Greeting to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am doing good by God’s grace. Thank you for your prayers and support.

It is is a joy to see church members and Bible Institute students growing in the knowledge of the Word of God. We had a Bible quiz competition. It was a written test that was organized by a national organization. Members from many churches in our district participated in it. One of our church members one first prize out of the whole district and another won third prize! The man who got first place is a student from our Bible institute who is going to graduate next month.

It is such a great reward for me to see the fruit of our hard work teaching the Word of God to our students and to those in our church. They are growing in their faith and knowledge of the Word and the result is evident.

I can look back and see the importance for growing in Christ and in the Word of God. Three families of our church are from a nearby village. A few years ago, they went through so much persecution in their village. Many people from their village who had accepted Christ and were part of other churches turned their back from their decision. However these believers, who attend our church, stood firm and faced the persecution. They were excommunicated from their tribe (Hindus have many tribes) and were denied any privilege in their village. They were not allowed to talk to other people or buy basic necessities from their village shops. In spite of all this, they stood firm in their faith. I think that one of the main reasons is that their faith is grounded in true knowledge of the Lord according to the Word of God. This encourages me to work even harder to minister to them from the Word of God.

We had planned to do some Christmas programs and outreaches in December. However, we were not able to do all of them because were not given permission by the local government officials. Last year an anti-Christian government came into power in our state.

I was invited to be a guest speaker for a Christmas program at a Christian school. The students of that school performed a really beautiful dance and skit. Then I was given time to address the students and teachers. I shared the real Gospel message to the students and staff of the school. Most of the students and staff are non-Christians. Even the principal is not a Christian. I thank God for the opportunity that I got. I pray that the seed planted in their hearts will grow and that they will be saved.

Prayer Requests:

• Pray that God will continue to use me among the students, church members and community.
• Pray for my health. May God give me complete healing. I have a dust allergy and my town has a lot of dust.
• Pray for the students and staff of the school who have heard the Gospel.
• Pray for a revival in our town. May it become a Christian town. Pray that the Lord will open doors for us to share the Gospel.
• Pray for the growth of our church.

In His service,

Pastor 9

* Names and faces have been changed or omitted for security reasons.