from Ryder:

Jeff is doing a great job in teaching. Right now he is teaching. The photos show his illustrations. God is using him. He is getting connected to people and food with good adjustments and flexibilities.

Leaving Hyderabad has not been easy. I had mixed feelings. This is where I was born and spent my first seventeen years and moved with the directions of the Lord. I have thousands of friends but the other places I could visit apart from our study venue and hotel are my dentist and blood pressure doc. I had a great longing to visit a eating place and my the area where I was brought up. But the focus to accomplish what we are here for has been the priority. Please pray that my ‘pending’ desire would be fulfilled one day.

At Delhi I preached for the first time in Delhi Bible Fellowship. It is located in a very poor and backward area of Delhi. The pastor here is form a Hindu background. There were over 100 in the first service and about 250 in the second service. I met a pastor here from Orissa where in the persecution he saw villages burnt, people burnt and a great devastation. He has 172 churches but only 62 pastors and all of them are untrained.

From Shanthi

This year’s seminar was unique in the fact that it dealt with Church administration, education, and operational aspects of the local churches. The teaching was very useful to the pastors, as the implementation of these concepts will help in the edification and growth of the churches.

The final day was hectic with three concluding sessions by Bro. Jeff, Bro. Randy and Bro. Ryder in that order. The seminar was concluded with the handing over the next course book No. 8.

All the participants returned to their destinations safely but with a delay of 6-12 hours, as a severe cyclonic storm affected road and rail traffic. We praise God for all His mercies and faithfulness in answering our prayers for the smooth conduct of the seminar.

from Shanthi,

We praise God for this year’s 2nd seminar, BTCP Course 7. All the participants arrived safely from different parts of the State well prepared to receive the inputs. The opening day’s topics were the Portrait of the church, and purpose of the church, topics of utmost importance. The participants listened with rapt attention, as the portrait of the church was unveiled by Bro.Randy and Bro.Ryder. 29th October being Jeff’s Birthday, we celebrated it with a cake cutting.

The second day’s topics are concerned with the practice of the church and family ministry. The participants actively involved in interacting with the resource persons, getting clarifications. They were introduced to new concepts, which would promote growth and unity in the church.

The chain prayer started yesterday evening at 6 p.m and it went on till today upto 6 a.m. We had a wonderful time praying for a long list of prayer requests. All the pastors were put in different groups who took turns to pray the whole night. Praise God! More about it in today’s report coming up in the evening!

Well we just finished a great day of ministry. I preached two messages at BHEL and Jeff shared his testimony (he did a great job). There were probably around 700 people at the service which lasted 3.5 hours! One of the amazing parts was listening to the people pray for over an hour (although we could understand nothing they were saying).

BHEL Church with around 700 in attendance

Jeff had his first taste of India during the daytime. It was a mild drive as drives go in India. But Jeff was shocked even at the low traffic of a Sunday. Can’t wait to see what he thinks about a Monday.

A family of 5 out for an afternoon ride 🙂

Here are a few things to pray for:
1. Jet lag. I am having a hard time this time. I am so tired during the day and so is Jeff. Hopefully, we can get on schedule tomorrow.
2. Health. Ravi & Shanthi want us to avoid shaking hands with everyone. They even recommended that I wear a mask when I am not preaching. I guess there are some severe flues going around and they want me to be careful. This has me a little nervous now.

Dinner with Ravi, Shanthi, Ryder, Jeff and me

More prayer requests to come. FYI, I could feel the prayer power when I was on stage preaching. Even before I felt a calm and a peace that was supernatural. Thanks to everyone who is praying!

from Ryder

Thanks for your prayers on our behalf. I happy to report that:

• There were several testimonies by the participants on the last day at Vijayawada expressing how ignorant they were about observation, interpretation and application of God’s Word. One pastor said he was preaching for 15 years and realized in this seminar that what he was preaching was incorrect interpretation.
• Everyone was appreciative of the teaching, study material and are eagerly looking for the next one. Many expressed that they want all the ten courses to be done soon. They can’t wait.
• There has been very good interaction between the participants and teachers.
• I had good opportunities of witness outside the seminar. I enjoyed thoroughly teaching to the participants.

David got sick at the airport with shivering in the body but reached Hyderabad safely. We are all at the hotel now. I am waiting for the arrival of Randy and Jeff. Looking forward for a great time on this Sunday and the week to follow.

From Ryder, Oct. 24th, 2012

Thanks for your prayers on our behalf.

• The Lord has kept the team in unity, love and good health.
• The selection of the participants is done very carefully as it appears through the diligence, devotion and discipline.
• The study of course # 1 is going on well. Today is the third day. Participants started interacting with good and intelligent questions. I am very encouraged. It looks that there is going to be a great impact through these participants in the areas of their work.

Please pray:

1. That participants would be able to get a study Bible. None of them have a study Bible and reference Bible.
2. The remaining two days may be fruitful.
3. Vinay and Isaac who were greatly impacted by the BTCP courses done through STN may keep themselves humble and broken to continue to impact many lives among whom they labor. The testimony was these two brothers is the result of our labors of past. Their ministry has become more meaningful and powerful and purposeful.
4. Pray for the family conference arranged by Kalapala brothers where David  and I would minister the Word.

Thanks. I am looking forward to Jeff and Randy’s arrival.

We are looking forward with eager anticipation to the upcoming training conferences.

Lord willing, here is the schedule:

• Oct. 22-26: David Nelson and Ryder Kumar will teach Book #1 in Vijayawada/Southern India to 30 new participants
• Oct. 29-Nov. 2: Randy Leinen, Ryder Kumar and Jeff Forbes will teach Book #7, Church Ministry, Administration and Education, in Hyderabad (regular ongoing training for these pastors)
• Oct. 30-Nov. 1: David Nelson and Ryder Kumar will lead a Teacher Training Workshop for Christian leaders from all over India.
• Nov. 5-9: Randy Leinen, Ryder Kumar and Jeff Forbes will teach Book #7, Church Ministry, Administration and Education, in Lucknow (regular ongoing training for these pastors)

The team will also preach in church on all Sundays in India.

Please pray for the team as they prepare to teach and for all travel arrangements. Praise: Jeff Forbes’ Visa came through quickly! Please also pray for the Indian pastors as they prepare and attend the upcoming conferences.