Ranjana, one of our older girls will be the helper teacher in the class. In this way she will earn a salary and in the meantime pick up on her own English and Hindi. As you might remember, Ranjana never received any proper education at all.

We hope Ganesh will attend too, but he has been in the hospital most of last month. He is very sick and weak. Please pray for him!!

Shaheena, Saksi and Namrata were sick as well, but are doing fine now.

We have beautiful news about Karuna, Saksi's paralized mother. Just 2 days ago she did her first steps on her own, without the help of clutches or other staff memebers!!!! We are looking forward with her to a future filled with joy and hope!

Shaheena has been very sick as well, she kept on throwing up and lost a lot of weight. She was really weak but now, thankfully I can say she is much better. Perfect timing because the exams for our House of Hope children have started. Please pray for wisdom and strenght to study wel.

In the hospital they did no longer want to keep her, or allow her a bed because no one came to take care of her. She had not been washed the whole month!!They placed her on a matrass on the floor and decided to put her outside on the streets in the afternoon. Can you imagine?

Outside on the steets Karuna should have to beg to survive and hope maybe some social worker will help her out. Of course we did not want that to happen, so we took her into House of Hope. But as you might understand, we really know nothing about how to help her. The only thing she can do is crawling forward on her bottom, sit and lay down and undress herself.

I believe there is much possible with the right physiotherapy and maybe prosthesis etc.But I don't know where to go yet. Please pray for the right people to help us out with the care of Karuna.  

We had a very sad start here in Pune. Suyash, who has been in the hospital the lasts weeks, passed away this weekend. He was only 12 years old.

He had been in the hospital because he got TB and pneumonia. He could hardly breathe on his own and did not want to eat anymore. His last days he spend in the IC ward of a local hospital. As you might understand we are all shocked by his still so sudden death. After he died his family came to the hospital to cremate him right away, as is the custom here. Yesterday we had a memorial service with the children in House of Hope, where we remembered all that Suyash liked. We sang his favorite songs, read his favorite bible verse and had his favorite food. Also everybody placed one flower in a vase and said their last goodbyes to Suyash. Please keep on praying for all the other children and new hope and strength for the staff to continue taking care of the children.

According to Ranjana and her papers she finished her school only until second grade. This was very shocking to me, but the reality is even worse. Ranjana can not count above ten and is not able to read or write simple 3 letters words in maharati.

It almost made me cry, How sad for a girl like this. 14 years old, and not being able to read, write or count. We cannot even imagine. On the other had I'm very thankful she is in our home now and we believe there is hope. Hope for Ranjana, hope for education and a brighter future. WE keep you up to date.,

On Saturday we all had lunch together and this time we ordered food!! This was really special, because we never do that. It was butter chicken and of course everybody loved it!

After filling our stomachs we played musical chairs, even the staff played and this the children enjoyed the most! Later they showed off their dancing skills. You should have seen little Prasana dance, it is so cute!

Suyash, sadly, missed the party because he is in the hospital right now. He was so weak, did not want to eat and his eyes were completely blurred as well, so we decided to place him in the hospital until he is healthier. At the moment he is stable, but please keep him in your prayers. Just like all the others as well, thanks a lot!

We decided to celebrate diwali as well. The children painted diyas and made nice decorations for the home. The staff was busy all day long to prepare nice sweets and in the evening, all children were dressed up in their nicest clothes to celebrate that in the in the end the good will overcome the evil. (meaning of Diwali).

We played bingo, enjoyed all the sweet food, received some small gifts and played with firework. The boys loved the sound of the crackers, while me and the girls preferred to stay a little further away... You have no idea how loud they can be here...

Anyway, we had a beautiful time. Thanks for being involved in bringing a smile on these childrens faces!!!

But thank God things have changed. After that dramatic goodbye, she and her aunt have been visiting regularly and last time she was even hugging Shivam when she said goodbye. Shivam is doing very well in our home. At this moment in school he is leaning how to read and very excited about that. WE are very proud of him doing so well.

