Letters from India Pt 2

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Letters From India Continued

Power of God over bureaucracy

Satya Singh is a cook of Indian food. He got a job in a restaurant in the Republic of Palau, a beautiful island in the Pacific Ocean. He needed to renew his passport and needed to report for work immediately. Normally passport renewal takes two weeks. The process could be speeded up by paying a high fee to a broker. However, the broker in this case did not want to take the job since the passport official in question was such an unpleasant, unreasonable individual.

Sangat's Story of His Life and Ministry

How I became a Christian

I was born in Tokyo, Japan on September 14, 1953. My Father was an Indian from Hoshiar Pur, Punjab, and my mother is Japanese from Tokyo. When my Father was young, he left India, I think, during the time of World War II. He joined his elder brother in Stockton, California to assist him and other Indians in liberating India from the British rule. As it became difficult to continue these activities in the US ( as the British were allies to the US), his brother asked him to leave for Japan, which was helping India to gain independence from Britain, to continue the liberation work. That was why he came to Japan and there he met my Mother.

My Father's religion was Sikhism; perhaps you might have seen an Indian man with turban, beard and mustache; that is what the Sikh looks like. My mother was a Buddhist, but when she married my father, she followed his religion. Sikhs believe in an invisible God, and they believe that there is "One Guru", that through him mankind could get to that Highest Spirit, God, and to receive the way of salvation.

We had a prayer room in our house where my Father instructed us to go and pray to God in the morning and evening. Besides this we thanked God before each meal. We prayed in the prayer room together, and he also read scriptures from "Granth", the holy book of this religion. At that time, I did not understand anything from these scriptures because I did not know the Punjabi language in which the scripture was written.

Tokyo to Bombay

I studied in Tokyo in a Japanese school up to the seventh grade. After completing this class, I asked my Father to take me to India and enroll me in school there because I wanted to see my Father's country which was mine also. At that time, I only spoke Japanese. In 1968 he took my two older sisters and me to India. We took a large ship and traveled in route to Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and finally Bombay.

The voyage was enjoyable, but when we reached Bombay, I was shocked with the poverty I saw in this country. It seemed that many people were living at a very a low standard of living. They were living in a very different lifestyle from that of Japan. My Father enrolled me in a school that had a hostel in Dehera Dun, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 135 miles north of Delhi. It was a hostel of an English Medium School where I began to learn English and a little Hindi, since the instruction was in English.

I faced difficulties in adjusting to the culture, food, way of life and language but even in those days, I prayed to God to help me overcome. I knew a little about Jesus Christ because the founder and wife at the school I attended in Japan were devout Christians. We had begun each day with prayer and a Bible reading in the auditorium. All aspects of the school, architecture, environment and emphasis in teaching were very godly.

In the Indian school, I loved playing various kinds of sports and I was good in them, therefore, I looked forward each day for after school and afternoon play time. Sports activities helped me to be positive in the midst of many challenges I faced living in a country that was less comfortable than that of living in Tokyo, Japan.

After three years I returned to Japan and attended an American High School in Tokyo for my Junior and Senior years. It so happened that I had many American friends who were children of Christian missionaries. I noticed that they were loving, friendly and manifested godly qualities. One of them gave me a Bible; I had a Japanese Bible, but it was written in an older form that was difficult for me to read or to understand. It was easier for me to read the English Bible. Of course, I did not put any effort into reading the Bible at that time. At that time, I was not inclined to the Lord Jesus Christ, though I heard about him from the Gospels that were read while I was in the Japanese school many years previously.

I attended Menlo Junior College in Pal Alto, California in 1973 and 1974. I then transferred to Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, as I thought I would like to be a farmer. ( I heard that OSU had excellent Agricultural and Engineering courses). However, as I studied, I realized that I did not want to work as hard as a farmer, so I changed my studies to business administration.

During this college year in Corvallis, I became very hungry to know the Truth. I prayed to God since I really did not know Him. I prayed and said to Him, "You have to show me that you are really there and you have to show me the Truth". Soon after this prayer, I met Dr. Richard Walker, who was carrying out research in the Pharmaceutical Chemistry department at OSU. He took me to a Christian Fellowship in Salem, about 25 miles from Corvallis. During those days, since I did not see power and life in Sikhism, I was searching for answers elsewhere, and one of them was Christianity.

I remember that the teacher who taught God's Word that night taught in such a way that it made sense to me, though I do not recall exactly what he had taught. Towards the end of the meeting I heard people speak in tongues and interpret. I did not understand the unknown language. However, the interpretation was in English, and I heard words as if spoken from God. I distinctly remember God saying that He was our Father. Immediately after the meeting, I asked Richard what was that unknown language? What was the meaning of someone speaking as if God were speaking?

