By John Humphries
We have just recently returned from six weeks of gospel work in India. We sincerely appreciate your prayers and support of this effort for the Lord in that part of the world. Several sent funds for Bibles in the Telugu language. This was used to purchase over 800 Bibles for poor Christians. We also wrote, had translated into Telugu, and printed in India some 70,000 tracts for distribution among the people. We can always use help with this! Tracts keeps teaching after we are gone. We can never print too many. Many conversions come from the tract effort.
The trip went very well and we believe that much good was done. In various gospel meeting around the state of Anhra Pradesh in south India, we baptized 72 precious souls into Christ. We conducted several study classes for preachers n various places. William Beasley, Jerry Parks, Ed Brand, and I were in India during the months of September, October and November. We came at different times to the country and overlapped each other for continuity and comparing of notes. We worked in different districts in Andhra Pradesh in order to cover more territory and meet with the various congregations.
We will mention a conversion or two in order to give you idea of the efforts in India. One conversion involved a family of Brahmans which is the highest caste in India. This known as the priestly caste and in fact the husband in this family is a Hindu priest. The wife and two children, one 19 or 20-year-old girl and the other is a 12 or 13-year-old boy, obeyed the gospel at great cost. The woman threw the idols down the well when she turned from the pagan gods and committed herself to the true and living God. After she did this her Hindu priest husband promptly abandoned the family. Now she and the children are having to support themselves as they are able. Her Hindu family has turned their back on her and the children. Her faith and the faith the children are an inspiration to us. They have truly counted the cost!
Another story involved a young man in his early 20s who was also high caste. His family put great pressure on him when they learned that he was investigating the gospel of Christ. They tried to marry him off to a Hindu girl and also pressured him to go to the idol temple for puga (worship). Their threats and pressure did not stop him. After we studied with him, he was baptized into Christ. He will face many difficulties with his family and Hindu friends.
We could give many such stories of faith and dedication to the Lord that we have observed in India. The Christians in that Hindu country face many battles as they attempt to follow the Bible. Some lose their faith but most remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I will mention another situation that develops often in India. A Telugu Baptist preacher wanted to study further with us after hearing us preach the truth in one of our gospel meetings. He told us that we were preaching the truth and that he desires to learn more. As a matter of fact, some of his members have already obeyed the gospel. He did not fight this as he said that we taught the Bible truth on conversion. He even attended their baptism! Some of the Indian preachers are continuing to study with him. I told him that I would be happy to study with him each time I returned to India. Doors like this are open many places in India but for how long, I cannot say.
Please allow me to say for the record and to prevent possible misunderstanding, that not one red cent of support was promised to this Baptist preacher (or anyone else)! To his credit, he never mentioned such to us. He does face severe financial hardship if he obeys the gospel; but we have promised him nothing material. He is struggling mightily at this time. Pray for him and the others mentioned in this report, please.
Thank you again for your help. God willing, I will return next year. Would you please consider helping us again? I will be happy to answer any questions concerning our work in India. Please let me hear from you.
Guardian of Truth XXXVI: 24, p. 741
December 17, 1992