Taking Jesus to the Unreached

Darkness is falling as we enter his door.  The little shed is attached to the end of some poverty-

John Kumar

stricken row houses.  With no electricity--a battery light helps us see the cot/bed and two plastic chairs so we don't stumble over them.  No running water--every drop must be carried from the community hand pump.  This is the home of missionary John Kumar.  His life is dedicated to bringing Christ to his people.

John's elderly mother smiles at us from the door of the tiny kitchen.  We sit--Russ on his walker, Alice on a chair, Bihit and John on the bed.  Curious neighbors, drawn by the unusual sight of a car, come crowding through the doorway.

Even more unusual to them is the sight of a white foreigner with titanium legs.  They know John is a Christian and assume we are too.  One woman, her right arm paralyzed by a stroke, asks for prayer from Russ.  His disability strikes a chord in others who are struggling.  Prayer continues for many more who are seeking hope in the darkness.  The doors of hearts are opened that night.  John will have many questions to answer tomorrow, and ears will listen to the Gospel of Christ--the One True God in a land of millions of idols.

John Kumar has already planted two growing congregations, now under their own pastors, in the

Russ & Bihit Praying for Woman

villages of Gunpalli and Gungawada, where Russ was invited to preach.  We met the people, visited their homes, participated in a group baptism, and were invited to dinner in the home of a Hindu family--who were also curious about us.  The Kingdom of God is like leaven, spreading through the whole culture and changing lives.

Asia International Mission is a small organization, and we are continually pushing beyond our age and physical limitations.  And yet, so much more needs to be done!  India has more unreached people groups (2000+) than any other country.  This is why we find local men whom God has called, and equip them to go to their own people.

AIM partners with a group of 25 men who bravely and sacrificially carry the Gospel of Christ to the unreached of Odisha (Orissa) State.  They are led by an energetic young man named Bihit that Russ and I personally support; the others still need financial help.  They often have wives and children to feed--but are away from home for weeks, trekking, preaching, evangelizing, planting house churches, carrying the Good News.  Their lives are constantly at risk.  Life is lived on the edge for Christ.

Odisha (Orissa) is infamous for persecution of Christians.  Our missionary partners experience this every day.  

Here is an excerpt from Bihit's latest January-March Mission Report:

"...our missionaries evangelized more than 187 new villages...God has done marvelous work through us to reach 1236 families who hear the Gospel and acknowledged about Christ.  Before, they do not know who Christ is....in the village of Tadama where people thrown (out) their idol and image of god and goddess...the VHP (Vishpa Hindu Parishad) and Bajarangdal....threaten us strictly not to preach the gospel in that area 'otherwise we will kill you.'  Please pray for us." 

Here in the USA we have just completed a joyful Easter celebration.  Our salvation is secure; we rejoice in our Risen Lord, but what about the millions who know nothing about Him?  Join us--send us--send our partners!

They need your help.  Please help us provide for these national missionaries.  Your monthly gift of

A missionary (Top right) and a family of new believers

$40 will support one man and his family--$1.34 per day to advance the Kingdom of Christ before His return.

(When you sponsor a missionary in Odisha you will receive more personal information that cannot be made public.)

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and financial support.  God bless you as you bless the nations with His salvation!

--Alice Sharrock

             If you would like to sponsor a missionary now please click here:                                                                                 

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                     Asia International Mission is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry.

                      All gifts are tax-deductible and 100% of donations are used as designated

                                                                                    

Fishers of Men

As we walked along the docks in South Asia, I began to pray and reflect on the past season of ministry and the coming one. There, we had our first experience seeing fishermen use nets to bring in a catch from the shore.

As a young boy I had always envisioned being a fisher of men, as someone with a fishing rod, baiting “Come, follow me… and I will make you fishers of men.”

The Docks at Visakhapatnam

the hook to attract a fish and casting his line to wait patiently for a nibble. That was a reflection of my experience fishing. Yet the fishermen Jesus spoke to in His time on Earth cast nets, pulling them back out of the water with an abundance of fish (at least sometimes). In Matthew 4:19 and again in Mark 1:17 Jesus said,

Although it may seem obvious, there is a great deal of difference between line fishing and net fishing. With line fishing you cast and wait, often alone, catching one at a time. But net fishing is a different activity altogether, offering the possibility of a much bigger catch. It even changes the fishermen’s expectations as they approach the water. Net fishermen cast in groups and bring in a net full of fish together, relying upon one another for strength to draw it back in.

