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29, 1999
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Dear Brethren,
The headline on the Front-page of tile Washington Times, July 12, 1999, was gripping: NUCLEAR POWERS 'TO END FIGHTING. My first thought was, "What is this?" How could I have missed a war between nuclear powers? Which nuclear powers--USA, Russia, France, China? None of these. The lead article began: "Top military commanders from India and Pakistan agreed yesterday on a plan to end the fighting in India-controlled Kashmir, easing concerns of a wider war between the two nuclear-armed neighbors." Peace--we pray so. The conflict over Kashmir has lasted 52 years with thousands of casualties on both sides. Since May 659 Pakistani soldiers and 150 Islamic guerrillas fighting with them have died. Indian casualties stand at 333 killed and 520 wounded. In the midst of this, preaching and teaching of the Gospel continues unabated. God continues to add souls to the kingdom on a daily basis. As of July 21st, we have the following statistics to report for 1999. God gives the increase:
To God we give all the honor and glory. He has prospered His people and they, in turn, have given generously to support this great work. We are grateful to all our co-workers in this field that is white unto harvest. As wonderful as these results are, we are not satisfied. We must intensify our efforts to reach even more souls. "Give us souls, souls, souls, dear Lord or we die." Please join me in that prayer.
The opportunities to teach and preach in India are unlimited. I wish to share a portion of a very typical letter which I receive on a regular basis from our Indian brethren. This particular letter was written to me on July 5, 1999 by G. Rathan Raj:
No doubt you have fleetingly pondered over what you would do if you had a million dollars. I suppose, there's not much sense in thinking about what to do with a billion dollars. (In case you were wondering, Bill Gates was recently listed number one among the world's ten richest men. Gates now has over 90 billion--that is spelled with a "b" and not and "m".) Brother Henry Huffard of African Christian Schools in a recent newsletter quoted a poem from his great grandfather, Robert S. King, who was published in the Gospel Advocate teachers' manual in the 1920s: It's not what you'd do with millions, If they should be your lot, But what are you doing now With that dollar and a quarter you've got. Some dream of, and talk about, giving to help the Lord's work, but their good intentions seem not to be realized. On the other hand, so many of you who receive our newsletter have responded generously. We are grateful for every girl--small and large. We have recently received girls ranging from $1.00 to $700. A few years back a child gave me his weekly allowance of 25 cents "to buy a bicycle" for a preacher. Thank you for every response you have made to our many appeals on behalf of the Lord's work in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. I am sure you are aware of the eternal consequences of saying, "yes" or "no" to such appeals. When brethren say, "yes" and send whatever they can, it enables us to say, "yes" on the field. Of course, the opposite is true when our appeal receives a "no".
To these I would add the missionary who never says, "enough souls" or "enough funds". I suppose it will be this way until the Lord comes. The Apostle Paul noted the CO-worker relationship between the evangelist and those needed to support his efforts to win souls for the Lord:
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On behalf of the lost souls to whom God
may lead us, please accept my thanks for sending Juanita and myself to teach
and preach the Gospel in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. We are scheduled for
departure on August 3rd. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and
work in the fields of India that are "white unto harvest". Our budget for
this mission is $35,000. We are short of that needed amount by $8,000, but
trust that the needed funds will be contributed by brethren such as yourself.
Funds can be forwarded from Manassas to India for us. Please consider this
appeal to be personal--it is meant to be. If I had the opportunity to speak
with you personally I would ask you for all you could give. I would not ask
for myself--my salary is adequate for which I am grateful--but I would ask
and even beg for the $5, $10, $15 dollars needed to conduct one Gospel meeting
to save one soul which is worth more than the entire world (Matthew 16:26).
Please help with all you can--souls are at stake. We need your help.
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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