Asia - India, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines

UntoHim · 06-16-2008, 08:53 AM

John & Sonia Smith
email jsssmith24@msn.com

June 14, 2008

Beloved of God, we thank our God at our every remembrance of you—always when offering any prayer on behalf of you all, finding a joy in offering it.

We wish to give you an update on the faithful labors of our beloved brethren in India . And lest the present racket of political and economic furor take first place in our hearing, thought and conversation, we remind you again that in this present evil world we are strangers and pilgrims chosen to be His witnesses while on our way to a better country. Our God is sovereignly working out His plan and will soon set His King on His holy hill of Zion and laugh at His raging enemies. Our risen and ascended Lord is seated at the right hand of the Father now ruling in the midst of His enemies until they be made His footstool, interceding for His redeemed people, building His church against which the gates of hell (hades) shall not prevail, and doing a mighty work among the nations delivering people out of the authority of darkness and transferring them into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Hallelujah!!

Persecution continues in India . Below are a few of the many incidents reported by Dr. K. P. Yohanan

In the state of Jharkhand, radical Hindus beat up a 14-year-old girl and her mother, dragged them from their home and forced them to bow down before a man-made idol in an effort to force the girl to recant her faith. This was in spite of the fact that the girl considered the claims of the Gospel for three years and had her parents' permission to become a Christian.

An estimated 2,000 tribal Christians are hiding out in the forests of Orissa state for fear of their lives after being threatened by anti-Christian fanatics.

At least 60 church buildings and hundreds of Christian homes have been destroyed. As a result, many believers are sleeping on piles of hay with only the clothes they were wearing when they escaped--and temperatures are hovering around 50 degrees F (10o C).

Thousands are turning to Christ in the midst of the persecution.

The Forerunner reports that-- Among the Gamit people in Guyurat , India , Church membership has grown from zero in 1980 to 60,000 today. In Bihar province, once known as the "graveyard of missions," one church baptizes 600 converts per month.

One report says there are millions of new Christians in Andhra Pradesh where Joseph and the brethren are laboring. Here is some interesting information from Operation World on Hyderabad , the capital where our last conference was held this year, “Hyderabad is the key centre for Islam in South India . Nearly 40% of the city is Muslim, and the hub of the 11 million south Indian Deccani Muslims. Islam in the state grew from 8.2% in 1971 to 8.9% in 1991. Although 150 Christian organizations are based in the city, very few Christian workers have ever focused on their spiritual need and Christians from this community are correspondingly few. Pray that this may be changed.”
Recent reports from Joseph and the coworkers based in Ongole.
Very happy to inform you about the progress of the ministry as many, many souls are being added to the kingdom of God through the TV ministry and recent open air meetings. Meetings were held in 5 different villages continuously for 10 days. Night open air prayer meetings were held at K. Bittragunta, a village 35klm south of Ongole.
We successfully finished the 3 days bible classes at Giddalure in great warfare with Satan. The brothers were so pleased and wanted to extend the classes for one more day but our finances did not permit. The second day it rained heavily all over the surrounding places but as all the brethren prayed earnestly it did not rain at the meeting place!!!. OF course it sprinkled for 5 minutes then stopped but continued in other places. Half a kilometer from our meeting place it was raining. The people who attended the meetings wondered as they came in rain from their places and found there was no rain at the meeting place. Glory to God Hallelujah! Thank you for all your prayers for the success of these classes.
Two of the messages on Salvation is Eternal and the 3 parts of man (Body, Soul and Spirit) will be telecasted on TV. At least 3 million people will hear. According to their calculations and statistic, this Christian TV channel is watched by 200, 000, 000 in India daily. The price is also comparatively very cheap.
My spirit is urging me to do more and more ministry especially with Bible classes for the pastor and evangelists
A number of brothers are accepting the truth we are preaching. The brothers at Hyderabad invited me to speak to the local pastors gathering on 11th of this month.
The last three months Satan did not leave, but was pressing me from all directions. Though there are many needs in ministry, below are the immediate needs.
Feeding the 149 unsponsored children and the school supplies for 311 orphans as the schools will be opened on 13th of this month after summer vacations (Due to the Dollar’s big drop in value, $30 monthly is now needed to properly care for an orphan.)
The five room girls dormitory, which is half built on the function hall, should be completed soon as the grown up girls are suffering a lot.
Please keep these matters in your prayers.
In spite of lack of space a number of new orphans were taken in. We could not resist them seeing their pathetic condition.
Time passes so quickly it is time for consideration before the Lord as to His will concerning travel to India next year. We have previously put forward some matters for prayer such as meeting with a smaller number. Since this year pleas for classes came strongly from large cities, Dan Elkins suggested possibly gathering a hundred brothers from strategic city centers. The only way our part of the task in India can be accomplished is by committing the truth to faithful brothers who will be competent to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:1-2). And also there is also the need to minister to the present brothers more concerning the Person of Christ as our very life in all things and the organic functioning of the body life. We are not speaking about any kind of man’s organization-- Only the organization that is inherent in the organism of the Body and that can only be by the Person of Christ as its Creator and its life as administered by the Holy Spirit being given absolute control.
We have more things on our hearts to write later.
Grace be with you all.
With much love,

John & Sonia.
Gift address: Christian Home Fellowships, P.O. Box 7878 , Riverside , CA 92513-7878 .

