Life Changing Words Ministry

Missionary Journal

December 10, 2006

Monday the 4th finds us on a tour-like bus on our way to Pune to visit the extension of IPH. We will help celebrate the third anniversary. Three souls re-dedicated their lives for the Lord. The rest of the time we spent visiting and ministering to individuals.

Tuesday I continued in the Foundations for Righteous Living that I had begun last year. We are directed not to leave the worship tools here because these are too young in the Lord at this time. [Later we find out why. After we have left Pune, Florie and Pastor return for their normal visiting time and the Lord reveals to Florie what is hidden and prevents the free move of the Spirit.]

In the evening the native believers go out as an evangelistic team to two or three slum areas to minister. We occupy ourselves with prayer, personal ministry, and playing with the deacon’s children.

It is interesting how the day goes by quickly. We go to bed late and rise between seven and eight to tea and a continental-like breakfast. Sometimes we go for a walk around the neighborhood, or sit outside and share the word, or sit sharing in personal ministry. With so many people, there is always personal ministry going on at any time of the day.

I had another Foundations class that finished the series. We are given permission to rest. This is a relative term. There is really no rest as we might be accustomed to in our country. Rest means: "I don’t have anything for you to do at this time."

By Thursday, it began to become evident that there were some problems that will become difficulties for this house church. We would need for the Lord to reveal the issues and the truths.

In the evening we went to Pimpri to meet with Pastor’s Aunt Esther. We had the evening meal and prayer with her.

Her daughter was there, who is a teacher in the local school. Esther’s grandson, Samuel, is a very quiet boy, like Peter. The teacher told me to tell him to stop being shy. I called for Peter to come from the other room to answer this issue [another stretch from the Lord for Peter]. Peter shared that one cannot stop the personality which the Lord has given. Even having this conversation was uncomfortable for Peter, as he admitted. But he did well to explain that shy children don’t turn it on or off and may not even outgrow it, because it is part of them. This testimony was very good because it gave the teacher a little insight and we encouraged her not to judge children with this personality unfairly... all are created by God.

Pushpa announced that her watch from Pranay was lost. We prayed and asked the Lord to bring into light that which was hidden in darkness. We thanked the Lord ahead of time for the restoration of her watch.

Florie and I talked to Jai (pronounced Zhi) to see if she would be interested in teaching phonograms. She said that she is currently ministering in three slum areas and would be delighted to learn and do this for them.

In the evening we had a ladies meeting and love feast afterward. One soul, Sreha, was added to the kingdom. I love small meetings as there is greater opportunity for communicating on one to one.

We ate our breakfast in the home of Raju, who lives in a sector where 120 Christian families live. We have invitation to return and minister there next time. Next, we moved from there to have lunch with Prema and Sunil, the couple who were saved when we came to Pune the first time. And from their home [answer to prayer] we were taken to Rohan and Sredha’s home for the evening meal. At Rohan’s we shared the gospel with his parents and they prayed to receive Jesus. It was a day of salvation, eating, and rejoicing.

Before church we were moving the bedding to the other room and the watch that was lost was found. It had fallen between the mattress and the cabinet when Pushpa was folding clothes. She was so excited and gave testimony in the church of the Lord’s grace.

We started church early because we needed to catch the bus to Mumbai to get Peter off to the airport. Peter was gifted with stainless dishes set to keep before him when he eats of the India experience in Pune. Bill and I received flowers that we left for the church members to enjoy. Then we all headed for the bus station for the 12:15pm bus.

Florie made pizza for us to enjoy with Peter before he left for the airport. He presented Florie with a myrtle wood ichthus and a myrtle wood cross for the Pune extension. Bill and I were dropped at our sleeping place and Pastor Paul and Pastor Sundar Das were going to take Peter on a whirlwind night tour of Mumbai before dropping him at the International airport.

I think Peter enjoyed this new "stretch" in his life. I pray that he saw the heart of the work, as well as, the difficulties people go through to minister the gospel. Our prayer is that this will not be the last trip for him to India. I do know that he has been enriched by the Lord in coming. Thank you for this opportunity for him, Lord. Give him greater wisdom in running Life Changing Words Ministry as a result of this trip, in Jesus’ name.