ORISSA  

 by Ps Paul Silvanus

Apostolic Faith Mission, Chennai                   (AOM partner in Chennai)

                                                    

The state of Orissa situated on the coast along the Bay of Bengal is the 9th largest state by area in India, and the 11th largest by population. Orissa is surrounded by Andhra Pradesh on the South-East, Madhya Pradesh on the West, Bihar in North, West Bengal in North-East and Bay of Bengal in the East. The Climate of Orissa is usually humid or hot & moist and its people are overwhelmed by epidemics, malnutrition and illiteracy.

Orissa known as the melting pot of religions has many diverse faiths like Brahmanism, Jainism, Shivaism, Vaishnavism, Islam and Christianity. Religious communal disharmony arose even before Indian independence in 1947 due to religious conversion. Christian missions have been active in Orissa among the tribal and backward Hindu castes from the early years of the twentieth century. Hindus have alleged that the increase in the number of Christians in Orissa has been a result of exploitation of illiteracy and impoverishment by the missionaries.

Orissa is well known for its religious persecution especially among the Dalits or untouchables, considered lower caste people and just like in other parts of India, they are subject to social and economic discrimination. Conversion from untouchability has encouraged millions of such people to escape from their circumstances through joining other religions. The Tribal Pana Dalits have converted to Christianity in large numbers and prospered financially. Over the past several decades, most of the Panas have become Dalit Christians. In recent years the authorities have passed the Anti-Conversion Law.

 The first wave or violence started in December 2007 and this aggression was followed by even more widespread violence in August 2008. Both these assaults were organized by anti-Christian Hindu extremist and in both cases not much intervention by the local authorities was done to stop the killings. In the 2008 attacks more than 500 Christians were killed and many of their homes and churches destroyed. Most of the victims of these attacks were Dalits. Many saw this as an ethnic cleansing of Christianity.

In September 2008, Graham Stewart Stains, an Australian born missionary and his two sons were sleeping in their Station Wagon when extremist doused their car with petrol and set it on fire. Stains and his sons tried to get out of the burning vehicle but were prevented from doing so by the angry mob who stood there and watched them burn to death. Some villagers nearby tried to rescue them but were set upon by the attackers. A few days later his wife Gladys offered a clear and public statement forgiving the killers. She said “I have no hatred against the killers but have forgiven them, forgiven them like Jesus did. The path of the cross is painful, and it can only be walked with love. In forgiveness there is no bitterness and when there is no bitterness, there is hope. The consolation comes from Jesus Christ.” She even appealed for clemency for the killers and got their death sentence commuted to life imprisonment. The power of forgiveness OF God in this woman is amazing. Unfortunately there were reports of many Christians who were burn to death including children. Now entry of foreign missionaries is banned.

Pastor Paul Silvanus who has a vision for church planting started the Apostolic Faith Mission where he trains and sends back local pastors to their native villages. His ministry works mostly among the Dalits and he partners with Asian Outreach Malaysia to support these Foot Soldiers.

One such pastor is Nandalal Deep in the district of Khandamal, a place often hit by violence from Hindu fanatics. The Christian community here live in constant fear of persecution and jobs are also denied to them.  Pastor Nandalal, a tribal Pana himself, had to have tight security when the first group of believers in his church were baptized.  A group of believers stood around guarding and watching for any signs of trouble while Pastor Nandalal was conducting the water baptism in the river nearby.  Danger lurks for the Christian at every corner.

Pastor Phillip Kumar, another Pastor from the Apostolic Faith Mission, who ministers in Konsdol village, organized a baptism for 30 people who gave their hearts to Jesus but the Hindu people challenged these people’s conversion (he was not aware of the anti-conversion law) and took them to the authorities. After the threats and humiliation, many backed out and only 8 were finally baptized. Now all baptisms must have prior permission from the authorities.

Unfortunately Pastor Phillip lost his wife and unborn child due to lack of medical services available. Due to this shock he himself fell ill and went into a coma. He was transferred to Chennai where doctors gave up hope for any recovery. One morning Pastor Silvanus received a call from Philip Kumar himself excitedly telling him how the Lord miraculously healed him and woke him up from his coma. Phillip is back in the field again with a new zeal and fervour. The Lord has also blessed him with another helpmate and he is remarried.

