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The Villager, November 2006
 November
2006
THE
CHRISTMAS VILLAGER
“The
shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it
had been just as the angel had told them.” Luke 2:20
 Mallepalli
is a small town in Nalgonda District in Andhra Pradesh. In this town many are
poor and uneducated . Many tribal people live in the fringe hamlets where the
religion is Animism.
Hinduism and Islam co-exist, while
Communism has made significant
inroads in the last decades.
 Fifteen years ago we entered this region to serve the
community primarily in the education field as a Christ-centered ministry. We
developed other programs as we became aware of the needs around us. We
encountered political,
economic and social problems, but we knew the Lord
always would stand by us. The ministry grew and spread into other regions. Recently we were involved in building boats,
repairing churches and
reconstructing houses for the 2004 Tsunami victims.
Though much travel is involved in visiting various projects, we are happy that the Lord opened many new doors for us.
 As an indigenous ministry, we are always reminded that
we are a minority people, a people with limited
financial resources,
often
depending on outside contributions.
Not being attached to a mission organization, we have no reserve funds
from mission boards or foundations. This makes us
waver in faith at times; on the other hand, it leads us to
depend more on God than on our own strength. Most of
our friends and some of
their churches continue to support our ministry
whole-heartedly, for which we are thankful.
Being indigenous also means that we are not separate
from the local community when it comes to sharing our faith. This makes it easy
for us to be accepted or rejected since we live among the
people. Christianity in the region is not exempt from caste consciousness,
which divides humanity; but as Christians, we seek to bind up the brokenness of
the society. Being indigenous means that, unlike the overseas missionaries, we
are here to stay in the face of what ever may come.
Some
key events of 2006:
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We held a pastoral seminar
in February for 50-60 evangelists and pastors. Nate Showalter, of Abundant
Grace Church in Shanghai, China, traced the history of early China churches
reaching out with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The theme of the seminar was
witnessing to the world at our work places.
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Doris had a knee
replacement surgery in April. The Lord has supplied our needs financially
and spiritually.
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Harry Schmidt and Jim
Degeer of Schmidt Family Foundation of Canada, who support our ministry,
blessed us with a visit in April.
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We held the second summer
camp for our 25 associate house churches in the month of May. Children
enjoyed Bible story-telling, performing arts, sports and training in life
skills.
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 Das
visited the Taipei International church in Taiwan to be a part of their
Missions Sunday celebrations. Das gave a message on “Missions from the
Receiving End.” He told the story of the missionary movement from the
perspective of people who receive the gospel.
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In September the Abundant Grace Church in Shanghai,
China, sent a sixteen-member team to rebuild houses for the 2004 Tsunami
victims of Muthaipalem, Bapatla in Guntur District. They worked side by side
with families that were allotted house sites by the government. This became
a milestone for community witness to the entire village.
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Last week the Taipei
International Church (TIC) sent a seventeen-member dental team to Mallepalli
for a week. Men, women and school children--2,600 patients--came from
surrounding villages and were treated for dental problems.
These
events point to one general development: Asian churches in mainland China, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines are increasingly involved in our ministry,
even while the churches in the West continue to partner with us. This
represents Christ in a global spirit.
Thank you
for your continued support. May the Lord bless you and your dear ones this
Christmas. Amen.
Das, Doris
and Nathan
Matilda
Education Society
India.
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