Impacting the Youth for Christ!
April 27, 2024 Update
Dear RHM Friends,
Greetings in the Name of our Precious Lord JESUS.
"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe." 1 Timothy 4:12
Certainly one of the best ways to impact this generation of young people is to be a good example of Christ ourselves. We could accurately say that within the young person's heart, they will spit upon a message (words) that are not followed up with good character. Satan has successfully used bad examples and countless different doctrines to cause much confusion within the minds of our youth. No matter what profession they might make with their mouth, so many have become skeptics or atheists in practice because of all the lack of Christ that they see within His professing Church. Let's cry out to the Lord, starting with ME, that He would change our hearts so that our life and doctrine would more accurately reflect Him to those around us.
I was planning to only include one or 2 photos from our recent boys trip to the big city of Vizag (about 2 million population). The boys and young men just returned yesterday (the 26th), and when I saw the photos it touched my heart. I am very thankful that we have young men who are walking with the Lord and trying to impact the hearts of the boys we are reaching out to in this ministry. Please see the photos below to learn a little more about the boys trip, and how their lives were hopefully impacted for His glory.
Please pray with us, as we are bringing a couple of our girls into the rented home of a Godly woman who helps us in ministry (photo & caption below). As many of you know, I was part of a children's home in India for many years, but the children we are working with now, we go and share JESUS with them at their own homes, sharing with their family. The children's backgrounds are about the same as the backgrounds of the children in many children's homes and hostels, but there are certainly different dynamics & challenges involved in both scenarios. I'm not sure where the Lord is leading with this, but for various reasons some children are better off away from their relatives and staying with Godly people to raise them. Please pray for the Lord's direction and provision in this matter.
I hope our donors actually read this! I share this occasionally, but it's important to say it again and again: THANK YOU for standing with us through your prayers and support! Every prayer makes a difference, and every dollar counts, whether it's a few dollars a month or hundreds. We are thankful. BLESS YOU!
"
He who is generous will be blessed, f
or he gives some of his food to the poor." Proverbs 22:9
Brother Dan
"So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith." Galatians 6:10
|
|
|---|
|
ABOVE: Brothers Raju and Marthababu took 16 boys (ages about 8 to 16) and 3 college age boys on a trip to Vizag (short for Visakhapatnam), the most populous city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where we do almost all our work in India. I also went there one time with a group of girls, but don't remember this place where they are standing.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: This brother sitting before the boys is a pastor in Vizag. He has a wonderful testimony to share with the children, how the Lord has helped him to overcome the obstacles of blindness, poverty, a wife with one leg that was amputated, and persecution from the surrounding community. Yet the Lord has blessed his family and ministry over the years. He has 3 daughters, all of them marrying Godly men who are doing ministry. One of his sons-in-law helps him to run the ministry in this church, which he let our group of 21 use to sleep in, etc. while they were in Vizag for a couple of days. Praise the Lord!
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Raju is sharing with the boys, either in morning or evening devotions. This is always a priority wherever we take the children.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Such a blessing to see boys seeking, praying and worshipping the Lord. The older college students all have been born again and seem to be solid in their relationship with the Lord. Many of the younger boys are limited in their knowledge of Christ, but they are learning. Most all of these boys are faithful to come to our meetings, house gatherings and excursions when possible.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Pavan is the young man teaching the boys from the Bible. He has finished college and is praying about getting a job soon. He had one of the highest ranks (best grades) in his college, and is a good example for the boys.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Very nice to see these boys Pavan (left, now going into the 7th grade) and Moses (5th grade) playing together. They also go to the same school together. Both have gone through terrible tragedies in recent months, Pavan's father unexpectedly dying of a heart attack on Christmas Eve, and Moses' mother unexpectedly dying in early October of some kind of seizure. Please pray for these boys, Pavan's little brother Danny also in the group that went on this trip.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Beautiful scenery with the Bay of Bengal in the background. Vizag is an eastern coast city with a large harbor and many activities.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Here they are at the harbor, with a small part of the city of Vizag in the background. We are so thankful for these young men in the boys' lives! Brothers Raju (far right) and Marthababu (4th from the left) lead the children's ministry, but we cannot overemphasize the importance of having young men in the boys' lives who are strong in their walk with GOD. These college boys in the photo (from left, the taller boys on the back row) are Samuel (fully recovered from a motorcycle accident he had a few months ago), Pradeep and Pavan.