The distinction is valuable as we consider the ministry of AIM. We desire to cast the gospel net wide and see large numbers believe in Jesus simultaneously in order to build a church and allow the people to support one another in grace and love. Line fishing is a solitary art, and while it is always appropriate to cast a line out with the Good News, at AIM we deliberately choose to work in teams so that we may help one another draw new believers into God’s fold.

There is a promise in Jesus’ words to His disciples; promises of multiplication (in contrast to addition) as new believers learn to cast their own nets and draw others into the Body of Christ.

Please pray for Asia International Mission as we seek to cast a wide net and allow the Holy Spirit to draw people into it.

--Russ Sharrock  

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                    Asia International Mission is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry.

                      All gifts are tax-deductible and 100% of donations are used as designated

 

He is Risen!

Happy Easter from Russ & Alice Sharrock

During Holy Week, we reflect on the great sacrifice of Jesus and the victory of His resurrection. Join us as we celebrate Christ's sacrifice that unites us with fellow believers around the world.

Please pray for our partners in the ministry in Asia as they share the Good News with their communities

.

All of us at Asia International Mission wish you and your families a blessed and joyous Easter!

"Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime."   –Martin Luther

 He Is Risen Indeed!

Tomorrow’s Leaders

Many American Christians support foreign missionaries and mission organizations—Asia International Mission among them.  The expectation is that we go, according to The Great Commission, and bring the gospel to unreached souls.  And we do. 

Russ and I go, often with Mission Teams, and we encourage struggling local ministries, coming alongside them on projects that will open doors for the Gospel.  We do humanitarian work according to your generous partnership, alleviating the suffering and poverty of the people.  We are also “fish bait”, drawing curious crowds of unbelievers to see the strange foreigners—and we preach about the One True God and the saving love of Jesus Christ.  We work hard.  Difficulties and opposition are overcome, and souls are ushered into the kingdom. 

But, as Asia International Mission, we believe there is a more effective way: Send national missionaries and pastors to their own people.  They know the culture, the language, the nuances and the mindset of their neighbors who need Christ.  They are on the field in a fraction of the time it takes an American missionary, to reap a harvest for God’s Kingdom.

A few major problems remain, and this is where we need your help.  When a village man comes to Christ and experiences a call to serve Him, that man often has no schooling.  No Biblical foundation.  He has often grown up with a Hindu or Islamic worldview and must learn to see the world through God’s viewpoint:  One True God instead of millions; a God of mercy, and salvation through Jesus Christ alone.  Many have never owned a Bible.  Most of all, though they have passion and commitment, most have no money to obtain an education.

Russ & Ravi

AIM is always looking to the future, and we have found a solution.  In Hyderabad, India there is a godly pastor with years of experience in training up other men, as well as hosting foreign missionaries and speakers.  His name is Pastor Ravi Sundar.  AIM is partnering with him and his Shalom Bible College.

This venture is taking village men with a true calling to spread the Gospel, and providing them with one year of intensive Bible  training.  Three semesters filled with a basic Bible foundation; Old and New Testament surveys; teaching in the fields of evangelism, scriptural interpretation, eschatology (End Times theology); and other subjects that American Christians take for granted.  They are also given practical training in preaching, church administration, leadership and other useful areas. 

Three full semesters for each student costs $450 including room, board and books.  That is only $50 a month.  The men attend free of charge except for chores/work on campus.  We are asking you to partner with us financially to train these men for God’s Kingdom.  

What do Alumni have to say?  Russ and I met with about twenty of them on our last trip, and it was a varied and fascinating group.  One interesting graduate of Ravi's college is his "bad boy" Udhay Kumar.  He is 26, 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 miserably for 8 years.  After being healed at a

Udhay Kumar

gospel meeting, he and his whole family became Christians.  At age 17, Kumar joined in holding gospel meetings, but later felt he needed more training.  That’s when he came to Shalom Bible College.

During his stay in 2009-2010, he and the College were targeted by a radical fundamentalist Hindu group called RSS.  (Their saffron flags currently fly in many nearby 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.  Today, 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.  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.  

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 received, and the fruit that training is producing across Andhra Pradesh.  

AIM is committed to helping national pastors and missionaries reach their own people.  For less than the cost of a wide-screen TV or 90 days of Starbucks coffee, you can equip a man to plant and pastor a new church in an unreached village of India. He will preach the Gospel there for years, evangelizing five surrounding villages on a circuit.  He will raise up new leaders for new churches in those villages and send them back to Shalom Bible College.  Each graduate is expected to plant ten churches in his lifetime.  Even if each church has only 50 members, think of the eternal consequences.  

