Peace On Earth, Hope For All

December 2014 Newsletter

Peace On Earth, Hope For All

From our heart to yours,
wishing you a most blessed Christmas
and happy New Year.

GIVE A GIFT OF HOPE THIS CHRISTMAS

Feed the Hungry
Educate a Child
Medically Assist a Family

www.calcuttamercy.org/donate

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM CALCUTTA

MINISTRY NEWS: In January, we celebrated the 50th Golden Anniversary of our first school that commenced in January 1964 with 230 students. How grateful we are now that we have 32,000 students in over 100 schools. We also celebrated the construction of the new Buntain Theological College, fundraised by Brother Sam Johnson of Priority One Ministries. June 4th, I stood with pastors and hospital staff at my husband Mark’s grave. It was hard to believe that it has been 25 years since he left us so suddenly, but I am grateful that his vision for Calcutta and the 11 states where we have fast growing ministries under national leadership has become a reality.

FAMILY NEWS: I am grateful for BONNIE AND JIM for their involvement in our hospital and compassionate ministries. I am happy my younger daughter, MAUREEN, came with Bonnie for the Golden Anniversary school celebrations last January. My grandsons have been a blessing to the ministry. MARK is working alongside Bonnie with her Calcutta projects. DANIEL & MICHAELA have their own media business in California and have blessed us with their talents. Michaela is finishing her doctoral studies at Fuller Theological Seminary.  PAUL is in his second year as a resident doctor in the large Boston City Hospital, and his wife KATELYN is proceeding with her doctorate in Public Health at Boston University. They share a real burden for medical ministries in Calcutta.  

WITH GRATEFUL THANKS for your faithful monthly donations and for the kindness of pastors and churches where I was privileged to speak this year. I am also grateful to PASTOR IVAN AND SHEILA SATYAVARATA for their wonderful leadership in Calcutta, to SANJAY PRASAD and his wife RUHI for their efficient hospital leadership, to our CM President RANDY VALIMONT and wonderful staff for their continued hard work and support, and to Taryn Saxton and Nancy Gibson who facilitate my work, travel, and speaking engagements.

This year on October 6th marked 60 years since we landed in Calcutta for what we thought was one year of evangelistic ministry, but God had different plans for our lives.  

On behalf of Jim, Bonnie, myself, and all of our family, we wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas and blessed New Year.

LOVE AND APPRECIATION,

Huldah Buntain
Founder, Calcutta Mercy

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO OUR CALCUTTA MERCY FAMILY!

I don’t know about you, but I am counting down the days to Christmas. Besides the festive parties, warm fires, and lots of quality family time, we get to remember and celebrate the day the Lord come down to earth, to bring us back to God. What a wonder. What a gift. Joy to the world, indeed!

This year has been a great blessing for the ministry in Calcutta as we’ve seen our ministries fully funded and transforming many hearts and lives. At our hospital and clinics, we treated 40,000 more patients, free-of-charge. Many of these were children with debilitating cleft palates who are now able to breathe easy and smile big; children with dangerous heart deformities who can now anticipate many more years of life instead of just months; and children with thalassemia and leukemia who have confidently returned to school, with the assurance of monthly blood transfusions.

Meanwhile, our feeding program continues to feed thousands a day, and our schools are expanding further into 11 states of India, most notably our Mercy Schools that educate young impoverished children in highly-illiterate village communities.

Suffice it to say, God continues to be faithful to the work he began here 60 years ago. Because of Him and the hearts He moves to give and serve, it is like Christmas all-year-round in Calcutta. Thank you for the part you’ve played this year in the ministry. We remember you with joy this season and pray you have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

For the Children,

Randy Valimont
President, Calcutta Mercy

Biggest Birthday Ever

October 2014 Newsletter

Let's Give Aunty Her Biggest Birthday Ever!

Coming up on November 21st, Calcutta Mercy’s founder, Aunty Huldah Buntain, turns 90!
We cannot think of a better way to celebrate her birthday than by asking friends and supporters to send in birthday wishes and favorite memories that we will combine in a memorable scrapbook.

Please send your birthday cards or special notes to:   P.O. Box S, Griffin, GA 30224
   Alternatively, e-mail your birthday wish to:   danielle@calcuttamercy.org

Give The Perfect Gift

We would love to be able to tell Aunty that a total of $25,000 was given to the poor in Calcutta in honor of her 90th birthday. To donate, return the enclosed response card or visit www.calcuttamercy.org/donate.

900 people who give $9 for feeding

90 people who give $90 for education

9 people who give $900 for medical

Join us in making this a birthday she'll never forget!

Do Something Beautiful This Mother's Day

May 2014 Newsletter

Do something beautiful this Mother's Day.
Give hope to a mother by giving her child a future.
Sponsor a child's education.

Three Reasons To Give:
35 million children in India are not educated

EDUCATION GIVES PURPOSE
Uneducated children fall victim to drugs, begging, child labor, and early-arranged marriage. Education inspires a child's creativity and learning, and gives direction to their lives.

EDUCATION BRINGS OPPORTUNITY
Children who cannot read and write are largely unemployable. Education allows a child to escape poverty and pursue their dreams.

EDUCATION STRENGTHENS COMMUNITIES
A lack of education contributes more than any other factor to the sluggish development of a country. Education provides increased civic involvement, good health, hygiene, gender equality, and economic stability.
 

