Sowing the Seed

We have been back in the U.S. for over a week now, and it has been about three weeks since our crusades in Rajahmundry.  As you have read in previous posts, after the preaching at the crusades, we pray for people individually at the altar for God to work in their lives.  We do this because we know that God loves them and wants to bless them and also because according to Mark 16, God confirms his word with signs and wonders.  Here we have thousands of people who have been worshiping countless idols all their lives, and we come along and proclaim another God to them.  They have never received an answer to their prayers from an piece of stone or wood, but now they will see that the Lord has power to hear and answer their prayers.

Every year, we receive wonderful testimonies describing how God has done miracles for them and proved himself real. Dr Kumar sent me an email detailing several of these miracles from our crusades in Rajahmundry.  While we dont put the emphasis miracles as a part of our ministry, we do believe God wants to do them and look forward to the encouragement they bring not only to the new believers but even to us and you as well. I have pasted the email from Kumar below.

Dear Brother Billy and Pastor Steve and all the wonderful team in Christ ,

Here are the wonderful Testimonies from Crusades.

1. A MAN SUFFERING WITH IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME FOR 30 YEARS, HE HAS TO GO TO TOILET AFTER EVERY TIME HE TAKE FOOD AND ALSO PAIN. WHEN HE ATTENDED CRUSADES AND WHEN YOU PRAYED HE WAS HEALED AND NO MORE DIARRHOEA OR PAIN.

2. A MAN WHO WAS DIAGNOSED WITH HIV/AIDS 4 YEARS BACK, HE ATTENDED THE CRUSADES WHEN YOU PRAYED HE WAS HEALED.

3. A WOMAN HAD MYOMA IN HER UTERUS FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS, SHE RECEIVED PRAYERS IN CRUSADES.SHE WENT BACK AND HAD HER SCAN BUT THE MYOMA WAS NOT THERE , SHE WAS HEALED.

4. ANOTHER WOMAN WHO HAD CYSTS IN HER PELVIS AROUND FALLOPIAN TUBES FOR ONE YEAR.AFTER SHE ATTEND  THE CRUSADES ,SHE FELT BETTER AND SHE HAD SCAN,THE SCAN INDICATED THAT SHE DOES NOT HAD ANY CYSTS, SHE WAS HEALED.

5. ANOTHER WOMAN HAD OVER BLEEDING FROM HER UTERUS FOR OVER 6 YEARS, SHE IS VERY POOR, WENT TO MANY HOSPITALS BUT SHE HAD NO BETTERMENT BUT BY THE TIME YOU PRAYED FOR HER IN CRUSADES, HER BLEEDING WAS STOPPED, SHE WAS DOING BETTER. SHE WAS JOING WITH HER HUSBAND AFTER 6 YEARS.

6. A WOMAN HAS NEVER GOT PREGNANT FOR 15 YEARS. NOW TODAY SHE SENT ME MESSAGE THAT SHE GOT PREGNANT AFTER YOU PRAYED FOR HER IN CRUSADES.

7. A MAN 40 YEARS, HAD SEVERE DISC PROLAPSE, HE WAS NOT ABLE TO MOVE HIS BOTH LEGS AND HAD SEVERE BACK PAIN. HE WAS COMPLETELY HEALED, GOING BACK TO WORK AFTER YOUR PRAYERS IN CRUSADES.

8.  A MAN WHO IS WORKING IN BANK HAD VERY SEVERE PAIN IN RIGHT SHOULDERS , NECK AND HAND.HE HAD CERVICAL SPONDILYTES. IT WAS COMPLETELY HEALED AND HE DOES NOT REQUIRE SURGERY ,AFTER HE RECEIVED PRAYERS FROM CRUSADES.

9. A WOMAN WHO HAD MIGRAIN HEAD ACH FOR 20 YEARS, USED ALL THE MEDICINES BUT SHE DID NOT GET ANY HELP FROM THEM. SHE DECIDED TO DIE BECAUSE OF PAIN BUT WHEN SHE ATTENDED OUR CRUSADES RECEIVED PRAYERS, SHE WAS COMPLETELY HEALED NO MIGRAIN.

10.  A MAN WHO HAD CEREBROVASCULAR ACCIDENT, PARALYSED FOR 8 YEARS FULL OF BED SORES ON THE BODY, HEALED AND WALKING FROM CRUSADES.

11. 25 PEOPLE WHO WERE WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE WERE HEALED

12. UNCOUNTABLE PEOPLE WHO HAD UNCONTROLLABLE DIABETES WERE HEALED

13. A MAN WHO WAS ALCOHOLIC AND HAD GASTRIC ULCER FOR 8 YEARS WAS HEALED COMPLETELY, HE WAS NORMAL.

14.  A WOMAN WHO HAD CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE FOR 4 YEARS WAS HEALED AND HER TEST REPORTS ARE NORMAL AND HER KIDNEYS WERE HEALED.

