day in the Slum

Dear All,
It was our 4th day today, first day visiting the Zakhira Slum. After a very bumpy ride through the chaotic roads of Old Delhi we arrived safety at the Asha Clinic of Zakhira where the staff greeted us with petals. First off we started with an introduction to the Women in the Women's group of the Slum then gradually being introduced to the different Class's of Boys while the Girl's were at Morning school. After getting acquainted with everyone the team split into two groups, one of which went of a tour of the Slum while the others entertained the Boy's with drawing.

Tour- (Rosie) The tour evoked many different emotions in each member of the team as it was a very surreal experience. Despite the fact that Zakhira is a mainly Muslim slum we were still encouraged to pray for the people's specific needs. The people were living in tiny one room huts which often housed 5 or more people sleeping in a single bed amongst all their possessions. For many people, this tiny space was a working area as well as a living area. Asha have helped them to get 2 good working water pumps with one on the way as well as machinery to help them make the conditions of the Slum better for it's community. Overall i thoroughly enjoyed praying for the people of the Slum because my prayers felt a lot more real and desperately needed as well as experiencing the conditions and connecting with the people of a Slum through translation and smiles. I hope we make a bigger difference by the end of the week.
Working with the Children- (Holly) Throughout the day we got to meet boys and girls from the age of 6 through to 19 year old college students. The children really enjoyed learning our names, drawing and playing games with us. They also got a dance class from Rosie and got to hear Kay-Marie's wonderful singing. We also got to witness some of their skills such as Henna tattooing and dancing.
We are really looking forward to building relationships with the children and the Asha staff whilst helping them in practical ways by painting murals on the walls of the Asha clinic and helping them practice their English throughout the rest of the week.

Love Holly and Rosie

Quick-stop sightseeing tour of Delhi!

Hello everyone!
Lots to write today as we visited all the main sights in New Delhi in a quick-stop tour. (Almost) everybody managed to get to breakfast bright and early. The eggs were very varied and interesting, but we all enjoyed the sweet Indian coffee! Next, we enjoyed our very own group church, complete with Kay-Marie on the guitar and I'm sure the rest of the hotel guests enjoyed our lovely singing. After praying for our day, we headed out.

First stop was India Gate, a monument (similar to Arc de Triomphe) which was built by the British to commemorate their soldiers who died in World War One. Everyone enjoyed getting a chance to take some snaps, and some were invited to be in a few photographs of their own!

We then got back into the ASHA minibus with our trusty driver, Kamud and moved on to the Presidential Palace. We ran into a slight problem on the way to the palace as we were stopped by the police and then fined for stopping! After paying the police a reduced fine compared to their demand, we managed to walk up to the Presidential buildings. Amidst the tourists and locals taking pics of the stunning buildings, we spent quite some time snapping a monkey we spotted sitting on the wall and a hedge shaped like an elephant :)

Lodi Gardens was next on the menu. The park was beautiful and spacious and filled with exotic bonzai and jungle style flowering plants. The glorious sunshine meant all of New Delhi were out having picnics and playing with bats and balls. We got an unexpected historical tour by a very helpful guide and our whistle stop tour of the gardens was completed with an exciting sighting of some chipmunks.

Lunch was a lengthy affair as we were fortunate enough to be invited to a lovely members only Indian restaurant, Delhi O' Delhi. Highly recommended! We all helped ourselves to the varied traditional buffet food and some went back a few times for the mango ice-cream :p Getting out of the restaurant was fun when we decided to try fit 10 people in the lift (the only way out) which then went up and down a few times before beeping and saying OVERLOADED. We realised that a 10 person maximum probably did not include those who had just eaten 3 courses of yummy curry and pudding!

After lunch we headed to Humayan's Tomb, the practise version of the Taj Mahal. The site was amazing and the combination of sun and the huge, decorative red building created some great photos. As did pictures taken from the balcony of unexpected members of the group! Last stop for the day was at Sharmila and Randall's cosy home. Nadine and Shammah's family blessed us with the most tasty Chai tea we have ever had, homemade cakes and fudge and a closing inspirational prayer. The bus home was a quieter affair, with lots of full tummys and closing eyes, and on return to our hostel a number of people disappeared to their beds :)

We are all so looking forward to wearing our new Salwaar kameese' tomorrow that I'm sure we will all be up and raring to go. The slum awaits us and everyone is excited about finally getting to meet with more of the community. Please continue to pray for us and all those we will meet!

Love to all back home,
Hannah and Shammah x

Sarojini Nagar Market Day

Hi all,

Day 2 of our trip to Delhi. Most of the team slept well, with hardly any sound from next door's Guduwara. After a splendid breakfast we set off for ASHA headquarters where we met Dr. Kiran and Rani who will be our guide for the week we spend in Zahkira. We learnt much more of the history of ASHA and about the work happening in Zahkira.

The roads are so clear of traffic compared with previous visits when carnage was usually the order of the day. We think the new, incredible Metro has something to do with it. We were all so impressed with yesterday's trip from the airport to the centre of the city; could the underground planners please come over and take a few lessons. The journey from Heathrow on the Piccadilly line will never seem the same. Mind you, absolutely everyone who drives any kind of vehicle still sounds their horn at every conceivable moment.

