The following update is from a Mid-South pastor who is currently on a mission endeavor in India. Please pray for Brent and his team. Rejoice with them!
Hello everyone. i'll be more lengthy at a different time but right now i wanted to give you a few spec...
we are safe. God has given us much traveling mercy. this is the most i have ever traveled on a mission trip. david and i have a cold and our throats are raw (germs, preaching 9 times each, exhausted)...please pray.
pastor raju is a godly man, no doubt. God is using him in a great way to draw the hindu people out of bondage.
you will not believe all the pictures when you see them. this has been very surreal. the culture, the respect they have shown us, how tirelessly they have listened to the word of God. there is a tremendous hunger for the truth.
one thing we had to make clear to them is that it isn't Jesus AND but Jesus ONLY. This is huge over here. they don't mind adding Jesus to a myriad of other "gods". We have labored to show them that this is not saving faith...this is not true repentance.
also baptism is a big indicator of authentic faith. in other words, if they are willing to be baptized, they are very likely the real deal...because to publicly profess Christ and to renounce all the other "gods" by public baptism, well this means that persecution is sure to come.
we had 77 people say that they were willing to renounce all gods but Jesus Christ! But only 46 were willing to be baptized at this time. but still, these 46 were precious and you could see the light of Christ in their eyes. The pastors are following up with these and the other 31 people who are afraid of the persecution.
Pastor Raju asked if David and I would assist him in the baptisms. What an honor. All 3 of us laid hands on these new believers and immersed them. we have great pictures of this!
So many more stories to tell you...like the 24 pastors in this area who assist Pastor Raju. men of whom the world is not worthy. of the 25, 5 rise to the top of even these choice men of the great God. Spurgeon, David, VJ, Augustine, and George Mason. These men touched our lives in ways we'll never forget.
May God forgive us for being so lazy about our seeking the face of Christ. May God patiently and mercifully draw us into a more disciplined prayer life, memorizing/meditating on the word of God, and being a bold witness for the sake of souls and the glory of Christ, our King!
Amy, Eli, Sydney, and Peanut(s): I love you all and miss you greatly. Lord willing, I'll see you guys Friday night. But please don't stop praying...we have about 9,500 miles between us and you.
Brent
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