“I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

(Luke 15:10)

Pastor Venkata Rao – October 17

Former Hindu woman who now possesses inexpressible joy for she once

was blind, but now she sees!  Pastor Venkata Rao ministers in a remote

area located in the Medak District.  On this day, 9 new believers publically

repented of their sins and called on the Name above all names – Jesus Christ!

 

 

Dear Friends of SIF:

 

I pray you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend.  Thank you for your continued prayers for our brothers and sisters in India.  My wife and I recently watched an astounding biography of Dr. Paul Brand and his wife Dr. Margaret Brand.  They both were amazing pioneers for their research and work with lepers in India. Dr. Margaret Brand made a profound and humbling comment having to do with the fact God “trusted” her those many years she worked with the lepers.  As I have reflected on her comment, so too has the Lord trusted all of us with this great gift of being involved in the lives of our brothers and sisters in India!  If you would like to see the three Brand biographies, you can click on this link:  Day of Discovery

 

As we quickly approach the Christmas Season, I want to encourage you with a rich supply of God’s miraculous mercy and grace as He and He only makes the dead alive through the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ.  I hope the photos of new believers and ministry activities bring delight to your heart!

 

If you wish to send support, you can either mail a check to the address below or you can use the PayPal feature on the website (http://sharonindia.org/), which will transfer funds from their secure account to the Foundation account.  Please pray for our precious friends in Indai……………. 

 

Mail your checks to:

Sharon India Foundation

133 E. Warm Springs Rd #102

Las Vegas, NV  89119

 

Note:  Due to Christmas, the pastors have humbly asked if they could have their monthly meeting earlier.  The Pastor’s Fellowship Meeting will be held on Dec 17th.  The bank wire will be sent to India on the 13^th of Dec.  Please plan accordingly.  The pastors “All Night Prayer” meeting will be Tuesday evening (Dec 6th) starting at 10pm.

 

Grateful for the Cross,

Dan

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.  For our God is a consuming fire.”

(Hebrews 12:28-29)

 

 

BAPTISMS

 

Pray for these new believers and the humble church and congregation of Pastor Joseph.

 

 

 

Pastor Satyanandam said the following: “Yesterday the Lord gave me opportunity to baptize 3 new believers in the church of Pastor K. Samson at Rajivgandhi Nagar, I request you to pray for these people so that they may stand for Christ as witnesses until the end of their lives. These 3 new believers were “idol worshipers” and convicted by God the Holy Spirit as they hear the Gospel of Christ. In his testimony Pastor K. Samson shared that he was in many troubles while doing his ministry before he was introduced to SPWF and now able to survive as the Lord providing him through SIF. When I heard how SIF changed his life I had tears with joy came down from my eyes………”

 

 

 

Pastor John Paul had baptisms as he celebrated his church anniversary.  Please pray for these wonderful people.

 

 

 

Satyanandam said:  “Early in the morning we left for a village called sirisnagalla near Medak district in the church of Pastor P. Timothy. The presence of God was with us to Baptized 14 people and present the Gospel of Christ Jesus there. The Lord is merciful to participate in this church event and I request you to pray for all these 14 new believers, so that they may be witness for Christ in the days a head.  This Pastor Timothy is working in this remote area among the village people and doing His ministry in poverty for the sake of Christ. He also mentioned in His testimony that with the financial support of SIF he was able to come and minister in such difficult place and very grateful to you and SIF for this encouragement. Glory to God and God only.”

 

 

 

BAPTISM CANCELLED!  Due to the village people they had to cancel the baptisms.  The pastors that attended held a special worship service instead.  Below is Pastor Raja Ratnam praying for Kristudas’ church and congregation.  Please pray that Satan and his followers would be defeated.  All that attended gave Glory to God for He is the Sovereign Lord of the Universe.

 

 

 

 

GOSPEL MEETINGS

 

God blessed Pastor Abraham (below with grey jacket) with a child after waiting on the Lord for 11 years of married life.  To celebrate this event, he made a commitment to hold a gospel meeting.  Over 500 people showed up.  Please pray that God will use His Word that was sown for a great harvest one day!

 

 

 

On the 13th of Sept, Pastor Sunil Samuel of Rajendra Nagar performed water baptism as these new believers gave witness.  Pastor Sunil Samuel is a faithful brother in the midst of Hindus.  After the baptisms, he arranged for a Gospel Meeting and over 300 gathered.  Our Living God protected the entire meeting.  Please pray….

 

 

 

Pastor Rama Chandra Rao on the anniversary of his church (13th of Nov) had a Gospel Meeting that many Hindus in the neighborhood attended and heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  At that time he also shared his testimony and told that he was a workman in private company and at the same time distributed news papers to every home of that area as paper boy, since that time facing many troubles and hardship he continued ministry as a pastor.  SPWF came into his life and is now encouraging him.

 

 

 

 

Odisha

(Formerly Orissa)

 

Very poor girl carrying water in Odisha

 

  

Osisha church.  They were great encouraged by the Hyderabad pastors that visited our Odisha brothers and sisters.  Not too many churches like this one in the USA!

 

 

Sewing machines for 2 poor women of Odisha.   Satyanandam said:  “I heard from the pastors that these 2 women lost their husbands in the youth and in very need of money for running their families. Through this money they are able to earn lively hood for their families.”

 

  

ADDITIONAL BLESSINGS

 

 

Children receiving free education and Bible Study through Sharon India Foundation.  Many are from Dalit (untouchable) Hindu families and they go back to their homes and tell their mothers about Jesus.

 

 

 

Pastor Christopher’s son, Ishmael Paul was married on the 12th of October.

 

 

 

Pastor Chinna Raju distributes Bibles to church members and sarees to widows

 

 

 

Another faithful brother and his wife (right side), Pastor Boaz with several new children in Christ

 

 

Pastor B. John – Amazing Grace!  (November 14th)

 

 

 

Pastors in the State of Karnataka had a 3-Day Bible Training put on by the Haggai Institute.  This was the first time to have such a concentrated training for these wonderful brothers.

 

 

 

Another baptism held this Wednesday………….( As you can tell, I never get tired of looking at these photos and hearing all about these wonderful brothers).  Here is what Pastor Satyanandam said about Pastor G. Moses:  “This pastor Moses once worked in the ministry without any kind of support from anywhere but now God has showed him away through SIF and he is able to run the ministry and draw some souls to Christ with the encouragement, support and cooperation from SIF. He also shared in his testimony that God and God only brought him to Sharon fellowship and grateful to God and thankful to SIF.”

 

 

 

 

We will never know on this side of eternity what impact

2 widows will have in proclaiming the Good News for Christ.

Both these women are prayer warriors and serve their local churches!

 

 

 

 

Pastor’s Fellowship Meeting – HELD TODAY!

These men are so grateful to the Sharon India Foundation

with thanksgiving in their hearts.

(November 26, 2011)

 

 

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.(2 Cor 9:12)

Church in Odisha (formerly Orissa)

 

As most of you know, the anti-conversion laws make it extremely

difficult and dangerous to convert to Christianity.  Several months

ago 16 new Christians and 2 pastors were arrested in Odisha for

converting to Christianity without a permit.  Believe it or not, they

were charged under the “Odisha Freedom of Religion Act.”

