A BEACON OF HOPE

Siliguri is blessed with natural beauty. The majestic Kanchen-junga Mountains, visible from Siliguri on a clear day are enough to take your breath away. Siliguri, on the banks of Mahananda River and spread into the foothills of the Himalayas, is the gateway into 8 north-eastern states of India. The strategic importance of the town is obvious. Siliguri connects four international borders  (Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, and Nepal)

In 2007 Asian Outreach began the building of a Prayer Tower. It would become the ‘light on the hill’ drawing the lost and broken hearted, the weary, sick and downtrodden, and a place where believers could come together to teach and share the Word of God, a place of worship and praise to the Lord. The Prayer Tower took 5 years to complete and after many obstacles and setbacks, it was finally opened in February 2012.

The Prayer tower has become a landmark in Siliguri for touching and changing lives. Miracles, signs and wonders have been taking place and the powerful anointing and the presence of God is felt when believers come together to worship and pray there. Glory Place Prayer Tower is equipping many pastors and church leaders to expand God’s Kingdom not only in India but into neighbouring countries as well.

He is raising up Prayer Warriors at Glory Place from the hills and plains of Darjeeling, Siliguri, Sikkim, Bhutan and the eastern provinces of Nepal. This call for intercession and prayer has touched the hearts of the children; and God is using these children to intercede for their families and the nation of India. Like the adults, they fast and pray, often overnight. Many of these young children are dedicating their lives to the Lord and God is moving in a powerful way among the children using them to be the ‘salt’ and ‘Light’ to their families and friends.

People who come here leave filled with the love and hope of Jesus Christ, filled with fresh anointing and a miracle. People are being healed from their diseases, set free from bondages and delivered from evil spirits. Pastors, leaders and believers who visit the Prayer Tower give testimony of a tremendous infilling of the Holy Spirit that changes their lives completely.

Women folk, who have always remained in the background in India, are stepping out in Siliguri, becoming prayer warriors and intercessors for the nations. Families are being saved, husbands coming to the Lord when they witness the changes in their families.

Ps Jiwan, the resident Pastor of Glory Place Prayer Tower has reported recently that non-believers have come to witness for themselves the wonders taking place and many have given their lives to Christ.

Asian Outreach Malaysia  is working together with National Missions Commissions Nepal in a Slum area at Thapathali slum site in Kathmandu at the side of the river Bagmati. There were more than 300 houses with the population of more than 1500 people. These people here are the underprivileged, neglected and the poorest of the poor. Most of the people living in that area are struck by poverty and hardship with no proper means of income, no proper housing, and lack of adequate food, drinking water, lack of health and sanitation awareness and so on. There was also a sad lack of education among the children and the quality of education that the children were receiving by the government. Efforts were made to help the children mainly focusing on education starting with the set up of an education center in the month of March 2009. NMCN started a free tuition and gave snacks to the children.

Within one and half years, they were able to establish a church and fellowship group in the slum.  They faced lots of Problem but God helped them to solve the entire problem and they went ahead in the teaching and sharing the  gospel in the slum.  Around 40-50 children used to come to the tuition center and they were given help in their school work. It was so rewarding to see them improving in their studies, not only improving in their studies but also in their habits, in their living standard, in tidiness and also they came to know about Jesus. They started coming to Sunday school and their parents also join the Saturday fellowship, many of them believed and accepted Christ as their savior, the community also saw the tangible love of God through these dedicated workers and appreciated  what they were doing and the changes they saw in their children. In 2012 disaster struck the slum when the Government demolished the slum and tore down the center where the children used to meet,but our co-workers did not  lose heart and continued to give tuition for the children in an open place.  After few weeks they built a shade. 70 children used to come for tuition. Plans were made to build  a tin hut for the tuition but the Government would not allow them to do that, so they expanded the shade from inside where about 100 children can study comfortably. and a thick foam with carpet on the top  covered the dirt floor so that the children would not feel cold. Now 90-100 children come to the tuition center.

The children are very happy and within 5 years, many changes were seen in the slum. The children have learnt how to respect their elders, how to stay clean, pray, memorize the bible verses, responsible, and lending a helping hand among themselves and their community. Now the population of the slum is only 600 hundred because it is not safe there and many have left the slum to seek shelter elsewhere.

Children, parents and young children lived in world of drugs, drinking and fighting.  Now, our workers have been able to establish a Sunday school and church where children and their parents are attending the church service. Now they have left taking drugs and drinking and fighting. The children and teens who come to attend the slum education program have left doing drugs such as sniffing glue and drinking wine. Now they have accepted the Lord Jesus in their lives and have been transformed. Now they have become an example for their friends and family.  Several of the parents have accepted the Lord and are constantly attending the fellowship. 

Five years ago, when the  slum project was started, the slum people themselves were very against and suspicious of any Christians coming to help them. They were unaware of health and hygiene issues but now because of what they have learnt from our co-workers  teaching them about health and heaven, their lives have been changed.  Children do not play in the mud and dust. They do not go to the  garbage pile to collect food and plastic to sell. The lives of these children and parents have been transformed through the  gospel and humanitarian support of generous donors whose desire is to sow into the kingdom of God and win Asia for Christ.