Saving Mercy

April 2014 Newsletter

The Lord is good to all. And his mercy is over all that he has made.
(Psalm 145:9)

Gender preference is a large problem in India today. Boys are often prized over girls for their greater potential to earn for the family. Adding to this, to marry off a daughter, a family may need to pay an expensive dowry to the groom’s family. It is no wonder then that girls are regarded as a drain on a family’s resources.

Early last month, a couple brought their premature 24-week-old baby girl to Mercy Hospital, while sending her twin brother to a more-costly private hospital for preferential care. Those first few days, we were not sure if the baby would make it. We offered up prayers as doctors and nurses delivered incredible care. A month later, we are blessed beyond words to still have “Baby Mercy” with us. Mercy is off of the ventilator, breathing on her own, and miraculously, she doesn’t have any physical problems. She is our tiny miracle baby here in Calcutta, and we thank God for her continued strength and weight gain.

Every child, male and female, is precious in God’s sight. He created each with gifts of love and service that must never put to shame or disuse. When you give to CMM, you proclaim God’s truths about children to families who desperately need to hear them.

Please continue to pray for Baby Mercy and her family.

Pick Up A Copy

The April 2014 edition of Charisma Magazine spotlights Calcutta Mercy Ministries as their cover and feature article! Please pray that this exposure will bring greater awareness and support to the needs of the poor in Calcutta. To preview and pick up a copy, visit: www.charismamag.com/magazine

A Cause For Applause

This January, over 2,000 students, alumni, and supporters across the globe gathered in Calcutta to celebrate the 60th year anniversary of our ministry in India, and the 50th year anniversary of our investment in children’s education.

On any given day in Calcutta, impoverished children loiter in alleyways, forage around train tracks, and work in their parents’ tea stalls rather than attending school. Their parents, earning less than $1 or $2 a day, simply cannot afford school fees, uniforms, and textbooks. CMM resolved to make a difference in these children’s lives beginning in 1964 with the opening of an elementary school on Calcutta’s Park Street. That year, 230 disadvantaged children enrolled and embarked on an exciting adventure of discovery and new opportunity. 50 years later, our education network includes over 100 schools with a total enrollment of 32,000 students.

Alongside our Anniversary celebrations, CMM received a wonderful surprise with the release of an article in the Times of India. The newspaper had conducted a School Ranking Survey that placed our Park Street School as third best in education in all of Central Calcutta, and our Tollygunge school as third best in all of South Calcutta. Following this, our Park Street School came fourth in a recent International Market research survey of 170 schools. Thank you for making these wonderful achievements possible. Thank you for giving to Calcutta.

35 Million Minus Me

March 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends of Calcutta,

India today is home to 400 million children. This number is higher than that of the entire U.S.
population! Sadly, of these 400 million children, at least 35 million remain uneducated. “Building
a Better India by Building Better Boys and Girls” has been CMM’s mantra for children’s education
since its beginnings in 1954. Beginning with our first elementary school in 1964, we now have
over 100 primary and secondary schools providing education to 32,000 children. This is an
amazing testimony to the faithful partnership of our worldwide supporters. Thank you for
making a noticeable difference in children’s lives. Thank you for building a better India.

For the Children,

Randy Valimont
President
Calcutta Mercy Ministries

Here's To 60 More!

February 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

2014 is a celebratory year for us as we commemorate 60 years of ministry in India. In 1954, founders Mark and Huldah Buntain left a New York harbor and circumnavigated half the globe before settling into a bustling harbor in Calcutta. There they began a faithful pursuit of a seemingly daunting task: to reach Calcutta with the love of Christ and be the hands and feet of Jesus to a city that seemed hopelessly entrenched in poverty.

Calcutta Mercy Ministries, then and today, takes its cues from Jesus, who walked with the poor, spoke truth into their lives, and addressed their most pressing needs. The most pressing needs in Calcutta are basic, but of most importance. People are hungry, people are unwell, and children lack access to education. Feeding, educating, and medically assisting the poor are our primary ministries at CMM, because they have to be.

Every year, we provide free medical treatment to 40,000 people living in poverty.

Every day, 25,000 people receive a free hot meal through our feeding program.

Over 100 CMM schools provide primary education, secondary education, and technical training to disadvantaged children and young adults.

This year, we want to do more to ensure that the ministry continues for another 60 years. One focus is raising up a well-trained team of national leaders, many of whom are graduates of CMM’s Bible, nursing, and teacher’s training schools. Another is raising the funds to make significant upgrades to our general hospital so that patients may continue to receive the highest quality of care. Upgrades will include a new fire safety system, electrical system, and cafeteria.

God is alive and actively at work in Calcutta - the City of Joy. We invite you to join us in sharing His heart for the needy and participating in what He is doing for the “least of these” in India.

For the Children,

Randy Valimont, President
Calcutta Mercy Ministries

A Gift of Hope & Transformation

January 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends of Calcutta,

With a new year comes new opportunity. What if this year, we resolved to give someone else opportunity – a chance to go to school, repair a life-long deformity, or wake up each day to a meal that does not depend on the number of rupees in their pocket. Join us this month in giving to feed, educate, and medically assist those in need in Calcutta. Let us make this year incredible for them, in the name of the loving God we serve and share.

Sincerely,

Dr. Randy Valimont
President, Calcutta Mercy