Mission Work In India

     In 2005, Zion had taken on St. Paul's Lutheran Public School in India as a mission focus working to support the school in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh.

     In 2007, Zion's Pastor Dave Johnson was in India, January 26 to February 11, 2007, with the AFLC World Missions Team. Pastor Dave, a licensed audiologist, brought 15 solar powered hearing aids with him to Chirala. He was able to test people's hearing and fit some of the patients with hearing aids.There was such a great need, that he ran out of hearing aids. Click here to read more about his mission trip.

     In 2008, Zion's Pastor Dave Johnson joined two other incorporators to form "Alpha Omega Compassion," a non-profit mission organization concerned with development of church infrastructure in India. He became president of the organization at its first meeting, joining with others from across the country concerned with the Indian church. Click here to read more about this organization.

Children
at St.Paul's Lutheran Public School
in Chirala, India

     Pastor Dave shared crayons and other things on behalf of Zion Lutheran Church at St. Paul’s Lutheran Public School in India on his trip to Chirala in 2007. The school for the Dalit children had 250 youngsters at that time. Things have grown. In addition, they have extended the school to the Fishermen’s Village in a remote area. Here is what Pastor Luther reports:

     “There are about 400 children enrolled this year (2010). About 150 children do not have sponsorships. At the same time 45 children in the fishing village do not have sponsorship.

     “In Chirala the school fee is $100 per year. But in Elachetladibba, the fishing village the fee is $75 per year.”

     These children are generally from the group called "the Down-Trodden People," but many in the United States would recognize them by their old name, "the Untouchables."

     St. Paul's Lutheran Public School is operated by the Association Free Lutheran Congregations, India. Children are enrolled in school as dollars for tuition become available.

     Click here to see more children in India.

     For $10 a month you can send a Dalit child (from the poorest Indian "caste") to school for a year in Chirala. OR, you can send a child to a full year of school in the fishing village for $7.50 a month. This English school education opens up opportunities for children that would ordinarily have no access to higher education.

     Educating Dalit children builds minds and also the Indian church. Would you consider sponsoring a child for a year. You can make a check payable to Zion Lutheran Church and please note on the memo line that you desire to sponsor a child for this school year.

Send your donation to:

Zion Lutheran Church
PO Box 266
Silverhill, AL 36576

Friends at Zion:

Pastor Al Pinno is with the AFLC-Canada. He has given us an update on his current trip to India. You will find this interesting.

~ Pastor Dave

     Friday, January 15,

     In the Year of our LORD 2010!

     Dear Family & Friends in CHRIST:

     Greetings in JESUS, our SAVIOR and LORD, the One and Only who forgives our sin and gives us the gift of eternal life. Amen, come LORD JESUS!

     The recent earthquake in Haiti resulting in the death of tens, or perhaps even hundreds, of thousands of lives, is the latest reminder of the weakness and brevity of our lives in this world, and of the importance of spreading the incredible good news of CHRIST and His salvation and Kingdom to our lost and dying world. As the prophecy of CHRIST in Isaiah 9:2 says: “On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” The “shadow of death” is all around us in this world, not just in the country of Haiti. We praise GOD that the Light of the love and truth of CHRIST and His coming Kingdom has come into our world and into our lives. We would all be lost without Him. May the LORD our GOD and SAVIOR, who has called us for such a time as this, help us with His SPIRIT to bring His love and truth to our lost and dying world today.

     I am writing from the city of Bapatla, in Andhra Pradesh,India. Our team of six young adults: Haley, Sarah, Elizabeth, Curtis, Joel, and Heidi; and myself have been ministering in India for 9 days now. We praise GOD for the opportunity to be here and the many open doors the LORD has given us to share His love and truth and hope with others. In addition to preaching at the Gospel meetings in cities, towns, and villages in Andhra Pradesh most evenings, we have also shared at church services, an apologetics seminar in Hyderabad, a gathering of Salvation Army officers, a training seminar for pastors, a Gideons banquet in Bapatla, and a few meetings related to Dr. Anand Kumars medical ministry. The team of young people have been sharing in song and testimony at our various meetings, as well as reaching out to the children and youth.

     This coming week we will move to the Chirala area, where the team will focus their attention to ministering to the 400 or so students ages 4-17 at St. Paul’s School. I will continue to preach at Gospel meetings in the evenings and speak in Churches and pastors or Gospel workers seminars during the day. It is a tremendous blessing for us to see GOD’S SPIRIT working in people’s lives here. Every evening at our Gospel meetings there are often 100 or more who respond and come for prayer after the service. Praise GOD for the abundant harvest He is giving us to bring into His Kingdom.

