Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we begin a new month we wish you a happy July 4^th! We have been blessed by God for years to live in the country we have. No it’s not perfect--it seems there are many things that are not going well and are “out of whack,” but we need to thank God for the rich blessing of the freedoms we have and enjoy.

I’m reminded of a song that states a very real truth, “freedom’s never free”. The freedoms we enjoy in the States came at a very high cost of lives. I hope that you pray for all the U.S. troops around the world. We may not agree with where they are serving but they are keeping the freedom we have secure. The rest of the song talks of our freedom in Christ, and how our freedom from sin and its curse also came at a high cost, the blood of Jesus Christ. Let’s spend some time thanking God again for the greatest freedom we could ever have!

We as always want to thank you for your prayers and financial gifts to this ministry. We continue to get cards and emails telling us of prayers being offered for us. You can never know how much this means to us. The past few months have had a lot of challenges and difficulties, but your prayers to our all powerful God have enabled us to press on!

So we again say thank you and pray God will bless you as well.

Because of Christ, Steve and Shanthi

(In order to be faithful stewards of what God has provided for us, please let us know if you would prefer an e-mail newsletter rather than a “hard copy” sent to you via USPS. Send us your current e-mail address, and we will add you to our e-mail newsletter list. Besides saving postage, you will get the added benefit of color photographs rather than the printed “black and white” photos!)

PHASE ONE ALMOST COMPLETE IN PERIYANEELAVANANI

Lord willing by the end of next week the first phase of construction will be done! The church will begin meeting in the large Sunday school room, and Vijay and his family will move into the home. We’ve had some delay as money wired from the States seems to be held up somewhere and we have had to wait to complete the project, but we are praising God that through your support and funding this much has been completed! As you can see from the pictures we are making progress!

New Living Quarters at the “Peri” Church

Kitchen in the New Living Quarters

BAPTISMS AT TWO CHURCHES

This past month there were five baptisms at the Periyaneelavanai church. These were people who had been coming to church for several months, and Vijay has been discipling them. We are praising God for how He is working to fill the future building we are constructing.

Subaneethan is a young man in the Periya Kallar congregation. He is married and has a baby daughter. This is one of the extremely rare occasions where the wife was able to influence the man for Christ. Suji was already a Christian and had been a member of the Mahiloor church. I’ve lost count of the number of young women from our churches who marry Hindu men and then fall away from the Lord. It was so refreshing to hear that he wanted to be baptized! They were really struggling financially as he couldn’t find a job. On one visit with them we asked his qualifications and we began to help him search as well. Through another church member, Jeeva, who is a lawyer, we were able to get him a job working at an electronics store in Kalmunai. He has done so well at the job they are now training him for a managerial position in another store in the area. We also helped them find a house to live in, as he and Suji had literally been thrown out of her parent’s home as a result of her faith in Christ. Because of these things (and a lot of teaching) he realized the truth of Christ and accepted Him. This was the first baptism in the Periya Kallar church. There is another young man who says he also wants to be baptized, but he is respectfully waiting for his parent’s permission.

Suji and Subaneethan

NEW SIGN AT ONTHACHIMADAM CHURCH

We found out that the Army wanted us to put a sign up identifying the church (which we had planned to do), but their “suggestion” hurried us along a little bit. After bringing in the rest of the fill dirt we had the sign painted and it is now set in the ground close to the road.

When we purchased this property the owners were very reluctant to reduce their price, but we knew the cost of the required fill and we were able to negotiate a price that would allow us to do the necessary “dirt” work. God worked that out for us as well!

As I and a young man from the church were setting the poles in concrete I could hear the motorcycle riders going by reading the sign aloud as they passed, and many people slow down just so they can read it. I don’t know if any will come to our services just because of a sign, but at the very least it helps with identifying the location.

ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND
(not the sign!)

About a week ago we were having a house prayer meeting outdoors at a church member’s home. We were sitting in plastic chairs on the sand. As Shanthi started to get up her chair suddenly sank in the sand and to catch herself she swung her arm around toward me. I was able to keep her from falling but she had hit her hand on the arm of my chair. She was having lots of pain and it swelled immediately. I wanted to take her to the hospital and have it checked but she refused to spend the money for what she thought was only a bruise!

