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Thanks so much for your prayers. Right now it is 12:30 pm on Tuesday. It is awesome to be sitting here in India in the middle of God’s work. I apologize for being unable to send an update before now, but we have been EXTREMELY busy and my first attempt at trying to get online was unsuccessful.

As you may know, we are leading a camp for students from India, Nepal, and Bhutan. We were praying for God to send us over 200 students to this camp. There are over 230 students present plus an additional 20 or so adult leaders. GOD BE PRAISED! The Holy Spirit is rocking our worlds through these folks. They are so alive, energetic, loving, and HUNGRY for God and His Word. By the way, preaching with Jiwan translating is about as much fun as you can imagine. Last night we worshipped and the presence of God was so thick that it was almost overwhelming. Tears are in my eyes as I type because the LORD is sufficient for these people. They don’t face many of the distractions or comforts that we face. Instead, they have a raw, trusting faith. They believe God for everything. You should hear the roar as they pray. Not quietly to themselves one at a time, but all at once with confidence and belief.

We have seen many come to Christ already and we have not even had an official altar call (that starts tonight). There is a stark difference in accepting Christ here vs. in the U.S. At home when someone accepts Christ we pat them on the back and congratulate them. In India when someone accepts Christ then many times they are ostracized and kicked out of their families. In this highly affectionate, social culture that is a extreme form of persecution. Our students are hearing stories from their small groups of teenagers being beaten and persecuted for following Christ. It is so humbling to be here and to get a chance to be a part of the kingdom.

Please prat specifically for the language barrier to not be an issue. We have a total of 12 small groups (not very small- the average size is 21) and communication can be a bit challenging. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fall tonight as we have a formal decision time. We are calling students to come to the altar if they are willing to go and die for the cause of Christ. At home this is a metaphorical challenge, but here it is real. If these students obey the Lord some of them will die in His honor.

Please pray for a HUGE movement of God. We are making plans to have a baptismal service tomorrow in a local river. I have had a dream for several years of baptizing someone over here and hopefully my dream will be realized. We will also be observing communion tonight and a foot washing service on Wednesday night.

1 Chronicles 16:30-31

Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”