The New Pathway

Monday 9 November 2009 was the inauguration ceremony for two new buildings at Pathway Agro-farm, which have been under construction the last two years.

One is a dormitory and the other classrooms for rehabilitation of physically and mentally handicapped children. The concept is to enrich the experience of both groups by combining them in a single facility. (See http://www.pathway-india.com/ for more of the story.)

Guests included the mayor of Chennai and several state officials who came with proper retinue of police and were welcomed with traditional "fife and drum", or shehnai and mridangam.

We chatted with Becky Douglas, the Mormon mom from Atlanta who founded the nearby Rising Star Outreach for children of lepers.

(Their story is dramatically told at www.RisingStarOutreach.com )

Though it is monsoon season, the weather held beautifully through the day. Just in case, a large tent had been prepared to protect the ceremony.

The program began with traditional dances from eight states in India, which students had practiced for weeks.

Beside state and local political leaders, speakers included a remarkable assemblage for a remote farm in rural India.
Judge William Sheffield, in search of meaning in his life, resigned the California Superior Court bench to enroll in Yale Divinity School. While in his studies, he discovered the Church of Jesus Christ has truly been restored in modern times.
Years later, while working as general counsel for the church in Asia, he was led to discover Pathway, which he proceeded to bring to the attention of President Hinckley and a number of other well-connected friends who have provided funding.

Bill Benac is a financial turn-around expert who has headed multiple multi-national mega-corporations, including EDS when it was spinning out from GM.

Gary Sabin, a multi-billion-dollar real estate developer from southern California, started the Sabin Children's Foundation to sponsor research on Cystic Fibrosis, since all of his children are affected by it. The foundation has since branched out to do projects of service to children in many places in the world.

A part of the duties of Presiding Bishop H. David Burton is responsibility for all the properties of the church worldwide.

He and his wife toured classrooms and met children.

Our warm fuzzy as Latter-day Saints Charities volunteers is to know we have some part in this substantial effort to help a bunch of children in India to become useful citizens and Saints.