God is at work in India!

Imagine that you are sitting in your church worshipping the Lord when suddenly the doors fling open and dozens of people walk in crying out “We too want to become Christians and follow the Lord Jesus Christ”.

What an awesome sight it would be!

This very thing happened in one of the fishing villages near Chennai recently.

Michael, a church planter works among a fishing community about 75 miles from the Hindustan Bible Institute in Chennai.

God has been using this simple village church planter mightily to bring many to Christ.

Just two weeks ago, Michael was visiting a new village looking for opportunities to build bridges into the community to share the love of God, while there he came across a large gathering in front of a hut.

People were shouting “open the door, open the door”. He quickly discovered that inside the hut a mother and three children had barred the door shut and were in the process of committing suicide.

Michael cried out: "Lord, At this very moment these people are dying without you! What should I do?"

Then Lord told him, "go through the roof".

He quickly told the people gathered outside to make a hole in the thatched roof, they then dropped a young boy inside the house so that he could open the door.

After the door was opened they saw the mother and her three children, they were unconscious and on the floor...the had already consumed the poison.

He continued to pray for them as they rushed to the hospital and later he stayed with them in the hospital throughout the night.

Miraculously God saved this family and the next morning Michael was able to share with them about the hope in Christ. They were so moved by the story of the hope found in Jesus that they invited him to visit more with them in their home back in the village.

Suicide is very common in India and it became clear that there was a spirit of darkness and suicide over this village. That next day Michael was able to share the Gospel with many village families. People opened their homes to Michael and those who had never before heard the Good News now learned of the hope found in Jesus.

During this time in the village Michael learned more of the suicide story: Ramesh, the father of the family had attempted suicide a few days earlier and it was in response that the mother and children made their attempt at suicide.

Upon hearing this Michael went to the home of Ramesh and told him about the the love of Jesus and the hope that is found in Him. God's Spirit spoke to him that day.

And on that day Ramesh and his family became followers of Jesus.

The following Sunday as Michael was conducting a worship service in a nearby village, he suddenly heard loud voices outside.

Looking toward the doors he saw dozens of people from Ramesh's village pouring into the church. They cried out saying “We also want to become Christians and follow the Lord Jesus Christ”.

On that day nearly 40 people began to follow Jesus....

God is at work in India!

All who call out to the Lord will be saved.

But how can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him?

And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? And how can anyone tell them without being sent by the Lord?

The Scriptures say it is a beautiful sight to see even the feet of someone coming to preach the good news!

Children of the red light district

Light Shines in Darkness



The darkest place..
There may be darker places …but this is the darkest that I have seen.

I witnessed the depravity of man last Monday… I visited a brothel. We all have heard of the scourge of human trafficking, of young girls sold into sex slavery.


On Monday these victims took on faces and names. Girls as young as 12 live out their horrific lives and the abuse continues with each new day . I don’t need to tell you about the unimaginable treatment they endure.

By-products? - Children of prostitutes
Adding to the tragedy are the children born to the young mothers. Fatherless and scorned by society they are innocent victims in the truest sense.

No place for the children.
When you think of a child you see them playing, laughing… coloring with crayons. Here most will sleep under the very beds that their young mothers are working upon. This is ugly and it's happening right now as you read this.

Bringing light
Believers have rented this brothel building and have converted it into a place of hope. For the children of prostitutes it provides schooling and daycare. For the prostitutes it serves as a teaching and training center providing job skills for when they escape prostitution.

These new believers are coming together to fellowship, to learn of the Savior to worship and sing, - they are starting a church.

Looking up
While I was listening to the songs of praise I looked up and noticed the curtain rods that were once used to divide the stalls, still hanging from the ceiling of this former brothel….But bright decorations hang from them now, colored by the hands of fatherless children.

I think this is where Jesus would have come to seek and to save…

Be part of the solution
Support the work of the International Justice Mission or one of the many advocates for the victims of human trafficking.

If you want to help these workers and keep the doors of this place of hope open contact info@harvestfrontiers.org.

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
James 1:27 (New Living Translation)

Avenging Elephants?

I have confirmation of this story from a believer from Orissa and for the record I believe it to be true. Read it for yourself:

They are calling them "Christian Elephants" as they seem to only destroy the homes of the people who persecuted Christians in the Kandhamal district of Orissa. For those unfamiliar with the significance of elephants in Hinduism, ...

