Praise the Lord!
First of all, I would like to thank God for everything. He is doing great things in my life and ministry.
Secondly, I would like to thank my leaders, financial partners and prayer supporters. Thank you for all of your contributions in my life.
The last two months here were very busy within different areas in the campus. Last semester, I was teaching the Gospel of Luke. Our students were really encouraged by the book and the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. As always, my heart is to reach the unreached people. When my students come and say they are blessed by my teaching, that gives me joy in the Lord.
Most of our students are from an area that is very difficult to reach. But, the Lord is in control. He is the one who enabled me to serve in that area for seven years. When I look back on those years, I am reminded of how God protected us from persecution there. A few times, I had to run away from the places where we were doing baptisms. A few of our current students have had to flee to the forest with their families as a result of persecution. But all of those times, God is our Comforter. A few of our students have already studied in a Bible College, but after coming to our college they are really blessed to learn the Bible book by book and chapter by chapter. On occasion, I like to spend time with students in my home over coffee to talk about what the Lord is doing in their lives and to share stories about the ministry.
Last month, I was so happy to see our Northern team come to our Southern campus. We had a great time encouraging each other with the things God is doing in our lives and ministry. Our staff and students had a special day at the beach together, which was a highlight for everyone!
The town we are living in now is a small community. It consists of 75 families; virtually none of them are believers. Out of 75 families, we and one other family next to us are the only Christians. I have been working with the local people and sharing the love of Jesus. Many times, they listen to me. This is my prayer, that the message they have heard will work in their hearts and in the coming days they will come to know the love of God. As a result of sharing the Gospel around the area we live, a few weeks ago, one man came to our fellowship. I invited him to our house for coffee, and we had some good conversation. He said he was really happy to come to our church. A few more locals have also been coming for our midweek Bible study. This is a big praise report for our area! As you will see below, the Christian climate in South Asia has become increasingly hostile, and small steps forward are big causes for praise!
If you google “Current situation of Christianity in ____(our country)”, here are some interesting facts and needs for prayer that you will find:
1) The Church’s growth presents many needs, especially in matters of discipleship and leadership development. The systematic targeting of the Church by radicals of the Hindu religion also brings to the surface other needs, like preparing the Church to respond positively to the onslaught of persecution and a need for greater unity and cooperation between the various denominations.
2) People in the majority Hindu religion here see Christians as a threat to the nation (because of their growth in numbers). The number of violent incidents in which Christians have been attacked has gone up dramatically since the religious political party took over power and their candidate became our country’s leader. Since the government refuses to take proper action, radicals feel they can attack Christians without fear of repercussion.
3) Discrimination is very common in our country, and it is based on the age-old caste system. It affects Christians all over the country because most converts to Christianity come from the lower castes or from the “Untouchables”. By converting to Christianity, they hope to be freed from societal discrimination. But, these new Christians soon experience that the caste system even permeates the Christian community. This partly explains why the “Homecoming” campaigns by radicals in the majority religion have been effective. (In this movement, people who have been converted from Hinduism to Christianity are encouraged/threatened to return to the majority religion.)
4) Christian organizations are targeted for detailed interrogation by different Government departments (e.g. by the income tax office and intelligence bureaus) in attempts to find faults and accuse them of being involved in anti-national activity (especially concerning conversions to Christianity).
5) There is a significant increase in the number of local pro-Hindu political groups and youth wings, plus an increased number of open meetings and camps where youngsters are educated in nationalism and are encouraged to display hatred towards other religions, such as Christianity.
6) There is an increasing emphasis on the Hindu religion in public schools.
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for unity among the staff. Many times, the devil has tried to distract us.
Please pray for new student recruitments for the next semester.
Pray for the students who have gone back to their homes and villages. Pray that they will reach their places with the Gospel.
Please pray for my daughter’s education. She finished high school, and the result came yesterday that she passed with a 90%. Thanks for all of your prayers. She wants to go to college to be a nurse. Please pray for all of the financial needs for her studies. It will cost around 10,000 USD. This includes fees and her boarding for 4 years of her studies.
God bless you,
Pastor 5 and Family
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