Tuesday, 15 December 2009

Sunday Blessings - All Nations Shall Sing

During morning service we received showers of blessings.
Ramplal , who is the only Christian from his village in North Western Indian,
delivered a Christmas message.
Rampal was saved through the ministry
of a student outreach our family has been supporting and been a part of for
the past 35 years. He worked with our mission
for 2 years and is now studying theology at the Seminary.
He is supported by the contributions of college students
and working people.
College students save from their pocket money
and educational expenses to pay his fees etc.
The Lord enabled Mummy and me to give him a small
sum for his travel home.
Please pray for Rampal as he witnesses
to his family and neighbours.

Our church is a training ground for seminary students.
Here they are with our Pastor and his wife.
3rd and 4th from the left are Rajendra and Gudiya
both belonged to a non-Christian faith but have accepted Christ.
They come to our church regularly with their little daughter.
We have Bible studies in their home too.

Suchit, John and Pastor Shay.
Suchit and John are visitors from Kolkata (Calcutta)
Suchit 's grandparents (both deceased) were
faithful members of our church some 30 years ago.
This is a very illustrious family
and they held top government posts.
As their children lived far from them,
my (then young) parents were their caregivers of sorts.
When Suchit 's grandma (Mrs Shome) died
there was no one in the house.
My family informed the relatives and
arranged for the funeral etc.
Suchit works in a top ranking pharma company.
He was here on a short business visit.He gave our church a generous donation
which will go into our wall fund.
God is faithful.
Suchit and his friend John sang a worship song for us.

In the evening I went to a Christmas service at the Seminary
The congregation at prayer in the Chapel
80 year old Aunt Joy.
She was the church organist for several years in her church.
The senior couple on the far right
also are friends. We were all members
of the Allahabad Choral Society
Dr Dutt was the Head of the English dept.
when I was doing my Masters.
He is a great tenor, his wife sang alto with me.

These are children from the Sunday School outreach group
80 kms outside the city
in a rural area.
I have their video too.
It is remarkable to see how the love of Christ has touched their lives.

This young lady CC is the daughter
of a seminary professor from Mizoram (NE India)
She was the lead singer in the children 's choir.
Watch the video which I have posted.
She has great talent for Christ.
Children smiling at being appreciated.
The message was delivered by Wing Commander Immanuel
of the Indian Air Force.
He is a young man from South India with
a lovely family.
He studied in Karunia University in Coimbatore and did
M.Tech from IIT Kharagpore, both reputed institutions of the sub-continent.
Later on I introduced myself to them.
Choirs comprising of seminary students sang in all the major languages
of India. Here is a Qawali, which is a poetic song in Urdu
sung in the Arabic/Sufi tradition.
The qawalls dress this way too.
This was a Christmas qawali.
After the service was over we all gathered in the courtyard
to sing carols by candle light.
I am posting some videos.
Hear the Chin song from Myanmar.
The Burmese people escape to India
fleeing the repressive junta regime of their country.
There is a Mizo and Hindi song too.









19 Fertilize my soul:

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

What a busy and exciting day at your church. I was glad to see it so full. It must sometimes be kind of lonesome to be so few in a country of so many.

We have some families from Burma/Myanmar here, too. A church brought them here. They had horrible lives over there. They spoke no English a few months ago, and now talk and even crack jokes in English. They all work at the grocery store. They are excellent workers who throw themselves into learning new things.

I like how the other college students help out Rampal. They will never regret their generosity.

Pia said...

this week is going to be a busy week for us too. there will be singing and dancing in church.

amrita, thank you for praying. today is a very special day for me and i'm staying hopeful and expectant for God's promises coming to pass.

God bless you.

Amrita said...

Hi Penni, thank you for funishing my blog with such a unique Santa-mobile.
Yes the Burmese people are under great oppression. Its good when the free world to take up their cause.
I sat up half the night composing this post and did not have the energy to edit it. Finally I did it this morning.

Hi Pia will pray for you. Have a joyful celebration

Mark said...

Happy for your church being a training ground and for your support of those sharing about Jesus in their villages!

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi Amrita:)

Greetings:)

I am thrilled to read the activities in your Church and the fantastic work you are engaged in. It is amazing to read about the various programmes you and your Church are engaged in to spread the message of Christ. The videos are excellent too. I am delighted to hear the songs in different languages.

God bless you and your family Amrita:)
Joseph

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

God bless you all for the wonderful works you are doing in your church. Your church is indeed an oasis of love in the barren desert of the unbelieving world. The Lord looks at all the efforts you have done to spread the Gospel message of salvation. In a country where Christians are in the minority and often persecuted, you shine like stars in the firmament of heaven. Thanks for the uplifting post. God bless you all.

Felisol said...

Dear Amrita,
Thanks for sharing the wonderful liveliness in your church.
Such a huge congregation and the important after-growth of youngsters and children also attending the meetings.
Education of theological students is next to Sunday School a most important issue. It's uplifting to learn how the gospel is being spread by students helping students.
From Felisol

Amrita said...

Dear friends thank you so much for your comments.

The diversity of my country is reflected in our congregations.

Dear felisol the chapel where the Christmas progra, took place is not my church. It is the chaep of the Evangelical Bible College. They are like our sister church,although our church is completely independent...and much smaller.
We cannot afford to pay our Pastor 's salary, so our Pastor works in the Bible college. He is the head of the dept. of extension studies.
He is a graduate of this school too.His wife is studying there now, she is a scholarship student.

Amrita said...

Dear Mr Joseph, they had a Malyaam song too.

Amrita said...

Dear mel the foundation of our church is Jesus Christ our lord., we are just weak vessels in his hands.

Anonymous said...

what a blessing listening to the videos..worshiping the Lord in so many languages...I was worshiping also...God bless and watch over your congregation in these dark times. Let His Light shine!

Robin said...

wonderful photos! thanks for sharing with us as always!

Kathryn said...

I do so love that you share so many photos & other bits of your life there! Hoping the church wall is coming along well. :)

Amrita said...

Hi Dani and Robin,

LOvely to have you visit.

Amrita said...

Hi Kathryn,

I like visiting other churches and attending their Chrtistmas services, in doing so meet friends and family too.

Yes our church wall is coming up well. Thank you for caring - and sharing God bless you

Mrs. Mac said...

Beautiful Christmas service! When I want to complain about life, I shall remember what you have been going through. I pray you are feeling better by now.

Hugs,

Julia Dutta said...

Dear Amrita,
A wonderful post. There were so many things to read and see. I really wanted to be in Allahabad for Christmas this year. Alas! I will be in Kolkata's New market....hahaha!

Becka said...

Wonderful,Blessings,
thank you for sharing with us,
its nice to see God working around the world,

Crown of Beauty said...

Thank you for sharing these stories and photos and videos.

It warms our hearts to see fellow believers so active in this part of the world.

Lovely post about Christmas dogs as well!

Love
Lidj