Dear Pastor, Leaders, Supporters and Church Family,
Thank God that He is truly great, living, gracious and mighty. He makes the impossible possible and keeps everyone out of trouble.
How God Saved Us From Being Killed or Imprisoned by a Phone Call
“As a lion drags the wicked into his bush, so does the wicked lie in ambush; He keeps ambush to catch the day, he drags the day into his net, and then captures it.“
Psalm 10:9
I thank God that He is really great, loving, and ever loving. Every Monday, there is a house church which we started about two or three years ago. About 10 people were baptized there. Many others also come to hear the Gospel. As I was preaching from the book of Acts about how God’s work was progressing, there was a lot of opposition. The same thing happened when we preached from Acts here also.
When we used to go to our house church every Monday, some upper caste people used to watch us attentively. When they inquired about us, they came to know that we are preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of this, they became angry and misguided the people of the village against us. In the beginning of the month of August on Monday, they were waiting on our way to the village to kill me and my father.
But some good people of the village came to know that they were waiting on the way to kill us. They then went and told the people of our house church. Right when we were about to leave on Monday to preach at the house church, a call came from the village. They told us everything, and told us not to come.
I thank God for saving us from getting killed, beaten, or going to jail. The fellowship there is still going on. The people there who are established believers have all been continuing to have fellowship together, studying the Word of God verse by verse. All of us, together, have decided that we will start the house church again in a certain village that is next to that village.
God Has Given an Evangelist Who, Even at the Risk of Her Life, Preaches the Gospel!
I thank God that He is strengthening my church members in their faith and in the Word of God. Ever since we started Bible study and started preaching the whole Bible without leaving out a single word, the people of my church are understanding deeply and preaching the Gospel very well. Through them, many new people come to our church.
One such woman from my church, who I have shared about many times in prayer requests and newsletters, is R*. She is completely illiterate. I tried to educate her, but his mother-in-law protested a lot. She very firmly narrates the Word of God and all the news in the village.
This month, she went to the bank for some business. There she recited the Word of God among the ladies and the staff. The security guards of the bank saw her t preaching the Gospel. Because of this, they harassed her and took away everything from her, including her bank passbook and ID card. Later, after many requests, the bankers returned her bank passbook and ID card and warned that she may never come to the bank again. Thank God that they didn’t call the police.
She is even now continuing to preach the Gospel with steadfastness and adding so many new people to our church. Please will all of you pray that God will use this sister more and may she continue to preach the Good News with steadfastness. Our house church goes on at her house every Tuesday, please pray that it will always keep going.
I Had a Very Nice Time at a Medical Refresher Camp
Thank God that He gave me the opportunity to attend a medical refresher camp for 3 days. This training is very beneficial for me because of the area in which I serve. The people here are very illiterate. They do not know anything about physical health. 50% of village women have child birth at home, because they have a wrong belief that if they go to the hospital, the doctor will replace their son with a daughter. Rural women do not know anything about cleanliness. They do not keep their children clean, nor do they cook food properly. Because of this, they get sick and go to the local practitioner doctor. Even when they have a viral fever the doctor treats them by injecting antibiotics and charges them thousands of rupees.
If someone is bitten by a snake, people go straight to witchcraft. If they were bitten by a non-poisonous snake, then they are okay. But many times, because the snakes are poisonous, they die before being able to see a doctor. For this reason, I always run awareness campaigns among the villagers, so that people can understand and go directly to the doctor.
By receiving training, I learned a lot about medical things. I also learned how to do many tests including blood pressure, blood sugar, temperature; to check for malnutrition, and anemia; to perform eye examinations; and to tie crepe bandages. Whenever I go to rural areas to host church services, I continuously teach people health, along with the Bible, so that people’s bodies can be helped as well as their souls saved. Many people listen to my words, follow them, and remain safe from disease.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for the pastors of the North. During the first week of August, I met with them. May God give them protection and also provide pastor 12* with land or a house for God’s church. Pastor 12’s landlady stops his Sunday services and prevents believers from entering his house. He has been talking to many people to find another place to rent, but he is not finding a place for the church. Whenever the police arrest people while their is a church service, they also take action against the landlord.This is why no one wants to rent a room to Christians. Pray that the Lord will provide a house, land, or rented room if it is God’s will.
- Please pray and pray for the members of our church. May God give them protection. Especially pray on Mondays (for the Monday church service). Some upper caste people of the village where the church used to run are persecuting those who believe in Jesus.
- Please keep praying that our church can be registered.
- Please pray. There are many Hindu festivals during these few months. During them, Hindu people have processions. Processions keep attacking many churches.
- Please pray this month for two churches that were attacked and their pastor. The pastor was badly beaten and is in the hospital.
- Some pastors from the south are planning to come to visit. May God protect them.
- Please pray for my little sister. She is coming to my house for about 3 weeks with some of her friends. We are planning to preach the Gospel together in more than 10 villages. May God fulfill our financial needs and may He help us all keep away from evil people.
- Please pray for my area. It is getting very hot here. The electricity is cut off at any time. May God arrange for an inverter and battery.
Thanks for your Christian love, support, prayers, and partnership in the Gospel.
God bless all!
Pastor 11
*Names and faces have been changed or omitted for security reasons.