Ganesha — the elephant-deity riding a mouse — has become one of the commonest mnemonics for anything associated with Hinduism. This not only suggests the importance of Ganesha, but also shows how popular and pervasive this deity is in the minds of the masses.

The Lord of Success - The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. In fact, Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga being the other four) whose idolatry is glorified as the panchayatana puja.

Ganesha is also the destroyer of vanity, selfishness and pride. He is the personification of material universe in all its various magnificent manifestations. "All Hindus worship Ganesha regardless of their sectarian belief," says D N Singh in A Study of Hinduism. "He is both the beginning of the religion and the meeting ground for all Hindus."

In July 2008 a severe persecution of Christians broke out in the Indian state of Orissa. A 22 year old nun was burnt to death when angry mobs burnt down an orphanage in Khuntpali village in Barhgarh district, another nun was gang raped in Kandhamal, mobs attacked churches, torched vehicles, houses of Christians destroyed, and Fr. Thomas Chellen, director of the pastoral center that was destroyed with a bomb, had a narrow escape after a Hindu mob nearly set him on fire. The end result saw more than 500 Christians murdered, and thousands of others injured and homeless after their houses were reduced to ashes. Recently a strange and dramatic event took place in Orissa, which has many people talking and wondering.

In recent months, herds of wild elephants have begun to storm villages that are home to some of the worst persecutors of Christians during the troubles. In one village, where in August a year ago the Christians had to run for their lives while their homes were being destroyed by rioters, a herd of elephants emerged from the surrounding jungle exactly one year later, in July 2009, at the same time of the day of the attack.

These elephants first attacked a rock crusher machine owned by a key leader of the persecution movement. They then went on to destroy his house and farms.

Hundreds of villagers have been forced to take shelter in camps in the Indian state of Orissa after repeated attacks by a herd of elephants.

Seven people have been killed and several others injured in attacks by a herd of 12-13 elephants over the past few weeks in Kandhamal district.

Over 2,500 people living in 45 villages have been affected by the attacks, district chief Krishen Kumar said.

It is, however, unclear why this herd of elephants migrated from the Lakheri sanctuary in a neighbouring district. He said the herd had travelled some 300km into Kandhamal, and even entered a town in the district. Wildlife officials were camping at the site of the attacks and trying to find out why the elephants had come out of their sanctuary. The villagers say elephants attack their areas in herds, causing heavy destruction.

Gaining momentum, they rampaged through other non-Christian homes, demolishing gardens and singling out the home of persecutors, leaving Christian homes untouched.

These strange attacks have spread, and according to a report, the elephants have already destroyed more than 700 houses in 30 villages, and killed five people. Nobody in this area has seen or even imagined the unique appearance of a herd of wild elephants such as this. The elephants are not ordinary elephants; they appear to be on a mission.

Typically, smaller elephants enter a village first, appearing to survey the community. They then rejoin the larger herd, and larger elephant soon follow and get the job done.

A ministry partner in India stated “We think that it might have something to do with the avenging the blood of martyrs. In fact the fear of God has fallen on the local people, who have labeled these elephants “Christian elephants.”

With little help coming from the administration, the villagers have taken to road blockades. "The elephants have destroyed crops and selected houses. But officials too express helplessness. "There is no permanent habitat of elephants in Sundargarh. They come from Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand where their habitats have shrunk. But is not clear how and why these elephants reached Orissa.

The seat beside me...

Two days ago I sat next to a well educated lady on a flight from Delhi to Mumbai. During most of the flight we sat quietly, she was reading the paper, I was trying to catch up on some sleep while listening to my ipod.

After awhile I noticed her reading a New Testament.

Considering that believers are around 2% of the Indian population I realized that this was not a chance encounter.

In hushed voices we fellowshipped together for the rest of the flight. I was able to share with her the purpose of my trip and first hand stories that I was hearing about the ever increasing harvest in her homeland.

Tears welled up in her eyes as I described the stories of the harvest, she and others have been praying for this to happen.

Just when I didn't think it could get any better God showed me something about prayer and the unique bond that we share in Jesus.

It started when I asked a simple question;
"Where are you from?"

She informed me that she was living in Mumbai but was from Orissa, a state in east central India, (Orissa most recently gained worldwide attention due to horrific persecution of Christians in August and September of 2008).

I asked her if she from anywhere near the Kandhamal district of Orissa (A district is like a county or township).

