NEW OPEN DOOR

Map of Ranchi - Jharkhand

                                         

          After being back home these few weeks I have been praying a lot and asking the Lord what I need to do next . I have also been calling and looking for different ministry opportunities in other parts of North India, mainly that had to do with children and women at risk. At the same time it has been a time of refreshment and the Lord has been teaching me to  relax more and trust Him  completely .He has led me thus far and He will continue to do so. In my heart I have the assurance that He will reveal His plans for me soon.

           After continuous prayers and waiting for the right opportunity, I got a call from a pastor in Ranchi-Jharkhand. It is located in the North of India. Right after the pastor told me all about the ministries there with the children and church, I prayed about it and I felt so much peace about it in my heart.  I finally called him and told him I would come. I am so excited for what the Lord has for me in this new place.

         The Lord has continued to be so faithful in my life and the scripture that comes to mind is "The One who calls you is faithful" (1 Thess 5:24). I praise Him for his goodness and grace in my life everyday.  My promise verse for this year is Isaiah 58 and I can see the Lord already fulfill it in my life. The verses 11 and 12 especially spoke to me. God has called me to be the restorer of people in the streets and repairer of broken walls.  He also confirmed the vision He gave me during one of my quiet times . It was a vision of a lighthouse which represents me being a light and a guide to the people who are in need.

A typical family in Ranchi

        I am blessed to be chosen by Him. Deep within my heart I know for sure it's a great calling that I cannot deny or watch pass by. This season of my life the Lord is teaching me that wherever I go He knows that is where I need to be to grow in my relationship with Him. His desire is for me to understand His heart for me and His people in Ranchi. His ways and plans are always better than mine, all I have to do is trust and obey. At the end of this month I will be heading to Ranchi with my older brother, Kiran, who has been working there. I know a whole new experience awaits with Jesus leading the way.

Women and children of Jharkand 

   Some of my prayer points would be:

• Please pray that the Lord would prepare my heart spiritually as I go to a new place and culture .

• To adapt to the culture easily and that the Lord would give me His heart for them.

• To mainly be a blessing to the children and the church there and I would use the talents He has given me for His glory.

Being a LIGHT in dark places

Walking through the jungle on our 4-day trek! 

These two months have been a great journey with the Lord. He has taught me so much during our outreach to Vijaynagar a place I  never knew existed before. Who knew that in my life I would walk four to five days to share the good news to these people. If I were to explain all the experiences I went through it would take many pages to write but I will tell you some of the profound ones. I feel strongly in my heart to share this poem that I wrote after our walks and ministry in Vijaynagar. It will help you know what we went through.

       walking for four days
       Camping in different places
       All new ways of surviving
       In the jungles and trees

       Bit by bugs and  got leeches
       Falling in slushy roads
       Learning to keep our balance
       In the most narrow bridges

        Going hungry and tired
        Almost exhausted by bags
        But through all these things
        There was one who was there
        
        His hands guiding all the way
        Till we made it there
        Ministries kept going on
        Seeing and learning a lot

        Gods hand and favour on us
        As village to village we travel
        Lots of friends to help
        Blessings from him we see

Me preaching in a church during our outreach

   This is just part of the poem that I wrote but one word to describe  God  through the hard times and the good times is that He was so faithful to us. He answered our prayers and paved the way for us to share the gospel to the unreached Nepalis who lived there. So it was first hand experience  to share Jesus to people who have never ever heard it before. The best day was when I was sharing the gospel in a house to a lady she was so shocked to hear all these things and that's when the great commission made sense because there are so many just like her who have never even heard the name Jesus at all. It is so important what we are doing.

               The main ministries we did was travel village to village all by walking two to three hours and did open airs in each village. It was such a great experience . Sometimes we get a big crowd and other villages not so many but we had good responses from children and adults too. We did all kinds of skits, dances , preaching and sharing of our testimonies. I could feel the Lords presence strongly while we presented the gospel.

We had to cross rivers on narrow bamboo bridges!

           Our team also did ministry with the police men too and that too was my first time . Most of the houses we visited had one major problem and it was drunkenness that each man in the house struggled with. We went house to house also having small fellowship with them. Fifteen people gave their lives to Jesus and most of them were young teenagers .some of these teenagers travelled with us to minister with us and we formed a fellowship among them and prayed that they would continue even after we left. This was one of our team goals.

          Personally the lord showed me a  great revelation . One day while I was going through a hard time I was just walking and praying through the village and the Lord made my attention turn to a white flower which was so beautiful.

I plucked it and then He reminded me of the prophecy one of the speakers gave me  during the lecture week on father heart of God about me being the white flower and it representing purity and others are attracted to it and want the same. It is Jesus in me that they long for. I remember just sitting with  the bible and crying. The Lord speaks in our weak times when we feel if anything in our life makes sense. All I had to know is his heart for me and I was so strengthened then and knew my father was right there through all.

