10/16-17 Thursday & Friday
Nine of us converged on gate M11 in Chicago O’Hare for a trek to India that only one of us (Brenda) had made before. Tony Allmoslecher and Brenda Hawkins from CIY; Titus Neuenshwander from Mt. Home, Arkansas; Steve Meyers from Mt. Pleasant, IN; David Casey from Harris, Kentucky; David Linn from Orville, Ohio (on furlough from Venezuela), J. J. Peterson from Mesa Arizona; Larry Marshall from Anderson, Indiana and, of course, myself. The flight to London was 7:10 hours and then another to Deli was 8:10 hours where we are to meet Rai, our best friend for the next two weeks.



10/18 Saturday
Rai, our guide in Deli, was more than gracious. We were met at the airport with a barrage of preachers and flower lays. The red-rose fragrance was nearly as overpowering as the hospitality and humility of our hosts. We were taken to see some of the major archaeological sites of the city of Deli. Most impressive was the Qutb Minar, a five-storey tower built in 1193. This was a thriving Muslim culture 300 years before any European had seen America. Also impressive was the Lotus Flower Bahai temple, one of the seven in the world. We also had a demonstration of how these wonderful Indian carpets were made. I was so thrilled to be able to purchase a 3X5’ silk carpet that they say is an item that should last (with use) for 200 years. The highlight of our day, however, was a Saturday evening church service where about 120 people attended in a theater at the YMCA (where we stayed). The colors and faces had a beauty and diversity the was as vibrant as the singing. And we could see it all since we were sat in a line on stage like dignitaries facing the audience with more flower lays placed around our necks by children. I was honored to preach for the service. Afterward there were a half a dozen people or so who wanted prayer. One for demonic attack, another for a barren womb, one for sickness, one for evil dreams, and another for a sick child. It was beautiful. What we didn’t know about the service until the following day was that it was a special service where about half the people were invited guests and not yet Christians. Nor could we know that after we left the pastors stayed, counseled, and converted 60 people. That’s a pretty good way end our first day.



10/19 Sunday
This was a day of travel for us. We took a two and a half hour train ride to Agra, where we visited the Taj Mahal. This is clearly the most perfect building I’ve ever seen. It was not the largest, nor the most expensive, but clearly the most perfect. Words are incapable of capturing its majesty or the mystery of the love-story behind it. We returned to the train to complete our trek to Damoh for another 8 hours. We were met at the station by the inimitable Ajai Lall and his devoted crew, and, of course, more flowers. Our quarters are plush: Clean sheets, sodas and tea, marble floors and a guarded compound. Most of the team is still waking at 2-3 a.m. from Jet lag. But that will pass quickly as we start running through our days.



10/20 Monday
It was a full day of teaching beginning at 8:30 and going to 5:30, six one-hour sessions interspersed with tea breaks, worship and lunch. It was both rich and exhausting. My session was right after lunch (2:15-3:15) on the Holy Spirit. Between the Holy Spirit’s presence by invitation and Ajai Lall’s superlative translation, it was an hour I will cherish in my memory for life. During one of the morning sessions Brenda came and got me out of the session with the startling words "Your presence is necessary outside.” I couldn’t imagine for what! Well . . . it was for an Elephant ride! A group of little guys passed by the mission complex with a couple of Elephants and Indu contracted them to come in and give rides to a bunch of gringos. This evening we went to a Hindu temple and monastery where boys 14-21 are trained to be priests (although some of them look considerably younger). Perhaps it is the best way out of poverty since it is practically the only benevolence offered through their religion. All of us were deeply disturbed by the ignorance, emptiness, even cruelty of their "worship.” This single visit gives me the sense the Hinduism is the worst delusion the devil ever foisted on humanity. Your greatest hope out of a senseless punishment in a permanent caste system, is to die. After that, things can only get worse.



10/21 Tuesday
This was the second day of the International School of Youth ministry. While the others were teaching, before I got up in the afternoon, I got a special treat. Ajai asked me to accompany him to a Hindu home to talk about Christ with a 22 year old young man named Siddharth who has come to love Jesus. The interesting thing was that his mother is the most powerful judge in the entire area and a devout Hindu. It turns out that she appreciates Ajai’s work with the poor and would be glad for her very confused son to find something that would bring him happiness and stability. After lunch we were also able to take a city tour. It is simply not possible to describe the menagerie of humanity, the depth of their poverty, or the spiritual emptiness in this place. Ten minutes in downtown Damoh could take a lifetime to assimilate. After the teaching we had a very special certificate ceremony for all those who completed this two-day course. To us it was simply a trivial piece of paper. To each of these students, however, it was a treasure to be kept and cherished. The evening wound down with two parties. The first was a dedication of a new house – the street was packed with members of the church, dressed in their Sunday best, and a spread of food to match the auspicious occasion. Then we were off to another believer’s home for a 13th birthday party. The Americans sang happy birthday to her. She immediately ran to the phone to tell her friends about the honor. In every possible way we are being treated like royalty.



