Bicycles

Dear Friend in Christ,

Can you recall the last time you walked 10 kilometers ... in the summer heat ... carrying a heavy bag? Chances are you never have, or perhaps it was a long time ago.

For native missionary Renji, covering this distance on foot is part of his regular outreach ministry to three tribal groups in Bihar, India.

His travels to villages where no one has taken the Gospel before are not only exhausting but unpredictable. Once while entering a home for prayer, a group of fanatics rushed in after him. Catching hold of the missionary, they issued this warning: "You should never again enter this village with the Gospel, unless you choose to die." But Brother Renji has courageously returned.

Other times Renji encounters people who gladly open their hearts to the Gospel message. One of them was a witch doctor and his family who were tree worshippers. When this man first heard the Word of God, he felt restless. However the event that caused him to put his trust in the Lord Jesus was the healing of his mother. The woman had suffered a broken hand in a fall, but when the native missionary prayed for her, she got well. Shortly afterward, this former witch doctor confessed Christ publicly; and today he is studying God's Word in a Bible college. His entire family now follows Jesus.

Brother Renji has established a church and several fellowship groups in villages where people responded to the Gospel. He even involved his whole church in reaching out to nearby communities. Alongside him, they distribute tracts, witness, pray for the sick, inform people about our radio broadcast in their native language, and invite them to church.

However, Brother Renji's vision goes far beyond the 10-kilometer ministry radius he can maintain on foot. He prays that the Lord will enable him to establish churches and mission stations in other parts of his district. To do this he would need to travel daily up to three times the distance he does now. And he could, if he had a bicycle.

In remote places, where there is little or no public transportation available, a bicycle is one of the most urgent ministry tools our native missionaries need. It instantly doubles or triples their outreach capacity and helps them reach hundreds of villages that otherwise would not have a Gospel witness for many years to come.

A heavy-duty Indian-made bicycle can be provided for $105.

With many new Bible school graduates on our pioneer fields across Asia, the need for bicycles has gone up significantly. We also must replace several hundred old bikes, worn out from continued use in rough terrain.

All in all, it's an exciting project I want you to have the opportunity to participate in, because it directly translates into thousands of souls receiving an opportunity to find Jesus.

As you read this letter, allow the Lord to fill you with love for the unreached and the joy in making a way for them to learn about Jesus, by providing a bicycle to a native missionary like Brother Renji.

Please know your reward for this decision will be precious souls from Asia, whom you will meet one day before the throne of God.

May the Lord guide you and keep your heart focused on His coming.

Yours for Asia's unreached multitudes,

K.P. Yohannan