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| Meetings in yet-unfinished building |
“Prayer is not a passive
activity. Prayer alters us. It awakens us. Our eyes begin to notice beauty
where we never noticed it before. Our hearts begin to feel compassion we never
knew we had. Our priorities shift. As we talk to God, we receive the
encouragement to live up to the potential inside us. Soon we start to see
beyond ourselves into the world that is waiting for our help.”
Madhya Pradesh School of Evangelism (SOE) Director S____ F____
wrote eloquently about prayer because he and his students pray regularly. Many of our SOEs hold prayer vigils—some fast and pray all night, lifting up not only their own
needs, but those on ER’s Prayer Hotline.
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| Director F____ visits the construction site |
Prayer is undergirding a very important new effort by the Director
and his SOE. Sensing that God is opening a door, and having practical
experience in evangelistic efforts, S___ and his team know that the people of
Gujarat are hungry for God. Madhya Pradesh borders Gujarat, and the two
neighboring states in India share languages, people groups, and customs. Many unreached
people groups reside in the region, and millions of people have no witness for
Christ among them.
S___ and his team hope to remedy that situation. They are
constructing a building as a center for outreach, having already raised and
spent nearly $30,000. In January of 2014, walls are going up, and meetings have
already been held there which have been attended by hundreds of people. Not
depending solely on foreign help, local church members from Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat are also giving sacrificially for this endeavor. Some are even donating
sand to assist in the project.
Under construction is a church hall. The first floor is targeted
for completion this year, with 2,880 square feet of meeting room. Six or seven
rooms in the second phase of building will be set aside for SOE students to
live, but when instruction begins in July they will likely be living in
temporary quarters behind movable partitions. 30 students are expected. They
will remain at the school for nine months, and upon graduation they will be
launched into church planting ministries.
ER has already sent start-up funds for the SOE in the amount of
$2,000. Upon receiving this provision, S___ wrote, “While we certainly know the joy of giving, I must be honest and
let you know there is a whole lot of joy in receiving too, especially a gift of
this magnitude and thoughtfulness. Needless to say, our hearts are overjoyed
and full of thanksgiving first of all to our Lord and Savior, and secondly to
you for being obedient to the prompting he placed in your heart.”
He continued with this written prayer: “Heavenly Father, You
are the Lord and there is no other. You publicly proclaim bold
promises; we thank You for giving our
leaders the vision to build. Thank You for providing the resources for us
to build. Thank You, Father, for being a wall of fire and protection
around all the families of ER and those involved in the construction of this
new building.” He also requested, “Please hold us up to God when you pray that we
may continue to be a blessing to those in need of the glorious gospel.”
He closed his e-mail
simply, “Salutations, S___.” Please pray with us, actively and not
passively (in S___’s words), that God will answer the prayers of these precious
people as they build God’s Kingdom in Gujarat.
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