August 13 Flood Relief Update email - Posted August 21

Dear Friends and Partners,

Greetings from Gospel Fellowship of India. We are very happy to inform you that we were able to help the flood victims with food items.

We provided 70 families with rice (10 pounds), yellow-split peas (2 pounds), and one kilo of cooking oil. The people were so happy to receive these items and thankful to Gospel Fellowship of India and The Harvesters.

With the help of Word of His Grace Ministries we were able to provide the same food items to 50 families in Pedapatnam Lanka. In this village, we have a feeding center through Word of His Grace Ministries.

We still have several villages affected by the flood. If you would like to help these people they will appreciate it very much.

Please send a check made out to “F.I.C.C.”, addressed to Faith International Christian Center, P. O. Box 14931, Bradenton FL 34280, c/o Pastor Chuck Kennedy. Put “India Flood Relief” on the Memo line.

Blessings,
Pastor Y. Sharath Bhushan & Pastor Steven Heintz

To watch short videos of the Flood Relief outreaches, please click on these links:

August   5 Flood Relief      http://youtu.be/oq_ewl2G9_M
August 12 Flood Relief      http://youtu.be/P-9rr6OvM6Y

Update Letter Sent Today - Please Comment!

Dear Friends,
I haven’t written since Pastor Sharath and I sent out joint reports about the local flooding. We were happy we could offer relief for two villages.
Personally I am fine. I’m getting enough rest and enough activity and feeling good. Every day is busy.
However, the ministry is being affected by a national problem. The federal government of India declared that Andhra Pradesh State will be divided into two smaller states. Hyderabad will be the capitol of one area. Thirteen local districts will form a new state with a new capitol.
All the political parties in the Parliament signed a plan of agreement. When the plan was announced but before it was officially enacted, a reaction rose against it called a “Bund”, a general strike:  groups of people stop traffic, forbid businesses to open, gather for rallies, and burn effigies in the streets. It’s a kind of mass movement.
We were caught in one of the rallies on the way to see Sharath’s mother last Thursday.
(She is recovering very well. Shanti’s father, Pastor Israel, who founded a Christian school for the blind, has come to stay at Peniel for a while after having heart surgery. So the family is busy.)
A large crowd formed a ring in the square holding hands, built a huge bonfire, and burned an effigy. It was a little unnerving.
Shop owners are threatened if they open when there is a general shutdown. Everything closes: banks, schools, hospitals, doctors, shops, railways, buses, stores and businesses. Everything was closed for four of the last eight days and will be closed again tomorrow. We lost two weeks of classes at the college.
The national government is at a loss. There are not enough police to stop the actions. As an American it is hard for me to get my mind around it.
The effect on the ministry is to keep the children out of school, close the college, and create idle time. We can’t get money or cash checks because the banks are closed. It causes a lot of inconvenience.
The church people accept the situation. They really shine under pressure. (We re-opened the college yesterday and even have new students now, but the children are still out of school.)
Sharath asks that you pray that the government leaders will receive wisdom, and that the general population will receive peace. We need a spirit of reconciliation. So far the agitation gets worse each day.
You can see that God has ‘dropped me in the middle of it’. I am glad that I have a protected place to stay and that I’m surrounded by wonderful brothers and sisters.
We are starting a new Blog entitled “Harvesting in India”. (Click Here: http://gfirazole.blogspot.in/) I just put up a post about our invitation to the B. Savaram village Independence Day flag-hoisting. It was a historic day. No Christian pastor has ever prayed on the municipal grounds before. Please read about it.
Some of you are new to the list with this mailing. Somehow I left off over a hundred people I promised to include. Sorry for the omission! I’ll post all previous emails on the blog for you to read.
If you don’t want to receive these reports, reply with “Delete” and I will take you off right away.
I hope this gives you plenty of ‘prayer material’. “Your Prayers are the Greater Work.”
Love and Blessings,
Steve Heintz
The Harvesters
Peniel Prayer House
Razole, E.G. District, AP India

India Independence Day and A Historic First !

