Mission to India –  September 2004

Introduction & Purpose of Mission

In the year 2003 we received an invitation to visit Tanuku in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, to bring the Word of God, the healing power of Jesus Christ and material relief supplies to poor children in orphanages, hospital and those in prison. We recognise that a mission such as this will be a direct service to suffering humanity and an honour to our Lord Jesus Christ when He said:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. And the King [Jesus] shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 

Mission Field

The town of Tanuku in the state of Andhra Pradesh, southern India. Tanuku is a rural community of about 67,000 friendly but needy people. We will be guests to Spirit & Life Ministries led by Bishop John Mallipudi working hard to improve the lives of the people. By our missionary visit we hope to brighten up a little, their daily lives with through preaching the Gospel, healing the sick and sharing a few gifts and supplies to orphans and the poor.  Would send us with your gift (Romans 10:15)?

Mission Itinerary

Our Goal

1. To take the Gospel and the healing power of God to the poor in Tanuku, as Jesus commanded. (Matt. 11:5);
2. For us to see the real difficulties other people are going through in life and to see how we can share the little we have;
3. To show the kids love by supporting their feeding programme in the orphanages and to show them that God cares.
4. To learn how we can invest a part of our time and lives in other people who may not be related to us in anyway.

What Can You Do For Us?

We need partners to support the mission’s cash budget with cash donations for the obtaining supplies we are taking along.
All volunteers are working hard to raise sponsorship for their own airfare and hotel accommodations. Also very welcome are material donations for the kids such as used PC’s, toys, used-clothing and school supplies.
Cash/check donations may be sent to:
Mission To India
Rivers of Life Bible Church
(Stg. Powerline International Ministries) Amsterdam, The Netherlands Bank transfers marked “Mission to India” to this bank account:

NL27 ABNA 0440 8223 94

Report – Mission To India 2006

The Welcome

Plans for a missionary trip to India began in 2003 when we first Bishop John Mallipudi in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A casual friendship was struck between us which led to this trip. Originally planned in 2004, our first visit to Tanuku,a small town of about 90,000 residents in the Andhra Pradesh state of India fell through due to visa difficulties. We, however, managed to expressed our love and friendship in some practical ways
The trip to Tanuku consisted of a 9-hour flight into Hyderabad and another 9-hour onward journey by road. As you can imagine we arrived totally worn out and eagerly looked forward to a shower and some rest.
    In the photo above Bishop John (left) is seen talking with lady pastor Jemima who single-handedly with her few members are building the structure in the background which will house a children’s home and church premises. Facing the camera is bishop’s wife Kamala.       (Above, left) Rev. Larry with one of the youngest orphans (who had just lost parents through suicide). One place we had a rousing welcome was among the orphans – kids with no father or mother and in the most difficult circumstances and yet filled with joy and glowing smiles! The photo below shows their home.   Inside the dormitories of the orphans we saw some basic needs of the kids. The bunk-beds needed mattresses, bed- and pillow sheets, and some ceiling fans for the intense heat in those rooms. The boys and girls need clothes and some toys to enjoy their childhood.

The Villages

Our trip to the villages took us to these areas: Mukiralapadu, Wveluvennu, Chiwada, Mukkamala. We also visited churches in the tribal areas, which is a bush and mountainous region which are sometimes infiltrated by terrorist elements. We also were in Valangil, Srungagawaram, Achambeda, Siddiiwaribalam and Ramannajepalem. At each location we spent time to encourage with a few words and we prayed for the needs of the people. It was such a moving sight to see their hunger and faith for prayer.
   
Church meetings were being held in little houses, almost all the congregants sat on the floor. Their children were easily drawn by the churches, also the elderly. They readily lifted up their hands to God in worship with no compulsion whatsoever.     We saw also how polluted much of their drinking water has become mainly from unhygienic environmental causes. With the same water they bathed buffalos, washed clothes and also drank.     (Above) shows the type of flooding which pollutes their waters in the rainy season, (right) home of one pastor destroyed by Tsunami last year. We stood there to pray, believing God for divine help and favour for rebuilding.
    Inside one of the village churches in the tribal area, (right) a smiley welcome for Rev. Helen from pastor Jemima.

Some sights and sounds of India

As we drove from place to place we could not help noticing some of the usual landmarks of India; the statue of the gods proudly standing along the roadside, and the popular yellow autos.

The Convention

During this visit we were honoured to be one of the speakers on their annual convention. Rev. Larry spoke on the opening and closing nights of the 4-day programme. He also spoke during the pastors workshop. Revs. Larry & Helen (left) dedicating a book, (right) juxtaposed by Bishop John and wife.
(Below) on the podium with other Indian ministers. The convention was well-attended with crowds ranging between 3,000-5000 each night!     Participants in one of the evening convention meetings.
    The meetings never closed without prayer ministration to all of the crowd each night. We had to lay hands on every person and it was a moving sight to watch young and old scrambling for a touch from the Lord.

Pastors Workshop

There were about 300 pastors from different parts of the country in the 2-day Pastors’ Workshop. Most were local ministers, and among them were two from friendly ones Bangalore. Our presence appeared to have added an international flavour to the meetings.

Friends in Hyderabad

Above are young minister friends from Hyderabad. They took the trouble to travel 9 hours long to Tanuku only to come meet us for fellowship. For the first time we met them, though we have maintained email contact for nearly 2 years now. They were desperate to have us come along with them back to Hyderabad, so we managed to arrange that visit on our departure from Tanuku on March 29.
On arriving in Hyderabad we were taken by our friends to a gathering of eager believers waiting to see us and also to be ministered to. After a short worship we were given the chance to speak to the gathered believers. We spoke in English and the translation came across in Telugu (the local dialect).

Surprises in Hyderabad … just before departing India

We began to minister to the people and after we finished we left to board our flight back to Amsterdam. A few days after our arrival in Amsterdam the first miracle report came in. This man (upper photo) paralysed half-way down on his left was healed. We saw him with his stick walking earlier on, but after prayer his hand received strength. The report said that his healing was complete as he now walks without the stick. There were other testimonies came in from that brief encounter which space and time would not permit us to mention

What next?

The trip to India has really stirred up great compassion in us. We have since been sharing this heart-moving story at any given opportunity. It is not just about the poverty, or the orphans or the struggles of the people. It is about making a difference where it matters and at a given opportunity. We see this as having both an eternal and a historical significance for the people of Tanuku. The gospel will go down better with a dose of kindness than without it.

Projects

To make a tangible impact we have designed three main projects for Tanuku for which we need sponsors. No donation is too small or too big. All donations will be acknowledged in writing. Below are highlights of the projects:

• Orphanage – Improve lives of orphans of Spirit & Life Ministries. We will supply mattresses, blankets, clothes, toys, school materials and some cash.
• Clean water – Donate bore-holes for clean drinking water to 2 or 3 villages to the tune of € 2,500 each
• Dairy farm (Buffalo) – Assist some poor residents start a buffalo farm to earn a living. The target price is approximately € 2,000. Also to arrange adult literacy programmes because many did not go to school and could not read or write.

If this story has touched you and you will like to help support our efforts in Tanuku India, please email us at:
Contact information email us @: rolbc@live.com or
call +31(0)20-697-54-24 or +31(0)6-260-464-32. 
Donations should be marked Mission to India may be sent to bank account: NL27 ABNA 0440 8223 94  in the name of Stg. Powerline International Ministries.

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