It is a great joy to me to convey what we are doing as a team here! During the semester break I got to visit my home and spent some quality time with my family. After spending a few days with my family, I thought there should be another reason that God sent me back to my home state again during that specific time, so I started to pray for opportunities to go and teach the Word. As the days passed by, I was attending Sunday church services in local areas and every week I went to church my heart was broken (literally, as I saw the superstition) to see the way they worship our God and to hear about all their prosperity teachings.
 
 
   I also learned about a 24 year old Christian who is a pastor of a small church. He has a passion for ministry, but doesn’t have proper knowledge about what the Bible highlights. He graduated from a local Bible College where they emphasize material blessings (prosperity Gospel) and also seemed to have some other untrue teachings. He has a heart to learn. I felt that he just didn’t have good teaching. He is teaching the things he learned in his Bible College. So, I tried to learn more about him. I got to listen to his testimony, which is very inspirational!
   This is part of his testimony; After Bible College, he saw how his leaders were wrongly idolizing their higher authorities so he didn’t join with them or with any other denominations for support- though he was asked by different local Christian leaders many times to join with them. I saw how sincerely he wanted to serve God. I asked him if I could teach in his church on one Sunday and he said, “Yes, whenever you can.” I thanked our Lord for that opportunity.
 
   One of this brother’s relatives accepted Christ and opened her house to organize a place for church service every Sunday.
   However, there is a great sacrifice behind it. This is the only room she has, one part of it is the kitchen, and the rest is the living area and the bedroom as well. There are many who have bigger places, but this woman has a big heart to accommodate the believers.
   Also, this young Pastor served in many other local areas, but because of his family responsibilities (it’s cultural) he is unable to continue to go to nearby villages to preach and organize church services with the believers. I ask you all to join your prayers along with mine; for him to have opportunities to learn about God in a proper way and serve God mightily.
 I also had a second opportunity that God gave me during my semester break. I was so encouraged to meet another pastor and the ministry he is blessed with! He has been in the ministry for the past eighteen years, but the remote village people he is working with have become so stubborn about Christianity that they are not taking God and the Gospel seriously. They are treating it as just another religion.

   Also, because of many other local pastors’ teaching (usually big pastors conduct open air meetings, somewhat like healing crusades, to teach and collect large sums of money) many believers became “Cruisters”.  Only twice in a year they come to church ( for Easter and Christmas) and only then the church will be packed with believers. These believers are fading away in their spiritual life, so while I was there I encouraged them from 2 Peter 1: 1-11 to keep going and keep growing in our Lord. You can see a whole new beautiful generation (the kids) in the picture and I am requesting you all to take time to pray for them- that they will choose to follow Jesus when they become adults.

 
 The family you see to the right believes that God called them to this remote area for His purpose, and so no matter how hard it is to serve there they are consistently trying to reach people. Please pray for them.
 
   As I am travelling to different villages, one of the strong points I am confronting always with people is Caste system. Most of the communities here believe that Jesus Christ is the God for lower caste people, so it is a big deal to these people for a higher caste person to accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. As this family is living and doing ministry among higher caste people, please pray that they may not get discouraged with their target.
 
   I am holding my hands together while I beseech you all, my team that prays for me, to pray that I may see the urgency of  the Gospel and the necessity of rightly dividing the Word of God in the places that God is sending me. This is what God spoke to my heart during this semester break: “as long as I am willing to serve voluntarily, He would bless me with as many opportunities as I ask”.
 
God bless you,
Pastor 7*
 
*Names have been changed or omitted for security reasons.