Dear brothers and sisters,
Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! I just wanted to give you an update on the work of the Lord in T__________. The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). The following report contains the stories of those who were baptized in March 2015.
Ramanamma (50 years old)
She has been coming to the church for three years. In the past, she suffered from heart problems. Even though I explained the Gospel to her many times, she rejected it for many years. She would
not surrender her life to Jesus Christ. She soon began to suffer from her heart problem. This lasted many days. The church prayed for her healing, and by God’s grace, He heard our prayers and she was healed. This led her to surrender her life to Jesus Christ. To make sure that she was truly trusting in the Lord, I examined her for a period of six months. After showing a genuine fruit of repentance, I baptized her and welcomed her into the church family. We praise God for His grace in the saving of sinners.
Shyamala (20 years old)
Shyamala has been attending the church for a year and a half. She repented of her sins, but I was taking my time before I baptized her. At one point in her walk, she had a nervous breakdown. She assumed that this happened to her because she had not been baptized yet. She thought that the Lord was punishing her with this problem. As I examined her life, she approached me, and asked, “Pastor, if you don’t baptize me and I die, I will go to hell.” I then realized that she had a misconception of baptism. I was able to explain to her the true meaning of baptism. The whole church prayed for her, and the Lord healed her. We praise God for His mercy. She was baptized and we welcomed her into the fellowship.
Danamma (70 years old)
She has been coming to the church for the last four years. She used to beg me to baptize her, because she thought that baptism would get her into heaven. This is a common thought that many believe in this region. Every time I asked her a few questions about baptism, she could not give me the right answers. One day I was preaching on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. She was convicted of her sins, repented, and placed her trust in Jesus. It is Christ who saves! I baptized her and welcomed her to the fellowship. Praise God that He still saves sinners, even older sinners.
Ravi
Ravi is my brother. He was an alcoholic. He disliked Christianity so much, that he would criticize all Christians, calling them hypocrites. He would not allow his wife to attend church, even though she was a Christian. He hated the fact that Jesus Christ is the only God. He claimed that there were many gods, and there were many ways to reach God. Every time I preached to him, he would not listen. One day, the Lord troubled his heart, and he came to the church seeking peace in his life. Again, the Lord burdened me to preach the Gospel to my brother. Since that day, he never stopped coming to church. He has been attending the church for the last year. After examining the fruit in his life, I had the privilege to baptize my own brother. It has been a great joy to receive my brother into the fellowship.
Yesu Raktam
Literally translated, his name means “The blood of Jesus.” What a glorious name! He was an agnostic and didn’t believe in a God. He used to say, “we work, get money, eat, drink, and die.” He never desired to understand anything about life beyond this world. This is common in the villages of South India. We can sympathize, for we understand that every person is born an agnostic. If not for the grace of God, no one would believe in the true God of heaven and earth.
One day his wife invited me to conduct a prayer meeting in his house. Taking hold of the opportunity, I shared the Gospel with him again. I told him about the cross of Christ. He asked, “Why would Jesus die for man’s sins?” Then, I walked him through the gospel. I told him, “If you believe on Him, He will save you from your sins, and from eternal damnation.” From that day, I have seen a great change in his life. He has been faithful for the last two years. When he requested me to baptize him, I baptized him immediately. Once an agnostic, today, he is the first one to arrive at the church. What a God we serve! Praise be to God! May He receive all of the glory!
Thank you for supporting us through your prayers. Please continue to pray for my family, ministry, and church. Please pray for my two sons. One was married, and the other is currently pursuing his studies.
Yours in Christ,
Yehoshua A.
