We had a great trip to India. From start to

finish it was 20 days. I had the great pleasure of having my 88 year young mother, Ruth; my niece, April Tepfer; and a very good friend, Terry Stutzman with me on this trip.

Everyone is asking me, “How did your mom do?” And I answer by saying, “We all had a hard time keeping up with her!” From laying blankets on people in the middle of the night, walking through the slums of Mumbai, going out to remote villages and nine airplane rides, she did a great job.

This trip was full of ministry opportunities. I am going to have a hard time mentioning them all. I am going to attempt to list them all and then tell a few stories of some special events.

On Christmas Day, we rented an auditorium in Mumbai and had

a special Christmas service with many plays and special music by Indian children. On December 26, we rented the same auditorium and brought in 700 children from the slums. Again, we entertained them by having skits and songs performed by children. We ended the night by giving each child a treat (juice packet, potato chips, and candy). We then gave each child a new blanket.

February 2010

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Psalm 82:3, NIV

You can reach Gary Crowe with any questions or comments at...

Phone: 320-599-4399

Email:gcrowe@tds.net

Website: www.hopeinthenight.com

In This Issue:

A Great Trip to India

A Lady on the Street

From my Mom,Ruth Crowe

The Children’s Home

Article from April Tepfer

Article from Terry Stutzman

Prayer Requests

A Great Trip to India

Program at the Christmas service.

Children received new blankets.

continued on page 2

A Great Time in India continuedThe next couple of days we went into the slums to do house-to-house visitation.

Then at 1:00 a.m. in the morning until 3:30 a.m. we laid blankets on homeless people on the streets of Mumbai. We were selective and only laid blankets on people who did not have a blanket, or only had a piece of plastic to cover themselves.

At the children’s home we spent a lot of time with the children, playing games, biking, and of course playing cricket (India’s baseball). We took all the children to the movies one afternoon, we also took them to a restaurant, and to a park.

We went out to a remote village and spent time with a pastor and his wife. Also in the village, we went door-to-door to many homes, visiting people who went to his church. Our schedule was busy doing something everyday.

One story I would like to share with you happened when we were distributing

blankets in the middle of the night. The second night of distributing blankets,

we were driving slowly down the streets of Mumbai looking for people sleeping on the street without a blanket. When we would see someone, we would stop our cars and get out and cover them. About 2:00 a.m. we made a turn on a street and saw a group of people on a corner, many were children. We stopped our cars and got out with blankets to cover

them. I walked down the street about 100 feet and saw a lady laying on the curb, gasping for breath. Her body was just bones covered by skin. A man was sitting next to her with a piece of cardboard, fanning her. I called for Irene, (the Indian pastor’s wife). We found out the woman had TB. She had been in a government hospital for a few weeks, but they said there was nothing they could do for her, so they put her out on the street again. She knew she had only hours to live. We spent about a half hour with her, prayed with her, led her in a sinner’s prayer, which she repeated. We promised to come back in the morning.

A Lady on the Street

The lady we found on the curb.

Terry laying blankets on children sleeping on the street.Matthew 25:40 “Whatever you do for one of

the least of these, you do unto me.”

– 2 – continued on page 3

A Lady on the Street continued

– 3 –

The next morning we returned to that corner. To our amazement she was still alive. We made several calls to hospitals, but no one would take her. We contacted someone with a little influence in the medical field and got the government TB hospital to accept her. We rented a taxi and loaded her in the back and took her to the hospital. She was x-rayed, and verified she had TB. We made arrangements to have her admitted and brought her to her room. We prayed with her and said we would check on her tomorrow. As we left they wheeled out a deceased lady in front of us. Something that happens many times a day.

The next day we flew to Vijayawada to the children’s home. When we arrived there I called back to Mumbai and found out the homeless woman had passed away. While on the phone to the Mumbai pastor, I asked if we could bring blankets to the TB hospital when we returned to Mumbai in a week. He said he would check on it. You see, in the Indian government hospitals, the patient has

to provide everything, blankets, medications, needles, and food. They will provide a meal of rice and curry, but anything else, such as fruits, vegetables, and clean water is the responsibility of the patient’s family to provide.

