God of Wonders

Awesome time of worship and praise - Concert

It has been a great month with the Lord especially moving in amazing ways. When His people come together in His name and pray in faith God does something in the heavens.  One of the things the Lord has been teaching me is to believe Him with all our hearts when we pray for the impossible things and there is power in prayer. It took us two months of prayer and preparation for this big worship concert event called “Azadi” which means freedom in Hindi. We had around 3000- 4000 people attend it and we were amazed to see the hand of God through it all. He was with us from the start to the finish and we saw His amazing miracle once again. It has been raining the whole week and we were asking God for a miracle for it not to rain on that particular day that was the 2^nd of September. With lots of prayer and faith we asked the Lord to do it.

lots of prayer and preparation

It did start to drizzle and immediately many started praying and the rain stopped. It rained everywhere except the ground we were in and that was amazing to see. God is so good and we proclaimed together that He is a miracle working God. The youths and volunteers and leaders all worked really hard to get this event going well. By God’s grace all went well and the response of the people was great. Many were touched by the Spirit of the Lord and we felt His presence so strong. He ministered to each one of us through the word and worship .We can totally say that it is through the constant prayers of people for this event that it went out well. Thank you all so much for your prayers.

Our registration group working together- great team.

Kids celebrating teachers day- they love us and we them.

The Lord has been so faithful to us this year as a church and we continue to put our trust in God who is greater than anything.  The slum ministry is going on well and Vilma and I have been focusing on helping them with their English subject as they all struggle in it a lot and their exams are approaching soon. They have been responding really well and I thank God for that. Though the number of kids is less sometimes due to circumstances the few that come are very faithful and I am grateful for it. The Lord is a good Father and I love Him more each day and He gives us what we need each day.

Kids learning their English at the slum.

Some of my prayer requests is :

·         Please pray for our next big event that is our 50^th anniversary celebration through three days convention. Pray that God would lead us in the right direction. He has been so faithful to our church and believers and He will continue being the king of it all.

·         That god would help the people who attended the concert would go shine for Jesus wherever they go and not let the experience in Jesus go in vain.

For Gods wisdom in leading the people in the right way and for the sunday school curriculum that is still in progress to be prepared well and for good Godly teachers who love kids to come up and join me as we start a new season of sunday school in our church next month.

Amazing God working in Amazing ways.

Worship leading at womens meeting

It has been a great month of Gods goodness and faithfulness in my life and ministry. God has been teaching me to believe with all my heart that He is able to do more than we ever ask Him for. We had our first time ever two days women’s seminar that was so amazing.  We had around 100 women attend it and it was a blessed time. We got such a good feedback from them and we praise God for that .Each one felt blessed and they all participated really well. It was my first time experience planning and running the whole thing with a help of amazing group of people and everyone looking up to me for guidance. The reason I say this is one of the main girl who used to be there leading with me has left so now the leadership role has increased to the next level and honestly speaking it has been overwhelming at times but it’s a joy too as God has been my greatest strength giver and I am grateful to Him for it and I am learning a lot. One of the lessons He has taught me is to handle the people we work with lots of patience and grace. To continue showing Gods love even when its hard.

Group discussions on prayer

It has been my joy ministering to the kids and women here as their response to us and God is encouraging to see. We can see their hunger for deeper truths of the word of God. Our theme was on ‘Prayer’ and we had a wonderful time of Word, skit game, group discussions and so much more. While my team and I had been preparing for this God began to show us more better and effective ways to minister to these Women here.  Thank you so much for your prayers it went out well by the grace of God .I had the opportunity to go to Bethel missions and minister to the kids there along with a friend. It was a good time teaching the kids about ‘Identity in Christ’ and we encouraged them through word and prayer. I also have been teaching Sunday school at another church each Sunday and I am encouraged to see the kids’ eagerness to learn the word of God and it is so fun teaching them.

Bethel missions kids ministry

Sunday school with Kadru kids

The ministry in the slum is going on well and we are blessed to be a part of their lives ministering to them and spending time with them each week. Altogether I can say it has been a great month of Gods goodness and grace over my life. Presently I am working on forming a new Sunday school curriculum for our church kids to follow and the branch churches as well. Our goal is to finish it by the end of September and by October hopefully we would start our Sunday school. I need the Lords wisdom as I am preparing this Curriculum. We are also planning to host a Sunday school teachers program for the teachers of our church and other branch churches too in the month of October. Both these tasks have been handed over to me and I am praying for a good group of leaders to join me and help me out. I need Gods help more than anything and we are praying for good Sunday school teachers who are willing to reach the kids with the word of God efficiently .I am depending on the Lord completely to guide me in the right direction.

