Sowing Seeds of Hope

More than 600 needy and destitute children are being taken care of in our Children’s Homes in various locations.  Each home has Home Parents who take care of these children’s daily needs, build routine into their lives, and guide them into their God-destined future. 

These children get the opportunity to live in a safe Children's Home, as opposed to living on the streets with such harsh living conditions. They are fed three healthy meals a day, have the opportunity to go to school and study and develop in every way, and live in a safe environment where they are loved, cared for and grow in every way.

We are passionate about helping these children. We know we can help more as we come across hundreds of children who could be given a home and fulfill their dream of living a secure life. There are requests from over 100 children that need our immediate care and attention.  They need a safe place to grow. 

Would you help us to help these children? It will cost $45 per child for a month.  A gift of $5000 will take care of ten children for a year. 

This includes their food, shelter and basic education. This will also help the Home Parent to buy basic living accessories like beds, mattresses, bed sheets and pillows. With your help we will be able to bring this help to more precious children. Each child is precious. Your gift can save a child and give them a future.

Ministering to Women

When it comes to ministering and meeting to the needs of women, the best option is to train and equip the sisters to help other women.  

Empowering the women not only liberates them to be God's best, but also secures the future of the generations to come.   We work among Kalbelia women who are also called the snake charmers. They lost their main occupation when the Government put a ban on catching snakes. This led to the rise in poverty in the community and men fell into drinking habits.  Women suffer the most.  Totally unskilled, they end up picking rags with their little ones following the same practise.  The community is illiterate and this generation is also moving into dark without education.

We are encouraging this community by holding family gatherings where husbands and wives are taught together, women’s gatherings where women meet, talk and snack, skill training for women where they are exposed to multiple trainings according to their choice like sewing, doing henna artwork and pickle making.  This message of hope needs to go beyond the confines of our comfortable lives.  Would you help us to spread the good news? You could sponsor a womens’ project for a year impacting over 1000 women in a year.  This will cost AUD 6000 for a year. 

Together We Can Change Lives

We need your partnership to renovate the Ashadeep Community Health Centre situated in a slum area near Udaipur.  This is home to over 1000 people. Many of the inhabitants in this area are unskilled, uneducated and remain jobless. People live in one-roomed small huts, with plastic roof and temporary shades. Sanitation and hygiene is poor. People draw water from open sources and there is no proper waste collection method.

Many children in this area are left alone at home as their parents move out each morning in search of work. They become victim to addictive substances, sexual abuse, under nutrition and lack of love and care and basic support. They are also dangerously prone to accidents on the road.

Our Centre is strategically located in this slum community with a desire and passion to help the community women and children.   Regular sessions are given on preventive healthcare and basic hygiene.  The entire thrust is to help them develop a holistic healthy attitude.  Besides the health education sessions, weekly kids clubs and family gatherings provide care for their soul and spirit too.  The Ashadeep Centre includes an outpatient clinic too.

The Need:  

The building that we are using now is a tin roof facility that we have been using for the past 25 years.  We want to renovate the building for improved health care and training purposes. The budget for the renovation of the centre is AUD 35000. 

This renovation will replace the tin sheet with concrete roof,  build an additional room in the existing facility to be used  as a day care centre for street kids, renovate the reception area of the building, paint and beautify the walls in the facility and also improve the doctor’s chamber and training rooms.

The Health Care Centre does not receive any direct Government support but relies on donations from supporters and friends.

Would you consider giving to this project, and at the same time claim tax benefits towards this giving?

Church Planters

Vijay, a church planter has a fascinating story of coming to the faith.  But it does not stop there.  He went on to share the joy he had found with his family and friends. That small attempt is becoming a big blessing to the people of that place. Hear his story in his own words.   

“My wife had a sore in her leg that would not heal in spite of all our efforts.  We were tired of all our efforts, until someone led us to a small hut.  People were singing songs and were also praying for people.  Apprehensive at first, I went in with my wife and they prayed for her passionately. I was asked to come again the next week and I agreed to it, even though it meant taking her almost ten kilometres on a bicycle.  The next morning, Dungu, my wife reported healing in her legs.  We could not wait the next six days.  Within one week, her wound had healed and she was able to walk with the same legs that the doctors had said would be amputated.”

The next week at the cottage, it was a time of great rejoicing and praising.  When Vijay asked the church planter family how much he owed them for this service, they replied, “Yes, our fees is that you would invite us to your village and to your home to pray.”  He did it the same day.  Missionary Jumde and his wife and another sister began visiting Vijay’s home every fortnight for prayer and visiting.

Every time they would reach the village, Bedre, there was a small crowd ready to hear what they had to say.  Dungu’s healing had created a stir and there were other cases that needed healing.  They could not hold the people in the small space outside their two room thatched roof hut. During the rains, people would not move, even when they were soaked in the rain because they wanted to listen with rapt attention the story of this Creator God.

It took almost three hours for church planter Jumde Yama and his wife to reach Vijay’s home each time they visited him.  Soon they were not able to come every time when there was a need in the village. 