He showed me from the Bible about speaking in tongues, and told me that God spoke to us through these individuals by the power of God. I believed and I was elated and filled with joy. What enlightened me the most was that, for the first time in my life I came to know that GOD WAS MY FATHER! That Great God who created the heavens and earth was my Father! What a revelation to my soul, enlightening the depths of my being! All the way back to Corvallis, I kept on asking Richard whether God was indeed my Father or not, and Richard kept on assuring me that He was my Father.

From the next day onward, I could not wait to meet Richard to learn from the Bible. We began a Christian Campus fellowship in the student union. I began to witness and share about God and His wonderful Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, from that day that I came to know Him with absolute certainly, which indeed was God's mighty work He did in my heart.

We reached out to many souls to share the knowledge of manifesting the spiritual power as spoken by Jesus Christ before his ascension-that we are endued with the power from on high, the gift of holy spirit. This is a brief sharing of how I became a Christian.

Return to India

I never thought I would return to India but, by the grace of God, I learned and grew. God worked in me, and put the desire in my heart and showed clearly to return to India to make known His Truth to Indians. That was why I returned to India temporarily in 1978 and 1980 and permanently in September of 1983. Since then, we have been reaching out to those who hunger and thirst for the Truth and making available teaching of God's Word in home fellowships throughout India.

Greatness of the Body of Christ

There are many Christians in India, but percentage-wise very few in a population of about 1,000,000,000. These Christians and Christian ministers have various ways of worship, doctrine and practice, but all belong to the One Body of Christ. This is true for all the Christians in the world. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church of God, the Body of Christ. God is looking after all of them with loving care and diligence regardless of their beliefs, practice, color, culture, both good Christians and bad Christians, rich Christians and poor Christians.

I am not the only one who is doing the works for the Lord Jesus in India but there are many just like me in the USA who are reaching out to the lost, teaching the faithful and unfaithful. I do not magnify myself nor am I the center of focus, but it is the Word of God and what God is doing that is the focus. The testimonies I relate are not centered on what I do, but on what other believers believe and do. It also shows through the testimonies that anyone could do the healing, casting out devils, and miracles; and anyone could receive deliverance from any problem.

Sangat's family

My wife, Beautrice, is from a Christian family; her father and mother are preaching and teaching God's Word with us in Punjab, 280 miles north of Delhi. She looks after our children and me wonderfully. Beautrice and I have three daughters: Preet is 16 now and will be 17 in January; she is in the twelfth grade. Priya is 12 and will be 13 in November; she is in the eighth grade.Prakashini is 8 years old and is in the third grade. We have one son, Sidhant, who is three years old.

Teaching God's Word in the family

Our family has a family fellowship daily at 8:00pm regardless of who may or may not be available, except when we have open fellowships at our home. The home fellowship begins at 8:00 and ends around 9:00pm; it is a wonderful time to be together to communicate with one another and to share our own testimonies each day. We sing songs, pray, bring messages from God by speaking in tongues with interpretation and prophecy and receive an offering.

My wife or I teach the children God's Word.

I thought to do this since we could easily be watching TV an hour a night. Why not make one hour for something that is the best? Taking one hour a day to recognize God and be thankful to Him and to learn His Word will go a long way after awhile.

Satya Singh prayed to God that he would get the officer's signature and a renewed passport in the same day. The broker might be afraid of the officer but he decided he would not because His God was with him when he faced the officer. He entered in the room of the officer and showed all the documents. The officer smoothly and immediately stamped and signed all the necessary documents. His passport was renewed in the same day, and Satya Singh is now getting ready to leave for his new job in the Republic of Palau, a tourists' paradise island.

Comfort of the scriptures

Rani's husband passed away last year. She has two daughters who were already married and has two more daughters with her. She was constantly worried about the future when her other daughters left home and married. She prayed to God for direction for her life.

That night, she saw in a dream a temple of God, and I walked out of it and said to her, "Why do you look so sad and what shall I do for you?" She said in her dream, "What should I do?" I answered, "Read the book of Job, Philippians and James". Rani was illiterate, so she waited until her daughters woke up and asked them to read her the book of Job. She was blessed to learn of Job's faithfulness in the face of the loss of his children, complete estate and wealth, not to mention the infestation of boils over his entire body. She said that her own loss was very little compared to Job, and she was comforted from the scriptures. God did not leave Job alone; moreover, he left him with an abundance of sustenance.

Excessive drinking healed

Mahajan told us that sometime ago, he began to drink whisky before dinner at home. Initially, he drank only about two glasses. Eventually, he found himself drinking four glasses of whisky and then half a bottle and finally a full bottle. Recently, he became convicted that he was spending far too much on drinking from his income that should be spent on his children. He knew that he could not quit drinking by himself.