A Historic Event in the Local Community:

Last Thursday was Indian Independence Day (August 15). India gained her independence in 1947. The streets were filled with children, dressed in school uniforms and ties, walking or riding bicycles, and everyone looked just wonderful.

We were invited to the municipal flag-hoisting for B. Savaram village, where Peniel Prayer House and Bible College is located. This was an absolute first in all of history. No Christian pastor has ever before been invited.

Part of the ceremony is to split a coconut and offer it as a sacrifice to the Indian flag, and then to worship the flag. They consider the flag to be a Hindu god. We were invited to participate, but declined.

I gave greetings and Sharath prayed. It was quite a wonderful experience.
When Sharath prayed, he mentioned that it was a historic first for a Christian pastor to be invited to the municipal grounds, and to pray was an absolute first. Several people raised their hands and shouted for joy (among the Hindu leaders). It was wonderful!!
One of those people was the father-in-law of the mayor. He made a special point of coming over to us to give a warm greeting.

I believe God is moving in a mighty way. The Indian people are ripe for the Lord Jesus, coming out of incredible darkness.

There are estimates that more than 30% of Indian people are hidden believers who worship Jesus, but fear to take a public stand as a Christian because of discrimination.

Dalit Christians are excluded from many public benefits by a 1950 edict – education, job, and other unjust withholding of constitutional rights create difficult barriers to economic and personal opportunity. The Dalit people of India are the excluded castes. For many generations they did the difficult work of the society.
Now they are a vibrant, upwardly mobile community in spite of the barriers. They are one of the largest communities in India. Experts believe that 99% of the Dalit people are Christians. But because of the edict, few profess Christ publicly.

There is growing feeling that this edict should be lifted. It is contrary to the Indian constitution. There is petition before Parliament to act. A simple majority of the lower house would abolish it.

So far, the Parliamentary action needed has not been taken. If it were enacted, perhaps one third of India would become “Christian” overnight, millions of people who are now registered as Hindus.

A Historic Day for Pastor Sharath

Dear Friends,

First of all, I praise God for the opportunity of being invited by the municipal office of B Savaram village to be a guest for our sixty-seventh Independence Day celebration.

I was in the ministry for the past thirty years. This is the first time a pastor is being invited by the local office. I went with my friend Steve Heintz, who greeted the people, and I offered prayer for the nation. This is the first time a Christian prayer is offered in the premises of the municipal office!!

Pastor Sharath

To watch short videos of the Flood Relief outreaches, please click on these links:

August 5 Flood Relief
http://youtu.be/oq_ewl2G9_M
August 12 Flood Relief
http://youtu.be/P-9rr6OvM6Y

Hello! and - Recent Flood Relief Activity

For a first blog, this entry comes in the middle of the story. I am Steven Heintz writing to you with my friend Apostle Yeeda Sharath Bhushan of Gospel Fellowship of India. I am here on an  extended friendly visit from the USA, living at Peniel Prayer House and teaching at Peniel Bible College in Razole, EG District, Andhra Pradesh, India.

This is our recent letter to friends, family and loved ones:

Dear Friends and Partners,

Greetings from Gospel Fellowship of India. We are very happy to inform you that we were able to help the flood victims with food items.

We provided 70 families with rice (10 pounds), yellow-split peas (2 pounds), and one kilo of cooking oil. The people were so happy to receive these items and thankful to Gospel Fellowship of India and The Harvesters.

With the help of Word of His Grace Ministries we were able to provide the same food items to 50 families in Pedapatnam Lanka. In this village, we have a feeding center through Word of His Grace Ministries.

We still have several villages affected by the flood. If you would like to help these people they will appreciate it very much.

Please send a check made out to “F.I.C.C.”, addressed to Faith International Christian Center, P. O. Box 14931, Bradenton FL 34280, c/o Pastor Chuck Kennedy. Put “India Flood Relief” on the Memo line.

Blessings,

Pastor Y. Sharath Bhushan & Pastor Steven Heintz