A Dream Come True.
Seventeen smart and beautiful looking ladies in bright sparkling coloured sarees with bright smiles on their faces walked gently holding beautiful fancy trays filled with various flowers and fruits along with turmeric to represent purity and holiness, coconuts to portray long life, sugar crystals to represent sweetness in life and red cherries to represent the blood of Jesus which has cleansed each one of us and made us His children, grapes to signify the Lord's supper and sparkling saree and jewels to deck the bride Susan who was to be engaged to my missionary son Remo on 10th April 2005 at Warangal.
When I saw Susan for the first time for a very short time in December 2004. I said "Lord, She is my Dream Girl". Both Remo and Susan and their families fasted and waited for the Lord's will and Praise be to Him everything went smoothly and culminated on the engagement day.
I need to thank all RHS Board Members, all my relatives, friends, colleagues and mission leaders who graced the occasion.
A VERY SPECIAL thanks to all RHS staff who though had not received their March salary took a loan of Rs. 900/- each and hired 2 jeeps for 3 days. They had prepared special songs for the occasion and served and helped in all the engagement ceremony. They were not just colleagues attending the engagement they were ONE BIG FAMILY.
The March 2005 salaries for the staff were paid on the 26th April 2005 and we now wait on the Lord for His provision for April 2005. I am sure He being Jehovah Jireh will certainly provide.
My special thanks to all those who chipped in during the financial crisis in March/April 2005 to help in many Government programme and in the prison ministry. I stand in awe to see God at Work.
In the midst of great joy in April there is some deep sorrow too. On 22nd April my grandmother who was 100 year of age went to be with the Lord. In the last 3 years my father, then my mother and now my grandmother have gone to be with the Lord. My husband went to be with the Lord 19 years ago and yet it looks like yesterday.
From my husband and father I learnt - Integrity and Honesty
From my mother I learnt - A Life of Prayer
From my grandmother I learnt - A strong will. To be clean, neat and smart all through the day. I also leant to keep smiling come what may and to keep going.
Unlike my grandmother, I do cry a lot, but I always hear His voice, gently correcting me and healing me and so soon I bubble with joy and keep going with His help. I feel truly blessed to be His child.
Other miracles also happened in April due to your prayers and your sacrificial gifts we were able to send Mahender to Vizag to be treated for a complicated fracture of left hand. He needed internal fixation. For the surgery and the stay alone he needed Rs. 14,000/-, which the Lord in a very miraculous way provided for. He is perfectly fine now.
Do you remember Mukae for whom you had prayed for physical healing that led to her deliverance from becoming a witchdoctor of the village? She had her family are growing in the Lord.
For the first time lady staffs have started to survey and go to interior tribal villages on their own. I am thrilled to see how staff have blossomed out and are working under very difficult situations to "Reach the unreached, and Reach them Completely" They need your prayers.
Do you remember Prabhati, wife of Niranjan who was recently married? They live in Rabaguda Center - a village that has neither approach road nor electricity. Please praise the Lord along with me for Prabhati a city girl, yet has fitted very well into this Koya village and feels one with the village woman. Another dream of mine come true. Yeah, our God is an awesome God.
Remo is waiting for the money for the tsunami response project to reach him. Money has been raised and pray that God will open up miraculous ways to receive this so that the needy can be helped.
Our children from Anand Niketan are back home for their summer vacations. I note that Ruth, daughter of Sopon and Shanti and Sanjoy, son of John and Minothi are poor in their studies. Please pray for God's wisdom for them. Please pray that God will enable us to find a good teacher to teach the children English and math during the holidays.
Please pray for my children David and Mary to come to the saving knowledge of the Lord's Salvation.
Did you know that 2 lady staff, Jyoti and Sobita has been gifted with a motorbike? This is enabling them to go into interior villages on their own. Please pray that Minothi and Rukmoni will also be provided with a motorbike. We look to God for His provision. We will be getting cycles for Shanti, Hannah, Sandhya and Prabhati. We praise God for His provisions in this regard.
In the last week the electricity has been erratic, my computer is acting most funny. Now for the past 2 days there is no electricity. And from today evening the telephone lines are down. It is the 29th April 2005 at 7:08 PM and I am writing this newsletter by candlelight and I have no idea as to when I will be able to send this out.
I am in the midst of many fulfilled dreams and I am expanding my horizon and dreaming dreams for the Lord.
May the Lord bless you all for standing with us in prayers and sacrificial financial support.
Closing with prayers
With love and prayers.
Yours in Christ
Iris