Dheeraj

Below is a letter from Dheeraj, a missionary in NE India, whom our church family had the opportunity and privilege to provide funds to purchase a motorbike. I have had the personal privilege of meeting and talking with him multiple times. As evidenced by the letter, the Father continually uses Dheeraj to reach the unreached in India. Please pray that he will be bold to preach the gospel and fruit will continue to arise from his labors.  To God be the Glory!!!

Dear sponsor,

Greetings in His marvelous name,

My wife and I are very much delighted to have this new Bike which we were praying for last few years. Whenever we were riding bi-cycle a long distance through the forest we were praying for this blessing. Our God is so good and has given the answer for our prayer through all of you.

Presently I have concentrated my outreach ministry in six different villages and altogether with different 9 people groups. After getting the Motor Bike I have added two more people group to preach the gospel. Because we are able to save much travel time.

All together 89 new converts are ready for water baptism. As per their request we are arranging their baptism at their respective villages. In India, Baptism is a witness among the public that now I am a Christian. Therefore they want to witness Jesus at their villages among their people. Now this is the monsoon time we cannot reach easily many of these villages. So we are waiting and once the rain season will be over we will arrange baptism services at these villages.

Picture # 1.  Dheeraj and family with new Motorbike.  He is very grateful for the blessing which is a great asset for the ministry.

Picture # 2.  From a family 4 brothers and their families accepted Christ as their personal savior. They were very drunken and always fighting with each other. This is a joint family therefore they were facing lot of problems. Due to the bad life they lost their land property and many belongings. At their village there were no Christians. When I got the new bike I have decided to work and establish a church there. Now these people are regularly gathering to worship Lord and decided to follow Jesus. Other people are also attending the evening meetings in which we are sharing gospel. Our plan is to visit each house of this village and share gospel. When we visit we will verbally share gospel and distribute literatures. Once we complete the door to door evangelism then we will show Jesus film and preach gospel. Always the film show will bring a good crowd and we are getting good response.  This village ministry is the reason of New Motor Bike.

We assure our prayers.

Thank you.

Dheeral

Peace in the Land

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:1-9 ESV)

Reading Isaiah this morning is a reminder that we, as followers of the King, are living in the "already, but not yet" age of the kingdom. The kingdom of God is in the heart of believers. We experience peace, rest, and joy in the midst of turbulous times, this we "already" taste and experience something of what the kingdom will be like. But, we have "not yet" experienced the fullness of the coming of the Kingdom. Isaiah describes the peace and rest that will be realized when Jesus Christ is recognized as the King of all Age. In the consummation of the Kingdom, we will experience the fullness of His promised redemption and restoration. 

Challenged

I am deeply challenged by my brothers and sisters at Bethel Hill Baptist concerning their willing and immediate response to send relief to the Iraqi's. Being immersed in my own affairs, I allow opportunities to give and minister for the kingdom to pass by - all the while I am oblivious. The world around me/us is needy both physically and spiritually. The church, the family of God, as a whole must respond to the needs like our King, our Savior  - selflessly and sacrificially giving! The good news that Jesus is King should stir us, His followers, to social action in His name. O that the Father will teach me to be more attentive to the needs here and abroad! Thanks BHBC for your willingness to selflessly and sacrificially give in order to relieve the oppression in Iraq. May God get the glory!

Read below for the story:

2:44 PM So how was your church meeting this morning? Like soggy oatmeal? My sympathies if that was the case. As for me, I feel like I just came home from a rollicking banquet and a wedding feast all rolled into one. Joy is serious business at The Hill! And we're all Bible students. I know I can't ever get enough of the teaching of God's word.

Not that anyone is interested, but I sit in the front row along with my iPad open to the Scripture passage, my notebook, and my Greek New Testament.

Jason's teaching from Matthew 9-10 was both deep and simple to follow. Friends, if you want to know more about God, all you have to do is open your Bible. Before Jason spoke I was given permission by the elders to share about the need for the refugees in Iraq and guess what -- $1,340 was given today! This means that our church will send BGR a check tomorrow for $2,680 to prevent kids from dying from dehydration and starvation (someone matched it). I love my church. I love giving whenever I can. Compared to the Bible's standards, my love and self-abnegation seem pretty puny. And then it struck me: this money wasn't mine to give. It all belongs to Him. When you have the potential to do something, just do it. This is the challenge that each of us must face: How will I manage what belongs to God? That's the question that you face every day in a myriad of ways. Giving to charity doesn't make you a Christian any more than climbing a tree makes you a monkey. Really, God doesn't need our money. As head of the church, He owns it all anyway. That said, He wants us to experience the joy of giving. What you can do, do. What you can't do, God will do. Either way, He gets all the glory. As Philippians puts it, the fellowship of the church is a fellowship in contributing to each others' needs (1:5). We remember the poor, no matter what race they are, no matter who they are, no matter where they live. In our hearts there is room for others. Whatever pertains to the advancement of the Gospel and the glory of our Lion-Lamb -- this we will do, and we will do it together!

So I ask: How long? How long before the church in America comes alive to the needs in Iraq? How long do babies have to starve to death before their parents have groaned enough? I'm coming to realize again and again that this is what the church looks like. For a child in Iraq, you and I are the one small hope to hold on to. All we have to do is hold out our hearts.

Hubbardton Church Planter

Meet Chris and Michelle Poluikis (on right in red and blue shirt). Chris and Michelle are planting a church in Hubbardton, VT a rural area that desperately needs gospel witness. Some members of our team spent the week readying their parsonage for their soon occupancy. Pray that the parsonage will be completed soon and they will be able to live among the folk they seek to reach. More info. To come on Chris and Michelle. 

Here is the team pictured in front of the parsonage. 

Project Hubbardton Parsonage

Seeking to plant a church in Hubbardton, Vermont, a rural area near NY, our team worked diligently on some finishing touches of the parsonage for a church planter. The cost of paying a contractor is double what such would be in NC, thus providing materials and labor serves by providing a church planter and his family the opportunity to "live among the people." 

Randy Reed teaches William Dallas, a Farm Bureau Insuarance salesman, to cut and hang Sheetrock. 

Tommy McDuffie and Ted strive to "get some power" on the house before we finish for the week. 

Ted Bradsher, Nathan's Papa Ted, instructs Nathan on how to reach in the wall, find, and then move a wire. Small arms can be beneficial :)

William doing what he enjoys most - "grabbing a snack" :)

More pics and descriptions to come.