 Kids coloring at the slums..

We have also been preparing for our upcoming concert on September 2^nd through lots of prayer and other things as well. We are expecting around 5000 young people to show up. We have been doing lots of advertisements and promotions for it. We are praying that God would minister to the people who come and the whole program would go well. By Gods grace we have around 115 volunteers for this event and we are excited and working hard towards this big event. We have been meeting every once a week and praying together as a team for this big day. God is going to do something big for us this year as a church and for the people of Ranchi.

Preparation for the upcoming concert

Some of my prayer points would be:

·         For Gods wisdom in preparing and choosing the right Sunday school curriculum for the kids here as many of them knows very little from the word of God.

·         For the right teachers who want to really invest into the life of these children.

·        To depend on God fully and for the right people to lead with me.

·         That God would help the big concert that is happening on the 2^nd of September to go well and that the people would come with eager hearts to receive what God has for them.

Goodness of God in all situations.

fun time with the older kids at the slum

This past month has been a good one ministering to the children and the people of the village. I had the opportunity to travel to the places out of Ranchi to visit the sponsor kids and get to know them better. It is always a joy going and spending time with their families and encouraging them and praying for them. Each family has their own struggles but they are doing their best to bring their children up. We as a church are helping them with their education and medical fees as well. Kiran and I met with seven of the kids this past month and it was a blessed time for us. God has been so faithful to me in every aspect of my life and the thing He has been teaching me is that he knows the best in everything and even when I feel alone He is there guiding me through all. The main thing is to depend on Him fully and trust Him for He is the Good Father.

 Visiting Sponsor kids

One of the first things I did was travel to one of the far villages which was out of Ranchi with Kiran Anna and Vilma to minister. We went to each house and invited them to come and watch the Jesus movie. It was a great response and many people came to watch it and they loved it. It was around 150 people. The people were so eager to see and hear the gospel and for many of them it was the first time. Most of them were Hindus. It was a good time of ministry and I enjoyed it. This month we had a good time of Women’s ministry and house visiting. We are also preparing now for a first time two days women’s seminar this month and we are so excited for this new step we are taking to encourage and build our women spiritually in their walk with God. We are hoping that God would use us as we minister to them.

House visiting- Women's ministry

This month I also got the opportunity to go to Pune and celebrate a great moment in my brother Kumar’s life as he got engaged on the 30^th of June. I am very happy for him as his sister .It has been a great month of God’s grace in my life. Vilma and I got to go only few times to minister to the kids this month as it has been raining a lot and during rainy days it is a challenge to teach at the slums as the kids cannot sit outside or attend our class. It is so amazing to minister among them and they love spending time with us. It has altogether been a good month with God and His people.

Kumar and Manisha's engagement

Some of my prayer points would be:

·         Please pray for our first ever women’s seminar at our church that is happening on the 14^th-15^th July that there would be a good response from the women and that God would minister to their hearts.

·         For God to help our English service to continue to grow spiritually and in number as well.

·         For my heart to be steadfast in all situations and God to help me to trust in His guidance in terms of leading others.

LITTLE ONES FOR GOD

Our VBS kids and leaders

It has been a great month of fun and lots of work too. If I could describe this month I would say it was one filled with lots of encouragement from the Lord. I feel closer to God each day .He has been teaching me a lot on how to find deeper joy in Him alone and yes at times loneliness creeps in but I learn to trust in his companionship. His Grace alone holds me together. We had so much fun this month conducting the Vacation Bible School in Ranchi and two other places out of Ranchi.  We had a great group of volunteers helping us in the Vbs.  It was a three day camp for the kids and they loved it.

Amazing team of  Volunteers for VBS 

The theme was “Love” and the main passage was from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. It took more than a month and a half to prepare for this and the three days went really well by the grace of God. The kids enjoyed learning, playing games and doing crafts. It was a blessed time. This is my second time leading the Vbs with two others and it has been a good experience of learning to lead well and depending on Gods guidance each day. We had about 100 kids and it was good ministering to them as they were hungry to learn more about God. They miss our Sunday school a lot as right now we have stopped them due to the church construction and we as a team continue to pray for their spiritual lives as we are unable to meet them on a weekly basis as before.

Ministering in Muri - VBS program

We were able to minister in two other places out of Ranchi during their Vbs time and it was an amazing experience as one of my wish was ministering to kids all over Jharkhand as well. Each place has its own set of kids and these places had such amazing active group of kids and it was amazing to see their heart for God .This month we also had our youth retreat which was such an amazing time with over 120 youths attending it. We had good sessions which were so helpful to all of the youths and we got good feedback from the youths. God ministered to each one of us through the speakers who came from Bangalore. It was a timely word for the youths here. Altogether it was a good month of working for the Lord with all that I have with kids and youths.

