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In the picture you can see the
elderly people who had received the assistance as a
result of my contribution with the bags of rice they
were issued in their hands. As you know, the Internet is
full of scams and everyone seems to be more than happy
to relieve others of their excess money. So it was nice
to see what some might consider evidence that my
contributions were legitimately distributed to people
who were in actual need of it.
A variety of emotions came over me
at that point. One was the amazement of the level of
gratitude and the other was the feeling that I wanted to
do more. There was also the feeling of regret, because I
was not able to give nearly as much as I would have
liked.
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In 2009, an area near where the church is located was
devastated by a massive flood. Many lives were lost and
many homes were either damaged or completely destroyed.
Even some pastors of that ministry had lost all of their
possessions, including their clothing. |
The last time I made a contribution, the money went to
buy clothing for the pastors who had lost all of their
possessions in the flood. The pastors did not even have
clothing to wear to go out to preach the Gospel to
others who had lost so much themselves in the flood.
Some of whom had lost family members as well as all of
their earthly possessions.
Unfortunately, on the banner behind
them is not one of my favorite pictures of myself. But
I’ll have to put my vanity aside for the sake of others.
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Just think for a moment of the task that they had before
them. To preach to those who had lost so much that there
is a God that loves them. How do you tell someone that
God loves them after they have lost so much? Obviously
this is no easy task. Imagine the courage they had to
have to be telling so many people who had lost so much,
that God has a purpose for everything and that he loves
them. Not everyone can look into the eyes of the
suffering masses and tell them something like that. May
God bless them for having that courage.
We all know that many are driven away from religion and
God as a result of tragedies. They wonder how a loving
God could allow innocent people to die on such a large
scale. Those pastors that were there, comforting those
who had lost so much, were on the front lines on the
battlefield for the hearts and minds of those suffering.
They were battling against Satan every bit as much as
they were battling against the harshest forces of
nature. To win hearts and minds over to Christ in a time of
great suffering. |
Many of the after effects of the flood still linger.
Many are still trying to rebuild their lives. Pastor
Prabhudas and his ministry still continue to assist
those in need, to help them meet their basic worldly
needs, while preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To the right is a photo of homes affected by the flood.
As you can see, only the roof tops of the homes were
showing. |
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Below is a picture of a newspaper clip that shows
a front page article the flood. Also displayed is a
picture of the flood itself. As you can see in that
photo, only the treetops are above water.
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There are large numbers of HIV/AIDS infected people in
the area. Many of them are young people living in deep
poverty. Most of the women used to choose prostitution
for their livelihood and their lives are miserable.
There are no words to describe their living conditions.
The pastor preaches to them about the love of Jesus and
tells them that Jesus will never forsake them. These
people are accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord
and Savior and more are added daily to the Kingdom of
God. They are also encouraged to confess and repent of
their sins.
The ministry also conducts pastors’ seminars for pastors
that are serving God in various parts of India. Pastors
attending the seminars are encouraged in their service
and are supplied with the necessary materials and
resources. Experienced preachers conduct these pastors’
seminars and large numbers of younger pastors are
benefiting from the more experienced pastors’ teachings.
Therefore, it could be stated that Pastor Prahbudas’
ministry, in many ways, functions as a springboard for
other ministries operating throughout India.
A request was made of me by the
Pastor’s son to spread the word of the great needs to
be met. I promised him that I would do so. So now I lay
this matter before all who read this, in the hopes that
some would send contributions of their own to assist
this ministry. Any contribution would be greatly
appreciated by them. Just as the first picture displayed
in this letter shows. I have included the contact
information. So please consider my request and thank you
for taking the time to read this.
Bob Craypoe
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