     Thank you to all of you for your prayers and support to enable us to come and do this work here, and for our time here. The team has been fairly healthy and GOD has been protecting and blessing us in so many ways, especially through His people here. We are so glad we are part of the LORD’S family in our world. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to serve His Kingdom here for another 2 ˝ weeks.

     To GOD be the glory: Thank you JESUS!

     In the Love and Service of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,

     Pastor Al Pinno

Development of a New Church
in Bodullurpaddu, India

     "My name is Pastor Nanna Padmarho. I became a Christian 15 years ago. God put the Hindu village of Bodullurpaddu on my heart ten years ago—the AFLC-India sent me to begin work there. It is a village of 500 family units. We had two believers to start. We have grown and now have 45 believers, about 30 family units. A rich man from our village who now lives in America, offered to give us money to build a church of concrete block. We were encouraged, for such a church building would not collapse on us as many wood and mud construction buildings do. We began to build the church by laying a foundation. When we finished the foundation, we were ready to start the block walls.

     "We just got started and got the money from the man. It was a token gift! It could not build a church—it could hardly build a foundation.

     "We went to the AFLC-India and asked for help. The name of Christ and of our church was coming under attack. Our Hindu neighbors were beginning to say, “Those Christians promise much to us Hindus, but they cannot even finish what they have started! They can see that we are poor farm workers and have no resources, yet expect us to construct a church building like people who have resources and income.” You see, the village is officially a “village of farmers,” but in reality they are a village of farm workers, and they are doing subsistence farming. We would say that they are “hand to mouth” farmers—there are little or no crops for sale from the work of their hands. They work from about 6 AM to 10 PM each day, six days a week and sometimes seven! Some can work only 6 AM to 5 PM. They have less income.

     "The situation was dire. AFLC-India President, Pastor Luther Sastri, obtained a loan from a personal friend of several thousand American dollars to complete the building. He did this knowing that he had no way of obtaining dollars to pay the loan, but felt God wanted the church in the Hindu village completed. The construction of the church building went on. Pastor Luther shared the problem with Pastor Al Pinno of the AFLC-Canada. He in turn shared the problem with Canadian Bible School students. When Canadian Bible School students heard of the problem, they raised enough funds to complete the church.

     "That church was completed and dedicated by Pastor Del Palmer when he visited the AFLC-India on February 9, 2007." Pastor Nanna continues, “God knew our needs and he knew our community. He provided our new church both for us and for Hindu village. Our building opens the door for new believers to come from our church contacts in the village. This location of our new church is a Hindu location. It is not easy to build among the Hindu people. By the power of the Holy Spirit and the good works of our friends in the AFLC, God has indeed blessed us.”

AFLC-India News

     Our AFLCI has been encouraged by your sincere prayers. Very recently our pastors, gospel workers and Bible women met and discussed about the planting of new congregations where people have never heard the Gospel. To achieve this aim many proposals came forward. One of them is to conduct evangelistic meetings at new places (selected villages, towns of Andhra Pradesh State). We have freedom to conduct evangelistic meetings in any towns and villages. We conduct meetings for three days.

     Our Gospel workers and pastors will go to that particular town/village and visit the homes and distribute Christian Tracts and pamphlets and invite them to the meetings. We use an amplifier and loud speakers so that the whole village people would hear the Word of God. For this purpose we need a 400 watt amplifier and loud speakers. We conduct evangelistic meetings in the nights too so we need some lights and mercury lamps and a power generator.

     We all believe that the Gospel must reach the unreached then the end will come. This is the vision of our church so I request you kindly to pray for these needs.

     Once again thank you for your prayers.

     In Christ,

     Pastor Luther Dasari

Photos from a wedding in Pothukatla, India.
August 2006
Click to enlarge each photo.

Bride and her relatives. Carrying a coconut. It is Indian custom.	Relatives and villagers came for the wedding. Pothukatla, India.	Church worker's son's marriage at Pothukatla, India. Rev. Martin Luther and Luke performed the marriage.
Marriage at Pothukatla, India. Rev. Martin Luther performing the marriage.	Wedding at Pothukatla, India. Rev. Luther and Pastor Luke performing the marriage.

Photos from a free medical clinic in Nagulapalem, India,
August 2006
Click to enlarge each photo.

Free Medical camp at Nagulapalem, India.	Medical camp at Nagulapalem, India.	Free Medical camp at Nagulapalem, India.
Free Medical camp at Nagulapalem, India.	Free Medical camp at Nagulapalem, India.	Free Medical camp at Nagulapalem, India.

