Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka

A Brief Ministry Update, August 14, 2008:

I reached home safely after being gone for a month and four days (the longest that I have ever been away from home) and I am glad to be back with my family. Santhi and Shamuel are doing well.

The Lord blessed my ministry there in the US. I could see His grace and anointing during that trip. He preserved my health in good shape and I could finish all the work that was planned for. I am grateful to God. I will give more details about this ministry trip to the US a bit later.

We are grateful to God for the privilege He has given us to serve Him. Santhi spoke in the Girls Evangelistic Camp (Hyderabad District) – she taught doctrines (God-Man-Sin-Salvation). 29 of the girls (University Students) made first time commitments and others rededicated their lives to the Lord. I spoke to over 150 Graduate and Polytechnic students (at St. Mary's College), on the 12th, on "Freedom or Free-doom?" and 39 of them responded to the gospel invitation. Most of these people who invited Jesus into their lives are from Other Faiths. Praise the Lord. What a joy it is to see people turning to the Lord. This is one of the most exciting things for us in our ministry.

On the 15th (tomorrow), I will be speaking to 800-1000 young people (college-university students and young professionals) in a mega youth event at our Church (Centenary Baptist Church, Secunderabad) on "Setting an Example" (1 Tim. 4: 12). On the 16th I will be doing an Open Forum on "God and Science" for the Youth of Brethren Churches in Navi Mumbai. Starting from tonight, Santhi will be speaking at a Discipleship Training Camp for Students (14th till 17th). She will focus on 1) The Chosen-ness of the Disciples, 2) Character of the Disciples, 3) Cost of the Discipleship, and 3) Commitment of the Disciples. Please do pray.

The Mondithokas’ Ministry Update, September - November 2007

The months of September, October, and November have been very fruitful months of ministry both in terms of evangelism and equipping. In all, over 430 people responded to the gospel and invited the Lord into their lives (out of over 1500 who came under the sound of the gospel). This is very exciting and satisfying. I have also been involved in some significant teaching and training events, preaching of the Word of God, and some writing as well. The following are the highlights (that will help you in praising God along with us).

Evangelism: In September, I had the joy of seeing over 350 people (mostly from other faiths) turning to the Lord as I spoke in Machilipatnam (17-18) and Vizag (19) mainly to engineering, and then to poly technic and other college/university students. One of them was on the verge of committing suicide (as he indicated on the decision card). I came back to Hyderabad sick (in fact I took medicine, prayed, and preached in Vizag). All those three days it was raining throughout and the Lord had miraculously stopped the rain just for our meetings. It was amazing. We had 450 students each of the first 2 nights and 75 B. Tech and M. Tech students of Andhra University on the third day. On the 16th I preached in the Telugu Service of our Church (over 800 were in attendance) on "What is the Church and who are its members?" (based on 1 Peter 2: 4-12 and Acts 2: 37-47). There was a definite sense of the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit. Around 20 people were drawn to the Lord, and many more committed themselves to living a life that is in accordance with the biblical teaching. I received very encouraging feedback – many were glad that the truth went forth with conviction and clarity and some were even disturbed. Praise the Lord, for it is His work and I am just an instrument in His hands.

In October too, the Lord had drawn over 60 people to Himself, as I spoke to students and Church folks in four different settings. On the 13th, I spoke to 40 students (all from Christian background) on "Is Christianity a Religion or a Relationship?" and "Who is a True Christian or Child of God?'. and answered their questions in a Q&A session at their request. 20 of them responded to the Gospel truth and invited Christ in to their lives. On the 14th, I spoke in the Annual Thanksgiving Service of the Lalaguda Baptist Church (over 400 were in attendance) on "True Thanksgiving is Thanks-living," an exposition of Psalm 100. Once again, there was a clear sense of the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit. Over 20 people entered into a personal relationship with the Lord and many more committed themselves to living their lives for God with an attitude of gratitude. Many of them met personally and thanked me for the ministry of the word. On the 20th, I spoke in a Youth Retreat at the Raju Colony Baptist Church (over 175 young people, mostly students and some professionals were in attendance) on "Renounce . . . and Return . . . " based on Isaiah 55: 7. 20 people responded to the truth and committed their lives to the Lord and many others rededicated their lives to the Lord. I had to do a Q & A session also at their request. I was able to meet with some of them personally, counsel, clarify their doubts, and pray with them. On the 26th I spoke in the Revival Meetings of our Hindi Congregation (with 60 people in attendance) on "Jesus and the Living Waters" based on John 4: 13-14 and 7: 38. The Lord enabled me to apply the truth to both the believers and the unbelievers and give them an opportunity to respond, but I was not sure how many actually made commitments. The feedback from the pastor, organizers, and participants was very positive/encouraging.