15. A WOMAN WHO HAD THYROD HORMONE PROBLEM NEVER HAD CHILDREN FOR 8 YEARS, SHE WAS HEALED FROM HER THYROID HORMONE PROBLEM AND SHE WAS PREGNANT.

16. 9 WOMEN 2 MEN POSSED WITH DEMON SPIRIT WERE HEALED.

17. 25 MEN CAME OUT OF ALCOHOL ADDICTION FROM MANY YEARS.

18. MARRIAGE  RELATION  AMONG  13 COUPLES  RESTORED AND REJOINED AFTER YOU PRAYED FOR THEM.

19. 5 MEN GOT JOBS, 7 MEN WERE BLESSED TO CLEAR THEIR DEBTS, 14 POOR FAMILIES HAS BEEN GRANTED THE HOUSES FROM GOVERNMENT OF INDIA FREELY, 25 GIRLS MARRIAGES WERE FIXED WITHOUT DOWRY

BROTHER, THERE ARE MANY MORE TESTIMONIES BUT I AM VERY SLOW TO TYPE THEM AND SEND THEM, I THANK YOU BROTHER. GOD HAS USED YOU, PASTOR STEVE AND ALL THE TEAM TO SHOW ALL THE LOST THE WAY OF SALVATION AND TO PERFORM THESE WONDERFUL MIRACLES TO HEAR ALL THESE  TESTIMONIES.

Thank you Brother,

Dr.Kumar and Jean Mary.

I hope you are blessed and encouraged as you read what God is doing for his children in India.  We are thankful to God for your prayers and support for this wonderful ministry.

India 2012 Day 11,12

Saturday was a day that we had set aside for people on the team to fill their shopping lists and get all their souvenirs for themselves and for people back home.

In the evening, it was back to Chengalpattu for the second night of our weekend crusade.  Steve Whinery gave a powerful message to a crowd of almost 4,000 people, and many souls were added to the kingdom of God.  It is amazing to see so many people come out to hear the gospel, and then to respond in such numbers.  The people of india are in bondage, and Jesus Christ is setting them free! To a people in such darkness, the gospel really is good news.  Again, we were very happy to lay hands on and pray for many sick people, many people with family problems, work problems, alcohol problems, etc., and for many young people seeking wisdom for their exams coming up.   The second night of crusades was a big success, and we are hoping for another big night on Sunday.

Sunday is our last day in India.  We have another full plate of ministry, and everyone is filled with expectation and anticipation, knowing that this is the biggest night for crusades and also that we are going home!

The team split up for two morning church services.  Steve, Kyle, Ryan, and Bryan went with Josh to his church, while Billy, Zach, Cassie, Kayla, Sandy, Jackie and Abbey went to Caleb’s church in Vandalur .  At Vandalur, Zach gave a brief encouragement before Billy taught on 2 Peter 1.  After the service, everyone played with the children and passed out candy before we jumped into the van and met the rest of the team for lunch.

Our last night at the crusade was pretty impressive.  The crusade grounds were completely packed out.  There was standing room only inside the grounds, with people spilling out into the streets and all sides, even listening from behind buildings.  It was estimated that there were about 7,000 people listening to the preaching of the gospel!  Billy K preached the last message, and again, thousands came to the Lord Jesus Christ.  We stayed and prayed for many people again.

We went back to Josh’s place to take showers and pack up, then headed down to the airport to board the plane for our 4:00 am departure.  Our first flight took about 4 ½ hours from Chennai to Dubai.  Then, after a quick two hour layover, we got on a small puddle-jumper which will take us to Seattle in a mere 15 hours.  As I write this last update, we are at the North Pole, which is just about halfway to our destination.

See you all soon!  Thank you so much for your kind prayers and financial support.  Once we get home, the team will share our photos and videos among each other, and soon after that, I will post a blog with links for you to go to and enjoy visuals of all you have been reading about.  Until then, may God richly bless you for your part in this wonderful ministry!

India 2012 Day 10

It has been a long trip, and it has been a short trip. For those of us who have left family at home for two weeks, time has a way of dragging on and on.  But on the other hand, when we look at the amount of ministry we have packed into the last 10 days, it really hasn’t been all that long.

Today we had our last pastor’s conference in Chetallapakkam at pastor Rajendran’s  church.  Steve and I arrived at about 10:30 to find about 20 pastors waiting to hear the word of God from us.  Steve did the entire teaching, encouraging them and strengthening them with solid, practical instruction.  It was good to see some of the same pastors that we have been working with for several years.

The rest of the team went to a handicapped children’s hospital for a few hours.  This was very hard for some of them.  A couple of people were still weeping when we met up with them for lunch.  I don’t know exactly what they were able to do with them other than spend some time giving them love and attention, but it must have been difficult.  Although I must admit, it was a great blessing to see that their hearts have really been impacted. Not that I thought they had hard hearts to begin with.  This is what I hoped for when we built the team.  You want people to come home different, and after this and many other experiences, I am sure that the entire team will never be the same.

