“Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; Let me know how fleeting is my life.
You have made my days a mere handbreath;
The span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath.
Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain;
He heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.”
The last entry in my personal journal for 2009 reads: “My life is worth living because Jesus made it so!” When 2010 started, I realized not only a new year but a new decade has dawned! You may recall there was so much anticipation for the year 2000. Now 10 years have just whizzed by. Soon 2020 will be at our feet. May I encourage and invite you to join me as I resolve to be intentional in living this new decade for God. May we always be conscious of making our life count for our family and loved ones, being mindful of Christ’s mission for the lost in this world. I seek the renewal of your partnership and active participation in fulfilling our God-given Vision 200/20: To establish 200 vibrant churches in the Himalayan regions where there is no church in 20 years by 2022. And if He wills, may we together go beyond for His glory!
NEW CHURCH PLANTING WORKS, LAND AND BUILDINGS
We have crossed the 100th mark to the praise of our Almighty God! At the start of this year 13 new churches were planted in remote villages across the nation. These were started by our 14th batch of graduates upon returning to their home villages after their training with us. This brings a total of 101 churches planted since the commencement of our training centre in 2001. Out of these works more than a third are now independent and self-supporting. Also about a third have started at least one new work in adjacent villages.
In January we were able to purchase land for Kapok Church. At the same time Bluebell Church has embarked on their building construction on the land acquired last October. Jackfruit Church building will also be completed this month.
CHURCH PLANTING TRAINING
We started our 15th church-planting course in February. A total of 22 trainees consisting of 18 men and 4 ladies were selected for the 3-month in-house training program. An encouraging note is that 3 ladies and 1 man in this batch are sent by their spouses who previously had completed their training with us. We are seeing a new trend of strong teams consisting of husbands and wives being raised for ministry.
South Asian Bible College in Bangalore has offered accreditation to our training centre. We are now working towards offering degree courses for local Christians via distance learning with the Indian Bible college. Our team is truly excited and we praise the Lord for taking our training and ministry to new heights! Pray with us.
CHILDREN’S HOME
4 year-old Francis Toki joined our children’s home last November. Francis’ father is mentally unsound and his mother left the family. Francis was in the care of his grandmother until he came to our home. He is the youngest in our family and everyone adores Francis. Our home now has a total of 36 children consisting of 23 boys and 13 girls.
In January, we moved to another house with improved water supply and a huge compound. This place will be designated for the girls and another house nearby will be for the boys in the coming months to make room for expansion.
Come April, 9 of our home-schooled younger children will be attending public schools for the first time. This leaves 5 of our youngest children (4 to 6 years old) with C who will prepare them till they are ready for the public school system.
As we enter this new decade let us live with the end in mind. Let’s make our days count for our families and friends and live life fully with a renewed sense of purpose and destiny, ever conscious of God’s desire to work deep and through our lives.
