Is there anything better than seeing children smile and sing with joy? And especially when they are children from the slums of Kolkata, those who don’t go to school, but have to stay at home and work collecting garbage? These children have very little to rejoice about, as they live a hard life in severe poverty.

A few weeks ago, in December, we had the opportunity to organize several Christmas parties for hundreds of children in Kolkata. We brought the children to our church building and organized a real festival for them! We had balloons and decorations, music, dancing and our local pastor even shared a short Christmas message. Afterwards, we treated everyone to a big meal and the children each received a Christmas present from the church to take home.

What a joy it was to see the children so happy! These little events mean so much to them. Our pastor told us how one child, when she received her Christmas present, did not realize that it was really for her. She had never received a present in her life, but now something special had been prepared just for her. She received some toys, some hygiene items and a blanket for the winter season.

“Thank you so much for your generosity,” the pastor said afterwards with tears in his eyes. He knows what this really means to these children. They usually don’t get any attention, but now they heard the message of how Jesus was born for them and how God really cares for them.

Let’s keep these little ones up in our prayers!