India Update February 25th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

THEY ATE THE TREES
By God's grace, we were able to go and do the shows that our prolonged visit with the police kept us from doing the day before. These shows were in very dark places where the children had heard little or nothing about Jesus Christ. At two of the three shows, we heard hundreds of children calling on Jesus, asking Him to save them. Praise God!

At one village school, there were no trees on the property. It was fiercely hot and very miserable for the children. I asked the teachers why there weren't any trees. They told me that they had planted trees, but the children were so hungry, that they dug them up and ate them. Can you imagine?

At this particular school, they had no space big enough for all of the children. So, one of our friends, who had been training with us, did a program for all of the younger children while we did a program for all of the older children. More, many villagers came desperate to see the rest of the program. They squeezed into every window and even stood in the doorways for over an hour. Still some were not able to see, so when we finished, Sam went outside and did a small program for them so that they were able to hear about Jesus Christ.

These people in this village were tribal people, who, due to a decrease in rainfall, had left the forest where they lived. They worshiped bears and were drawn to our opening song because we were singing with a giant bear puppet. We did not know they were bear worshipers, but God used this so that they could hear the gospel.

These children were attending a Christian school. Please pray for them to grow strong in their new faith.

BACKPACKS
Because of the gift of $5,000 from two supporting churches, we were able to pack and give 35 story teller backpacks to young Indian men and women. We gave these to the graduating seniors from the ACA seminary program as well as others that we identified who work with children. They are from some of the most difficult places in India, places where we would have difficulty gaining access. Some of them were also from Burma and Manipur. Each backpack contained puppets, balloons, and story telling supplies so that they could go into villages across India and share with the children. Please consider. . . on this trip to India we shared with 18,500 children in two weeks. Can you imagine how many tens of thousands of children these brothers and sisters will reach for Jesus Christ?

I would like to ask you now while this is fresh on your mind, to make the funding of this project an item on your church budget. I have already identified 35 young people who want and need this equipment by next February.The advantage of the backpack is that it enables you to do a great program and then put it on your back and run. In many of the places where these young people work, they may need to make a hasty departure. More, it is not easy to carry larger amounts of equipment on public transportation or walking.

This project presents you with a unique opportunity to reach children for Jesus who live in some of the most difficult places in the world. Will you help? Will you see their need?

PLEASE FORGIVE
Please forgive the delay in you receiving this letter. Coming out of India I got a stomach bug. I can honestly tell you that I sat in the bathroom on the air plane praising God for His timing. It was so much better to be sick when we had no programs for the children. More, the stewardesses became concerned about me, had me sit in the galley, and it gave me a wonderful time to share about the children. By the time we got to Frankfurt, I had started to come down with the flu and developed bronchitis. So, I have been in bed since I have returned home on Friday. I am doing so much better now, and expect to fully recover very soon. Please also pray for Will, as he has the flu. When you travel as much as we travel, you can expect to be sick. However, we are all very grateful for God's timing in these matters.

In Jesus,
Linda for
Sam and Silvana Shaw
Will and Ali Jackson.

India Update February 20th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

Yesterday and today, we left very early. So, we passed through some villages along the side of the road just as they were waking. How can I describe to you the poverty that people endure here? They have houses made of straw mats in the villages that look more like broken tents than houses. Life is so hard, but still, always their greatest need is Jesus. They have less than nothing because they live in total darkness. These dear people have no hope in this life and worse, no hope for the life that is to come.

Sometimes I imagine a different India. What if God poured His spirit on this place and all idol worship and demons were wiped from this land? What would India be without this crippling darkness? Please pray for God to raise up national believers to take His light into the darkness.

MUSLIM LADY

Yesterday at a show a large crowd of adults stood at the gates of the school and watched the entire program. There was one lady in the crowd who was a Muslim. She was wearing a full berka with only a narrow slit for her eyes to show. Sometimes when you’re telling a story, you can look straight into their eyes and sense that they are listening. This lady stared at me as I told the children the story about Jesus. She seemed hungry to hear and remained even through the prayer, when the children prayed out loud asking Jesus to be their Savior. Please ask the Father to call her to faith. He knows her name. When we finished I went over and spoke to all of the people at the gate and thanked them for listening. Mostly, I wanted an opportunity to look into her eyes and let her know that I really cared that she heard about Jesus.

WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS

Tomorrow, we will try to do what we were unable to do today. We will travel to another city to present the Gospel to 2,000 children. They live in an exceptionally dark place where there are very, very few Christians. More, they worship the wilder of the Hindu deities which require a buffalo or goat sacrifice, though chickens are most common.

On our way there today, we were hit in the rear by a fully loaded milk truck that had no brakes. No one was hurt; not even the people riding in the back of the truck. Praise God! However, we spent the next 12 hours plus trying to deal with the police. Our driver was not at fault, but accidents are handled very differently here than in the states. All of the milk company’s wives came to the police station. It was quite a scene. We missed all of our shows. Since our exiting the vehicle would have only made matters worse, we remained seated in the car. Directly across from us was a butcher. We watched him kill a lot of chickens, chop them up and sell them. Some hung beside the goat carcass which changed color as the day went on.