He asked God to help him stop drinking. Specifically, he asked God that the next time he drank, that he would vomit. The following day, as he took a sip, he felt sick and immediately vomited. He told us that every time he thought about drinking, he would feel ill; as a result, he no longer is tempted to drink.

Importance of total trust in God

This testimony was from the other home fellowship held yesterday that I came to know when I spoke to the leader of that fellowship this morning. Ramkreet, a believer of this fellowship, shared yesterday that he had a boil on one of his eyelids, and it became so large that his fellow factory workers told him to visit a doctor for treatment. Many of the fellow workers with kind intentions suggested to him that he should get it treated immediately.

Ramkreet was tired of hearing their suggestions and said to them that by the end of that day's work, the boil would be gone. He prayed to God that it should be so. Indeed, by the end of the day, the boil was gone and, moreover, there was no trace of it. The workers around him were surprised at the God of Ramkreet.

Sangat's daughter healed

This is my testimony. The power that resides in the proper use of Holy Communion is something that has been on my mind lately. I knew that it was commanded by Lord to 'do in remembrance of me,' yet it was not something in which I frequently partook. This was partially true because I did not want to make it a religious ritual in my life. As a result, I was depriving myself and others of the full power resident in the broken body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Recently, I had observed that the saints were not receiving healing during the Holy Communion, because they did not believe upon eating the bread that they absolutely were going to be healed. Additionally, I did not believe to put the power of the healing wholeness into the bread.

With all this in mind, I decided to experiment when my eldest daughter, Preet, who had developed a mouth ulcer in two places and a large pimple on the left side of her cheek. Last night I administered a piece of bread representing the broken body of Christ to her. I prayed and believed that this piece of bread had the power to make her whole, thanked God, and gave it to her. The next morning, both the mouth ulcer and the large pimple were no longer there. I will be sharing about this in our next fellowship as well as in the other fellowships I will be attending.

I am indeed finding a great benefit in believers sharing what God has done for them at each fellowship, as we were greatly inspired to see that our God is able. Therefore, we have a time of sharing of what God has done in each fellowship here in India.

Acts of the Holy Spirit in South India

I arrived at Trivandrum airport at 2:30pm where I was received by Joseph Vederash, who conducts home fellowships and runs Bible classes in and around the area of Martandam that is about 40 miles further south of Trivandrum in the state of Tamil Nadu. Jacob John, who became believer about the same time as Joseph in 1984 in Delhi, was there also to receive me.

Ongoing teaching of elders

While we traveled on a bus to Martandam, he told us how God's Word has been moving in his area. Joseph had been conducting home fellowships for medical college students in the medical college in Martandam. The students are mostly from the state of Tamilnadu; however, there were also many students from other parts of India. In the past year, Joseph has conducted bible classes similar to the Foundational Bible Class I took in the United States in the 1970s. We arrived at Joseph's home. It is a wonderful home with coconut palms, banana trees, and other vegetation unique in this part of the country.

I shared with them regarding the manifestations of holy spirit and that I would be teaching more on this subject the next day. I was blessed to see much hunger in Joseph and Jacob to learn God's Word. I know they will continue to win and raise up people to evangelize God's Word in this part of India.

The next morning at Joseph's home, we began a study on the manifestations of holy spirit and some portions of the paper I had written on "How to Heal the Sick and Cast Out Devils" We were planning to depart for Jacob's home in Ayoor about 62 miles north of Joseph's home; it is on the way to Kotamangalam.

We left Joseph's home at 3:00pm and took a bus to Ayoor. To go to Ayoor, we went through Trivandram, the state capital of Kerala. On both sides of the road were coconut palms, rubber trees and many other types of vegetation. At one point we were surrounded by beautiful hills with lush tropical green trees. We reached Ayoor around 7:00pm. We spent more time on the topic of "How to Heal the Sick and Cast Out Devils" with Joseph and Jacob that evening.

In the morning, we spent much time discussing the outreach of God's Word in Tamil Nadu state. I understood in more detail how Joseph was evangelizing God's Word in that state. I shared with him some of the important points and basic principles of evangelization. I was very blessed to see how Joseph trusted God and his commitment to work for Him. So far Joseph has been teaching the Foundational Bible Class in English; however, I encouraged him to teach it in Tamil as this would help many more people in his state. I taught Jacob and Joseph again on the subject of "How to Heal the Sick and Cast out Devils" and showed them the simplicity of the manifestations of holy spirit.

We woke up at 5:00am to leave for Jacob's home at 6:00pm to get to Kotamangalam, 125 miles or so north of Ayoor. Kotamangalam is about 35 miles from the port city of Cochin. The bus journey was again pleasant as I enjoyed the surrounding beautiful scenery. We reached Kotamangalam around 1:30pm and met Mr. & Mrs. Sevi (Xavier Joseph), Rev. Johnson Sebastian (He is a minister from Delhi and brother-in-law to Sevi), Vargeese (who ministers the Word of God with Rev. Johnson in Delhi) and other elders and believers from the Kotamangalam home fellowships. In the evening, we had a fellowship with Kotamangalam elders and about forty saints.