In November (on the 3rd), I gave a pre-evangelistic Scientific Lecture on "Can Science Answer All Our Questions?" organized by the Sanathnagar Zone of the Evangelical Union and Evangelical Graduates’ Fellowship The hotel conference room was packed with 100 students and professionals, mostly non-Christians, including a group of Muslims and another 20 were standing throughout. The lecture went well and the Q&A session gave many opportunities to present and clarify the truth/gospel more directly, particularly the questions that the Muslim friends asked. All these friends would be invited for an Evangelistic Christmas meeting in December. The Christians were greatly strengthened as they followed the lecture, Q&A session, and the ensuing discussions very closely. The following were some of the questions raised: 1) How does science account for the ‘Big Bang’? 2) What are/should be the qualities of this Creator 3) How do we understand the popular belief that there are many gods? 3) What about Jesus Christ – was he a man or God? We could see much interest being generated and all the copies of my booklet, God – Science, and Scientists were sold like hot cakes.

Equipping: It was a very enjoyable experience for me to teach (during September and October) two short courses to the G. Th., and B. B. Th., students (secular professionals that are studying theology) at BBI (Baptist Bible Institute, a ministry of our Church) on 1) Christian Leadership and 2) Church Administration. There were 15 students. They were all very responsive and had appreciated the inputs and shared that they benefited a lot. I did two seminars in our church that had very good impact. On 15th September it was on Prayer - Intercession: A Means of Intimacy with God with about 150 Church leaders in attendance. On 31st October it was on The Church: It’s Identity and Mission with over 100 pastors and leaders in attendance, as we formed Evangelism Teams on that day. I Spoke in two Seminars on Christian Apologetics to Islam organized by Sakshi: An Apologetics Network in India - On 8th September I did two sessions on "Sin and Salvation in Christianity" with 35 participants (Christian Professionals). The interaction and Q&A session were very stimulating and profitable to all. On 6th October there were 65 participants and I did 3 sessions: 1) Is God truly Triune? 2) Is the Bible truly the Word of God? and 3) Is Jesus truly Divine-Human? focusing on the doctrines of the Trinity, the Bible, and the Person of Jesus Christ and the questions/objections that Muslims raise against these fundamental Christian beliefs. In both these seminars, other speakers like Jerry, Steven, Azgar, Sunder did other sessions. These seminars prepared the Christians for a dialogue with Muslims on the Concepts of Sin and Salvation in Christianity and Islam (on 27th October) where Jerry and Asif represented Christianity and Islam respectively. Jerry did a tremendous job and God’s name was certainly glorified as His truth was seen to be triumphing, Christians were strengthened, and some Muslims and others continued to interact with us after this dialogue. On November 11, I preached in the Telugu Service of our Church on "The Nature and Structure of the Church," and Spirit of God moved very powerfully and many came under the conviction of the Spirit. On the 30th, I did a seminar on "The Personal Life of a Pastor" for the pastors of our Church (35 were in attendance). The Lord blessed it and the pastors appreciated it and asked for more seminars of this kind. Santhi and Shamuel have been worshipping at the Church where her brother is the Pastor (we were with them in the Pastor’s Residence downstairs) and she even preached on "God’s Sovereignty in Human Suffering" (Ps. 119: 75) in a service and expounded Isaiah 6 in an all night women’s prayer meeting. God blessed her ministry of the Word greatly to the congregation and the women. It is amazing that she could do this.

The Lord continued to bless the ministry of the Word in our Church, the English Congregation. The series of messages on "The Characteristics of a Living Church" (Acts 2: 42-47) spread over 5 months (July-November) evoked tremendous response. We now have a Team of Volunteers with 25 members that are willing to work together with the Pastor and the Elders for the glory of God and the blessing of people. The attendance has increased and the giving has doubled since I began this series. Praise the Lord. God enabled me to do some writing as well for different magazines: 1) Theology and Practice of Christian Giving, 2) The What and Why of Apologetics: A Very Short Introduction of Christian Apologetics, 3) What it means for us to be holy, and 4) Renewed Mind and Transformed Life. You can find all these articles on our website (www.mondithokas.com).