At one point we were surrounded by about 35 school-age boys who were fascinated by how strange we looked. Alli had fallen asleep for a few minutes and woke up to find the vehicle was surrounded. None of them spoke English, but we still had a good time visiting with them. It’s funny how the children are drawn to us just because we look so different.

I want to brag on everyone’s amazing attitude today. No one ever complained; they just prayed and enjoyed the view. I laughed so much that my sides began to hurt. Everyone kept their sense of humor.

Please pray for a safe journey tomorrow as our friends here say that they often experience all kinds of problems when they come to this city. We will teach our last class tomorrow evening at 7:00pm after the shows and leave for the airport at 10:00pm. We will be home on Friday. I am very concerned that we are able to share with these children. Please make this a serious matter of prayer. Thank you.

Love in Jesus,

Linda, for the team

Sam Shaw, assistant director
Silvana Shaw, Will & Allison Jackson

India Update February 19th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

16,000 CHILDREN

For the past week and a half, Will has been sharing with children how all things are possible with God. He uses a balloon trick to illustrate this point. The children love watching him push a 2-foot long needle through a balloon. They are always in awe when the balloon does not pop. Then, he challenges them to believe that God can do anything.

We have seen God do the impossible. This last fall began our 18th year of ministry as The Agape Puppets. Each year, God has grown this work and by His grace, we have been able to share with more and more children the hope of Jesus Christ. However, we have all been very surprised by the crowds of children that we have seen in India. God has given us the privilege to share Christ with over 16,000 children in the past week and a half. We still have 2 more days of ministry. Praise God! Previously, we’d been blessed to share with over 12,000 Zulu children in South Africa in 2 weeks, but none of us can believe the opportunities that we’ve been having here in India.

More, we have been training 106 seminary students in the evenings in child evangelism skills. We will be equipping many of these young people with story telling backpacks that they can take back to their homes, so they can go into villages all over India. Many of the places that they call home are places where it is simply not possible for Sam and I and the team to go. The doors are closed in some places for us, but open to these nationals that we are training. Please rejoice with us in what the Father has done!

BEAUTIFUL!

Yesterday we did a program at a school and the children were so excited. They absolutely loved every single thing that we did. So many children asked Jesus to be their Savior. One little girl came up to me after the show, and she was so happy. She said “You are beautiful, and I will never forget you.” We always tell the children “Remember Jesus”. They crowded around us, wanting to thank us, and even ran down the road as we were driving away from the school waving at us.

DEAD BABY GIRLS

Today we did programs in a very dark city. It is surrounded by many villages, where the people often will kill a newborn baby girl because of the economic burden that she represents. They put poison in the baby’s milk, and she dies. The schools where we shared, were so full of little boys, and did not have very many little girls. Imagine standing in these places and telling the children that God sees each one of them, boys and girls, as a treasure.

Both of these schools were Christian schools, but had a 70% plus Hindu student population. Most of their parents have very little education. Most of these students came from the villages where baby girls are killed. Hinduism does not place any worth on the life of a child.

We are working with all kinds of people: Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans, and some denominations you would not know in the U.S. At these schools, we are allowed to pray with the children, and today we saw many children on their knees calling on Jesus to save them. It is the most wonderful sight that we will never forget. God is so kind to us!

KINGSLEY

Our 3rd school today was a school called Kingsley, and it has a wonderful story. In 1976, the only son of Christian parents, Kingsley, was killed in an accident on Christmas day. It would have been so easy for the parents to be bitter and curse God. This is not what they did. In memory of their only child, they began to work with children, and from this work, the school grew where we were sharing Jesus with the children today. 800 children, today alone, heard the gospel because these dear people put their eyes on the cross, and not on their pain. I am so grateful that we were blessed to meet these dear people today. Their love for Jesus challenged me to love Jesus more.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

Most of you celebrated Valentine’s Day last week, but we celebrated it this evening with the orphans from the House of Joy. They are a wonderful group of boys and girls, some teenagers, and live here on the A.C.A. campus. This is my 4th trip to India, and I’ve watched some of these children as they have grown up over the last few years. I wanted to do something special for them. I had the idea of giving them a Valentine’s party, because I always enjoyed Valentine’s Day so much with Mike.

Often, we had to celebrate on a different day because one or both of us were traveling, but the times were very precious. For the first time since Mike went home a little over 2 years ago, I began to think differently about Valentine’s Day. I stopped thinking about how much I had lost, and realized how much Mike’s love had given me. I wanted to share that love and be a blessing to others; comfort with the comfort that I have been given as the scripture says. So, I brought all the supplies for a proper party, including decorations, beany baby teddy bears, special treats, and more.

We also brought an extra large box of crayons and pretty papers, so they can draw pictures of someone or something they loved. Some of the children drew pictures of Will and Alli, and oddly, Will was shorter than Alli in some of the pictures. Some drew pictures of themselves, and many drew flowers. One little boy drew a beautiful pictures of a lake, perfect house, lovely trees, and a car headed down the driveway. In this picture, the sun was shining, and the mountains were fantastic. I asked him if he had ever seen this place. It was picture-perfect! He said “No, only in my dreams” and gave me the biggest smile.

An orphans dreams are no different than your dreams and my dreams. We all told them our love stories today, and shared how God had given us our dreams. We encouraged them to trust in the Father’s goodness and provision for their lives. Please pray for these children to put their trust in Jesus, and to love Him with all of their hearts. Many of them have been hurt so terribly, and have so much to forgive. Only Jesus can heal their broken hearts.

