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Thanks so much for your prayers and support for our recent mission outreach in India. As is the usual case, this mission was filled with challenges and blessings, and the thrill of seeing God the Holy Spirit do the work He does so well. India After flying into India we met up with our good friend, John Ishmael, and proceeded to drive up into the mountainous region of the state of Sikkim. This state has far more Buddhists than most of India, but also many Hindus. Christians might comprise around three percent of the population, but in Sikkim they enjoy somewhat more religious freedom than in much of India, and have mostly escaped the persecution and attacks by Hindus that have made the news in recent years in other parts of in India. I ministered in the capital city of Gangtok. The believers here were warm, enthusiastic, and eager to learn from God's word. The conference was centered around our Lord's return, and as we hear so often, I was told such a conference had never taken place in this city. When we arrived the first morning it was in the pouring rain. I will never forget hearing years ago an American pastor telling how he woke up early on a Sunday morning to the sounds of a heavy rain. He told how his first thought was that he had just lost a significant portion of his congregation for that day. (He was prophetic!) But here in Sikkim the rain didn't seem to hold anyone back. We had planned for around 250 pastors and church workers in this conference and that is what we saw. The first day's conference went on until just after 5:00 pm, as I taught on the Signs of the Times, the miracle of the restoration of the nation of Israel, and the fundamentals of evangelism.
The conference flew by. John taught a couple of sessions on the rapture of the church. We were able to use PowerPoint slides and a projector to show Scriptures and key points in our messages. Afterwards eager pastors asked me if they could get the sermon outlines and the PowerPoint files for their own use. I gave a copy of them to our local coordinator and instructed the pastors to ask copies from him. So it is possible that these teachings will be repeated in various churches and locations throughout the state of Sikkim. It is always
fascinating to me to hear testimonies of how some of these former Hindus and
Buddhists found Christ. It is interesting that in several cases I heard
about in this trip, healing was
How beautiful is the body of Christ! God's children come in all colors, from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures. Yet we are united through one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. What an honor and a privilege to minister among the children of God throughout the world and to feel our great Creator's heart of love for His big family. And what a joy it is when we see others make that destiny-changing decision to follow Christ. Even in the leadership conference in India I felt led to give an invitation for people to receive Jesus, and we saw a significant response. Thank you again for your interest in and support of this ministry. In the weeks leading up to the trip our finances were scarce and it hardly seemed wise to proceed, and yet I knew that God was in this, and that He would provide. And provide He has! Even after returning, checks have come in for this mission that have helped us to pay for bills yet unpaid, as we pushed all of our resources to make this ministry possible. Praise God for His amazing grace!
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involved.
Many times men and women of other religions look to Jesus when they are
desperately ill and find healing. It seems Jesus doesn't mind healing people
even before they give their lives to Him. And in so doing many willingly
receive Him as their Savior.