Today we arrived back in the UK after a 10 hour flight from Chennai. It's hard to believe that this morning we were standing in Indian sunshine and now, as I look out the window, I can see dark clouds and English rain!!
Looking back over the past week or so, it is clear to see God's hand and perfect timing in all that went on. During our coaching sessions we averaged 70 kids coming along every day, with over 100 coming along at the weekend. The children were from a variety of backgrounds and it was fantastic to see them come along. Each day we supplied transport, drinks and breakfast for everyone, with coaching sessions lasting around three hours per day. Each session was followed by a talk from Rob, which proved to be very popular.
Apart from participating in the football programme, during our time in Chennai we also donated 30 footballs to Christ Church to set up their ongoing football outreach programme, 10 footballs to the Christian Sports Fellowship and another 10 to a local Hindu fishing community, where the kids play football on the beach but don't actually have any proper equipment. It is our hope that they will start to come along to the outreach at Christ Church. We also donated 53 full kits to Christ Church and another 60 kits to the Christian Sports Fellowship, along with 24 cricket shirts. We donated further equipment to Christ Church to allow them to set up their programme and made financial donations to all of the organisations we partnered with during our visit to support them in what they are doing and to allow them to carry on their great work, in particular the Dr John Joseph Foundation, who are doing remarkable work in the city.
In terms of future plans, we would love to carry on the work which we have started in Chennai, supporting the football outreach programme at Christ Church in particular and also working alongside the Dr John Jospeh Foundation and the Christian Sports Fellowship. We hope to go back to India next year so if you fancy coming along to see what we get up to out there please let us know - we'd love to bring you along (just make sure you pack your football boots!).
We would really like to thank you for following our blog and for all of your support over the last weeks and months. It's great to know that so many people have been interested in this project and we hope that you will remember the Jim and the Onside project and all of our partner organisations in your prayers.
Thank you and God bless,
Rob and Paul
Looking back over the past week or so, it is clear to see God's hand and perfect timing in all that went on. During our coaching sessions we averaged 70 kids coming along every day, with over 100 coming along at the weekend. The children were from a variety of backgrounds and it was fantastic to see them come along. Each day we supplied transport, drinks and breakfast for everyone, with coaching sessions lasting around three hours per day. Each session was followed by a talk from Rob, which proved to be very popular.
Apart from participating in the football programme, during our time in Chennai we also donated 30 footballs to Christ Church to set up their ongoing football outreach programme, 10 footballs to the Christian Sports Fellowship and another 10 to a local Hindu fishing community, where the kids play football on the beach but don't actually have any proper equipment. It is our hope that they will start to come along to the outreach at Christ Church. We also donated 53 full kits to Christ Church and another 60 kits to the Christian Sports Fellowship, along with 24 cricket shirts. We donated further equipment to Christ Church to allow them to set up their programme and made financial donations to all of the organisations we partnered with during our visit to support them in what they are doing and to allow them to carry on their great work, in particular the Dr John Joseph Foundation, who are doing remarkable work in the city.
In terms of future plans, we would love to carry on the work which we have started in Chennai, supporting the football outreach programme at Christ Church in particular and also working alongside the Dr John Jospeh Foundation and the Christian Sports Fellowship. We hope to go back to India next year so if you fancy coming along to see what we get up to out there please let us know - we'd love to bring you along (just make sure you pack your football boots!).
We would really like to thank you for following our blog and for all of your support over the last weeks and months. It's great to know that so many people have been interested in this project and we hope that you will remember the Jim and the Onside project and all of our partner organisations in your prayers.
Thank you and God bless,
Rob and Paul
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