 

The above photo was taken by Pastor Satyanandam on August 8th

when he and other Hyderabad pastors visited 26 pastors in Odisha.

This is what he said about the photo:   “The building which is this

picture is a church few years ago and because of the government

ban and rule against Christianity Gospel preaching now it is not used

by pastors and congregations. The cows which we see in this photo

take shelter in the same building when it rains. People were afraid

to run worship service in such church buildings and now they are

empty and misused. When I saw this building and heard from the

local pastors about some church buildings our hearts pierced and

we wept for what happened now a days. I pray that the Lord would

deal with the people of this state and with the Government officials

and some day these churches will be filled with believers and the Lord

will be glorified by this. Let us pray with much more burden that the

evil forces and followers of Satan will be judged in due time.”  The

Good News is that the “Church” of believers in Odisha is growing,

even without buildings!

 

 

Dear SIF Supporters:

 

Thank you for your continued prayers for our brothers and sisters in India.  As you can surmise by the note above, our fervent and effectual prayers continue to availth much due the righteousness we have in Christ.  It is so humbling to reflect on the fact that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” and through His death and resurrection we have this amazing ability to pray for our friends in India!

 

The SIF Board of Directors are now discussing how we can fine-tune our vision to support the pastors to an even greater degree in their Great Commission efforts.  Time is short, so we are focusing more and more on evangelism and discipleship.  As mentioned in the last letter, there continues to be many amazing things going on with our brothers and sisters India as you will hopefully see in the photos below.

 

If you wish to send support, you can either mail a check to the address below or you can use the PayPal feature on the website (http://sharonindia.org/), which will transfer funds from their secure account to the Foundation account. 

 

Mail your checks to:

Sharon India Foundation

133 E. Warm Springs Rd #102

Las Vegas, NV  89119

 

A bank wire will be sent to India on the 19^th of Sept.  The Pastor Fellowship Meeting will be held on Saturday, Sept 24^th  Note: The pastors “All Night Prayer” meeting will be Tuesday evening (Sept 6th) starting at 10pm.

 

Grateful for His Grace,

Dan

 

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”(1 Peter 5:6-7)

 

 

 

 

Confusion Among the Hindus

 

Pastor Gideon and Pastor Timothy – Adilabad Region

 

Above is Pastor Gideon’s church.  Both he and Pastor Timothy minister in this district facing sufferings, hardships and hostility.  When they started to minister there some years ago, there was not one single Christian.  But now, souls are being won for Christ slowly among the uncivilized people of the forest.  The pastors from Hyderabad traveled to this area last month to comfort and encourage these two brothers.  This is what Pastor Satyanandam said: 

“We had a privilege to be with them and work together sharing personal evangelism to some people in these 2 days.  While distributing Gospel tracks, a group of Hindu people who are against us gather together to attack us, while we are in His work we missed the experience to be beaten by them and we came to know that this group stopped to come against us in the last minute as they quarreled within themselves and I believe that this is done by God himself.”

When I initially read this, it reminded me of the real story of Gideon in the Bible!……..wow

 

Pastor Gideon and Pastor Timothy’s Congregation

 

 

You may remember the Hindu village leader, Mr. Venu (below left).  Pastor Bhaskar

(below)  held a Gospel Meeting earlier in the year and Mr. Venu attended.  As the

Gospel was preached, Mr. Venu responded to the Gospel by the power of God through

the Holy Spirit.  He donated land for Pastor Bhaskar to build a church.

 

Photo of the church dedication.  After another Gospel presentation in July, Mr. Venu

promised 50 bags of cement for the church construction.  Amazing how God supplies!

 

 

Group photo of the Odisha Pastors taken earlier in the month.  No one outside the

Hyderabad pastors has come alongside these brothers to encourage them.  SIF continues

to provide Bibles, teaching materials and bicycles.  They are grateful to the Lord!

 

Last month the SIF sponsored a 3-Day Bible training by the Haggai Institute.  The pastors

were truly grateful for this Bible training.  Some of the areas covered was the Bible Mandate

for Evangelizing, Leadership for Evangelizing, Integrity, etc.  Next month we hope to provide

similar training for the pastors in Karnataka.

 

 

Below are a few photos of the many baptisms that occurred in July and August.  This photo was taken at the church of Pastor Joy living in Ibrahimpatnam.  The Holy Spirit convicted 13 new believers and they were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Pastor Joy has been a faithful brother and travels around his village with the use of a bicycle given to him by the SIF.

 

Medak District….  Both Pastors K. Moses (top left) and E.Moses (bottom left) had baptisms and worship services.  K. Moses congregation is the top right photo and E. Moses is on the lower photo.  Pastor Satyanandam said the following:  “Please pray about all these new believers who baptized this week and added to the church of God. So that they may not mingle with world once again and stand for Christ for ever and ever.”

 

Earlier this week, Pastor Daniel conducted discipleship training for 65 pastors in the Adilabad

District.  He is using Operation Timothy books provided by SIF.  This is what Pastor Daniel said:

“Many testified that their understanding of only bringing people to Christ is not at all enough

but must make them as disciples of Christ. For that they have to follow the footsteps of our

Lord & Saviour.”   Please pray for these pastors…..

 

In closing, the pastors had their monthly fellowship meeting yesterday.  They are so grateful

to all the sponsors that love them and pray for them.  They continue to praise God for His

grace and mercy that He rains down in abundance.  10 pastors received bicycles and they are

very happy indeed.  As stated in the email yesterday: “These bicycles will be very helpful

to all these pastors to travel near by places and people to preach the Gospel and visit believers also.”   

Orissa now  Odisha

 

The State of Orissa has officially changed its name to Odisha.  The BJP

Party pushed this name change through to remove any history of British colonization. 

Needless to say, the Indian state of Odisha is currently the most poverty

stricken, and known for the most severe persecution toward Christians in all of India. 

 

You may not be aware, but Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code makes is a crime to

promote “disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religions,

racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.” Of course, seldom are Hindus

ever prosecuted under this statute!  Numerous pastors are jailed due to this law.

 

 

 

Dear SIF Supporters:

 

Thank you for your continued prayers for our brothers and sisters in India.  In 1 Peter 4, we come across the familiar verse: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.”  I’m sure there are not many, if any, that would voluntarily desire to go through a “fiery trial,” but when we do as co-heirs of Christ, we are not to think it as something strange.  The next verse says: “but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”  A pastor in India recently said: “Persecution is not an accident, it is the expectation.”

 

There are many amazing things going on with our friends in India.  We continue to give praise that their boldness for the Great Commission continues to increase as God is working profoundly in their midst.  I hope you are encouraged by the photos below.

 

If you wish to send support, you can either mail a check to the address below or you can use the PayPal feature on the website (http://sharonindia.org/), which will transfer funds from their secure account to the Foundation account. 