Vbs program in Jamshedhpur 

youth retreat -listening to a  session.

The Lord has been so faithful to me in the small and big .I am happy that he has brought me to the right place to minister in and I enjoy it a lot. The slum ministry is my favorite and the kids are a blessing from God to me because seeing their faces cheers me up. I have not been so regular in going there and teaching them this month as I was busy with the vbs but the times I did get with them has been encouraging and wonderful. They continue to be a great bunch of kids with lots of love and we had good times of games and fun with them. I have been taking some of our youths there to help us in this ministry and it has been so good. They enjoy it a lot too. God is good all the time and I believe it. He takes good care of His children.

ministry in the slum with youths teaching action song

Some of my prayer points would be:

*That God would continue to help me in growing as a good leader that people can model after through my lifestyle and trust God more in everything.

*That the kids would continue to grow in the lord even if summer camp is over that they would choose Jesus each day.

* For the youths to live as light wherever they go and that they would remember what they learned in this retreat and do what is right

Love and Joy In Christ.

Craft time with kids in the slum.

It has been a great month of ministering to the kids, women and youths. God has been faithful to me in the smallest thing to the biggest thing. One of the biggest things God has been teaching me is to have lots of patience in many areas of my life. The ministry with the slum kids is going on well. Vilma and I have started the VBS for the kids with fun bible teachings and crafts and they have loved it. They find so much joy in learning more about God and His love for them. This year one of my prayers and wish has been for them to accept the Lord into their hearts and follow his ways. As we were teaching the first day lesson of our VBS to the kids we had a short time of explaining to the kids the importance of accepting Jesus in their lives.

Saying yes to Jesus.

So we asked them if anyone wanted to and six of the kids stood up for receiving Christ and we were so happy for them. We had a good time of leading them into prayer and they received Jesus into their hearts. This is a great thing to see as I know that the heavens rejoice over this. It is going to be hard for the kids to follow Christ as they are the only ones who know Christ in their family and follow Him as none of their parents do. Most of their parents are strong Hindus and we encourage the kids to keep praying for them and be a light in their family. I am so happy that they took this big step because they have been going to church and attending many Christian programs without knowing the importance of having personal relationship with Jesus. This is a new step for them and I know that God will continue to help us to guide them in the right way. Seeing this has been so encouraging to my heart and I love working with them each day.

Game time with kids in the children's home

I have also been ministering to some of the youths having one on ones with them and it has been a joy hearing them and ministering to them. We had a lot of fun going to one of the children’s home here in Ranchi and ministering to the kids there as our youth outreach. It was a good time of playing and spending time with them. This month also has been a time of preparing for our upcoming VBS in the next month. We have a good team of helpers who are helping us to get all things done for the three days program that is happening. I am excited for what God is going to do in these three days and we are praying that the kids would be blessed.

Fun time of ministry with the kids.

Some of my prayer requests would be:

·       For God to continue to give us ideas how to make the VBS a more effective one.

·       For God to guide us in helping the kids at the slum grow closer to Him in deeper levels and know Gods word more.

For the VBS that is taking place that everything would go well and that the kids would feel blessed and for the youth retreat also that is happening this month for Gods grace and guidance.

Loving God and people - True ministry.

It has been an amazing month of renewal and encouragement from the Lord. The Lord has been teaching me how to make the ministry grow deeper so that it would bear fruit and that the main key was to grow closer to Him and his people. It was so fun having some of our family members come and visit and encourage us. It was a wonderful and amazing time of refreshing and enjoyment. They got to see us in our ministry and spend good time with us. The best part was when we had a time of prayer and fellowship the Lord spoke to me some really deep things through Tammyma and others in how I can serve Him better and it was not of being a Martha working so much that I sometimes forget the main thing but it is the part of spending more time with God and growing in relationship with people as well. I know that this is true because ministry is about relationships more than task. It has been the thing the Lord is teaching me now to be more of Mary in the Bible.

Barbecue evening with English service crowd.

In my busyness of life there is a tendency to forget that it is about the people always and I am working on it. The Lord has been faithful throughout this month through the big and small and I am so happy that He never gives up on me. We had wonderful time of fellowship with our English service members by conducting a barbecue party night and it was so fun. Tammyma was the speaker for the night and they had a good time. This month in our youth meetings we have done a lot of small outreaches to reach out to the poor and sick in our community. We got the opportunity to pray for the sick in hospitals and reach out to the poor by sharing Jesus to them and meeting their physical needs. I love doing it as it always brings me joy to see the young people reach out to the community out of their comfort zones. I was reminded that Jesus came for people such as these and He rejoices when we put our faith into action. It is surely more blessed to give than to receive. We could see the joy in the people’s eyes as we prayed and reached out to them with all our hearts.