This was our first night of big crusades in a place called Chengalpettu.  It could be called Chenglapet as well. It is spelled differently on street signs and store fronts, so I’m not sure which is correct.  We have been wanting to hold crusades here for a few years, but we haven’t had the budget for it.  This is where pastor Joel is from. He is very well respected among the local pastors.  When he wants to do something, everyone wants to be involved, so we knew that if we did any kind of pastor’s conference or crusade with him, they would be big.

They had some problem with getting permits for the meetings from the local police, for various reasons.  One, being that there is a new nuclear plant being built near here, and they don’t want any foreigners coming around.  Apparently, some protestors from Australia came and made a big raucous and now they are super sensitive to allowing foreigners around the area.  Secondly, because exams are in a couple weeks for the students and they don’t want loud music and noise in the city when the students are studying.  But, eventually we got the permission and moved forward, planning on keeping it a little more low-key than the original plan.

The first night, we had about 2,000 people come out to hear the word of God.  Billy preached the gospel and nearly every person in the crowd stood during at the invitation to call upon the name of the Lord and receive the forgiveness of sins.  We asked them to come forward with their prayer requests, and hundreds of them came for a touch from God in their lives.  It is such a blessing to be able to pray with people for the needs in their lives.  Just as in Rajahmundry, the crowd at the altar swelled as people pressed in, desperate for God to do a miracle for them.

I was reminded of the times in Scripture when crowds would follow Jesus and the disciples and press in upon them. People are no different today.  We may have technological and medical advancements, but when it comes down to it, people still want God to move, and many people in many parts of the world have no other hope than a miracle.  We believe God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  We don’t serve a dead God. Jesus Christ is alive, and he has the power to hear and answer prayer.  So we prayed for every single person who came forward, expecting the Lord to show them his mighty power and to prove to them that he isn’t just another God to add to their stack of idols, but He is the only true and living God.

The team piled into the van and headed back, praying and singing psalms and hymns together, excited for what the Lord has in store for us tomorrow, and grateful for all the prayers and thoughts of our supporters back home!  Thank you!

India 2012 Day 9

Today we have another pastor’s conference with about 120-150 different pastors in a different area of Chennai, where we had held a conference previously last year.  The rest of the team will be taking 13 of the gypsy children to the zoo and having a blast with them while Steve and I spend the morning and afternoon having a blast with a bunch of pastors.

Those going to work with the gypsy kids left at 6:00 again, in order to get to the day care center in time to bathe the kids, clothe them and have breakfast with them before taking them to the zoo.

Steve and I left with Josh around 8:00 and made our way through the city to pastor Christudas’ church, where the pastors meetings are being held.  Steve did all the teaching again, as he is our most valuable resource to bring wisdom and experience to them.  The teaching was very well received by the pastors, and at the end of the conference several of them came to the front and shared what God had been speaking to them through the lessons.  Some of the pastors were so overcome with emotion as Steve talked about the purpose of suffering that they openly wept, and one pastor, who sends out a monthly Christian magazine to over 1000 pastors, asked if he could have a copy of Steve’s outline so he could translate it and publish it.  Of course, Steve had no objection.

Then we met the rest of the team back at Josh’s home and talked about how the day went at the zoo.  The Chennai zoo has a lot of animals.  Lions, tigers, giraffes, snakes, white tigers, lots of deer, elephants, etc.  Some people were even able to get a ride on an elephant.  The kids were very well behaved and had a lot of fun.  These are kids who are very wild by nature.  The gypsies are a group of vagabonds who live in wild places. They set up their tents and settle wherever they can find a piece of land. They make beads and trinkets to sell for some rupees, but most of their food is what they can catch. Anything that moves is considered food to them, so they are hunters.  None of them are educated at all, and there is a lot of incest, since they do not marry outside the gypsy camp.  The kids we are ministering to are a group whose parents have deserted them just over a year ago.  The local villagers came and destroyed the gypsy camp and beat anyone they could get their hands on, including the women and children.  So, the next day the gypsies broke camp and split, but they left their kids behind with Caleb’s church since they had been working so closely with them for several years. They have no hope for a better life as long as they remain in the gypsy camp, so they gave up their children in the hope that they will be able to get some sort of education and eventually break the cycle of poverty. It is a sad thing, but at the same time we believe God will turn it around for their ultimate good, as they are now in school and are being taught the Bible and how to follow Jesus.

In the evening, we had another small crusade in Sithalapakkam, the same village where we held big crusades back in 2010.  When we realized we were going to have a surplus of funds, pastor Rajendran asked if we could do a crusade on his church grounds.  There were about 100-150 people there, among whom were many hindus.  Ryan Orozco gave a brief introductory message on the importance of sincerity in worship, and Steve preached the gospel, expounding out of John 4 with the woman at the well.   At the altar call, he asked those who wanted to become Christians to come forward and stand before the altar to pray.  About 50 people came forward to receive Christ.  After the prayer of repentance, Steve presented the pastor to them and encouraged them to begin coming to the church and fellowshipping with the Christians.