Principles of healing taught

We had a seminar today with leaders and saints of Sevi's fellowship as well as other people who wanted to attend this fellowship from this city and other cities. The seminar is on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for three hours each day. In the evenings, we have open public meetings.

I decided to teach Foundational Bible principles in these seminar sessions. There were various ministers in the evening public meeting today, so I taught healing from two perspectives, not only from the one who heals but also from the one who receives healings. Rev. Johnson taught the first half (he is from this state of Kerala and thus knows Malyalam, so he taught them in this local language). I taught the Word of God in English and an interpreter translated it into Malyalam. Leaders and saints of Sevi's fellowship as well as pastors from local churches and other cities came to me after the meeting and told me that they learned much about healing from the evening teaching.

Testimonies and many healed

We continued the teaching on Foundational Bible principles this morning; about thirty people participated. I encouraged Sevi, who is an elder here, to translate the Foundational Bible class into the Malayalam language. Joseph is translating the Class into the Tamil language, and he plans to teach a live Foundational Bible Class this year. So far, he has been teaching the class in English to English-speaking people, mostly medical college students. He taught the class to seven groups of students last year. The morning session ended at 1:30pm, and we made healing available to those who sought it.

We rested and began the evening public meeting at 5:30pm; over one hundred people participated in this meeting. We began with music and songs and then teaching. After the teaching, Rev. Prem Raj, who is a nephew of a previous chief minister of Kerala and a convert from the High Hindu caste gave his testimonies of deliverance and how he turned to the true God. There were many who desired deliverance in the meeting, so we healed all those who came to be healed and all received deliverance. Some wanted to speak in tongues, so I led them into speaking in tongues.

Conclusion of Foundational Bible Class

Today was the last day of the seminar and the public meeting. I continued to teach the class with the help of an interpreter, and I was able to complete four sessions (of twelve) of the Foundational Bible Class. The elder here, Sevi, would in the future teach the class in Malyalam, their local language. India has fifteen major languages and hundreds of dialects in a population of over one billion. Our country is rich indeed with many colorful cultures and a multitude of religions. The local believers need to rise up and teach the accuracy and integrity of God's Word and help others to do the same.

I taught in the evening public meeting after Rev. Johnson had taught (about the authority we have in Christ). I continued teaching on the type of spirit we received from God which allows us to manifest all nine manifestations of holy spirit, which is power from on high. I concluded by teaching on speaking in tongues and touched briefly on interpretation of tongues and prophecy. After the meeting, those who desired healing came forward and were healed.

False gods rejected

Before Joseph, who is an elder in Tamilnadu, and Jacob, who works and lives in Cochin about 36 miles from Kotamangalam and 185 miles north of Martandam, returned to their respective places, we prayed together. They were certainly blessed to be able to fellowship with me, and I was also with them for the past week. I would again be communicating to them through letters and telephone calls. Joseph told me that he would come to visit me in October.

After seeing them off at the bus depot, Johnny, Vergeese, Jose and I visited Jose's home in Kotamangalam. We also visited his land near his home that he wanted to sell and we prayed to God together that this land could be sold quickly. Next to that land was a Hindu family whom Jose knew, and we spoke the Word of God and told them about the True God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

The family had many problems, and when I asked them whether they got any benefits from their gods or not, then they answered that they did not get any benefits at all. In fact, each year they made a pilgrimage to a far place to worship their gods. The father of the house, who was 75 years old, and the son and mother who were at the house believed the Word of God which we spoke and confessed Romans 10:9 right then and there.

We asked Jose to follow up with them and help them in the Way. In the evening I taught the Word of God to the saints in Kotamangalam.

We would be visiting Mr. Kuriako's home for a short while this morning and then move to Aluva, 24 miles from Kotamangalam where Sevi, his wife and their son live. Mr. Kuriako came to pick us up in his van; he is retired from the telephone company and now is devoted to evangelizing God's Word. He took us to his home where we met his wife and his daughter. We spent a while at his home and then went to a location where elephants were trained. The drive to this place was about 10 miles and was through rice fields, pineapple farms and forests. We saw many young elephants that were two or three years old. Mr. Kuriako then took us to Sevi's home at Aluva.

A long day with the believers

I got up at 3:00am and left the house for Cochin airport. We reached it at 4:20am; the flight was at 5:20am. I reached Visakhapatnam airport at 12:20pm as I had to change a flight and waited four hours for another plane to Chennai airport. Once I reached Visakhapatnam airport, I moved to Visakhapatnam railway station and caught the 1:05pm train to travel about 90 miles south to Samalkot station where I headed for Peddapuram. The trip took two-and-half hours. While on the train, Victor Emmanuel, an elder in Peddapuram, called me on my cell phone and asked my arrival time at Samalkot station. When I arrived, Victor, Jagga Rao, Samson David and Chinni greeted me. We then went to Victor's house.