 

Mail your checks to:

Sharon India Foundation

133 E. Warm Springs Rd #102

Las Vegas, NV  89119

 

A bank wire will be sent to India on the 21^st of this month.  The Pastor Fellowship Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 25^th  Note: The pastors “All Night Prayer” meeting will be this coming Tuesday evening (7th) starting at 10pm.

 

“The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.”(Psalm 25:14)

 

Your grateful slave in Jesus Christ,

Dan

 

 

 

Medak District – 100 km north of Hyderabad

Pastor Sanjeeva Rao’s “outdoor” church.  This is what Pastor Satyanandam had to say this past Friday (6/3):  “Yesterday I went to the baptismal programme at Medak in the church of Pastor Sanjeeva Rao and 2 new believers added to the church of God after baptism. This pastor is doing ministry in remote area faithfully. He also received a bicycle from SIF and working for the Lord in and around the area and preaching Gospel to the unreached with help of that bicycle. The place where we baptized this 2 new believers is 2 km far from his church and we reached there by foot. The whole village is filled with idol worship and pray that the Lord would draw that people to the cross of Christ from the terrible idol worship and receive gospel of truth in the days to come.”  

 

 

There have been several marriages the past couple months.  Below is a very typical

wedding announcement.  This was the marriage of Bro. Srinu’s  daughter, Anusha.

Please pray for this couple.

 

Marriage of Pastor U. Joseph’s daughter last month.  This new couple are receiving

a blessing as they are prayed over by the attending pastors.

 

Great photo of newly baptized members of Pastor Sheath’s church.  Pray that these new

brothers and sisters of ours will be strengthened in the days ahead and be bold witnesses

for the amazing new life that they have in Jesus Christ…………wow! (Pastor Sheath far left)

 

4 young widows received sewing machines and financial support for some medical conditions.

This was an amazing event yesterday (Saturday) as these young women shed tears of joy as

they gave thanks and praise to God for His love and kindness showered upon them.  These machines

will be so useful as they embark on their own financial support.  Widows are extremely mistreated in

their current work environments.  Please pray for these precious sisters of ours.

 

In May, Pastor Jacob had an anniversary celebration of his church.  Also, that same day he

organized a Gospel meeting.  Many responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Pastor Raju and his wife (far right) stand with 2 new members of his humble church.  Pastor

Raju ministers in a remote area.  The 2 new children of God’s family were rescued from the

the darkness of Hinduism and idol worship.  All new believers receive Telugu Bibles from SIF.  

 

Pastor’s Fellowship Meeting, May 28th

 

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen

 

 

A SIF Story of God’s Grace on Easter

 

In closing, I wanted to share an amazing story with you.  Below is an email I sent to Andy Fetsis on Thursday, April 21st, just prior to Easter Sunday.

 

Dear Andy:

 

I have to tell you that something bizarre happened yesterday.  We forgot to make a deposit into the SIF checking account.  Therefore, when I made the wire on Monday, it was cancelled due to inadequate funds.  I didn’t find out until Satyanandam emailed me yesterday (Wed) telling me the funds had not been added to the account.  Friday is a bank holiday in India, so I knew it was impossible for the funds to arrive in time for this Saturday’s SPWF meeting.  As you know, many of the churches already had planned Easter programs and outreaches to the Hindus, so the timing was very important and we were very grieved about this oversight.

 

I went ahead anyway and had my controller make a deposit at 1:30pm Wed.  I sent the wire instructions at 2:30pm PST (6am Thursday morning in India) to BofA.  There is always a “minimum” 12 hour hold from deposit to wire transmission before it begins its journey from BofA (east coast) to Mumbai to Hyderabad.  In business terms with the time difference ——— absolutely impossible for the funds to get to the State Bank of Hyderabad by Thursday.  The bank manager even told Steve that the wire would not be sent until Thursday – too late for an India wire.

 

They were praying in India, my controller & I were praying and by God’s Grace only, He sent the wire through.  And to make things even more amazing, the funds were received in India in the MORNING!  That means the wire took less than 4 hours to reach the bank in Hyderabad from start to finish!   People can say what they want, but this was a miracle from God.  He rained such loving favor, again I am humbled and speechless.

 

Just had to tell someone………………………………stricken with gratitude, Dan

 

 

 

 

Life in a Third World Country

Economist Robert Heilbroner describes the luxuries a typical American family would have to surrender if they lived among the one billion hungry people in the Third World:

We begin by invading the house of our imaginary American family to strip it of its furniture.  Everything goes: beds, chairs, tables, television sets, lamps. We will leave the family with a few old blankets, a kitchen table, a wooden chair. Along with the bureaus go the clothes. Each member of the family may keep in his “wardrobe”, his oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. We will permit a pair of shoes for the head of the family, but none for his wife or children.

We move to the kitchen. The appliances have already been taken out, so we turn to the cupboards; the box of matches may stay, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt. A few moldy potatoes, already in the garbage can, must be rescued, for they will provide much of tonight’s meal. We will leave a handful of onions and a dish of dried beans. All the rest we take away: the meat, the fresh vegetables, the canned goods, the crackers, the candy.

Now we have stripped the house: the bathroom has been dismantled, the running water shut off, the electric wires taken out. Next we take away the house. The family can move to the tool shed. Communications must go next. No more newspapers, magazines, books, not that they are missed, since we must take away our family’s literacy as well. Instead, in our shantytown we will allow one radio.

Now government services must go next. No more postmen, no more firemen.  There is a school, but it is three miles away and consists of two classrooms. There are, of course, no hospitals or doctors nearby. The nearest clinic is ten miles away and is tended by a midwife. It can be reached by bicycle, provided the family has a bicycle, which is unlikely.

Finally, money. We will allow our family a cash hoard of five dollars. This will prevent our breadwinner from experiencing the tragedy of an Iranian peasant who went blind because he could not raise the $3.94 which he mistakenly thought he needed to receive admission to a hospital where he could have been cured..

Taken from “Revolution in World Missions”, by K.P. Yohannan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear SIF Supporters:

 

First of all I want to thank all of you for the love you have extended to our brothers and sisters in India.  It never ceases to amaze me what God is doing in the midst of His people.

 

In previous letters I have mentioned the Telangana agitation in the state Andhra Pradesh.  This is a movement to split the state in two, but the Home Ministry of India desires to keep it united. In the map below is what the Pro-Telangana factions wants to do.  The upper white area would become a separate state (Telangana) if they get their way.  There has been violence over this issue (they set a train on fire just 2 weeks ago) and on March 10^th (this coming Thursday) there will be a march in Hyderabad.  They plan to create a siege and completely shut down all government.  Please keep the pastors and their congregations in your prayers.  During these times transportation is difficult and they can be stopped for any reason.

 

 

 

Regardless, our brothers and sisters continue to be faithful.  They remind me so much of the hymn written in 1865: “Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before…….”  They know ultimately whose battle it is.

 

If you wish to send support, you can either mail a check to the address below or you can use the PayPal feature on the website (http://sharonindia.org/), which will transfer funds from their secure account to the Foundation account. 

