Christmas, End of the Year
December 30, 2024 Update
Dear RHM Friends,
Greetings in the Name of our Precious Lord JESUS.
"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad." Psalms 126:3
It has been a challenging year financially, but because the Lord blessed us with a larger amount of funds during November and December of 2023, we haven't had to make any big cuts in any area of ministry. We are thankful for that! Our Christmas Project for this year was fully funded, so we were actually able to do more this year than last. Praise the Lord! As partially mentioned in one of the captions below, mostly from the 16th thru the 25th of this month we conducted 12 different meetings in 8 or 9 different towns & villages. This doesn't include the distribution of clothes and sharing the Word with our widows & elderly in various villages and towns this month. Everything was to lift up the Name of JESUS, Who came down to this sinful earth to redeem mankind. We totally trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring forth lasting fruit as a result of all these meetings.
This will be our last appeal for end of the year donations. Please pray about helping us end financially strong in 2024! If you want to make a donation that will be applied to 2024 giving, you need to make a donation online before January 1st (you can make an online donation via our "Donation/Give" link above). If you send a check through USPS, then it must be postmarked no later than December 31st. We have had donors give a donation postmarked after December 31st, hoping it would be applied to the previous tax year. Unfortunately, because of IRS rules it had to be applied to the year when it was postmarked. Regardless of whether or not you give, please keep us in your prayers.
Please see and read the photos & captions below. These captions always give you things that you can pray for, as well as rejoice with us for what the Lord is doing in the lives of our precious Indian friends.
Thank you ALWAYS for your love, prayers and support! Bless you, and have a Happy New Year!
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
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ABOVE: Our Brother Wesley conducted a Christmas meeting in the village of Anandapuram. Here the children are having a candlelight service, the lit candles representing Christ JESUS, the Light of the World and the "Sunrise from on High" (Luke 1:78). Most of these children are part of Hindu families.
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ABOVE: This Christmas gathering was in a village we call NR Thota. This was our biggest gathering during the Christmas season, many of the children, parents, grandparents, widows and elderly we regularly work with attending. Very few have cars or motorcycles, so transportation is a big challenge. This is the same place we have a weekly meeting on Sundays, inviting all who can come.
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ABOVE: After the meeting in NR Thota, there was a big feast for all the people who attended. Some women help with the cooking, but it's mostly the men who will serve the food. Brother Marthababu (one of our children's workers) is on the far right.
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ABOVE: Sweet children in the village of NTR Colony. We asked you to pray for Bhavana, who lost her husband recently. I'm not very familiar with her 3 boys, but I'm suspecting that they also are in this photo. The man in the back (dark shirt or coat) is Bhaskara Rao, who helps with the Sunday School in this village church. Brother Philip (man in the white shirt, also a veterinarian) is pastoring this church.
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ABOVE: Brother Prasanth is leading a Christmas Gospel meeting on the roof of a rent house where one of our families is staying. We had 4 such meetings in different areas. Praise the Lord for the opportunity for the people to hear the Gospel!
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ABOVE: This is the main staff of people carrying out the RHM ministry in India. From left are: Pavani (children's ministry), Jhansi (widows & elderly ministry), Mary (children's ministry), Pavani (children's ministry), Prasanthi (administration work), Prasanth (overseeing much of the ministry and Prasanthi's husband), Wesley (widows & elderly ministry), Raju (children's ministry and Pavani's husband) and Marthababu (children's ministry and Pavani's husband, the Pavani to the far left). Please pray for our staff, for His anointing upon the ministry and blessing upon all their lives.
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ABOVE: Brother Philip is sharing the Word in a Christmas gathering in a village called Marruproluvaripalem (Marrupro for short). We are assisting 3 children in this village with either education or medication and food, including 2 of the girls in the photo below.
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ABOVE: I like this photo very much; almost looks like a painting. During the meeting in Marrupro (previous photo), Akshaya (left), her sister Abhinaya (right) and 2 neighbor girls are singing a song. I'm not sure the name of the bigger girl in the middle, but the little one's name is Sharon, the daughter of a Sunday School teacher in this village.
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ABOVE: This are boys in one of the Sunday School classes that Brother Bhaskara Rao (right) is helping us with, this one in the village of Chinthayapalem. They all received new books (either story or biography) during the Christmas gathering.
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ABOVE: Four of the children we are involved with (Martha, Mary, Veni, Shine) live very near to this meeting place. This was maybe the 2nd of 12 Christmas gatherings conducted from the 16th thru the 25th of this month (4 Gospel meetings in neighborhoods, 6 Christmas meetings in 6 different villages with Sunday School children, our staff meeting, and our biggest meeting in NR Thota). Here girls are singing.
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ABOVE: Unexpectedly it started to rain during the above meeting (previous photo), so they had to stuff everyone inside one of the nearby homes. It was still a blessed meeting, but perhaps not as comfortable. The advantage of the outdoor meetings is that more neighbors and unbelievers will also be able to hear because of the sound system. We began to pray that the Lord would stop the rains for future meetings, which He did. Praise the Lord!
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ABOVE: Another Christmas gathering in a village where Sunday School is being conducted, this village called Nandayapalem ("palem" means village or town, so it's common in their Telugu language to have that word at the end of the village/town name). Their smiles are beautiful, as they are happily watching Brother Bhaskara Rao do a puppet show.
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ABOVE: Brother Benjamin (a pastor and Bro. Prasanth's father) is sharing at a Gospel meeting in the town of Bapatla. Many Muslims are in this area, as well as Hindus. Trusting the Lord that He is working in many hearts!
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ABOVE: This is another Sunday School class in the village of Chilakala Colony. They also received new books, and probably all of the people who attended these Christmas meetings received snacks.
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ABOVE: Brother Raju is sharing in the village of KB Palem (short for another really long name), another village church where we are assisting with the Sunday School class.
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ABOVE: Brother Wesley (left) visits 7 different villages while doing the widows & elderly ministry in his area. He also has some widows & elderly in his own church in the town of Singarayakonda. These people from 2 different villages (along with their pastors) met in the village of Thunagunta.
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ABOVE: We shared some of the recent baptism photos on our blog and in the December newsletter. This is the mother of one of the boys we work with, Sai. His grandmother is also standing to the right. Their family has had many problems over the years, but we are thankful that the Lord is working in some of their hearts. He's actually been using these problems to draw them closer to Himself.
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ABOVE: This is Brother Raju's niece (his sister's daughter), Lavanya (about 13). I've known her since she was small; it's a blessing to see how the Lord is working in her life. Praise the Lord!
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"Whatever you do, do all things to the glory of GOD." 1 Corinthians 10:31 |
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