A week later she finally consented to go and the x-ray showed that her hand was indeed fractured. All they could do at that point was tape two fingers together and bandage the whole hand to immobilize it. At least she isn’t having much pain, and it is her left hand so writing and eating are not too difficult, although getting dressed is another story. Please keep Shanthi in your prayers for quick healing and no lingering problems from this broken bone.

PRAYER CONCERNS

1. A preacher to take on the Onthachimadam church.

2. Continued and completion of construction at Periyaneelavanai.

3. For Shanthi’s broken hand to heal properly

4. Praise for the baptisms and for more people to come to know Christ.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We continue to praise God for how He is working “all things for our good”-- even the things we don’t understand at present are still working God’s ultimate plan so we must praise Him for this!

By the time you read this we will have spent our first of two years here. It just doesn’t seem possible that a year has gone by! And we are looking forward to how God will use us in the following year.

The other day Shanthi and I were discussing this and the question we both had was “what have we accomplished?” I think both of us were feeling the same thing; some of things we had hoped for and prayed for have not materialized. The biggest of these was for us to be able to work in a new village in our area to plant a new church. There has been a new church plant but not directly by us (more on that later). This has been frustrating to say the least, but again we are still praising God for what we have been able to do.

There are some positives, one of which is the much needed building of the new church in Periyaneelavanai. Although not complete yet, within a few months by God’s continued grace it will be a reality.

It seems to both of us that this year has been a real battle. To be honest both of us have had some low times, even wondering if we should continue the struggle. God’s grace has seen us through those times, and we realize that not everything we want to do will work out, and some things will simply fail. In all the fights we have gone through it has made us realize just how much we must depend on God for strength and wisdom to carry on this ministry.

Knowing we have supporters who care about us and the ministry we are doing makes all the difference. You have prayed for us and this ministry and you continue to support us so we can work here. So we say thank you, and we thank God for you as well.

Please continue to remember us and this ministry in your prayers each day!

CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING IN PERIYANEELAVANAI

This month the roof has been built and the clay tiles installed. This is unlike construction in the States even though wood is used. It is more along the lines of the post and beam type construction used in barns a hundred years ago. When the lumber is all in place, it is “painted” with a coating similar to creosote to help deter termites and other boring insects from destroying the wood. This is very important as we learned from personal experience a couple years ago when we had to destroy and rebuild over half of our house due to termite damage. Applying this black coating has to be one of the hottest, dirtiest jobs I’ve ever done (and I haven’t done very much, we hire this done for sure)!

Along with this the rough plumbing and the electric has been installed as well. The masons are to return this next week to begin the cement plastering of the walls’ interior and exterior. After that is complete concrete floors are hand poured, and then finally a thin coat of cement put over the top for a smooth finish. Once this is done we can put the ceiling in the rooms, paint, and start using them. Then demolition and replacement of the church itself can begin.

NEW CHURCH MEETING BEGINS

I know what you’re thinking, not another long name we can’t pronounce! But this one isn’t too bad--it’s in the village of Barathi Puram. This is close to the Mahiloor church but far enough that travel is somewhat difficult. We have been praying about this start up for several weeks now and it has become reality!

I know I haven’t mentioned it before now even as a request, but we were so uncertain if this was the direction we should go. God opened the doors for things to start and so we did. There have been 5-8 adults, about the same number of teenagers, and the younger Sunday school kids.

Dene, the preacher at Mahiloor, his wife Vino, and Dene’s sister-in-law Shareen are the ones who have started this. Shareen has been the Sunday school teacher and the one who has spear headed this plant. She has been and continues to be a real blessing to our ministry. This began as one of the satellite Sunday schools

Presently they meet in a home, and once again we have begun the search for possible property for a future building. We’re not looking hard at this point, but at least we have started the search.

PERIYA KALLAR CHURCH MUST RELOCATE

We have been meeting in the same house for almost two years now and the home owners have said they want us to leave as they intend to sell the house. We’ve looked at other property, considered purchasing this property, or even renting a vacant home which is also a possibility.

We need your prayers for a good decision as we will have to move within the next couple of months. This is one of the things which hinders the growth of that church, as this will be the third time we have had to relocate.

TWO ANNIVERSARIES THIS MONTH

Shanthi and I celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary for the second time. We always get to celebrate twice as we had a registration which is the legal wedding date March 12^th and then we did a church blessing service May 21^st.