 

Mail your checks to:

Sharon India Foundation

133 E. Warm Springs Rd #102

Las Vegas, NV  89119

 

A bank wire will be sent to India on the 21^st of this month.  The Pastor Fellowship Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 26^th

 

“Do not be discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”(2 Chron 20:15)

 

Much Love in Christ,

Dan

 

 

KARNATAKA STATE

Pastor Peter of Karnataka State joyful over a former

Hindu now submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

2-23-11

 

 

 

On Feb 23^rd and 24^th some of the pastors traveled again to Karnataka State to the west of Andhra Pradesh.  They went there to encourage the poor pastors and work with them.  Clockwise from the top left are 7 very poor Karnataka pastors that were presented new bicycles which will assist them greatly in sharing the Good News.  Next photo are the Karnataka pastors with some of their wives.  Below right shows one of 2 Gospel Meetings where 400-500 attended each night.  Some of the Hyderabad pastors that assisted are Pastor Adam, Pastor Veeraiah, Pastor Rajesh Babu, Pastor Andhraiah, Pastor Samuel along with Satyanandam.  God worked a miracle on many during those 2 evening Gospel presentations.  Below left are the new believers that were baptized during this visit.  All of them came out of the bondage of Hinduism……….Amazing Grace!

 

 

ORISSA STATE

 

A few photos of the people living in the tribal areas that the Orissa pastors minister to.

 

 

OPERATION TIMOTHY

 

Some of the pastors that Pastor Daniel has been discipling using the Operation Timothy Books that have been translated into Telugu by the Sharon India Foundation.  63 Pastors received instruction and all are from the Mahaboobnagar district.

 

 

The SPWF pastors holding up their Operation Timothy Books.  Many have set aside Fridays to disciple members using these books

 

 

 

CHURCHES

 

I picked out 2 churches that rent small spaces in order to have worship.  The top is Pastor Jonah and the bottom is Pastor Peter, both ministering their congregations near Hyderabad.  The landlords (Hindu) will often throw them out without notice.

 

 

BAPTISMS

 

The photos below are of Pastor Muni Raju and his congregation standing in front of their church.  Muni Raju is almost a day’s drive from Hyderabad in the Cuddapah district (southern A.P.)  The bottom photo are a group of students that Pastor Muni Raju has been ministering to and were baptized on February 17^th.  How wonderful!

 

 

Pastor Suvarna Raju with a new believer (see his letter below) 2-21-11

 

I pulled this letter from my files to share just one of the testimonies of these faithful pastors.

I believe this letter is about 3 years old, but it shows their continued faithfulness.

 

 

 

IN CLOSING

 

 

You may remember the Hindu Village Leader that was invited to hear the Good News presented at Pastor Bhaskar’s Gospel Meeting.  Quote: “The village leader who received the message of God and the Holy Spirit convicted him and confessed as soon as the prayer is over he decided to grant a piece of land of 100 square yards for the church purpose there.”  I have since heard that the land is now officially registered with Pastor Bhaskar’s church.  Below is the village leader and Pastor Bhaskar.  Praise God!

 

 

 

“For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of,

for necessity is laid upon me: yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”  1 Cor 9:16

Little boy praying with his mother at the

dedication of Pastor Veeraiah’s church

 

 

Dear SIF Supporters:

 

I can’t believe we are already halfway through the month of January.  Happy New Year to all of you!

 

As always, there are so many things to share with you, and like the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  So I will try to keep my words brief and insert enough photos that you can get another glimpse of how God is working in the lives of our brothers and sisters in India through your prayers and kindness toward to them.

 

The most amazing thing currently being reported back to the foundation is the outreach of the SPWF (Sharon Prayer Warriors Fellowship) into the states of Karnataka and Orissa.  There is a growing group of pastors in both of these states now part of the SPWF.  They even have “all night prayer” at the same time the pastors in Hyderabad gather (1^st Tues of every month).  I have added a few photos below.  In addition, there are pastors in the state south of Andhra Pradesh (Tamil Nadu) that also desire to be part of SPWF.  On the 19^th (this Wednesday), some of the pastors will be traveling again to Orissa State.  They ask for your prayers in this hostile area.

 

If you wish to send support, you can either mail a check to the address below or you can use the PayPal feature on the website (http://sharonindia.org/), which will transfer funds from their secure account to the Foundation account. 

 

Mail your checks to:

Sharon India Foundation

133 E. Warm Springs Rd #102

Las Vegas, NV  89119

 

A bank wire will be sent to India on the 25^th of this month.  The Pastor Fellowship Meeting will be held on Saturday, January 29^th

 

“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Phil 1:29)

 

Broken and Dependent in Christ,

Dan

 

 

The pastors from Karnataka receive white safari suits for Christmas from the foundation.  Karnataka State is just west of Andhra Pradesh.  The pastors below have been traveling (by bus) for fellowship and encouragement every month.  Please pray for these brothers who labor in extremely poor and backward areas of India.

 

 

 

BAPTISMS

Touched by the Lord, this young man commits his life to Jesus Christ.

He is now part of Pastor Joseph’s church (wearing glasses).

 

 

Pastor Moses had to ask if he could use this very small cement tank that is owned by a Hindu man.  Amazingly, it was granted to him for the baptisms below.  Pray for Pastor Moses and these new believers in Christ because this area has very tough opposition toward Christians.

 

 

Last Thursday, some of the SPWF traveled to the Warangal area for baptisms and visited 2 churches of Pastor Rahel Babu and David Babu.  You will see below the newly baptized people and each of the pastors’ churches and humble congregations.

 

 

Below are some of our new brothers and sisters in Christ from 4 different churches.  This is what Pastor Satyanandam had to say:  “On Tuesday the 11th we thank God for the dear ones who are rescued from lack of fire and entered into heaven to God! God bless them. God bless His beloved servants all the pastors of these congregations. Let us pray that these dear ones newly baptized will grow in spirit and stand as a faithful witness. May God bless them, fill them with His spirit and use them for the extension of His kingdom.”  See the next set of photos for the names of the pastors.

 

 

Baptized people from above with their respective pastors

 

 

Pastor’s Fellowship and All Night Prayer

 

 

Pastor Fellowship Meeting the week before Christmas.  Due to your support, many of these pastors were able to reach out to their Hindu neighbors and invite them to hear the life-changing story of Christmas.   “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

 

 

They are all so very grateful!

 

Singing Hymns in Telugu

All Night Prayer Meeting

 

As mentioned last month, many of the woman are also joining the men at the “all night prayer” meetings.

 

 

Orissa

 

 

Prayer Request:  As mentioned above, please pray for the upcoming journey that some of the SPWF pastors from Hyderabad will be making this week.   They travel overnight by train to the state of Orissa and will join up with the pastors ministering there.  Below is a photo of the Orissa pastors during their “all night prayer” meeting they started last month.  

 

All Night Prayer meeting in Orissa.  The pastors from Hyderabad will be encouraging these brothers this week.  They are also starting to receive a small amount of financial support that helps them as they share the Good News to tribal people – some that have never heard the name of Jesus.

 

 

 

CLOSING COMMENT

The photo above is Sis. Shanthi with her mother and 10 yr old daughter.

Sis. Shanthi is a widow that had a life-threatening medical condition that needed immediate attention.

