CYSC Update February 2011

By His Grace we are all doing well. My wife Anupama has recouping well from her hernia operation. CYSC is committed to doing all that the Lord has placed in our hands – as we have been doing, since my dad -John- started it with just a few spiritual books in a couple of racks in a single tiled room about 15 years back, for youth in our area.

Over the years the Lord has blessed us with more than 5,000 square feet of built-up space and more than 4,000 sq. ft. of open space (on prime commercial property) dedicated to the youth ministry! We associate with over 50 local churches and children Sunday-schools to reach out to the youth and children in our area. At CYSC we attempt to place an emphasis on reaching out to the rural children/youth around Eluru.

Today, we have a well stocked spiritual library of nearly 6000 books donated generously by friends in Boone (especially Mr. Pope – Cornerstone Book Store) and efforts of John (dad).This facility is used by both secular students, bible students and pastors in our area.

cyscsewingcenterWe teach tailoring and embroidery to girl students. CYSC teaches music – singing and playing instruments, and also English language. We have a monthly village gospel outreach program to distribute gospel tracts and stop briefly at different locations sing gospel songs and give brief message to spread the good news around Eluru. Once a month, we also liaise with local and rural churches to gather kids in their area for an evening of gospel songs, message, puppet show/short film etc. and some snacks. CYSC center is also a place where some of the students from secular & professional colleges (medicine and engineering) gather regularly to have their spiritual meetings – we provide them with help and support (books/material, music, PA systems etc.). Some Christian organizations like Gideons, spiritual student youth organizations conduct their meetings in our premises. Few local churches that do not have baptismal water tanks use our facility. Apart from this we have weekly Friday Fasting prayers conducted which is usually attended by about 25 regulars. Each Thursday, we also conduct Senior Bible study taken by an experienced local pastor. We support several students and pastors and senior/widow ladies financially on a regular monthly basis.

The soup-kitchen facility at Eluru for seniors and widows is run 6 days a week, is attended by about 30 ladies. After a morning of devotion and Prayer Lunch is served at the premises and dinner is packed in boxes. By His grace we were able to provide them with new dresses (Sarees) and blankets in December for Christmas. They are blessed and we are too, because they are our prayer warriors. The Lord has placed a burden on my heart (in fall of 2009) to build them a permanent facility – where they can stay at the facility full time. We are praying about this.

The rural Bethesda Clinic at Srirangapuram village needs a regular doctor. At present we take a volunteer doctor from Eluru once a week to do look into the medical needs there and to distribute medicines. We are praying to have retired doctor who can stay at the facility full time and take care of the medical needs at the village and surrounding area.

Thank you for your prayers and support to CYSC, Eluru.

May the Lord bless you all,
With prayers,
Edwin

New Senior Ministry for GSSK

“Pure and undefiled religion before God our Father is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress…” James 1:27

Kamlesh and Ranu, like so many of our ministry partners are constantly modifying their ministry to meet the needs of the people they are reaching out to as well as to be obedient to the Lord as He leads and guides them. Before Kamlesh and Ranu took over the ministry of Good Samaritan Sewa Kendra (GSSK) from Ranu’s parents, the focus of the ministry was medical. When Kamlesh and Ranu joined GSSK their vision was to start a school for the cobra children and to continue evangelizing areas of Central India through mobile medical missions her parents operated. As Ranu’s parents’ health became an issue, the mobile medical ministry was replaced with village evangelism. Those ministries continue today and continue to grow. What started as a single school five years ago has now grown to two school compounds with four separate buildings with over 250 students. The outreach continues to spread to more small villages and numerous house churches hold regular Bible studies.

seniorswithranuandyoungchildrenThe Lord has continued to work on the hearts of Kamlesh and Ranu, and over the years they have helped widows and their children as they could. The rewards of this ministry are very satisfying, and the Lord has blessed Harvesters with the funding to help to support this ministry on a regular basis. We are praying that the Lord will grow this fledgling ministry by supplying additional supporters.

The ministry is more than just an outreach to widows, although they are an important part of the group. Kamlesh and Ranu have designed a ministry to meet the growing needs of seniors. As the couple watch their own families aging, the Lord has placed the needs of this large group of individuals on their heart. During the Christmas season they held a special fellowship for seniors which included a lunch and festivities. Fun was had by all!