*** In addition to the speaking engagements, I have some writing also to do. I have to keep working on the series of article on "Being Holy Because God is Holy" being published in Harvest Times for Your Family, the GLS magazine starting from the Nov. ’07 issue. I will also be working on a Book on the same theme, based on this series that GLS will publish. Santhi too has some writing projects that she has been thinking, praying, and dreaming about. Some of it will be on "God’s Sovereignty and Human Suffering." Please pray for God’s extraordinary grace and anointing to be granted for this task. We will send our Family Update soon (we know you are praying and you want to hear about Santhi’s treatment and health and other things about us).
With much appreciation of your partnership and many thanks,
Sundoulos (fellow servant) in the Lord and His Mission,
Sudhakar for the Mondithokas

The Lord has done amazing things in our life and ministry during December ‘06 and Jan. ’07. We are grateful. We met people who had been blessed in different ways through our ministry in the past. I met one young lady (a lecturer in a reputed seminary) who told me that she and her brother (who came to know the Lord from a Hindu background) listened to my Telugu tapes on the resurrection (Did Jesus Really Come back to Life from the Dead?) almost a hundred times some years ago. I met another young lady (a software engineer who came to know the Lord a few years ago) who testified that when she was struggling in her faith life, my tapes strengthened – stabilized her in the faith. God keeps affirming us and keeps confirming His call regularly like this. Even as I was reading Galatians in my devotional times, through the example of the apostle Paul, the Lord confirmed His call on our lives. This is all quite significant, because we have completed one year of ministry since I resigned from RZIM and have experienced the Lord’s presence and provision during this very challenging and yet very fruitful and enjoyable year. Thank you very much for your support through prayer and other means.

December was a month of Evangelism. We have seen people turning to the Lord (479 people made commitments to follow the Lord and the follow-up work is going well) out of the 5889 who came under the sound of the gospel and many Christians being built up in their faith. We know that our competence comes from the Lord and hence we do not rely on ourselves, but on God (2 Cor. 3: 4-6 & 1: 9). Praise be to the Lord alone. The following are Some Highlights (Praise Points) that will help you in joining us in thanking and praising God meaningfully:

December 7th, Hyderabad: I spoke in an Evangelistic Christmas Meeting at ICRISAT (an International Research Institute) on "If God Appeared as a Man!" with around 75 in attendance (including friends of other faiths and a scientist from the Netherlands). This is the only evangelistic activity the prayer group there can afford and I could draw the message to a definite evangelistic conclusion.

9th, Nellore: I spoke in an Evangelistic Christmas Meeting at the Narayana Medical College on "Christmas Story – the Greatest Love Story," with over 500 medical students and 15 faculty members in attendance. The feedback was very positive.

10. Hyderabad: I spoke on "Who is this Jesus?" in an Evangelistic Christmas meeting for Students (BFA, JNT University) and Professionals (of Data Quest Entertainment) with just 15 people in attendance. Almost all of them were touched by the message and I could interact with some them personally.

11-12, Kurnool: This was a very hectic two-day trip packed with evangelistic Christmas meetings in different colleges. We could present the gospel clearly and convincingly to over 2200 people and 0ver 180 people committed themselves to the Lord: At Kurnool Degree College 150 students + 8 (faculty members, including the principal) attended and listened attentively, as I spoke on "Christmas – Celebration for All." At the prestigious Silver Jubilee Degree College, 500 students + 6 (faculty members) attended and 35 of them made commitments to follow the Lord. At St. Joseph’s Junior College 650 students and 25 (faculty members), mostly from other faiths and Catholics attended and I spoke on "What is Christmas All About?" At STBC Degree College there were 200 students + 10 faculty members and 35 of them made commitments to follow the Lord, as I spoke on "The Wise People Still Follow the Star and Find the Real Star of Christmas." At GPR ENGG College, around 80 students attended. We had the final meeting in Sunaina Auditorium with over 550 students and 150 (officials/professionals) and I spoke on "The 21st Century Relevance of the 1st Century Christmas." 110 of them responded to the gospel and 50 people have attended two follow-up meetings and systematic follow-up work is progressing.

13, Yemmiganur: The Lord blessed the Evangelistic Christmas meeting for Students and Professionals (I spoke on "If God Appeared as a Man . . .!?") organized by the EU-EGF with 700, mostly from other faiths in attendance. 118 people responded to the invitation, most of them stayed back and I talked to them (follow-up) and more than 50% are continuing to attend the ongoing follow-up meetings. I also gave a Scientific Lecture at St. John’s College of Engineering on "Beyond Science . . .!?" There were over 500 students (3rd and 4th year) and some 10 faculty members. The pre-evangelistic lecture evoked very good response and many of them had personal interactions with me.