The surgery was performed and she is now out of danger.  As you can see, the post-recovery room had no beds.

Sis. Shanthi and her family are so grateful to our merciful Lord that He provided for her during this time of great need.

 

The Gospel of our Lord is going forth in many different ways.  Thank you so very much!

 

 

Pastors from the Bidar District of Karnataka, India

 

“Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done;

and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; 
         If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” (Psalm 40:5)

 

Blessings to you all on this 1^st Sunday in October:

 

Six weeks have passed since the visit by the Hyderabad pastors to the state of Karnataka where they visited and encouraged the pastors living in a radius of 25-30 km within the interior villages.  As you might know, they are extremely poor, but exceedingly grateful and praising God that He would send pastors from Andhra Pradesh to lend support.  There is no denominational influence or Christian organizations working in these areas.  It is amazing that the Sharon Prayer Warriors Fellowship (SPWF) are now reaching into neighboring states (more photos below).

 

Occasionally, testimonies are sent to me from Pastor Satyanandam, so I thought you might like to read a few of them I recently received after the Pastor and Wives Luncheon last month:

 

Pastor Prabhudas shared that with the small congregations who are very poor literally the pastor, his wife and children had to go for several days without food.  “After join SPWF  because of the monthly regular help, and their medical bills I am able to go out peacefully and serve the Lord.”  We know many of the pastors and their families condition are very similar to this testimony.

 

Another pastor had a great deal of debt and had no peace spending sleepless nights. There was no any help from any side they were praying with tears and waiting upon the Lord. At such time a SIF US sponsor came forward to his request and cleared all the problems, thank God because of SIF and SPWF the pastor and the family are quite happy serving the Lord without any fear and shame of debts.  Further in turn they are blessing the poor members of the church providing them with Bibles, blankets, cloths etc to the needy and suffering.

 

Pastor K. John Joseph came to testify that there are many rich pastors throughout India who get millions and millions of rupees from aboard.  They go on storing wealth for themselves and their descendents for several generations, but the Sharon India Foundation is blessing many pastors and through sponsors from USA they sharing in the ministry.  It is so very wonderful and beautiful for the entire ministry.  Nowhere is selfishness, hoarding or amassing of wealth!!!. Lacks of rupees go out to 170 of the pastors to further the Great Commission.  We thank God!  Such a ministry like nowhere is seen, yet we are experiencing it.  We give all Glory to God.

 

During the lunch and tea break time several pastors wives came to Sis. Lilly and shared the wonderful way how they and their children have been comforted with the help received from you and SIF every month.  In the past there were days without a grain of rice in the house and we were going without food for several nights, literally starving.  We have been going through terrible sufferings, unable to pay the school fee and to buy books.  We had no face to show in the society.  Today we thank God for the help that we are getting, not only we are able to take timely food, but also provide our children with basic needs like food, clothes and education.  We get tears of joy for what all God is doing in our lives and in our ministries through SIF.  May God bless you!  You are all always in our prayers. 

 

Several ladies came up with problems that they are going through and their needs.  Sis. Lilly told them to look to the Lord in Prayer and wait upon for His wonders. Sis. Lilly encourage them to have patience and to wait at the feet of the Lord.    

 

I hope you were encouraged by those testimonies.  As I have mentioned several times, we will probably never know this side of Heaven, the impact that your love has had and is having on these precious brothers and sisters of ours.

 

If you wish to send support, you can either mail a check to the address below or you can use the PayPal feature on the website (http://sharonindia.org/), which will transfer funds from their secure account to the Foundation account. 

 

Mail your checks to:

Sharon India Foundation

133 E. Warm Springs Rd #102

Las Vegas, NV  89119

 

A bank wire will be sent to India by the 19^th of October.  The Pastor Fellowship Meeting will be held on the 23^rd.

 

Humbled in Christ,

Dan

 

 

The 2 images below are also from Karnataka.  This is what Pastor Satyanandam said:  “Let us praise together our Beloved Lord for His great plans and wonders in our ministries and lives, Psalm 40:5, Bidar a district in Karnataka state is about 150 kms from Hyderabad, on reaching Bidar we rush to the  spot where new believers are supposed to be baptized.  I just cannot express our joy in spirit on finding about 100 people singing together rejoicing in spirit and eagerly waiting for our arrival.  To our surprise 14 pastors, with their congregation members.  35 new believers were eagerly waiting to be baptized, I spent some time with them counseling and giving exaltation from the Bible.  I was convinced about their salvation, they are from 7 different churches. Thank God there is not any problem whatsoever throughout the Baptismal programme, everything went smoothly without any problem.  Thank God I  could see the peace and joy on the faces of new believers after the Baptism….  all the people fullness of spirit rejoicing in the Presence of God.” 

 

Below are the Karnataka pastors with their new believers.  This was a glorious day indeed!

 

I thought the map below would be helpful to visualize the location of the SPWF pastors in Hyderabad and where they are extending their outreach.  You will see that Karnataka is to the west of AP and Orissa is to the north.  They are planning to visit Orissa this November (please pray).  You may recall that both Karnataka and Orissa are extremely hostile to Christians.  The pastors and their congregations in these areas definitely need edification.  By the way, I took a screen shot of this map from another source.  The “red” area are the Communist Maoists and their influence down this corridor.  There are many problems in India!

 

Every year we try to sponsor a pastor and wives luncheon.  This is a great encouragement for them.  This was the luncheon where many testimonies were shared on how God is pouring His Grace upon their lives.  They are more passionate than ever to share the live-changing news that trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can bring to those living in darkness.  They sometimes remind me of the quote from C.T. Studds (missionary to China and India):  “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”

 

In August, Satyanandam had a meeting for some local businessmen.  Due to the many conversations that the India Pastors are having with their SIF sponsors, they decided to reach out to 20 local businessmen and share what the Christian businessmen are doing in the USA.  They desire in the future to raise up Indian Christian Businessmen to follow the E² model.

 

Baptisms……..Below are just a few of the many baptisms that have occurred in the past couple months.  Clockwise from top left is Pastor Israel, Pastor Ratna Paul, Pastor Rambabu and Pastor Abraham in Amburpet.

 

 

Several more baptism photos:  Baptisms at Paastor Jesu Ratnam and Pastor Vinod Kumar’s church.

 

Baptism at Pastor Ashok’s congregation.  Here is another wonderful testimony that Pastor Satyanandam shared:  “I thank God for another beautiful day toiling for our God’s kingdom , baptize another 4 born again children of God today.  This programme is arranged by Pastor Ashok, vanastalipuram of Hyderabad city. We thank God for this new souls added to the church and let us pray for these dear ones witnessing for Christ and living for His glory the rest of life.

 

During the programme Pastor Ashok share his testimony about How the Lord is Glory let him to our fellowship while going through terrible, unbearable economic crisis. Pastor Ashok with his wife, children and some of the church were in tears moving from place to place looking for a small shelter to have worship. They found it impossible to pay 4 months of arrears rent due to which reason the Land lord ask him to vacant, at this time our SPWF Pastor M.M Prasad advised to him to meet me, when he came and shared with me the crisis he was going through Holy Spirit promoted me to help this dear servant of God in such unbearable sad situation , this is how Pastor Ashok came in to our fellowship. Glory to God the Lord blessed him he is stable today when he shared the testimony not only his congregation other guests also move with compassion and tears. It is the proof that God is with us leading us, guiding us strengthening and encouraging us.