America is obsessed with the End Times; escalating world problems, climate anomalies, and degradation of morality.  Wars and rumors of wars assault us in the media.  Is Christ returning soon?  The Bible says He will come quickly.  Are we filled with compassion, as Jesus was, for the multitudes of lost souls, sheep without a shepherd?  Or are we bogged down in our own daily lives?

What happens if Christ returns, and these souls have never heard the Gospel?  Let’s DO something!  Help AIM to help these men reach their people by giving to the Timothy Fund Now!   

--Alice Sharrock

    

 

  You may also send checks made out to: AIM

                                                                PO Box 1597

                                                                Stillwater, OK  74076

Please add a note stating this donation is for the "Timothy Project."  Thank you for you generosity!

 

Asia International Mission is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry.

All gifts are tax-deductible and 100% of donations are used as designated

Be sure to 

Veritas

In one of His most controversial statements, Jesus said, “I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No man comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

This means the Way to God is through Jesus, or not at all—an intellectual obstacle to those who cringe at the Deity and exclusivity of Christ.  And it is also counter to the universal belief that if our deeds are “good enough”, God cannot turn us away.  

God Almighty, Lord of the universe, is not a smiling Santa Claus in the sky.  We must come to God on His terms, not ours. His terms are Christ and Christ alone. This Truth prevented many notables such as Gandhi from becoming a believer.  Yet, it is the foundation of our faith. 

“Truth” in Latin is “Veritas”. 

Now turn your focus to Hollywood, USA.  Not the center of truth and morality—yet one of the greatest influences in today’s world.  Millions who never read the Bible eagerly follow the most intimate (and sordid) details of the lives of the stars, today’s gods and goddesses.  Many theological views are subconsciously biased by the deftly woven and distorted tales of films—beliefs about God, the life of Christ, Biblical accounts, angels, and life after death.  

Why has the Christian world surrendered one of the most powerful tools of communication to Satan?  What is anyone doing about it?

Kevin McAfee

One man has committed to changing these facts.  With truth.  We had the honor of meeting with Kevin McAfee last week.  He has spent the last 30 years in Hollywood and the entertainment industry, determined to influence films with truth and integrity.

For millions, Hollywood is the ultimate dream.  The capital of fame and fortune.  The secular solution to immortality.  Kevin went directly from the university to Tinseltown with the ideal of creating quality family entertainment,  but disillusionment came quickly.  His conscience was offended by R-rated films being shot in related corporate sets across the movie lot and so, he left for a season.

The next segment of his journey took him through years as a church Media Minister, then on to filming movies and documentaries that fulfilled his vision.  You may have seen:  “Last Ounce of Courage”, “End of the Spear”, “Beyond the Gates of Splendor”, and other Christian-based films. 

Most of us don’t stay to read film credits, but Kevin was producer/director of all of these and many more.  His accomplishments include years with Disney and Warner Brothers; music productions for Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Carmen and other artists; plus involvement with several other films such as “Twister”, based on our state of Oklahoma and its furious tornadoes.

In January of this year, 2014, Kevin McAfee took a huge leap of faith.  He left his job and salary, and began working full time in his new venture.  His company will produce movies and documentaries for the Kingdom of God. 

True to Kevin’s vision, his company is called “VERITAS MISSION FILM ASSOCIATION”.  Truth.   He will have a brand new website up by next month where people can actually donate online.  As full time writer/director, his films will be based on “Courage, Character and Conviction.”

Aerial Filming over Rwanda

They will tell the stories of persecuted Christians and people groups around the world.  His first “Through the Valley”, was done in Rwanda based on the Tutsi genocide and will be released shortly.  His current documentary will be about the Killing Fields of Cambodia.  He is partnering with Dr. Heng Lim, who made a harrowing escape as a teenager with his mother and siblings, during the height of the genocide.

As background, Cambodia was in upheaval during the Vietnam War.  In 1975, the Khmer Rouge captured the capital city, Phenom Penh, and immediately evacuated all cities.  The people were sent on forced marches to work on rural projects.  Temples, libraries and all Western medicine and influences were destroyed.  Over a million souls were executed.

Khmer Rouge Victims

Out of a population of about 8 million, an estimated 2 million died from the executions, disease and starvation—25% of the nation.  20,000 mass graves became a blotch upon the land.  Skulls and bones of men, women and children are still a mute and ghastly testimony to the four terrible years of Khmer Rouge tyranny.