14, Ananthapur: We sensed the presence of the Lord in the Evangelistic Christmas meeting at the SKD University (organized by the EU) with over 500 people in attendance including the Vice Chancellor, Registrar, some heads of the departments and others, most of them being from other faiths. We presented the gospel very clearly (I spoke on "Christmas Story – the Greatest Love Story") and many of them met me personally and talked (got their doubts clarified), including the VC.

15, Hyderabad: The Lord blessed Evangelistic Christmas Meeting at the Hyderabad Central University with about 125 graduate students and research scholars in attendance. I spoke on "Christmas Story – the Greatest Love Story" and many of them met with me and interacted much beyond the scheduled time.

16-17, Visakhapatnam: This was a hectic trip with 4 meetings in two days. There were around 150 people in the Evangelistic Christmas meeting mainly for the Non-Christian Students and their Parents (16th) at Bethany School where I spoke on "Christmas – God’s Response to All Our Problems," presented the gospel in clear terms, and concluded the presentation on a definite evangelistic note. Then I preached in the Sunday Service of the Vizag Christian Assembly (17th) with lot of Medical and Engineering students in its membership, on "Loving Others is the Lesson we Christians Should Learn Afresh at Christmas." The truth went forth with force and conviction and touched many lives. I also spoke in the Metro-Students’ Christmas arranged by the ICEU on "Christmas is all about Love" and around 10 people responded to the invitation (our of around 75 that were present) and I spent some time with some of them personally (counseling and praying together with them). It was exciting to be able to interact with and present the gospel to a group of students who were totally sold out to Ambetkarism. Finally, I preached in an evangelistic Christmas meeting in a Hindu locality, the outreach center of the VCA with about 200 people in attendance and many in the neighborhood came under sound of the gospel. On 16th Santhi spoke in an Evangelistic Christmas meeting for Students arranged by the Saidabad Zone of the ICEU, Hyderabad. Over 150 people attended and around 20 of them made commitments to follow the Lord.

18, Hyderabad: 1) Evangelistic Christmas meeting at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University was blessed of the Lord – there were over 100 people (including the Head of the Department, Director of the Center for Environmental Studies, and a professor), mostly from other faiths and I spoke on "Christmas in the Cyber Age." They all listened with rapt attention and I could interact with some of the students and the professors after the meeting. 2) Evangelistic Christmas Meeting for Students of Osmania University and other Institutions, organized by the EU-EGF OU Zone About 350 attended and I spoke on "Christmas Story – the Greatest Love Story." 40 boys made commitments (10 from Christian background and others from other faiths) and 16 attended the follow-up meeting and 19 girls responded (8 of them made first time commitments and 11 of them rededicated their lives to the Lord). The follow-up work is continuing.

19, Guntur: Evangelistic Christmas Meeting for the Students of RVR Engineering College and others – there were around 500 students and over 10 faculty members and around 70 of them made decisions to follow the Lord.

20, Hyderabad: 1) An evangelistic Christmas meeting for the employees of Quantum Asia in a Hotel with over 60 people in attendance (including a sitting MP and brother of the CM and his wife), mostly from other faiths who listened with attention and interacted with me over lunch as I spoke on "Who is this Jesus?" and 2) A meeting for students – there were around 125 (mostly from other faiths). I spoke on "Christmas – Good News for All" and 33 of them committed their lives to the Lord.

22nd to 6th January 2007, Goa: Graham Steins’ Memorial Indian Christian Writers’ Working Holiday hosted by Vishal Mangalwadi/South Asian Resources that both of us (of course with Shamuel) attended was a tremendous blessing for us. It was a time of rest, prayer, reflection, fellowship (with other writers from different parts of the country and world), and some recreation also. Because of this time, we committed ourselves to do some writing this year.

12 - 16, Narsapur: Doing Bible Expositions on "Holiness" at the Triennial Graduates’ Conference of UESI-AP Godavari Region was a great blessing personally for me. The Lord spoke to me and I have been able to see significant impact of the truth on my life. There were around 300 Christian professionals and final year college/university students. I did 4 Bible studies (thematic expositions) on "Being Holy Because God is Holy." The Lord moved mightily in our midst and blessed the ministry of the Word. Bro. J. S. A. Julius was the other speaker. On the last day, almost all of us responded to God’s truth in tears and committed ourselves to the Lord and to a life-long pursuit of holiness in daily living. What a joy it was for me to meet many that shared how they were blessed by the ministry of the word and our ministry even in the past.

