Meet and Greet #'s 2 & 3

Meet Cletus (left) and Clint (right) Chandran A., (Cletus and Clint C.A. in Kerala style). Cletus and Clint are fraternal twins, and since their family history, age, schooling, etc., is the same I will forgo separate posts. Cletus and Clint are 6 years old and in the second grade. They are from a very poor family, much like that of the other children. Cletus and Clint have a Christian mother and a Hindu father, which as you can imagine causes many problems in the home. Although they have both their mother and father living, their home life is a very bad one. Their mother and father both work, but due to their lack of education and low caste they are unable to get high paying jobs. Not only do their parents make little money but their father is a drunk and spends all of his money on alcohol. He also threatens to beat the children if their mother doesn’t give him her money too. Riny and Joseph met Cletus and Clint’s mother at a village church they attended. They spoke about Jubilee, and after services she approached them in tears. They visited her home to meet Cletus and Clint and were so saddened by what they saw. A small mud hut. No running water or electricity. No furniture or proper flooring. Very little food. No shoes. Poor schooling. Perfect for Jubilee.

Now that Cletus and Clint are at Jubilee they are doing fantastic! Although they were in school in their village, their parents are both illiterate so they never learned how to read or write. When I left Jubilee they had already learned the Malayalam and English alphabets and were reading and writing basic vocabulary in both! They have outgrown all the clothes they had from home, and are still sprouting more and more each day. Cletus loves to play with balloons, and Clint loves soccer. They are both adorable and sweet little boys. Last week the children were on a holiday and Riny and Joseph took them to visit their mother. She was thrilled to see how much they’d grown and hear how well they were doing in school. They stayed with her for a few days and when Riny and Joseph picked them up their mother had only wonderful things to say about them. She said that before they went to stay at Jubilee they were very quiet and barely spoke at home. Now she says they are talkative, outgoing, playful, and so smart.

I ask that you pray for Cletus and Clint. Pray that they continue to grow and learn. Pray that they are as happy inwardly as they seem outwardly. I also ask that you pray for their parents. Pray that their father can see Christ in their mother. Pray that their father can stop drinking and start loving his family as God intends. Pray that their mother can find strength in God. In America we are blessed with organizations that help women and children escape abusive situations, in India those types of groups are very few and far between. Spousal and child abuse is not a taboo topic, but one of everyday discussion. Pray that God can shine a light into the hearts of the Indian people. Ask God to show them the sacredness of the family and how special it is. Pray for the families of India as well as those all over the world who are suffering.

If you are interested in sponsoring Cletus or Clint reply to this post or email me at cgmcdonough@gmail.com and I will be more than happy to get you the information you need!