Kevin McAfee wants to tell their story.  Sometime in the next several months, as God leads, he will revisit the sites of Heng Lim’s ordeal and with Dr. Lim, interview other survivors.  He will take Teams with him for the filming, and to minister to the people around him. 

In talking with him, Kevin’s gentle, yet passionate discussion captivated us.  We are thoroughly impressed with the man, his vision and his integrity.  Kevin plays many roles in creating films, either as the executive producer, producer, director or writer for each movie. Lately he has been doing a lot of directing with Miles Hanon, and uses other film veterans on his teams to ensure the highest professional quality. 
 

Kevin McAfee needs your help and prayers.  First, for the finances; it will take $300,000 to shoot and produce a professional documentary.  The price of an upscale American house—to tell the untold stories of persecution, and impact millions of lives through professionally produced Christian media.  Please pray about our involvement in this venture—as AIM, and personally—and for YOUR contribution to changing the global impact of movies.

Veritas.  Truth.  What the world needs, desperately.  Not just in the abstract, but in the flesh—Jesus Christ. 

Pray with us, and with Kevin McAfee, for the fulfillment of God’s calling and purpose.  For the advance of His Kingdom.  Remember, millions of lost souls are at stake. If you believe the End Times are drawing near, then now is the time to act.  

--Alice Sharrock 

 Be sure to check out Kevin's website HERE.  And please pray about how God would lead you to support this most worthy endeavor.

Medicine and the Kingdom of God

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness."  (Matthew 9:35)

America is currently abuzz with debate and opinions about the new healthcare law.  Medical care is a basic human need.  From birth to our final hour, injury and disease assault us, reducing the quality of life--or snatching it away.  For all the debate, we still have one of the most advanced and accessible healthcare systems in the world.  No one is turned away from an emergency room.  This is America...

Dr Suji (on right) with Patient.

   

Turn now to India.  Along the teeming city streets, children huddle in the alleys. An old woman with a grotesquely broken arm begs at the traffic light.  A man limps by, his swollen left leg huge with parasitic elephantiasis.  In a remote rural village, children lie in the shade of a hut, burning with malarial fever.  A woman screams in childbirth, the baby arriving breech. Who provides their healthcare?  No one.

Medical care must be paid for, in cash, up front.  The poor have barely enough to pay for daily rice and nothing for healthcare.  Rural villagers must walk 30 to 100 miles for a doctor...virtually beyond the edge of their universe.  Frankly, the poor die.  It is their karma, and the upper castes feel no religious or moral obligation to interfere with the "divine order of things."

Please help AIM change this!  Your generosity enabled us to open the Sunshine Medical Clinic. Our hearts are broken when we visit the villages, since so many men, women and little children are afflicted with conditions that are easily treatable with basic medical care--yet they often escalate into life-threatening diseases due to neglect and poverty. 

So, Phase Two of our project will be purchasing a van for a mobile clinic to outlying villages.  The Mobile Clinic will operate on a circuit from Sunshine Clinic, supplied with equipment, medication and vaccines for those who never see a doctor. 

Our hearts are broken when we visit the villages, since so many men, women and little children are

Little Slum Girls

afflicted with conditions that are easily treatable with basic medical care--yet they often escalate into life-threatening diseases due to neglect and poverty.  What a wonderful chance to change lives!  And, to open doors for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Whatever you choose to give will go toward these necessities:   A large, sturdy van to house the Clinic and travel to remote villages: $25,000 US.  The medical equipment will be approximately $2000.  Medications, bandages, vaccines, etc will be another $1000.  Each trip will cost $100 more to cover hiring a driver, nurse, petrol, etc. 

Remember, each US dollar goes a long way in India.  This is not only a humanitarian investment, but will reap eternal fruit for the Kingdom of God.  Someone once observed that it was difficult to listen to the Gospel if your stomach is starving; it is also difficult to believe in a loving God if your body is racked with pain, fever and infection with no hope of a cure.

--Alice Sharrock

Help AIM change lives, one child at a time!

             Please Help Now by clicking:

 

O you can send a check to:    AIM, PO Box 1597, Stillwater, OK 74076
Please enclose a note designating the funds for the:  Medical Ministry--Mobile Clinic

Thank you for your prayers that enable us to continue spreading the Good News to the unreached peoples of India. Thank you for your generous gifts that enable us to open doors into their lives and hearts for Jesus Christ.

 

Studying Their Bibles.

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Asia International Mission is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry.

All gifts are tax-deductible and 100% of donations are used as designated