20th, Hyderabad: It was great privilege to help during the QQ&AA time in an Open Forum with Dr. Henry F. Schaeffer (five-time Nobel Prize nominee and third most quoted Chemist in the world) at the University of Hyderabad on "Evolution, Stephen Hoking, and Big Bang Cosmology." The auditorium was packed and people were sitting on the floor and standing all over. They asked many good questions and we could clarify the truth and share the gospel in response to questions. We also met with a number of them who wanted to have personal discussions with us. Out of the 78 who indicated in the feedback forms that they would like to discuss further, 65 were from other faiths. Praise the Lord.

26 - 27, Hyderabad: Apologetics Training Program with special emphasis on Islam organized by the Sakshi Group and Cornerstone with about 100 participants (University Students, Professionals, and some Christians in the Ministry) was very intense and generated a lot of excitement and interest. We covered the following topics: Introduction to Apologetics, Jesus: The Master Apologist, How do you know what you know?, Bible: Is it Historically Reliable?, Hermeneutics, Hard Sayings of the Bible, Solving Apparent Contradictions in the Bible, Koran: Is it Historically Reliable?, Errors in the Koran, Trinity or Tawhid – What is the Truth about God?, Jesus of the Bible Vs Jesus of the Koran, The Truth About Mohammed from Hadiths, Sin and Salvation in Islam, Is Mohammed Mentioned in the Bible? On 26th Santhi did a half-a-day Seminar on Personal Bible Study for the Students and Graduates of the Sanathnagar Zone (about 40), UESI-AP, Hyderabad. The participants were blessed greatly and were inspired to take the systematic intake of God’s word seriously.

31, Hyderabad: The Lord blessed the Open Forum on "The Battle Over the Beginnings: Evolution or Creation" for the students of Osmania University. There were over 150 (mostly from other faiths and different departments) who followed the presentation with keen interest and asked many good questions during the QQ&A A time. The Lord gave me His grace to answer these questions and even to present the gospel indirectly and clarify the truth about God, the Creator.

Update September-October 2006

We bring this update (report) to you with the realization that apart from the enabling grace of God we can do nothing that is good, God-honoring and a blessing to people. Reporting is as old as Christianity is. I have been reading through the book Acts in my devotional time and became consciously aware that reporting is a good Christian practice. Peter and John reported and that led to prayer (Acts 4: 23-31). Peter reported about how the Lord had brought him out of the prison (12: 16-17). Barnabas and Paul reported to the Church at Antioch and then to the Church at Jerusalem all that God had done through them (14: 27 and 15: 12). Finally, Paul reported in detail what God had done among the Gentile through his ministry and that led to praising God (21:17-20). In this update (report) also we are just sharing with you what the Lord has done through our ministry and we hope this will also lead to prayer and praise.

The past two months (middle of September till date, 12th November) have been once again incredible months of many opportunities to minister in different settings. We have seen people turning to the Lord (almost 100 people made commitments to follow the Lord) and many Christians being built up in their faith. Praise be to the Lord alone.

September 2, Hyderabad: Follow-up meeting for the 29 people who responded to the Gospel and made a commitment to follow the Lord Jesus in the gospel evening on the

20^th of Aug., at the UESI-AP City office.

Sept. 7, Visakhapatnam: I gave Scientific Talks at three places - Krishna College, a public auditorium and another college (arranged by the EU-EGF), on God - Science and Scientists and Is God Relevant in this Age of Science? There were 75, 125, and 175 respectively in attendance. These were pre-evangelistic in nature and we were able to present the gospel indirectly in response to some of the good questions that were asked during the Q&A sessions - Can't we know God or become gods through yoga and meditation? Was Jesus just an enlightened man or was he God? And Why is it Jesus alone and what about other/our gods? In the last meeting I had the liberty to present the gospel directly and to give them a chance to respond to the truth and 50 of them committed their lives to the Lord. What a joy it was for us to see this response.

17th September, Hyderabad: I preached in the English Service of Narayanaguda Baptist Church, with about 1500 people in attendance, on "Keeping the First things First: Learning Some Spiritual Lessons from a Kitchen Scene" (from Luke 10: 38-42). The Lord blessed the ministry of His Word and many people were touched very powerfully and I enjoyed liberty in my spirit as I spoke out of the experience of learning from the same passage. Many thanked me for the message, which, they said, was very timely and relevant.

