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HEAVEN'S GATE, INDIA'S HOPE:
Boise church builds housing for forgotten HIV orphans
Written by Sheree Welshimer, January 2008
(photos courtesy of Calvary Chapel Boise)
Members of Calvary Chapel Boise, in Idaho, are "walking the talk"by reaching out to people in India who have family members dying from AIDS.
AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease for which there is no cure. India's AIDS epidemic has created one of the largest orphan populations in the world. (It is estimated by the World Bank that there are 2 million orphans in India.)
Calvary Chapel has stepped up to help improve the lives of children and their parents through its Heaven's Gate project, said senior pastor Bob Caldwell. In some cases, the parents already have died from AIDS. In other cases, the parents and children are all suffering from AIDS.
Heaven's Gate is one of Calvary Chapel's largest undertakings in the 18 years the church has operated its Chapel Missions India (CMI) program.
Heaven's Gate is a 50-acre facility in southern India that CMI opened in June 2007. Two locations provide a "Home of Hope" to about 60 children. Eventually, it will become a haven for more than 100 families/children with AIDS.
"You can't just tell people about Christ," said Lauren Phillips, CMI stateside administrator. "You have to be part of the solution, not just 'Jesus loves you and goodbye.' "
India, the second most-populous country in the world, is known for its slums, disease and impoverished people. It also has one of the highest incidences of AIDS in the world,
Caldwell said. More than 5 million adults are infected.
Those with AIDS join the countries' "untouchables," Phillips said. They are banished to live impoverished lives in slum conditions.
In numerous cases, one parent infects the other. Phillips said that means the children, some unborn when the parents were infected, "will be left alone with no one to care for them. These are the ones we hope to care for at Heaven's Gate."
The goal of Heaven's Gate is to "relieve the agony of the people who are literally dying in the last days or months of their lives," Caldwell said. "It's ridiculous to not help them in practical ways rather than just religion."
The additional facilities will include separate living facilities for boys and girls, a medical clinic, and guest housing for visiting doctors and short-term mission teams, Phillips said. Another $12,000 is needed to get the medical clinic built.
CMI operates a mobile medical clinic that serves remote villages. Staff members also educate villagers about AIDS to help prevent its spread, Phillips said.
Calvary Chapel purchased Heaven's Gate last March for about $400,000. The facility was a former Catholic college that included a fenced compound with fresh-water wells, a chapel, other buildings and mature gardens.
The staff of Heaven's Gate includes HIV-positive adults, Indian pastors and medical personnel, Phillips said.
The Heaven's Gate facility has 23 acres to use for farming, Caldwell said. "The parents will be able to stay with their children until they die.
"Our goal is to train the orphans in farming and other occupations, such as brick-making and leather goods. We want to teach them the skills to have an income."
CMI provides other "Homes of Hope" in India for about 200 orphans.
"To see a little child taken care of is really awesome," Caldwell said. "These children taken off the streets become happy, intelligent, warm, loving kids. They shine compared to the other kids we see on the streets."
Other programs offer shelter, food and medical assistance to families in need, Phillips said. CMI's programs are run by pastors, evangelists and medical personnel who are Indian.
CMI programs are operated with the help of approximately 500 Calvary Chapel members in Boise who typically provide a monthly $35 donation/sponsorship, Phillips said. Others donate more. Ten percent of the church's tithing is earmarked for CMI as well.
Other Calvary Chapel churches throughout the country have joined the CMI efforts, providing approximately 1,000 additional sponsors, Phillips said.
"Every penny of what we receive for CMI goes to India," Phillips said. "None of the money goes to administrative staff except for those employed in India. We are providing jobs for people in India."
In India, $35 goes a long way and "really makes a difference," Phillips said. CMI's relief efforts have helped 528 children.
Church members sign up to sponsor a child or a family. Those who sponsor a child receive a personal profile and picture. They have the opportunity to correspond with their adopted child, Phillips said.
Stephen Purdy and his wife, Dyan, Calvary Chapel members, have been sponsoring an Indian girl, named Sheeba, for about 15 years. "She's become like one of our own children, even though we've never met," Purdy said.
The Purdys began sponsoring Sheeba when she was 4. "To see this little girl, who would not have survived but instead has thrived, has been very gratifying," Purdy said.
Sheeba is in her third year of nursing school in India, Purdy said. "We helped save her life and gave her life with Christ. It can't get any better than that."
In a recent letter, Sheeba wrote the Purdys: "Loving greetings from your daughter, Sheeba. Hope that you're doing very well because of our loving God who cares for us and loves us all the time. I received your loving letter and money from you. Thank you. I bought all my needs, like pens, paper, picture frames, etc. ..."
Purdy said they hope to meet Sheeba one day on a visit to India through Calvary Chapel's annual "Open Your Heart" tour. Church members, who participate in the tour, pay their own way and have the opportunity to "meet and visit with their adopted kids," Phillips said.
Another sponsored child, Priscilla, wrote: "I thank to God and you because you are all helping me so much. Really, I am a lucky person. I want to learn and study well. Every day I am praying to God. He fulfills all my needs. He helps in all my troubles."
Another child, named Amy, is typical of those who come to CMI's program, Phillips said. Her mother had no husband and died in childbirth when Amy was born. "Someone brought Amy right after she was born to one of our Indian pastors. She almost died but now she's so full of life."
Amy is an example of what CMI's programs accomplish, Phillips said. "It's kind of overwhelming. The problem in India is just so big but if we can help one person at a time, we can be part of the cure or solution."
Individuals who would like to sponsor a child in India or help in other ways with CMI's efforts may contact Calvary Chapel at (208) 321-7440.