We had a fellowship at Victor's home that night as Wednesday was his usual fellowship day. I met various saints and elders. They arranged a room for me in a hotel with air conditioning since it was very hot in Peddapuram Andhera Pradesh state. Victor arranged a seminar for me to teach from 8:00 to 10:00 in the morning and 6:00 to 8:00 in the evening for the next four days to strengthen elders in the area.

Sangat's heart for God's people

We had a morning meeting at Victor's home where the elders attended. I taught on speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophecy. Victor is currently running a Telegu Foundational Bible Class in Peddapuram. After the morning teaching session, Victor and I traveled about 25 miles by local bus to Rajahmundry to meet David Livingstone. David is a leader in this city and recently retired from a senior clerical job at the local school. We decided to visit him since he had not been well for some days. We reached his home just past noon. Thank God that I got to visit him.

We had a wonderful time of fellowship together. We departed around 5:00pm and reached Peddapuram about 6:00pm. Believers and elders were already waiting for us for the evening session of teaching of God's Word. Prakash Rao was able to attend this session, and he asked us to conduct fellowship at the flat rooftop of his house (many Indian houses have flat rooftops) Saturday and Sunday from 4:00pm to 5:30pm. I continued to teach the basics of God's Word and the simplicity of God's Word, which is: God is perfect, His Word is perfect, and God means what He says and says what he means, etc. The truth from God is simply written in the Bible. We are able to separate tradition and the Truth by reading what it is written.

Challenging living and working conditions

We met the leaders at Victor's home again this morning and worked on speaking tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy. I continued to emphasize the importance of following what the Word of God says and not the commandment of men and tradition of men. It has been really hot here in Andhera Pradesh at 46 degrees centigrade (115 degrees Fahrenheit); unlike Tamilnadu and Kerala where their maximum temperature was 33 degrees centigrade (90 degrees Fahrenheit). Here people do not use air conditioning in their homes, so it gets really hot after 11:00am and remains so until 5:30pm. I thank God that they had arranged a room in a lodge with air conditioning so that I could rest at night. We have been having the evening sessions at this hotel room with the comfort of air conditioning.

Tonight I taught the principles of the manifestation of holy spirit and went on to the impartation manifestations (i.e. faith, gifts of healing, and miracles). I showed them the keys that are plainly revealed in the Word of God regarding healing. Each day I was thankful for the hunger these believers have for God and His Word.

At 4:00pm we had a fellowship on the rooftop of Prakash Rao's home. Since it was an open meeting, I taught them on the basics of who our God is and His Son, Jesus Christ and about Truth of God versus the traditions of men. After the meeting was over, many came forward to be healed. I showed the leaders the principles of healing and how to heal. People with various sicknesses and problems were instantly delivered.

I taught the elders in the evening session from 6:00pm to 8:30pm regarding casting out the devils from the scriptures. I certainly thank God for Victor for what he is doing for God's people here.

Conclusion of five-day seminar

There was no electricity for about an hour when we began the final morning session. We reviewed all the points on the manifestations of holy spirit. Also I shared the importance of tithing and cheerful giving from the Word of God. Victor also shared with the leaders in Telegu, the language spoken in this part of India, the summary of the teachings I did during these five days in Peddapuram.

At 5:00pm we visited the rooftop of Prakash Rao's home again for a fellowship. We sang songs, prayed and I got to share the Word of God with the believers. Again there were many who came forward to receive healing. All those who came forward had faith to receive healing and did so instantaneously.

At 6:15pm we returned to the hotel room and met with the elders for the final meeting. Victor and I shared with them regarding the Mystery and the reward we shall receive for our faithful work together with God. I thanked God for these wonderful people who shall reach out to the people with the Word of God and His love and power after I leave for Delhi. I know they shall stand on the Truth and bring many to salvation and to the knowledge of the Truth. I also thanked God for these 15 days or so that I got to travel around South India to be with leaders and believers to build them up.

This is a brief diary of my visit to leaders and believers of South India.

Acts of the Holy Spirit in Utranchal Pradesh

In this report I will focus more on testimonies and deliverances.

Bhupinder, Rakesh, Michael, Dharam Pal, Ashish and I left Delhi around 10:30am. Bhupinder and I and took turns driving about 160 miles north of Delhi. We reached Dehera Dun at 6:30pm where Glab Singh and his family live; it is in the plains region at the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. We felt much cooler at 75 degrees in the evening since the temperature of Delhi was 92 degrees.