We also celebrated the anniversary of Lamp Lighters which we started May of 2000. We didn’t do much in the way of celebrating other than a special lunch with cake for desert, but mainly remembered the days and thanked God for how He has blessed and continues to work in and through us.

TEACHING AT THE BIBLE COLLEGE

We spent three days this month at the Bible college in Valai Chennai teaching. This was a real blessing to us and we think to the students as well. It was almost like a vacation for us as we stayed at the school. Originally we had planned to travel back and forth but the road is under repair and is horrible.

The focus for our study was to be the life of Christ. I taught on the parables of Jesus, and Shanthi taught one afternoon on some of the miracles. The students must have enjoyed it and thought it was worthwhile as they have already invited us to come back, most likely in October of this year.

Our four students are doing well and each time we see them we see more spiritual growth in them. They will be coming home June 1^st for the two month term break, and will be working with their home churches once again.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. The new church plant in Barathi Puram, and for full time workers there.

2. Workers to take over the Onthachimadam church.

3. Property or meeting places for Periya Kallar and Barathi Puram churches

4. Completion of the Periyaneelavanai building.

5. Bible college students and their continued study and growth.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well I have intended to write the newsletter long before now but it just hasn’t happened! So when you receive this a little late it’s my fault.

We also want to say Happy Easter to you, and pray that the resurrection of our Lord becomes even more real to you this year, and for His blessing in your life to be extreme!

Last month when I wrote we had gone through so many challenges that I was “down,” but there was an “upside” to it as well. We got lots of emails, cards, notes, and calls from family and friends to encourage us, so we say thank you again for your concern for us and your prayers for the ministry! I have always tried to present things as they really are here in Sri Lanka and it has certainly been a time of emotional trial for us all, but God sees us through every day, and your prayers are a great source of encouragement! In this letter we will share things for which we can praise God.

One of those is you are supporters! We do praise and thank God for you and your faithful prayers and finances for the ministry. It is a blessing to us to know you are praying and that through you God is providing all that is necessary to carry on the work here.

GROUND BREAKING HELD FOR NEW CHURCH

On the 15^th we finally broke ground for the new church building in Periyaneelavanai and it was a wonderful morning! We have waited a long time to be able to do this--not just waiting for the approval, but for the church to grow to the point where a new building was necessary.

Laying the First Stone!

The construction includes Sunday school rooms and a house for the preacher and family, all connected in an “L” shaped building. The first phase is the back section of the building which is where the Sunday school rooms and the living quarters will be located. There won’t be any dividing walls in the Sunday school area right now. After this is complete the church will begin meeting there so that the old existing building can be demolished. Then the new worship area will be built. After its completion we will finish the interior of the Sunday school rooms and store rooms.

During the first two weeks the foundation for this back section was completed and has been filled with clay in readiness for pouring the cement floor. The masons are beginning to lay blocks for the walls (with door and window frames built in). As several of the men of the church are unemployed we have hired them as laborers for the masons so the work is going fairly quickly (at least for now).

Shanthi with the Stone Mason

We are praising God for His provision for this building. We still don’t have all the money necessary to complete the entire building but we are confident that God will supply this as well! 

ONTHACHIMADAM BUILDING ALMOST COMPLETE

We are meeting in the building and have been all this past month. All that is lacking is painting the walls and doors and finishing the fence around the building to keep the cows out. We‘re hoping to do the painting this week before Easter Sunday so it will look nicer inside, and the fence also is to be completed this week. We built the church with a three feet high wall and left the upper portion open for ventilation (which is vital as we have no electricity there).

These are our hottest months, already hitting mid to upper 90‘s each day, and it will get hotter yet. By the time the morning service is over my shirt and trousers are completely soaked with sweat. Because of the heat we have seen a drop in Sunday school attendance, but this is normal in the churches as the sun is so intense kids won’t come out. We are seeing some new people come to the services, and even with our limited time in visiting with families we are seeing more interest in the church.

One family, which we made contact with several years ago in Trincomalee, is now living in this area. I baptized them into Christ in Trinco, and they have remained faithful in their walk with Christ. We are so happy to see them join with us in the Onthachimadam congregation!

Onthachimadam Church (minus fence!)

