Our family is celebrating 19 years of God’s faithfulness in Bihar. It was on October 23, 1999 we reached Bihar. We want to thank God and want to share with you our joy and also want to thank you for being with us in this journey.
When we came to Bihar nobody agreed with us. The church abroad where I was Pastoring along with my job became angry when they heard that I am not going back. To my wife her bank said; it’s not good for ladies; come to Mumbai the head office. Many people in some way told us ‘Do not go there’, only God told me ‘Do not go back from here.’ By the grace of God, we could obey that call of God.
Last one year the persecution was the highest. Many beatings and threatening. But God helped us not to quit. So, in spite of opposition we could conduct many outreach programs and around 600 children programs and 800 film show and around 50 public gospel festivals. Many new churches were planted among new people. God protected us and many souls are saved. And during the last year we had maximum baptisms, I think. Wherever we went, during the altar call we saw people raising their hand for baptism. During the last few weeks alone there were baptisms at many places; 84 at Nalanda, 60 at Nawada, 40 at Jamui, 22 at Patna 37 at Varanasi, 12 at Aurangabad and so on. When we came in 1999, we did not have even two baptisms per year for at least 5 years or so. We could not save our first child due to lack of medical help and he or she went into our toilet as doctor did not admit her (my wife is a post graduate from one of the best institutes of that discipline in the country and myself a Ph.D. holder in science), we were beaten, police took us into custody, people suspected us, opposed us, tried to spread rumors. But thank God we did not go back.
Preeti’s bank has her best office at Trivandrum in our home state and people in her office wonder why she never went to work there though she could easily go there. When we see the millions of perishing souls in Bihar, we can’t afford to leave this place. And all our mission needs are met in the mission field as answers to prayer without asking any human being. God raised His people like you to stand with us. Most of them were unknown to us. This testimony I am sharing to let us all know that our God is faithful. Of course, we appeal to churches to send workers and stand with them as it’s a biblical demand.
In the first 7 years we did not have more than 10 churches and not even 20 believers. But God increased it into may be more than 1000 in the next 7 years. God gave us excellent fellow servants in 50 most unreached districts of India. Our dream is to train 10,000 full time workers and 100,000 volunteers in the next 7 years God willing. We need you in this pursuit. Our life purpose is to reach All the unreached villages and towns in India.
Today, as we enter into 20 th year in ministry in North India, my personal savings in cash and kind is less than 10,000 rupees. Recently, I was invited to preach in the World Missions conference. I got an honorarium for preaching. That also will go to mission account. I am telling this because of two reasons; many people think preachers take away whatever they get to their home; and if some preachers do like that we want to remind them to be accountable. Dr. Billy Grahams method too was to put all gifts into the account of the organization and he took a salary. I don’t take a salary because my wife has a good salary.
Mission has so much need in the field for the workers and we need to follow simple life style to do our best in missions. Once again thank you so much. Please celebrate with us the faithfulness of God. Please stand with us. Please trust us. Please pray for us. Please be part of reaching the unreached masses of India. Please visit us in Bihar. May God bless you.
