Our time in Hyderabad is drawing to a close. We finalized our work here with an Alumni
Conference for pastors who had previously graduated from the Bible College. Russ spoke
on Christian Leadership, and then
gave his compelling testimony during the second session. I spoke briefly on the important relationship
between a pastor and his wife and children—often neglected in the urgency of
ministry.
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| Russ speaking at Alumni Conference, Kiran Translating |
Several of the men had traveled over 300km and 24 hours to be with us. Very few Indians own a car and few village
pastors even own a bicycle. Local travel
is often on foot. More distant journeys are usually on a rickety bus, or on the
train (which is an adventure in itself…)
Before we leave early Friday
for Bangalore,
we would like to introduce two of these men who sacrificially carry the Gospel
to their people. (You have already met
Victor from Panampally village in our last blog.)
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| John Prasad |
John Prasad is a quiet young
man who has come a long way in his 24 years.
He grew up in a Hindu family where his parents fought constantly; as a
teen, he contemplated suicide because of the constant stress and emotional
pain. But, instead, God led him to a
Sunday School where he received the hope of Jesus Christ. He began to teach Sunday school and his
church gave him preaching opportunities. His pastor told him about Ravi’s Bible College—Shalom
Veda Patasala—and he attended in 2009-10.
As with many Christians in India, as soon
as Prasad became a believer, his family expelled him from their home and
lives. Some time ago, a Hindu uncle
attempted to bring about peace, but failed; the family remains estranged which is very
difficult in a land where extended family relationships are the supporting fabric
of life.
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| Typical Family Motorbike |
John Prasad’s prayers are:
To be able to minister full time; to plant a new church; and to have a
motorbike so he can take the church youth out to evangelize. (If you have any questions about this, check out the internet photo at right. We see this all the time…everyone perfectly
balanced, perfectly normal for India, weaving through rush hour traffic…so a
few youth will be no problem.)
A second interesting alumnus
of Ravi’s college is his “bad boy”, Udhay
Kumar. He is 25 but looks 18 and
deceptively innocent. Ravi says he often
ran away from the campus, sometimes with Ravi’s
car… Kumar had asthma since the age of 2
and suffered for 8 years. A Healing
Crusade came to his town, he was delivered from the affliction—and his whole
family became Christians. At age 17,
Kumar joined the Crusade group, but later felt he needed more training. That’s when he came to Shalom Veda Patasala.
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| Udhay Kumar |
During his stay in 2009-10,
he and the College were targeted by a radical fundamentalist Hindu group called
RSS. (Their saffron flags currently fly
in many local neighborhoods, so the hostility is not over.) They attacked the campus, broke all the lights
and threatened them if they didn’t discontinue operations. When Kumar and his peers went out to
evangelize, the group attempted to assault them, but they made it back to the
safety of the walled compound.
Udhay Kumar ministers in
K.P. Gudam, about 250km from Hyderabad and about
110km north of Guntur. His church is fairly large for a village—55
members.
He has also begun a
fledgling house church in Ramalabanda village with 15 coming for prayer. But, opposition continues to haunt and
discourage him. A mob came to beat him,
and one man threatened to kill him if he held another service there, so he has
refrained for
the past three weeks.
Sometimes he is so discouraged he wants to quit, but he says “God is
always faithful” and he hasn’t given up.
Please pray for this brave, but uneasy young man. His life is truly on the line for the
Gospel—something Americans have seldom experienced.
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| A Muslim Employee Listens Intently at the Window |
We have seen Ravi Sundar
interact with these young men—a combination of fatherly concern, laughter,
respect and yet stern discipline. They
tell tales of how he implemented “food cuts”—banning them from meals if they
were caught walking around during personal prayer time, or cutting chapel. If the way to a man’s heart is through his
stomach, then the way to his conscience can sometimes take the same route…
We are impressed by the
training these men have had from Ravi, and the
fruit his training is producing across Andhra Pradesh. AIM is committed to helping national pastors
and missionaries reach their own people.
Please pray for us as we seek God’s will in coming alongside these godly
men.
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| Russ and Ravi |
--Alice Sharrock