This is just another example of Harvesters mission to come alongside national missionaries and partner with them to fulfill their visions. Our partners live in the communities and know the needs far better than we ever would. We count it a privilege to be the fund raising arm for those who are working in areas such as Kamlesh and Ranu where we, as westerners, would have difficulty working. We are blessed to provide for the feet of those who share the Good News.

Hope Out of Darkness

In October, a friend of mine and I had the opportunity to travel to Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It had been over a year since I had been there and I was eager to go back. Congo is one of those places where years of struggle are evident. The people wear it in their eyes and, many have the scars to show on their bodies. You can see the scars on the sides of buildings, in the lack of infrastructure, in the countryside, and in a calloused spirit. We went there to visit and encourage Harvesters’ partner, The Union of Baptist Churches of the DRC. We went to visit their children’s home, look into taking a team there next year, and to visit churches in the rural areas. I’ve always seen Congo as a tough place and somewhere that was good for a visit but good to leave. This time was different. I saw something beyond the scars, past the hard roads, and through the years of conflict and fighting. I saw healing and opportunity for the Gospel. I saw hope.

There is hope in eastern DRC now. The fighting has ceased between rebel and government forces. Most groups have disbanded and village life throughout the rural areas, where most of the conflict took place, is getting back to normal. There is a sense among many that their lives can begin again, even for the first time, after so many years under the slavery that is war.

The Church in Goma and in the rural areas is growing. Pastors and evangelists are going out and planting churches in many unreached villages. Existing independent churches are joining The Union to bring unity among believers in a region that has struggled with years of conflict and division. Throughout the whole Church those that are coming to Jesus Christ are increasing all the time. God is working mightily in a region that has faced so much trouble and unrest for so many years.

Harvesters will be taking its first team to DRC, July 9 – 23, 2011. This medical team will travel to rural areas for mobile clinics and evangelism alongside local pastors and evangelist. These are areas where so many have suffered from the effects and insecurity of the conflicts. Many have never received healthcare and few have ever heard of Jesus Christ. This sign of compassion and service from the Church opens many doors for the Gospel as evangelists push out further into the rural areas. These teams have been very effective alongside of Pokot Outreach Ministries in Kenya and it is Harvesters’ desire to continue this team for years to come in an effort to help these pastors and evangelists plant churches.

Pastors and evangelists are on the front lines of spreading the Gospel throughout eastern DRC and they deserve our support and encouragement. These men work tirelessly for the sake of the Gospel and go without any type of financial support or income. Their families suffer but it is in joy as they serve Jesus Christ together. They need our support. If you would like to begin encouraging and supporting one of these pastors or evangelist, click here. Thank you for being a part of what God is doing in and around Goma, DRC. God is using you to make a difference.

Pokot Outreach Ministry-December Update

Dear Prayer Partners, Greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord.

We hope that our letter finds you well and that December season will be a good one for you this year.

For us, we are doing fine as a family. Josephine is doing well and going on with her studies in Oakland Christian in MI. The Erickson’s have given her a basement room to herself. We thank God for the Erickson’s kindness in sharing their home with our daughter and we are also grateful to a Bible study group in Kensington Church for helping to pay Josephine’s fees.

Rebecca and Miriam have gone home for December break. Jumboy is happy to have company and playmates. He has two more years before going to boarding school. So his mom will not be lonely, he offered to take her to Boarding school when his time comes to go.

December for Rachel is usually very busy and filled up with meetings and fellowships.

Church Planting and Evangelism

The December month has a lot of different eventful activities to different people. For our people who are animists and tribal it just means nothing because they have no knowledge of the person Jesus Christ. Our prayer, over the years has been that God enables us to make this month and time have a meaning to them. To be able to do that, we have feasts here and there that bring people together and we teach them about the meaning of Christmas and the person of Christmas.

Yearly Youth Conference is another gathering that we bring Pokot young people together for a week to teach them about Jesus. This year’s youth conference brought together 700 young people from various parts of Pokot land. About 90 of them came forward to receive Jesus.

