Dear Pastors, Supporters and Church Family,
Greetings to all of you from my church family. I want to thank God, Who has protected me and my church from every disease and from all kinds of the devil’s tricks. Also, I thank God that I have been working with Calvary Chapel for ten years! Calvary Chapel has always fulfilled our needs. They have been with us like family members in every situation. You continually pray for us. I appreciate your encouragement. I wish that someone was able to come visit my area; I am a little bit sad that no one has been able to come in almost 10 years. Thank you for your wonderful love and faith in me. God’s ministry is going on in 6 villages, by the grace of God. Along with the fellowships there are also Bible studies, and God is giving wisdom and knowledge to all of these people. They are deeply understanding the Word of God. Thank you for always remembering us in your prayers and encouraging us with the Word of God all the time.
This is an answer to 15 years of my prayers, and it’s an incredible day!
Thank God! My sister’s wedding was on February 28th. It was the answer to my family’s prayer. God met every single need, and I saw that God is truly faithful and fulfills every one of our needs beyond what we can imagine. When I went to talk about preparing for my sister’s wedding, I was thinking, “How will this marriage happen? It is too far away and there is not enough money.” No one supports my sister or parents monthly. But everything was accomplished in an orderly manner by God.
My sister’s new husband’s parents are Hindu, and they do not believe in the Lord. For a while they were against the marriage. But God put it on my sister’s husband’s heart, that they should be married, and he prepared for the marriage. He had attended Bible College, but, due to the lack of monthly finances, he started working in an outside industry. After he and my sister were married, he decided that they should serve the Lord and resigned from his job. Pray that God will fulfill their needs and guide their plans; may God bless them for their ministry.
Such a great joy that I have no words to describe it!
I had an incredible time with my dearest friends in the North. It was very nice to hear their testimonies, of what has happened with them during these past 3 years and how they are serving the Lord faithfully. Their testimonies were really the reason for so much excitement for me. Even after coming under persecution, one of my dear brothers stood with the Lord and faithfully worshiped the Lord. Spending time with him, camping and traveling was a blessing to me and to him.
No one visited these friends for almost 3 years. Since the persecution started, many people blocked them on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp because of fear. But when I went, they liked it very much. I also made a lot of memories that I will never forget. I was so happy to see my brother’s heart, and he helped with my sister’s marriage like it was his own sister’s wedding. God bless these friends!
Two more people were baptized last week!
Thank God that He has given me new believers. For the first time, they heard the Word through us, and now they believe in the Lord with all their heart and soul. Because fuel is so expensive, taxi fares have almost doubled; but still, these poor people come and listen to the Word of God and apply the Word of God in their lives. Lately, we have a Bible study from the Acts of the Apostles during Sunday fellowship and a Bible study from Genesis on Fridays. A lot of people believe. We thank God that the two women were baptized last week. One of the women is the mother of a boy who is suffering from a very strange disease, which I have written to you about many times. The second woman is the mother of another believer. When that believer told her mother that salvation was only through Jesus Christ, her mother believed and gave her life to the Lord and was baptized. Thank God that more than 42 people have been baptized so far!
A huge sacrifice for the Lord!
I thank God that He has given me the best church family in the world. Along with the uneducated, there are the poor, and the unemployed. They are very hungry and thirsty for God.
When people come to believe in the Lord, the people of their village society hate them and separate themselves from the believers. Many believers have also been excommunicated from their communities, becoming outcasts. Being out of cast means that no one will talk to them, nor do any kind of financial transaction or provide professional services. No one will attend their marriages or funerals. Still, I am very surprised to see the faith of these believers, that they even leave their village community family for the sake of the Lord. It is not an easy thing here.
My church is not registered yet; pray that I can get church registration. Then, I can make a case that the cemetery here is for all Christians and not just for two families. Or else, please pray that God will provide for us enough money to buy land for a separate cemetery for my church so that those who believe in God will not face any kind of problem at the last moment before death against their entire village community family. Also, it is very important for me to register so that if I have any problems in the present or future, then I can tell them that my church is registered. Because in this matter I can’t rely on any other person except God to help me.
Prayer requests;
1. Everyone please pray that the Lord will provide a cemetery for our church.
2. Pray that God will help us with the registration of our church if it is His will, and that I will be able to install a security camera in our church.
3. Please pray about the price of fuel; it is getting more expensive here every day, and about 30 to 40% of our support is going to pay for fuel.
4. Pray that my mother will be in good health.
5. I want to preach the Gospel at Easter time in an unreached area about 220 miles from my village. If the Lord wills, then He will help and meet our financial needs.
6. Pray for our believers to understand the Bible more deeply.
7. Pray for a movie projector. My projector has suddenly broken, due to an electrical power surge.
Thank you for your prayers, love, support and partnership for the Gospel!
God bless you all!
Pastor 11
*Names and faces have been changed or omitted for security reasons.