With all the other things we are doing we feel that we are simply maintaining the church, which neither I nor Shanthi like! We are praying that God will bring someone who is faithful to come and take on this ministry.

PLANS FOR FAMILY CAMP

This month plans are made for all the families in the churches to join together for a three day camp. It was decided to go to Jaffna which is a day’s bus ride from here.

Jaffna is in the north where the rebel fighting was taking place last year. Now the area is reopened for travel, and we are going. Along with Bible studies there will be time for some sight seeing. I really don’t know what sights we’ll see, but it will be nice to go to an area where we have never been before. In years past this area has always been off limits for foreigners so I couldn’t go. Now with a special permit from the government I can.

Pray that this will be an encouraging time for the church to grow spiritually.

TEACHING AT THE BIBLE COLLEGE

We have been invited this month to come and teach for three days at the Vallaichennai Bible College (where four of our youth are studying). We are very happy to go and do this, but it certainly adds to our busy schedule. It is a two hour drive there, and we will teach all day, then drive home. They asked us to share on the life of Christ, and I immediately thought of my own Bible college years when I took seven semesters on the life of Christ. Needless to say we won’t cover it all! This will be very tiring for us and so we need your prayers for safety in travel as well as energy to share with the students.

NEWS FROM TRINIDAD CHURCH

We got a letter from Rennie today so thought I would include some of it in this letter.

At our encouragement he has started a home Bible study in a different area away from the church. At the first meeting they had eighteen people come, and the man of the home asked them to have the meeting at his home each month.

Several families left the church, and so once again their attendance is down to 12-13 adults.

Rennie asks for prayer for this Bible study, and the outreach of the church in Trinidad.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. Construction on the Periyaneelavanai church to go smoothly.

2. New workers to minister with us here, especially in Onthachimadam.

3. Families attending the Jaffna camp to grow in their walk with Christ.

4. Strength for us to travel and teach at the Bible college.

5. The churches in Sri Lanka and Trinidad to grow.

As I type this I have just finished listening to a song performed by the group Mercy Me titled “Keep Singing”.  Basically it says that even when things are bad or don’t go the way we hope, we’ve got to keep singing and praising God.  We all face times like this, and how true it is that even when things are not good, God is still on the throne and He is worthy of praise!  His promise is to work all things for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

              Ever since we returned to Sri Lanka last June we have been under attack in ways like never before.  This past month has been an extremely trying one for us (which we will explain later).  To be honest there are times when we felt like giving up and returning home, wondering what we were actually accomplishing. But we’ve got to “keep singing!”  He is the reason we are here and He will never let go of us, He is our refuge and stronghold when all else falls apart!

              We have received a few cards and notes from folks at home reminding us of their prayers, for which we can never say “thank you” enough!  This means more to us than we could ever express.  We do also want to say thank you for your continued financial support for this ministry.  We know the difficult times there in the States and we realize that many missionaries are losing support right now.  All we can say is thank you and may our God supply all you need and more besides!

IT’S FINALLY COME

              We’ve been waiting for seven months for the government approval to begin construction on the Periyaneelavanai church building.  This was supposedly only going to take a few days (and I suppose that in light of eternity seven months is but a blink of the eye), but seven months IS a long time here, and now we are rejoicing that this is done and we can begin.

              The church people are excited and have begun clearing the area where the new church will be built, including removal of an old well and filling it in.  We are planning to begin construction early in March, Lord willing of course. 

              This is a much needed building for several reasons: the church numbers continue to grow, the old bakery building (where the church presently meets) is in very bad condition, and the preacher Vijay and his family will get a house in the village where they minister.  Therefore we are thrilled with being able to get started.  I’ll try to do a better job of sending pictures and keep you up to date on the progress.  So many times I think “hey, that would be a good picture to send the supporters back home (if I only had my camera)”!?

              Thank you for making this possible with your support!

TWO BECOME ONE

              We’re not talking a marriage of people, but of our Onthachimadam temporary building and Sunday school hut….

