A Brief Report on the Visit of Brother Dan
from USA
by R. Israel
The town of Guntur where Brother Dan ministered the Word is situated
near the city of Vijayawada. The city of Vijayawada is situated
on the banks of river Krishna which divides Krishna and Guntur
districts of Andhra Pradesh. The distance between Vijayawada and
Guntur is only 33 kms.
Brother Dan and Vijay reached Vijayawada on 23rd March 2000.by
train and were taken to Guntur by Brother Israel in his
old Gospel van. On the way to Guntur they had stop over at a village
namely Pedakakani where brother Israel has established a fellowship
center.The building of this center which will be used for prayer
and church meeting in the rural village of Pedakakani is incomplete.
The staying arrangements for the brothers were made in Hotel
Jaikrishna International.The ministry of the Word through
teaching sessions started on the first day of their arrival.There
were 12 participants who had come from far off distance apart
from 7-8 local brothers from the town of Guntur. The classes were
held in our office cum residence. All the delegates were
accommodated there itself and food was served three times a day
apart from tea and Butter milk from time to time. All the
delegates were paid Rupees Two Hundred towards travel expenses
and some special gift was given to them. All these
expenses and that of hotel expenses were met by the visiting Brothers.
IMPACT OF MESSAGES
The Gospel of the Kingdom should be preached first so that
they end well come. (Mathew 24 : 14). It is noteworthy that the
word 'Kingdom' is not discussed very much in detail in the Christendom
which is a matter of concern and sorrow.
When brother Dan & Vijay began to dwell on the subject of Kingdom of God which is at hand, which is within us, which is to come etc., a thrill was created among the delegates and everyone looked for the next sessions eagerly. At the end everyone gave this testimony and we give Glory to the Lord for His doings.Though it is difficult to assess the impact of message on the inner-lives of brothers yet external evidences prove that they were encouraged,enlightened and caught with the message of the Kingdom as well the need for house church.
It is noteworthy to know that our brothers visited Guntur during
March 2000 and challenged us about the kingdom of
God. And the town of Guntur witnessed bomb blasts on mainline
church buildings and gatherings during May-June.Has the
message of Kingdom of god provoked the enemy?Surely the message
on "home church" is timely as it provides persecution
proof structure.May the Lord help the saints in India to understand
it as in the case of saints of China.
As for me, I have been advocating small Fellowships and gathering
in house for many practical reasons. I have traveled all
around the state of Aandhra Pradesh in the Jeep covering a distance
of Two Hundred thousand Kilo Meters preaching the
Gospel. In every place, we had few converts and they are gathering
for worship, in houses and rented halls.
OTHER VISITS
1. Immediately after the winding up the three days conference
at Guntur, I took Brother Dan and Vijay to a village by name
Pedakavuru near Tenali town. The distance between Guntur and Tenali
is 25 kms. The saints, approximately 15 in number,
gather in a small thatched mud-shed. Among the brothers,one known
as Brother V. Krupa Rao, has been healed from cancer is taking
care of the flock. The small mud building which is being used
for prayer and gathering of saints on Sundays needs a good roof
to protect the saints from weather elements.
2. On 25th March night I took the Brothers again to Pedakakani
village which we visited on 23rd March ,when we were
traveling from Vijayawada to Guntur. Brother Dan was encouraged
to see the spiritual fervency and joy of the saints though
they had less material comforts in their lives.Surely they are
rich in Christ. We have many faithful brothers and sisters, as
fruits of my long years of labor in this small village where I
started my ministry about 25 years ago. Though I travel to different
places this place is like my spiritual home. We intend to complete
the construction of small church cum training center in this village.The
completed building will have facilities for stay of saints who
come for training as well kitchen and toilet facilities too. Here
we want to conduct regular training programs for saints from different
parts of the state of Andhra Pradesh.
3. In the midst of our heavy schedule brother Dan and Vijay were invited by the District Evangelist of National Organization of New Apostolic Church (NANOC) to dedicate their new mud wall-church having palm leaves as it roof. Brother Dan can not forget the faces of those saints he met and ministered special on that day.Blessed are those who are poor/and poor in the spirit.
4. Our intention to visit Viswanadhapalli village in Divi Taluk,
Krishna district did not materialize. The family deserted by
Brother David lives in this village along with a handful of believers.
The roof of Residence cum Fellowship Center was
destroyed by mighty winds. Mrs. David and her three children have
no shelter. The saints have no place to gather. We had T. Moses,
Eldest son of Mrs. David for the meetings. When I shared this
tragic situation, Brother Dan readily agreed to help and left
behind Rupees Eleven Thousand (Approximately 250 US Dollars) with
Brother Vijay for this purpose. I received the money but could
not take up the repair work because of ill health. God willing
it will be soon completed .
OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS
1. Translation and Printing: - The delegates were highly impressed
with the dynamic teaching of Brother Dan. Some could go
through the leaflets containing radio Sermons of Brother Dan.
Due to poor English knowledge. (Some having no knowledge of English),
they expressed the desire that it should be translated and printed
in Telugu, their native language.
Initially we wanted to have small booklets but changed our minds thereafter to go for medium-sized book with full information on a single subject so that it could be used as the syllabus for the participants in training sessions. Accordingly the book on 'Kingdom of God' in under preparation. There are twelve chapters. The entire book could be taught in three days, as we will have four sessions a day. It is noteworthy that Brother Dan already gave Rupees Eight Thousand (Approximate 188 US Dollars) for this purposes.God willing printing of the following booklets will be undertaken in the future:
1. The Church Triumphant
2. Overcoming faith
3. Abundant Christian Living
4. Church Life and Ministry
5. Understanding the will of God
2. The visit of Brother Victor from Hyderabad added new dimension
to the visit of Brother Dan and Vijay. He visited us on
26th Sunday morning hours before the Brother were about to leave
for Vijayawada to catch their train to New Delhi. When
Brother Victor saw our old model letter press, he was inspired
to offer a computer as his personal gift to us. The ways of the
Lord are wonderful and we can not understand them.
Brother Victor kept his word and gave us his free gift of computer. In order to do the DTP work (composing) we need Telugu fonts.We hope to buy a good software on Telugu composing soon.
I have been a Diabetic since 1990. Every summer it gives me
problem as I travel a lot only in summer due to holidays. I had
the same problem this year also and I am recovering now. Brother
left for New Delhi on 26th March by Train.
To conclude, the message of Kingdom Growth is a reality and I am very glad to be a part of this World Wide Ministry.
Brother R. Israel