In spite of persecution and the risk to their own lives these pastors continue to minister, bringing God’s love and hope to those who have suffered so much and are committed to praying and forgiving those who persecute them and have committed such depraved acts on the Christians. They and their families are in constant danger and they always have to be careful and watchful. They pray that these people will find true peace and forgiveness in the One they oppose so violently. Many of the Christians see this as an opportunity to share in Christ’s sufferings and they know that the Lord is still in control.

Touching the Untouchables of India

By Pastor Paul Silvanus

Dalit Ministry in Chennai

(A partner ministry of AOM)

Who are the Dalits?

IMAGINE not being allowed to go to school or college until you get a decent education. Imagine being sick but not being allowed to get treatment from a hospital or clinic. Imagine not being allowed to live where you want or work in a job you like. Imagine (especially if you are a woman or child) being trafficked into prostitution, bonded labour and begging in the streets. Imagine having no rights so that anyone can abuse you, attack you, humiliate you --- and nobody would care.

And most astonishingly of all, imagine Indian churches shunning you as well, treating you like pariah. Unless, of course, if the church is a Dalit one.

For the Dalits of India, this dehumanization is a reality and not make believe. They are the considered the scum of Indian society, a result of the caste system and being at the bottom of the social ladder, the Dalits (also known as the Untouchables) faces such discrimination and degradation every day. The term “Dalit” means “those who have been broken down by those above them” Dalits are the major victims of trafficking in India. Culturally subjugated and politically marginalized, millions of Dalits are exploited and treated inhumanely.

There are 167 million Dalits in India, constituting over 16 percent of the total population.

Every hour, two Dalits are assaulted. Every day, three Dalit women are raped, and two killed. Dalits are street sweepers, cobblers, agricultural workers, grave diggers and those who dispose of human waste.

Some three-quarters of the Dalit workforce are in the agricultural sector. And are bonded labourers.  These jobs rarely provide enough income and many Dalits are impoverished, uneducated and illiterate.

Ministry to the Dalits

Our ministry was started in 1997 to train Dalits to become pastors and church planters. To date, we have trained 107 pastors who went on to plant 100 churches in 10 States in India.

Day Care Centre’s for Dalit Children

The Lord moved us to minister to the Dalits via day care centers. We felt education is a key tool to help these oppressed people, just as the early missionaries did as well. So we have started two day care centers by faith, one in a village and another in a city slum. There are 75 children at the village day care center and 45 at the center in the city slum.

Children between the ages of 4 and 16 come to the centers after school. Specialized coaching is given by trained teachers (Each center has four trained teachers and a cook).They are encouraged to continue their studies as many are forced to leave school to become child

labourers.

We feed the children one meal a day. We hope that with sufficient funds, we will be able to give them two meals daily and two sets of uniforms. Every day a scripture from proverbs is taught, with the children having to memorize the Word of God.

There are monthly parents’ meetings to monitor the children’s progress and to encourage the parents to send the children to the center regularly.

Local church pastors and their wives work as social workers. The pastors visit slums and villages to seek out Dalit children.

Reaching the Dalit Community

Our goal is not to preach Christ directly through the day care centers. We do not invite any Dalits to come to our church via the centers. Christian workers have been accused of converting the Dalits by providing them money and goods. We do not want to give room for such suspicions. We only teach scriptures from proverbs to the children as life lessons. Parents sometimes observe what we do. And praise God that even without invitation, parents have started coming to church and accepting Christ by seeing the character changes in their children’s lives. The local churches are full of testimonies from parents.

Upcoming projects

Our two day care centers have been running successfully .So we are planning to start another one in a place called Theni, which borders Kerala state, where we managed to find some 100 girls who were not attending school.

Since we have established 100 churches in 10 states, it is our desire to see a day care center for each of these churches.

Needs

• RM80 per month to feed one Dalit child.

• Three motorbikes (one each for our three centers) for pastors/social workers to reach the Dalits. (RM3000/bike).

• Three 15-seat Tata vans to shuttle the children from the villages and slums to the centers (RM33,000 per van).