PRAYER

We have 2 days remaining. Unless our schedule changes, you need to pray for 7 or 8 remaining puppet shows, 2 classes that we are teaching, and many details. Keep praying!

Love in Jesus,

Linda, for the team

Sam Shaw, assistant director
Silvana Shaw, Will & Allison Jackson

India Update February 20th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

Yesterday and today, we left very early. So, we passed through some villages along the side of the road just as they were waking. How can I describe to you the poverty that people endure here? They have houses made of straw mats in the villages that look more like broken tents than houses. Life is so hard, but still, always their greatest need is Jesus. They have less than nothing because they live in total darkness. These dear people have no hope in this life and worse, no hope for the life that is to come.

Sometimes I imagine a different India. What if God poured His spirit on this place and all idol worship and demons were wiped from this land? What would India be without this crippling darkness? Please pray for God to raise up national believers to take His light into the darkness.

MUSLIM LADY

Yesterday at a show a large crowd of adults stood at the gates of the school and watched the entire program. There was one lady in the crowd who was a Muslim. She was wearing a full berka with only a narrow slit for her eyes to show. Sometimes when you’re telling a story, you can look straight into their eyes and sense that they are listening. This lady stared at me as I told the children the story about Jesus. She seemed hungry to hear and remained even through the prayer, when the children prayed out loud asking Jesus to be their Savior. Please ask the Father to call her to faith. He knows her name. When we finished I went over and spoke to all of the people at the gate and thanked them for listening. Mostly, I wanted an opportunity to look into her eyes and let her know that I really cared that she heard about Jesus.

WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS

Tomorrow, we will try to do what we were unable to do today. We will travel to another city to present the Gospel to 2,000 children. They live in an exceptionally dark place where there are very, very few Christians. More, they worship the wilder of the Hindu deities which require a buffalo or goat sacrifice, though chickens are most common.

On our way there today, we were hit in the rear by a fully loaded milk truck that had no brakes. No one was hurt; not even the people riding in the back of the truck. Praise God! However, we spent the next 12 hours plus trying to deal with the police. Our driver was not at fault, but accidents are handled very differently here than in the states. All of the milk company’s wives came to the police station. It was quite a scene. We missed all of our shows. Since our exiting the vehicle would have only made matters worse, we remained seated in the car. Directly across from us was a butcher. We watched him kill a lot of chickens, chop them up and sell them. Some hung beside the goat carcass which changed color as the day went on.

At one point we were surrounded by about 35 school-age boys who were fascinated by how strange we looked. Alli had fallen asleep for a few minutes and woke up to find the vehicle was surrounded. None of them spoke English, but we still had a good time visiting with them. It’s funny how the children are drawn to us just because we look so different.

I want to brag on everyone’s amazing attitude today. No one ever complained; they just prayed and enjoyed the view. I laughed so much that my sides began to hurt. Everyone kept their sense of humor.

Please pray for a safe journey tomorrow as our friends here say that they often experience all kinds of problems when they come to this city. We will teach our last class tomorrow evening at 7:00pm after the shows and leave for the airport at 10:00pm. We will be home on Friday. I am very concerned that we are able to share with these children. Please make this a serious matter of prayer. Thank you.

Love in Jesus,

Linda, for the team

Sam, assistant director
Silvana, Will & Allison

India Update February 19th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

16,000 CHILDREN

For the past week and a half, Will has been sharing with children how all things are possible with God. He uses a balloon trick to illustrate this point. The children love watching him push a 2-foot long needle through a balloon. They are always in awe when the balloon does not pop. Then, he challenges them to believe that God can do anything.

We have seen God do the impossible. This last fall began our 18th year of ministry as The Agape Puppets. Each year, God has grown this work and by His grace, we have been able to share with more and more children the hope of Jesus Christ. However, we have all been very surprised by the crowds of children that we have seen in India. God has given us the privilege to share Christ with over 16,000 children in the past week and a half. We still have 2 more days of ministry. Praise God! Previously, we’d been blessed to share with over 12,000 Zulu children in South Africa in 2 weeks, but none of us can believe the opportunities that we’ve been having here in India.

More, we have been training 106 seminary students in the evenings in child evangelism skills. We will be equipping many of these young people with story telling backpacks that they can take back to their homes, so they can go into villages all over India. Many of the places that they call home are places where it is simply not possible for Sam and I and the team to go. The doors are closed in some places for us, but open to these nationals that we are training. Please rejoice with us in what the Father has done!

BEAUTIFUL!

Yesterday we did a program at a school and the children were so excited. They absolutely loved every single thing that we did. So many children asked Jesus to be their Savior. One little girl came up to me after the show, and she was so happy. She said “You are beautiful, and I will never forget you.” We always tell the children “Remember Jesus”. They crowded around us, wanting to thank us, and even ran down the road as we were driving away from the school waving at us.

DEAD BABY GIRLS

Today we did programs in a very dark city. It is surrounded by many villages, where the people often will kill a newborn baby girl because of the economic burden that she represents. They put poison in the baby’s milk, and she dies. The schools where we shared, were so full of little boys, and did not have very many little girls. Imagine standing in these places and telling the children that God sees each one of them, boys and girls, as a treasure.

