Mumbai January 2008
…
so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now
be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly
places. [11] This was according to the eternal purpose that
he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, [12] in whom we have
boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
Eph. 3:10-12
(ESV)
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over
this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly places.
Eph. 6:12
(ESV)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Isn't it amazing how God planned to use His
church so that even rulers and authorities in heavenly
places would know the manifold wisdom of God! This shows us the
amazing ability that God has to transform us and make us part of
his great plan. Col. 1:13-14 says, “He has delivered us from
the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his
beloved Son, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of
sins.”
It is truly exciting to be a part of the Lord’s
work.
Some of the things that we have recently seen
here confirm how true God is faithful to what he says.
Sylvia's daddy, our Brother Peter Taylor,
is greatly appreciated for his faithfulness to God. He is
almost serving the Lord by himself in the outskirts of Ahmadabad
with the exception of Samson who he baptized several years
back. But Brother Samson was still tied to the Salvation Army,
so the encouragement was limited. In fact, near the end of
December it had nearly been two months since his last contact
with this brother. It was during this time Brother Taylor
received a phone call from Brother Samson saying that his
daddy, his wife and one other teacher from the Salvation Army
had been added to the kingdom. It goes to show that we
sometimes we misinterpret people and the power of God's word.
Our Brother Craig and Sister Teresa
are presently out of town encouraging some of the saints near
Calcutta. It all started because we were trying to locate a
bride for our Brother Terence. I made a request to put Brother
Terence’s details in the Bharat Velugu, a monthly church
publication published by a Brother Chandrapaul in Vijaywada. A
short time later I got a response from a Brother Peter Mondal who
is from West Bengal, near Calcutta concerning his niece who
might be a possible match. I was given information to contact
his son who "just happens" to be working in a call center here,
and is staying in Kandivali not far from Craig's place. I was
told he was a Christian; but knowing what John says in 1John 4
we had a Bible study. After studying with him I encouraged him
to contact Brother Craig and Brother Joe. To shorten a long
story, Ronald heard the Gospel and obeyed it. The good
news did not stop here as two of his Bengali friends also have
been added to the Lord's church.
We had a very encouraging meeting in Khandala
where talked about Being Christ Minded. My topic was
“Obedience Like Christ.” Justin and his family were the only
ones who came from Vashi. Even Sylvia stayed home because we
felt it would be too much trouble for Gloria; so her daddy came
and helped her, while Melanie, Sunny and I went to the meeting.
Then from the 8th to the 11th
I helped in the coordination and teaching for a meeting held
in Goa. Our Brothers Bruce Thornton, Jay Jarboe, George
Carmen, Kyle Allen, Manish Khandagale, and I kept quite busy as
we had two meetings going on at the same time (Bruce, Jay and
George are associated with SIBI (Sunset
International Bible Institute)). We saw several positive
responses in this meeting including one who was immersed into
Jesus.
During that week Sylvia’s brother, David, came to
stay with Sylvia and the family while I was out. He seemed to
really appreciate the visit. He even came with us to a meeting
in Andheri. Pray for him that he will hear and understand the
gospel.
There are many other things happening in the
work, but I just want us to get a better vision of the potential
and the importance of the work here. Pray for us as the Mumbai
church is not only reaching out to other parts of India, but it
has influence in Africa, the United States, the UK, Europe, and
other places abroad.
Our work is small in comparison to some of the
other works going on in the country, but we are trying to make
sure the groundwork is solid. We want to see an indigenousness
church that is growing on its own without foreign support (These
are too few and far between for as many churches that are said
to be in India.). The Mumbai church is learning to take
responsibility for its own work and other works. Just recently
we had several who had major hospital expenses, and other
crises; the church was there to help. The church raised over
Rs1,50,000 (This is several thousand dollars.). It may seem
little to those out of India, but this is a very generous gift
and it does not include the gifts to support the local
congregations where one brother is being supported full time and
another part time. This has been done by the body of Christ
here. Pray that the church will continue to learn to be even
more generous in their offerings, and that the other churches
who are constantly begging for foreign support will leave this
practice.
Other News
Here are some other things that are going on that
I have not mentioned. Brother Moses and I spent a day
working on his book, God’s Plan of Salvation for Entire
Mankind. The editing is halfway complete. I really
like how he brings out different points from an Indian point of
view. When we complete the book I will send a final copy. He
wants to publish this book and use it somewhat like a tract to
be handed out. He also plans to put this in some of the other
major Indian languages after the English version is complete.