              After we purchased the new property for this church we wanted to move the buildings to the new site (yes, we are actually taking the buildings apart and moving them piece by piece).  Then the rains came and slowed our progress--with the rains came the flooding, which we have dealt with over the years.  And with the flooded land came the crocodiles (WOOHOO!).  So we worked out a deal with a homeowner and moved the worship and Sunday school into an unfinished empty house which is adjacent to our new property.  This had worked fairly well until recently.  The homeowner’s son has moved in and is living in one room. He uses the house for beer parties, which is obviously not the best situation for the church.  With the weather finally cooperating, we dismantled the two buildings, hauled them to the new property and rebuilt them.  This time we made one building out of the two and will put a dividing wall midway so worship will be in one end and Sunday school in the other end.  We are also going to attempt to make it more secure.  Our future plans are to eventually construct a new “church building” and continue to use the present building for Sunday school.

THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY APPEAR

              Last August a young preacher and family, George and Vathani, came to work with us.  They began working in Onthachimadam and we were very pleased with their attitude, their work, and seeming spiritual maturity.  This is the family we shared about who lost a grandmother and step-father within a month after they came to work here.

              Last month George’s sister-in-law accused him of taking her daughter’s gold necklace (given to infant girls at birth).  We discovered later that he had indeed stolen it.  He had also been accused of stealing some cell phones. Our nephew’s phone was missing from our house, but we had no reason to make a connection with George at that time. 

              George finally came and spoke with us saying that because of these accusations his testimony in the village was destroyed, and he desired to work somewhere else.  We agreed that his testimony was destroyed in Onthachimadam, but at this point there were no other ministries available, and we simply felt it best if he resigned.  We asked George to bring all the church receipts, accounting books, and offering money from the church, which he promised he would do.  His promise was never kept.  After repeated attempts (and many excuses) we finally got some of the paperwork back--no receipts at all, offering book pages ripped out and the book half burned, no records for money we had given for the church Christmas program (or any other church program), and no weekly offering money.  In addition to all this we have now discovered that George borrowed money from three different church members promising to return it within a few days (which he didn’t), and now he will not answer his phone when they call. 

              We still don’t have the money or any idea of actual accounts, but what we have lost is trust, which is far more important than the couple of hundred dollars he stole.

              We are all guilty of sin, after all that is why Christ came.  But it is so sad when a preacher gets waylaid by Satan—not only for the minister, but also for the affect it has on the churches and other workers.

              Shanthi and I have now taken the Onthachimadam church work until we can get another minister in place.

ONE LESS COLLEGE STUDENT RETURNS

              One of the five remaining students did not return when the Bible College began the new semester this month.  Instead he eloped with a girl from the church late one night.  Everyone knew that these two young people were a “couple,” but they had agreed to wait to marry until he had finished his schooling.  We found out later that the girl’s mother was the one that forced the issue and began to spread rumors that her daughter was pregnant!  When all this was heard in the village of Mahiloor, the people turned out in force, threatening to beat our preacher and destroy the church building.  The villagers blamed the church for bringing the two together, and for her pregnancy. None of it was true, but that’s how rumors start and how society here reacts to things.  We are saddened by these events, and once again see the harm Satan has inflicted on the reputation of the church by gossip and rumor.  More than that we have lost another set of willing hands to aid us in our ministry here as another young boy has chosen to leave his training for ministry in Bible College.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1.  The construction at Periyaneelavanai to begin soon.

2.  Completion of the Onthachimadam church building so we can move into it.

3.  Faithfulness and strength for our current workers, and for new workers to join with us.

4.  God’s wisdom and strength as we continue to deal with George and the aftermath of his theft.

5.  Onthachimadam church to recover and grow in spite of the trouble caused by George.

6.  Our four remaining Bible College students as they continue their training.

7.  Mahiloor church dealing with the false rumors and unhappy villagers.

Dear fellow laborers in Christ,

As I write this today we are having presidential elections. This is quite a controversial election as the top general through the war resigned his post and is seeking the presidency. By the time you read this it will be history (except there is always fallout after a major election here). We do pray that God will direct and the man he wants in office will win.

We’ve somewhat recovered from the holiday “busyness” but it seems it has been replaced with new things to keep us jumping, I guess that’s a good thing though.

Over the last few years we have encouraged our preachers to set goals for the coming year and how they will accomplish them. We discussed these in our last staff meeting and they have set some pretty high goals for themselves and for the churches, but that is needed as it is much too easy to just sit back and wait for things to happen, which is the norm for here.  The greatest thing we try to instill in them is their need to pray for God to work in their ministry and the village where they work. We can “do” all kinds of things and never entrust it to God or look to Him for direction. As the churches here grow our preachers are finding this to be true.