Glab Singh is the elder in this region and became a Christian in Delhi and then about a year ago returned to his home town, Dehera Dun, to begin outreach work. Glab Singh woke up early in the morning around 4:30am to prepare lunch for the believers (He used to be a cook for Indian cuisine) who would be coming for the fellowship. Some believers were coming from nearby areas, and some were from Rishikesh, 12 miles away, and others from Raiwala 15 miles away, by taxi and bus. Over one hundred believers attended the morning fellowship.

Young and new believers heal others

Some of them came early and I got to talk to them. Shanti, a woman, from Raiwala, originally from Nepal, received physical deliverance after hearing what the True God could do for her. A young girl only 15 years old witnessed to her and healed her. Shanti's husband was an alcoholic and whenever he drank, he became violent. After Shanti was healed and had come to know what God could do, she prayed to God for her husband. He was delivered from heavy drinking and became peaceful.

Shanti's friend, whose name I forgot, also attended the fellowship. She had had a severe liver problem for the past two years. This friend related to me that Shanti spoke to her of the true God and how she could be delivered in the name of Jesus Christ. One day she went to Shanti and desired healing. Shanti then healed her in the name of Jesus Christ.

Fierce devil spirit obeys and leaves

Gopal, in his mid-twenties, also shared with us about his deliverance from devil spirit possession. He and his family suffered also since Gopal was fierce and violent; and none could come near him. The spirit in him threatened and cursed everyone in his home. The family heard Glab Singh could cast out devils so they brought Gopal to him. The devil spirit shouted through Gopal and became fierce; however, it recognized Glab Singh and obeyed his command and departed. Gopal then accepted Jesus as Lord and believed that God has raised him from the dead and spoke in tongues.

Deliverance from sixteen years of spirit possession

When we began our fellowship, Glab Singh played the Tabla (a small drum) and Vijay, an elder in this region, played the harmonium (a small hand pumped organ) and they sang hymns to God in their language, Galwahli. They knew also Hindi, so there were no problems in communicating to the believers. These believers had their own home fellowships weekly; some even had daily fellowships.

I was told how this door of utterance had been opened in Dehera Dun area. Ram Singh, had been a devout worshipper of the Hindu god, Hanuman. He fasted weekly on Tuesdays and had a séances with Hanuman who would speak to him. Despite this, his wife remained seriously ill for many years.

One day he visited a relative in Delhi when one of the members of the house was possessed with a devil. Ram Singh began to pray to Hanuman to deliver the woman from the devil. As he prayed to Hanuman, the devil spirit in the woman spoke to him and told Ram Singh that he had no power to cast him out. Then to his shock, the spirit told him that it had come to Ram Singh's house sixteen years previously and was the cause of his wife's sickness.

Ram Singh became disappointed with Hanuman since his god had no power to cast out devils. His god not only had no power over this spirit, but his wife became sick the same year he began to worship Hanuman. He also thought at that time, what was the use of worshipping Hanuman with his whole heart when his wife had been seriously sick for many years?

After this incident, Ram Singh returned to his village in Garwahl when some one told him about a fellowship in Delhi where they could heal the sick. He contacted one of his relatives, who also had a big problem with devils haunting his house, to go to a Delhi fellowship with him and his wife. All night, they heard thumping of feet on the roof as if someone were dancing or knocking at the door and windows. When they went to check where they heard the sounds, they saw no one.

Ram Singh took his wife, Pinky, Pinky's mother, and her younger sister to Delhi. The five of them found the house of Ram Singh (the name of the fellowship leader was also Ram Singh) in Delhi. Ram Singh, the fellowship leader, first heard from all of them what had been happening and proceeded to speak the Word of God and told how the True God could deliver them. As Ram Singh (the fellowship leader) spoke the Word of God, the devil in the wife of the other Ram Singh began to speak and said that it came to live in her when they began worshipping Hanuman.

They then understood that Hanuman, who they worshipped, was in fact the devil spirit possessing Ram Singh's wife, causing her sickness these sixteen years. Ram Singh, the leader, ordered the devil to leave because they no longer worshipped it. The devil obeyed him and departed. Immediately, all of them confessed with their mouth Jesus as Lord and believed in their heart that God has raised him from the dead. (Ed. note: It is the nature of devil spirits to lie and deceive.)

Ram Singh, the fellowship leader, taught them for several days about the True God and what was available from Him. He also led them into speaking in tongues. Ram Singh taught them about the authority they had over the devils and that Pinky and their family no longer had to fear the devils that haunted their house; the devils must depart their house.

When Pinky's mother and her two daughters returned to their home in Raiwala, they began fellowship in their home daily. The devil one day appeared in such a way that they could see half of its body. Pinky's younger sister (I forgot her name) commanded the devil to go away in the name of Jesus Christ; then, the devil vanished out of their sight and since then there were no more noises and sounds heard at night.