18 - 19 September, Narsapur: I did a seminar (sponsored by the World Vision) on "Leadership and Goal-setting" for about 100 newly elected leaders/politicians from the district, town and village levels and also three Open Forums (arranged by the Evangelical Union) on Scientific Topics - Is Faith in God Relevant in the 21st Century? and Do we Need God in this Age of Science? for Engineering and other students (there were 75 in one and on an average 300 plus in the other two) and the Lord blessed it all - about 30 people came to know the Lord. Praise the Lord. Many Christians told me that they were greatly encouraged and inspired by the approach to evangelism that I had adapted, which, of course, is biblical and one that I use often - persuasive proclamation/evangelism under girded by apologetics.

28 September, Hyderabad: I spoke to about 150 Baptist Young People (Students and Professionals) at the Deccan Baptist Youth Camp on "Godliness is a Great Gain," based on 1 Tim. 6:6. The Lord blessed the ministry of the word and about 20 of them responded to the Gospel and committed their lives to the Lord. The leaders who were presented were amazed at the fact that the truth was presented in a way that was relevant, interesting, and convincing and the young people listened with keen interest.

30 October 2, Chennai: It was exciting, but at the same timing challenging to speak (6 times) at the IIT Chennai Christian Fellowship Camp. There were over 100 participants (including 5 faculty couples and some 20 non-Christians). I spoke evangelistically once (on "Who am I? Do I need a Saviour? What is salvation? Is Salvation necessary?"). Around 10 people responded to the gospel and made commitments to follow the Lord. Then I spoke 5 times on themes of discipleship (on "In the likeness of the Master Everyday like Him" and "How not to be a disciple,") and apologetics ("Is Bible really the Word of God? - Authenticity, Infallibility and Authority, If so what should I do?" and "Applying Apologetics in Life and Ministry."). I was glad that I was able to spend time with many of them personally and also answer many of their questions both during the formal Q&A sessions and informal interactions. I came back with a great sense of gratitude to God and satisfaction that I had that privilege of speaking to some of the brightest youngsters in the country (those that make to the IITs are among the brightest).

7th September, Hyderabad: Santhi spoke at the meeting of the Women's Fellowship of Emmanuel House of Worship, Nacharam on "How to have a Meaningful Quiet Time?" There were about 20 women who were all blessed. While this meetings was going on Shamuel and I played and also met with the men who gathered for some planning meeting. It was a blessed evening for all three of us.

12, September Rajahmundry: There were over 150 participants (professionals) in the Evangelistic Open Forum that was organized by the EGF (Evangelical Graduates' Fellowship), in which I spoke on "What is True Success?" and presented the gospel clearly. The audience listened very keenly and asked many questions during the Q&A time, because of which I could further clarify the gospel and challenge them to make their response to the truth.

14-15, September Hyderabad: I ministered in the Annual Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving Service respectively of the Universal Baptist Church. I spoke on "True Thanks-giving is Thanks - living," based on Psalm 100. The first message was on "The Call to Thanks-giving" and the second was on "The Cause for Thanks-giving." On an average there were over 275 people (many are highly educated and from good professional backgrounds) in attendance and the Spirit of the Lord moved mightily as I spoke and people were touched and challenged. Many met me and thanked me for the "insightful and challenging" message and explained how the Lord spoke to them.

21-23 September, Ghanpur: It was an incredible opportunity to be with over 100 rural youth (students and others, including some professionals) after a long time at the Annual Discipleship Camp of the Youth Alive Ministries. The Lord gave me His extraordinary grace to adapt and to make my presentations on the "Uniqueness of Jesus Christ" in three sessions and thus introduce apologetics to them and to speak thrice on "Who is a True Disciple of Jesus Christ?" The first message had evangelistic content and 5 people committed their lives to the Lord. Almost all participants shared, during the concluding session, that they were blessed uniquely (understood what it means to be a Christian and gained confidence to talk to others about Christ) and that they had all taken some specific decisions to live like Christ and to present Christ to others.

25th September, Hyderabad: I spoke to over 100 young people and a few elders on "Who is a True Christian?" at the CSI Church, Yusufguda Youth Retreat. 27 people (including a 75 year old gentleman and a couple of other senior members of the Church) responded to the Gospel and committed their lives to the Lord.

