The Birth of a Ministry

In 1999, I made my first mission trip to India along with a group from First Baptist Church of Indian Trail, NC. We visited Gilgal Children’s Home in Churandchandpur, India. At that time, about 125 children lived there with another 150 local children attending the school. When we arrived, I confess I did not know what to expect from the people. I was quickly amazed at the love of God that permeated that place. Everyone who greeted us in their native language, adults and children, expressed their deep appreciation for coming to visit them. Their love for God and His people was evident. We were quickly adopted into their community and our spirits enjoyed a sweet fellowship.

For several days, I watched the behavior and attitudes of the people at the orphanage. I was humbled by the many expressions of love, humility and peace that were experienced in the midst of utter and destitute poverty. I saw how the children lived without many of what I considered necessities of life. I observed how they slept in dormitories that had no heat. I watched as they cheerfully ate their meals of rice and sometimes vegetables. I almost cried as I saw little children drawing water from a hand pumped well preparing for the day. The only other source of water was a nearby river that required boiling before using. Our team was overwhelmed with the level of poverty and what we considered to be substandard living conditions that existed there.

One morning, about mid-week, I was sitting on a bench outside the Chapel there on the campus and a little girl sat down next to me. She was about nine years old and she was cold. She did not ask me, she just sat down beside me and raised my arm so she could get close and get warm. At that time, the days were warm but the nights were cold enough to blow smoke with your breath. As we sat on that bench, we talk some about how cold it was and about how things were going at her school, but that was not the reason she was there. She was cold and she wanted to be warm. After some time, I noticed the construction crew starting to gather across the way and I told her that soon I would need to go and join them. When I did she held my arm and got closer. At that point I just gave up on working for a while and held her close to me. We didn’t talk much after that but during those moments God broke my heart for orphan children. That burden to help children by improving their physical living conditions and also encouraging them in their life would not allow me to sit idly by.

In 2002, I was able to return to Gilgal Children’s Home. This time, my wife, Carrie, was able to go with me. On this visit, we were able to renew some old friendships as well as make new ones. We visited some of the children I had met on my first visit. They were all excited to be able to meet Carrie. Also, Carrie was able to attend a widow’s conference being held at a local church in Churachandpur. She was able to meet some of the people there and develop friendships during that time. During that visit, God placed a burden in her to minister to widows as well.

As a result of all that God had led us into, the ministry of Broken Hearts Ministries was born in 2004. Since the time we were dating, Carrie and I have known that the day would come that we may be serving on the mission field for God, but we did not know where or when or how. God has led us to this ministry at this time of our lives. Our goal is to minister to orphans and widows around the world, wherever He leads. We solicit your prayers and support and we welcome your personal participation with us as we seek to serve God through serving others.

That used to be where this story ended. However, in 2006, God brought about events in my life that reunited me with that little girl. Carrie and I had the privilege to host the Gilgal Praise singers in our home as they were touring the United States raising awareness and support for orphan children around the world. During their stay with us, I had occasion to relive that experience from 1999 by sharing the story with the girl who I thought was the one. As I talked with her and shared my remembrance, she realized that she was the one who sat next to me that cold morning. We were both convinced that she was the one as we reminded each other of details of that experience that we both had forgotten. That child’s name is Elizabeth Touthang.