SERVE India

Hello dear pray-ers,
Today is the National Day of Prayer, let us all remember to pray regularly for our nation, it is our only real HOPE!

We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our Help and our Shield.
In Him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in His holy name.
May Your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in You. Ps. 33:20-22

Thank you so much for you continued prayer for all of the ministries of SERVE India!
Please keep praying for the land sale to be completed, John is again meeting with people about it this week… the Lord knows!!
Also, for the Teacher Training School, which is on hold until the land sale is finished, for the Lord’s perfect timing for it, including those who will be hired to work there and for those who will be attending… again, the Lord knows!!
Please also pray for John’s travel plans, hopefully he will be heading this way by the first week of June.
We are so thankful that we can trust in the Lord’s perfect plans.
It is always so nice to have members of the team share some thoughts from the trip so I am including some thoughts from Rick & Jean this time.
We are so grateful for you and your love and prayer for us. Thank you!!
His joy, Love, The Nanda’s

Thoughts from Rick

‘It’s been just a little over 24 hours since reentry back in the U.S. I thought now would be a good time to put down a few thoughts of the trip while the thoughts (and smells) are still fairly fresh.

The first thing I think about is the people of India. We are constantly around so many people. The airports, the trains, the rickshaw rides, the car rides, the walks, the church’s, the villages. Men, women, children, the stares, the curiosity, the seemingly questioning look in their eyes. Who are these white people, why are they here? They do not offer a smile, or wave or acknowledgement, but when we offer a wave, or offer a hand shake, then a big smile and the willingness to wave or shake your hand is a quick response. Then a lot of times they will ask, “where you from?” Sometimes it’s a short few word conversation, and sometimes a fairly long conversation depending, of course, on their ability to speak English.

Then I think, out of all these people we come in contact with, the majority of them have never heard the name Jesus. That’s when I think about all the Pastors here and what they have to endure spreading the gospel to all of those lost people. I can’t help but be humbled to be called to come to India to help the Nanda’s support and encourage these Pastors. John has told us many times how much it means for us to come and spend time with the Pastors and eat with them, pray for and with them, and most of all it’s the encouragement they feel by our presence.

One short story of one of their testimonies, Pastor Elijah, starts with him as a Hindu man on his death bed. He was taken from his house to be laid outside to die. (I guess it’s bad Karma to die in the house.) Through a set of circumstances with a Christian person that prayed for this man, God healed him, and revealed Himself to him and changed his heart. They are now building a new church on a steep hillside in the village. We hear a lot of stories like this every year and I say to myself whose encouraging who here? I guess that’s how God works.

I want to encourage all of you to keep all the pastors held up in prayer. They have so much opposition in that culture. They ask us all the time to remember them and to pray for them.’
Thoughts from Jean

‘Everyone I meet these days wants to know what the trip was like this year and what the most memorable moment was. For the first time I’m not sure how to answer. Usually, I have a funny story or some special moment to share. This year was different from other years.

Prior to going this year my daily prayer was for God to open doors for the team to connect with people and tell them about Jesus. I asked specifically for God to open the eyes of my heart to the life and needs of the people of India. God answered this prayer in a way that was very different than I expected.

The first day in the field we conducted a medical camp in a small rural community. At medical camps we pray for each person after they see the doctor. Since there is a language barrier we don’t usual get the opportunity to hear specific prayer requests.

This year Pastors were available to translate for us. One of the 1st person’s I prayed for was a very tiny older woman. She started weeping as she told the Pastor her prayer request. She’s been a Widow for 5 years. There is no one to take care of her and she doesn’t have enough food to eat. This woman walked into my arms sobbing. She clung to me trembling and crying. I prayed for her to know the love of Jesus. I prayed for her to know the peace and content that can come only from a personal relationship with Jesus. I prayed for God to send someone to come aside her to help meet her physical needs. It was so hard to release this dear woman from my embrace. I can still hear her sobs as she left the building. The remainder of the day I heard many more stories of people in desperate situations. It was overwhelming and I felt so inadequate. I kept thinking how I can reach these people? How can I tell them about the saving grace of Jesus?

Near the end of the camp I had a few moments to step back and look at the scene surrounding me. What really caught my attention were the Pastors. It came very clear to me that it’s these men not me that will be able to reach these unreached people. It’s them that will be able to communicate in a way that the people will understand the Gospel. My prayer now is that the time the team spent loving the people in India will open the doors for the Pastors to tell the people how much God loves them.

We spent a lot of time this year meeting with groups of pastors. At these meetings the Pastors would tell us their stories and ask for us to be praying for them. These men boldly go forth each day into a dark and hostile world proclaiming the Gospel. They are truly reaching the unreached.

I was given the opportunity to speak at most of the Pastor meetings. I told the Pastors that there are many people in the United States praying for them. The Pastors voiced their appreciation for these prayers. Thank you to all of you who have been supporting and praying for these Pastors. These prayers are appreciated and really make a difference in these Pastor’s lives.