10/22 Wednesday
Today was a tour day of all the various aspects of Central India Christian Missions (this only includes Ajai and Indu’s work, not the many other various works related to their larger family). (1) Children’s Fund Program is helping 2,000 children with education, food, and medicine. Six hundred of these have been rescued out of slavery (for an average of about $20 each). Ninety six children formerly helped are now preaching the gospel, sixty-five of them are former slaves. It takes $12 a month to supply the needs for these children. Indu says, "They bloom like flowers through the simple message, ‘God loves you.’” (2) There are now 400 full-time co-workers in all these ministries. (3) 357 churches planted in India and Nepal, and 110,000 converts, 80% of whom are still active in the churches. They have an Academy for Christian training for preachers, Christian educators, CIY conferences, etc. (4) FAME has helped establish 2 hospitals, one in Damoh and one in Kansa. There are 22 doctors, and 20+ nurses. The are now doing a cancer detection camp with 300 people each time. (5) International Disaster Emergency Services (IDES) has partnered with CICM to provide disaster relief. (6) A radio ministry reaches 38 Asian countries with two weekly broadcasts. Listener clubs (popular in this part of the world) gather before the broadcast to pray and then have a discussion afterward. (7) Literature and Teaching Ministry (LATM) has partnered with CICM to produce Christian resources in Hindi. After all this we ate lunch with Ajai and Indu in their home. They served us like we were dignitaries and they were our servants. I sat next to Steve Meyers; both of us were literally humbled to tears. I now know what it means to be served by the Apostle Paul. We are unworthy servants whose lives and ministries must now be changed.



10/23/03 Thursday
The camp is in a beautiful, secluded jungle area about 30 miles outside Damoh. We awoke this morning with a walk down to a river, punctuated with a flock of Bright green parrots and a million dragon flies. The birds are familiar but each exotic: a crow, woodpecker, blue bird, finch, flycatcher, etc. The students arrived around noon as excited as they could be. They slept in a massive tent on straw and mats. The "kitchen” is a massive outdoor event. The cooks were contracted from the church and won’t sleep for three days. The meeting hall is an open air tent with an opening flag ceremony from all the towns and districts in attendance and a firework display. The most impressible sight to me, was the prayer, the women all cover their heads with honor and devotion to God. J.J. Peterson preached a wonderful message on giving God your heart. We took a drive to see the old campsite and ran across a wild band of monkeys.



10/24/03 Friday
The day began with a 5:30 am wake-up call and 6:00 calisthenics for the whole camp. It was awesome to see 1500 students, boys and girls separated, doing stretching. We then had a time of devotions and prayer before breakfast. I lectured from 10:30-12:45 under the big tent- it was suffocating hot; but Ajai and I had such a wonderful time and the teachers (150 of them) were so excited by our discussion of the Holy Spirit. Bath time followed as the students all went down to the river- men and women to separate locations, of course. After lunch, I slept for two hours straight. The singing competition lasted for two hours in the afternoon and it was taken very seriously, but with a great spirit. Evening worship was from 6:00-7:30 followed by dinner. Dave Case preached a wonderful message and hundreds responded. The team had the special privilege of praying for dozens of needs. A highlight of the evening was a native musical group from a nearby village. The temple of this village is abandoned because so many have come to Christ, even the priest! Their music was unbelievably moving and their hearts were as pure and as joyous as fawns skipping in a spring field. The late-night event was a huge bonfire where the students shared skits, music, and dance.