Snowball effect in believing the true God

Pinky's younger sister told us about her school friend, a daughter of a Hindu priest, who often had seizures. One day, during a seizure in the classroom, she fell down. The class teacher was about to take the child to a doctor when Pinky's sister told the teacher about the fellowship she attended and that she could heal the girl. The teacher gave permission, and she then proceeded to heal her friend with the power of God. Her friend's eyes opened immediately, and she regained consciousness. Since that time there have been no more seizures. Once this became known in the school, whenever anyone was sick at the school, the person would seek Pinky's sister to be healed.

Side trip to the mountains

After the morning fellowship and lunch, we drove up to the hills about 75 miles on winding mountain roads to the Tiri Garwahal district. It took about 5 hours to get to Khandhi, Glab Singh's village. We arrived about 7:30pm: the weather was cool, pleasant and only 68 degrees. During this drive, we passed the huge Tiri dam, which was still under construction.

Many of the villages on the mountains did not have telephones or electricity but had solar panes to produce from 500 to 1000 watts of electricity. There was no running water, and the villagers had to walk several miles for drinking water. From the age of ten, women would transport water in containers. This was in addition to housework, farming and caring for cattle. The men worked as manual laborers; some were fortunate to work in private or government offices. However, many men went out of the state to earn incomes while wives and children remained in the villages.

Miracles converts Hindus

We had a fellowship at Glab Singh's village home at 10:00am; his mother, elder sister and relatives prepared lunch for the believers. There were about 70 or so believers in attendance from local villages. All the believers here as well as in Dehera Dun and nearby cities were from the Hindu faith. They all turned to God because they saw miracles happen in their lives or the lives of others.

We also had a fellowship at 9:00pm. There were about 30 or so saints present. Since most of the saints already spoke in tongues, I taught on tongues with interpretation and prophecy. I thank God for all that He is doing for these people. I thank God also for Glab Singh for his faithful loving service in reaching out to many in these mountain areas and raising up elders so they too could reach out and win others.

We left Glab Singh's home in Khandhi at 6:30am to go to Dobe, where another elder, Dev Singh, lived. The trip was about 20 miles; there was another fellowship scheduled for 10:30 am. It was only a dirt road, so we had to drive very slowly. Eventually we had to walk. We walked for about 30 minutes up the mountain footpath and stopped briefly for breakfast at a local restaurant. The path was surrounded with pine tree and shrubs. We found wild rose and rose hip on the way. We arrived about 9:20.

The blind healed

Dev Singh, the fellowship elder, became a Christian after he had heard of the healing power of the True God and had been healed of seven years of blindness. At the time of his healing and conversion, he was living in Delhi. About three years ago he returned to his village home in Dobe and began to boldly witness to people about the True God and His delivering power. Since that time, many were healed of physical sicknesses, devil spirit possession, and confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that God had raised him from the dead.

There were over 70 believers attending the morning fellowship, and many gave testimonies of deliverance they had received from God. All of them knew nothing about Jesus Christ before Dev Singh returned to the village. With the help of Glab Singh's monthly visits to this village, believers were getting established and some of them were rising up to be elders. Dev Singh is in his mid 50's and has grandchildren. Whenever his grandchildren were unwell or hurt, they go to Dev Singh and are healed instantly.

Affliction caused by devil spirit

Mrs. Shanti, around 45 years old, also gave her testimony of deliverance from devil spirit possession. For 23 years she could hardly lift her arms, feet and legs because of acute pain in her body. When she heard from Dev Singh that God was able to deliver her, she went to him to receive healing. When Dev Singh began to heal her, a devil spoke through her and said that it had been in her for 23 years and was causing the affliction that was destroying her. Dev Singh commanded the spirit to depart, and it went out. When Mrs. Shanti was delivered from this spiritual and physical bondage, she was able to do her house work for the first time in twenty-three years. Glab Singh and Bhupinder encouraged the believers and leaders to continue in the Way and to enjoy the more than abundant life Jesus Christ had made available.

Water buffalo healed: village believes

A woman who heard Dev Singh preach the Word in his village had a water buffalo that had been sick for about a month from a deadly sickness. The doctors and villagers knew from experience that no cattle had previously survived this disease. Many people in the village told her to take an offering (goat or hen) to their idol gods and goddesses. They also said that this disease came because she was attending the fellowship at Dev Singh's home, so the gods and goddesses were angry.

The woman refused to make offerings or serve the idols even if her cattle died but she chose to trust that the True God would deliver her buffalo. The next morning her neighbors reported that her buffalo was eating grass; in fact, it gave an abundance of milk. The villagers were astonished and recognized that this deliverance was from the True God. Consequently, many people from the village began to come to the fellowship of Dev Singh and believed the True God.