As the year ends, there is happiness and settlement because there is pasture and water available. Rain has been plenty this year and people had a good harvest across the land. This will really enhance the discipleship efforts we are making. Pastor Reuben is having abundance of fruit out of the October medical team that worked along Kenya-Uganda border. As he visits the villages, the hearts of the villagers are really softened and are ready to hear the Jesus that made medical provision last October.

Pastor Peter Siwa of Turkwel has been praying to be able to take the gospel to Korokou Mountain. This prayer has been answered and there are 3 new congregations that regularly meet now.

Orphanages

As the year winds up, we thank God for provisions made this year. We have been able to buy clothing, repair beds and make new ones for the children, replace some of the equipments in the kitchen, dorms etc.

Health in the homes have also been good. We however lost one child who was involved in a road accident when a vehicle he was traveling in rolled down hill killing him instantly.

The academic and social performance of the Children in the Society also is very good and well received.

Kodich children performed in District, Provincial and National levels in music and drama. So we are very thankful to God for those of you that have so sacrificially given particularly Kennsington Community Church and some others.

It is our prayer that we have a new year that will be filled up with joy.

Water Drilling

We did very well this year providing water for our thirsty people. While counting our blessings for this year, we are at the same time looking prayerfully into next year for God to provide so we can continue to drill and provide water. We still have a lot of areas that are largely without water and your prayers are needed.

Health in places like Rukey, Chermuluncho, Kokwokales and others have really improved and there is a lot of testimony to that extent. That is to say that water is really a very important element in our ministry. Waterfall project is finished. What is left now is the farm activities that need Israeli organic experts for organic farming and also the pipes money for the actual farm work.

It is a project that a lot of people look forward to its outcome for food security.

May God bless you and give you a merry Christmas and a happy 2011.

Pray for:

  • Pastor Reuben in new “battle ground”
  • Also pray for Pastor Peter in the mountains
  • Pray for the young people who came to the Lord and are facing Challenges in the village.
  • Pray that God will provide for water drilling in the new year.
  • The waterfall farm work need for pipes and hosepipes for irrigation.

Sincerely yours in His bonds
Julius Murgor

A Different Christmas

It’s that time of year again – the wreaths adorn the doors, the rooftops sparkle with lights, a tree fills the living room and presents in brightly colored papers and ribbons overflow like a sea of surprises. There are the wonderful smells of the spruce boughs and the cookies baking in the oven. There is the little manger on the mantle and the sound of carols echoing through the house. It is a mystical scene that stimulates the senses of the young children and strikes fear into the hearts of parents hoping they have selected the perfect gifts and that the dinner will come out of the oven perfectly.

eveningperformanceThis stereotypical picture is not what our partners in India experience during this time of year. Christmas is much more sedate and much more geared to evangelism, especially for our partner in Eluru. This is a time for a huge outreach to young and old alike. The ministry throws an annual Christmas party for children that generally has over 1,000 in attendance. The gifts are small with only one per child, but they are dearly cherished. The widows are always delighted to receive a new item of clothing as the Lord provides. There is little external display of the season as the Hindu religion frowns on the celebration of Christmas.

Christian Youth Service Center (CYSC) combines with their partnering churches to do outreach during this time of year. The young people practice carols and dramas that they present in various local village squares. For us here in the US caroling is a fairly common occurrence, but in India a permit is required for each specific location. Last year, the Lord did an amazing work in the hearts of the local police who voluntarily controlled the traffic and the crowd and actually requested that the program be extended. Contacts were made with the Gideon’s last year and this year the plan is to distribute Bibles at the event – please pray for this as currently it is forbidden by the government. Sharing the Word is difficult at best and open festivities recognizing the birth of Christ are greatly monitored. We should feel blessed that for the most part in this country we are free to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior as we choose.

We praise the boldness of our partners serving in areas where we cannot. Their lives are constantly under the microscope and frequently they are in great danger. Please pray that this year’s outreach by CYSC would bring many to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Newsletter from Pastor Habimana

Thanks for your prayers. The Faith training begun on 25th as I informed you and ended on 28th with 36 participants.

How it was organized and its impact:

Heekima church has 10 local churches under its leadership and the objective was to train evangelist’s leaders of these local churches to be well equipped with the word of God. Each local church sent three participants, and Kiwandja church and Rubaya Church sent 5 evangelists. Those evangelists were not yet trained for the ministry.

