A dead bird and . . .

Few days back, I happened to spy a dead bird on campus. I requested couple of my staff to bury it. I thought the dead bird would make a nice snap . . .

Then, later I found out that the bird lovers of the campus had proceeded with a formal burial and there were some tears shed for the departed  soul. 

Lucky bird . . . 

Visit to PARFI Gurukul

Today morning, we visited the PARFI Gurukul in Gumla, Jharkhand. 

Snaps from the visit . . . 

The campus . . . 

The inauguration plaque

The Vice Principal, Mr. Akshay Kumar Pathak briefing the team

Details of the admission process

Bird's eye-view of the training area

Training in bar-bending

Fork-lift operator training - 1

Fork-lift operator training - 2

Seeing around . . . 

Mason training - 1

Mason training - 2

Construction training - 1

Construction training - 2

The students keep a good kitchen garden

A group photograph with everybody . . .

A very informative and encouraging visit . . . I hope that there will be more of such ventures.

Prayer Bulletin - April 1-15, 2013

The last 2 weeks have been quite a tough one for the institution. I'm thankful that issues have been sorted out. Please continue to remember us in prayers . . . 

1. We had quite a lot of visitors since the last prayer bulletin. Ms. Jubin and Ms. Vimala from Central Office. Drs. Nandamani and Ango on a 2 week visit to be along with Dr. Ron Hiles and Ms. RuthAnn. And Ms Sheron who is going to join us as Physiotherapist from the middle of May. We thank the Lord that all the travel logistics went fine in spite of 2 days of general strike, except for some amount of time wasted due to a delayed train. All of them have reached back to their destinations safe. 

2. Over the last 10 days, we had a 3 twin deliveries of which one was an eclampsia. One of the babies did not make it. Otherwise, the deliveries all were uneventful and the mothers are doing well. We thank the Lord. 

3. During the visit of Dr. Hiles, Ms. RuthAnn and Dr. Nandamani, the plan for the Burns Unit has been finalised. We're still short of about 2 million Indian Rupees to complete the building and start full charity treatments. 

4. Next Monday, we would have a new Administrator in Ms. Meghala Ramaswamy. We thank the Lord as well as request prayers as she takes over a very challenging task. 

5. We request prayers for Mr. Gopal Chaurasia, a patient with very bad bronchiectasis after tuberculosis who was in a very bad shape when he came. He has recovered quite a lot but is still dependent on oxygen. Kindly pray that the Lord will do a miracle. 

6. We thank the Lord for 7 medical students from Vellore who would be visiting us towards the end of April as part of their Secondary Hospital Postings. Please pray that they would have a very good exposure to the healthcare needs of rural India. 

7. We've 4 children of our staff who started school last week. Ms. Akansha (daughter of Mr. Christochit and Sr. Prava), Master Smith (son of Mr. Malaya and Sr. Prabhavathi), Master Aaron (son of Mr. Ajay Lal and Sr. Anubha) and Master (son of Sr. Usha). We thank the Lord for these children. Kindly pray for them so that they will be well educated. 

8. The summer has just started. The temperatures have started to reach 40 degrees in the day time. Please pray for protection from sun strokes and ill-health because of the heat. 

9. Please continue to pray for arrangements towards the wedding of Mr. Dinesh who's marrying Sr. Priscilla and Dr. Titus who's getting married with Dr. Grace. 

10. Please pray for the staff and their families who are travelling during the summer vacation. 

11. We thank the Lord for the contact we had with PARFI. Kindly pray as we interact with them and work towards a partnership. 

12. Kindly pray for the work of the Community Health team. We thank for the inputs from Ms. Jubin and Ms. Kamala. 

Cacti flowers . . .

There is a bunch of cacti growing wild at one corner of our campus. Nobody gives them any care. And nobody cares to cut them down as the thorns are quite big and troublesome. 

Today I saw that they were starting to flower. 

And oh, boy! The flowers were so beautiful. Hope you enjoy them.

The flowers were like a symbol of hope in a hurting world . . . I was so encouraged.

Beetroot Cake

We had made a beetroot cake for Chesed's birthday. It was a great hit.

You'll need the following for a 16 piece cake. I used a square baking pan of 9 inch size -

1. Grated beetroot. (I use a cheese grater): 2 cups
2. Butter: 1/3 cup
3. Eggs: 2 nos: Separate the yolk and the whites.
4. Sugar (powdered): 1 cup
5. Orange juice: 2 tablespoon
6. Caramelised orange peel: 1 teaspoon
7. Crystallised ginger: 2 teaspoon
8. Cashewnuts (broken): 1/2 cup
9. Flour (maida): 2 cups
10. Baking powder: 1 teaspoon
11. Baking soda: 1/2 teaspoon
12. Salt: 1/4 teaspoon

Method -

1. Fluff up the white of the egg using an egg-beater and set aside.

2. Sift items 9-12 and keep aside.

3. Mix items 1-8 (minus the egg whites) till well mixed for about 2 minutes to form batter.

4. Fold the flour mixture with the batter using a spatula along with the beaten egg white.

5. Pour into the baking pan and bake at 160 degree Celsius for 40 minutes.

Once the cake is ready, dust with icing sugar.