Both of these schools were Christian schools, but had a 70% plus Hindu student population. Most of their parents have very little education. Most of these students came from the villages where baby girls are killed. Hinduism does not place any worth on the life of a child.

We are working with all kinds of people: Baptists, Methodists, Anglicans, and some denominations you would not know in the U.S. At these schools, we are allowed to pray with the children, and today we saw many children on their knees calling on Jesus to save them. It is the most wonderful sight that we will never forget. God is so kind to us!

KINGSLEY

Our 3rd school today was a school called Kingsley, and it has a wonderful story. In 1976, the only son of Christian parents, Kingsley, was killed in an accident on Christmas day. It would have been so easy for the parents to be bitter and curse God. This is not what they did. In memory of their only child, they began to work with children, and from this work, the school grew where we were sharing Jesus with the children today. 800 children, today alone, heard the gospel because these dear people put their eyes on the cross, and not on their pain. I am so grateful that we were blessed to meet these dear people today. Their love for Jesus challenged me to love Jesus more.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

Most of you celebrated Valentine’s Day last week, but we celebrated it this evening with the orphans from the House of Joy. They are a wonderful group of boys and girls, some teenagers, and live here on the A.C.A. campus. This is my 4th trip to India, and I’ve watched some of these children as they have grown up over the last few years. I wanted to do something special for them. I had the idea of giving them a Valentine’s party, because I always enjoyed Valentine’s Day so much with Mike.

Often, we had to celebrate on a different day because one or both of us were traveling, but the times were very precious. For the first time since Mike went home a little over 2 years ago, I began to think differently about Valentine’s Day. I stopped thinking about how much I had lost, and realized how much Mike’s love had given me. I wanted to share that love and be a blessing to others; comfort with the comfort that I have been given as the scripture says. So, I brought all the supplies for a proper party, including decorations, beany baby teddy bears, special treats, and more.

We also brought an extra large box of crayons and pretty papers, so they can draw pictures of someone or something they loved. Some of the children drew pictures of Will and Alli, and oddly, Will was shorter than Alli in some of the pictures. Some drew pictures of themselves, and many drew flowers. One little boy drew a beautiful pictures of a lake, perfect house, lovely trees, and a car headed down the driveway. In this picture, the sun was shining, and the mountains were fantastic. I asked him if he had ever seen this place. It was picture-perfect! He said “No, only in my dreams” and gave me the biggest smile.

An orphans dreams are no different than your dreams and my dreams. We all told them our love stories today, and shared how God had given us our dreams. We encouraged them to trust in the Father’s goodness and provision for their lives. Please pray for these children to put their trust in Jesus, and to love Him with all of their hearts. Many of them have been hurt so terribly, and have so much to forgive. Only Jesus can heal their broken hearts.

PRAYER

We have 2 days remaining. Unless our schedule changes, you need to pray for 7 or 8 remaining puppet shows, 2 classes that we are teaching, and many details. Keep praying!

Love in Jesus,

Linda, for the team

Sam, assistant director
Silvana, Will & Allison

India Update 17 February 2008

THE PEOPLE OF CALI

Today is Sunday and we went to a village that is named for the goddess cali. At one end of the village, they were having a festival for cali and at the other end of the village; we met with a precious group of believers. Their testimonies were incredible! One man was a former Hindu priest. You need to pray for his wife to come to faith as now she serves in the temple as a priest. Another woman came to faith who lived an immoral life and no amount of beatings or threats of divorce would stop her behavior. When she came to faith, she changed her behavior. Two years later, her husband trusted Jesus, moved by his wife’s change of character to trust Jesus. Now, 6 families form the nucleus of this sweet body of believers.

The little house that we met in belonged to the former Hindu priest. It was 3 very small rooms with concrete floors in 2 rooms and the third room was treated with cow dung that is brushed across it. They had so little, but the beautiful smiles on their faces showed just how truly rich they were in their faith. It was our great honor to spend time with these brothers and sisters and their children.

THE BIG TREE

There is a large tree that grows beside a lake near us. At this place, they worship bhatra cali, a goddess with multiple arms and a very long tongue. This is the same goddess that the people in the village serve. It is said that as they worship, their tongues grow long. Recently, thousands of people came to this spot to worship and sacrificed 100 goats. Every false god that I have ever seen requires a blood sacrifice.

I believe that it is easy for us in the West to dismiss this belief and say that we are so much wiser. Is it wiser for us to sacrifice all of our time, even our families, as we chase after things that will pass away? Our altar looks different, but is it really any different? The people of India, the people of America, people everywhere must answer 1 simple question: Am I spending my life for God’s truth or a lie?

LIFE EXPECTANCY

The average life expectancy in India is 55. I am 54 and I find this truth very sobering. With all my heart, I want to invest well the life the Father has given me. Our entire team is so blessed by the way the Father has allowed us to invest our time in India. Our hearts are full of gratitude for all of our friends at ACA, our translator Hanson, our driver Stephen, and all of the young men and women here.

AN ELEPHANT RIDE
Yesterday, we took a day off and enjoyed seeing this amazing country. We saw a white peacock and a white tiger. I loved the Indian porcupines, but they really stink. Will was thrilled to see the King cobra. We learned that it can stand upright half of its length and even has been known to knock on a door. It can stand at 6 feet tall. It’s bite is deadly and you have only 13 seconds to get the anti-venom. Unfortunately, it is only available in Thailand.