We laid hands on and prayed for almost everyone there. People come forward for all sorts of reasons, whether they are sick, poor, in need of deliverance from addictions, having family problems, etc.  Most of the young people come forward asking for wisdom in school to get good marks, and the young girls come asking for a good husband.  We are happy to stay as long as it takes so that everyone can receive prayer.

We now have only three days of ministry left before we fly out of India.  Please do not stop praying for us as these last three nights will be our big crusades and we are expecting lots of opposition.  Please pray for the message to come in power and for many lost souls to come to Jesus Christ. Pray for God to confirm his word with signs and wonders.  When there is lots of opposition, there are great things about to happen, and we all have a sense of expectancy as to what the Holy Spirit is about to do.

Thank you for your support!

India 2012 Day 8

6:00 in the morning comes pretty early when its on the heels of a day of ministry, travel, and a late night getting settled into a new place. But rise we did when the time came, because there were a lot of exciting things on the plate for the day.  Josh’s place is very accommodating for a big team like ours.  The girls all shared a room with an attached bathroom, while Billy and Steve shared a smaller room next door which also had its own bathroom and shower.  Kyle, Ryan, Zach and Bryan all shared a small flat on the bottom floor of the building.  Although it is kind of awkward sharing a bed with the pastor, I was glad to be on the top floor because this is where the wi-fi is.  Not only that, but I only need to compete with one person for the bathroom.

We left early because where was a lot of ground to cover in a short time.  We arrived at a leper colony around 8:00 and began making our way down the street, giving love and attention to the suffering people there.  They invited us into their homes and asked us to pray for them. I was impressed to see members of the team boldly and fearlessly shaking hands, hugging, and laying hands on bodies that were infected with the deadly disease.  This is a separate colony from the one we were working in over that last few years, so all of the faces were new to me, but still we gave them love and attention, as well as tangible things like food and other supplies that they can use.

After spending some time with them individually, the villagers came together at a meeting hall to hear the word of God from us.  As we entered, they greeted us with fresh coconuts with straws poked into them.  This was very refreshing for those who were brave enough to drink it.  Jackie Gillette spoke for a few moments and shared the gospel clearly with them, and about half the crowd of about 40 prayed to receive forgiveness of their sins and to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  This was the same Jackie who told me several times that she did not want to speak because she didn’t do well in front of crowds.  Praise the Lord!

From there, we met pastor Joel at his mother’s house which vas very close by to the leper colony, where the team freshened up and got into some clean clothes for the pastor’s conference.  We had a small meal and made our way over to the meeting hall and enjoyed some dynamic worship.  Before the worship started, I leaned over and whispered to one of the team members, “We’re about to blow the roof off this place.” The Indian people are extremely animated when worshiping the Lord.  They get very involved and give everything they have when praising the Lord.  Some people have their own convictions on what worship should look like, but as you stand with them and clap your hands, you can’t help but be drawn into the worship yourself as the Spirit of God fills the room.

Before Steve took over the microphone for the teaching, we dismissed the rest of the team and sent them off to the other leper colony, where they would spend time ministering to the lepers as Steve and I stayed back at the pastor’s meeting.  The 100 or so pastors at the meeting were very attentive during the message and we had great feedback from them afterwards.  Many left the conference insisting that this was the best one they have been to.  It made me glad to have such a valuable resource on the team in our senior pastor.

The rest of the team went to the leper colony that we put in the water tanks for.  They did basically the same things as we did in the morning.  We provided 6 150 lb bags of rice for them, loved them, and spoke to about 100 of them who had gathered in the meeting hall.  Kayla Pratt stood and shared the good news of the gospel with them and everyone present sought God’s forgiveness as she gave an invitation to come to Him.

They came back to pick us up from the meeting place and began the hour and a half drive back to Josh’s place, where we would have about an hour to freshen up again before rolling out to a crusade in the slums.  On the way, we stopped at a store so the girls could purchase some Punjabi clothing.  Josh thought we would be received better if they showed some respect for the culture and dressed accordingly, and the girls did not complain about the prospect of shopping, as you can imagine.  To their credit, they only spent about an hour there before each of them had a couple of changes of Punjabi garb.

The crusade at the slums was in the middle of a street section.  There were about 50 people gathered when we arrived, but soon that number swelled to about 150.  Billy K preached the gospel, expounding on the teachings of Jesus from Luke 18, and half the crowd stood boldly to their feet at the altar call and called upon the name of the Lord.  This is a very strong hindu neighborhood, so most of the crowd were not Christians.  Now most of that crowd are Christians!  We laid hands on and prayed for many sick people, for many young people asking for wisdom for their exams coming up, for many people struggling with addictions to drugs and alcohol, and much more.  We are eagerly anticipating hearing testimonies about how the Lord is doing miracles for them.