Luke 4: 18-19 (“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind; to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”)

Chuck D. Pierce with Martin and Norma Sarvis:

Passover Begins Tonight! An Understanding of Passover from Martin & Norma Sarvis

Monday, April 14, 2014

Dear Friends:

Tonight at sundown, Passover begins. As you can read below, this is actually an 8-day Feast.

Here is an understanding of Passover from Martin & Norma Sarvis:

Passover Begins and the Feast of Unleavened Bread!
from Martin and Norma Sarvis

"Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed, Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

Monday at sundown, Jews around the world will be gathered round tables in obedience to the command in Exodus 12:14, "So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance." They will have cleaned leaven from their homes (Ex. 12:19) and will begin a week of eating only unleavened bread (Hebrew: matzot).

The word Pesach (Passover) comes from the Hebrew verb lifso'ach which means "to skip". Literally, when the scourge passed through Egypt, those with the blood of the lamb on their doorposts were "skipped" the judgment which came upon the rest of Egypt. The meal is celebrated at a seder table. Seder means "order". In modern Hebrew b'seder-'o.k.' is literally pronouncing things to be "in order". So, at the seder table is presented an "ordered" account, both through reading and having a meal, of what God did on that first occasion.

During the course of the meal, most families are guided by a book called a Haggadah. This word actually means "the telling" and is taken fromExodus 13:8, "And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'"

Although the book contains remarks and theories by revered rabbis here and there, it is primarily a straightforward account of God's deliverance of His people Israel from bondage in Egypt, interspersed with wonderful psalms, and other Biblical passages – many of which reference God's yeshu'AH-"salvation" and coming Messiah.

At the heart of this "telling", as it has come down to our day, is an addition called Afikomen. It comes from a Greek word, meaning literally "that which comes after" or even, "the one who came". At the beginning of the seder three pieces of matza are placed into a three-fold pocket, but the piece going into the middle compartment is first broken. Part of this broken piece of unleavened bread is placed in the middle pocket; the other piece, the Afikomen, is wrapped up and hidden away.

After the meal, the children will seek the Afikomen, and the one who finds it will be given a redemption-price reward. Then all the participants at the table eat a portion of the Afikomen for dessert. Modern-day matza (or matzo) is unleavened, pierced and striped from the heat in baking. According to the Mishna, the Afikomen is a substitute for the "Korban Pesach" – the Passover Sacrifice, which was the last thing eaten at seders during the First and Second Temple periods.

Yet there is a veil over the hearts of most of our people, and there is much deep truth inserted by the Holy Spirit in the traditions which they still do not see. A piece of unleavened bread, bruised and pierced is broken off, wrapped and hidden away (yet is still present with the tri-partite "oneness" in the pocket). When it is found by those who seek as little children, it brings great joy.

Passover Week is also called in the Bible the "Feast of Unleavened Bread". It lasts for seven days, beginning with the seder on the evening of the 14th day of Aviv/Nisan (the First Month). The first and last days of the week are to be observed as Sabbaths (Leviticus 23:7-8). The days between these two "Sabbaths" are called chol ha'mo'ed, which means the "common" or "every-day normal" period of time between two set-apart (i.e. "holy") days. During this week Israel is commanded to eat matzot – "un-leavened" bread, nor is any leavening agent to be found in her dwellings for the seven days.

During This Holy Week Please Pray:

• For the Light of Life to shine into our dwellings and hearts, exposing any "leaven" which needs to be cleansed.

• For Light to shine over seder tables in Israel and around the world, to reveal the Truth of the "Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world" – who was separated from the Father while remaining one with Him, born in Bethlehem (lit: "bread-house"), bruised and pierced, cut off from mankind and hidden in the earth; the Lamb of God who atones for and takes away the sin of humankind; and who may be found by all who become like little children and seek, and whose finding brings Life, and Nourishment and Joy!

• For God's protection over Israel during this week when children are out of school and many families are out and about Israel enjoying the holidays.

Tiffany Ann Lewis: (Taken from The Elijah list)

Leaning On The Lord: Trusting Him and His Plans

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.Proverbs 3:5-6

The Lord is speaking to me a lot right now about leaning on Him. I was wondering why (seriously), and in one of those "ah-ha" moments it became crystal clear. You see, after having a house church for nine months, the Lord has blessed us with a beautiful historic church and we have been able to open our doors to the public. Therefore, as you can imagine, the need to lean has been kicked up a notch or two.