Best of all, we rode an elephant. They advertised it as the elephant joy ride. We all agreed that it gave us great joy!

PLEASE PRAY

Please pray for these last 4 days of shows and teaching and training. There is so much to do in such a short time! Our schedule is full. Please pray for strength as most of us are not well. All of us are very tired and wonderfully happy! We have seen so many children praying out loud, calling on Jesus to save them! Praise God!

In Jesus, Linda for Sam, Silvana, Will and Alli

India Update 15 February 2008

A HAPPY LADY

Hanson, our translator, told us a story about a lady who came to a church where he worked. Every time they saw her, whether on the street or at church, she said she was happy. One day, they went to visit her home. She was terribly poor and her husband was a drunkard who hurt her. He was shocked! Was the lady lying? No, she had simply come to understand that her happiness was not dependent on her surroundings, but on her relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

POVERTY

Let me describe to you many of the houses in the villages. Most are very small with only one room and usually have a dirt floor. The roofs are thatch and full of bugs. All cooking is done over a fire outside and the bathroom is where you find a spot. The children are always hungry. Silvana looked into one house and was shocked to see that they basically had nothing inside. People suffer with diseases that the doctor would cure for you. Everyday is hard and there is no hope that life will ever improve.

HINDUISM

Hinduism offers these dear people who suffer so much no hope in this life and little hope for the life that comes after death. This is a religion of self effort with a very fuzzy set of rules. You keep dying and coming back and maybe, though it is doubtful, you will eventually achieve perfection, nirvana, and break the endless circle of life’s pain.

The words of Jesus proclaim hope and peace that is not dependent on one’s surroundings. His instructions are clear and more He makes promises that enable us to live this life with joy. Against the confusion and hopelessness of Hinduism, His message stands as the brightest light in the darkest place.

Truly, in many ways, this country that I have come to love so dearly is one of the darkest places. Everywhere you go, there are hideous false gods; half man/half elephant, half monkey/half man and multi-armed men and women holding weapons in each hand. Snakes are worshiped here. The sexual organs of their male and female gods are worshiped. In an effort to embarrass the Christians here, Hindus began years ago building a temple across from the school to honor the male sexual organs of their head god. Everyone who sees it knows exactly what it is. Only the faithful payers of the believers have stopped its building progress. You must pray against this evil.

SPIRITUAL ATTACK

You truly feel the battle in this place. We all feel the weight of the darkness, especially in the villages, where we are often surrounded by temples and non-believers. Each day requires great prayer as we ask the Father to hold open the door and enable us to share Jesus’ love with these precious children.

Our schedule has been filled for Monday and Tuesday, but now Wednesday requires your attention. Please thank God for the doors He has already opened and ask Him to answer our prayers for Wednesday.

Please pray for everyone to have the strength they need to finish. You cannot stand in the dark and speak about Jesus without paying a price. Please pay for our dreams that they will not keep us from a restful sleep. It is hot here and there are lots of mosquitoes. Usually, they eat the young people, but this time, they are enjoying all of us. One night when I could not sleep, I counted 42. Counting mosquito bites will put you to sleep just like counting sheep. Hee Hee.

PUNITHA’S STORY

One day, in another city where we worked, we stopped to ask a school principal permission to share a program. They asked us to give 2 children a ride to the next school. When Punitha, a beautiful, dark eyed 12-year-old little girl sat down beside me, I was just about to take a nap. On her forehead, she wore a mark signifying she had received a blessing at the Hindu temple.

I confess that for the first few minutes I saw so hot and exhausted that I almost missed a precious opportunity. The Father was kind to me and got my attention. Hanson and I talked with her, explaining to her how she was a treasure. We told her all about Jesus and she promised that she would remember. She listened so intently that I believe she will put her trust in Jesus. I challenged her to grow up and tell other children about Jesus. I told her that she could be me in India. Please pray for Punitha to trust Jesus. We did have the opportunity to do a program at her school and she was thrilled! I was thrilled!

BLESSINGS:

1) One little girl took flowers out of her own hair and gave them to Silvana to thank her.
2) The faces of all the children staring so intently at us are memories that will always stay with us.
3) At so many schools, the children turn to see Jesus, when I tell them that Zacheus could see Him coming down the road. They are swept up in the story and by God’s grace, really listen to the Gospel.
4) A little boy was celebrating his birthday and shared his birthday chocolates with us.
5) We visited a Christian evangelical monastery founded 80-90 years ago.
6) We drove an hour and a half up a mountain to meet with 400 orphan children on top of a giant, flat roof.
7) Our friends gifted us with the opportunity to enjoy a boat ride on a mountain lake.
8) We were blessed to be allowed to share Jesus at a large Catholic high school, where the principal was a Hindu. The Catholic schools never allow us to pray with the children, but Sam explained the Gospel very clearly to them.
9) In one city where we worked, over 8,000 children heard the Gospel in 3 days. Praise God!