Once we got the team back home, some of us went out for a quick dinner and enjoyed good fellowship and reflection on another fruitful day in the Lord’s work.  Tomorrow is yet another huge day with lots of exciting things happening, so stay tuned in and be encouraged by what God is doing in India!

Thanks again for your dedicated prayers for us.  We are drawing strength and anointing from them.  God bless you!!

India 2012 Day 6,7

We awoke to another hot and humid day, but by now we have all grown accustomed to perpetual sweating and the constant stickiness of our clothes.  No one has been complaining and we all have fun with it, so we have been blessed not to have allowed it to spoil our joy.

After breakfast and a team devotion, we hopped into the vehicle for a long day of travel.  The singing and worship in the vehicle continued as we all lifted up our voices together and praised the Lord during the long hours in the car.  We went to the village clinic first, where about 20 people were gathered to receive medical treatment.  Kumar gave a tour of the grounds and explained the vision for the future of the village clinic, and then Steve spoke to the people who were gathered together. He shared the gospel with them and asked if any would want to commit their lives to Christ and all of them did.  These are very strict hindu people who are hard to reach.  The medical camps are very effective because they show the love of Jesus Christ with them and it opens a door to share the good news with them.

From here, we traveled some distance to visit a very small church in an extremely rural community.  We pulled up to the church and were all amazed at what we saw.  It was nothing more than a hut with an opening so small we had to crouch down to enter in, but as we stepped inside, it was quite larger than it appeared from the outside and was even a lot cooler than the blistering heat.  We counted about 85 people, including our team, that fit inside the hut.  Cassie Smith shared briefly from John 6 about Jesus coming back for us, followed by Zach Smith teaching from Psalm 65.  Billy K then preached a message on how to have joy in the midst of our trials by looking to the promise of the resurrection.  The church was strengthened and encouraged by the meeting, and we laid hands on and prayed for everyone there.

The drive back to town was very long, and everyone was glad to get out of the vehicle and relax in Kumar’s home for about an hour before we had to get to the next meeting. It was an open air setting in another strict hindu community.  We knew full well that our amplification was sending the message throughout the entire village.  Kayla Pratt opened with some encouraging scriptures before Kyle Skinner  taught from 1John 4. Then Steve gave them a message from Ephesians 4 about how the body of Christ is supposed to work. Then he boldly shared the gospel with them and several people responded to the altar call.  They were very nervous about standing up or identifying themselves in any way because there were many hindus watching. Again, we prayed for all the people before giving out candy to the children.

We took the long ride home and got some laid down to sleep for the last time at Kumar and Jean Mary’s place.

Tuesday was our last day in Rajahmundry, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t squeeze in a little more ministry before hitting the airport! We had planned baptizing some new believers since the beginning of the trip, and today we had the time to do it.  We took a slight detour on the way to see some of the Hindu temples that line the Godarvi River.  It is the second most holy river in India. A few years back, more than 80 million hindus came to Rajahmundry to take a holy dip in the river. Today, we were going to give a new meaning to some newly converted hindus on what a holy dip in the Godarvi was all about.

We parked the car on a hill overlooking the river, and as we began to make our way down to the water, a herd of water buffalos was also trying to get to the water at the same time and we had to compete with them to go down the trail.  Of course, as foreigners, we probably looked silly when we were somewhat intimidated by these huge beasts, because the locals casually shoed them away like cows while snickering at us.

We got to the water safely and waited for the new converts to show up. They arrived shortly after us and we were pleased to see 23 women  coming to make a public declaration of their faith in Jesus Christ.  The pastors had already given them instruction on baptism and what it is all about, so we did not have to have a teaching time. We simply prayed with them, and baptized them.  Then we gave Bibles to each of them so that they will be able to grow in their knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

While we were baptizing, there was a man, his wife, and child nearby tending to their fishing equipment.  He was watching everything that was going on and asked if he, too, could have a Bible.  Pastor Steve briefly shared with him and gave him not one but two Bibles so that he could give one to someone else as well.

The trip back to Kumar’s place seemed to take forever when everyone had wet shorts and was in need of a shower after braving the murky water.  We showered up, packed up, and headed to the airport just in time to get through security and rush onto the plane. A couple of quick jumps on Jet Airways to Hyderabad and finally to Chennai, and we are ready to begin our second week of ministry in india in a whole new city.  We’ll keep you posted and begin showing pictures as soon as we have some decent internet service!

Thanks again for your wonderful and faithful prayers for the team.  God has been doing incredible work!

India 2012 Day 5

We started off another day with a team devotion.  We have plans to visit three churches today, so everyone is busy preparing some kind of encouraging thing to say to the believers.