Leaning on the Lord sounds so easy, especially since I understand the importance of being a leaning bride. Nevertheless, being totally honest with you, I have found myself leaning on my own understanding more times than I care to admit and have learned, as King Nebuchadnezzar did, the folly of doing so. Let me explain.

The Book of Daniel

The fourth chapter of the Book of Daniel opens with King Nebuchadnezzar "praising God" and wanting to tell everyone the signs and wonders that God had worked personally for him. He had seen miracles and believed the Word of the Lord, and he wanted everyone to know. Then the testing comes... The king has another dream. The dream scares him, and what does he do?

Instead of calling on Daniel and the Most High God, he pulls out the ace in his pocket and calls, once again, on the astrologers, enchanters, and magicians that he has consulted in the past, even though they had let him down before (see Daniel 2:10-12). In other words, he returns back to his own understanding, revealing that he doesn't trust God with all his heart, but leans on his own understanding instead.

Daniel's advice to the king was to break off his sin of thinking that the kingdom was somehow established by his knowledge and his power versus the hand of the Almighty God. Basically, Daniel was telling him to "know that you know that God alone rules, or else everything in your dream will happen to you" (verses 26-31, my interpretation).

Not following Daniel's advice, the king held on to his aces. He chose to trust/lean on what he knew based on past experiences. The moment he did that, the wilderness that was predicted in the dream comes upon him... (verse 31)

While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from Heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses." Daniel 4:31-32

What a fantastic lesson for us all to glean from today. You see, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. We naturally spring into survival mode, into self-preservation. Being worried or distressed, we naturally formulate our "Plan B." We pray of course, and ask God to bless our plan, feeling that praying means that we are leaning, but it's not. We need to be still and know that He is God, trust Him and the plans He has for our lives, even when we don't understand them. Our "Plan B" is just another ace in the pocket.

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 bank 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 neighboring 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 bondage 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. Pastor 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.

Intercessors storming Heaven

Women intercessors crying out to the Lord

                                                 
      

Church with a Mission

Ps Ng Ping Kin                                                                                    

Senior Pastor, U Chau Estate Baptist Church.

Can a church with 100+ people participate in mission or is it only for churches with a large membership?

Medium-small size churches normally lack human and financial resources. The Pastors are over-whelmed with the pastoral work of their church and have no time for mission.  If they ever do anything, it would only be symbolic.  I am serving in such a medium-small size church, with a determination that we WILL do missions!  Missions is the core of the Great Commission.  Jesus commanded that we should make “disciples” of all men.

Mt 28:19-20:“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of Father and the son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”

This is a call for all Christians! 

For a medium-small size church to do mission, I have learnt to hold firmly to three important areas:

1.           Vision: First and foremost, the pastor has to have the vision for mission so he can motivate the church. There are always countless needs in the church, and there are never-ending urgent tasks to be done but to have a vision for missions is equally important. Vision comes from passion.  I have gone to the mission fields with Asian Outreach Hong Kong teams to visit Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County in Guangxi, China.  I was moved by their enormous needs and brought them to my church.  Our congregation visited the Dong tribe several times. We contributed to their church building project.  Our leaders made several trips to share and train them as well.

2.  Teach: I have heard that some congregations complain that their pastors are doing too  

     much mission work.  In reality, they are saying that they want more care from the pastor.    

     When a pastor promotes missions in his church, he needs wisdom to motivate and

     encourage his congregation also to be involved in missions so they will not feel neglected.

     He needs courage to teach his people that “It is better to give than to receive.”  A

     congregation with a selfish attitude, only seeking to receive pastoral care for themselves

    does not have the signs of a blessed church.

3. Give and take: No pastor can oversee the running of the church by himself and he has to learn to delegate and get his church members involved in the daily running and administration of the church. Sharing the load helps the Pastor to then focus on what is important for the church and missions is important for every church. As everything is important, I often pray to God for wisdom to give and take: Which ministry can I give to other pastoral team members or deacons?  Which ministry do I need to take on personally?  For me, I would like to put more time and effort on mission and evangelism. With wisdom to give and take, share and delegate your ministry load, is the only way to avoid being burn-out.

