Dear Family and Friends–
Jim and I are off to Kolkata India - the home of now St. Theresa - next Friday, November 3rd. We have one other team member joining us - Ned. We're excited to see how God uses him and shows him His work in hearts on the other side of the world. How did this trip come about? Well you may know that we normally travel to Bangladesh through our International Impact ministry at Christ Community Church. However, due to security precautions and a State Department warning, we can not travel there right now. But God has issued us a different invitation to partner with what He is doing in another region close by...in India.
One of the partners we work with has been planting small home churches in Bangladesh, and we have come to find they have been working across the border in India using a similar model. Our plan is to meet with and provide Bible-based teaching for a number of those house church leaders (approximately 80+ people). We visited this group for the 1st time last year November, and Jim returned in March. There will be some of their key leaders returning, and there will likely be more folks joining us as this house church movement has grown over the year. Most of these leaders likely have only been new believers within the last year or two.
So why do we go? What is it we sense God inviting us into? We have found by gathering together, our brothers and sisters in India will experience encouragement, fellowship and realization that they are not alone, but part of a broader body of Christ. They will be able to apply their new teaching, practice looking up verses and reading the Bible together to help them apply God’s truth to their lives, and share in Christian community with their fellow believers. Discipleship at its most basic form. How exciting to live out Matthew 28:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Would you pray for us? We are invited to assist in making disciples and facilitating the continued spread of God's truth and love and salvation.
We are excited to be engaging with and making new friends in India, but most important, we are asking God to lead us and use us. Pray that our teaching would be received, and understood. That our new brothers and sisters will be encouraged, energized, and filled with excitement that they take with them to their home churches. We pray that they are emboldened in love to speak the saving message of Jesus to others and obey all He commands. And lastly, that our work there will be glorifying to our Savior.
Trip logistics:
We depart the afternoon of November 3, return November 11th. There will only be three of us travelling from Illinois, we will meet up with two others in India. Jim and Andrea will be teaching sometime on the 5th or 6th. We will also be taking a short trip North within far eastern India to explore whether it may be feasible for us to take a small team to assist in mercy ministry and serving others in order to help facilitate reception of the Gospel from our indigenous partners who live there. Please pray for wisdom insight and favor within the communities we visit. Please pray for safe travel, no illness, and good translators. Mostly, protection from anything that would distract or try to get us off-track.
Please also pray that our children here at home, being cared for and loved on by fantastic friends and our church's middle school girl's pastor, are healthy, at peace, and free from anxiety. Our daughter has struggled with some illness the past 3 weeks, almost forcing me to not be able to go on this trip. God has been gracious, and we live in a country with access to great health care. I am grateful. She's doing much better, and is excited for us to go on this trip. She did not want either of us to need to stay back. So with her improved health and her blessing, the Spirit continues to confirm his invitation to both of us for this trip.
Thanks in advance for your prayers. We will follow-up with you when we return.
PS - we do hope to update you a couple of times while we are on the ground there. Check back!☺
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