Our first stop was at a small church in a strict hindu village about a half an hour drive from Kumar’s place.  As we stepped into the church, we were all amazed by how small the room was. It could not have been bigger than maybe 15 feet wide by about 20 – 25 feet deep, but the floor was crammed with b with about forty believers who were anxiously waiting to hear the word of the Lord from us.  Jackie Gillette stood up and gave them a very encouraging few words before Bryan Raeder stood to share some verses to build their faith.  Then Kyle Skinner got up and shared the main message on the faith of Abraham form Romans 4.  After the message, we laid hands and prayed for all the believers individually, before being hurried out to the vehicle so we could get to our next meeting on time.

The next church was in another village near Rajahmundry. We were dropped from the vehicle because the streets were so narrow that the car could not fit. So we had to hike a little ways through the neighborhood to get to the building.  It was on the second story of a home and had a roof and three walls but was entirely open at the back.  This was a larger congregation and they seemed to be very attentive and ready to receive the word of God.  Sandy Blake shared for about 5 minutes and gave a great encouragement, followed by Zach Smith giving a 10 minute message from John 17.  Steve Whinery gave the main message, teaching on the subject of Jesus taking us from Satan’s power form Ephesians 2.  He shared the gospel at the end and gave an invitation for those who would want to surrender their lives to Christ, and many people responded.  We were greatly encouraged and the church was strengthened by the meeting.

After this service, we were very honored to be a part of a a special ceremony at the new church building site that was donated by the government to Kumar’s ministry.  We met the orphans and a crowd of believers at the place, and laid the foundation stone for the new building. Steve gave a short message before laying the stones, brick by brick, along with the mortar and anointing oil, dedicating the building project in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  We look forward to seeing the progress on future trips.

We went back to Kumar’s place and took some rest before heading out to the church at the quarry market.  This is the most dangerous area to minister in.  We have preached here for the last three years. Some of you may remember that in this place, the pastor gave his life when a local hindu radical came and decapitated him at the church.  We were humbled to be standing on the blood of a martyr.  Abbey Lalangan gave a great opening encouragement before Ryan Orozco stood and spoke for about 20 minutes on the subject of persecution.  Billy K gave the main message on the supremacy of Christ from Colossians 1. At the end of the message, 1 precious soul stood and received Christ as her personal Lord and Savior, and we joined all of heaven in rejoicing over her.  We prayed for all the people and ended our ministry for the day.

As we drove back to Kumar’s home, the team sang in unison song after song, giving glory to God for all he has been doing.  We are so thankful for his mighty power at work in and through us, and for your prayers as we continue the ministry day after day.  We finally got home around midnight and hit the sack for some much needed rest before another busy day of ministry on Monday.

Day 3,4

We started the days off with a team devotion time.  Everyone here is taking the ministry very seriously, and we all want to be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is telling us.  It has built good team cohesion to seek the Lord together every day.

We had pastors’ conferences all day on both Friday and Saturday.  On both days, the team split up.  The women and two of the men spent the day with Jean Mary at different churches ministering to women believers and to orphan children, while Steve, Billy and two of the men spent the day at the pastors’ conference.  The first day, Kyle and Bryan went to the pastors’ training, and on the second, Zach and Ryan.

Both of these ministries are very important.  The women need good encouragement from other women, and the children, who are considered unlucky or cursed by the hindus, are very blessed by the time and the love given to them by the team.

The setting at the meeting place for the pastors’ seminars was incredible. We were in the open air, in the middle of a strict hindu village, with the speakers blasting out the teaching all day long. We sat upon a stage with about 200 plus pastors in rows of 10. On either side of us were streets lined with homes, with people steadily walking by about their business, some of them curious enough to hang around for a few moments to listen in. What was great about it is that we didn’t hide in a corner somewhere, but rather, we boldly met right in the heart of the enemy’s camp.  Here we were in the middle of a village somewhere in India, training men who give their lives and sacrifice to the ministry in ways that we in America never have or probably ever will. It’s very humbling, but at the same time, we know that God’s word applies to them the same as it does to us.

The pastors need good training if they are to continue to reach the Indian people, and to make disciples of the new converts.  We come once a year and have good success with the crusades, but ideally we want the Indian people to reach the Indian people and also to have a strong foundation of biblical knowledge to continue the ongoing ministry of making disciples and build the church.  It is a real blessing to have Steve on the team this year because he brings so much wisdom and experience from many years of study and pastoring Calvary Chapel.

Obviously Steve has much more to offer the pastors than anyone else on the team, so he taught seven of the eight teaching sessions, while Billy taught for one session to give him some relief.  The pastors were all very attentive and took notes.  Kumar was happy and told us that this was the best teaching they have gotten at a pastors’ meeting yet.  He said the teaching was very clear and would be very useful for them to apply in their ministries. This made us extremely happy and blessed to know that the Lord was using our efforts in mighty ways.

