Pastor G Samuel and his wife Laisha have established three orphanages through Bethesda Mission which is based in the Nilgiris Hills. He has a huge heart for the children, all of who call him ‘father’. Samuel himself was an orphan and it has been his dream to share God’s love with children in the same predicament. Our Sunday Chai Cafe raises profits for these orphanages and displays wall photos of some of the children.

The orphanage at Coonor is located at Samuel and Laisha’s home which overlooks a tea plantation. In total he and Laisha take care of 38 children of varying ages.  The house at Pandular is for boys only and at present 18 boys call it home and they are cared for by a couple that live on-site. Recently an extension has been built on the house and this will provide a more comfortable environment for the children. The third orphanage where 37 boys and girls live is located in Erumad, a largely rural area. They are also cared for by a pastor and his wife who oversee the running of the house. At the time of our expansion here at the Vineyard Centre we also raised the money to build a life centre in Govindapuram to facilitate further ministries.

Apart from all this Samuel and his congregation also reach out to poor remote villages in the Nilgris Hills, providing them with practical assistance such as food and clothing. There are plans to put into place a support network for those individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS. We have been supporting Bethesda Mission since 1997 but have more recently increased our budgeted giving in order to assist this new initiative.

Vineyard Involvement
Apart from on-going financial support, teams have also visited on several occasions, continuing to build relationships with the children and unite with Pastor Samuel in the work that he is doing. In March 2006 a team of 15 lead by Chris Lane travelled to the Nilgiris Hills and spent time in each of the orphanages, getting to know the children and putting on various events. Samuel held a special foundation stone laying ceremony for the life centre at Govindapuram during which he honoured the team and our church for our on-going support.

Watch the video Pastor Samuel made for us on our Video Gallery