Hekima church, the mother church provided food and transportation for the participants. Athanase and Pascal was teaching from the beginning up to the end . We divided the sessions and as it was in local language Kiswahili, it was easy for the participants to follow. We had to start from 8:30 and stopped at 5:00 in the evening.

The second day at 13:30 we sent participants in the field for practice in order to evaluate if their understood what they learned. We divided them into 6 groups, and the practice was well done, and they witnessed 74 people who accepted Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Saviour Teaching continued the third day and ended at 1:30.

After finishing, we heard from participants relating to the training. In general they said:

  • This was new for us
  • We didn’t knew how to explain faith
  • We do not have believers in our respective churches because we are ignorant
  • What we do is to invite people to be visitors on Sunday services without witnessing to them
  • We didn’t know how to proceed when witnessing

Benefits

They learn about the key question which helped them to introduce their witness

The whole teachings about faith-Imani helped them a lot and they was very interested

Decision

Everyone back home saying that he is going to witnessing and if possible plant one church, and have opportunity to teach Imani-Faith in their churches in order all members can know what to do with the unbelievers. Thank you once again for your prayers and financial support.

May God bless you

Sincerely,
Athanase Habimana

Harvesters’ Board of Director Approves New Partner

On Saturday morning, September 11, 2010, the Board of Harvesters International Ministries voted unanimously to approve our first Ugandan Partner, To Africa with Love. The ministry is headed by Pastor Samuel Mwesigwa and his wife Mercy, both graduates of the East Africa School of Theology. The ministry, which began in 2007, is located in the eastern part of Uganda in the Muslim area of Pallisa. There are already 160 people in the church that Pastor Samuel planted. Pastor Samuel is also the assistant director of his father’s ministry, Canaan Children’s Transit Center. Pastor Samuel and Mercy have started their own children’s home which currently cares for 12 orphans and they are operating 4 Children’s Bible clubs and feeding those in need.

mwesingwafamilyTo Africa with Love provides training to indigenous pastors and church leaders and Pastor Samuel is the Africa Director of Face 2 Faith ministries based in North Carolina. Pastor Samuel is passionate about his service to the Lord and has travelled extensively throughout several different African nations discipling national pastors and evangelists in their own countries.

Harvesters is thrilled to add another dedicated pastor to the fold and we pray that as we continue to tell of Samuel and his ministry that you will be moved to assist this ministry through prayer and financial support. During the next few weeks we will be adding more information about To Africa with Love to our web page, so check back to see pictures and read stories of this young and growing ministry.

There’s Joy in the Journey

Having just returned from Kenya and planning to go back again in September, the Lord has been working on my heart in many ways. I have seen struggling and hardship, I have experienced heart-ache and I have sensed desire. Meditating on these different emotions has brought me to a new place in my walk with the Lord and my service to Him.

My desire is to serve the Lord where He wants me to be, my want is to be overseas and I find it harder each time I go to come back. My calling is to serve Him here in South Carolina through not only Harvesters, but through my church, to my Mom and to Emma. My dilemma is how to make all the pieces work together to bring glory to Him and give me peace in my soul.

The recent trip to Lomut was a great experience – I was again given the privilege of working with young people from Callahan, Florida. The group of 4 girls, 1 boy and a dynamic youth leader was wonderful. This was the first trip out of the country for the 17 year olds, and I was amazed at how well they adjusted and how open they were to share their lives, their struggles and their hopes for the future.

Our service location was a secondary school that the home church of this group had been instrumental in starting. Our work project was painting the classrooms and the dorm and evangelism as well as encouragement to the believers.

The team enjoyed their time with the children who lived around the school and a special bond was built with some of the team members and the pastor’s elder daughter, Dorcas.

The little children we loved on and held tickled and chased with a time to really be children. Many as young as 5 or 6 were toting younger siblings on their back and were the primary caretakers for these little ones, so it was wonderful to see the joy on their faces as they did simple things like blow bubbles and play jump rope.