10/25/03 Saturday
We had the extraordinary privilege of meeting with 13 men of God -- all preachers, all persecuted for their faith. Here is a piece of each of their stories:

Ompravash has 3 brothers and 4 older sisters in a Hindu family. His mother tried to abort him because she didn’t want another girl. At seven months of age, he contracted polio, and to this day has difficulty walking. He grew up in a poor family, his father got into debt with some criminals who loaned him money. So, the criminals kidnapped Ompravash as a slave, and he was forced to work from morning to night. At the age of ten he had a severe sickness, and his parents took him to temples, mosques, miracle workers and everywhere else to try to get him healed. A preacher finally came and prayed for him, and he began to get better, after a year he was healed and wanted to get some training in Christianity. But because he was poor and weak, no one wanted to take him, but CICM took him in. He was the highest in his class, and he was also able to get a second degree. He began preaching in a coal-mining area for two and a half years, and more than 200 people became believers, all of them were well-to-do. He has also worked in other villages, and he walks two to three miles to get to one of those villages, where the people make illegal liquor for a living. The 45 families there now have the ethical dilemma of what to do to provide for their families. CICM is trying to train them to become dairy farmers. Just last week this man lost his first baby to a still birth.

Emmanuel Namro is working in an un-reached area in the South. Many people have come to the Lord in this area, and a couple of the people who were insane were healed by his prayers. This led to explosive growth. Hindu extremists attacked him with 8 motorcycles and 2 jeeps. They broke down his door, and he and his 9 month pregnant wife were beaten. They took him to the center of town and asked to make a written confession, renouncing Christ. He refused, so they twisted his hand until it broke. They threatened him and said that he must leave. He stayed and in two years there have been 350 more people converted.

Surendra Kumar wanted to work among the Buddhists (the area he is in is 90% Buddhist). A man 90 years old said, "This is the first time I have ever heard the name of Jesus.” They were not persecuted, but no one would make a decision. In 250 square kilometers, this man is the only preacher. He called Ajai and said you must be here by 5:00 (an 8 hour drive). 62 Buddhist were baptized that day, two years ago, and the very first church was founded that day!! Today the church has 400 people!!

Mahipal Singh was trained as a Hindu extremist and taught others how to do so in Delhi. His goal was to torture Muslims and Christians. He had 4 jeeps, guns, swords, and he was paid very well and it was his job every day!! His wife contracted a very serious intestinal condition and had many surgeries with over 300 stitches in her stomach. A Christian asked him why he persecuted them and that if he would turn to Jesus, his wife would be healed. He threatened the man and sent him away, but the man returned the next week, again he sent him away. The man returned again and again claiming that if he would get on his knees and ask Jesus to come into his heart, that his wife would be healed. So for three weeks, he prayed for his beloved wife and one day she was healed! He began to read the Scripture and the preacher stopped coming to him. So he sought out a church to attend, but every time he came to a different church, the worship would stop and the people would leave. He left the extremist group and returned the vehicles, and he was trained as a preacher, finally. He challenged Ajai to baptize some Brahmans in the Jamuna river. Ajai protested that it would cause more persecution. Mahipal said, "These people are risking their lives and you don’t have the courage to baptize them?!” These people that were baptized in the Jamuna jumped out of the water and at their first communion their eyes were filled with joy and wonder that Jesus made them a part of his family. Ajai has been in prison twelve times from 1999-2003. He has been beaten, detained for several days and then released. More than 500 High cast Hindus and extremists have come to Christ since this man became a preacher.

Wilson was born into a Hindu family and was converted in 1996. His family and village kicked him out, so he moved to Rapir with his wife and he worked in a factory for $00.50 a day. He was hit by a truck while he was on a bicycle with his wife and little son. They spent 15 days in the hospital but his family didn’t care enough to come, but the Christians cared for him. He went back to his home area and was persecuted from one village to another, he was threatened and chased away. In four years and five villages, 200 Hindus have been brought to Christ, including his own mother and father!!

At the age of 48, Kamal became a Christian. He was the first Christian in a village of 2,000 people. When he became a Christian, his own brother spread discontent about him because he hindered the Hindu religion. So one night as he was returning to a wedding, 14 men with steel rods and hoods, beat him for two hours. His younger brother was also beaten while worshiping at his Kamal’s house, and they said he must stop all this. He said, "My life is safe because Jesus saved my soul.” This persecution made him even bolder. Now, three years after his conversion, 25 families in his village worship in his home.

His mother is 60 years old and was demon-possessed, or insane for 30 years. An evangelist came and Nanhoo challenged him to exorcise the demon. He prayed for Jesus to heal her and she was healed that very day and so the family converted to Christianity. He trained at CICM. He has been tortured many times for preaching. One night 150 extremists surrounded the house. He was not there, but his wife, mother and children were there. He ran home and asked the extremists what he did wrong. He confessed love for the Christians and for his enemies and their children. "What crime have I done?” he asked. Miraculously they were all ashamed and left. In three years, there have been four churches and a medical clinic founded in this area. There are 20, 30, 50 and 50 people in the four churches. The extremists threatened to kill him and he said, "You will be doing me a favor and I will be in a better place. You do whatever you want to do!” His Hindu wife was baptized the last Sunday of the camp. (See picture below).

