An Opening in Bhutan

An Opening in Bhutan

A brother from Bhutan who also serves the young people and college students in Bhutan was introduced to us. The Lord impressed him with the ministry books and he volunteered to introduce and distribute the ministry books among the students. Besides, we also met with a Bhutanese brother who has been involving in the translation of the Bible into the local languages of Bhutan. The New Testament Recovery Version impressed him so much as it has been done with much accuracy. He even said he would use the Recovery Version as a reference for his ongoing translation.

Ministry of the Word Journey: North Bengal

Jaigaon, North Bengal

A land bordering India and Bhutan is teeming with missions and missionaries, all with the burden of somehow entering into Bhutan with the gospel. We were welcomed by a well-established Christian group and given hospitality with theologians. With our host we had wonderful fellowship on what a Christian life is, and the issue of such a life being the church life. The theologians were appalled with the depth and revelation of the word the Lord blessed the ministry with, supported by the subjectivity of such high peak truths. We were also led to meet the leading and influential Christian leaders to whom the ministry books were introduced.

A Seeking Missionary: A seeking "missionary" invited us for a lovefeast dinner fellowship and testified of how he has been praying and longing for someone to introduce the pure and healthy teaching from the Bible with printed ministry books. He has seen so much confusion among Christianity with different teachings and leadership that leads the believers into  division. He expressed his gratitude to the Lord that the Lord brought us there in answer to his prayer and wanted to pursue the ministry books and also expressed his desire to visit the church life in Delhi and Gurgaon. 

Alipurduar, North Bengal

We were introduced to the top leaders of the Christian groups operating in North Bengal. A leading founder and leader of some 200 “branch churches” was so interested in the ministry books. He placed order for the books in sets, and would mobilize all who are serving with him for the distribution of free Rhema books and tracts. In fact, he testified that he has been praying and waiting for someone to provide healthy teaching from the Bible, and was so happy that we visited him.

Another mainline church leader expressed his desperateness on the state of today's nominal Christians and wanted a revival. The ministry books impressed him a lot and wanted them in Bengali in bulk as soon as possible, as he is the Chairman of many “churches” all over North Bengal, mostly Bengali speaking believers. 

Ministry of the Word Journey: Kalimpong, West Bengal

Kalimpong, North Bengal

The Lord led us to a group of young Christian leaders and pastors, to them we introduced the ministry books. They all were very impressed and took the books and introduced us to the leading pastors in the city. A young pastor on hearing about us, came to meet us and placed order for the ministry books in set. 

The only Christian bookstore in the city on learning about us and the books by Watchman Nee, placed order for the books and made arrangement for us to meet their leading elder. The leading elder testified of how much help he received by reading brother Nee's book since 1977. He loved brother Nee so much so that he loved us too and even requested us to stay with him in their campus. 

House Churches in Kalimpong: A brother who has seen something of the New Testament pattern of the church welcomed and gave us hospitality. With him we had a sweet time of fellowship on the truth concerning Christ and the church. He was so glad that the ministry of the age has reached him. He has been running "house churches" in and around Kalimpong with some 500 believers. He is so burdened to build up the church by perfecting the saints by teaching them in their homes. He also fellowshipped the possibility of conducting training for the believers and the serving ones in the near future.

Ministry of the Word Journey: Darjeeling, West Bengal

Darjeeling, North Bengal

The only Christian bookstore placed order for the books in sets. On the Lord's day, some seekers and pastors came to see the ministry books and they all placed order for the books.

A Seeking Sister in Darjeeling

The Lord brought a sister who loves the Lord so much and has been so desperate to know many "mysteries" in the Bible. She was so excited to learn that many of her questions are actually answered in the ministry books and in the Bible, Recovery Version. She immediately placed order for a set and desperately longed for the New Testament, Recovery Version. We also introduced the online ministry books and online LSM radio program for her pursuit of the truths. 

Ministry of the Word Journey: Majitar and Namchi, Sikkim

Majitar, Sikkim

A brother who is a Rhema contact and has been so much blessed by his reading of BXL 1 invited us for lunch fellowship. On learning about the ministry books, he placed order for the books in sets with the NT Recovery Version.

Namchi, Sikkim

A pastor who loves Watchman Nee's books took the initiative to call up all the pastors in the city to come to visit us in our lodging place. Many leading Christian pastors in the city came to visit us. As we introduced the ministry books, majority of them placed order for the ministry books in sets. The Lord also led us to a brother who is a school principal, a politician, and an artist who also placed order for the ministry books in sets. 