Out of every Maharati school in the city, only the best students of fifth to eight grade could come for a nice fun filled weekend at some beautiful area. You can only imagine how thrilled he felt and he could not wait to go there of course. We're so thankful that this once rejected boy now get this beautiful opportunity!!

Some news that excites us is that Shivams teacher called us to say that he is an excellent learner and that she is very happy with his behavior and that she is proud of him. We all are very thankful for that.

Last week Shaheena turned 7! I'm so thankful she's doing so well, growing up and developing in all areas. Just remember with me how she came to us two and half years ago. A Four year old, weighing only ten pounds and given up by the doctors. Ready to die. But God did His miracle in her life and we celebrated her seventh birthday!! Isn't it wonderful? Even her father came to celebrate with us. Praise God!

Every time I think about this, it is too hard to even imagine, but sadly enough it's the truth and happening quite often.

We took Sahara in our home and she's having a hard time to adjust. She feels locked up, missing her freedom and doesnot like the (healthy!)food. She is making friends with Saksi, whose her age as well. Saksi feels very big now and wants to help her with everything.

Any way, when we left my friend promised me to give her old computer to House of Hope, so the kids can learn how to work with it. And last Sunday, she and her husband came again and brought the computer and a new computer table to go with it!!! Of course we couldn't thank them enough for this enormous blessing. And the children? They gave bigger smiles then ever before!!

I'm so thankful to see that this was all the staffs idea and that they really care and want to see these children happy. Please thank God for Sangita, my right hand and main person in House of Hope and Agnes a wonderful, loving staffmember who really make House of Hope a place where children find hope and get a smile on their face again.

This is something that I really cannot understand, why would you want to beg if you have a decent job offer and wonderful care for your child? But it’s their own decision, and all we can do is keep our doors open. Please pray for safety and health for Swati and little Yash.

Everybody was dressed in the oldest clothes we could find, because the game is to completely decorate each other with colors. You can just throw the colors on someone, or mix the colors with water and use water guns...It was lots of fun and in the end everybody was literally pink, orange and blue... The kids loved it and it was so good seeing them have so much fun.

The coming weeks Shaheena, Prasana, Sanatan and Shivam are having their final exams of this year, please pray for them to stay focused and relaxed under so much pressure the Indian system is giving them.

After we were done painting, I hid them in the field in front of the house so the children could search them. But even before the children were outside a boy from the neighborhood came, looked at the eggs, took a nice green egg and ran off.

When I yelled at him, he got scared, squeezed the egg and dropped it on the ground. I couldn't believe my own eyes, I was standing right there on the same field and he dared to steal an egg.( And we always say in situations like this: This is India..) All people from the neighborhood came outside to see what we were doing, as searching painted eggs is not very common here. But we had a great time, and later on we all had a healthy snack,...boiled eggs!

Now honestly, I knew that a lot of Indians never learned how to make puzzles or play dominoes, but somehow I had forgotten it. So with amazement on my face I asked her: "WHAT"?

So instead of introducing the children to the new games, I played Domino's with the staff and made the children watch us, so they could learn it as well. The next day, the same lady came to me with a big smile on her face. “Nicole, I can make this new puzzle you gave us, Prasanna(6) taught me. I never was able to do so, but now I can!!"

We're starting to teach her English from now on, as we're planning to admit her in an English preschool from June onwards. This is when the new school year starts here in India. We're so thankful that this girl as well has plenty of opportunities now, coming from such a poor and hopeless situation.

We got another request for two new boys to live with us, aged around 4 and 6. Both the boys are from a local slum and the mother died of aids, we heard. This is really all I now about them, next week we'll tell you more about this...

When the father came to know about House of Hope after some time, his hopes were rising again. He would search for a job and a new home for his family while they were living with us. We took them in and the two children adjusted very well, while the mother needed some time. She now felt rejected by her husband as well. Sangita was able to share a lot of good things with her and soon she felt accepted into "the family".

