“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”
Isaiah 61:1
Dear Family & Friends in Christ,
I want to thank you so much for your prayers. I am confident that because of your prayers, God has been moving and opening doors for ministry because He loves the people of this nation. I have much joy in sharing all that our great Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has been doing!
The ministry of Jesus was to heal the broken-hearted by restoring them to Himself, and this is what I have been witnessing. I visited a young man who is living a very broken life. He lives outside of the village because he is lower caste, and he has an addiction to alcohol. His daily wages are very small and he chooses to waste the wages on alcohol. He also has a very broken relationship with his parents because his parents are also addicted to alcohol. I have seen how this has been very destructive in their home and life. I am very thankful God gave me the opportunity to meet them and share with them about God and how much He loves them. As I shared the Gospel with this young man, I told him how much the Lord loves him. This young man is attempting to heal his heart through alcohol, but I shared with him that in the Word of God we can find the solution to everything because we find healing there. I am praying for this man and his family. As I continue to visit them, I am praying that the Word of God will transform their hearts and minds.
In one of the villages that I have been visiting during the past six months, I have been so blessed to see how God is transforming the people there! There was a back-slidden family who had not attended church for more than two years. They did not have a good understanding of God’s Word. The church that they attended did not properly teach the Bible. Instead, they taught the church members to place their focus on tithing and on what God could do for them. It has been wonderful to see God working and how interested in God’s Word this family has become! When I first met this man and his family, they would often say that they were busy or make other plans for Sunday and not be available for Sunday service.
However, now I have seen so much growth in their lives. They are eager to receive me on Sundays, and they have said they will not make other plans. They now put Sunday fellowship as a priority. I am blessed to see them growing and asking so many questions about the Lord and the Bible. After our teaching time, we spend time going over their questions and I am seeing changes in them. It is also really amazing to see them invite other family members to their home for church service! These sheep are bringing other sheep, and my heart is really blessed by all God is doing.
I am seeing God’s faithfulness through the people I am ministering to. They are all from the lowest caste and feel very rejected and unloved by society. As I share the Gospel, they are discovering the true and living God that loves them and does not see caste or economic status. The ground is level at the cross, and they are learning that they are perfectly loved by the Creator of the universe. They are learning that only Jesus Christ can heal their broken hearts.
Thank you for your prayers, my friends and family. I ask that you would please continue to pray.
Prayer Requests:
- Those I am meeting with are not baptized. Pray that as I teach them about baptism, they would have a good understanding and that God would prepare their hearts to want to receive baptism.
- Pray for traveling safety. The distance is far to these villages (93 miles by motorcycle). I usually return at night, and the weather is not good for motorcycle riding.
- Pray for open doors for future ministry. The villages that I have been visiting are along the highway, but I desire to go to the inner villages which are considered tribal and in extreme idolatry, very dark.
- Please pray that God will use me to bring light to these dark villages.
God bless,
Pastor 7*
*Names and faces have been changed or omitted for security reasons.