Old and new meet on Koviloor Road in Karaikudi.

Evangelistic meetings were recently held in Karaikudi, which is a city in Tamil Nadu, India. The city is located just 18 miles from the Bay of Bengal.

Pastors and Bible workers began the ground work a few months before the meetings. Robinson Devadass and his team of 14 from the United States joined in these evangelistic meetings, which began on July 24.

An estimated 100 people came to the auditorium to listen to the lectures, which were given by John Willmot. The health message was shared by Dr. Jessica Garcia. Pastor Willington, president of the Sivagangai–Ramanathapuram Section helped in translating.

Every night after the meetings the nurses and the doctor measured blood pressures and blood sugars. The evangelistic group also conducted free medical camps in two villages. Hundreds of villagers attended these camps.

A marriage day was celebrated for all members who attended the meetings. Fourteen couples were honored and given gifts in remembrance of their wedding anniversaries. The oldest and the newest married couples shared in a cake-cutting ceremony.

Of course, when God is at work, Satan is at work too. As people were showing interest in the meetings, one of the local religious parties banned the attendance of people in two villages. But people came into the auditorium anyway.

Pastor R. Karunanidhi, the ministerial secretary, and the team of young pastors and spouses helped make these meetings successful. At the conclusion, 11 attendees gave their hearts to Jesus. Others have promised to accept the Lord very soon.

God has worked powerfully to let this strong, traditionally religious people know that He loves them. Praise God for His wonderful mercies.

K. Baburao

I felt almost like Joshua facing Jericho when my local mission office assigned me to start new work in a very strong Hindu village. How would I reach them?

Since most people love to hear stories, I decided to use that approach first. I hoped that the stories would lead into an interest in health topics and eventually into doctrinal studies.

After visiting nearly every home in the village, I found one family that showed some interest in hearing Bible stories.

The parents became deeply interested in the Adventist Christian beliefs and were baptized, but their two sons were both demon-possessed.

To a Hindu, for one to be demon-possessed is to be blessed. But the family, in the light of the gospel, decided this was not what they wanted. The parents took their boys to a hospital, hoping that the condition could be treated as a physical disorder.

After spending much money, they realized that medicine was not helping. Then they resorted to Hindu priests and temples to remove the spirits, but to no avail. When the demons took control, the boys would strip naked and shout terrible things and be thrown about violently.

When the parents realized that their sons’ condition was a spiritual matter, they asked me to pray for them. As I began to pray, the demons shouted, “We don’t want to leave! We don’t want to leave!”

Every day for two months I prayed. By this time, the parents had progressed in their studies. They understood about prayer and anointing. So I prayed and anointed the boys, calling on God to expel the demons for good.

The demons could not resist that prayer, and they left. They attempted to return for another month, but heavenly guards were in place, and complete victory was won.

The boys are now preparing for baptism, and are also sharing Jesus with other young people in the new church in their village.

Praise the Lord for His power to deliver souls from the control of Satan.

The focus on evangelism is strengthening the eastern Uttar Pradesh region and helping us attain self-sufficiency.

Eight child literacy centers have been started. Village leaders have agreed to provide land for these centers, and parents are paying to help make the centers self-supporting within four years. Sixteen baptisms have been realized through this program.

I am sending details of 10 new places where we plan to open the way of salvation using the services of 10 newly recruited Gospel Outreach workers. We praise the Lord for His mighty works in this small part of the world. Thank you very much for your continuous prayers and support for evangelism in our area.

The baptismal group gathers at Dolalghat River.

Early this year, Chuck Jenson and his wife Kathy arrived in Nepal to lead the work there. Chuck, an experienced pastor, is a son of Gordon and Betty Jenson, who served the Southern Asia Division for 50 years. Chuck was born in India and lived there most of the time until he was ready for college. I invite you to remember Chuck and Kathy in your prayers. They are assisted by Kapil Baniya, treasurer of the Nepal Field.

The Nepal Field board has authorized a meeting of all the Nepali pastors and lay workers to pray for harmony among all the staff in Nepal and to lay plans for finishing the work in Nepal. They consider this meeting so vital that they are going ahead in faith and are depending on the Lord to provide the $10,000 they have estimated it will cost. Chuck and his team are praying and working to establish a trust that will make it possible for the Nepal Field to safely hold property in Nepal.

One of the great needs is for an office. At present they try to work out of a very unsuitable rented building. We feel confident that when the trust is registered the leaders in Nepal will be able to acquire property and establish a workable and representative office. It is so thrilling to see the progress of the work. Under the blessing of the Holy Spirit there will be even greater advances.

