Notes From The Field

I have just returned from four days on the field, and I had an encouraging time visiting 3 of our 14 this past week. We went with Paul*, whom I had visited with a couple of months back. He was excited to find people in a new place interested in the Gospel. Paul has been going back there often, and has 2 men of peace in this village of fishermen. One of them was always drinking alcohol and getting drunk. He would argue with his wife and children. He had been listening to the Gospel from Paul*, but hadn't accepted. One day, one of their children was sick, but he had no money to take him to the doctor. He remembered that he could pray to Jesus for help, and the next day, someone gave him money to see the doctor- the exact amount needed! From then he has been believing more. One night, his wife had terrible stomach pain. It was 1 o'clock, so no doctors were available at that time. He prayed to Jesus to heal her. Immediately, she felt better! Since seeing God's power, he has repented and believed. He no longer drinks and he feels peace in his heart. He has been a witness of how God can change lives. Many others have seen the change in him, and it is only a matter of time before this village begins to accept Jesus. Church meetings take place every week in their house, and Paul* is teaching him the things we teach Paul*. Praise the Lord!
I visited with another of our 14, Matthew*. Recently, he had 2 young men come to know Jesus. They went and shared with one of their friends, and he accepted Christ. I taught all three about assurance of salvation in the Bible, and also about baptism, as they have not taken it yet. They have been believers now for 1 month, and their friend for 1 week. One of Matthew's* church planters that he has been teaching, has had 5 people in a village he has been sharing in come to him wanting to know more about Jesus. On Saturday, December 6, he and Matthew* are going to share the gospel with them. We are praying that they receive it and become fishers of men!
I also received word from my team member about another of our 14, who I was not visiting this week. James*, who has a network of CP's and a mission organization, has been very forward about pushing his guys to do the things we are teaching. He himself committed in his plan to visit 6 new villages. However, running a network and organization, he has been very busy and unable to visit any new villages. James* called and he had taken Thomas*, another of our 14 who lives near him, with him to a new village. He said that he was excited to have found a person of peace and that they accepted Christ as their savior!
Slowly and little by little, our 14 are catching the vision. Once we get more of them to consistently do what we are teaching, and coming back to report to the entire group to rejoice, the whole group will begin to move forward even quicker.
Pray for our 14, that they continue to put into practice the things we are learning together, and that they remember that planting churches is not enough- they need to plant churches that plant churches. That is how over 1 billion souls have a chance to hear and respond to the Gospel of Jesus!
*Names of 14 changed to Apostle names for security.

Testimonies from South Asia

In my last post, two videos showed how much of a dark and lost place South Asia is, and why this region needs Jesus. One of our partners, who is an indigenous Pastor in the region, sends us reports, called Facts from the Field. It is about how God is working among the people. It's all for the fame of His name, is it not? Here are two testimonies to how Jesus changes people who have never heard of Him:

The testimony of the Medical Practitioner: Dr. _______ was a Hindu, worshiped idols of different kinds. He was also a drug addict. He had no hope and peace in his life. One of our pastors visited in his villager and shared the gospel with him. He also read a few booklets about Jesus, but he didn't believe in Christ. One day, while he was doing an operation with the help of another doctor, the patient lost his pulse and Dr._____ felt the patient die. He didn't know what to do. He knew that if the patient dies he will have to close down his clinic and it will be a great shame and problem for his career. He will have to go to jail. Suddenly he remembered about the Lord Jesus and he began to pray to Jesus to bring life back to the patient. As he finished his prayer, amazingly, the patient began to breathe again. The patient is still alive and has no problem. This helped him to put his faith in Jesus and he accepted Jesus and took water baptism. There is a prayer meeting going on in his house now. He made a decision in his life that he will share the gospel with the patients, whether they like it or not, who come to his clinic. He is taking time to visit other villages also to share the gospel. His wife and children are now Christians.

Testimony of an Idol Maker & worshipper: Mr. _____ used to make Hindu gods and goddesses of wood, cement and muds etc. Customers used to come from different parts of the area to buy the idols which he and his brother used to make. I have seen the idols he made while I visited his village. He used to worship them. He was also an alcoholic and wasted all the money he earned. His family was in great trouble as he used to fight with others after drinking and also he wasted all the money. One of our pastors visited his village and began to share the gospel with his villagers. His wife, after she heard about Jesus told him about the pastor and the gospel she heard. They had never ever heard about Jesus before. So this was new to them. However, he didn't listen to the gospel, in fact, he was very angry with the pastor for sharing the gospel. But the pastor began to pray for him and invited him to stop by the prayer meeting place whenever he liked to do so. One day, Mr. _____ was going to drink alcohol, and as he just passed the prayer meeting place, he felt the need to stop there and visit the pastor. Amazingly, the prayer meeting was going on there and he sat with them and listened the gospel. He got changed from there on. He didn't go to drink that day after he heard the gospel but he returned home. The gospel began to change him. He gave his life to Christ and peace and joy returned to his home. He witnessed the Lord in the water (baptism). Now, he is sharing the gospel not only with his villagers and friends, he is going to other villagers, even to his wife's villages. He is truly a changed person now. I met him and his family after he went home from the training. I was really happy to see a happy family in Christ. His father is against him for accepting Christ. Please pray for him to believe in Jesus. This is what Gospel can do with any one who believes in Christ. The gospel transformed him. (Names left blank for security reasons).

God is doing amazing things in a very dark and lost area of His world. Praise His Holy Name!