Written by Sheree Welshimer, January 2008
(photos courtesy of Calvary Chapel Boise)
Members of Calvary Chapel Boise, in Idaho, are "walking the talk"by reaching out to people in India who have family members dying from AIDS.
AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease for which there is no cure. India's AIDS epidemic has created one of the largest orphan populations in the world. (It is estimated by the World Bank that there are 2 million orphans in India.)
Calvary Chapel has stepped up to help improve the lives of children and their parents through its Heaven's Gate project, said senior pastor Bob Caldwell. In some cases, the parents already have died from AIDS. In other cases, the parents and children are all suffering from AIDS.
Heaven's Gate is one of Calvary Chapel's largest undertakings in the 18 years the church has operated its Chapel Missions India (CMI) program.
Heaven's Gate is a 50-acre facility in southern India that CMI opened in June 2007. Two locations provide a "Home of Hope" to about 60 children. Eventually, it will become a haven for more than 100 families/children with AIDS.
"You can't just tell people about Christ," said Lauren Phillips, CMI stateside administrator. "You have to be part of the solution, not just 'Jesus loves you and goodbye.' "
India, the second most-populous country in the world, is known for its slums, disease and impoverished people. It also has one of the highest incidences of AIDS in the world,
Caldwell said. More than 5 million adults are infected.
Those with AIDS join the countries' "untouchables," Phillips said. They are banished to live impoverished lives in slum conditions.
In numerous cases, one parent infects the other. Phillips said that means the children, some unborn when the parents were infected, "will be left alone with no one to care for them. These are the ones we hope to care for at Heaven's Gate."
The goal of Heaven's Gate is to "relieve the agony of the people who are literally dying in the last days or months of their lives," Caldwell said. "It's ridiculous to not help them in practical ways rather than just religion."
The additional facilities will include separate living facilities for boys and girls, a medical clinic, and guest housing for visiting doctors and short-term mission teams, Phillips said. Another $12,000 is needed to get the medical clinic built.
CMI operates a mobile medical clinic that serves remote villages. Staff members also educate villagers about AIDS to help prevent its spread, Phillips said.
Calvary Chapel purchased Heaven's Gate last March for about $400,000. The facility was a former Catholic college that included a fenced compound with fresh-water wells, a chapel, other buildings and mature gardens.
The staff of Heaven's Gate includes HIV-positive adults, Indian pastors and medical personnel, Phillips said.
The Heaven's Gate facility has 23 acres to use for farming, Caldwell said. "The parents will be able to stay with their children until they die.
"Our goal is to train the orphans in farming and other occupations, such as brick-making and leather goods. We want to teach them the skills to have an income."
CMI provides other "Homes of Hope" in India for about 200 orphans.
"To see a little child taken care of is really awesome," Caldwell said. "These children taken off the streets become happy, intelligent, warm, loving kids. They shine compared to the other kids we see on the streets."
Other programs offer shelter, food and medical assistance to families in need, Phillips said. CMI's programs are run by pastors, evangelists and medical personnel who are Indian.
CMI programs are operated with the help of approximately 500 Calvary Chapel members in Boise who typically provide a monthly $35 donation/sponsorship, Phillips said. Others donate more. Ten percent of the church's tithing is earmarked for CMI as well.
Other Calvary Chapel churches throughout the country have joined the CMI efforts, providing approximately 1,000 additional sponsors, Phillips said.
"Every penny of what we receive for CMI goes to India," Phillips said. "None of the money goes to administrative staff except for those employed in India. We are providing jobs for people in India."
In India, $35 goes a long way and "really makes a difference," Phillips said. CMI's relief efforts have helped 528 children.
Church members sign up to sponsor a child or a family. Those who sponsor a child receive a personal profile and picture. They have the opportunity to correspond with their adopted child, Phillips said.
Stephen Purdy and his wife, Dyan, Calvary Chapel members, have been sponsoring an Indian girl, named Sheeba, for about 15 years. "She's become like one of our own children, even though we've never met," Purdy said.
The Purdys began sponsoring Sheeba when she was 4. "To see this little girl, who would not have survived but instead has thrived, has been very gratifying," Purdy said.
Sheeba is in her third year of nursing school in India, Purdy said. "We helped save her life and gave her life with Christ. It can't get any better than that."
In a recent letter, Sheeba wrote the Purdys: "Loving greetings from your daughter, Sheeba. Hope that you're doing very well because of our loving God who cares for us and loves us all the time. I received your loving letter and money from you. Thank you. I bought all my needs, like pens, paper, picture frames, etc. ..."
Purdy said they hope to meet Sheeba one day on a visit to India through Calvary Chapel's annual "Open Your Heart" tour. Church members, who participate in the tour, pay their own way and have the opportunity to "meet and visit with their adopted kids," Phillips said.
Another sponsored child, Priscilla, wrote: "I thank to God and you because you are all helping me so much. Really, I am a lucky person. I want to learn and study well. Every day I am praying to God. He fulfills all my needs. He helps in all my troubles."
Another child, named Amy, is typical of those who come to CMI's program, Phillips said. Her mother had no husband and died in childbirth when Amy was born. "Someone brought Amy right after she was born to one of our Indian pastors. She almost died but now she's so full of life."
Amy is an example of what CMI's programs accomplish, Phillips said. "It's kind of overwhelming. The problem in India is just so big but if we can help one person at a time, we can be part of the cure or solution."
Individuals who would like to sponsor a child in India or help in other ways with CMI's efforts may contact Calvary Chapel at (208) 321-7440.