One day Tokamunda, a prominent person in the village, got sick. His whole body had swollen and he could not move.  They brought him to Vijay’s home to be prayed.  But this was not the day the missionary family would be visiting. What could Vijay do. Before he could think, they had brought the sick man on a stretcher of bamboo poles to Vijay’s doorstep.   There was nothing else he could do.  As he had seen them do, he laid his hands on Tokamunda and began to pray in the name of Jesus.  His eyes were getting wet with tears.  But he did not hold back.  He prayed for complete and radical healing having learnt that God is no respecter of persons.  Nothing much happened then.  But the swelling had gone down considerably the next morning. In Vijay’s words “I clearly saw the swelling go away.  I was surprised, shocked and joyed to see what had happened when I prayed that simple prayer.”  The next week when the missionary couple came, he had one story to tell.  That day itself the couple encouraged him to pray for others and also to conduct regular meetings in his home.

 What began with a handful of people in the small area outside his hut, is now a regular church gathering with over 60 people in attendance.  About six months ago, they collected enough bamboo from the forests and put together a simple building, which they proudly call church today.  God did a miracle and someone donated money to buy the tin roof sheets.  It is one happy place, with men, women and children dancing and singing while worshipping this Jesus who gave them this new lease of life.  Transformation has touched their lives, their homes, their cattle and the soil of the land also.

“We were so poor that when the right season came we did not have the money to buy the seed and when we had meagre savings available, the weather did not help us.  But today all of us have vegetable gardens that feed our families and some of us are able to sell our products in the local market also.” 

They have gone through persecution, abandonment, harassment at the hands of local witch doctors, but today Vijay and his church are growing daily both in the Word and in the Grace of our Lord Jesus.  Visiting their home, they were proud to show their first ceiling fan and I was asked to inaugurate it with prayer!

Simple faith, simple people, awesome transformation, Great God.

Tambourine Baba

I did not know anyone in the village. But God gave me wisdom and I started using the tambourine and go from house to house sharing the Gospel with the people. Pretty soon the children began to recognize me and come to me to learn new songs. It was only the beginning of what God was doing through me in a natural and simple manner. I was familiar with the villages but had never gone into these with the Gospel message. But God opened for me one home at a time and every evening the children would gather to learn songs and through them I was able to pray for the well-being of the family members. Today when we gather in the village, we have over 60 people gathering out in the open to worship God.

God has confirmed His word with signs and wonders.  A sick mother, who was bedridden for many months, was brought to one of these evening meetings. One look at her did not convince me that she would live for long, but as I prayed, God gave the faith and by the end of the prayer, the mother began responding.  It was a huge encouragement for me. Two days later when I visited her, she was sitting up on her bed finishing her liquid diet.

A boy who could not walk was brought to these prayer meetings.  His legs were twisted but with faith and in the name of Jesus, we prayed for him. On the first day, his legs became loose. On the second day, he was able to crawl and by the third day, he was trying to lift himself up with help.  It was a marvellous miracle.

When the team visited this place, they were amazed to find the kids praying passionately with tears in their eyes. Their singing was also fully of energy and enthusiasm.

Now there is a crowd gathering every time Pratap visits the village and they have a new name for Pratap, ”Tambourine Baba”, or the tambourine guru.

Confessions of a first timer to the Navapur Convention

James Kumar

Initial Reflections

I had an interesting start to the Navapur Conference 2013.  I was travelling from the Mumbai to a remote village called Karanji, aka Navapur, which I had never been to.  I was not sure what to expect, but I was excited by what was going to come.  As  I walked in to the village, it was a total contrast to what I saw in Mumbai.  I saw people everywhere and lots and lots of stalls and then a big massive tent with lots of colours on it.  I rested for a few hours and then got ready for the conference.  As I walked in to the conference tent, my heart started rising with excitement and I was nervous. The moment I walked in, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Immediately my heart calmed down and I was filled with peace. I was reminded by the Holy Spirit that this was not just an event but an encounter with living God!

Coming to this conference was not just because someone invited me, but it was a divine appointment for my life.  I always had a heart for my own country India and wanted to see something like this here.  I met Mrs. Mary Mathews, the co founder of this ministry and she invited me to come and visit the ministry in India.  My holidays and conference days perfectly matched and I knew that this was another God incident in my life. I started preparing my heart to receive the word cleared my mind and I was glad there was no internet connection.  With no distractions from the social media, I was virtually fasting and I am happy about it.

First Night Rally

The first day evening at the conference started with prayer and worship.  The crowd was building up and so was the pace of the worship.  I loved the songs.  Most of them have been written by Filadelfia worship leaders for this conference. These songs were amazing and were filled with scriptures and a deeper revelation of Jesus.  Lifting the name of Jesus we continued to worship his name with dancing and singing. This worship experience brought me closer to Jesus like never before.

