From Mary Ann's Desk...

“giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

The first thing I want to say in this newsletter is, “Thank You” for praying with me concerning my left eye. I have been seeing better for about 3 weeks, so I have asked my doctor to postpone the surgery and to examine my eye once more to see what its present condition is. That will take place on November 4th. As it stands right now, I am able to read without glasses, so I am expecting a good report. Thanks so much for your prayers. I will update you next month.

Last month, we had the pleasure of hosting one of our Indian pastors, Rev. Bhalchandra Kamble, for a few days while he was in the US itinerating among several churches. It’s always a joy to sit around and talk about the good things of the Lord and to hear all of the stories telling of the mighty things the Lord is doing. During our visit, Bhalchandra pulled out his digital photo album to show us some pictures. He said to Jennifer, “Come and see what is happening in India because of the work your mom and dad have done in my country.” As she looked at the pictures, her heart was struck with the contrast between the work we entered into 26 years ago and the work that is being accomplished today.

So, we thought you, too, might like to see what you have invested in all these years, that your labor with us has not been in vain, and to see some of the fruit of the harvest you share in also.

When Bud took his first trip into India in 1987, the first group of pastors and church workers he ministered to totalled 27 people. That was in Bombay (now Mumbai). For the first several years, Bro. Samudre drove Bud all over Maharashtra state to minister to many small groups of pastors in villages hither, thither and yon. Eventually, we were able to gather the people together in one location. It took a long time for attendance to reach the milestone of 100. Today, the leadership conference attendance runs on an average of 300. Praise God!

At that time, it seemed that no one had believed in or even heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. As you know, India has the second largest population in the world and the powerful influence of the Hindu religion makes evangelizing these wonderful people a very difficult task. In those years, there were more lepers than Christians. Christianity accounted for only 2% of the nation’s population. Today, those numbers have slightly increased. Christians now account for 2.3% of the population. With the exponential increase in population over the last 2 decades, these are pretty good statistics.

A lot has changed in 26 years. God has raised up many laborers in this field. It would take an entire book to tell the whole story thus far, but here’s just a glimpse of the exciting things that are going on in India through the ministries of these faithful, dedicated men and women. I wish I had pictures from all of the pastors so that you could see the whole big picture. The best I can do is share with you the ministry efforts of this one family: Bhalchandra, his wife, Leena, and his mother, Rebekah.

Bhalchandra oversees 5 churches that he has founded in Pune with a total of about 300 members. The Lord has placed the burden of prayer on his heart and he has organized a cross denominational fellowship of pastors called “Pray, Prayer Works.” Pastors from all over Pune and Maharashtra state come together on a regular basis to pray for India. He has also been invited to other parts of India to share this ministry.

Just this past September, the people of Maharashtra state celebrated one of their popular festivals, Ganesh Chaturthi, honoring a false god. During this time, through the Pray, Prayer Works ministry, Bhalchandra called on all Christians to come together for prayer and worship to the One True God. This reminds me of the story of Elijah challenging the prophets of Ba’al on Mt. Carmel (and we know what happened there). The response of the Indian church was nothing short of marvelous.

From the time that Bhalchandra was a very small child to the present, his mother, Rebekah, has gone to villages near Pune to minister, preaching and teaching the women. Today, Bhalchandra’s wife, Leena, joins her in this ministry along with two cousins who are also joining these outreach endeavors.

Leena was raised in the Nazarene church, and is the first woman in that denomination to receive her ordination after completing seminary studies in Bombay. She is a full partner with Bhalchandra in all of their ministry efforts. She cares for their two young children and she still finds time to host neighborhood women’s Bible studies.

 Pastors Aglave and Sharon were among that first group of 27 that Bud ministered to in 1987. In recent months, they held a baptismal service for new converts. For an Indian, this is a very serious matter. Often times, this act is done at the risk of being disowned by their entire family. There is a common saying among the Indian people that it is ok to say that you are Christian all you want to. Until you get baptized. Then, then they know you are serious about following this Man, Jesus Christ.

Multiply these efforts many times over and you can imagine the bigger picture. It’s amazing!... the increase for the Kingdom being realized by the efforts of these dedicated and faithful men and women among their own people. Men and women who never give up, no matter what.

In closing, blessed are the soil tillers, blessed are the seed sowers, blessed are the waterers and weed pullers, and praise God for the harvest He brings! There is still much work to be done. The need is still great. We still need to continue raising up the next generation of church leaders in this ripe field. That need never stops. It’s continuous. That is why we keep going. Thank you for you faithful partnership. We would not be able to do this without you.

Because there are over 4.4 billion people in the world who still need Jesus, I remain

Yours in missions,

Mary Ann Cassidy