 

Satyanandam continued:  This is one example the  many examples experienced by our SPWF pastors. We thank God for our SIF USA wiping the tears of many such pastors bring join and comfort to many pastors their families and congregations at such crucial and unbearable circumstances  . Glory to God, God alone!!!

 

In the last email, we mentioned a request from the teachers and parents of the “free education” schools that are run through the Sharon India Foundation.  An anonymous donor contacted us and by the grace of God these students now have notebooks, pencils, book bags, books, etc.  In a shame-based culture like India, to have these supplies is an enormous blessing!

 

Bible Distribution:  10 of the SPWF Pastors serving the Lord in and around Nalgonda area arranged this program under the leadership of Pastor Sudhakar.

 

Ground breaking ceremony at Pastor John Moses church site.  Another huge blessing from God.  This is what was said:  “On Sunday after the worship service we visited Pastor John Moses  at Kuntuluru, then we prayerfully conducted ground breaking ceremony for the construction of new church at this place.  Please pray that the Lord will help this beloved Pastor and the congregation to build a nice and humble church shelter for worship of this place and surrounding areas.”

 

For now, we have been able to assist a certain number of poor widows every month.  Below are 5 widows from 5 different churches.  I want thank those donors that are led to help in this area.  In many cases this support is truly life-changing.  These widows are very bold in their witness to Jesus Christ.

 

Last month’s meeting of the Pastors’ Fellowship Meeting.  Directly below are 7 pastors that traveled from Karnataka and were able to join in the encouragement and fellowship during the September meeting.  What a blessing!

 

I wish I had time to tell you just how grateful these brothers are to the Lord and

for sending them help in due time!

 

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;

yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”  (Isaiah 41:10)

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

Why is this precious Indian woman so happy?  Having lived these many years as a Hindu Dalit, with no hope of bettering herself in this life (only through reincarnation), she looked up and was touched by our “Bright Morning Star” – Jesus Christ!  Just 2 weeks ago, she was baptized as a new creation in Christ and she can discard her old idols, for all things have become new.

 

 

Greetings from the Sharon India Foundation:

 

I want to thank all of you for standing alongside our poor Indian Pastors.  As most of you know, the support you provide ultimately advances the Great Commission.  Due to your incredible generosity, these pastors can feed their families, help with education costs, assist the widows, orphans and the destitute of their humble congregations.  It allows them to go into the Hindu and Muslim areas, where Hell is currently populated, and preach the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our prayer, as we have previously stated, is that Hell will be “de-populated” and Heaven “populated.”   As you will see by the photos below, God is honoring that prayer.

 

Next month we hope to have news of a new an inexpensive water filter (BioSand) that our Indian brothers will have access to.  The water in many areas is polluted, not only with parasites and bacteria, but heavy chemicals due to the numerous industrial plants in certain locations.  This has been a contributing problem of numerous illnesses.  Your prayers are coveted.

 

We recently had a Board of Directors Meeting of the Sharon India Foundation.  All funds have been accurately accounted for and 100% of all contributions continue to be directed to our brothers and sisters of India.  We are not only in full compliance to our 501(c)3 status, but also with the Foreign Contribution Regulatory Act of India.   

 

If you wish to send support, you can either mail a check to the address below or you can use the PayPal feature on the website (http://sharonindia.org/), which will transfer funds from their secure account to the Foundation account. 

 

Mail your checks to:

Sharon India Foundation

133 E. Warm Springs Rd #102

Las Vegas, NV  89119

 

A bank wire will be sent to India by the 24^th of August.  The Pastor Fellowship Meeting will be held on the 28^th.

 

Humbled in Christ,

Dan

 

Water Well Completed!  Yes, it is great news indeed.  In a 100% Hindu tribal village, a bore well was dug, tapped and wonderful pure water (they call it “sweet” water) is being pumped as we speak.  The government unsuccessfully tried to bore for water on several occasions.  Pastor Samson Naik and his congregation (who reside next to this tribal village) have been praying for a water well for many years.  Water was struck at ½ the depth that the government continued to hit dry wells.  We pray that this well will be a powerful witness to Jesus Christ.  Look at those happy faces!

(Photo Above) The plaque on the marker in Telugu reads as follows: “To God be the Glory”, below the cross is the Bible verse from John 7:38.  Below the verse are following words “Drinking water facility provided by Sharon India Foundation USA.” Closing words, the last 2 lines: “Kamara Peta Thanda, Bethesda Church”  which is Pastor Samson Naik’s church.  Last line is the date.

 

 

Baptisms:  Note from Pastor Satyanandam on the photo below:  “How wonderfully the Lord used us for His glory. Thank you very much for your prayers, we have some people to be baptized some different churches. We had the Baptismal programme at Suraram area. Pastor John Vathada of Chintal, Pastor Smith Babu of subash Nagar and Pastor Prabhakar of Papireddy Nagar Village to bring the persons to be baptized baptismal place.”  Please pray for these new brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

 

The pastors praying at the Pastors Fellowship Meeting (SPWF) last month.  I continue to get wonderful reports of the great unity among these brothers.  160 pastors attended on July 24^th with a great burden to pray for all the prayer requests.

 

A composite photo of all the pastors that attended the Sharon Prayer Warriors Fellowship meeting above.

 

 

Free Education:  Something we don’t hear about too often.   There are 2 schools that the Sharon India Foundation has been supporting for their educational expenses like books, stationary, schools bags, and etc.  The parents can’t afford to meet the basic needs of these children.  Pastor Satyanandam said the following:  “I thank God because these children came into our fold, we also teach them the love of Jesus and other stories from Bible this is a great opportunity to lead them to Jesus our Savior, and raise them in the fear of the Lord. Please pray for the basic needs like, books, stationary, school bags, …. Etc.  for of all these children.  These children have been praying for the  above needs. Thank God every day they are growing the word of God, in prayer in His grace wisdom and knowledge.”  Please pray for these children and their specific situations.

 

Baptisms at Pastor Swarna Kumar.  Please read the following comments from Satyanandam:  “I thank God that this day also He has permitted to do His deed. On this weekends day of Saturday the world is completely involved in its celebrations enjoying themselves by eating and drinking but apart from these people today some of them have come to Christ accepting Him as their Saviour and I was very happy for their dedicated lives to God.  Once upon a time these people who got baptized were also among the ones celebrating worldly things but now they reformed their lives by washing themselves in the blood of Christ accepting each of their sin and been humble and obedient to God. What an amazing fact!  I pray for all of them to continue their lives in the God’s presence without any distractions from Satan. Today 5 of them got baptized, from Pastor Swarna Kumar’s church and for the new baptized believers I preached on the verses from 1 Cor 11.   From today they are going to lead their lives against Satan which will be very difficult in this wicked world, so let all together pray for them that Satan would not make them look back to their lives towards their past.  I thank God that the programme was successful and glorified or God.”  Amazing!

