Dear Team and Family in Christ,

Thank you so much for your faithfulness in praying for me and for all the work that our Lord is doing. Please know that your prayers are the fuel for us to continue in the Kingdom work the Lord has set before us. God has been so faithful! He continues to open doors to visit new villages and meet new people–new people who need to hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I am visiting new villages and regularly returning to other villages, the children that I meet are really on my heart. There have been many opportunities to build relationships with the parents of the children, to get to know them and build trust. Because of that, the parents feel comfortable and allow me to minister to their children as well. There are times when I visit these families and the adults are busy working on the farm and are not able to meet with me. At those times, the parents let their children participate in the children’s ministry. We take the time to introduce them to Jesus and share stories from the Bible with them.

I recently met a young boy who really stood out to me. When I first saw this boy (left), I could see he was strongly influenced by Hinduism. He was wearing tika and bottu on his face. These markings represent having much faith in an idol. They are an outward sign that the person believes in a particular god and is showing reverence towards it. He seemed to keep a distance, because he knew that I was not Hindu and that I was from a different religion. My heart broke for this boy. With love, we invited him to gather with us and join the rest of the children. However, he continued to keep a distance from us. I am praying to have an opportunity to explain to him about the true and living God.

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” 1 John 5:21

In Hinduism, there are many reasons why people offer sacrifices to their gods. Sometimes they offer a sacrifice because it is a special occasion, like a festival or celebration. Sometimes if there is an illness, loss of crops, or a situation that is not going well in the home, the people will offer a sacrifice to try to win favor with the gods or goddesses and please them. Based on their financial status, they will sacrifice sheep, goats, or even chickens. The families who have very little money, will spend a whole lot of their wages to make a 2-3 day trip to a temple to offer a sacrifice to an idol who will do nothing for them. Their children are learning to bow down to these false gods, worship them, and seek their favor and protection. Influenced by their parent’s idolatry, the children do whatever their parents tell them to do. Since the parents are in total darkness, they are passing on their idolatry to the next generation. 

I feel great compassion and urgency to tell them about the true and living God–the Creator of the universe. If the enemy is actively working to keep these adults and their children in darkness, how much more should I be telling them about Jesus?!

Judges 2:10 says “…another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.” Just like the generation in the book of Judges who did not know God, this generation that I am working with in the villages has forgotten to seek the true and living God. The Lord is using me to tell them about Him and to tell their children. 

Even if there is much darkness, I have much hope and faith in what God can do. Last Christmas I met a young girl in the 10th grade named S*. She believed in Jesus at a young age and wanted to begin going to church when she was in 4th grade. Her parents did not want to discourage her, so they accompanied her to church. During this process, the entire family became born-again! Today I am ministering to her parents. This family is incredibly faithful. The entire village they live in is back-slidden and choose not to go to church or have an active faith in God. But this family attends church every Sunday and continues to grow spiritually. Because this young girl had a heart for the Lord, the entire family has now been saved. It is important to minister to the entire family, to seek out every soul from very young to very old and tell them about Jesus. God wants to open their eyes and save every generation.

“To open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me”

Acts 26:18

Thank you for praying with me for these souls!

Praise Report:

  • The Lord continues to open doors for me to do ministry and meet new people and share the Gospel with them.
  • I continue to see fruit in the new believers’ lives and an eagerness to know the Lord.

Prayer request:

  • I’m looking for a place to move closer to the villages where I minister. Pray that I can find a good place and for favor with the landlord.
  • Pray for the believers who I’m shepherding to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
  • Pray for continued open doors to minister to the youth.
  • Pray for the young man I recently met, Arjun. May he open his heart to the Lord and be raised up to serve Him.
  • Please pray for the full restoration of my mothers health–for her to have stronger lungs and ability to walk without the help of a walker.
  • Pray that God would bring me a helpmate.

In Christ,

Pastor 7*

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