OUR FAVORITE SOUND

You cannot come to India without noticing the things that are so different than the way they are at home. When we are in cities, it is never quiet. The horns sound all night long. Driving in India is something you cannot really describe. On a 2-lane road, you would find 2 buses, 2 cars, with assorted pedestrians and motor bikes and a large truck honking its horn determined that it will pass. Sometimes in the midst of all of this traffic, there are cows and herds of sheep or goats running loose. If a car’s horn is broken, the car cannot be driven. None of us want to hear the sound of a horn again!

However, there is a sound that we love to hear. At some of the programs, we are allowed to pray with the children, and always we are amazed at the response. Today we did a program for the Christian school here at ACA and heard so many children calling on Jesus to save them. When we finished, one of the teachers came up to us and really encouraged us. He said he was amazed at how well the children listened to us. Please pray that the children will listen this well at every show. Only God can hold their attention.

Love in Jesus,

Linda, for the team

Sam, Assistant director
Silvana
Will & Allison

India Update 14 February 2008

Dearest Friends,

PHOTOS ARE ONLINE AT

India 2008

It is not always easy for us to have access to the internet. For the past 3 days, we have been doing ministry in another city. We had an amazing time. If you were praying for us over these last 3 days, then you can read these stories and see how God answered your prayers. Please pray for us everyday, whether you hear from us or not. This is a very dark place, and we need the strength of your prayers.

EARLY IN THE MORNING

Early one morning, we met together for prayer and to read God's word. God used Psalm 115 to speak to our hearts. "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human kind. You, who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield." We are surrounded by false gods! There are several at the little hotel where we are staying. Since we have traveled to another city we all noticed the increase in temples. They are everywhere! You can buy your false gods at different shops or you can purchase a mask from different vendors to scare evil spirits from your home. It is a symbol of darkness itself and invites trouble, but this is not understood.

This city has many problems because it is a very strong Hindu place and the caste system, though outlawed, is still strong in people's hearts. There is also a strong Islamic group here, so this city suffers from many false teachings. Demonic activity is also a big problem. We are in the dark and discovering each day how the Lord is our help and shield. Please pray! Please listen to the Holy Spirit as he calls you to pray for us, even if it is in the middle of the night! We are 10 ½ hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in America. Expect to wake up!

3500 CHILDREN

On Monday, we did 3 shows and shared the hope of the cross with 3,500 children. We were all in awe of how the Lord was blessing us. At each school, many of the teachers and sometimes the assistant head-master gave us trouble, but we were always allowed to share with the children. Some of the teachers actually listened, but they were fewer in number than those who glared at us.

At each school, we explained Jesus' death and resurrection. We told the children how they could know Jesus as their personal Savior and even gave an example of how they could pray, using my testimony. We could not pray with them, but that is not a problem with God! We will not nurture this seed in their hearts and call them. They know what to do to become a Christian.

This is what we have done in India over the last 4 years. Still, even with their opposition, the teachers and principals from schools that we went to last year were disappointed that we were not coming to their schools this year. Praise God! All of these schools this year in this town are new places for us to share. We have so many wonderful opportunities.

TOO MANY STORIES

There is not time for me to write all that we see God do in a single day, but I will share with you what I can. At a school of 1500 boys, I looked into their faces and saw that they were hungry to hear the Gospel. Can you imagine 1500 boys sitting in the dirt spellbound by the Gospel? When I said that Zacheus looked down the road to see Jesus, they too looked because they were so caught up in the story. At other schools, we had this same response. My heart is broken for these children!

At a school for girls, I told the girls that they were a treasure to the one true God and their countenance lifted as they heard the words in their own language. Will delighted them by bragging on his wife, Alli in his testimony. He showed them a little bit of how a Christian man looks at his wife. Remember, this is a place where healthy baby girls are thrown into the Ganges River to redeem their worthlessness.

One principal only gave us 20 minutes. I asked for 40 minutes. We compromised at 35 minutes. One friend thought that maybe we should not say "Jesus" since it made people angry. We could not agree to this. We began the program and ironically, after we began to talk about Jesus, the principal gave us an extra 15 minutes. He was a Hindu and his actions encouraged all of us to be wise, but to share Jesus. Our friend considered the principal's actions a confirmation that he was not to worry.

A VILLAGE SHOW

We set up our stage in front of a Hindu temple. Can you imagine? We used the light of the village's only street light so that the children could see. The local pastor was very excited and said that every night the power is out from 7-9:00pm. This is always true. However, the light never went out. Praise God!

By God's grace, 200 people attended the show that night, men, women and children. Almost all were Hindu and so many were hearing about Jesus for the first time. Sam told an amazing story! There is a weekly outreach in this village, but so far no one has publicly confessed Christ. Ask God to give them courage! They looked into our eyes with such hunger. Their poverty was great but their soul's poverty was much greater.

Afterwards, they crowded around all of us asking us to pray for them. This happened in so many places. People came asking for prayer for pain, for blessings for their children, for family members, for everything you can imagine and more. The village elder said to me, "May you live 1000 years to tell these stories." This man was a Hindu. Pray for this small seed of faith to grow in his heart. We left this place exhausted and more happy then I can describe.

