The SARA Church also had to close and must remain closed by regulation as of this drafting in late October. Pastor Tej has been running small services out of his home, but only about 10 can attend, and most cannot connect virtually. As in many places, tourism has ground to a stand-still, while food and cooking fuel prices increased, partly due to border closures and trade delays between India and Nepal.

Still, there is much for which to give thanks. SARA Ministries staff have been very thoughtful in their creation of a schedule for the 35 children currently residing in the homes. They start the morning with devotions and physical activity, set 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. aside for schoolwork with a break to eat, and have allocated time for games, play, evening devotions, self-study, as well as an hour of T.V. in the evening.

Living together in a community (as a boys’ home and girls’ home) has been helpful for the kids in many ways as they can maintain some social life with one another and even have their own Sunday services. There was, however, one major difficulty for the kids: their classes had moved online and were accessible only via T.V. stations or online streaming. With just two computers across all 35 children in primary school and high school, most children could not participate in their classes.

Hanna, second from right, leads the girls in a variety of crafts and activities.

We shared this need during a live webinar. One generous family came forward to purchase internet, five computers, two televisions, and a projector allowing all 35 kids enough access to do their homework and to view their classes in groups according to their age. The response of the kids has been pure joy!

Hanna, Tej’s sister and the leader of the girls’ home, expressed her appreciation. “I thank God, and I want to thank you for providing the televisions and computers. The children are so excited,” she shared, “I also see their progress already – some of them didn’t even know how to open the computer,” Hanna giggled.

Pastor Tej also shared his excitement. “Most of the children cannot type. Now, they are learning to type and use Microsoft Word and Excel. Many children living outside of the home wouldn’t have this access, so this is a real blessing for us,” he shared.