We praise and thank God for you our supporters! And we know that you make a sacrifice to support our ministry financially. We pray that God will bless you for that and request that above all you keep us in your prayers.

SLOW DOWN IN GROWTH RATE

This past year we have not seen as many baptisms as we have in the past, but we have had some growth. In fact it had been several months since any of the churches reported a baptism so I was beginning to be concerned. Then this last Sunday there were six baptisms in the Periyaneelavanai church (there were supposed to be seven, but one young lady had a change of heart at the last minute).

All the churches have people in attendance who have never accepted Christ so there is the potential for more in the next few months.

What we have seen is more people getting involved in the work of the church, and not just leaving it all up to the preacher (which is good). And the preachers are doing a better job of training up leaders in the churches.

MAHILOOR CHURCH GOING THROUGH OPPOSITION

We had a special meeting with our preacher Dene and with the village G.S., the man appointed by the government to assist and help the people within a district of their village.  The problem is the G.S. in Mahiloor is making trouble for the church and for Dene. For example, all the people are required to do some community work around and in the community building (such as cleaning, digging etc). Dene was informed he had to come to help. He is more than willing to do so but he is disabled--he has one leg and arm which are somewhat shriveled and is physically unable to do manual work. Dene sent 3 people including his own mother to the center on his behalf and the G. S. sent them back saying Dene had to come personally.  It is “strange” that none of the Hindu temple chiefs or priests are required to do this. But the G.S. isn’t willing to listen to any kind of reason.  The G.S. told us that if we did “anything” in the village it had to be first approved by the District Secretariat and then overseen personally by himself. So on goes the work of Satan to try and destroy what God is doing.

NEW TRAINING STRATEGY

This past month we had a full day training seminar for the Sunday school teachers and youth who want to go to Bible College in the future. This was held for the Mahiloor and Onthachimadam churches and was very well received and attended.  Our plan is to do this one day per month. We felt it was very beneficial and our Koddai Kallar and Periyaneelavanai churches will be beginning theirs this month as well.  We have begun with some very basic teachings and will progress through the months to more in depth studies.

MORE SCHOOL SUPPLIES GIVEN

Last December we were asked by another school in Periya Kallar to help their students with school bags and supplies. With everything that was going on, and wanting to make sure we would have enough funds for the Sunday schools, we waited until January to do this.

It is a very small school with only 32 students--grades one through five.  It was originally started by the Methodist church, but it has long since stopped any help for the schools they started in years past. This is one of the few schools which still retains the Methodist Mission name, as most have been taken over by the government and the name changed.

The principle and the teachers were thrilled that we would help the students in this way. Most of these small schools are totally overlooked by the government and other organizations, and the students in this school come from very poor families so they really needed our help.

COLLEGE STUDENTS DROP OUT

We were so thrilled to report last year we had ten young people who wanted to enter full time ministry and go to Bible College. And I must confess we along with our preachers were proud of this achievement. Maybe this is why we are struggling now with keeping them in school. As the Scriptures teach “pride goes before destruction,” and we see now how true that is.

During the past month five of the original ten have dropped out of the program, some not even giving reasons for their decision. This has been very discouraging for all of us but has made us stop and examine ourselves, our motives, and our training methods as well. We have seen where we failed to adequately prepare them for what full time ministry means, and the sacrifices which must be made many times.  All the students loved the school, but they were not prepared for the challenges they would face personally and in ministry when they returned home during the holiday break.

CONSTRUCTION APPROVAL SUPPOSED TO COME THIS MONTH

The approval to begin construction for the new church at Periyaneelavanai is supposed to come through finally this month but we haven’t seen it yet.  We are ready to begin building as soon as we get the approval, because the congregation continues to grow and the present building continues to deteriorate.  This project will take several months to complete so we want to begin as soon as possible but must wait for the local government approval.

PRAYER CONCERNS

1. Strength for us and the coworkers as we face many areas of opposition.

2. Approval for construction in Periyaneelavanai so we can begin the new church.

3. For the remaining college students to remain faithful to their commitment.

4. God to use the school supply distribution for His glory and the Kingdom’s sake.

5. God to bring more workers for the ministry here.

Lamp Lighters World Ministries - January, 2010