Ministry to school children

                Never once did He leave me alone and every personal goal that I had He fulfilled. I saw a lot of miracles people healed through our prayers and they giving their lives to Jesus. My favourite ministry was with the school children who were so responsive to learn through the songs, story ,and skits we did. We taught them the word of the Lord. It was a great time with them. As a team we had ups and downs but the Lord met all our needs and He kept each one of us in good health. All glory to Him.

           Coming back to the base also was a great miracle because  walking itself was a challenge many with swollen legs but through it all when we reached all we could say is that God is so good. The most faithful one whose hand was on us. He even held back the clouds so that we could walk in a good weather . I could say now I have greater faith in my God than I did before.

Ministering in a village

               I just  graduated from the discipleship training school and I have learned so much about true ministry and overall it was a great experience.

Some of my prayer points would be:

* please pray for the new converts to grow in their faith despite the difficulties there in Vijaynagar.

* For the fellowship we have started there to continue faithfully and these youngsters would be a great example to their families and society.

* For the Lord to show me clearly where he wants me to minister next as I am now praying too.

        

Walking house to house in remote villages to share the GOOD news! 

January- shaken and put right

Its been a crazy month of new revelations of Gods heart for me . I am almost done with my classes and so far  I have only one more week of class and then we go for a two month outreach. My two favorite weeks were hearing God's voice and Father's grace topics. I know that God speaks when I listen to him and have a receptive heart.  These weeks were the times when the Lord showed me the things that I was struggling with in my heart.
I was carrying it too long and the Lord wanted me to give it up completely to him. So I got free from it and I am so happy. One of the profound things he spoke to me was that I was his daughter and I did not have to be so hard on myself and He wanted me to move from the foundation of works to the foundation of grace which I had to finally learn in all my years of following Jesus. Did not have to try to please him but Just relax and its about him and his work in me.
          This is a great truth that i learned and I am done living like before . I feel light at heart and my prayer is that if I do end up there again ,I can run to the father again. His goodness over me in spite of my failures amazes me. I know the Lord brought me to the right place for sure. One of the things our team did on Sundays was go to a school where the kids study and stay there also and minister to them. That was something I enjoyed doing . I could picture God smiling at them. They were so precious and they felt happy and loved.
          Every Wednesday we usually go to house to house prayer we did an open air ministry with the kids in the village and that was so fun . They are so eager and happy to listen. Another thing we did was attend a big25 years celebration of the Revival church  to go around and pray for them and ask God to reign over traditions and practices that are not right. It was a big crowd and many had come from really far places. What was really shocking was how the speaker taught false things contradictory to the bible and many believe it cause they don't have the discernment to know the truth and they are discipled this way. It broke my heart to know how Jesus was being portrayed to nonbelievers also who were present there.
     I can see that God works in his own way at the right time and when we pray He does listen . Its been a great month and greater things are in store I believe as we are preparing to head out for altogether a fresh experience and a different level of His leading and guidance in the outreach . One character of God that touches me always is His faithfulness to lead us step by step.

A few prayer points for me would be:

*  Please pray for the preparation of my heart as I am asking God for greater revelations  of himself as I  reach out to the people .

*For strength for each one of our team members to persevere through the hard times.

* Finally the place we are going to is called Vijaynagar in the Changlang district, for the softening of the peoples hearts to receive the gospel well.

    

           

DECEMBER: A NEW PHASE WITH GOD.

It’s been a great month of learning and growing in God stronger and stronger. The classes are helpful and practical. One of the topics was “Faith and Finance” God showed me the areas where I needed to grow in Faith and not worry for it is sin. The morning quiet times are my favourite because God continues to show me His heart for me and it’s amazing. One of the main things I did this month is I went on a short outreach for two weeks. It was in Assam, a place called Silapathar. Everything was so new to me there from the Bamboo house to the lifestyle of people and practices of the Revival church we were working with. It was hard at first to get adjusted but that’s when God reminded me of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:11-13 to be content in all circumstances. It opened my eyes to have a heart of gratefulness. My team and I were working with the local pastor there and he is such a humble man of God. This small revival church had just started a few months back so the believers are few.

The believers were so glad to have us there. We could see the joy in their faces as we led the church services and went to some of their houses for fellowship. They have the heart of service and kindness but only thing was that they were not taught the right principles of the bible. Our team also went on lot of house visiting where God helped us to minister to the families through prayer, encouragement, and the word of God. I felt Gods presence so much during our ministry and it was so powerful and the people were really receptive. In some of the non-believers houses we were asked to leave but some of them did ask for prayer so that was encouraging. One of the sad things that I noticed in this church was that there were false prophecies spoken and people believed them. There was the language barrier as the people spoke Assamese and Hindi but some could speak a little English.

