Seven Sterling College students and two leaders left April 29 on Sterling College’s first cross-cultural trip to India. For two weeks they will be working with three children’s outreach programs in the city of Ongole in the state of Andhra Pradesh. One of the programs provides homes for abandoned/orphaned children; the second places special-needs children in foster family situations; and the third holds after-school programs for at-risk, impoverished children. The team will also visit some of the area’s historical and cultural sites.
Assistant Team Leader Michelle Sumption of Vinton, Iowa, says, “This trip will be challenging, but our goal is to share the love of Christ in verbal and material ways with the children.” Team leader Will Best, a professor in the Language/Literature Department at Sterling, adds, “We want to help in ways that our hosts think are best, rather than going with pre-conceived ideas of what we should be doing. This not only gives us guidance, it aids Global Infusion, the organization that planned our trip, in creating and maintaining good, ongoing relationship with our Indian partners.”
Team members are Ron Sumption, Ashley Winters of Sterling, Kan.; Cara Spencer of Lyndon, Kan.; Anna Schnetzler of Spring Hill, Kan.; Salima Watson of Russell, Kan.; Susan Gates of Anthony, Kan.; and Stephanie Whitmer of Haysville, Kan. Team leaders are Will Best and Michelle Sumption.
Read their blog at http://www.scteamindia09.blogspot.com/