Operation Princess..Helping Orphan Girls in India Feel Cherished

I read about this on my friend Holly's blog. I am so moved by this woman and her ministry. I have been in contact with Leslie and I have her address here in the US for anyone who would like to donate dresses or jewelry. Just leave a comment or send me an e-mail and I will get her info to you. This is Sarah's blog link to learn more about the children she cares for. www.sarahscovenanthomes.blogspot.com

Here is Sarah's post:

Silver and Gold Have I... (Operation Princess)

In the past few days, I've gotten a lot of e-mails and comments asking for practical (and not-so-practical) things people could send to our children. There IS something on my heart! It leans toward the not-so-practical, so bear with me and hear my heart...

I want to make the girls feel beautiful.

Before we picked up the first group of kids a year ago, I talked with 9-yr-old Hannah briefly. She said, "Are you taking me to your hostel?" I nodded. She said, "Can I go to school? Will you buy me bangles? Can I get my ears pierced?" I got teary-eyed and told her, "Yes, absolutely." It was important to Hannah to be a 'regular kid' and to feel beautiful.

Here's Hannah following her first day of school (Feb '08), and, below, on Christmas 2008 showing off her new watch.

So far we've done everything but the ear-piercing (she's wearing the non-pierced kind in the Christmas pic), and it's just because we haven't found a place in town that I know will do it in a sterile way.

Is this a 'need'? I think so. Jewelry may not be super-important to me or in my culture, but to the vast majority of Indian girls and women, jewelry is inestimably important. It says to the world "My Daddy (or my husband) loves me. He thinks I'm valuable and I have worth. He spends money on me, and he cares that I look beautiful." There's not a day of her life that an Indian girl doesn't wear her gold and silver.

Our SCH girls (all but Wendy) do NOT have their ears pierced, because they're orphans (in the world's eyes). They have no daddy, and without jewelry, that's all the more obvious to everyone around them. I don't want it to be that way.

When our eldest daughter Simona started in at a local school, her ears were not pierced (we'd had it done for her twice, but her sensitive ears had gotten infected). Kids teased her and made her cry, teachers asked about it daily...it was a BIG DEAL to everyone. We got her ears re-pierced on our next trip to the States, and made sure my little girls' were pierced before they started school. It was important to me to meet that need for them, and as an Indian man, it has always been even more important to my husband to take care of our girls in that way.

The bit of scripture floating through my mind is "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee." In Acts 3, Peter and John said that. To whom? To the beggar--the handicapped, family-less beggar--sitting (where?) at the temple gate called Beautiful. The beggar was asking for a few coins to meet a few practical needs, but the apostles saw deeper than that. They SAW the man ("And Peter looked straight at him, as did John..."). They saw him and acknowledged his deeper need to feel normal, whole, and beautiful, to be accepted and included in society, not to be a beggar anymore, to feel SEEN and worthy of attention from a good and loving Father.

My heart is to give all my children (but right now my heart is bleeding for my girls, in particular) the feeling that they are seen, they are wanted, they are worthy, they are beautiful, they can go IN to the Father because they BELONG.

I have not seen a whole lot of divine healing through my personal prayers, and I will persist in believing for and pressing into that, but I do have silver and gold. I have it by faith, which came by hearing the word of the Lord and which stays by remembering that word. The Lord said He has taken great pains to provide it for this work, and I want to lavish it on his little girls right now.

I want you to send me your daughters' Christmas and Easter dresses, flower girl dresses, 8th-grade graduation dresses, etc. (sizes 2-16, with the majority of girls in the 8-14 size range). Pretty, frilly dresses (girls here wear these every day and love them). Dresses that cover the knees at least and have some type of sleeves are best in the upper (10 & up) age range. They should be either new or slightly used (something you could still get a good price on ebay for).

And I want TWO professional ear-piercing guns. And I want piercing studs--at least 22 pairs-- real gold. And any other gold and silver jewelry you feel led to donate (gold chains, children's gold rings, etc.). And I want money to buy each girl a set of jingly silver ankle bracelets (about $20/child).

Why should they not get the very, very best?

God met the felt need of the beggar at the gate (He's so GOOD at that!)--even beyond what he asked for and probably even felt he deserved. The man's heart was instantly flooded with Love for the King. And the testimony was so powerful to all around. Let's show the world that Daddy loves His girls.

"Silver and gold have I, and such as I have give I thee."

(Down to practicals: ankle-bracelet donations can be made online (click 'donate') and the other things can be collected and (if you're closer to the US than India) sent to Theresa's home address (e-mail me for it at sarahscovenanthomes@ymail.com) and she or Julie and team can carry these over in June. Contact me if you would prefer to send the items directly to India.)

Posted by sarah bess at 2:49 PM