Hi again, friends,
Thank you for your recent prayers regarding Charles Simon of Chennai, India, and his captivity. I reported that I had contacted our person, Dr. Paul Devakumar, in Bangalore, to see if he knew of this incident. He reported to me that he did not know him and, in fact, had not heard of the kidnapping.
Then he gave me this report. I thought since so many of you followed us in that journey and prayed for us that I would give you specifics on his ministry there so you could continue to pray for him.
Remember those standing firm in their faith in the midst of overwhelming odds,
John
Our very dear Bro. John and Sis. Patty,
Greetings to you in the Precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Thank you very much for your e-mail. It was nice to hear from you. We are very sorry for not being able to reply immediately.
Thank you for all your prayers for our health. I had to undergo Angioplasty with stent implantation on the May 15th. Now I am okay but feel very uneasy at times, breathlessness etc. I have been taking very strong medication which the doctors have prescribed to clear the other two blocks in the heart. Rebecca is also undergoing medication for her kidney problems. Please continue to pray for our health.
The Lord gave us a very fruitful time of ministry from the 17th to the 27th of June. We had the dedication of our new church at Hoysala Nagar on Sunday the 17th June.This is our outreach church and about 50 believers gather here for worship. Most of them are from non Christian backgounds, which means they are just first generation christians. We need to pray much for them and their daily walk with the Lord, as they face a lot of opposition for their faith and they are really paying the price for their faith in Jesus. From the 18th to 20th June, we were able to have a blessed time of ministry at our mission fields in Andhra Pradesh. 6 new believers were baptized at our mission field in Rayachotti. Many new believers gave their hearts to the Lord. Medical camps were also conducted simultaneously during the same time at the villages. We praise the Lord for all that was accomplished at the villages.The need is so very great and we trust the Lord to help and reach out with the love of the Lord. On the 23rd June, a youth retreat was conducted at our church centre in Banaswadi. 200 young people participated in the retreat and were greatly blessed. On Sunday, the 24th June, during the worship service at Banaswadi in Bangalore, 11 new believers were baptized at our church. We praise the Lord for these new believers. Later we all moved to our church in Veeranahalli, in the outskirts of Bangalore, where the shelter for the church to gather which is still under construction was dedicated to the Lord. More than 1000 people participated and worshipped the Lord. This just showed us the greatness of the Lord. We are trusting Him to provide all the needs of the completion of the shelter like, the flooring, the windows, and all the electrical work and the sanction of electricity from the Government.The shelter stands today to show how great our Lord is. We say this because we were pushed away from Veeranahallli several times for sharing the Gospel. But the Lord gave us the grace to be patient and persevere. We are seeing the fruit of the labour. All glory be to Him!
The Lord has enabled us to dedicate a new church at Heerandahalli in the outskirts of Bangalore on the 8th July. 9 new believers all from non Christian backgrounds were baptised.
Thank you very much for all your love and concern towards the work here at IFCM. Those who would like to give for IFCM can make a check OR a demand draft in the name of “INDIA FOR CHRIST MINISTRIES” and send it by Registered Mail to our address given below:
Rev. Dr. K. Paul Devakumar
Founder – President
INDIA FOR CHRIST MINISTRIES
739, Church Lane, 4th Main Road
A.Munireddy Layout, Horamavu Main Road
Dodda Banaswadi
Bangalore-560043, Karnataka, INDIA
All here at IFCM join us in sending our best wishes to you all.
With warm Christian greetings and prayers,
Yours in His Matchless Mission,
Paul & Rebecca Devakumar.