By the time the meetings were over on both days, the girls were already back home and enjoying fellowship when we arrived at about 9:00.  We shared with each other all the wonderful things that had happened during the day and how the Lord had worked.  We were very tired already, but this isn’t much of a surprise when you consider we were out in 100 degree weather all day long.

We have already finished our first four days of ministry in Rajahmundry, and are eagerly anticipating what the Lord will do in the next few days before we fly out to Chennai.  Everyone came excited for the Lord to work through them, but I am also excited to see the Lord working in them as well.  Thank you again for your faithfulness to commit us to prayer.

India 2012 Day 2

After a long day on Wednesday, the team took the opportunity to sleep a little late on Thursday morning.  We awoke to a delicious breakfast of boiled egg, toast, nan, and chutney. We had about an hour of devotion time as a team before getting ready to head out on our first full day of ministry.

Out first stop was to visit to a very special place. It is a piece of land about 1.6 acres that the government of India has given to Dr Kumar because of all the social work that he does.  In addition to the orphanage and the mission hospital, they are also very involved in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.  A few years back, they were given a similar piece of land to construct a new orphanage, which we visited en 2007, but before the deed was actually in writing, the local hindus took over the land and made a big political stink and spoiled the plans.  I am not sure how this works out legally, but it was a big disappointment.  Now the government has given them a new piece of land, and has also given the deed immediately.  We plan to come back on Sunday to lay the foundation stone and dedicate the land and building.  Dr Kumar plans on naming it after Calvary Chapel.

From here we went straightaway to the mission hospital where we were given a tour of the ministry.  Dr Kumar took a few patients, whom we prayed for their healing.  There were about 30-40 people waiting to be treated.  We were also able to pray over the resident doctor who gave diagnoses and treatment  to the patients.  Then we laid hands and prayed for all the patients in the waiting area, and delivered a short gospel message to them.

The mission hospital is entirely dependent on funds from America to continue.  Up until 2008, they had an average monthly budget of around $25,000. After the economic slowdown, the budget has been reduced to around $750 per month. This is just enough to keep a small staff and afford a few medicines for the sick people.  On my first trip in 2007, this place was very busy, and we actually sat in on an operation.  There were lots of people in the recovery room after life-saving operations, and all three floors were full of activity.  Now they cannot afford to use the operating room or to provide near the amount of care that they used to.  But still, they are faithful with the resources that they have, and do what they can to treat the people who come.

Now that the mission hospital is only using the bottom floor, they are using the second and third floors to house orphans.  The Living Hope orphanage is just down the street, so they keep the boys at the main building and keep the girls at the mission hospital, where they are given more security. They brought all the children to the hospital so that we could spend time with them.

As we entered the building, there were children on the second story tossing flower petals over the balcony and showering down upon us.  It is humbling to be honored in this way, but it is also good to know that they are so happy to see us.  As we entered the room, the children greeted us individually by shouting in unison, “Good afternoon, Daddy!’ or “Good afternoon, Mommy!”  Yeah, it was a tear jerker as you can imagine. We spoke some kind words of encouragement to the children before Jean Mary took over and had them sing songs for us.  We also passed out candy that we had stuffed into our luggage and watched as their faces lit up with excitement.  They exercised great self control and did not open any of their candy while we were there.  Apparently, they like to show each other what exactly it is that they received before they eat it.  Everyone enjoyed the time we had with them, and it was difficult to leave, but we knew we would have lots more time with them, so we went back to Kumar’s place to get some lunch.

After lunch, we returned to the building grounds, where we met up with the orphan children for some games. We played cricket with the boys, while the girls played a variety of games and had a lot of fun together.  We had about an hour or two of fun with them before a thunderstorm moved in and rained us out.  I was immediately concerned about our evening crusade, which was only a couple hours later.  This was a wicked storm, a torrential downpour, complete with high winds and hail.  As we sat in the vehicle to wait out the storm, we prayed for the evening meeting.  But God blessed us and the storm somehow passed by the meeting area without a single cloud.

By the time we arrived at the crusade, it was packed out again with people.  Tonight, Ryan Orozco opened in prayer, followed by a short encouragement by Billy K, then about a 10 minute lesson by Kyle Skinner, and finally a full gospel message from John 3 by Steve Whinery.  As he gave the invitation after the message, the crowd stood to their feet again and called upon the name of the Lord.  Then he gave them some practical instruction on how to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ, before asking them to come forward for prayer.

People began to filter their way to the front, and gradually the crowd at the altar swelled and became larger and larger, as people came for a touch form the Lord upon their lives.  I was reminded of the new testament when the crowds would come to Jesus and press in, hoping just to touch his clothes.  It is the same today. People are desperate for a real encounter with Jesus Christ, because they have real needs that have no other possible hope of being met than through him.  They were not coming for a touch from us, but for a miracle from the Lord.  The praying continued until midnight.

Heading back to Kumar’s place, we prayed and reflected on the events of the last two nights. Everyone was tired but at the same time, excited to see what the next few days would hold.

