Here’s a detailed update from our missions trip in India. We spent two weeks in the West Godavari district of the province of Andhra Pradesh working with Holy Ministry of Jesus Christ (HMJC) and the Eluri family. A big thanks to Anita for writing this update!
Our Team
Catherine's healing
Thank you for all your prayers for Catherine! A week before we left for India, she was still suffering from chronic diarrhea problems that had been plaguing her for 6 months. After she vomited throughout one night, she told me (Anita) she wasn't planning to come. I (Anita) asked her to pray, and she got Isaiah 58 from God. God promised her that if she shares her food with the hungry and clothe the naked (ie. go to India), her healing would quickly appear. She didn't get any better that week. 5 days before we left, we were talking to a Christian friend, and she quoted from Isaiah 58. Catherine knew she had confirmation from God that she should go to India despite her apprehensions, so she stepped out in faith. Praise the Lord! She stopped having diarrhea when she arrived in India. He is faithful.
Team Unity
Despite a bit of friction, the Lord really answered our prayers and united us with the Holy Spirit. We really grew together as a team and loved one another in ways that shows that we are His disciples. We discovered the unique gifts and talents of one another and how we could work together as one body under Christ as the head.
Children under foster care
There are 6 boys living at the Eluri family's compound and 4 at the Senior's Home.
Testimony
The oldest boy, Ganesh, shared his testimony with us. He was very sick with malaria earlier last year (at least, that's what he called the illness), but the Lord healed him. When he grows up, he wants to be like Vimal Eluri (the 30-year-old pastor who currently oversees all HMJC since his father passed away) and serve God. One morning, I (Anita) was in the church (it is a part of the HMJC compound that the Eluri family lives in) at 5:30am and at 6 sharp, Ganesh comes in to pray and read the Bible. After his personal quiet time, he went to wake up his roommates so they could do group devotions with Vimal.
Typical Schedule
The boys sweep the yard and clean every morning before doing group devotions with Vimal. They go to school from 8 to 4pm. From 5:30-7:30pm, they go do their homework at Vimal's aunt's house to attend her free "tutorial" in her front yard. In addition to Sunday service, they attend prayer meetings and cottage meetings three nights a week.
Concerns
Due to a lack of finances, the boys usually get eggs once a week and chicken once a week. They don't get dairy products regularly and we never saw them eat fruit. They satiate their hunger mainly with rice. In contrast, our team felt like we were being extravagant by eating fruit every meal. Also, some of the boys really need to go see a dentist. They've never had a cleaning before.
School Construction Project
Praise God for providing the funds needed for beginning the construction. We trust that He will continue to provide until there is enough funds for stage 1 to be completed and all the classrooms to be equipped. The construction will begin in March and will be completed by May for the school to begin operating in mid-June. During this trip, we met with the contractor and visited the 5-acre land that the school will be built on. He showed us how big the classrooms will be, and the 4 teachers on the team agreed that the classrooms are quite spacious and will be suitable for interactive teaching methods. Please pray that God will strengthen Vimal as he directs this project and empower him to make all the decisions necessary. Vimal has prayed that the blood of Jesus covers every dollar that has been donated so that he will make decisions that will make the best use of the funds.
To support the school project, please donate through the Bridgestones International website http://bridgestones.com/what_we_do_detail.php?Children-s-School-CONSTRUCTION-2
Senior's Home
There are currently 9 seniors that live there.
Praise Report
Last year, HMJC received a donation of $1000+ and were able to reconstruct the home. What was originally a little hut with a thatched roof transformed into a sturdy concrete building with a durable roof. Catherine and I (Anita) were amazed to see the contrast between the building we saw last year and the building this year. Previously the hut had no beds and only had enough space for the seniors to sit down. Now, the home now has a big room that fits 9 beds, an office, and a kitchen with a stove. Praise the Lord for how far the dollar can go in India!
Church Plants
Visiting Churches
There are 20+ churches established in villages scattered throughout the West Godavari district. For Vimal to visit the churches, it takes him anywhere from 30min to 1.5h of driving on dirt roads. Vimal usually visits a different church every night to preach. Luckily, he gave us a bit of a break on a few nights, so we weren't out till midnight every day. When we attended the numerous meetings, we shared the Word (aka preached), led English worship, and prayed for numerous people.
Condition of Churches
The churches we visited often lacked ceilings and even walls. Some were under construction, so we just met in the middle of a dirt road and sat on rice sacks sewed together. Of course, we always had seats of honour-- we got to sit in lawn chairs while the congregation saw on the ground. We felt terrible because many seniors were sitting on the ground while we were elevated in chairs. A lot of time, there was only one lightbulb to illuminate the meeting space, so we had to use flashlights to read our Bibles. Despite the less-than-favourable conditions, the church members were on fire for God: they sang with zeal and prayed intensely.
Network of Pastors
There are 12 committed pastors that work under the leadership of Vimal in the umbrella of HMJC. They minister to 2-3 villages and often impact the lives of 200-300 villagers. Some of them have been serving God for 20 years! Please pray for financial support for them. Most of them have no regular income and they receive very little offerings from the church congregation. Sometimes they don't know where their next meal is. Praise God that a team member has committed to supporting the pastors as long as she has her job.
Pastor John aka "Praise the Lord Pastor"
Out of all the pastors we met, we got to spend a little more time with Pastor John, as he accompanied us to the Senior's Home, the medical outreach trip, and the school property. I have not encountered many men of God that are so filled with joy and clothed with humility. He always took the last row when we travelled in the van. When we were walking around the school property, a few of us got burrs stuck to our pant legs and Pastor John just patted off the burrs for us.
Medical Outreach
We had the opportunity to visit a village that only has 3 believers and no church or pastor yet. After Vimal shared the gospel, we performed our worship dance and skit about God's love and how He is the only One who can fulfill our hearts. We then handed out free medicine to the ailing and prayed for each individual. Something encouraging that happened is that one of the village elder's wife sought prayer. In the past, she never wanted a pastor to pray for her, but this time, she brought a little girl with fever to us to be prayed over. Please pray that the cycle of idol worship will be broken in this village, and that hearts will be softened to receive God's love.
Major Prayer Requests
- Spiritual, emotional, physical, and psychological healing for the people of West Godavari
- Strength and health for Vimal
- More people to serve God with HMJC
- "The harvest is ready, but the labourers are few."
- Finances
- For we do not serve a God of poverty, but a God of abundant riches who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine
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