Dear Friends,
Greetings to you all in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” (1 Corinthians 1:19)
Many times, we fall because we trust in our own wisdom and our own ideas. But we should remember this all becomes nothing without God. We need to have complete trust in the Lord. In the same way, I have had many shortcomings, but we thank God that He reminds us through His Word and helps us to move forward. At the same time, we acknowledge that our ministry partners are sacrificially praying and supporting our ministry. We uphold each one of you in our daily prayers and thoughts. Once again, I thank everyone for your partnership in the ministry.
In the state we live in, Christians are going through massive persecution. Hindu fanatic groups are threatening to force them to denounce their Christian faith and convert to the Hindu religion. If they refuse to denounce their faith, they threaten that the Christians will have to leave their villages or face dire consequences, even death. Many Christian tribal villagers were gravely assaulted and beaten with bamboo canes, tires, rods, etc. Many people had to be hospitalized with injuries, like a fractured collar bone, fractured wrists, etc. We all are living in fearful situations, but God is helping us to reach out to people in many ways.
In the past month, we were fully engaged with Christmas celebrations. On December 11, we had a wonderful Christmas program (above) with non-Christian children, and it was immensely joyful to involve the children in different activities.
On December 12, 13 and 14, we went Christmas caroling (above), and shared about Jesus by going door-to-door. We got very good responses from the people.
On December 17, as a church we celebrated Christmas on our church premises (above).
On December 22, we celebrated Christmas in the nursing home (above), followed by Christmas Eve and Watch Night services. Eventually, we had the great privilege of sharing the Gospel through Christmas caroling in the nursing home and showing Christ’s love.
Last Month, my wife’s school organized a Christmas program (above) and canteen day. She was a part of the organizing team. For her, it was a good time to teach the students how to interact with people.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for the Christians in our state. May their faith be strengthened in Jesus. In this difficult time of persecution, may God take care of His people. At the same time, pray that the fanatical group will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
- So far, we have been living in a rented house. By God’s mercy, one of our relatives gave us a piece of land. We began the construction work, but still have needs to be able to finish the work. Please pray for God to provide all of our needs.
- Please pray for Sister L; she is 6 months pregnant but not getting any help from her in-law’s family, who she lives with.
- Continue to pray for the growth and needs of our local church.
- Continue to pray for our CBI students and staff to have sound health and for the smooth functioning of our college.
- Kindly pray for me and my family, that the Lord will use us for the expansion of His kingdom.
Thank you very much for your prayers and support!
In Him,
Pastor 3* and Family
*Names and faces have been changed or omitted for security reasons.