As for other news, it is now over six months
since our study with the Thomas family, and the study seems to
be progressing along quite well. Just keep them in your daily
prayers that they will see the truth, and make a full commitment
and come to salvation soon.
I am also having a daily study with a young
Christian brother, Gunashakar, who is part of the Vashi church
of Christ. It is always a blessing to encourage and strengthen
our brothers and sisters. His sister also joins us from time to
time.
Other good news is that our Brother Jayaprakash
and Sarogini are engaged to me married. Today we had an
engagement ceremony after the morning assembly.
A Final Comment
India as a country is going through a real
transformation. It is most obvious in the cities. In 2006 we
had fields of nothing between Vashigaon and the rail station,
but now we are seeing high-rises and shopping malls going up.
The economy seems to be booming. Most likely India will take
the #1 spot in the world even though many think China will take
the lead. The reason I am pointing these things out is because
now is the time we need to be really moving forward in the work
here. If you or someone you may know, that has a real love for
God and is sincere in doing the Lord’s work, we would like to
encourage you to consider the work in India. We are especially
looking for a couple who is more mature in their faith.
We need to be trusting in the power of God.
Pray, Pray, Pray, as I am convinced that now is the time for
India. India is at a crucial time as it rises as in world
power, and Mumbai is like a modern Jerusalem for India and the
world.
My Family News
Please pray for us as we are planning to make a
visit towards the end of March. At that time we are hoping to
share more on the work that we are sharing.
Gloria Mahima is a real blessing to our lives,
but not without struggle. I like how Sylvia described her
pregnancy in a letter she wrote about a month back:
The first time when I was pregnant
I prayed to God everyday. But the second time when I was
pregnant I prayed every movement and kept saying to myself,
"Yes, I trust in God and I will have healthy baby." I had so
many thoughts that kept on disturbing me and saying, “… your
age? … it is too late? …you are not strong?” The devil kept
working very hard from the beginning till the end. When we first
visited doctor and had the check up for downs syndrome,
it showed risk 1-59. Since it was positive, the doctor tried to
tell us that you need to abort this child. Mark said, Whatever
God gives we will take it and I agreed too. We are happy with
Sunny and he is a very loving boy. He is very smart and clever
in learning.
I was a little worried and then
God reminds me through Teresa, "With God nothing shall be
impossible." Luke 1:37. She sent a little sticker with Mark and
that was really good. God was reminding me that He can do
anything. He kept reminding me in my mind that he will do what
is good for us. Trust in me. Every good and perfect gift is from
above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights. James
1:17
I was just amazed that everything
worked out in time. I was very worried about my due date. If
the baby came after my sister goes back, what will I do? How
will we manage? But even that was on a perfect day. God is so
good and he knows what we need. My sister was a great help and I
had less worries leaving my kids with her and her husband. Even
he was here at the right time. I will never forget what God has
done for me.
Again even in the hospital on
Sunday the 11th that afternoon when the baby's head went up and
doctor said that we might have to do cesarean, I was praying and
said to God you have kept me safe till today and given me good
health so this work will be done with your help and I will
deliver normal. And He heard, it was really easy and I was
strong.
On Sunday the 11th when I went to
the church meeting all the sisters were asking, "When is the due
date?" I said that one is today and another says it is the
21st, and Amutha and Justin's wife got a little worried. The
next day when they heard the news they said that you were there
at church on the due date is why God blessed you and you had no
problems.
What a great God we serve! …
We are so blessed to have a strong health girl.
She smiles quite a lot, but is very verbal about what she wants
or needs. She also just rolled over for her first time.
Sunny recognizes his ABC’s and still loves books.
We are spending time working on his large and small motor skills
as this is where he needs the most work.
As for Melanie, she is doing okay. We are
praying that she would put more effort in honesty and the things
she does, especially her school work. We would really like to
see her come with us when we make our next visit to the states,
but her family is not really cooperating with us. Fortunately
for her sake she has a cousin that she really likes to be with,
and that is where she will be staying during our upcoming visit
to the states. However, I know deep down she would like to be
with us. Keep it in prayer that something will happen so we can
officially adopt her.
We love you all and thank you so much for your
prayers for us and the work here.
Mark, Sylvia and family