Prayer Points for Sept and Nov

That Santhi might be able to finish her work on the M. Phil thesis and submit it by the end of October (the revised deadline)

For God's guidance concerning the future of our ministry – the exact way in which we should proceed, although we have taken stock of the resources we have (over 3000 volumes of books and international journals) we have not yet officially opened up the place for people to come and use the resources, in spite of the many requests we keep receiving and we are already helping people who are visiting our place with prior appointment

Santhi's viva might go well on Wednesday, the 14th at the University of Madras

Shamuel might come to know the Lord soon

We might find a suitable place (by March '07) for our residence-cum-office - we have been struggling much with the fumes coming from the kitchen exhaust of Hotel Ashoka and the owners are not sure if they could renew the contract

God's clear guidance concerning the future direction of our ministry - we do not want to do anything other than what we have been doing since the time I came out of RZIM, unless the Lord guides us in unmistakable terms

For God's guidance concerning the future of our ministry – the exact way in which we should proceed, although we have taken stock of the resources we have (over 3000 volumes of books and international journals) we have not yet officially opened up the place for people to come and use the resources, in spite of the many requests we keep receiving and we are already helping people who are visiting our place with prior appointment

Please pray that God's enabling grace and anointing might be granted for the speaking engagements of different kinds at different places: Itinerary from November 2006 to January 2007

Update July - August

Once again it is a matter of great joy for us to bring this update and itinerary to you so that you might join us in praising God and might be able to pray for us more meaningfully. We have seen the Lord at work - people coming to know the Lord and people being strengthened in their faith and being challenged to live more Christ-like lives. We are grateful to God for people like you who pray for us and encourage us.

The past two months (middle of July till date, 15^th September) have been incredible months of many opportunities to minister in different settings and to see people turning to the Lord (about 200 people, many from non-Christian backgrounds have made commitments to follow the Lord). Evangelism is one of our top three priorities in life and fruit in this aspect of our ministry encourages us a lot. Praise be to the Lord alone. Our hearts are filled with gratitude to God and His people who have been praying for our ministry and us. We bring this update to you with all praise to God and a sense of humility that the Lord has considered us worthy to be involved in the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5: 11-21), which is His. We had some very fulfilling counseling and one-on -one discussion sessions as well as times of expounding God's word to His people. The following are Some Highlights (Praise Points) that will help you in joining us in thanking and praising God meaningfully:

Meetings with Our Friends (Accountability Group): When we moved to Hyderabad in May, the Lord guided/instructed us to have a group of friends with whom we should enter into an accountability relationship - they hold us accountable and support us in different ways with respect to both our life and ministry. We praise God that we have that group in place with 12 people now and we have already met with them twice (in July and August). The Lord is encouraging us through this group and we are grateful to God and this group of friends.

Car: After much prayer and waiting, we were able to bye a used car (Maruti Wagon R 2004 April Model) which is in a good condition with only a little over 15 000 k. m on it. We have already covered around 1000 k. m and it has been giving us good service. We had to exercise faith in buying it, because the cost was higher than our budget, but we are now clear that it was God's choice for us. We are learning (rather God is teaching us) to trust the Lord more and we are enjoying this experience.

Counseling - I had to spend more than an hour with a couple, very seriously committed Christians who were struggling with an unexpected pregnancy - third child. I had to talk to them about the biblical-ethical view on abortion and then offer practical suggestions about how they could handle the situation given their current situation. I had to also give them a shoulder that they could lean on at times. In the end it was amazing to see how the Lord had ministered to them and wiped their tears and gave them joy.

Investing Time and Efforts in Equipping Others for Effective Ministry - I had to spend about an hour with a young man who had been blessed by our training in the past, is involved in the ministry among students and youth and who was preparing to make a presentation on the Da Vinci Code - it was basically a time of answering his questions, clarifying his doubts, and giving him a lot of materials so that he might be able to prepare well and make a good presentation. He called me after the session and reported that the 300 odd people were greatly blessed and were positively encouraged to take their faith seriously and equip themselves to defend it in the face of challenges like the Da Vinci Code.

A Christian Young Man who committed his life for full-time Christian Ministry came and spent a couple of hours just sharing his struggles and challenges in the process of waiting upon the Lord and equipping himself for ministry. I was able to help him by clarifying things and giving him materials that he could read in the process of equipping himself and also guided him about the available options of theological education. He will be an apprentice until he goes to a seminary.

A very enthusiastic Christian (who came to know the Lord from a Catholic background) who is working with a MNC was blessed through the session on the Da Vinci Code and was inspired to equip himself further so that he might be able to answer the questions of many of his colleagues and friends in the Catholic Church. I spend an hour each time (twice) with him and then gave him materials to work on. He is already witnessing and enjoying it.

The twoseminars on the Da Vinci Code (Aug. 6 and 13), one for the students and the other for graduates (professionals) of the UESI-AP Hyderabad District were blessed by the Lord and proved to be a blessing to the participants. Many received positive encouragement to equip themselves to use such opportunities as the ones presented by the Da Vinci Code phenomenon to communicate the truth confidently and convincingly. There were 45 students and 45 professionals (pre-registered participants) respectively and many of them continued to interact through e-mail and I was able to send them more useful materials to help them in studying further.

