North India hearing the Good News

Sept. 30, 2005 Pastor Daniel called from north India this morning. He spoke of being in one of the northern states where it is not legal to meet for Christian worship. They are in the process of planting 3 home cell churches there. Please pray for their safety and the safety of Christians who live there. The BJP, a hindu extremist group, have threatened to burn the home of the local pastor and kill his family.

A big thanks again to two of you who helped cover the transportation costs of the pastors going to the north.

Above is a picture of the Varanasi River where the Hindus go to wash themselves in a purification ceremony. It is also where the dead are burned and their ashes are thrown into the river.

Pastor Daniel reported that he was able to share the gospel with 12 Saddus. He said that they are very close to accepting Jesus as Savior. He asked that we pray especially for these 12.

The Saddus are very dedicated Hindus considered to be holy by the people. They have given their lives to the Hindu gods and will pray and bless people. They live very austere lives wearing no clothing, owning nothing, depending on the goodness of others to feed them. They will often come and recite from the Hindu holy books and people will gather and listen to them.

Last night Pastor Daniel and those with him were not able to take the train into Bihar as was planned. For some reason the train was not going to go into Bihar state. The train also would not take them back to where they could stay, so they ended up having to walk 5km after midnight last night to catch another train to Delhi. He'll go on to another state tonight and preach there tomorrow morning. Please pray for the Lord's angels to surround them as they go.

Please pray also for pastor Piesa (sp?) who is traveling with Pastor Daniel. He has been sick and yesterday they had to leave him behind while they went on.

Update on the flooding

The waters have receeded in Vijayawada and the cleanup process is beginning. They were only able to give us a very short message. I hope to hear more on Monday or Tuesday. Please keep the 412 families who lost their homes in the fire in your prayers. We have sent on any aid that we have received and they are currently using it to help these families.