Hello Again,

We are safe and sound at Bangla Hope tonight (Friday evening, Jan. 27th).  We are thankful to everyone for your prayers these last 24 hours.  Our angels were by our sides and we saw many miracles on our behalf.  On Thursday morning we headed out early in the morning for Mali Kali where we put on a VBS program for the school there.  When finished there, we headed out to another school to meet with several families who asked BanglaHope to take their children.   After completing the necessary paperwork and interviews, we headed out with 3 babies.   Along the way we coordinated a meeting with another family who also wanted their baby taken to the orphanage.   Unfortunately this meeting took place in an area that attracted public attention.  A number of people nearby saw us taking the baby, along with the other children in the vehicle.  This raised alot of suspicion.   After we left and had traveled a ways down the road, we got a call that the teacher who had brought the family to meet us was being detained by government officials for questioning.  The teacher asked us to come back and help.   We turned around and headed back to the government building.  Already an angry mob was forming and we were forced to get out of the vehicle and go into the administators office.  We spent the next 6 hours in an office with the children, government officials, journalists and many bystanders. There was alot of tension during this time and this is when we sent out the email requesting friends and family to pray.  The families of the chidlren arrived over the next few hours and were questioned.  They affirmed that they wanted their children to go to Bangla Hope, but the officials decided to nullify the agreements and returned the children to the parents.  We were given a police escort out of town around 9:30pm and returned to KMMS (an Adventist boarding school we were staying at).  We left early the next morning and arrived safely at Bangla Hope Friday evening.  We received a warm welcome by the orphanage staff and children upon our return.  It is good to be back.

The first part of the week was absolutely wonderful.  We went to one school in the morning and did a VBS program for the children.  As soon as we would arrive, word spread and villagers started pouring in.  After we told a Bible story, we did a craft  that involved coloring.  The children had never colored before, so they had to be shown what to do.  Even Grandma's who came by wanted to color.  Before we left, they fed us a meal  and then we headed out to another school and repeated the program there.  The children really liked the stories and we would hear them singing the theme song "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" after the program was over!!!