Dearest Friends,
450 Million
India has 450 million children, with 56,000 children born each day.
99% grow up with little or no knowledge of Jesus Christ. Some are
Muslims, a few Buddhists, most are Hindu, and all are without hope.
What have you done to help reach India’s children with the Light? What
will you do?
Miss Sura Carunia
Miss Sura Carunia visited us today while we were in the deeper south
doing puppet shows. When she was just 5 days old, she was brought to
the Dohnavar fellowship, an orphanage ministry founded by pioneer Irish
missionary Amy Carmichael.
Her mother had died and she never said what happened to her father.
Amy raised her and she shared many wonderful memories. She told how in
a city where many children were left as a gift for idols, Amy rescued
them.
She said, "Miss Amy Carmichael always said that you must climb
mountain. You must be willing to suffer for Jesus." Amy wrote many
songs, but she would always give all of her children the mountain song.
It was important to her that they understand what was expected of them
as believers.
She came to visit us with her sister and grandchildren. Her son is the
headmaster of the Christian school where we did 2 shows. To my great
delight, she brought me a book of 193 songs that Amy had written that
was Miss Sura’s personal copy. More, she and her sister sang 3 songs
for us!
Our dear friend and partner in ministry, Hanson Manova, had arranged
this surprise for us.
What we will remember
1) The day that we rested and played tourist in Bangalore, we saw so
many beggars. I still see their eyes. On my first trip to India, I
decided that though I had been advised not to give to them, that at
least I could really "see" them. I begged the Father to call each one
to Himself. They were so broken, so hurt, and worst of all, I had no
way to offer them the Gospel.
2) Many children have shaved heads. I assumed that it was the same
reason as what we see in Eastern European orphanages. I thought it was
because they had lice, however, for most of these children, it is
because they shaved their heads as an offering at a temple.
3) One young man climbed the side of a house to watch us.
4) A little boy wanted me to know that he had trusted in Jesus. He
had a few English words, so he simply repeated a line from the story I
told where Zaccheus described his new heart. Zaccheus said, "I am
happy." This is what the little boy told me as he smiled the biggest
smile.
5) We watched people digging in the trash so many times, desperate to
find food or something they could use. All kinds of pain and suffering
are so very real here.
6) Child labor is a reality here. Anna watched as a little boy sat in
a dark corne sewing at a tailor shop. He was about 10 years old.
7) Thousands and thousands of children have sat spellbound listening
to Bible stories and Christian testimonies.
8) When Anna plays her flute, even the most restless children become
quiet. Most have never seen one before now.
9) The amazing people at Asian Christian Academy will always bring
smiles to our faces and cause us to praise God!
10) Our driver Stephen has the kindest heart! He would drive for us,
help with the program, set up and load equipment, do puppets and never
stop smiling. Wednesday, we left the school at 5am, drove 5 hours, did
3 shows, saw many children trust Jesus, and enjoyed some of the worst
traffic and road conditions I have seen. We arrived home at 2am after
Stephen had changed 2 flat tires, been stopped at a police checkpoint,
and he was still smiling.
Joy
Tuesday was exhausting, but blessed. We did 6 different programs,
shared with thousands of children, most of whom were Hindu. We did
programs for every age group, from nursery through high school.
Because we were in Christian schools, this day gave us a rare freedom.
We could invite the children to pray with us and so many did. Anna,
Sam, and I all told stories. We are all very tired and it is such a
blessing to hear so many, many children calling on Jesus to be their
Saviour.
America, Ireland, France, and Belgium
We train and equip teams aroudn the world. Years ago, we went to
Ireland and trained and equipped a team with John Moxen and Samuel
Shaw. Then, they traveled to France where Sam trained Anna McIlwaine.
Anna traveled to Dunkirk and trained a second French team. Last fall I
went to France and finished their training, and gave them much more
equipment. Today, Katell wrote to me and said that they are going to
Belgium to do puppet shows. Please pray for their time there.
Ask God to send many people to their programs. Ask the Father to call
many people to Himself.
Think about this truth! Because you pray and give, we have ministry
children, grandchildren, and now great grandchildren. Rejoice!
Prayer Requests
Please pray for us as we have 3 shows today, a 12 minute school
assembly, a seminary class to teach, many last minute meetings, and
packing. After we finish today’s ministry, we will leave for the
airport at 10pm and fly at 3am.
This is our last day in India and we want to use it wisely. Please
pray that we will see God do great things! Please pray that we return
home safely.
In Jesus,
Linda
For Sam, Anna, Jeremy, and Hanson