The other day the father came with the wonderful news he found them a new home. We had a lovely good bye party for them and are happy to see them re-united again and filled with hope.Please keep this family in your prayers.

As soon as he met with Agnes he told her with an amazing smile on his face: "I have seen Jesus in my dream and He said my mother is in heaven with Him now." Prasanna now has peace about his mothers death. Isn't this so beautiful?

The day Saksi arrived in our home I was just bringing in a swing for our two babies and I saw how she was looking at it. So I took her up and put her in the swing. First she didn't want to, but as soon as she felt the rocking she loved it. She curled up, put her thumb in her mouth and smiled, completely satisfied for that moment. As soon as she realized she was smiling she stopped doing it, but it was a beautiful beginning and we're looking forward having much more of these precious moments with her.

We got a phone call from the local hospital if we can admit an other four year old girl. Her paralyzed mother is in the hospital, suffering of aids and the father is unable to take care of her. Most probably the girl will come and live with us from this week onwards. She will be visiting her mother in the hospital weekly. Please pray for this little one as it must be so hard on her.

Ganesh has been sick this week. It was really bad and since he is one of the weaker children they brought him to the hospital for a health check up. He kept on throwing up and complained about stomach pain. After medication he felt much better and is ready to join school again. Please pray for him and Shaheena specifically, since they are the ones in need of a Doctor the most.

They finally entered the very old bus (one of our co-workers from Holland said with unbelief and a smile on his face when he saw the bus: "Do we have to sit in THAT"?). The children had to sit on each other’s lap, but they loved the hour long trip in the bus to the park. It was very warm weather.

In the park they played in a garden, enjoyed exotic birds and lots of other animals, played soccer and so on. After a delightful Christmas lunch, the HOH kids did the nativity play for us. They acted very well and we all enjoyed Shaheena and Prasana bleating like sheep while crawling on the floor. Another play followed about how we can be there for other people around us, like Jesus showed us. Wonderful!! Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas time. From India we wish you a happy new-year!

As we believe that Jesus came to bring life and that abundantly we know life-situations will change for the better when we seek Him first. What a blessing it is for the kids to experience this real-time. I keep thinking of Shaheena who was on the verge of dying in January 2005. She was 4 years old and just 9 pounds (4,5kg) in weight when she was brought to our house. After prayer and proper care she recovered miraculously in just a few days. Bringing life is a such a beautiful thing to see. The other kids have stories similar to that and are now excelling in their school, being the best in class. Though coming from a less developed background, these kids are so smart. Please help us in extending our hands to give them a life-opportunity to make a difference as well.

Let’s hope, pray, and work hard to see the power of this Gospel of our King fill all areas of life in the year ahead of us.

From India we wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thanking God for a place of Hope, we are working hard to get the new house ready so she can move in as well. Please help us in caring for more people like her.

It is so unrighteous when the society does not care and the most weak are the first ones who suffer. They should be the ones cared for first. Let's make that difference!

What happened last week?\ Well…in India it is very common the have house-lease for a period of eleven months. That’s what we have for the house of House of Hope also. At the end of the lease you might have to leave the house, within 30 days to be exact. House of Hope got a letter like that last month…for the apartment where the kids and staff live. So we have to move. It was a little stretching to find a new home for 14 people within a few days, but as Sangita (House of Hope Staff) rightly said: “Even the birds find homes, so Our Father in Heaven will provide a home for the children of House of Hope as well”. And He did. We are moving to a larger home in a few weeks, able to provide care for more children in need. Please pray for an easy transition.

More next week! Love, The Bakkers

All our children could choose one brother or sister they would buy a gift for. And so, on Saturday they presented each other their small gift and ate special food as celebration. It was a beautiful day and they all enjoyed it a lot. We're so thankful they all get along so well and have possibilities to show their love to each other.