SERVE India

Dear praying friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for the work God is doing in India. I am happy to be back with my family and it was great to be here for the India Dinner. We enjoyed time with the team that came to India and were so encouraged to hear of their experiences. It was also great to spend time with so many of you.

I had a very fruitful time in India. I was able to spend more time with our Pastors as we ministered in the various opportunities God has given us. I took part in Pastors’ monthly prayer gatherings each month. We worked with them in completing new church buildings in Rowthulapudi and P.L.Puram and Ramabhdrapuram Villages. I was encouraged to have witnessed people in several villages take baptism and to hear their stories of how God is working in their lives. Praise God!

I was able to spend much time with the people in Jeeva Jalem and help with the progress of the construction work in their community. It is progressing well. They have laid footings and the foundation work has been completed for 15 homes for the families affected by leprosy. Some homes made more progress even up to the roof. These people are so excited and praising God for His faithfulness towards them. The Lord is really working among them. It was exciting to see several people baptized and to
see how the church has grown.

People from Orissa continue to be thankful to be in a safe place at our training center and glad for their well being. They have been enjoying fellowship with the churches in nearby villages although language is still an issue. They seem to be learning to communicate somewhat with the Pastors. The Pastors have invited them to come to share their testimonies, through a translator, of the situation in Orissa and what has happened to them. Several of the church people are sharing what they have with them, meals and clothes.

There were government elections in April and the results will show up this month. We are waiting to see if the new leadership will have new policies to make the situation more safe for them in Orissa. In the meantime they are waiting for the coconut fiber processing plant to get started so they can be working for as long as they are with us. When I left the workers were still constructing the structure to hold the processing machines. We are hoping they will be able to start working with that sometime in the next month.

One other project that I spent time with this trip was helping the community who own the granite quarry. We are so thankful that we were finally able to get the necessary permits to be able to help them move forward with their business. Now they can mine it and market it to get some income for their families. We have also been able to ship some over here and we will see how the market goes if this is a connection that will be helpful to them. If you know of anyone who might be interested in this granite you could email any questions to us or call Rick Arndt of Emmanuel Imports at (715)781-5039.

Thank you so much for your partnership with us in this work, for your prayer and concern for all that is happening in India. We feel so blessed and encouraged by your prayers. We thank God for all He is doing. Please continue to pray for our country as a new Prime Minister and state leaders get elected. Please continue to pray for our Pastors as they bring the Gospel into the streets everyday and for their churches who love and serve those around them. Please also continue to pray for the progress of all of the projects that are going on there while I am here.

I feel really happy to be here with my family for the whole summer and hopefully I will have a chance to connect with many of you.