No Longer Hopeless

Deepu and his wife at worship.

           Deepu struggled to stay sane. His parents both dead, greedy relatives circled like buzzards, ready to swoop in and seize the sizeable acres of farm land he inherited. Even his wife’s relatives saw him as a soft target. All his hopes and dreams depended upon planting and harvesting good crops.

Deepu offered sacrifices to evil spirits in a bid to gain their favor in his work, but the expense caused him to mortgage the fields to landlords. The bondage caused by such worship increased Deepu’s stress, leading to mental and emotional struggles. Deepu feared he would lose everything. Not only was he helpless—he was also hopeless.

A gospel worker trained in the Jharkhand, India, School of Evangelism visited Deepu’s village one day, and the farmer decided to welcome the man into his home for prayer. The relatives were outraged, threatening to further ostracize him if he permitted a Christian in his house. Deepu was faced with a choice: Would he continue to serve the evil spirits and struggle to keep his failing farm, or would he allow the Christian to pray for his deliverance?

Deepu receives baptism.

Deepu chose well. He invited the evangelist to pray for healing and his mind began to clear. He received Christ as his Savior and was baptized. Deepu began to be discipled and soon he was fully recovered. This year he planted his fields and the monsoon rains promise a bumper crop. If all continues to go well, he will have enough rice as food for the entire year and excess to sell.

Deepu and his family in front of their home.

Through hard work, Deepu has been able to pay back loans on three of his fields. He has also begun to witness to his friends and relatives about the blessings and help Jesus brings. The door to his home displays the cross of Jesus on both sides. Deepu’s hopes are high.

Please pray for the people of India, and many other nations around the world, where people must overcome trying circumstances to come to faith in Christ. Pray for the unreached people groups of the world—more than 7,000 of them, in which the percentage of Christians is too small to support a reproducing Church.

Pray also for the School of Evangelism students and graduates trained by Evangelism Resources as they go forth to impact people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.