We feel highly honored to be able to share the Good News in Nepal and to bring reports to those of you who pray for and give so liberally for the work in Nepal.

Abhinit Singh

Abhinit Singh, a young boy originally from Mahotari district in the plain of eastern Nepal, has been studying at St. Devi’s Academy since grade two. Abhinit lives with an uncle in Kathmandu. He would come every Sabbath for the children’s Sabbath School service where he learned many songs and stories about Jesus. Mrs. Sita Pradhan, a Gospel Outreach worker in Kapan, encouraged him and told him about the love of Jesus. He is the eldest son of a very strict orthodox Hindu family.

His testimony before his baptism:

“My name is Abhinit Singh. I have completed my high school. Currently I am writing my board examination. I came to know about Christians and Jesus at St. Devi’s Academy where my friends invited me to come for church every Saturday.

“I am a grown 17-yearold boy, and I can understand what is the true religion. I learned so many things about the Bible, and I am thankful to our head sir and head ma’am for showing me the right path. If I didn’t study at St. Devi’s Academy I would not know about the Christianity.

“My main source of inspiration is Mrs. Sita Pradhan, who lives next to my uncle’s house. I am son of Hindu family, and there is no Christian in our native place and in our entire community. Perhaps, I am the first one to become Christian from our family and place.

“Prior to baptism I neither asked nor obtained permission from my parents. If I had done so they would never allow me and let me take the baptism and change our traditional religion. They will be furious and get angry with my decision. I do not know what will be my condition after taking baptism. I don’t care and worry about me, and I know there is a powerful God with me. He will open the way for me.

“Today, I see most of my friends who are going to take baptism have brought parents and relatives, but I don’t have anyone to witness for me. I am little bit sad because I am alone. I know my God is with me. I do not know what will be my future. After this maybe I will be outcast and excommunicated from my family members and community, but I will not be afraid. I will leave everything in God’s hand, and from today on I am going to be His son. Please pray for me.”

Please remember this young boy, Abhinit Singh, in your prayers. His great desire is to tell others about the Jesus and bring many souls to God. He wants to become a pastor. May our God bless this young man and open the way for him to prepare himself as a faithful servant of God.

Daryl Famisaran, the Sulads director, waves from the proposed school site.

I arrived on the campus of Mountain View College on February 10 at about 4 p.m. We went straight to the Sulads training center where Sarah Famisaran was teaching deaf students. Ten of her 16 students were present. Those absent had gone home to look for food, as the school cannot provide meals for the students.

Sarah and Bem Bem led the students in signing a song of welcome for me. The students range in age from quite young to middle age. All are in the first stages of learning sign language. For many of them, this is the first moral support they have received. Many are considered to be a burden to their parents and are treated as less than human. This school helps them build self-respect and self-worth.

On Sabbath, the deaf students attended the Mountain View College alumni church, where I presented a talk on the Sermon on the Mount. Sarah interpreted the sermon for the deaf ones.

On Sunday, Daryl Famisaran (Sulads field director), Ultimino Rivera (Sulads CEO), and Victor Paradero (Sulads supervisor) took me to view property recently purchased to establish a school for the deaf. This property is four kilometers off the main highway, and is seven kilometers south of Malaybalay City. The final road leading to the property was bad. We hiked part of the way in.

The property is across a river, and we crossed over on a bamboo bridge that was built 11 years ago and is in need of repair. After crossing two of these bridges, we arrived at the property, which is 7½ acres. There are flat areas where buildings could be built, and also gently sloping land for farming. There are mango, banana, cashew, santol, guava and other trees on the property. The land should be able to produce food to feed the expected 25 students.

This school would make it possible to house the deaf students, provide their food and give them a place to learn sign language, livelihood skills and a positive self-image. Please pray with us that this school may become a reality in the very near future.

Deaf students sign a songs of welcome.

Gospel Outreach worker Sarah Famisaran is married to Daryl, the Sulads director. He not only is working with the deaf ministry in general, but is also integral to the new deaf school.

Daryl tells us of the new developments:

More deaf children are coming to our classes here at the Sulads campus in Mountain View College, and we are having a problem of accommodation. We have a very small campus inside the larger campus of Mountain View College. Our temporary school of 10 students seems to grow steadily. Students, both adults and children, bring their food provisions that rarely last for a week as they come from poor families.

