Friday, July 19, 2013

Connecting With the Suffering



"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." (Matthew 10:42)

There is so much need around us that it is easy to get hardened to it. As the misfortunes of others pile up in our minds, we are forced to tune them out in order to make it through the day. And the result is that we don’t help anyone. In our efforts to manage the floodgates of suffering we tend to close them off completely.

Imagine the suffering that Jesus saw on a daily basis. Once He was known as the healer, He was surrounded with sickness, suffering and death. Each day He had to get up knowing that He would experience great suffering. He did not always heal. But many times He had compassion on people even when there were other things that needed His attention.

Think about the last time you closed your mind to manage the suffering around you. If we are to take the words of Jesus seriously in the passage above, we know that we cannot afford to avoid the suffering in this world. We have to connect with those who are hurting. 

The key is to be walking with Jesus so that you will know when He wants to use your voice and hands to be involved.


 –Russ Sharrock



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You are Invited to AIM's
"Jewels of India"



Annual Fundraising Banquet
If you are going to be in the Stillwater, OK area we invite you join us for our annual Fundraising Banquet to raise money for our children's ministry in India. The banquet will be held on: 

                                                          Thursday, August 3rd, 2013. 
                                                  The doors will open at 6 PM 
                                         Dinner will begin at 6:30 PM

There will food, music, testimony, and our special speaker will be Pastor Albert May. We will also have items from India, and donations from area stores for sale to help raise funds to provide children with food, clothing, medical care, and the love of Christ. So please join us for a great time of fellowship, and an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the children of India.

You can go to our website to RSVP.


Help Us Change the World, One Child at a Time!  









 

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

What Would God Have You Do?



As I mentioned in my last blog, Alice and I recently returned from India after three months of working side by side with Indian pastors and missionaries to bring the gospel to the lost of that great country. I can’t even begin to tell you all that we have witnessed in that time. 

We covered seventeen villages and cities during that time going all the way from Tenali to Bapatla, to Vijayawada to Pithapuram, to Paralakhemundi to Hyderabad, and then to do VBS in Bangalore and Kolkata, a total of about 2469 miles. I wish I could tell you all that we saw, heard, and experienced. God has so richly blessed this work, immensely blessed it.

It was so amazing to see how God worked to change lives, setting them free from the bondage of sin,
and adding them to the family of God through the life changing power of the Holy Spirit. In it they
Please Pray for Chandrappa
found hope for both this life and the life to come. There was Chandrappa, who had lost his left leg twenty three years ago due to leprosy. As I talked with him, hugged him, and prayed for him I felt the longing in his heart for something better; to know there is someone who really cares and loves him

These past few months we saw prayers answered and over 19 people saved, even in the middle of great hardship. That is what this ministry is about—to meet people in their need and to do it with a beauty and the splendor of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its full authority. I pray that in the days ahead you will ask God what He would have you do in coming alongside us. Without you, we cannot truly fulfill this calling. 

If God has blessed you, I pray you will ask Him what He would have you do in sharing with us as we head into the second half of this year. Anything you can do to help, it all comes together and gives us that encouragement to move forward and to meet the many opportunities God has placed before us.

Thank you for being a faithful follower and we pray that you will truly be blessed and that God will direct you in all you do. And please know that we as a team will be enormously grateful. May God bless you. 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)

If you would like to help us be the hands and feet of Jesus just go here to DONATE NOW.

—Russ Sharrock


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If you will be in the Stillwater, OK area on Thursday, August 3rd please join us for our annual "Jewels of India" Fundraising Banquet. It will be held at The Pines, 110 E. McElroy in Stillwater. UNICEF estimates there are about 11 million street children in India. Please help us provide education, medical care, food, clothing, and the love of Christ to the poor and destitute children of India. Doors are open at 6 PM and dinner begins at 6:30 PM. You can go HERE to RSVP. 

Hope to see ya there!