I had the joy of ministering to one of the woman who came with us to minister from house to house.  My heart broke to hear some of the things she told me and it’s shocking to hear how people are tricked in believing certain things of how God works. Teaching her the true heart of God was a blessing to me. The comment she made later was what encouraged me, she said my face looked like Jesus when I was ministering in the houses and at that point I was actually tired from walking but that was like an encouragement from God to be faithful and not give up the good work. During the Christmas time I missed home so much cause it’s the first time I am not there but being there with the people and ministering to the children and the adults was a joy because they were so happy and joyful to have us. A total new experience it was and the Lord was so faithful in guiding us and leading the way. As a team we had a good exposure of Gods heart for his people.

In full I can say it was a good month and on New Year’s Eve we had fun as the DTS family in prayer and lots of activities. The Lord personally helped me to let go of all the things that I needed to and embrace the new adventure with him this New Year 2016.He always knows the best.

PRAYER POINTS:

*Please pray that God would help me put the things that he has been teaching me constantly into practice and the things I have been learning in the classes.

*That this New Year I will focus on the bigger picture of what God has for me and the promise he has given me.

*For Gods guidance on our staff and students as we are preparing our hearts for the big outreach and that he would open the right door for us.

LIFE AT ARUNACHAL PRADESH- NOVEMBER.

One month here in the North East of India has taught me a lot already. Most of the things like the culture and practices here are new to me. There are many different tribes here and each their own lifestyle. Being culturally sensitive is very important here. Right now it has been four weeks of classes here in the disciple training school. The classes are great. My favourite week was the “worship” week. I felt the Lord’s presence so strongly and he has been speaking to me specifically in certain areas of my life. Every Sunday we go to the different local churches around each being its own denomination and it is cool to see their way of worship and structure. In each of these churches we also minister through skits and song. Sundays we also attend an evening service called the Monpa fellowship where the YWAM team leads it. This church was started for the Monpa tribe people as they are mostly of the Buddhist background.

I know as we have intercession times the Lord shows me his heart for the Buddhist world. In Arunachal Pradesh only four more districts have not been gone to for the outreach. One of these places is the strong Buddhist world where the big monasteries exist. The few Christians who are here are now facing persecution. We are asking the Lord to open the door to minister to these people. Every Wednesday evenings we go house to house praying and ministering to the people around the place we are staying. It has been a good experience because God is able to reveal his heart for his people of all tribe and people through us. It is mainly mountain area so we get to walk and see how the people live and some do say no when we come to their houses to pray for them. I had the opportunity to go into a Buddhist monastery and pray there.

During the week we are led well to pray, intercede and grow deeper in the Lord. The amazing thing is that we are always encouraged to hear God’s voice and encourage one another. I am learning personally to have faith in God for the impossible. Early mornings when we intercede for the state of Arunachal Pradesh we see God move and give visions and his word for the people .For the month of December we are going for a short two week outreach during the Christmas time and we are preparing and praying for it now. We know that God is getting us ready for it and it is going to be a total new thing for me as it will be  new places but we are trusting God will use us. We are a small team of eleven and we are expecting for the Lord to guide us in the right way. I am glad God put me here for this season and I can see him working in my life.

Some of my prayer points are:

1)      Please pray for the two weeks of outreach that we are going for this month during the Christmas break.

2)      Pray that the Lord would open the right doors for us to minister in and that God would soften the people’s heart to hear the gospel.

3)      That the Holy Spirit would guide us and personally that God would work in me as this is going to be a total new experience in a new place.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS......

 

After months of praying   for doors to be opened for opportunities in ministry, it finally happened. I prayed and believed that Kolkata was it but it did not happen the way I perceived it would be .I received an opportunity to do a YWAM(Disciple training school) in Arunachal Pradesh and I am excited. It’s   going to be a different experience altogether.

God has been preparing me a lot in different aspects of my life over the last few months. Especially to trust and believe even when you don’t see things happening soon .After graduating from a seminary I have been constantly praying for six months that God would show me what to do and where to go next. During these six months I never knew that I would go to Arunachal Pradesh. So I know that God’s plan for me is better than the plans I have for myself. Isaiah 55:8-9 is the passage that encourages me that God is always in control. The main thing He taught me was to just wait patiently on him and to completely entrust my life to him.

To take one step at a time and know that He knows best, His timings are perfect. As much as I am excited I am nervous also for this new journey that waits ahead of me. Looking forward to seeing and experiencing life outside of home and learning new things from God. Most of all I am asking God to help me to have a teachable heart. Without that it’s going to be hard to go into a new culture and place.

God has been so faithful in leading me till today. All the things he has taught me over the past months and years is going to be a helpful tool in the days to come.

Prayer Requests:

1) Pray that God would help me to mature spiritually and emotionally.

2) To help me see things through Gods perspective.

3) To adapt well to the people and culture.