| January
19,1998
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Dear Brethren,
Greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I will leave for India tonight. Accompanying me will be Quentin Clark, an elder with the Brevard, North Carolina congregation and his daughter, Milissa, of Raheigh, North Carolina. Jim Cunningham of the Sunshine congregation in Wheelersburg, Ohio, will join me in the work in February as the Clarks are returning to the States This is my twentieth anniversary in the India, Nepal, Bangladesh Mission Work, and my thirty-first mission trip. 1978--1998 I cannot believe the time has gone by so quickly. I used to think that only old folks talked in terms of decades. Have I reached that point in life? It has been a grand journey and one I would gladly repeat. Of course, there are a few things that I would change. For example, the frightening time when Naxalites (revolutionaries) came hunting for me with guns. Then there was the time when Muslims rioted and protested my preaching the gospel in Bangladesh. In that situation, the Bangladesh police chief protected me, ordering his men to surround the crowd, and urged me to continue to preach. They also protected the Bangladeshi brethren and myself while eight people were baptized. The police chief came to me privately and acknowledged that he was a Muslim, but that he believed in what we were doing and hoped that he could become a Christian in due season. There were two or three other occasions when the Indian police stood guard in villages in order to protect me while I was preaching. In all of this, and and much more, I have felt the providential care of God with me. I could not begin to count the number of frightening experiences in which I owe my life to the saving hand of the Lord. Some of those included an emergency landing on an Indian airplane, leaking boats in the middle of the rivers as wide as the Mississippi, and walking on trains in tiger and cobra infested jungles at night after preaching in remote villages. I could also speak of being in three wrecks -- two autos and one bicycle rickshaw. This is not to say anything about the dangerous road conditions and wild truck and bus drivers. But, after twenty years of mission work, the combined efforts of many American missionaries and native Indian brethren, have yielded a harvest for the Lord of nearly one million souls baptized and some thirty-thousand congregations established. To god and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, be all glory.
Since I returned from India in early October 1997, I have spent the majority of my time in reporting on the India work and raising funds for my 1998 winter mission. This has take me to the states of Virginia, Ohio, Tenessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Mississipi. It is a privilege to travel among our brethren. God's people are among the most wonderful people on the face of the earth. As Jesus said they are the salt of the earth. I have constantly been encouraged by brethren's appreciation of the work I am engaged in, by their prayers, and by their great financial sacrifices on behalf of the work. I have seen the widow's mite given as will as checks for hundreds and thousands of dollars. All of this was in gratitude for what God has done for us and in the hope that His gospel may be preached who have never heard of Christ. God Gave the Increase in 1997
To God we give all the honor and glory. We are simply His coworkers and feel honored to be used by Him to reach the lost. In the last seven years we have baptized more than 400,000 souls, and we have averaged planning four new congregations per day! More that 60,000 native Indian preachers work with us in doing the Lord's work. Our computerized records show that we keep about seventy-eight percent of those baptized. Please pray that we may keep 100%.
Yesterday my heart was deeply moved as I watched a CNBC news report concerning the financial crisis facing South Korea and other Asian countries. Individuals in South Korea were giving their gold jewelry to the government in order to save their county. The South Koreans are willing to make "wartime sacrifices" to save their homeland from economic disaster. In one day, the South Koreans gave one ton of gold estimated to be worth one million dollars. This show of patriotism reminded me of the Hebrews who gave their gold so freely to the cause of God that Moses had to tell them to quit giving (Exodus 35:30 - 36:6). This caused me to also reflect on our brotherhood, and to ask the question, "What are we willing to give to save souls?" Perhaps, we should go on a wartime footing to seek to save the lost souls, to build the kingdom of God, and to do good deeds of benevolence in order to be the hands and mouth of God on the earth. Do you suppose Edmund Burke was right? He said, "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little." I wish CNBC would follow me as I travel among the brethren and observe the generosity of our fellowship as we seek to win the lost of Christ. I have received numerous letters and faxes during the past several days from our India brethren. Their needs are great and often heart-rending. For the most part, the brethren do not ask anything for themselves personally. They ask for their poor churches members and for "tools" to help them reach the lost. |
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A sample of their requests is to be found
below;
Brother, I am needing more bicycles, Holy Bibles, New testaments, communion cups, and some little one time gifts to the most needed preachers, I am asking all this for the good and faithful preachers, who are walking with us since long time. Please accept my thanks and that of of the Manassas elders for your help. An envelope is attached for your convenience. We have plenty of work to do and would welcome you to help us. Please contact me for details if you would like to go on a mission to India with me. We are in need of additional congregations and individuals to help in the work financially. Please contact me if I may make a report on the work to your congregation following my return from India about March 13.
Grace and Peace, Jerris N. Bullard, Missionary
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© 1997-2000 John Murphy for the Manassas Church of Christ |
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