INDIA – BALUNAYAK BANJARA TRIBAL MINISTRIES – November 2014

On Saturday 22 November, Yesuway Jeevan Mission Manager Immanuel, accompanied by Mission Driver Raja and Advent Christian Conference of India pastor Rev Paul Aruldoss took a long train ride (600 km) from Chennai to Mahaboobabad in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh State to visit Rev Balu Nayak, one of YJM’s ministry partners.

When the train arrived at Mahaboobabad on Sunday 23 November at 4.00am, Pastor Balu Nayak and two of his church members were waiting for the Mission group and they hired a car and travelled to one of his ministry’s outreaches at Pastor Balu Nayak’s native village – Baluthanda. Pastor Balu Nayak’s father’s name was Balu Thanda and the village was named after his father because of the good works that he carried out for the village and its inhabitants over his lifetime.

The village, as is the area around it, is very basic and undeveloped. About 80% of the land in a radius of about 40km from Mahaboobabad town is owned by rich, absentee landlords and the people are very, very poor. Immanuel commented that all the people looked “sombre”!

About 100 people gathered for the Sunday morning service. Only a very few of them were men because many of the men in the district die from excessive consumption of alcohol, and a large proportion of the ladies are widows, caring for their children on their own.

Immanuel had been asked to preach the sermon for at the service, and he reminded the people that just like the people of Jerusalem in Christ’s time, who were looking for a “king” or a “champion” to free them from the despotic Roman rule, they were looking for someone to come to relieve their burdens. He was able to point out that their and our only hope is to look towards and trust Jesus Christ who has promised to meet the needs of those who trust Him. He reported that “it was a good service.”

After the service the Mission provided lunch for all who had attended the service. After resting for some time they all returned to Mahaboobabad and went to a river about 2 km from the town where the pastor baptised four young men and Immanuel presented them each with Bibles from the Mission. The group travelled back to Chennai on an evening train and arrived back in Chennai at 10 am on Monday morning.

Please praise the Lord and pray for Pastor Balu Nayak’s ministry in that difficult area, which God is blessing, and pray especially for these four new members of the great world-wide family of God.

Early this year  we reported that Pastor Balu Nayak had stepped out in faith to purchase land to build a small church at Mahaboobabad as a base for their ministries. The land has been purchased and about 30 to 35% of the work carried out on the building (see pictures below). Construction work has stopped because of lack of funds to complete the building. Please pray with our brothers and sisters that the Lord will provide the resources necessary to complete this building.