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Independent Church in India

NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 - VOLUME 38
NATIVE MISSIONARY UPDATE EDITION
INDEPENDENT CHURCH IN INDIA PO BOX 238 FREDERICKSBURG, PA 17026
Website: www.indchurch.org email:info@indchurch.org (717) 865-7885
"Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every
creature" (Mark 16:15).

In this Issue: Native Missionaries Are Reaching Lost Souls

Native Missionaries Are ndependent Church in India’s (ICII) main goal is to train
Reaching Lost Souls I and support native missionaries to go out into the
remote villages, town and cities, leprosy colonies and
A Day Well Worth Spent hospitals to preach the Gospel, to do children’s ministry,
with ICII’s Missionaries
have Bible studies, pray for the sick and needy, and to
Saved, Healed,
reach out to the poorest of the poor. They are fulfilling this
and Delivered! goal through training missionaries by holding Bible
schools, leading teams in the field, and establishing a
A Man From the Mob monthly sponsorship program to help support native mis-
Turns to the Lord! sionaries full-time. The ICII Gospel teams have reached
thousands of villages in Tamil Nadu, India and have given
Bible Study Starts out hundreds of thousands of Gospel tracts and thou-
Through A Miracle! sands of New Testaments. Tens of thousands of men, Pastor Isaac, one of ICII’s branch
women, and children are accepting Jesus Christ as their pastors, doing children’s ministry.
Jesus Opens the
personal Lord and Savior! ICII is currently supporting 31
Mouths of Babes!
native missionaries through sponsorships. There are other missionaries who have been trained and still need
Jesus Saves a Family support so they can preach the Gospel and do the work of the ministry full time. We have dedicated this entire
From Suicide! issue so you can read incredible and life-changing field testimonies of
ICII’s missionaries who have dedicated their entire lives to preaching
Jesus Heals a Jesus to the lost and in hopes that you may consider getting more
Cancerous Tumor! involved with the Lord’s work in India. Many of ICII’s missionary
teams reach 15 to 28 villages per week. Together, our 31 missionar-
The Crucial Importance ies are reaching well over 300 villages per week with open-air
of Sponsorship preaching, personal evangelism, Bible studies, children’s ministry,
Editor and writer and visiting leprosy colonies. Village Bible studies may be anywhere
Kathy A Smith from 10 to 100 people attending them. It is truly exciting to know how
many people are being taught the Word of God each week!

A Day Well Worth Spent with ICII’s Native

Pastor Britto giving out Bibles to people
with HIV at a hospital.
Missionaries …by Kathy A Smith - This past trip
Lowell and I were in India for five months and we Peter brings the joy of Jesus to a
had the wonderful opportunity to reach over 20 woman with leprosy.
leprosy colonies and hospitals. Each trip we took
was very unique and exciting, and we saw the Lord transform many lives of those with
leprosy with salvation and the peace and love of Jesus. I want to share about the very first
trip I took with the ICII Leprosy missionary team. ICII’s ultimate goal is to bring the Gospel
to all the leprosy colonies, hospitals, and homeless leprosy victims in Tamil Nadu. It was
very exciting to see how the Lord is using ICII’s native missionaries and to also be a part
of leading these forsaken people to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our journey
started early one morning and we did not return home until around midnight. The morning
was spent searching for leprosy victims for many hours as we made our way to visit a
 INDEPENDENT CHURCH IN INDIA
Kathy Smith passing out New Testaments
at the leprosy colony.
NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER/AUGUST 2008 2
leprosy colony about two hours distance from our home. The
first man we found with leprosy was named Perrimmal. We
invited him into our van and shared the Gospel with him. As I
was sharing the Gospel, he began to weep as he realized
what Jesus had done for him. Perrimmal shared with us, “In
my family, they think I am worthless and they all have
rejected me because of my leprosy. No one has ever invited
me to their van before to share about Jesus to me. In the past
I saw pictures of Jesus on the cross but I never knew what
this all meant before, but now I know that Jesus died for me”.
Perrimmal received a blanket and a Bible and tract to take
home with him. He left the van that day in joy, passed from
death unto life as a new creature in Christ Jesus!

We met another leprous man who was a Muslim and invited him into our van to share the Gospel to him. He also
accepted Christ. He shared, “I came to visit my family to try to get some help from them, but I was again going home
empty handed because they rejected me. The message you have shared with me is so comforting and has given
me hope again”.

After finding leprosy victims we continued to our destination at a leprosy colony. We found out that the colony had
39 leprosy victims and in a different section 36 people and children who were infected with the AIDS virus. Francis, This man has com-
one of our missionaries, preached the Gospel to the lepers, pletely lost all his
and I with Pastor Britto translating, had the great opportu- fingers and toes.
nity to preach to those with HIV. Both the leprosy and the
AIDS victims had such hopelessness in their eyes, but after hearing the Gospel
you could see they had new hope in Jesus! Almost all of these precious people
received Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
We also gave them each a blanket, and
a Bible for those who could read. One
woman with leprosy shared, “We thought
that we were worthless before, but now
we realize that Jesus loves us so much”.
Kathy Smith, with Pastor Britto translating, leading
the leprosy victims and their families in the Next we went to a village next to a high-
salvation prayer who lived in the poverty village. way, where 17 leprosy victims were living
with their families. No one was helping
them, and they were stricken with severe poverty. Many of the people lived in damaged huts and
Pastor Britto talking with a leprous
had to survive by begging. They were so poor, and many of them seemed very bitter because of man outside of his hut.
this terrible poverty. There were also other problems such as blindness and malnourished children
in this village. After we preached the Gospel, many of them did accept the Lord. Everyone, including all the children, each received a
blanket, and Bibles were given to those who could read.

