Sonlighter stories

We've enjoyed hearing from you about your Rice Bag Project experience.

(By sharing your stories and photos you give Mission India permission to publish this information on our website and/or in other print materials.)

New church plant Word of Truth Fellowship made their first mission project a fundraiser to help women in India learn to read and write!

Dan in Idaho emailed:

Our church (Word of Truth Fellowship in Idaho) decided to get involved with the Mission India Project about 8-9 weeks ago [pictured at right]. Our children in Sunday School decided to do chores and earn the money to give to the project, and our youth fixed baked goods and sold them at our potluck about two Sundays ago.

The adults were all gracious enough and even paid close to $8.00 for a piece of pie!!! All for a wonderful cause. We watched the video and many were moved to tears.

We are very excited to have been able to be part of this. We are a new church plant and this is our first mission project together. We will continue to pray for India and talk to the children, and our congregation, about any updates we receive.

The Cartwright family in Maryland wrote:

Our kids had a wonderful time doing this. We even decided to use the money we usually spend on presents among the extended family for helping out these women in India. God bless you for your great work.

Robbie & Cyndi in Indiana shared:

Our Sunday School Class (8 & 9 yrs) collected this for Mission India. As teachers, we were blessed to see how excited our students were for the opportunity to help others. May we all be so generous with our time and resources! We pray you meet your goal.

Cristen in New York said:

While rolling his coins for this project, my six year old son understood the importance of what he was doing. He said "Mommy, I am being a missionary right now!" I am thankful to Sonlight for their excellent curriculum and for this opportunity to help Mission India's literacy program. I pray God will bless many lives through this project. He has already blessed ours!

Tina in Florida emailed:

THANK YOU for the opportunity to participate. My little girls were so moved by the needs of these women that they emptied their piggy banks into the rice bag immediately and without hesitation!

McKenzie, 7, in Texas said:

Thank you for having this project. I am thankful about helping the women in India.

Leedy, 6, in New Mexico shared:

I hope somebody gets to school and starts learning about Jesus.

Hayden (left) and Carsi (right) spent hours making crafts to raise money for the Rice Bag Project!

Paula in Colorado wrote:

When we first read about Sonlight and Mission India, my boys, nine-year old Hayden and seven-year old Carsi [pictured at right], decided they wanted to help the women in India learn how to read and write. After watching the video and reading some of the weekly emails, their hearts went out to the people of India. Learning that they could make a difference in people's lives across the world was inspiring. During the eight week period, they made raising money for Mission India one of their top priorities. Hayden and Carsi wanted to help raise as much money as they could for Mission India.

Hayden and Carsi started their "mission" by collecting coins around the house. Since they knew where most of the loose change was stored (because they play with it), it wasn't long before they ran out of loose change to collect. We thought about going door-to-door and asking for donations, but we wanted to be able to "give" something in return for a donation. Then we came up with an idea to make crafts to "sell" for a small donation. The idea quickly materialized.

Hayden and Carsi spent days upon days and hours upon hours in their craft room making crafts for Mission India. They made suncatchers, perler bead creations, necklaces, colored canisters, and even a cloth face. Altogether they made over one-hundred crafts. They also contributed to their Mission India fund by donating money that they made from crushing/recycling cans and by cutting back on fast food costs whenever we went to town (e.g., they would either share their fries and drinks instead of each one getting his own, or they would skip eating fast food altogether whenever their little tummies would allow for it).

My kids are excited that Sonlight is going to match their funds dollar for dollar. They are happy that every $30 they "made" will teach not just one woman how to read and write, but two. And they want as many people in India as possible to be able to learn how to read and write.

This was a great experience for our family, and we hope that the efforts of all Sonlighters will make a continually growing difference in the lives of people in India.

Christine in Kentucky says:

Thanks so much for this oportunity to teach my children the simple act of giving to world missions. My oldest son was in a Missionary Lives class at our co-op and he was able to share about Mission India with his classmates as he also researched and shared about the life and work of Amy Carmichael. It was good to see that the work Amy started with mistreated girls is still being addressed for the women of India today. May God bless our small gift to set the oppressed free, in Jesus' name! Thanks for doubling it, Sonlight!!

The Neptune family in Texas shared:

We are thrilled to share a small part in giving the gift of literacy to the women of India loved by our heavenly Father. We will continue to lift up these families and all your efforts. Our hearts were deeply moved by what God is doing there and pray that many, many come to know Jesus!

Sara in Michigan says:

The boys [Mitchell, David, Trent, and Alex] had a great time learning about India and how the ladies live their lives. Even our 3 year old would find a piece of change on the ground and ask if he could put it in "the rice bag for the ladies."

Thank you for helping these women and teaching them about Christ. Thank you for this opportunity to help.

Amy in Ohio said:

We rounded waay up when we saw what it cost to educate one Indian woman so we could help even more! This is so exciting. We are also going to share the stories with some Catholics who believe all religions lead to Heaven and are acceptable to God. We hope there will be another project like this to do soon.

Rebecca in California shared:

Thanks for allowing us to participate. The program was so informative and really helped my child realize that with the smallest of sacrifices, we can make a difference in other people's lives.

Selling Rice Krispy treats hit a sweet spot for the Ramberg family as they raised money for their Rice Bags!

Beth in Virginia shared:

We decided to make and sell RICE Krispy Treats in order to raise some money for Mission India's RICE Bag project. Abigail and Jack [pictured at right] made the treats the night before and sold them on our street corner the next day. Many people stopped to buy a 25 cent treat and to learn about the Rice Bag project (and they were so generous)! The children raised about $34.

My daughter has said a few times that she hopes to travel to India one day to meet Meenaben. We watched the dvd twice and were very touched by it.

Thank you so much for this opportunity to serve and to learn more about India.

Lisa in Oregon says:

The kids each worked hard, 50 cents per page of extra math or grammar worksheets, extra typing and these above and beyond normal school responsibilities. They are thrilled to think of the women who might all be in the same little learning group and even be Bible study partners one day, meeting for tea and encouragement. Sonlight, you all put such a quality, wonderful opportunity together for us. Thank you!!!

The Brown family in California said:

Thank you so much for the opportunity to teach my children the value of giving. I hope we can do this again next year with Sonlight! We were a few dollars short of fifty and my children scrambled to their banks to make it an even fifty dollars. I hope next year we can organize ourselves better to make an even greater impact.

Nancy Jean in Texas shared:

Wow. This was great. Thank you for including us in this journey. We will pray that this is just a beginning for the women and children of India. We will pray that all the funds received are matched and used in the most pleasing of ways to glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Email us your photos and stories from the Rice Bag Project at sonlight@missionindia.org.