HOME

We are back at ACA and feel as though we are home. I will continue to write the reports of our 3 days working with Pastor Livingston. Please pray for our time here, as we are going to many villages. Today, we were denied entrance to a school because they were afraid to have us come. We need special prayer for tomorrow morning as our friend and partner in ministry, Hanson, will go to speak to schools about programs. We are having some problems with the schedule on Monday and Tuesday. Please pray and ask God to fill this schedule. Please pray for God to hold open the doors. Please ask others to pray.
Also, we began teaching at the seminary tonight and we are very excited about this opportunity. We have 6 more evenings of meetings with these incredible young men and young women. I will tell you some very exciting news about this part of our schedule later.

URGENT PRAYER AND MINISTRY NEED - MOLDOVA

Please take the time to read the following request from our partner in ministry in Moldova, Alexandru Sandulac. We saw God do amazing things in Moldova because of this man's sacrificial efforts for the Gospel. Please read the request that he sent us and if you desire to help him, please contact him directly through his email: alexsanduleac@yahoo.com

He has a way to receive funds in the United States.

This is the message he sent:

Please pray for our son Paul, 12 years old that is in the hospital in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. He has breathing problem and often cannot breathe. It has gotten so bad last week that he could not even stay on his feet. We went to the best doctors in Moldova we know but our hope is just in God. Doctors say that most probably he has asthma and the doctor that is treating him insists on giving him hormonal treatment. All problem began 1,5 years ago, when he had pneumonia and doctors in Cupcini, our home town misdiagnosed it and did not treat it for almost 2 months, then he was treated in another city (Balti), but still got pneumonia 4 times in a year period.

Please pray God will heal Paul and encourage him, and that the Lord will provide funds for his treatment and medications, as we did not have any money for that and had to borrow. We have already spent for his treatment $1,300.

God bless you! And thank you for your prayers and friendship.

In Christ,

Alexandru and Svetlana



In Jesus, Linda for the team

Sam Shaw, Assistant director
Silvana, Will & Alli

India February 10th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

SIGNS AND WONDERS

We are hearing some of the most incredible stories. At home, when people are sick, their first thought is to see a doctor. However, here these options do not exist. Often times, both Christians and non-Christians will pray about it before considering anything else. Tonight in a village, a mother brought a daughter for prayer because she was not growing like she should. The mother had AIDS and it was unclear what could be wrong with the child. Please pray for this mother and child, whose greatest need is Jesus Christ, because this mother is a Hindu.

My friend told me tonight about a prayer meeting they had in the same village. The believer rented her home from a wealthy woman who came to visit while they were praying. The lady asked them to come to her home and pray for her. She said that her husband did not trust her, and even though she was a mother and a grandmother, he thought she was not faithful. For over 40 years, he had been beating her. The problem was not with her behavior, but with the husband’s desire to hurt his wife. The men prayed for her. It never crossed their minds to do anything other than pray for her. They bowed their heads and called on the one true God, asking for her husband to stop beating her. That very night, the husband came home and fell at her feet. He begged for forgiveness and has not beaten her since. She said, “Truly the Christian God is the one true God”. Her husband will not allow her to attend church, because he is a Hindu. Please pray for God to turn his heart.

In the same village, it had not rained for 6 months. The people in the village came to 2 of our friends, and asked them to come and pray for rain. The presence of water in these small rural villages is the difference between life and death. They had a special day of fasting and began to pray. Before they finished their prayer, it began to rain. It continued for 10 days. Finally, people in the village came to our friends, and asked them to please ask God to stop the rain.

In this village, there was a lady who was demon possessed. Neither she, nor her husband, were believers, but he even recognized that there was something wrong with his wife. He came to the pastor and asked him to come and pray for his wife. They went to his house, and found her rolling around on the floor half-dressed. She was very wild to look at, and was mumbling unintelligible. They prayed, and instantly she was delivered. She got up, got dressed, and made them all tea. She is a Christian now, and her life is changed. Everyone can see the change. Please pray for his husband, as he has forbidden her from the church.

All of these stories are true. You have to ask yourself why we don’t see God doing signs and wonders where we live. Sometimes I think the answer is simple. We do not ask God. We do not believe. Please pray for this village. They have a Sunday School that meets there every week and soon, a church will be planted there.

This afternoon, we went to the same village and did a puppet show. Children, teenagers and adults gathered, and when we finished, they did not want to go home. Even taking the stage down and packing up the equipment was entertainment for them. We also saw wonders today in the village. We heard so many children praying out loud, calling on Jesus to be their Savior. We had such a wonder time and I struggle to find the words to describe how incredible our time with these children was to us. They crowded around us, just wanting to touch us, to smile at us. They were also in awe at how white Alli was, and laid their arms next to hers to see the very different skin color.

We have a very special opportunity here. God is opening doors to some very dark places and by His grace, we are allowed to be light. These wonderful things that we are seeing God do will only happen if you will stay faithfully on your knees. Pray!

Love in Jesus,
Linda, for the team
Sam-Assistant Director
Silvana
Will & Alli

India February 10th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

OUR FIRST SHOW
All of us were so blessed to worship today with our brothers and sisters in a nearby town. The church was set up very different from churches in the US as the man and women sat on separate sides of the church. You took off your sandals as you entered. Will’s shoes were the biggest there. This was a more prosperous church than some village churches that I have attended; they had plastic chairs.