 

Slum areas.  There are many slums throughout the city of Hyderabad.  This one is very close to several of the churches.  Even though there is much opposition, the pastors often go into these areas to preach the Good News to the poor people living in these conditions.  Some of the children in the Free Education School (see previous photos) are from these slums.

 

 

Pastor L. Daniel of the Medak area (20 Km outside Hyderabad) had 7 baptisms at his church.  Due to heavy rains on the dirt roads, the pastors that assisted Pastor Daniel had to walk 2 Km through mud to get to his church.  When they arrived, by God’s grace, the rain had stopped.  The 2^nd photo is Pastor Daniel’s congregation.  Please pray for the spiritual life of these new believers and Pastor Daniel’s church.  They are all from a Hindu background.

 

On August 3 and 4^th, the pastors met for “All Night Prayer.”  As most of you know, they meet from 10pm to 4am and lift up the prayer requests that are sent to them.  I look at these photos and much of the time I am at a loss for words.

 

A specific gift was sent in to provide 3-wheel tri-cycles to aid the handicapped

 

One of the widows assisted last month.

In closing, please read the note from Pastor Satyanandam:  “Today morning I receive a phone call from a poor widow who was helped.  SIF have helped her to under go eye surgery. I just can’t express her joy and gratitude for getting back the vision. Yesterday after the surgery she came to back to normal life and able to attend daily responsibilities. For some times she was literally blind and today she is able to see. Praise God thank you for your love and affection towards poor and needy suffering. We thank God for SIF and the way God is using it with the vision and mission.  Many pastors, their wives and children are able to have square meal every day and survive in the society as a human being and hold the living the word of God as a sword to win the perishing, and build the churches with the same living word. God bless you all and reward you richly.”

 

 

Next Week:  Some of the SPWF Pastors travel to the State of Karnataka on Wednesday the 18^th to encourage several pastors and their churches.  This state is very hostile to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Please pray for our brothers.

Indian Pastors singing songs of praise and thanksgiving in their native tongue of Telugu last Saturday

 

 

Greetings as we celebrate our Fourth of July!

 

Just as we are celebrating today, next month in India they will also celebrate their Independence Day from British Rule which ended on August 15, 1947.  It is a very significant holiday in India with much official celebration including colorful pageants showcasing India’s culture, military capabilities and advances in science and technology.  Having been in India, I wouldn’t think they have too many restrictions on fireworks though!

 

I continue to be amazed and over-whelmed as God moves through the lives of these wonderful brothers and sisters of ours in South India.  They are profoundly “Gospel Centered” and everything they do is to with that eternal focus of “De-populating Hell and Populating Heaven.”  This month as you look over the photos below, I believe you will see what I mean.

 

I am so grateful to you all for standing alongside these precious people.

 

If you wish to send support, you can either mail a check to the address below or you can use the PayPal feature on the website (www.sharonindia.org), which will transfer funds from their secure account to the Foundation account. 

 

Mail your checks to:

Sharon India Foundation

133 E. Warm Springs Rd #102

Las Vegas, NV  89119

 

I am planning on sending a wire to India by the 20^nd of July.  The Pastor Fellowship Meeting will be held on the 24^th.

 

In the bonds of Christ,

Dan

 

 

On Wednesday of last week, 30 widows received medical support for various conditions they have been unable to remedy for they are very poor.  You will read below the note from Pastor Satyanandam as he explains this amazing afternoon.  It would have been so humbling to be there!

 

Below, you will notice on a partial form that many of the widows cannot sign their name and only place a thumbprint for receipt of the rupees.  Here is what Pastor Satyanandam said about this event:

 

I have great admiration for the vision and mission given by God to think of not only pastors and their families welfare, but also to think of poor widows, poverty stick on sufferings, destitute belong into numerous churches.

I am very happy you are fulfilling the Scripture James 1:27, many widows condition is very sad and pitiable. Society as no respect for a widow. The day husband is died a widow life is shattered two pieces, her life becomes very miserable and lonely. Such women called boldly come out into the society and face the world. Having lost the husband a widow feels most insignificant and ashamed. 

Thank God for this marvelous love towards needy suffering, neglected, destitute. When every one destred hurt , when the very survival is on stake how can she ever dream of consulates the doctor go for diagnostic tests and buy medicines, just impossible. Such widows on many, leading a gloomy and lonely life without word of comfort are encouragement. Such is the pathetic and pitiable conditions of an average poor India widow.

Thank God there is hope, there is some one love came, that is where our SIF, U.S.A steps into their life. Bring, heading, peace, love , joy and a new meaning into their life. That is what God does through His chosen brothers and sisters. I am very glad for SIF for its vision and mission to the most deserving and when it is needed the most. Glory to His name.

We thank God that the help was extended to 30 widows coming from 15 churches. Each widow received  3,000=00 rupees. We can’t express the tears of joy and gratitude mixed from their eyes. Thank you very much for your prayers and sacrificial, financial support of anonymous donors to these poor widows. They all thankful, they are all praying with tears and much more burden for the precious brothers and sisters in USA. I believe this support very useful for their medical treatment, eye problems and released from all other sickness. Glory to God and God only.

 

Pastors Fellowship on Saturday June 26^th.  As you are all aware by now, this is a wonderful time of offering praise and thanksgiving to God Almighty.  I hear often of the wonderful unity among all these pastors – this in itself is a gift from the Lord.  

 

 

A composite photo of all the pastors that attended the Sharon Prayer Warriors Fellowship meeting last Saturday.

 

Baptisms at Pastor John Moses.  Please read the note (my highlights) from Pastor Satyanandam:

As I have informed you earlier this morning we went to pastor John Moses church and baptized 5 persons. Please pray for the new believers that added to the to the church, the body of Jesus Christ. As this event took place many non believers gathered around and we had an opportunity to preach the good news to all of them. Please pray about the people who received this Gospel and good news so that they may know Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary in the days to come.

 

Some of you may recall the photos of the tribal village area and the church of Pastor Samson Naik that Andy Fetsis, Kevin McConnell and Mark Russell visited.  While they were there, they were informed that this tribal village has no water source and they have to travel a huge distance in order to obtain water.  The photo below was taken on March 31 and this is what the USA Team said:  “We prayed over the site where we hope the well is to be dug.  The local Christians are hoping this well can be a powerful witness of the Love of Christ to this village.”

Photo from March 31, 2010

 

 

 

Praise God & Good News!  On Friday, July 2 (yes, just 2 days ago!), due to a  gift from an anonymous donor they hit water.  Please read the note from Pastor Satyanandam:

As I have informed you this morning I went to the place where we are praying for bore well when Andy, Mark and Kevin were with us together prayed at a place which is also suggested by geologist. When the people drilled up to 200 feet this morning did not find water.  By the Grace of God we prayerfully selected certain place today and started once again drilling, after 160 feet the Lord has given water, totally we dig bore well 230 feet. we thanked God for His mercies and also grateful to SIF. As the villagers found water coming out of the ground their joy was unlimited the need of drinking water to the same village and surrounding places will be met in the future.