One of the areas where the Lord convicted me the most was in the area of evangelism – an area of my life that is definitely lacking when I am in the States. We discussed as a team why it is so much easier to witness to people we do not know and may never see again than it is to witness to our family, friends and neighbors. The Lord really grew the team in boldness as we had one incredible evangelism afternoon in East Pokot.

The team arrived at a church plant in Nyangaita – a small two room hut with about 30 of us crammed inside. As we questioned the leadership it was evident that they were starved for discipleship and only have one Bible for the entire church. We were able to share with them how to use the Evange-Cube since many of the older people in the area did not read. We were able to leave the elders with pocket Evange-Cubes and they were thrilled to have this new tool available to them. We took a short walk across a bridge that separated East and West Pokot and walked to a market on the East side. It was a bustling place with about 150 people in traditional Pokot attire.

The Lord instantly told me that this was the place to do one of the dramas that the team had been practicing. When I told the team to move into a open space in the center of the market to do the skit they looked at me like I was from the moon, but the pastor started clearing the area and telling people to gather around and soon the team realized this was a divine appointment. It was our best day of evangelism and there were about 6 sincere commitments to the Lord, though after the pastors encouragement many more raised their hands, but some of those were about 6 sincere commitments to the Lord, though after the pastors encouragement many more raised their hands, but some of those were the people from the church who had come with us.

A Harvest that is more than the crops it yields

“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” (John 4:35)

After many years of prayer, sharing the need and seeking financial assistance, Harvesters International Ministries is grateful to the Lord for providing a farm tractor and cane trailer for the Grace Outreach Mission. Pastor Phillip and his wife Rose never stopped believing that the Lord would provide for their need in His perfect timing and now we are pleased to say the He has.

Grace Outreach Mission is a multi-faceted ministry comprised of an orphanage, a church, a small Christian Library and computer center, a new secondary school, a fish pond project and many acres of maize and sugar cane. Until this past month, the work of harvesting the crops has all had to be subcontracted, which not only reduces the profits, but also has frequently resulted in crops rotting because the ministry has been on a waiting list.

newgomtractorThe new equipment will permit an expansion of the crops that are currently being produced, but more than increasing the crop harvest, it will permit the ministry to harvest more souls by offering crops at a fare price, slightly lower than market, but opening doors to share the love of Christ. This gift of the Lord will be used to bring honor and glory to Him, and we praise Him for all His provisions and for His perfect timing.

A driver will be training this month on the operation of the tractor and after that he will become a part of the Grace staff. We look forward to seeing how the Lord uses this piece of equipment to share Himself to others who may not know him. We thank Him for its provision and we pray that it enables more new projects to move forward.

Each of our partners’ needs is different and each casts a different vision depending on the people groups they have been chosen to minister to. We praise the Lord for the way He is using agriculture to reach the people in Uriri, Kenya. We see how Phillip and Rose continue to add to their vision each year to open more doors for sharing Christ. Their new secondary school, although only mud and stick at this time is the only secondary school in the area, so the opportunities to share Christ with young people is wide open. We thank you for your prayers for this ministry and for your financial support to help visions to become realities.

Hard Work Pays Off

After a successful pastor’s and evangelist’s training session in November, there has been increases enthusiasm and hard work by the attendees for sharing the Gospel with the Buddhist people of Myanmar. Evangelism is extremely difficult in this beautiful nation that is under the rule of a military Junta, but God is faithful and has protected those from the training session who are sharing the Good News. The Lord’s presence is evident in Myanmar – believers are increasing and many are being baptized.

baptizingayoungboyThere are many who still need to hear, but transportation is difficult as few people own cars. Taxis, which are old, unreliable and expensive and even the bus system does not run to many of the more remote areas of the country. To effectively reach those beyond the limits of public transportation more effectively than on foot, pastors and evangelists need bicycles or motorbikes to be able to access those who long to hear the Gospel in a reasonable amount of time.

The Lord continues to train workers in Myanmar, and as He does so, we pray for new church plants that will continue to stretch beyond the city boundaries and the tight thumb of the Junta. Our partners in Myanmar pray for the day when the entire nation will have heard the Gospel message and when churches will not be under persecution. Please join us in praying for our partner and the workers the Lord has given him that the publications, message and witness will reach the hearts of many and that they will continue to be faithful until the Day of Jesus Christ.