While in Vijayawada, a friend of ours in Mumbai, named Gabert, set up a meeting with the hospital board in Mumbai to ask if we could come and give each patient a blanket, all 752 of them. They immediately refused. It is easier for them to say no because if they said yes, their jobs could be in danger for allowing something that has never been done before. During the meeting the phone rang. It was the head of several government hospitals in Mumbai. The man who answered the phone told him they were meeting with a man who would like to give a blanket to everyone in the hospital. To the shock of everyone in the room this head person said, “Of course, let them do it!” Isn’t it interesting how God works!

Over 65 patients in each room. TB is transmitted from person to person through the air.

One of the patients in the TB hospital..

Many cats and dogs throughout the hospital.

continued on page 4

When we came back to Mumbai, we loaded up over 800 blankets in a truck and went to the TB hospital. We spent the next 3 1/2 hours handing out a blanket to every patient there. We were met with suspicion and apprehension from the hospital staff at

first, but after a few minutes they warmed up to us. When going to India, I often bring illusions with me

to help tell Bible stories. Just before we left for the hospital, I put three of these illusions (magic tricks) in my bag. After an hour or so of handing out blankets, we came to a room with children and young girls. I sat down on the edge of a bed with a 12-year-old and took out a magic trick and performed it in front of her. At first there was no response, then a smile began to come across her face and then another. Several other girls were watching from their beds, so I went from bed to bed. Pretty soon the nursing staff was watching and smiling, then they showed me where other children were. The youngest was a four-year-old boy. We had the opportunity to pray with many young people and lead many to the Lord.

We now have an open door to this hospital. Hope In The Night will be working with this hospital in the future also.

Just think what God did. What if we would have just laid a blanket on that dying lady and walked away. We would have never had the opportunity to put hundreds

of smiles on dying people’s faces or to pray with them and lead them to the Lord.

The morning we went back to the lady on the street, we watched hundreds of people walk by her, some drove by in their BMW’s and Mercedes Benz. I witnessed first hand the story in Luke 10 about the Good Samaritan. Thousands of people had walked by her in the previous days and saw her laying there. Because of our compassion toward one lady, God blessed us by opening doors in areas no other ministry has been able to do.

A Lady on the Street continued

People walking and driving by the lady in need on the street.

Man receiving blanket at the TB hospital.

Gary showing an illusion at the hospital - a smile is worth a thousand words.

Irene, (the Indian pastor’s wife, at right) prays with workers and patients at the TB hospital.

– 4 –

From my mom, Ruth CroweAfter being in Mumbai for a week, we

flew down to the children’s home. What a contrast – the city was so noisy, and so busy. Very crowded. The children’s home is on a few acres out in the country, a beautiful place, so peaceful and quiet.

We were met at the airport by Peter, the director of the home, and a couple of the older children from the home. Then we went down this bumpy, curvy road to the children’s home. As we drove in the

driveway, the kids saw the car coming, they all ran to meet us, they knew “uncle” Gary was back again.

The children at the home touched our hearts. They are a happy bunch of kids and they love Jesus. One little four-year-old boy really got to our hearts. He had only been there a short while. He was quiet and didn’t smile much, just did his thing.

We started to pay attention to him and showed we loved him. By the second or third day he had changed. He loved to play catch or jump rope. Every time we came outside he was there with a plastic ring to play catch. He not only got a smile on his face, but he laughed a lot. A little love can change a little boy.

The little girls loved to walk. If we didn’t have enough hands to grasp, they would hold something else on us, just so they were touching us.

The kids loved to sing. Every morning it was Bible study and more singing.

Thursday a.m. was the day to say goodbye. Kids were going to school, it was exam week. We were flying back to the city. There were lots of hugs and tears shed. I feel like part of my heart stayed at the children’s home.

– Ruth Crowe

22-day-old baby on the street with a new blanket.

Ruth climbed a ladder to the second story of a house in the Mumbai slum.

Ruth with girls from the home.

Ruth cooking at the children’s home.

Handing out certificates of completion at the computer school.

Covering street people with blankets.– 5 –

From my mom, Ruth Crowe continued

Handing out afternoon treats to the children.

Holding baby with new blanket in the street.

Being adventuresome on a scooter!

Handing out blankets at the TB hospital.