Lunch was in either McDonalds or KFC then off to the delights of Sarojini Nagar Market to buy our wonderful Salwaar Kameez. Three and a half hours later we eventually finished our shopping! Peter became our chief haggler and saved us loads of money on our purchases, particularly Kay-Marie who came away with some beautiful bangles to match her new outfits.

Alex, Hannah, Nadine and Shamma joined us towards the end of the afternoon and bought their outfits much more quickly than the rest of us!

After a short rest back at the YWCA we set off towards Connaught Square to have a scrumptious supper in a delightful Southern Indian vegetarian restuarant much favoured by the local population.

Love to all at home. Please continue to pray for the team and the work of ASHA through this week.

Love Kay-Marie, Tracy and Anita

Delhi get ready we have arrived!

We set off late thursday night at Heathrow in the snow, which kept us on the tarmac for an extra hour as they de-iced the plane, the pilot apologised for the "longest de-ice in history", 9 hours later we arrived in warm Delhi sunshine, thankfully all bags arrived including Kay Marie's guitar. Moments later we were greeted by the ever familiar sound of the tut tut taxi horns and Delhi smog as we left the airport, but we were blessed with a ride into New Delhi centre on the newly opened Metro.

We were met by Asha's mini bus that took us to our home for the week the YWCA. An overnight flight meant a few still had energy, so went out exploring while others rested. We all met for an interesting surprise meal, as what we ordered didn't necessarily relate to what appeared on the table. The chop suey interpretation was the funniest being fried noodles topped by a fried egg with sweet & sour sauce on the side!

Tomorrow we head off first thing to Asha HQ, now all tired and off to bed, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Here is a lovely picture of the neighbouring Gurudwara Bangla Sahib temple, that Rosie, Holly Sarah & Alan went to visit.

Last sleep

It’s that time for getting all the essentials in one place, in one bag and one good night’s sleep.
Time to let the excitement settle and hand over, surrender to God what’s done or
not.
Tomorrow we meet at Heathrow and more of us one day later. I feel excited and enthusiastic.
An image for the trip- that of a dead tangled rose bush with just one bright rose.

Nearly time to go!!! I can't contain my excitement as i think about travelling to Delhi this Thursday. It has come round so quickly! We had our last team meeting Wednesday of last week, to go over final preparations for the trip. We got out flight details, sorted out what things to take in our suitcases and we found out who we would be sharing a room with. Now it's time to pack and get ready for the journey ahead.

God is already doing incredible things as we prepare ourselves. I was on the phone last night to the Virgin Atlantic Airlines trying to figure out how to book my guitar on the flight, not knowing if i was going to be able to pay for it, (God had already provided me with the funds for the flight and for the food and accomodation) but after having much trouble with my phone and getting very frustrated, God gave me peace and eventually i got through to the helpdesk which then they told me that we get 2 checked in pieces of luggage, so i wouldn't have to pay for my guitar, and that i may even be able to take it on as hand luggage! God is good and i can't wait to see what else He is going to do :)

Thank you to everyone who has helped with the fundraising for ASHA, we have raised about £4,400 so far and there is still more to come. We had such fun at our curry night's getting to know friends and family of the team and eating and sharing lots of delicious Indian dishes! The swishing party was also a success, lots of people swapping clothes, socializing and drinking tea!

I am surprised how my excitement is over ruling my nerves at the moment, but i know many of us, including myself are feeling slightly aprehensive of what to expect. There are lots of things to be praying about and we would love it if you joined us in our prayers, interceeding for ASHA and the Zakhira slum and praying for a few practical things such as:

Alex is struggling with a bad back would be great if we could pray for healing for that and for good health for all of us as we go (Amanda also has back, neck and shoulder pain as a result of tension…). I am sure there are other health matters I don’t know about, so please pray we are all fit and healthy and full of energy when we go.

Also please pray for our fundraising and that we gel really well as a team when we are in Delhi. We will still be able to receive money when we get back as our account doesn't close until the 31st of March, so don't feel like you are too late if you feel called to donate some money! Also please pray that we are effective and an encouragement in all we do in Zakhira and that we don’t surcome to Delhi belly as well!

Well that is all for now and the next update we will be about to embark on this incredibly exciting adventure!!!

God Bless xx

It is starting to feel very real now! All our fundraising events and preparation meetings have almost come to an end and it is nearly time for us to embark upon this exciting adventure!

We all got together on the 14th of January to travel around London to take photos of many different key places in the city, to take with us to the Zakhira Slum, in Delhi. We each were designated a place, which we would then create a poster about so those out in Delhi could see a bit of London. It was a great day of fellowship, sharing and getting to know one another before the trip begins. Some of us even experienced parts of London for the first time! We walked for 9 hours and ended the trip with a fantastic boat ride up the river thames to our final destination.

What a day! I am now really looking forward to our other upcoming events to help raise money for ASHA.