After lunch, we left the village Dobe, walked down the hill for about 20 minutes to reach our parked car, and drove back to Khandhi to Glab Singh's home. We reached his home around 6:00pm.

God intervenes for drunk

Once we reached Glab Singh's home we rested since every night there was a fellowship lasting until 2 to 3 am. Once refreshed we decided to see a man who was well known for his drunkenness. He had a good job but he spent all his money on alcohol. His wife, two sons and mother all believed the True God once they forsook the idols they worshiped. (They physically threw out all the idols and altars out of their house.) However, the father who drank heavily maintained idols in his office drawer. In the privacy of his office he would burn incense sticks to the idols and worship his gods.

His wife asked Glab Singh to pray that her husband would stop drinking and worshipping other gods. Glab Singh told the wife that he would pray with her to the True God. The next morning when her husband began to burn incense in his office, both his arms turned around to the point where the back of the palms faced each other. He was shocked. Soon as he dropped the incense, his hands became normal. The next morning he began to worship and attempted to light the incense, the same thing happened. He immediately called his wife; she said this was caused by his worshipping other gods.

Previously, we had wanted to meet the husband but he always slipped away, and he drank as much as possible. This particular day we prayed to God to find him home when we arrived and that he would be delivered from his drinking problem.

We were able to meet him this morning and to speak the Word of God to him. He promised that he would attend the fellowship in his home that evening. When we arrived for the fellowship he was present and sober. When the village neighbors saw this, they were astonished because they had never seen him sober at night. The neighbors wanted to know who and what power had changed the man over night.

Hymns composed in native tongue

The songs believers sang during the fellowships were in Garwahli, the language of this part of India and were composed by Glab Singh. He and Vijay Singh took turns playing harmonium and tabla. He had composed about 24 beautiful hymns and praises. These were the first hymns in the Garwahli language, since no one had ever preached the word of God in this mountainous part of India before.

Our plan today was to attend a fellowship at Andhethi nine miles away from Khandhi, Glab Singh's village house, and then to return to the city of Dehera Dun about 90 miles on the plain. By the way, we have been in the mountain villages at 2500 ft to 3000 ft above the sea level. We started the day with a fellowship at Ram Singh's (This is another Ram Singh; this name is common here) home in Andhethi at 10:00am. We heard various testimonies at the start of fellowship.

True God is faithful to heal

One lady said that she had fallen down over 30 feet, hit the ground and then tumbled down further. As she fell down, she shouted and cried to God to deliver her and cried who would look after her little children. She lost consciousness after she hit the ground and tumbled twice more. Someone saw her fall and called people from her village to rescue her. She regained consciousness after they carried her back to her house. She had no ill effects only had little pain on one ankle and one side of her hip. She and her family thanked the True God for saving her life.

There were several women who had infirmities for many years; each one gave her testimony. One had the infirmity for 5 years, the other for 7 years and the third over 20 years. They were living with heavy doses of medication daily; however when they turned to the True God and believed, they were healed of all the infirmities and had not needed a single dose of medication.

Child raised from the dead

Meher Singh's daughter, about 5 years, old fell down a flight of stairs and lost consciousness. While they walked up the road to a vehicle to go to the hospital, the daughter died. However, Meher Singh held her tight and had confidence that God would surely bring back her breath. It took over 2 hours to get to the nearest hospital. Meher Singh said that about 2 hours after her death and before they reached the hospital, her daughter began to breathe. He then showed us his daughter who was sitting with her mother in the meeting.

We heard many more testimonies of deliverance from believers after they heard the good news. By the way, we had to walk up a narrow and steep mountain path for 45 minutes to get to Ram Singh's house. Since we were not used to walking up such steep roads, we had to take many stops to catch our breath.

Now, there were over 500 believers in Dehera Dun and the mountain areas where Glab Singh has been reaching out and speaking the Word of God. He is confident that multitudes of people would be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth in the near future through speaking the "quick and powerful" Word of God and manifesting the power we have been given from God.

After fellowship and lunch, we said farewell to these wonderful believers and left for Glab Singh's home down in the city of Dehera Dun. Glab Singh's mother and sister also returned to Dehera Dun, and we heard from them how they too came to the True God and the many wonderful blessings their family received as a result of believing the True God that night. We left Glab Singh's home at 8:00am to drive back to Delhi 250kms or so and reached Delhi around 2:30pm.

I pray to God to raise up more faithful leaders who would go out to all parts of India, as there are many regions of this country where there are multitudes of people ready now to be saved, delivered and come to the True God. The harvest is indeed plenty but the laborers are few. I too pray that our God to raises up multitudes of leaders who trust Him and love Him to go out to the field to reap the harvest.

We will be sending another leader, a full-time minister and his family to the different parts of this mountain region soon, so that more people may be saved and more leaders may be raised up to do the work of the ministry.