There was such an amazing spirit in the place. Not everyone was a believer that attended, some were seekers. They would pray for a while and then they stop and sing a praise song. I opened my eyes and looked at their faces. I saw such love mirrored there and such reverence. I began to cry as I saw their deep love for Jesus. Many had walked to church, some a great distance. The roads are very dusty and dirty, crowded with cows, trash is everywhere. I was challenged by the day to day obstacles that I knew many faced to serve Jesus. This is often a hostile place for the Gospel.

Sam and I shared in church; he juggled his knives and presented a great Gospel message. I told them stories about what the Lord is doing around the world in the lives of children.
The Lord blessed, we finished speaking, and sat back down very happy. Then our friend came to us and asked us to speak to the children’s Sunday School for 30 or 40 minutes.

We had absolutely nothing with us except Sam’s knives and clubs. We had already used them and I wondered what we could do. You would be surprised how long 40 minutes is with children and no plan. I confess that I was concerned, but we quickly prayed and knew that the Lord would give us a plan. I signaled Sam that we would tell the story of Goliath and he would be Goliath. Before we finished, Alli played the part of King Saul’s beautiful daughter and Will was the group of men who were too afraid to fight Goliath. The children were fascinated that Will who is 6 foot 4 inches tall could be afraid of anything. It was a great way to teach them that our real strength is in our hearts, that God is our strength.

Some of the children were from Christian homes and some were not, but they loved the Gospel that they heard today. God blessed us! Most of the children prayed out loud, calling on Jesus to save them. What an awesome beginning for our trip to India!

ANOTHER BLESSING!

Yesterday as we went to the wood yard to buy wood for the easel, we began to talk with the children and a couple of ladies there. They were so sad that they could not see a show. After we paid the owner and since he was happy, we asked permission to do a show in his lumberyard. We were careful to explain that we were Christians, so he knew what we would share. He agreed and next Sunday we will be in the lumberyard. Not having an easel was a problem that ended in a great blessing. More, our friends here really needed one and now, thanks to Will’s creative carpentry, no power saws, we have one to leave with them.

Please stay on your knees!!!!!
In Jesus, Linda for the team
Sam Shaw-Assistant Director
Silvana
Will and Alli

India February 9th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

We are in India! Even though I have been here on three previous trips, I am amazed that God would give us this great privilege. It is a special delight to be able to share the hope of the Gospel with children who have grown up worshiping many different false gods. From the very beginning of our trip, God began to bless us; Lufthansa airline was very kind to us and enabled us to bring 10, 70 lb bags of equipment with only a minimal charge. When we arrived at the airport there staff greeted me and asked me what country we were going to this time. There interest gave me many opportunities to share with them what God is doing in the lives of children around the world.

Thank you for praying for our luggage to arrive safely with no problems. This was the first time that I have ever come to India, and had none of my bags opened by customs. When we began to unpack, we were all amazed at how much equipment we would be able to give to our Indian brothers and sisters. Praise God!

God has given me a wonderful team, Sam Shaw our assistant director and his wife Silvana, our especially gifted in sharing Christ with children. Will and Alli Jackson both took trips with me when they were much younger and it is a special delight to have their company. Please pray for us to work well together and to get over our jet lag. Despite everyone’s exhaustion we have sorted the equipment, Will has built an easel today and Alli, Silvana and I overcame our jet lag for 3 hours, just long enough to get a prodigious amount of Indian clothes.

Please pray for a show in the village tomorrow afternoon, please ask God to call many people to faith.

Love in Jesus,

Linda for
Sam – Assistant director
Silvana
Will
Alli

India February 2008

Dearest Friends,
We are leaving today for India and really need your prayers that all of the luggage will clear customs in India without a search or charge. Our hearts are still so full of joy for all that we saw God do in Hungary and we will carry that joy with us! Will and Alli and Sam and Silvanna are traveling with me to India. I can not wait to see how the Father will work!
PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In Jesus,Linda for the Team

Hungary January 30th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

OUR LAST DAY

Thank you so much for praying for the orphanage that we visited today! Mentally and physically handicapped children filled the building. The first thing that we noticed was the smell as we entered. Through the years, I've been in many of these places, but I'm always broken by how difficult it is for the children. There was a teenage girl in the audience who had a hair-lip and a clef pallet, but she had never received surgery. She had lived all of her life unable to eat properly, with a very painful birth defect because there was simply no medical care available for her. Her mind was sharp, but she had never received any education.

There was another little girl on the front row in a wheelchair who never smiled, not once during the entire program. She was so small and I wanted so much to see her smile. Finally, when the big bear puppet came up in the stage, she began to smile.

Many of the children and young people were so much smarter than people believe them to be. When we asked the director if we could do the program, she told us to plan for only 20-30 minutes. She did not think that the children could listen but for a very short time. When they were still listening after 30 minutes, then 40 minutes, she agreed that we could go ahead and do all of the program that we had planned. They listened for an hour and they really payed attention. As soon as I mentioned the name of God, they began to shout out the name of Jesus. They smiled, and laughed, and were especially grateful for the animal balloons that we gave them at the end of the program.

Only God the Father knows what these children can really understand. I believe that they can understand much more than they are given credit for by their teachers. Please pray for these children. Ask God to grow the seeds of the Gospel that were planted in their hearts today.

HOME

We leave in just a couple of hours to begin the trip to the airport. As they say in Ireland, please pray us safe home.

Love in Jesus,
Linda for
Sam- Assistant Director
Silvana
Calah
Billy