Letter of Thanks
from Pastor Luther Sastry Dasari
To Pastor Dave Johnson
Mon, 29 May 2006

     Dear Dave,

     Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

     First of all I want to thank you so much for your sincere prayers for our St.Paul's School.  Indeed your prayers are great help to this school that we able to complete the academic year 2005-06 successfully.  Please continue to pray for this school.  The new academic year 2006-07 will be started from June 5, 2006.

     The Canadian AFLC has promised me to support 50 poor children in the school.  There are still 150 children need sponsorship.  And we do not have proper infra structure for this school.  Children do not have good chairs to sit in the class rooms.  The teaching staff does not have a staff room.  You know like these there are many needs of the school.  So please continue to pray for the school. 

     And I believe that God will open door for pastor Gene Enderlien this year to come to India and visit our work.  Particularly our gospel workers are very eager to see pastor Gene.

     Please convey my greetings to the members of your church counsil.

     In Christ,

     Luther (dasari_luther@rediffmail.com)

Rebuilding in India

     When the tsunami hit India in December of 2004, the island fishing village of Elachetladibba was flooded. The Lutheran church in the village was also flooded. The building was a thatched prayer shed. There was little loss of life, but the need for a strong shelter in times of storms became evident.

Elachetladibba, India
Rebuilding After the Tsunami
Click to enlarge each photo.

Pastor Luther Dasari serving Communion to the Villiagers of Elachetladibba, India.

The villagers gather for the ground breaking for their new church.

The building materials have been gathered at the building site.

     The AFLC of India has submitted plans on a new church/storm shelter for the village. The church will be built in such a way that refuge can be sought in times of flooding and cyclones. The church will provide refuge as people will be taught about Jesus’ promise to meet their needs in the storms of life. Lutheran World Missions has provided funds for this building.

The ground breaking ceremony.

The church foundation corner stone.

A drawing of the future church.

Click here for more information on the
AFLC World Mission to India.

Flood Damage and Relief Efforts
September 2005
Click to enlarge each photo.

Distribution of rice in the flooded village.	Distribution of blankets in the flooded village.
Flooding.	Flooding in the village of Komarnenivaripalem, India.

Zion Supports
Dalit Christians in India

     Zion has taken on St. Paul's School as a mission focus working to support the school in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh for a number of months. Zion has just completed a Missions Focus weekend with Pastor Doctor Jim Gerdeen and has raised $634 with the help of Thrivent for Lutherans to be directed to St. Paul's School.

     Pastor Doctor Jim Gerdeen challenged the people of Zion Lutheran Church of beautiful Silverhill to be involved in missions as he coordinated the weekend program (August 13 and 14, 2005) entitled, "Seeking Disciples in the 21st Century: A Lutheran Perspective."

     The needs of this school are great. They started their new academic year 2005-06 in July.  The little Dalit school has struggled with deficits for the last five years, unable to even pay the salaries of the teachers for the past year.  Nevertheless children were able to complete the academic year 2004-05.  Now the focus is on the future of the school.  This school is aimed exclusively at Dalit Christians. School director Pastor Sastry explains that "Dalit means socially, economically backward and particularly downtrodden people in the Indian society.  To increase their social and economic status they need education.  In our Indian society only the rich community have gotten such education. In our India Free Lutheran Congregations there are many Dalit children who do not have opportunity to go to school in their villages.  That's why we established St. Paul's School."

     Lutherans have been working in India for several hundred years. Indian Pastor Sastry has been working with his school since the 1990s. We remember the devastation of the tsunamis in SE Asia last December. St. Paul's School is just a few miles from the coast and there was devastation close by affecting some of the Dalits. Relief funds made it to the area. But this little school has more problems. Would you believe "rain"?

     Here's what Sastry relates: "There has been incessant rainfall in the State of Andhra Pradesh.  The roof of our schoolrooms has been destroyed.  The school is a thatched shed, made with Palmyra leaves.  Now children are not able to sit in the classes because of the leaking roof.  And this is our rainy season (spring) here in our area, and it will continue into September.  The classrooms should be repaired.  We've added this news and current pictures to our website. Unfortunately we have more bad news. Water! We need fresh water for drinking in the school.  But water is not purified.  Therefore children are suffering with various diseases like diarrhea during this rainy season.  Please pray for a supply of fresh water for our school."

Click here for more information
to send a donation to
St. Paul's Lutheran Public School in India.



St. Paul's Lutheran Public School
Website


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