06-16-2008, 08:53 AM	#1
UntoHim Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον For God So Loved The World Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,824	Asia - India, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines John & Sonia Smith email jsssmith24@msn.com June 14, 2008 Beloved of God, we thank our God at our every remembrance of you—always when offering any prayer on behalf of you all, finding a joy in offering it. We wish to give you an update on the faithful labors of our beloved brethren in India . And lest the present racket of political and economic furor take first place in our hearing, thought and conversation, we remind you again that in this present evil world we are strangers and pilgrims chosen to be His witnesses while on our way to a better country. Our God is sovereignly working out His plan and will soon set His King on His holy hill of Zion and laugh at His raging enemies. Our risen and ascended Lord is seated at the right hand of the Father now ruling in the midst of His enemies until they be made His footstool, interceding for His redeemed people, building His church against which the gates of hell (hades) shall not prevail, and doing a mighty work among the nations delivering people out of the authority of darkness and transferring them into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Hallelujah!! Persecution continues in India . Below are a few of the many incidents reported by Dr. K. P. Yohanan In the state of Jharkhand, radical Hindus beat up a 14-year-old girl and her mother, dragged them from their home and forced them to bow down before a man-made idol in an effort to force the girl to recant her faith. This was in spite of the fact that the girl considered the claims of the Gospel for three years and had her parents' permission to become a Christian. An estimated 2,000 tribal Christians are hiding out in the forests of Orissa state for fear of their lives after being threatened by anti-Christian fanatics. At least 60 church buildings and hundreds of Christian homes have been destroyed. As a result, many believers are sleeping on piles of hay with only the clothes they were wearing when they escaped--and temperatures are hovering around 50 degrees F (10o C). Thousands are turning to Christ in the midst of the persecution. The Forerunner reports that-- Among the Gamit people in Guyurat , India , Church membership has grown from zero in 1980 to 60,000 today. In Bihar province, once known as the "graveyard of missions," one church baptizes 600 converts per month. One report says there are millions of new Christians in Andhra Pradesh where Joseph and the brethren are laboring. Here is some interesting information from Operation World on Hyderabad , the capital where our last conference was held this year, “Hyderabad is the key centre for Islam in South India . Nearly 40% of the city is Muslim, and the hub of the 11 million south Indian Deccani Muslims. Islam in the state grew from 8.2% in 1971 to 8.9% in 1991. Although 150 Christian organizations are based in the city, very few Christian workers have ever focused on their spiritual need and Christians from this community are correspondingly few. Pray that this may be changed.” Recent reports from Joseph and the coworkers based in Ongole. Very happy to inform you about the progress of the ministry as many, many souls are being added to the kingdom of God through the TV ministry and recent open air meetings. Meetings were held in 5 different villages continuously for 10 days. Night open air prayer meetings were held at K. Bittragunta, a village 35klm south of Ongole. We successfully finished the 3 days bible classes at Giddalure in great warfare with Satan. The brothers were so pleased and wanted to extend the classes for one more day but our finances did not permit. The second day it rained heavily all over the surrounding places but as all the brethren prayed earnestly it did not rain at the meeting place!!!. OF course it sprinkled for 5 minutes then stopped but continued in other places. Half a kilometer from our meeting place it was raining. The people who attended the meetings wondered as they came in rain from their places and found there was no rain at the meeting place. Glory to God Hallelujah! Thank you for all your prayers for the success of these classes. Two of the messages on Salvation is Eternal and the 3 parts of man (Body, Soul and Spirit) will be telecasted on TV. At least 3 million people will hear. According to their calculations and statistic, this Christian TV channel is watched by 200, 000, 000 in India daily. The price is also comparatively very cheap. My spirit is urging me to do more and more ministry especially with Bible classes for the pastor and evangelists A number of brothers are accepting the truth we are preaching. The brothers at Hyderabad invited me to speak to the local pastors gathering on 11th of this month. The last three months Satan did not leave, but was pressing me from all directions. Though there are many needs in ministry, below are the immediate needs. Feeding the 149 unsponsored children and the school supplies for 311 orphans as the schools will be opened on 13th of this month after summer vacations (Due to the Dollar’s big drop in value, $30 monthly is now needed to properly care for an orphan.) The five room girls dormitory, which is half built on the function hall, should be completed soon as the grown up girls are suffering a lot. Please keep these matters in your prayers. In spite of lack of space a number of new orphans were taken in. We could not resist them seeing their pathetic condition. Time passes so quickly it is time for consideration before the Lord as to His will concerning travel to India next year. We have previously put forward some matters for prayer such as meeting with a smaller number. Since this year pleas for classes came strongly from large cities, Dan Elkins suggested possibly gathering a hundred brothers from strategic city centers. The only way our part of the task in India can be accomplished is by committing the truth to faithful brothers who will be competent to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:1-2). And also there is also the need to minister to the present brothers more concerning the Person of Christ as our very life in all things and the organic functioning of the body life. We are not speaking about any kind of man’s organization-- Only the organization that is inherent in the organism of the Body and that can only be by the Person of Christ as its Creator and its life as administered by the Holy Spirit being given absolute control. We have more things on our hearts to write later. Grace be with you all. With much love, John & Sonia. Gift address: Christian Home Fellowships, P.O. Box 7878 , Riverside , CA 92513-7878 .

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