Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
The Lord continues to bless His work, both in India and in Texas. This report will be the first of several in the coming weeks that will inform you of our God’s work to bring glory to Himself in the spread of the gospel and the establishment of His churches.
Tripura Conference:
During the first week in October, a conference was held in Tripura. It was the first one to be held there in two years. Many of you will remember the persecution which arose and the lies which were told to the Communist authorities which kept us from being able to return to Tripura. Despite the fact that I can no longer enter into Tripura, Bir has been able to go.
During this most recent conference, Bir, Molin, and Manindra spoke. They chose the subject of the Tabernacle and used Ron Crisp's book as a resource. Previous teaching on this subject was mixed with great error so it was a blessing for them to study and teach the truth. It seems to me that these men have been raised up by our God and have been given an understanding the Scriptures. Their gifts and abilities to preach and teach indicate that they are profitable for the ministry. All three have a good testimony among the brethren as those who God seems to be using to teach the word of God in Tripura.
Fruit from the teaching on the subject of the Tabernacle has resulted in a profound seriousness concerning God’s meeting place (the house of God) and the worship of the true God.
One other blessing was that the members of a church that was organized last year attended this year’s conference. They call themselves Zion Baptist Church. This was their first conference. These brethren were from a previously all Hindu village. Now they are converts to Jesus Christ who are growing in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It was a true blessing for the other brethren to see how God has worked in their lives.
The Scriptures continue to form a strong foundation for the brethren in Tripura. While under attack from religious enemies or while their enemies have tried to deceive many, the Scriptures have been their source of strength. Let me give you an example.
There is a man in one of the churches who is very shy and still somewhat afraid of the Tripura Baptist Christian Union (TBCU) leaders. His name is R...
During a recent public meeting, R… was confronted by a particular TBCU leader whose name is J... Though he is very shy and somewhat afraid – he prayed to God for help and the Lord reminded him that the Scriptures were his help to answer.
As J... was speaking, he used a particular Scripture and R... spoke up and told him he had misinterpreted the verse. This very shy man went on to instruct J… in the truth and as a result, J… went away confounded. The simple and uneducated people in the meeting rejoiced to have someone there to answer the error that was being put forth.
Another blessing coming from obedience to the word of God is that now these previously poor churches are prospering and even have surplus money to pay for their own conference. Every expense for the October conference was covered by the churches. This is the first time in my history of working in India that this has happened and it is a direct result of the biblical foundation that was laid when these churches were first organized.
Not only are the adults learning to obey God’s word, but the children of these historic Baptists are learning to obey the Scriptures too. Recently during the Hindu festival called Pujah the school teachers asked their students to give money to the Hindu goddess in honor of Pujah. The children of our Historic Baptist brethren refused, saying that they do not give money to gods who cannot speak or hear. You can imagine the stir this caused among the teachers and some of the other children. In fact, some of the other children went home and told their families what happened. That resulted in many other families determining not to give their money to the Hindu goddess during Pujah.
Kumulung:
During his recent visit to Tripura, Bir visited a place called Kumulung with Manindra and Molin to survey the place and to speak to some people concerning the gospel and the organization of a church. We have been praying about this place for more than a year and it is our hope that a church will be organized there.
The people with whom we previously had contact in this area had been visited by the TBCU people and they had spread lies about us among them. But, despite the lies, they received Bir and Manindra and asked many questions. God gave our brethren open doors to shut the mouths of the gainsayers and to set the record straight by using the word of God as the final authority on all things.
Manindra has recently moved to Kumulung to spend more time with the people. My counsel has been that if we believe it to be God's will for us, then, whether or not we have people committed to join with us, or whether or not we face opposition, we should move there, work there, and wait upon our God to build His church (Matthew 16:18). Manindra has committed to work there to see a church organized. Let us pray for him and his family as they seek our God to see His goodness bestowed in Kumulung.
Manindra is a homeopathic doctor who has his own practice and will support himself with his own hands while laboring to see a church organized.
NOTE: After starting in Kumulung more persecution has arisen from various sources but it has only led to a greater conviction to remain and continue to see a church established.
Texas:
We continue to meet each Lord’s Day with four adults (not counting Dianne and me). The Lord seems to be uniting our hearts together and we are waiting upon Him as to when we will organize. At this time we will probably organize the church some time after the first of the year.
Recently, we have had two visitors attending services with us. We also have another family who is praying as to whether it might be the Lord’s will for them to join with us.
Over all, I am very encouraged as to what I am seeing our God do here.
Please keep praying as to the Lord’s will as to how I should balance my time between the work in India and in Texas. Both are important to me and both are a burden upon my heart.
At this time, I am praying about my return to India. Please pray with me as I must get many things in order to do so.
The Lord bless and keep you all,
Pat Horner (phorner1@yahoo.com)
Sent from:
Raleigh Springs Baptist Church
PO Box 34788 Bartlett, TN 38184
Jack Duplechain, pastor (jvdup1@hotmail.com)
P S – As you know my computer crashed several months ago. As a result, this prayer letter is being sent to a fraction of the people who were originally receiving it. If you know someone who might be interested in receiving this prayer letter or who has not received it lately, please let me know their email addresses and I will gladly add them to my mailing list.
Thank you.
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