Please feel free to leave comments. I will read them to the team.

India 2012 Day 1

Our first day of ministry in Rajahmundry begins with little opportunity for rest after 36 hours of travel, but the team is fired up and ready to get started.  We hit the ground running with a crusade on the evening our arrival.

A lesser team of people would have preferred more time to recover after a day and a half of long layovers and longer flights, but this is no ordinary bunch.  We left Pasco, WA at 11:30 on Monday morning, landed at Seattle and waited a few hours before boarding our 14 ½ hour flight to Dubai.  A short layover in the UAE, and we continued our journey with a quick 4 hour jump into Chennai, India.  The anticipation began to build as the team became acquainted with the heat, the smell, and the sounds of India.

Immediately after recovering our baggage, we crossed over from the international to the domestic terminal, where we obtained our tickets for the trip up north to Rajahmundry.  The baggage restrictions are a little tighter on these smaller planes, so we ended up paying an extra $100 to get all of our bags checked in.  A small price to pay when you take into consideration that we had three large suitcases packed with medical supplies for the mission hospital.  They were donated to us by the East Meets West Foundation, and as of yet we had to spend no money to get them this far. There were some Indian people in line behind us who watched in horror as I happily paid the fees, having no idea as to the value of the luggage I was paying to transport.

After 4 ½ hours of waiting around the terminal, we hopped onto the plane and traveled to Hyderabad, where we had one last layover before a quick flight into Rajahmundry, where Dr Kumar and Jean Mary greeted us with a warm welcome.  All summed up, our travel time was exactly 36 hours from the moment we left the ground in Tri Cities.

I am proud to report to you that this wonderful team of evangelists spent their time digging into God’s word and preparing for the ministry that lay before them.  Observing their dedication to apply themselves to study actually made me feel somewhat guilty for the entertainment I personally indulged in and inspired me to spend more time in preparation and prayer myself.  It is a great joy to have people around you who’s lives challenge you and encourage you as iron sharpens iron.

With a large team comes a large amount of luggage, so it took a little while to settle our things in at Kumar’s place, but we fit nicely into the space provided for us. 6 men are sleeping in one room, while the 5 women are in a separate room, each with its own attached bathroom and shower.  Dr. Kumar and Jean Mary are extremely hospitable and will settle with nothing but offering their guests their very best.  We are humbled by their tireless efforts to make us comfortable.

When we arrived at the meeting place for the crusades, the road was so full of trucks and rickshaws that we had to wait for them to clear the way for our vehicle to make it to the stage.  The transportation for the people to come to hear the message was provided completely by our fundraising efforts back home, so it was a great moment to see the reaction on the faces of the team as they began to see with their own eyes the value of all those dollars raised.  The amazement and looks of awe were added to as we rounded the corner and entered the crusade grounds.  The darkness and quietness of the roadside gave way to the bright lights of the crusade and the loud music thundering through the village, as thousands of people were gathered, worshiping and raising their hands to heaven in praise.  We climbed up onto the stage and joined them in worship, having no idea what the words were, other than the occasional “Hallelujah!”

After giving an introduction of the team, complete with garlands and traditional Indian welcome, our crusade began with Ryan Orozco opening in prayer, followed by Bryan Raeder taking a few moments to give an encouraging word.  Then Zach Smith shared for about 10 minutes before Billy K preached the message of the gospel.  When the call to salvation was made, all of heaven rejoiced as nearly the entire crowd stood to their feet without hesitation, and called upon the name of the Lord for forgiveness of their sins.  It takes your breath away when you see so many people so eager to embrace Jesus Christ.  As Kumar once told me, if you can just get a hindu to listen to the gospel, they will almost always get saved.  Tonight was no exception, as thousands of people cried out in prayer for their names to be written in the book of life.

I have been enjoying watching the faces of the team throughout the trip as they see and experience firsthand what God is doing In India.  This was another moment where I watched as it began to settle in to them the magnitude of what they are involved in and what God is using them for.  That combined with the joy of seeing so many people enter life was difficult for me to contain.

As we traveled back to Kumar’s place, we talked about the meeting and spent considerable time in prayer for the crusades, for the believers and for the pastors.  Now there are 10 more people who understand my over-use of the expression, “Fired up!”  Its hard not to be when you are a part of something so powerful that the Lord is doing.  We are not just going through the motions in Christian ministry, we are engaged in an epic battle, the ramifications of which will echo for eternity, and the objectives of our warfare are not temporary things like silver or gold, but the eternal souls of real men women and children, each of which is infinitely more valuable than anything else by comparison.

It is an honor and a privilege to be used by God and to be covered in prayer by all of our wonderful supporters back home. Thank you for your involvement in whatever capacity has been, whether by prayer of financial support.  We share our joy with you.

I would add pictures for you but the internet here is far too slow for uploading.  pictures will come next week!