House visiting -womens ministry

Praying for the sick in hospital.

It is a wonderful season where we know that the Lord is doing amazing things in our church through the people of God and as we see the growth there is more of responsibility of souls that are coming each day to the Lord. Presently I am helping one of the youth who is from a Hindu family and she has been coming now to our church few times and is not sure of accepting Jesus as her Lord and it is hard for her to understand fully as none of her family members know about her knowledge of Christ so far. I had the opportunity to keep sharing more and also praying that she would accept Christ. It has been a month of amazing opportunities where God would just send people to come to me and I get to pray for them and listen to their problems. I find it exciting to reach out to people more as they too learn to trust and grow in Him.

Playing games with the slum kids.

The slum ministry has been amazing and with Pastors help we have got some more people to help us   in growing more in this ministry of reaching out to the children and taking it to the next level. We have seen good response and this upcoming month we have got some exciting things to teach the kids from the word of God and our aim is to help them really grow in Christ. They are always so joyful and a happy group of kids. Vilma and I find so much joy being around them and now with more helping us it is going to be amazing to see what God has for them more. The women’s ministry that we have each month and house visiting has been fun too. Altogether I can say that God is amazing and He chooses to move in the way He wants us and all we need is to listen.

praying for the man on the street .

Some of my prayer points would be:

·         Please pray that I would grow to have the heart of Mary more and less of Martha. I need to work on it more.

·         For the youth girl that I am praying and meeting with that God would soften her heart and that she would accept Him as her personal saviour.

·         For God to continue giving me more agendas in reaching the youths and children better.

Overcoming all through God.

We girls doing a dance in the concert.

It has been a great month of learning to live and depend on his grace over my life. Even when I don’t deserve it He still shows His grace and mercy over me each day. It is an amazing experience to depend on God and obey him in the small and big. The biggest thing God has been teaching me is to overcome frustrations and disappointments that come my way. Sometimes working with the young people here frustration and anger can come fast but I need to have lots of patience and grace and that is what I have been asking God for. Days are not perfect but with God leading able to do it. The concert we had went out pretty well. It was a great time of ministry. Thank you for your prayers for it.

New addition to our tuitions, unable to walk.

Simran-another new addition.

It has been fun ministering with the kids and growing deeper in relationship with them. The slum ministry has been going on well. The kids love the tuitions we take and they have been responding great. We had some new kids come and join us and the parents are so happy to send them for tuitions as the kids are in their exam season. Vilma and I have divided the kids into two groups and have been able to focus on them better. It has helped us get to know them even better and they love it. The best encouragement I got was from one of my student there who told me: “Jemi didi (older sister in Hindi) after you started teaching me English subject I like it so much.” In the beginning she did not like it all and now she never wants to end even when I say time is up.

It is encouraging to hear such things as sometimes you can feel discouraged if the kids are getting anything at all. For the next month Vilma and I are planning after their exams get over to do like a good summer program with them. Presently we are working on it. We want the gospel to reach all their families and warn them also about the harmful influence sometimes they get from their parents in terms of drinking and other things kids need to be aware of. It’s been such a joy working with them.

One of the other things my team and I were able to do was minister to children’s’ home called “Bethel Missions” in which some of the kids are being supported by our church here. We conducted a small workshop for the older senior kids there. We introduced them to future goals and options in studies and jobs they can get as most of them were unaware of it. It was a good session we had with them and they were able to share their desires with us. We are hoping to conduct more sessions with them in the future so they will be able to grasp it fully.  It is another place that I find so much joy in ministering in. They are an amazing group of kids who are eager to learn and grow.

My team and I at Bethel missions teaching.

So altogether I can say it has been a good month with its ups and downs but the secret God taught me was to depend on Him and trust Him step by step. I have been able to serve the Lord better with the help of Godly friends here who are an amazing help to me. I thank God for them. It’s been a joy serving the kids, Women and youths here. Sometimes we don’t see the fruit fast but I know even the smallest things we do one day will reflect in the lives of the people we serve. The main thing is to live as Jesus wants us to and reflect His love even when it is hard.

Some of my prayer points are:

·       That God would help me with the program I am planning for the kids for summer.

·       For more of God’s love in me to reflect to the people I serve each day.

·       To overcome feelings of discouragement that are not from God.