On January 1, 1994 Shailendra was baptized. He was the only son of a wealthy Hindu businessman, with a Masters degree in business. His family kicked him out of the house without a single rupee in his pocket and no change of clothes; a Hindu family took him in for about 45 days. When his mother was on her death bed he went to visit her. His father met him at the door spit at him, hit him and sent him away. Eight days later he learned that she had died. This was very difficult for him. CICM trained him and sent him out to preach. Because of his family background, his testimony is very powerful in his area of ministry because people know his father’s name and know what he gave up to follow Jesus. In five years, five churches have been founded and 750 people baptized. He can’t even get a house, because when they find out who he is, they kick him out. His father is instigating persecution against his own son! He is constantly threatened.

Tiharu Nandand his family lived in a tribal village and was converted to Catholicism, but they still worshiped idols. Slavery is common in his village because for 12 hours of labor and man can get less than $00.50 a day. One day his father was very sad and depressed and said he had to talk with his family. He informed him that Tiharu had been sold into slavery for a bag of rice. He would work 10 hours a day for a bowl of rice with salt and one set of clothes per year. There was virtually no way for him to be released. He was so sad, but he had no choice. He tool care of cows at 5:00 am each day. First his job was to clean cow dung and then he went to the fields. He could not go to school. A CICM preacher purchased him out of slavery for $25, returned him to his family and sent him to school. He went to Bible college training at CICM, where he made straight A’s and received a Bachelor of Theology in three years time, and he has planted four churches in five years, with 600 baptisms and he has rescued 200 children who are now following in his footsteps.

Israel Rathans works in Saraipali, a tribal area of Kashmir, a heavily Muslim territory. Some radical Muslims tied him to a tree and two of them came with axes to kill him. The villagers asked him what his last wish was. He was crying, not for fear of being killed but for his wife and 5 children, the youngest was 2 and the oldest was 11. The oldest man in the village, who was 90 years old, arrived and told them to let him go for it was Israel’s first visit and the first mistake and it was the custom to forgive at least once. But if he and his family returned, they would be killed. He left and told another village about how he had been beaten by the mob. There police also arrested him and beat him, but he stayed there and preached. Now after five years there are four churches and over 400 baptisms.

Surimdra Lali received a diploma in civil engineering and was working for the government. He felt the call of God and went to CICM for three years of training. He is 15 kilometers north of Samo. There were 15 villages that have no Christian witness, and in one year 12 families have come to know Christ. He faces persecution and death threats by Hindu extremists. His own brother beat him and his wife. He sustained a broken skull, but he continues to preach. He is very sad right now because his 90 year old father has just passed away.

Mazid was a former Muslim and Hindu extremist, he was converted to Christianity while he was in prison. After he was released, his family gathered to beat him, but before they did, they said, "You must tell the difference between the Bible and the Koran, Jesus and Mohammed, and Islam and Christianity.” He knew to speak would infuriate them, but to be silent would be untrue to Jesus. He prayed for wisdom and the Spirit led him to say, "I will answer your question but first you must answer mine: what is the difference between the old Mazid and the new Mazid?” "Oh” they said, "It is like night and day; like earth and sky.” "That” he said, "is the difference between the Bible and the Koran, Jesus and Mohammed, and Christianity and Islam.” He now works with prisoners and he has preached to more than 50,000 in two years.

10/26/03 Sunday
My assigned topic to preach on was "Surrender Your Life" which I based on Matthew 10:37-39, "If anyone does not take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple!" This had a far different ring to it in India than anywhere else I've ever preached. And when I called those Christians to a social revolution through the preaching of Christ it has some very serious implications, especially given the fact that the loud speakers attracted the attention of passersby on the road just outside the camp. This was radical stuff! After the three hour serves, we marched (literally) down to the river in a triumphal procession to enjoy 22 baptisms, including the wife of one of the preachers. I must say, it was a striking way to conclude our momentous trip to India. This final picture is of a Hindu temple that has been locked up. You see, so many people in the village were converted to Jesus that it was abandoned . . . even by the former Hindu Priest.

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