Ministry of the Word Journey: Gangtok, Sikkim

Gangtok, Sikkim

In Gangtok, we were accommodated in the guest house of a brother who loves and enjoys the ministry books by Watchman Nee. He is a retired IAS officer and Ex-Chief Secretary of Sikkim. As we introduced the ministry books and the Holy Bible Recovery Version, he was so impressed with the accuracy of the translation. As I was introducing the accuracy of translation using Ephesians 1:5, on "adoption versus sonship" and declared boldly that God did not adopt us but we were born of God as sons of God in life and in nature. His innate response was, "I got a goose bump!" He then placed a purchase order for the entire set of all books by brother Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. In addition, he also asked for an extra 100 copies each of Messages for Building Up the New Believers 3 Vols for all the pastors serving with him in his 55 “branch churches”. We also met the other leading pastors in Gangtok who purchased the ministry books in sets.

House Churches in Gangtok

The Lord sovereignly led us to a brother who has some light on the church as the Body of Christ and who also dissolved his congregation of one man speaking meeting of about 100 families into 15 small groups which he called "house churches". Their meeting pattern is with the view of making everyone function, simply following the Spirit's leading, without any preset pattern. We also spent an evening meeting in one of his “house churches” in Gangtok where we ministered on Calling Upon the Lord's Name and led all the believers to call on the Lord. He purchased the ministry books in sets and the NT Recovery Version.

Campus Distribution in Gangtok

We distributed Rhema bookmarks in a medical college and Nepali Mystery of Human Life in a Govt. College. A seeking sister in her final year came to fellowship with us as she saw us distributing tracts in the students' cafeteria. She was so happy to meet us and expressed her feeling and desire to serve the Lord full time. We encouraged her to pursue the truths and gifted her Life Lessons and Rhema booklets, besides giving her an "assignment" of reading the Bible and praying everyday as a preparation for her if the Lord would so lead her to come for the full-time training. 

Ministry of the Word Journey: West Bengal

A brother and his family moved to this state after he received a burden from the Lord for his own people, the Bengali speaking people. Since he moved he has been seeking for fellowship and prayer. In fact, he has called up again and again and asked when he could be visited. His fellowship became a leading in the Body to visit him, and also to meet other Christian leaders and groups for the introduction of the ministry books.

My stay with the brother's family gave me a better understanding of the real situation and need of the brother and also the Lord's move there. Through our time together, the Lord had confirmed that He has been training and perfecting my brother to live and walk by faith. Despite the hardship for a while, He has been faithfully supplying all his needs in time. His function in the Body as ones who could proofread the Bengali translation works was also manifested. Now, brother has picked up the burden for Bengali literature service which is also the urgent need for the Lord's move in West Bengal.

Barasat 

The brother had arranged a special time of fellowship and introduction of the ministry books with the Christian leaders serving in this area. When I was taken first to the meeting place I was a little concerned as to how to begin the fellowship because the Bengali speaking leaders look very intellectual and thoughtful. Deep within I was praying and asking the Lord how to begin the meeting. When the time came to start the meeting, I felt best to give a testimony of how the Lord saved me and called me to serve. With my personal testimony of experiencing Christ, their hearts were opened up for further fellowship. Then, I introduced the ministry books to them. With every books, I introduced I also shared the crucial truths contained in the book. In that way, I could also release my burden of ministering the truth on Christ and the church.

Kolkata

My being there on Saturday was so timely. The Lord opened the door for the introduction of the ministry of the word in Kolkata Christian Leaders' Fellowship where I was given the opportunity to introduce the ministry books with few words of explanation on the importance of Christian literature. I used the incident in Acts 8 on the need for proper interpretation of the word as an example of the importance of the ministry books.

Acts 8:31 And he said, How could I unless someone guides me? And he entreated Philip to come up and sit with him.

The president of the organisation was so impressed with the ministry books that he placed an order for the entire set. He invited us to his office where He even prayed over and blessed the books that the ministry books will be a blessing to the people of Kolkata. Another set of books was also handed over to a pastor of the biggest Christian group as a sample for them to see and place an order.

Basirhat

Near the border of India and Bangladesh, a group of Bengali speaking believers have been prepared by the Lord for His testimony. On a Lord’s day, we enjoyed the Lord's day meeting where all the saints shared from their experiences and enjoyments of Christ. We fellowshipped with them the unit of salvation – household, as many of the saints’ family members are yet to be saved, in addition to exhorting them to inculcate a daily habit of coming to the Lord through the word and in prayer.

This is also the hometown of a brother who serves in West Bengal. After the Lord's day meeting we went to visit his family. To the family, I released my burden on the need for household salvation and also the urgency of prayer and coming to the word of God daily. Besides, I was also asked by the brother to minister the truth concerning baptism as some of the family members were not yet baptised. Though not intended, our visit became an opportunity to minister the word to the family. May the Lord recover the entire family and also raise up the Lampstand in Basirhat!