Praise be to our Father who takes care of us in the midst of the storm. Many of you are probably already aware that our organization is going through some big changes. We are in a financial crisis. Currently, we are not receiving enough financial assistance to be able to support all of our workers. As a result, our company has begun working on reducing our workforce. We have been told that they are going to be reducing the workforce by 600 to 900 personnel. Obviously, this new development has required many to make some very difficult decisions. A voluntary retirement incentive has been offered to those who qualify. The next step will be looking to those who feel that the Father is leading them to go back to the USA. Those who are led to return to the USA will step down voluntarily. Those who voluntarily resign will be faced with the difficult process of integrating back into life in America. They will return without jobs, homes, cars, and many other basic necessities. A transition team has been set up to help returning workers get what they need for the shift. Many chu*rches in the States are rising to the occasion and offering support to those in need. I was asked by our affinity leadership to include the following statement in my latest update:
How to help returning m’s
South Asian Peoples is part of the global transition of m’s back to the USA. We are thankful to the many who have sacrificially served and are thankful to S0uthern B@ptists for their ongoing, sacrificial support. Our organization has received generous offers from S0uthern B@ptists of housing, employment opportunities, vehicles, counseling and other practical expressions of support from individuals, churches, associations, state conventions, WMU, seminaries and other partners. As you and your ch*rch pr@y, and as you identify practical expressions of support, would you please let us know? Our organization’s transition team wants to streamline and centralize this information in order to best serve our personnel as they adjust to life and m*nistry in the U.S. Every offer of support can be sent to transitionteam@imb.org. We ask your prayers for these individuals and their stateside families & churches as transitions to USA begin. For more information: ( http://imb.org/updates/storyview-3527.aspx#.VgGCVrSiBTU )
Please continue to be in pr@yer for our organization as we move forward during these challenging days.
I would like to briefly fill you all in on what has been going on in our lives recently. We had two teams from the States come in the summer to help us with various projects in our city. The first group that came brought a student choir of 250 people. They organized a concert at one of our local schools. We canvassed the community and exposed the team to the different people groups in our area. We had a small turn out for the event, but that was understandable considering it was during the month of R@madan. The second team came from my home ch*rch in Tennessee. They helped us run our annual Holiday Club. Our Holiday Club ran for five days and we had a high attendance of nearly 60 children. Each evening we would go to our local park and m*nister to the community through games, songs, crafts, face painting, and various other forms. During our closing program we had 80-90 people in attendance. Many people heard the good news this summer, and many were exposed to work among South Asians for the first time.
Since the summer, I have been working with one gentleman who I am particularly excited about. He is a South Asian man who came to f@ith several years ago. We have been meeting regularly for B*ble studies. His love for the W0rd is very apparent. Each time we meet we have wonderful conversations about the Father and how to serve him. The L0rd has been using him to reach out to his family. He gives me regular updates of the exciting conversations he has been having with his family. Please keep Roger in your pr@ayers and lift him up as often as you think of him.
We have also been working on building new relationships and improving on old ones. We have been learning a lot about how to connect with people in our city. We have been implementing these lessons with much success. I have found myself being able to access many homes that previously would have been unapproachable. We praise the father for this progress. Getting into the homes provides us with much better opportunities for communicating truth. Please continue to pr@y for open doors and new opportunities. Also pr@y that we would recognize opportunities when they are set before us.
Additional Pr@yer Requests:
- Simeon has been going to speech specialists who instruct us on how to get him up to speed on his communication. Simeon is almost 3 years old and he barely speaks a word. Please pr@y for him and us as he develops in this area.
- Please pr@y for unity and an anointing of the Spirit as we work with local bel*evers.
- Please pr@y that we would find more people who are open to regularly meeting to discuss the things of the Father.