 

Baptisms.  Read the following message from Satyanandam:

It’s a great joy in the Heaven if one sinner is saved here on this world and I am very happy to inform you that 8 persons repented of their sins and accepted Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior. These 8 new believers belong to 3 SPWF churches and I have been baptized this morning. 3 from Pastor Raj Kumar Church, again 3 from Pastor Adam Church and also 2 from Pastor Andhraiah. Please pray for the baptized and added newly to the church so that they may live a new life that acceptable to Christ.  6 of them came from Hindu idolatry back ground and the other 2 from Muslim back ground. Please pray for them.

 

 

Pastor Daniel Janagam traveled to the State of Karnataka.  This is a state in India that is very hostile to Christians.  In addition, his wife Hephzibah trained 200 to be Vacation Bible School (VBS) teachers.  This is what Pastor Daniel said:

By His grace I received a call from Bidar ( Karnataka state) from a House church pastor. In this state anti-Christian government is in ruling now. Christians are facing problems & sometimes some of Hindu extremist groups are re-converting Christians force fully to Hinduism, often pastors are attacked. Almost 80 people gathered in very congested 3 rooms to hear the word of the Lord. And I spoke the importance of the daily family prayer in the time of troubles. Many told that they received a right word in right time.

 

This was a delicious lunch that was prepared by Pastor Daniel and others for the people he encouraged

 

Baptism at Pastor Anandam’s church.  Here is the wonderful note from Satyanandam:

Immediately on arrival at Kagaz nagar we rushed to Emmanuel Gospel Church there Pastor Anandam is shepherding the flock. The whole congregation was singing and praising God. I shared a message challenging and encouraging the new converts eagerly waiting to be baptized. 4 men and 4 women all together 8 persons gave their testimonies and expressed their faith in Christ as savior. They confess that they were won by Christ through His amazing grace on the cross of Calvary.  Thank God for the joy unspeakable experienced by these dear ones as they came out of water after the baptisams. Here are the photos taken during the baptismal programme. Let us continue to pray for these dear ones as they go out in to the world as a living testimony for our savior and Master Jesus Christ.

 

In closing, I will leave you with a precious photo of Sis. Lilly (Satyanandam’s wife) with 3 Christian woman of the Banjara Tribe that live in the tribal village where the well is being completed.  It is amazing to know that we will spend eternity with these sisters in Christ!

 

Sharon Prayer Warriors Fellowship meeting.  On Saturday, May 22^nd, 160 faithful pastors met for fellowship and prayer.  Here they are thanking their brothers and sisters in American for standing alongside them as they continue to boldly proclaim the Living Word: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes”(Romans 1:16)

 

 

Greetings!

 

While a large part of the world begins to watch the World Cup, there is a unified group of dedicated Indian pastors in the state of Andhra Pradesh, whose sole mission is not to win a soccer game, but to win souls for Christ.  Soccer games come and go and will be soon forgotten, but the souls of men are eternal and destined for eternal punishment or eternal glory.  The majority if not all the pastors in the photo above have never heard of the World Cup and do not own a TV or radio, but they do own a Bible and are steadfast to the Great Commission – to “De-Populate Hell and Populate Heaven.”

 

I am continually amazed at what these brothers and their faithful congregations are doing.  Below are a few photos that I hope will give you a glimpse of what our pastors have been doing this past month as they labor in the vineyard of India.

 

If you wish to send support, you can either mail a check to the address below or you can use the PayPal feature on the website (www.sharonindia.org), which will transfer funds from their secure account to the Foundation account.  By the way, there is a new tab on the website labeled: Pastor News.  It is uploaded by the pastors through Pastor Satyanandam.  Check it out!

 

Mail your checks to:

 

Sharon India Foundation

133 E. Warm Springs Rd #102

Las Vegas, NV  89119

 

I am planning on sending a wire to India by the 22^nd of June.  The Pastor Fellowship Meeting will be held on the 26^th.

 

With much Gratitude in Christ,

Dan

 

 

Sewing Machines  These precious women have never been able to own a sewing machine.  Even though they are skilled in tailoring, they have had to rent their machines and are dependent on others.  This gift will assist them and their children financially in a HUGE way.  They continue to praise God for this great miracle and thank the donors of the Sharon India Foundation.  Please pray for these dear sisters of ours.  Here are their names:   G. Vara Laxmi, D. Josna Kumari, N. Sandya Rani, B. Devi, B. Aruna, M. Sattemma, R. Santhi, K. Padma

 

 

As mentioned in the beginning photo, the pastors fellowship meeting was held last month in Hyderabad.  They continue to pray for those connected to the SIF and any prayer requests forwarded to them.  The 2^nd photo is one of many group shots of our brothers.  The pastors in the 2^nd photos below have USA sponsors, while the majority of the pastors are still praying for a sponsor.

 

Pastor G. Prasad, north of Hyderabad near Tupran had several baptisms at his church on Wednesday.  Below are a few of the photos.  Please pray for these new believers that they will grow spiritually in the weeks and months ahead.

 

Another photo of Pastor G. Prasad with his wife and congregations with the newly baptized believers.  The 2^nd photo is Pastor Satyanandam praying for his church members.  As you can see, this is Pastor Prasad’s church.  He doesn’t have a building.

 

Gospel meeting held last Saturday in Vijayawada which is about 300 Km east from Hyderabad.  It was held over 2 days.  Pastor Nova organized the meeting to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  As the USA team found out first hand, there are many places in India that have never heard of Jesus or had the Gospel shared with them…………….amazing.

 

Clockwise from the top left, we have Pastor John Naik of Bethel Village, Peter Naik of Mahubaubab, Pastor Nehemiah of Kazipet and Pastor B. Mark.  Three of the pastors gathered with their people to be baptized where Pastor Nehemiah is working in Kazipet and Pastor Mark had the baptisms near his church.  The baptisms took place last Sunday and Monday

 

 

Below are the photos of our newly baptized brothers and sisters in Christ.  I think you will find the following statement that Pastor Satyanandam wrote concerning these baptisms of last week quite interesting:

 

“I spent some time giving counseling and exhalation to the new believers to be baptized. I am thoroughly satisfied by the testimonies shared by the new converts. After praying together I led them to the baptismal tank and baptized them in the water, I am sending the relevant photos taken today.  After the baptismal we spent 3 hours sharing giving message from Bible, and also worshiping, praising and giving adoration. We had a wonderful time of fellowship. I praise and Thank God for the all the brothers and sisters of Sharon India foundation and SPWF pastors and churches praying our ministries. In response to our intercessory prayers and supplications’ God is wonderfully answering and giving us the new harvest. We do feel His presence and His blessings showered upon us and upon our ministries. God to His Holy Name.  Let us continue to pray for the new souls added to the church and the above pastors laboring in their respective places. I just cannot express the peace, the Joy on the places of the Baptized ones.”

  

 

All Night Prayer held on June 2^nd.  146 pastors gathered at Pastor Satyanandam’s church for prayer and worship.

 

Photos of the pastors after “All Night Prayer”

 

Close-up of the banner used for All Night Prayer