By the grace of God, the Digavalli Mission Trip, June 2013, was an immense success! It was a wonderful experience in which God touched hearts and impacted lives.  Our team consisted of nine (9) dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers who organized and planned a series of outreach ministries.  During the day, we held a free 5-day health screening and a 5-day Vacation Bible School (VBS).  Likewise, we organized a 10-day evangelistic series for the evenings.  By and large, the response and attendance was overwhelmingly positive; especially with regards to the health screening.

Individuals from neighboring villages attended the health screenings with great hope and anticipation.  The health screenings consisted of blood sugar checks, blood pressure checks, vitals and a physical assessment. In addition, we also held a 1-day eye screening which was conducted by a team of dedicated ophthalmologists.  We are grateful to the Gifford Memorial Hospital in Nuzvid for providing us with a physician to conduct the health assessments.  A large number of the participants were unaware of their health issues such as diabetes and hypertension.  As a result, these individuals were referred to Gifford Memorial Hospital for follow up care.

We were extremely blessed to have 125 children participating in our VBS program.  The children eagerly learned songs, played games and made crafts. It was quite apparent that they did not want the VBS program to end; however, they patiently waited for each ensuing day.  Their beautiful smiles, grateful hearts and cheery dispositions have left indelible imprints on our hearts.  The children from our mission team wholly enjoyed organizing and conducting the VBS program alongside the Kollaiah Memorial School staff; it was a blessing for both the participants and the organizers!

Our 10-day evangelistic meetings were conducted by three prominent preachers from the region, Dr. Sharath Babu, Dr. Isarel Jedson and Dr. Varaprasad.  Prior to the spoken Word, each meeting was preceded by a health talk on topics such as Malaria, Tuberculosis, personal hygiene, the importance of water and the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol use.  Several individuals showed interest in learning more about these topics.  Both the attendees and our team were exceptionally blessed by the powerful messages that continued late into the night.  We were however surprised that despite the late hour, everyone remained until the close of each meeting.  The Lord was truly impressing hearts and minds!

Over the course of the evangelistic meetings, we distributed 360 Bibles that were generously purchased by our donors in the USA.  Likewise, we handed out 100 mosquito nets to our school students and provided 60 donated eye glasses to those most in need.

We cannot express how blessed we were to embark on this mission trip.  It is our fervent desire to conduct a similar mission trip in the near future.  Life truly is about serving others.  Please continue to keep DOVE India in your prayers.