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: One of our widows, Danay, lost her house in a fire just a few days ago. We don't know yet how this happened, but she lost all her clothes, everything. Probably more than one year ago we asked you to pray for Danay, who was having signs of dimentia. She's still not doing well in her mind, but has been staying by herself. She has 2 sons, but they are not believers and won't take full responsibility for her. Please pray for this Sister.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Bro. Raju sharing with Sai (13) after he was hit by a motorcycle a few weeks ago (he also was riding a motorcycle). He had many injuries, but according to scans, no broken bones or internal problems. We had hoped he could come with the boys to Vizag, but he needs more rest. Pray for Sai.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: The older woman, Vasantha Kumari, is the grandmother of these 2 little girls. Her husband left the family around 2008 and married another woman (many people in India don't bother with getting a legal divorce; they simply leave and "marry" another). She now stays with her son, the husband/father of this young lady and her children. He helps her some, but feels it is a burden to care for his own wife & children, and his mother, too. He had taken a loan in his mother's name, but hasn't been paying it back properly. The creditor was coming to her for the money, so she said something to her son about it. He beat her very badly. Please pray for Vasantha, who suffers with severe diabetes, especially affecting her feet.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: This is Sai Bhavya and Bhavya Sri playing together. Sai Bhavya (left) is now 13, and Bhavya Sri is now 11. Both have no parents and stay with their grandmothers. Both grandmothers have their struggles keeping the girls with them, educating them, providing for them and keeping them safe. Sai Bhavya's grandmother (both grandmothers are on our widows list) had a stroke recently and isn't able to work. Because of their situations, we're planning to keep these girls (at the grandmothers' request) with a Godly woman who is doing ministry with us. We don't know if the Lord is slowly leading us into having a children's home, but it definitely is a bigger expense for the ministry when the children need full care: food, clothes, housing, medical needs, education... Please pray with us for the Lord's direction and provision for those children needing more care.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Because of a delay in getting leaves, it took 2 or 3 months after Cyclone Michaung hit in December to rebuild some huts for these poor villagers. Please pray for these precious people. Truly, the Lord has given them so much love for several years now, but few of them understand. The two women to the right are faithful believers, trying to influence the others. Most of the men are alcoholics. A few of the children in these families come regularly to the Sunday School.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: The bride is Sindhu, whom we have known for many years, and who occasionally has participated in our village or Sunday School meetings. She's a nice believer. She's flanked by her younger sister Mercy (yellow dress) and one of her cousins, Amani. The bridegroom's name is Naresh Kumar, whom I have only met one time at their engagement. Pray for a Christ-centered marriage.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Your donations are sponsoring about half of the nursing college expenses for 3 of the older girls, Sibani & Leya (2 older girls on the left) and Deepa (older girl on the right). All are from the state of Orissa, previously part of a children's home called Morning Star which we were a part of from 2011 thru 2020. Leya is now doing her internship in Hyderabad, the other 2 studying not far from where we do most of the ministry. Leya and Deepa's father was one of 7 men falsely accused of killing a Hindu priest, which incited much rioting and persecution in Orissa in 2008. After 11 years in prison, he is now out and with his family. Pray for these 3 girls, especially for their spiritual lives.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: Brother Marthababu is sharing the Word with Sister Sunitha and her daughter Shainy. This brother and his wife Pavani try to visit them once a week. Sunitha has an older boy, Srujan, but he was having late classes in school this particular night. Sunitha's husband, the father of the 2 children, passed from Covid in 2021. We are thankful the Lord put us into their lives, and vice versa.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: A very nice gathering of children and adults for a prayer meeting at Martha and Mary's home. Only 4 of the children are neighbors we're not involved with, all the others being children and adults we see regularly. Please pray for the Lord's provision for the children's ministry, and His precious anointing upon those who are laboring among the people.
|
|
|
|
|
ABOVE: We thank GOD for the projector, screen and accessories from Christmas Project 2023 funds! This is a film about the suffering of the Cross at a meeting in a home on Good Friday of this year, March 29th. Though not as easy to see during the daytime, the message of the Cross is still
"the power of GOD for salvation to everyone who believes." Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18
|
|
|
|
|
"Whatever you do, do all things to the glory of GOD." 1 Corinthians 10:31 |
|
|---|
|
|