From Andrew Koetsier – September 22

Today was our second day of discipleship training with about 100 Indian brothers and sisters in the LTC Hindi church. Before the gathering, we had the opportunity to tour LTC. Since it was Saturday morning, we found the campus filled with students doing their weekly chores to keep the facilities clean and running. We also got to witness firsthand some building projects that have begun as LTC continues to expand.

We then traveled a short distance to the school where the LTC Hindi church meets. After a short greeting, we broke into song. Auntie Mary Beth took the lead and had the whole group (American and Indian) singing praises to Jesus together. What a joy to worship together with our brothers and sisters in the Lord!

Just like Tuesday, we split our team and the large group into three. Mary Beth and I took one group, Pablo and Bill another, and Rick and Cathy a third. Our group was again very interactive and many of the believers jumped right into the training. We worked through the Parable of the Sower from Mark 4 and Acts 2:42-47 which describes the body life of the early Jerusalem church. All along, we sought to teach them a simple, 4 step approach to studying the Word of God which they could adapt and use for any passage of Scripture. We also shared our testimonies and took some time to train them in using the Evangecube to share the gospel with their friends and family.

After the training we gave Evangecubes to several who desired to use them in sharing their faith. We also spent about 30 minutes in prayer for any that had need. One young man came forward and shared that he was a new youth pastor. It was a great joy to be able to pray for him as he enters into his new ministry, a ministry similar to my own.

In the evening, we had the joy of sharing a meal of Domino’s Pizza with Peter and Moala Kashung and some other leaders of LTC. As Rick said, that pizza really hit the spot! It was also a blessing to be able to sit down with Peter and hear some of the future vision for LTC and the various ministries here.

Tomorrow is our last day of ministry here in Siliguri. What a blur! We will be visiting another village church where I will be preaching. After lunch, Arun, Mary Beth, and Cathy will be leading us in a children’s program with (we are hoping) 150-200 children. Pray that the Holy Spirit would give us the words to speak and the energy and strength to finish our trip well. Thank you for your prayers and partnership in the ministry of the gospel. Your prayers are bearing much fruit!