Her face lit up, surprised that an American would know the name of a district by name, even more so because that was her home district.

"How could you know of the name of my home district?"

I told her that Christians from across the world had been interceding for her and her fellow believers during the time of persecution.

She was totally floored, she had no idea.

"Really? Christians around the world knew and were praying for us?"
Then she became quiet as tears welled up in her eyes.

I sat there feeling awkward, I hate it when I make a girl cry.

Then it struck me.
I don't think I had understood the power of prayer or the bond that we share when we pray for one another. For this woman it was powerful because it reminded her that they were not suffering alone, that God had not abandoned them.

Not praying
At times I might be quick to say to "I will pray for you" only to forget, or I might be really concerned and burdened for someone but if I don't lift them before the throne then I have missed it. I don't think partially missed it, but totally missed it. I don't know if there will be regret in heaven, but I believe I will be able to look back and see the countless times when I should have prayed.

"I worried for you"
When my grandmother spoke those words she was saying exactly that: she was worried. For her it was her greatest way of showing concern for you. But it was not prayer and in fact, it sells God short. It is like going to the grocery store without going inside, that's crazy! When I enter the storehouse of prayer I access the very throne of God.

Go inside
Today we are moved by the suffering in places like Darfur and Haiti. Be faithful to pray, bring them before the throne of mercy and grace. Worry or concern is like waiting outside the store, go inside before the throne.

Prayer binds us
Back in 2008 when we were praying specifically for the persecuted believers of Orissa I had no idea that I would later share that moment on the airplane. Through the tender tears of this Indian believer I saw the body of Christ at work.

Fulfilling a promise
Anjali asked me to thank those who prayed, so on her behalf and from the believers of Kandhamal Orissa, thank you.

In eternity we will fully know but today be faithful to pray.



Be devoted to one another in brotherly love..
Be joyful in hope,
patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.
Romans 12



....the story continues, next time: The wild dogs and elephants of Kandhamal, you have got to hear this one.

Pray for me?

Church planters in Northern India

For some reason it has always been difficult to ask for prayer for myself. But I would really appreciate your prayers for me while I am on this trip.

I will be traveling throughout India during the month of March to review church planting workers we support as well as having meetings with a lot of people involved in church planting (some ground level church planters, regional leaders as well as with leaders of some national organizations). I will be trying to see and learn about what God is doing today in India.

Please pray for spiritual discernment and insight, for good travel connections, for leading and anointing as I teach, for my family at home while I am gone, for protection against spiritual attack, for safety (I’ll be traveling solo for a month via everything from jets to trains, scooters, and rickshaws).

From virtually all reports India is a nation in the midst of a spiritual explosion, some believe the greatest awakening in the history of the world is about to happen in India. I have heard reports that there are over a hundred churches being started each day and perhaps twice that many..it is so rapid and dynamic they have no way to get accurate numbers.

If you are interested in hearing about what God is doing in India I’ll try to keep you up to date with my discoveries. I have created a google map that has each location and dates as I travel feel free to check it out. I will describe my trip in greater detail there (because I know how much you will appreciate it mom!).

For security reasons you will need to send me a note to get the map URL, Just post a note here, on facebook or send me an email.

In the meantime, I appreciate your prayers.

I'm not sure when it all began...

How did I get here?

Maybe it was that Crazy Love book that I read.... maybe it was indigestion. In any case, about 3 years ago my life began to take a change in direction, gradually at times, rapidly at others..I had no idea that my heart could change so much or that it would lead me to where I am today... sitting in a hotel in Mumbai (Bombay) India.

When did it begin?
It began with a phone call from Miami that really made me ponder that "what if ?"question. I began to wonder what would my life have looked like if had the courage 30 years ago to sell out for the gospel, to trust God for my provision and to steward my gifts for a kingdom other than my own.

Regrets, obedience and gratitude
Do I regret taking the safe course and going into the business world? No, it was very much a life of ministry in its own way and I believe it is a calling as well. I am very grateful for that experience and for my business partners. Their graciousness has allowed me to make this change. But today, I believe I must utilize my gifts and talents in another direction.
Now it is about obedience.

Tonight.
3 years after that phone call I am on the other side of the world, surrounded by a billion plus people ... and they die at the rate of one every second and a half ....lost for all eternity.

But some believe that in this nation we are about to see the largest movement to Jesus in the history of the world. Awesome, what a ride.