We don’t provide everything so that they and their parents will feel some responsibility for their own needs. However, we cannot just close our eyes to the reality of the extreme poverty that exists in rural villages—the hand-to-mouth way of living, tending little hill farms using bare hands only. We provide work in our garden so they can grow vegetables for their daily needs.

As news of the work here has reached the ears of other parents of the deaf, we expect more students to come. This will aggravate the existing problem of accommodation.

We’re in a rural country area where we can build a school and where the students can grow vegetables. We also see the need to build dormitories because students will come from far places, and if they run out of food, many of them who go home for supplies will not return.

The school has had difficulties that were overcome by prayer. A couple had been forced to marry due to local custom. He could hear, and she was deaf. They were not happy together, although they now had a family. The wife decided to go to the Sulads deaf school where Sarah works. As a result, the wife and her children have learned sign language, and so has the husband. They have all come to know Jesus. Both recently were baptized.

The Bentley Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada took up a special offering on Christmas day to help with the development of the deaf school. To date, more than $850 has been raised.

Rescued by a Man in a white robe.

INDIA–At the end of a Bible study program held by Gospel Outreach worker

Rajender Ram, one lady and her two children decided to accept Jesus. The lady’s husband was away from home at the time. When he returned and discovered his family had accepted the Christian faith, he was upset. For three months he did not treat the family well. He began to spend extra time each day worshiping evil spirits.

The lady finally called Rajender and asked him to pray for her husband.

That same night, the husband had a dream. He felt himself drowning in water as he desperately shouted for help, but there was no one to help him. Then he saw a Man with a white robe coming to rescue him.

In the morning he told his wife that Jesus had saved him. He accepted Jesus and began witnessing to others. Soon he was baptized along with 12 other people.

In the last quarter of 2010 we began to work in 125 new villages. We started by distributing tracts. After only one week, people showed an interest in learning more about the gospel. We had requests that meetings be conducted in their villages. Most of the villages presented their requests in writing. Some said, “Now we have learned that Jesus loved the poor, the oppressed, the orphans, and that He healed the people of many sicknesses. We need this Jesus in our villages.”

We invited one person from each village to come for one week of training. We selected those who were mature, educated, had a good name and were recognized leaders. These 125 leaders, together with a Gospel Outreach evangelist, arranged for 10 days of meetings in each village. Since the plans were approved and organized by the village leaders there was very little opposition.

As a result of the meetings, 5,200 people have joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and 125 new congregations were established. Each new congregation was given Bibles, songbooks, cotton carpets to sit on and kerosene lamps. Pastors, Gospel Outreach evangelists and trained lay workers will continue to nurture the new members.

During this first quarter of 2011 we plan to enter 75 new villages. After careful preparation, similar to what was done last year, meetings will be conducted. Requests already have come from most of these 75 villages. Our goal is to prepare at least 5,000 people to become followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The harvest is fully ready. A recent British Broadcasting Corporation news feature reported that churches of several denominations have started to practice Sabbath worship in the eastern Uttar Pradesh Region.

We are thankful to all who have prayed and given to supply stipends for Gospel Outreach evangelists. We are confident God wants to finish the work in our area and that He will impress dear people to give so we can have the resources to do what needs to be done.

As Pastor Steven grew up he attended Presbyterian meetings and joined a Presbyterian church. The church gave him a song book and Bible, but he couldn’t read. He cried and prayed for God to help him.

One of our evangelists was holding meetings. Steven attended every night. In 1990 he was baptized and began explaining to his friends what he’d learned. Some joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church and formed a study group. Eventually members of the group decided to move 140 miles to preach to their own tribe there.

For 10 years they maintained a self-supporting ministry, working by day and preaching by night. Before they began their ministry, there were about 600 baptized members in this part of India. After 10 years membership had grown to 6,000.

Conference officers recognized Steven’s gift and ordained him. Now he can speak and read four languages, and he translated my prayer when I visited.

The pastor who converted Steven now lives in the United Stated and has offered to pay his tuition for a bachelor’s degree at Spicer Memorial College. Steven still needs someone to help with his living expenses because he now has a wife and family.

Pastor Steven doesn’t just bring people to Jesus; he also has a gift for choosing the right young men and women, training them to be Gospel Outreach workers. He has trained four and has started a thriving school with an active missionary teacher. The church members are constructing the school with mud bricks and tin roofing paid for by friends from the United States.

Because government school requires attendance six day a week, Pastor Steven has started work on a dormitory so children in surrounding villages can also attend the school. Maybe you can help. God gave Steven the gift of tongues, and he is using his gift. Maybe your gift is the gift of generosity in furthering the work in the 10/40 Window.