      On Aug. 12 we had a full-day training program in apologetics for a select group of 9 people who are all budding apologists and are preparing seriously to teach others. This was organized by Sakshi Times and more people are showing interest in developing a fresh curriculum and notes to be used in the future training programs in different parts of the country. We met as a group once and identified the topics and people that would be working on the topics and fixed some deadlines. The future looks very bright as far as apologetics training in India is concerned.

On Sept. 3 I spoke in the Combined Gathering of the Hyderabad District EU-EGF (UESI-AP) Students and Graduates (Professionals) on 'Priority Christian Living in the Present Perplexing World.' There were over 250 people and the Lord blessed the ministry of His Word and we could sense the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit that evening, as many testified. Many are continuing to send thank you notes and are asking for more material that will help them in writing a 'purpose statement' for themselves and their families.

      On Sept. 10 I Preaching in the Teachers' Day Special Sunday Service of the Santhnagar Methodist Church, Hyderabad. Once again the grace of the Lord was manifested and I enjoyed the presence and guidance as I preached. Over 20 people made commitments to follow the Lord, as I weaved in the gospel into the message. Many people met me and thanked me for the message. The pastor was blessed through our ministry when he was a student in a place that was our outreach center about 20 years ago.

Sept. 13 - 15, Hyderabad: I spoke to the Staff of World Vision (about 70) during the devotions time of their annual conference on 'living life with a heart of wisdom', 'faithful stewardship - a priority for Christians living in the in between times', and 'learning to keep the first things first - some spiritual lessons from a kitchen scene'. The Lord's grace was evident as I ministered God's word and people were blessed and challenged. It was a joy to see many who had been blessed through our ministry in the past. Many of them shared that the Lord has spoken to them very personally and specifically and it was all very relevant to their lives and ministry.

Pre-Evangelistic and Evangelistic Efforts of different kinds in different settings - A Muslim young man who had just finished his M. Phil in Arabic from CIEFL (Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages) came along with a Christian scholar who was witnessing to him with a lot of questions about the Trinity and Incarnation (Jesus being the Son of God). After I had spent an hour and a half with them, the Muslim said, 'Sir, I am grateful to God that I could meet you before leaving from Hyderabad. I have never been exposed to what you have told today. Thank you very much for spending your time and for helping.' He bought some resources to study further and the Christian who brought him also went away with joy having learnt some things about dialoguing meaningfully with Muslim friends.

Aug. 4, Hyderabad: Kodanda Ram's Wedding - It was a great opportunity to speak on marriage from a biblical perspective and also to present the gospel. There were over 500 people in attendance and many of them were from non-Christian backgrounds. The truth went forth with clarity and conviction in the power of the Holy Spirit and the response was generally positive.

On Aug. 15 I spoke in the Youth Retreat at the Centenary Baptist Church, Secunderabd- there over 800 in attendance, mostly young professional and students. I spoke on 'being in the hand of the potter' based on Jeremiah more than 25 responded to the invitation and committed their lives to the Lord.

On Aug. 16, I was in Warangal to speak evangelistically in a Musical Evening with over 500 in attendance. The music was so loud that I felt the vibrations passing through my whole body and I kept praying throughout for God's grace to be granted. I spoke for 45 minutes and was amazed at the response- they were very attentive, applauded several times, and when the invitation was given more than 25 responded and received the Lord as their Saviour. The Christians who were presented were also impacted - they were greatly encouraged by the fact or realization that the gospel could be presented in a relevant and convincing way to the present generation.

Aug. 20, Hyderabad: The UESI-AP Mehdipatnam Zone arranged a Gospel Evening for Students. There were 110 students (engineering, pharmacy, graduate, and some undergraduate students) in attendance. I spoke on 'Beyond Love as We Understand it' and once again the Lord's grace was evident - they listened to the talk very attentively and responsively and when the invitation was given 29 of them responded (including many from non-Christian backgrounds).

Aug. 26, Secunderabad: In yet another evangelistic meeting (Gospel Evening that was arranged by the Secunderabad Zone of UESI-AP) I spoke on 'What is Life All About?' There were 180 students from different educational institutions and once again it was an incredible sense of the presence of the Lord and the grace of God being manifested and 58 of them (many from other faiths) responded to the invitation. What was encouraging about this was that 50 of these people attended the follow-up meeting that was arranged exactly after one week. Praise the Lord.