Dearest friends,
Santosh and Hindusri
Santosh is a little boy who put his trust in Jesus. His parents were strong Hindus and took him to visit many Hindu temples. They did many rituals to remove this curse from him. He has stood strong in his faith, unyielding in his belief in Jesus, even though his life now is very difficult. What would you do?
Hindusri is a beautiful teenage girl. She loves Jesus Christ, but when she shared this truth with her father, he threatened to cut her up into pieces. He ripped her bible from her hands and tore it up. He is a Hindu priest. What would you do?
The faith of the children that we meet amazes me. In the worst of places, under the most difficult circumstances, they stand firm in their faith and grow in their love for Jesus. In our comfortable places, how are we growing? May God give all of us great faith!
God’s Promise
We hold to God’s promise in Romans 15:21. "Those who have never been told of Him will see and those who have never heard will believe." There are so many people here who have never heard about Jesus.
It is a very dark place. The law of India forbids parents to know the sex of their unborn child, particularly in the North, they would probably choose abortion if they knew it was a girl. Little boys receive more food and a better education.
Though the law forbids a girl to marry until she is 18, this is not the practice in villages. They marry as young as 13 and by the time they are 20, they have had numerous miscarriages and many children. Often, they are married to a man who is much, much older than them.
When Christian families have little girls and care for them with kindness, people ask many questions. It is a great witness.
We heard about an Indian missionary family in the North who had 4 little girls. No-one could understand why they kept them. Their love for their daughters amazed everyone in the village.
What have we seen God do?
1) It is a wonderful thing to see orphans calling on God to be their Father and Jesus to be their Savior.
2) It is a precious gift to be invited back to a village where our first visit caused so much trouble 2 years ago that we had to leave very quickly. Our 2nd visit, last year, was very good and this year was the best yet.
Village leaders came to the show and I was presented with 2 very long rose and jasmine garlands. I smelled fantastic!
Best of all, they have begged us to return next year. This is a big change from our first visit! Though we cannot pray with the children, we were able to tell them how to pray. God will finish.
The teacher there remembered our visit last year and asked about Josh and Teresa, my son and his wife, who came with us. She also remembered me sharing my testimony with her. She said that she and her husband had often talked about our conversation. She said she was amazed by the way I spoke about my husband, the love I still have for him. A good marriage is a strong testimony as India suffers from many bad ones. Please beg the Father to call her and her husband to Jesus Christ. The last thing that she said to me was to ask me to talk to Jesus for her. Pray for her to understand that she can talk to the Lord herself.
At another village show, we did the program outside. One hundred children laughed, enjoyed the puppets, received free balloons, and will always remember with kindness the Christians who visited them. They have a weekly Sunday School and everyone expects all of the children to come now. That is how interested they were in the story of Jesus.
Happy Valentine’s Day
Early this morning, Valentine’s Day, we met with some of the men who work on the campus. All were seekers, Hindus who are new to this place and do not know JesusÂyet! Curiosity can be a very good thing.
We decided to speak on how all things are possible with God. Anna played her flute and I shared how she had seen God do amazing things in France. Jeremy used a balloon trick to illustrate how with God the impossible is possible. Sam spoke about how God had given him a friend who would normally have never been his friend because of traditional hatred. God does the impossible!!
I had been asked to share part of my own testimony, stories about the children that we have met and because it was Valentine’s Day, something about Mike. I spoke of his life and death, the sweet love we shared, and the goodness of my heavenly Father. My valentine to Mike was to share Jesus’ love today with these men, and many, many children.
I encourage all of you who know the widows to remember them on days like today. No matter how much time passes, I will miss Mike, the love we shared and the romance of being married to a godly man.
I ask you to find a widow today and bless her with some act of kindness. Her longing does not diminish and she would be so encouraged that someone remembered her. Be a blessing!
Thirupattur
Tomorrow morning we leave for Thirupattur where we will do four shows, and then will do another four shows Friday before returning to the school. We will be working in Hindu schools whose self-proclaimed purpose is to spread the Hindu beliefs to their students. It is a miracle that God has opened this door for us, since we visited these schools last year. They know whose love we proclaim, yet still invited us back. Pray that God will open the administrators’ eyes to His truth, or will continue to pull the wool over their eyes so that the children can hear.
God has blessed this place and the years of ministry that have laid the foundation for us to reach children in places many thought impossible. Please continue to pray that the Lord will use the students and the local pastors to reach doors that have been opened, by God’s grace, through silly little puppets. Please pray for protection for our brothers and sisters who work and serve at the Asian Christian Academy.
In Jesus,
Linda
For Sam, Anna, Jeremy, and Hanson (our faithful translator and friend)