After this, we went into a big city named Tiruchipalli and began searching for homeless lepers. There
we spent many hours searching out and ministering to leprosy victims. We found eight homeless lepers
who all received Christ! One man had very bad open sores, and ICII missionary Xavior put medicine on
his sores and wrapped his feet. Xavior shared with the man, “I am doing this for you because of Jesus’
love”. The man was very touched and was totally amazed that someone who was a stranger was
showing him this kind of love. The man shared; “my own sons who are wealthy have rejected me and
will not help me, so I have been left alone on these streets, begging to survive for many long years”.

Xavior, giving a blanket to a
homeless man with leprosy.
After all this, it was getting late and we finally ate before we made the journey home. I was hungry and
tired since I had not eaten since 7:30 in the morning. All day long, the ICII missionaries were very busy
sacrificing their time and energy for reaching leprosy victims. It was so encouraging and fulfilling to work
with them, and to see how they have dedicated their lives one hundred percent to the Lord! I was so
glad to have had a part in finding them sponsors while I had been in the US so they could fulfill the
Lord’s work here in India”. I longed to see more of the missionaries supported.
 INDEPENDENT CHURCH IN INDIA NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 3
ICII’s Missionary Field Testimonies - We want to dedicate the next two pages to our missionaries
and allow them to tell their stories of how the Lord is using them in the field.

Saved, Healed, and Delivered! - One day, missionaries Gideon and Iruthaysamy visited a remote
village for the first time. They began to distribute Gospel tracts to the village people and then they
gathered the children together for a Bible study. Some of the Hindu people who lived in the village
told them to leave because they did not want them to convert anyone to Christianity. As Gideon and
Iruthaysamy began to leave the village, a woman stopped them and asked them to come into her
house because she and her husband desperately needed prayer. When Gideon and Iruthisammy
entered the hut they learned that this couple were witchdoctors who did fortune-telling and Hindu Iruthaysamy praying for the
rituals for the people. The hut was filled with idols. The husband had been very sick and had a youth at a remote village.
bleeding disorder. Gideon and Iruthaysamy shared the Gospel with the couple. As they were
finishing the couple began to weep and realized their need for a Savior. They said they
had so many problems, and no peace in their lives. The husband and wife asked Jesus
to be the Savior of their lives. Then the team prayed for Jesus to heal the man’s sickness.
When they were finished the man testified with joy that as they prayed he felt healing in
his body and he knew the bleeding had stopped! After the team finished rejoicing and
instructing the couple in the Word of God, they decide to move on. When they walked out
of the couple’s hut, they saw a crowd gather around them. The village Hindus had
gathered some others and they began to push Gideon and Iruthaysamy around and
spoke very harshly to them. They were shouting at them, “You guys are converting the
people to worship your God. We have received these tracts you gave, but we cannot
understand them. Others in this village are reading your tracts and they are kneeling
Gideon preaching open-air at a remote village. down and asking Jesus to forgive them. We are a Hindu village and we do not want to
change. Who will worship our Hindu gods, if you are coverting the people to your God?
We want you to leave this village right away and do not come back again!” When the crowd was ready to drive them out, the husband came
forward and began to testify that he had been healed. He told the crowd, “Jesus has healed my sickness! I invited them to stay so whoever
wants to invite them to your home you can invite them, and those who don’t want them you can leave them alone and go home”. Some of
the people left and others stayed. That day the missinary team shared the Gospel to the crowd who had stayed and prayed for the sick.
Some of the people accepted the Lord. Gideon and Iruthaysamy went home rejoicing, seeing salvation, miracles, and healing in the people
at that village! Now they go back every week to have a Bible study in this village. The couple who used to practice witchcraft have also
removed all the Hindu idols from their house, and have given their lives totally to the Lord!

Raj passing out Gospel tracts at a village.
A Man From the Mob Turns to the Lord! - One day Raj and his ministry partner Francis
went to preach the Gospel at a new village. As they were preaching, one guy came to
them and invited them to his home. The man asked them to share more about Jesus. Raj
began to share his testimony of his past involvement in the local mob group with the man
and the man was totally impressed with his testimony. (Mob groups will beat and threaten
people, and take their money). The man told Raj, “I am also involved in the same type of
group you used to be involved with” (a local mob). Raj told him, “ You can never get any
peace by doing that kind of job. Only Jesus can give you the peace in your life”. That day
the man and his family accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and
Savior! The man has gotten out of his mob group and has
gotten another job. Raj now has a Bible study in the man’s
house.