Handing out blankets at the TB hospital.

Handing out blankets to over 150 widows.

Ruth received “top billing” on the welcome sign at the children’s home.

Ruth tried to milk a water buffalo - wasn’t too successful!Ruth visiting home in village.

– 6 –

Going to the children’s home is always a joy, to see the children, to see how they have grown, and to see how

they have matured. But now it’s even more enjoyable because we can see the fruits of our labors in the children who have completed their stay in the home, but come back to visit. College students, teachers, policemen, masons, electricians, some of these even have children of their own. They always call me “Daddy” in the home, now some call me “Granddaddy”!

Children helping to prepare a meal.

Play time!

Boys playing cricket.

Youngest boy at the children’s home holding a new puppy!

Kids coming home from

school.

Lunch at the children’s home.

Children doing

chores.

Breakfast at the home.

Peter and his new bride, Dolly. They are the administrators of the children’s home

in Vijayawada.

– 7 –

Laundry. Where do I start?

Beating the clothes clean.

The Children’ Home

April, Ruth, and Gary handing out blankets at the children’s program.

From April TepferThis was my second trip to India, but it will not be my last. Spending

time with the children was a great joy to me. Seeing the smiles on their faces definitely put a smile on mine.

Being there with my Grandma Crowe, was the highlight of the trip. Watching her experience everything was great. The TB hospital was an awesome experience for me. Seeing India health care and comparing it to the United States was quite an experience.

Hope In The Night might not change India, but it sure is making a great difference in many lives for the better.

– April Tepfer

Gary bought pizza for some street children. What a treat!

April in traditional Indian dress.

Two buddies!

April visiting a home in the slums.

– 8 –

Prayer Requests:Please pray for:• Thechildreninthehome

for health and good grades in school.

• Monthlyfinancialsupportfor the children’s home.

• AnopendoorforHopeIn The Night at the TB hospital to continue.

• Letusallcontinuetopray for Haiti, and the ministries that are in great need at this time.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35

I am constantly amazed at how impossible it is to outgive God.

I recently experienced God’s incredible blessing when I joined Gary, his mother, Ruth, and niece April on a Missions Trip to Mumbai, and Vijayawada, India. One of my most memorable experiences was the blanket ministry on the streets of Mumbai. I was amazed at how many women and small children there were on the streets. Some were laying on an old worn out blanket and covered with a piece of burlap or nothing at all. One night, we came across a mother with what appeared

to be two small children covered with an old ratty blanket. When we removed the old blanket to cover them with new ones, we discovered she had a 22 day old baby. The mother and baby appeared to be healthy and doing fine despite their environment. It

seemed like such a small thing giving her new blankets for her family, but the smile on her face showed us how much she really appreciated it.

We also had the opportunity to go to the slums and visit with families from the church. The people were all so happy to have us in their homes. I was so blessed just spending time praying with them and listening to their testimony of what God has done in their lives. Their homes are very small, and they don’t really have much as far as material possessions, but they have the joy of the Lord in their lives and that is what really matters to them.

Proverbs 3: 27 says, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.” We didn’t have to look very far in India to find someone that needed a blessing, and I think the same could

be said of where we live. The challenge is, am I looking for the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others around me?

I was blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of Hope In The Night Ministry in India.

– Terry Stutzman

Terry visiting homes in the village.

Terry blessing someone at the TB hospital. Terry trying out a new bike at the children’s home.

Giving blankets to street people.

Terry giving a street baby a new blanket.

From Terry Stutzman

– 9 –

Praise Team at Mumbai church.

This newsletter has been sent to you because you have expressed an interest in Hope In The Night Ministries. We want to be financially responsible — if you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please let us know.

PO box 100Pennock, MN 56279

In This Issue:

A Great Trip to India

A Lady on the Street

From my Mom, Ruth Crowe

The Children’s Home

Article from April Tepfer

Article from Terry Stutzman

Prayer Requests

Sign announcing the children’s Christmas program.Ready to distribute blankets at the TB hospital.

Each blanket has a label attached with

contact information.

Children outside at the children’s home.

NoNProfit org.U.S. PoStage

PaidPermit No 484

Willmar, mN 56201retUrN Service reqUeSted