Let the Invasion Begin!

See this mountain of green Army bags currently sitting in Rob Wegner's office? It's a part of the total number of similar-looking bags that we're going to be hand-carrying into India when 30 people from GCC depart for that nation on Friday morning!

What's in those bags, you might ask? Great question! We're taking over 1,500 pounds of the following items that our teams will use on the ground over the next two weeks:

* 768 pair of Crocs shoes. If you study Health and Hygiene very long, you realize that footwear is a HUGE component to any sanitation system as appropriately worn shoes prevent the tracking of feces through populated home environments, as well as the entrance of parasites and pathogens through the soles of the feet. These Crocs (donated through partnership with Feed the Children), will provide footwear for every family in our partner community, church and village!

* 54 Backpacks crammed with School Supplies. Through the All Stars Children's ministry here at GCC, we have 54 backpacks of school supplies ready to take to the children currently attending school in our partner community in India.

* Clothing. Through donations provided by the people and families of GCC, we have clothing to take to the community we are serving in India. Many of the families have only one set of clothes for each member (and some of the smaller children have no clothes at all), and so new and gently used clothing provided through partnership and donations here provide a tremendous resource for our friends on the ground.

* Team Gear. In addition to the above, we'll also be taking a lot of other necessities for our teams to use on the ground. As we are sending a variety of different teams (Creative Arts, Conversational English, Health and Wellness, Construction, Micro-Enterprise, Reconnaissance, Media), each has gear specific to its functions, and we are loading as much as we can into these green duffels for easy identification and tracking.

In short, we are staging an invasion! It's an invasion of Help and Hope and Love and Compassion for our brothers and sisters in India, and through the conjunction of partnership with local churches operating on the ground! Together, we are going to see God do great things, not only as people experience the light and love of Jesus, but as their real world needs are met and engaged in practical ways through love and service by our teams!