FIRS Orphanage and Woodstock
It all started in November 2007 after a successful Middle School Open House, when the dorm parents were looking for a local charity to which they could donate the proceeds of the day. Mrs Mark suggested that they contact the Firs Orphanage near Char Dukaan, and a few days later she, together with Tami Swenson and Hisayo Watanabe made a trip there. Amazingly, they arrived at the Firs to discover many of the staff and children busy praying and fasting for God to supply finances needed to keep the orphanage running. Needless to say the gift was gratefully received!
The Firs orphanage has been running in its present state since 1998 and now has 33 boys and 5 girls from the age of 4 to 22. Most of the children are from the state of Uttarakhand and either have no parents or have one or both parents unable to look after them. The Firs is connected to Assemblies of God North India but receives no funding from them.
Earlier in 2007, an even more unbelievable chain of events occurred which led a church in Hawaii to begin supporting the Firs orphanage. A group from this church, the New Hope Diamond Head church in Honolulu, first visited the Firs in July 2007 and heard about Woodstock there. When they heard later about the gift from the middle school they were keen to visit Woodstock to express their gratitude during their next visit to Mussoorie.
During a visit by an advance party from Hawaii it was suggested that the November chapel service be given entirely to the Hawaiian team soon to be visiting Mussoorie, and this idea was enthusiastically received.
In November 2008 a team of no less than 22 Hawaiians arrived in Mussoorie for a brief but memorable 4 day stay at the Firs (see http://teamfaith.blogspot.com). On the evening of the 16th, Woodstock's middle and high school students converged on Parker Hall for their regular monthly chapel service surprised to see the front few rows occupied by a huge party of Hawaiians and an equally large group of boys and staff from the Firs. The service included a number of upbeat worship songs, a Hawaiian dance, and a talk by Pastor Fernando on the topic of forgiveness. The icing on the cake was a gift of macadamia nuts for each student, and the offering for the service was donated to the Firs. Staff and students alike stayed for a long time afterwards, meeting and talking with the Hawaiians and the boys from the Firs over refreshments served in the Quad.
Needless to say, the visit caused quite a stir around the school and the feedback from the students was phenomenal. Comments like 'I really enjoyed that chapel' and 'that was the best chapel service ever' were frequently heard over the course of the following week. Since this time the link between Woodstock and the Firs has strengthened and we look forward to the next visit from Hawaii!