In the Inaugural address itself, Dr Paul Mathews set our expectations straight.  We were told to

1.       Be hungry for the word of God.

2.       Offer the biggest praise 'gift' to Jesus.

3.       Meet  new people and fellowship with them

4.       Pray like never before

5.       Get a fresh vision for 2014.

Soon afterwards, the guest speaker for the evening, Brother Tinu George came to minister.  He began to preach the word of God with authority. While he was preaching I could feel the power of the Holy Spirit.   After the Word was over, he offered to pray for the sick people and for deliverance.   Hundreds of people came forward.  My heart just broke looking at the huge need in this nation.  People were hungry for Jesus and his touch in their lives.

The Glory of God filled in the place and people started crying out to the Jesus and as Pastor started praying in the Name of Jesus, and declaring the Blood of Jesus, people started getting healed and delivered.  One partially blind could see, pains were gone from the hands and legs, stomach pain disappeared ulcers and infections healed.  And I was a witness to this! Thank you Jesus. Brother George encouraged the people to come and testify before the congregation and many people did so!

DAY TWO

Beautiful morning amazing weather. I am ready to worship Jesus today.  The crowd is building up and I can see people staying in the same tent and getting ready for the conference sessions with Pastor S R Manohar.

He started the session with ''Jesus is wonderful''! From there all the way till he finished, it was an amazing journey with the Holy Spirit.  He started talking about the 'inside world', the world that we hold inside us.  He explained that God looks at your heart and what is in your heart.  I learnt that first God works inside of us, then God works through us and then God works for us.   

As the sermon was being unpacked, I could see Jesus being revealed more gloriously and I could know that I was guilty of being filled with selfish desires.  I started confessing the things that God showed me and I could feel him touching my inner life.  In the next session, he took us deeper and talked about what true success looks like in ministry.

Within two days I could see lot of transformation inside of me because when we allow Jesus to work inside of us we will be changed and transformed forever.

I had a great sleep that night and woke up in the morning filled with new anticipation.

DAY THREE
The worship was lifted to a whole new level today.  Pastor Manohar started talking about Perfect Love.  It was a perfect start for the day.  I learnt that when I love Jesus wholeheartedly, I will not fear anything in this world, even ridicule or persecution!

The evening session was just amazing as we had a new guest speaker, Rev. K C John. He taught us through the scriptures, that Jesus was anointed in all the three realms of the Old Testament.  First as a faithful prophet, then as a High Priest and then as the King of Kings. It was really good.

It felt as if the days were going very fast.  But I knew deep down inside of me that I was making good use of every session, by taking notes, so that I could refer back to this notes even later.

DAY FOUR

In the morning session I witnessed the graduation ceremony of the Filadelfia Bible College. As I was watching this ceremony, I could see that all the students were happy and excited about their achievements. It was moving to see so many young men and women committing their lives to spread the Good News.    

In Pastoral leadership session, Pastor Manohar challenged us to pray in a new ways to God, and encouraged us to find new vocabulary and new sentences in our communication with God.  

Another powerful evening session followed.  With more songs coming in ever powerfully, it was a joy to witness people dancing and praising the Lord, with abandon.  The crowds were getting bigger and bigger and one could hardly walk around the field on the field or to the back of the tent.  There were lots of powerful prophecies for the future direction of the Church.  Personally, I received many promises and prophecies in this session and in the whole conference.

FINAL DAY

The final day was here and I could not believe it.  I was well dressed for Church and for Jesus and I was ready to receive what God wanted to talk to me though his servants.  Pastor K C John started with a bang.  He spoke of the blessed hope that the church had, the return of our Lord Jesus.  I was so excited about this that I serve and pray to a God who is alive and coming back and I will see him one day, my hope is in an everlasting God.

Then it was time to partake in the Holy Communion.  I had never known what it would be like.  But the way it was served and the way the people honoured the elements was really a blessing to see.  It felt as if the people knew more than just the obvious.

If I look at the whole conference, it was a life changing experience for me.  I have been filled with Jesus and hope and more faith for the future. I am secure in the arms of almighty God who is faithful and full of new mercy and grace every day.

I did not count but I saw lots and lots of people everywhere.  Maybe the number of people would have easily crossed  50,000 or more. It makes me happy that the Gospel is preached and people get saved because of the Name of Jesus.

If God wills,  I would like to come back and contribute my bit  in this conference the next year.  If you are reading this article, I will encourage you to come and experience the work of Jesus in this small village of Navapur and be blessed.

James is currently working as Software Applications Operations Support in Sydney, Australia.  He visited the Conference for the first time and it was life changing experience for him.

Waiting for a Roof

One of our pastors’ daughter and her husband have now planted a church that has over 100 believers.  They felt called to a certain place and it was the appointed time! People began to come to a small hut where the meeting was conducted initially, but later one of the believers donated land and they put together the funds they had and have now erected the walls of the building.  They are praying for provision for the roof to come up.  It will cost Rs 150,000 for the roof to be put.  Please pray and get connected!

It was a blessing to attend the monthly pastors meetings in Gujarat.  A few years ago, there were only a handful of church planters working in this region.  But today God has given us a team of over 35 missionaries who are covering over 120 villages in a week.  We regularly have these monthly meetings where they church planters bring their wives along for one full day of prayer and encouragement.  We had a powerful time of teaching from 1 Peter and also spent considerable time in prayer, seeking God for the land.