ஒவ்வொரு நாட்டின், பழங்குடி மக்கள், மற்றும் மொழி: Vision 2000

Today's schedule worked out much more systematically than yesterday's! Although, as with any moment in time where one is allowing God to lead them, things did happen to change today also. We began this morning by traveling to the community college hostel and giving a morning teaching to the students. As with yesterday - and as will be for the next two weeks - we stopped to admire the landscape prior to entering the hostel. Today's teaching was on prayer and how prayer has worked in the lives of the students. Tough crowd, let me tell you what. Many of these students do not believe in Christ and as such have nearly no Bible literacy. After testing the waters by using a few different styles of teaching, we began to realize that it is up to the Lord God to strike the hearts of these young people, not our cleverly devised teaching styles. Tomorrow morning will be spent in reliance upon the Holy Spirit to speak in ways we never could. Pray that Christ would make Himself known tomorrow through a teaching on "In the Beginning was God and Love."

After our time with the students, we made our way back to Sharon Campus where we met up with our mom's for breakfast and prayer. Their day was packed. The WWM conference is now in full swing and today was the first day devoted entirely to the conference. Did I mention that by saying a "day" devoted to the conference I meant 12 hours? Yes , these women are training - and sitting under training - for 12 hours (with an hour lunch break somewhere in there)! Incredible devotion!

After breakfast we were picked up by our driver and taken to the India Gospel League office where we met our good friend - and translator - Asap. Someone had mentioned to Asap that Jeff and I would be teaching at the office during this morning's extended prayer time... that was false. Asap was just as confused as we were (as he was the one who had prepared teaching material). Asap gave an excellent teaching from the book of Nehemiah on leadership. After Asap's teaching, Jeff and I were called to the front to give our testimonies as an encouragement to the believers present. We have also been told to use our testimonies as an opportunity to proclaim the gospel to the non-Christians who are present.

Next on our agenda was attending the Vision 2000 church planter's conference held at the nearly 100 year old YMCA in Salem. This conference is comprised of 50+ church planters and regional coordinators. The regional coordinators oversee 200 church planters (barefoot pastors) in their region. The conference began at 11am and continued until 3:30pm. Training, teaching, and equipping, as well as submitting updated reports on ministry activities going on in each region spanned the duration. During the teaching portion of the conference, Jeff and I began to interview several of the regional coordinators and a barefoot pastor. We collected updates on their ministries, their names, and their regions in which they operate. After our interviews, Jeff and I gave our testimonies to the pastors.

Best of all, some of these pastors have a direct relationship with our church (Xenos Christian Fellowship)! Jeff and I met several pastors and coordinators who maintain their ministries - and lives - under sponsorship by members in our church. In fact, we met - or at least made eye contact with and gave our testimony to - Colin Sprayberry's sponsored pastor, Tori Marzullo's sponsored pastor, Dennis and Holly McCallum's sponsored pastor, and many others. Let me encourage each one of you; the reports that Jeff and I looked over included an average of 4 salvations per page (this is a monthly conference; reports are each month). 50+ attended this conference, 40+ of them are regional coordinators overseeing 200 church planters. You do the math. God's hand is sweeping across India and snatching millions from the fire. Pray that more will get involved in sponsoring barefoot pastors. Pray that these pastors will remain healthy and be able to break the gospel into new regions.

Tomorrow we will be with our mom's, and hundreds of women, for twelve hours conducting video interviews and collecting testimonies. Pray for US. Just kidding ;). But for real, pray for us.