Namaskaram!  (That's "hello" in Telugu.) 

august 17

I got a text message from Tim at about 2pm this afternoon.  They are all checked in and waiting to board their flight.

 

august 17

The team had a good day of shopping.  They were calling home and then going to Pizza Hut before heading to the airport.  Here is the link to their  flight information. 

 

DRIVERS: We will meet up at the airport; the international terminal, please be there at noon.  Bring cash ($2 per hour) for parking.  If you have any questions give me a call at 630-217-5812.

 

Yay!  Only one more day and they are home!! :) 

 

NOTE: All family members are welcome to come and meet the team at the airport.  If you are an appointed driver please make sure you are still able to have enough space to transport the people on the team that you took to the airport.  Thank you!

august 15

Lex emailed me this update and pictures (check the Pics link) this morning:
 
"We had our last full day of ministry on Tuesday.  We challenged each student to pick one thing they have not done yet and pray that God would open that door.  Several of our missionaries wanted to see the Lord raise someone from the dead, and before the morning parade had ended we got news of a young widow who had drowned the night before.  We were not able to get to her, but the American and Hubli teams got together and prayed.  We're believing she's breathing, but waiting for confirmation. 
 
We stayed at the church again.  Our girls talked to the women in side, and our guys ministered to the men under a tent outside.  Several of our team members played with the kids.  One of the pictures attached is Sarah giving the gospel to a church full of women.  She went on to lead about 50 of them to salvation.  We had over 200 salvations accounted for in the village Tuesday.  Jonathan gave his testimony during the evening service, and did a great job - even our team was captivated by his story. 
 
Today (Wednesday) is India's 60th birthday, and our last evening service in India.  We're taking some time this morning and early afternoon to celebrate with the Hubli team, who have been fantastic. 
 
Thursday is our travel day from Nandyal to Hyderabad, and Friday will be our free day.  Friday we'll have time to relax, go shopping, and have some fun.  Missionaries will call home from Hyderabad before we get on a plane.  You can let everyone know that our whole team is well, and thanks for their prayers."

 

august 14

Reminder: Prayer Night Tomorrow!

Wednesday night from 7-8pm we will be meeting at the church to pray for the India mission team.  If you have questions please email me at indiaforjesus07@gmail.com.

 

august 13

On Monday the team went to the Bellum Caves.  They are five kilometers long full of stalagmites and stalactites.  They had a good day relaxing.  Tuesday is the last full day of ministry; Wednesday they will do an evening service but not ministry in the morning.  

Sunday night there were 150 salvations at the service!!  The blind saw, demons cast out, the deaf heard, and they were able to pray with people about divorce and new jobs and everything in between. 

The leadership is challenging the team for their last day of ministry on Tuesday to do one thing they want to do before they leave India.  They don't want the team to end the mission trip with regrets about not stepping out.  So pray that every team member will have the opportunity to do just that. 

August 12

There are more pictures up under the pics link.  They had great village ministry yesterday, there were a lot of salvations.  In the morning they went to a CSI church (no, not like the TV show - I can't remember what it stands for but it's a protestant denomination in India).  Pastor Stifan preached on faith (just like Pastor Hoban today!) and it was well received.  That night they did a service with the drama and there were over 500 people at the night service.

Sarah got sick and dehydrated but she got antibiotics and is doing much better now.  The rest of the team is doing good.  Please keep Sarah in your prayers as she continues recovering and keep praying for continued good health for the rest of the team!

august 11

There are new pictures up! 

august 10

During ministry in the village today the team changed their strategy and announced for people to come to the village church instead of the team going door to door.  This made their ministry much more effective and valuable because it saved time and they were able to speak with more people.  There were well over 26 healings.  The blind saw, people with stomach, back, and head aches were healed.  There were lots of salvations, 29 during the day plus those at the service that night.  There were about 150 people at the service.

Ministry came much easier and felt more effective for the team today and they really feel it's because of the prayers of the church at home.  They said today was the best ministry day yet.

Schedule

Saturday ~ ministry day

Sunday ~ rest day

Monday ~ fun day! Pastor Stifan is taking them to a sightseeing place.

Tuesday/Wednesday ~ ministry days

Thursday ~ bus back to Hyderabad

Friday ~ shopping/packing day

Saturday ~ fly home!

 

august 9

The prayer time at church was powerful so we are scheduling a time of prayer on Wednesday, the 15th at 7pm at Church in the Word.  Please come and pray with us!