As the Great Commission is the core of all ministries, Missions has to be the most important ministry in all churches. May the Lord grant us vision and wisdom to participate in mission together so we can populate His Kingdom. The GREAT COMMISSION needs all of us. Will you answer His call?

From the heart of Eric Fung...

Dear Partner in Missions,                                                          

Warmest Christian Greetings!            

 

As I look back at the past year (2013) I am truly amazed at  the faithfulness of God and how God was able to supply all our needs for our 2013 budget. During the first half of 2013 it cost me some grave concern and to a great degree worrying on how we were going to raise the funds needed to help the Foot Soldiers put food on the table for their families and to sustain the various ministries the Lord directed us to start.

Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers and thank you for your unwavering support in terms of prayers and financial partnership; we were able to support them for yet another year. This means so much to me as these Foot Soldiers are very special people to me. I may not meet them often but I know how they are doing and what they doing through their respective leaders. I know when they need urgent prayers, I know the challenges and hardships they face in their respective countries and sometimes even the dangers such as persecution and life threatening situation to themselves and their families, all for the sake of the Gospel. 

Who are these great and dedicated men and women of God? I call them great because their passion and love for the Lord which is their driving force. They do not worry about themselves and they do not focus on what they themselves or their families are going through but keep their  focus on the one who has saved them and given them ‘New life’. When I think of them I am constantly reminded of 2 Cor:5 15,  “And He (Jesus) died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”

The Foot Soldiers are from Third World countries like Bhutan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Vietnam, where Christianity is not welcomed  and preaching the Gospel is often dangerous and difficult which could land you in a lot of trouble. They are mostly simple hand working people from various backgrounds who  themselves were touched and saved by the saving grace of God and their desire is to see the families, villages, towns and nations saved also.

Pastor Moses one of our Foot Soldiers who leads the Violet Apple Star Ministry in Ho Chih Minh has a street ministry, ministering to the poor, street children, beggars, prostitutes, sick and drug addicts. With his team of 40 volunteers and part timers he searches the city looking for those who need help and there are so many. They go into the overcrowded hospitals seeking out the lost, giving them the hope and love of God. Prostitutes and drug addicts see the tangible love of God through the Foot Soldiers and see Hope that their lives can change too by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. The Leper colony welcome the team as many including their own families are afraid to visit them. The stigma of Leprosy is still apparent and the Leper patients are shunned by

their families and the community. Ps Moses and his team reach out to make a difference in their lives by loving them and sharing the Gospel.

In the town of Siliguri in India, Lotha Nzanbembo and his team of Foot Soldiers work in the mission fields of Bhutan and India. Bhutan, a country extremely hostile to Christianity, is a challenging and difficult place to evangelize.  The Foot Soldiers have been attacked and one was even severely beaten up and left to die. Christians not only face pressure from the authorities but also from the community. There are spies everywhere trailing Christians and their activities, waiting to report them and the people fear to violate the laws resulting in reluctance and afraid to talk. Our Foot Soldiers often have had to change the time of fellowship or camouflage water baptism as having a picnic by the river. But these simple men of God never give up; the fire in their hearts for the Lord burns passionately

Lotha himself has a four year old son Jaazaniah who suffers from epilepsy and has fits four to five times a day. Does he sit back and ask why me Lord? Am I not serving you faithfully? His faith is such that he never even thought to question the Lord. His response is…” Our Lord has already healed us in our inner being though we go through physical and emotional struggles; our God is always good to us even though we do not deserve it. Sickness and suffering are part of our lives on earth and we have to accept It.” says Lotha. What immense faith….

Please join us to pray for the Foot Soldiers. Your prayers encourage them and your financial support helps them to do what God desires of them and feed their families as for most of them, being a Foot Soldier is a full time job. Like you and me they have concerns for their children and how to provide for their families. But their trust is always on the Lord and that does not waver, no matter what their circumstances.

Hebrews 6:10

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (NIV)

May the Lord continue to bless you and your family as you continue to sow into His Kingdom

Your partner in missions

 Eric Fung