Bible Study Starts Through a Miracle - One day Nazareth Mary and her ministry partner Kowsalya went to a
remote village and began to distribute Gospel tracts. At one house, they found one lady lying on the floor of her
damp hut. She had been very sick. They could see that no one was caring for her and she was suffering very
much from her sickness. The woman shared, ”My body is very weak, and I am so dizzy, I cannot walk”. Nazareth
Mary and Kowsalya began to encourage her how much Jesus loves her and they shared the Gospel with her.
After this, she joyfully accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior! Afterwards the team prayed for the woman.
When they went back to the village the following week they saw the woman who had been sick standing outside
and cleaning the front of her hut. She was very happy and she shared with them, “The very next day after you
Kowsalya feeding
prayed, I began to feel better and I could get up and walk again!” The woman now invites others in her village to leprosy victims.
come to Nazareth Mary’s and Kowsalya’s Bible study each week!
 INDEPENDENT CHURCH IN INDIA NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2008 4
Jesus Opens the Mouths of Babes - (Pastor Samuel) “One day I was doing children’s
ministry for fifty kids. We were teaching them songs, and they were so happy to sing
them. I found two kids that seemed very sad and I asked them what was wrong. I found
out that they were both deaf and mute. I began to pray because I felt very bad for these
kids. All the other children were singing the songs to Jesus. These kids wanted to also,
but they could not. I began to pray for these two kids that as the Lord had healed me, in
that same way, I prayed with tears, the Lord would open their mouths. After that, these
kids mouths were both opened and the first word they said was “Jesus”! That day,
because of the miracle, twenty families came to know the Lord!”

Jesus Saves a Family From Suicide -

One day Pastor Isaac took his motorcycle
Pastor Samuel doing children’s
ministry at a remote village. to have service done on it. As the me-
chanic was checking his motorcycle Isaac
felt the Lord prompt him that this man needed to hear the Gospel. Pastor Isaac asked the
man if he could share about Jesus. The man said yes and Pastor Isaac began to share the
Gospel. After hearing the Gospel the man told Isaac, “this is a divine appointment that God
sent you to me at the right time. My business is failing, and I have debts, and many family
problems. Last night, my wife and I were talking about suicide. I was planning to close up my
shop today and I and my wife were going to commit suicide tonight”. That day God touched
the man’s heart and he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior! The man shared, “Now
I will plan to follow Jesus!”. Now, both the man and his wife are coming to Pastor Isaac’s
church.
Jesus Heals a Cancerous Tumor - (Pirabu) Pastor Isaac giving a blanket to
a small child with leprosy.
“One day when I went to a village, a lady
brought her son because he was feeling very
bad and had a terrible headache. She brought him to us because she heard that my ministry
partner and I were praying for the sick. She told the team that the doctor told her that her son
only has one month to live because he has a cancerous tumor in his head. The doctor also
told her that he cannot do anything else for her son, only God can heal him. For one day,
Francis my team partner, and I fasted and prayed for God to work a miracle and heal the
boy. After one month, the mother took her son back to the doctor to get him checked again.
The doctor could no longer find any tumor in his head! It was totally gone!”

The Crucial Importance of Sponsorship - We hope that these testimonies have touched
Francis giving a blanket to a
homeless man with leprosy. your heart and have showed you how the Lord is using native missionaries for his glory!
Each of ICII’s missionaries has amazing testimonies but space does not allow us to print
them all. We hope to have just given you a glimpse of what the Lord can do through each one of you that may be reading this newsletter.
Place yourself for a moment in the following scenario, with a missionary that is working hard and obeying the call of God in his life. Maybe
the Lord will lead you to provide for such an urgent need.

Imagine, you are standing sweating in the Indian midday heat, trying to find a little comfort under the inadequate ceiling fan of the small
church hall. Oblivious to the sounds and smells of the city, of poverty, of hopelessness, you are focused on the task before you with both
joy and sadness. It is the tenth of the month, and one by one the faithful, hardworking missionaries come forward to receive their small
monthly allowance. You are praising the Lord every time you lay an envelope in an outstretched hand, a hand that has placed thousands
of Gospel tracts into other hands and has led so many souls to Jesus. Each is a hand that has touched the untouchables with compassion,
praying and lovingly caring for the hopeless, the desperate, the outcast, the lost. Without the envelopes, those hands would instead have
to toil long hours just to provide a little food for their families. You see the relief, the light of gratitude in their eyes, hear the prayers of thanks
as they take the much-deserved gift. Then comes the moment you’ve been dreading. A hand outstretched, eyes expectant, but you’ve no
envelope to lay in it. No one has committed to sponsor this faithful missionary yet. What do you say? What can you tell this man who has
diligently labored, risking his life and family for the sake of the Gospel? You know their rice is almost gone, and their son needs clothes, and
their children’s education fees are due. Oh how you would love to just give him his allowance anyway, but there is simply not enough in the
general fund.

Would you take a leap of faith today and sponsor a native missionary and win souls for Jesus? The choice is yours? You will never regret
it. One day, when you stand before Jesus, you will be glad you did!