 

august 8

Sorry for the short notice but a small group is gathering at the church today from 4-5pm to pray for the India team.   You are welcome to come pray with us!

Also, there are a few more pictures added under the Pics link on the left.

August 8

In the village meeting tonight there were about 200 people attending and about 50 people committed their life to Christ!  Throughout the day there were healings and miracles.  In this village there were four churches, three protestant and one catholic.  A lot of the people were confused about Christianity and would pray to Mary and Jesus.  One the ministry teams prayed for a woman who had been barren for 25 years, they found out that she had been praying to Mary but called herself a Christian.

Tomorrow the team will be going to a much bigger village.  Continue to pray for energy and for the Holy Spirit to continue to have access to do mighty things through them for the people of India!

Testimonies 

Justine ~ My group had just finished visiting with a house and when we turned to leave we realized that a huge group of kids were following us. So i asked them if they wanted to hear a story. We all sat down on a ledge and I began to tell them about Jesus' story in a way that they would understand.  After I asked them if they wanted to be his best friend, most of them said yes and I led them in the salvation prayer, there was about 17 of them that gave their life to Jesus.

Sarah ~ I prayed with a man who said he had stones in his lungs and a woman who had bad eyesight and they were both healed.

 

August 7 

Click the link on the left for pictures! 

Second Village 

The team had their confidence built up at the second village and everything went really well.  The blind saw, the lame walked and many people were healed.   It was the first time anyone from the United States had been to the village.

Sarah was able to pray for a family and all four committed their lives to Christ.  Lex was able to pray for a six year old who had never spoken and she started talking.

There have been lots of salvations, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and miracles.  At the service there were about 250 people.  Nick shared his testimony and Lex preached.  In the first village Tim Bolton, AKA Titus, shared his testimony and Tim preached.

Several people that the team talked to said that they are Christians but as they talked more they realized that the people really were not saved.  So they have had to learn how to help the people understand what it really means to be a Christian.

Click on the Pray tab on the left for information about what to pray for!!  Prayer is such a vital part of ministry and they desperately need our prayer support as they are ministering in India. 


Extra Information

  • The hotel is pretty clean but there is no hot water. 
  • In both villages they have had parades and fireworks to welcome the team to the village.  People take off work and school and have shut down shops in preparation of the team coming. 
  • There has been good weather. 

 

August 6 

Results

We had a great day in the 1st village.  We saw blind eyes see, deaf hear, and broken hips healed.  There were about 450 at the church service with over 150 salvations!  People were also baptized in the Holy Spirit.  We are tired but encouraged, pray for health and stamina in the village tomorrow.

First Village

We are going to the village of Randur today and the villagers are taking the day off to see us! Amazing opportunity!

We are much more rested and the team is very excited about ministry. We expect to see 200 to 600 families today so thousands will be reached!  Praise the Lord!

 

August 4 

Arrival

The team arrived safely in Hyderabad.  They had good flights but were tired.   They were able to sleep for a few hours then called home as soon as the shop with the phone opened.  They are now about to start on their eight hour bus trip to Nandyal.


August 3 

Devotional

Here is the devotional that the team will be going through while on the trip.  In case any parents are interested in following along.  You can download the devotional by clicking here.

  

Parents and Families

  • Marianne will be taking over when we leave, and updating the site with testimonies and pics from the front lines!
  • You can print our departure and arrival info here.

Up Next

See you Friday at 10 a.m.!!  Remember:

  • If you have medication of any kind it needs to be with the original packaging, in a plastic bag, with your name on it.  Have it ready to hand to Tim when you get there Friday morning.
  • Review the list of things Tim told you to keep in your carry-on, and the dress code for the plane.

Packing Tips

  • Consider keeping your toothbrush and some toothpaste in your carry-on bag.  We've got a lot of traveling to do, and you won't be able to get at your luggage during the layover.
  • Leave some room in your suitcase for souveniers.
  • If you're bringing some kind of powdered drink mix, bring an extra water bottle.  You probably won't be able to wash your bottle thoroughly enough to get it all out, and it will grow bacteria, and you won't have a water bottle anymore.

You can read all of O'Hare Aiport's rules for carry-ons here.

You can download and print a nifty brochure about it here.

Get Packing

Here's the packing list!  Write this on the bottom:

 

  • Peanut butter and jelly in plastic containers
  • Drama t-shirt (Demons & Satan: black, God & Jesus: white, boyfriend: red, girl: blue)