D. S. Amrutha Kumar

(This photo was taken, when I first came to the God's ministry)

1. FAMILY AND CHILDHOOD:

I come from a small town ‘vuyyuru’ in the state of Andhra Pradesh in south India. From my father’s side, we are third generation Christians and from mother’s side, we are fourth generation Christians. Both of my parents were teachers in a Christian mission-boarding school (a school with a students’ residence home, sponsored by a Christian mission abroad), which was started by missionaries from the Baptist church in Canada. They accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior, after repenting for their sins. I am the eldest child of the family, with two younger brothers and two younger sisters. As a child, I used to believe that God was loving but, He was very strict when punishing us for our wrong doings. I used to attend the church to avoid God’s punishment for not doing so!

My mother was a strict disciplinarian. She taught us many stories from the Bible and many gospel songs; she also taught us how to pray. At the age of nine, I completed reading the Bible once. As I was growing, I started telling lies, and hiding many things to my parents. I was enjoying the bad company of friends without the knowledge of my parents.

God once spared my life at the age of eight, when I accidentally fell into a stream of water in front of our house, when my mother rescued me and did the first aid. A week after this accident, I suffered from ‘smallpox’, when, for about a month, I had suffered from sores all over my body. It was difficult for me at that time, even to lie on my bed. During that time, I could not mingle with other children and I felt quite secluded. Then, many servants of God visited and prayed for me and God healed me completely.

Due to some satanic attacks in our family, my father left his teaching job and went to do some commercial business. During that time, I had to stay at my relatives’ place and I completely lost the habit of my daily prayers and Bible reading. I eventually lost the fear of God. After some time, my father left his business to again switch back to his teaching position. So, I joined my family again back in Vuyyuru.

At the age of thirteen, I was sent to a Christian boarding school for my studies in Machilipatnam (a much bigger town, about 40 kilometers from my hometown). We used to have regular morning and evening devotions there. We also used to attend church services twice on Sundays - with one service held in my mother tongue (Telugu), and the other, in English. Even during the Church service time, I used to allow bad thoughts into my mind, as I was influenced by secretly going to bad movies and by having bad friendships.

Since I could not pass my exam in the final year of the school in my first attempt, I had to stay in my hometown during the following year, so as to take my next attempt of exams, at the end of the following year. There in Vuyyuru, I was attending a Christian fellowship run by one of my schoolteachers, for prayer and worship. He used to teach the word of God very clearly. One Friday, we attended a fasting prayer service in the evening, and after sharing the word of God and finishing the service, the preacher asked me to go to a corner of the room and confess all my sins in prayer and ask for God’s forgiveness. At that time, I felt relieved of the burden of my sins and I had peace of mind. The next morning, I confessed my evil doings to my parents and asked for their forgiveness and asked Jesus Christ to be my personal savior. Soon afterwards, Satan started putting doubts into my mind and so, sometimes I used to doubt if I was really saved! So, I was filled with joy and suspicion, one after the other, and I was a bit frustrated.

After passing my school final exam, I again went to Machilipatnam for my college studies. I chose to study Mathematics and Science during my bachelor’s degree course, in a Christian college (Nobel college) there. I was living in a students’ residence home (Clarke hostel) and there, we used to have morning and evening devotions.

While I was in Machilipatnam, I started attending a fellowship, for prayer and worship, run by Brother Abel. Brother Abel was a dedicated and humble man of God. When he was preaching, one day, the spirit of God prompted me to realize my great spiritual need and I started repenting for my evil nature and asked for God’s forgiveness. Later, I started setting my conscience right, both with God and man. Then, the spirit of God started to speak to my heart and lead me into a new experience.

After I completed my college education, I got a teaching position in a Christian high school in a place called ‘Amalapuram’ in my home state in India, where, about five hundred orphans and poor children were studying. After two years of working there, I started praying about my marriage and for God’s guidance in the matter. One morning, in my devotion, I unexpectedly thanked the Lord for giving Rajamani as my life partner. Rajamani was also attending the same fellowship in Machilipatnam, where I used to, but I never thought much about her to be my life partner at that time. I simply did not know, why that morning I suddenly thanked the Lord like that! But God gave me an assurance in my heart that He was going to join us in wedlock. After a few weeks, my father wrote a letter to me asking, if I could consider Rajamani to be my life-partner! Brother Abel also wrote a similar letter to me. So, I confirmed for myself, that this was God’s will and I replied both of them positively. Later, though so many problems came, God’s will was finally fulfilled in my life.

Rajamani also got a teaching position in the same school in Amalapuram, where I was working. We both were earning good income and living a comfortable life there. I was participating in different Christian ministries in and around Amalapuram; but somehow I was not fully satisfied with my life and felt that I was missing something, somewhere!

One day, my mother wrote a letter to me, in which she said, "Son, when you were in my womb, the missionary doctors said that I should not go to my native place for my delivery, but stay in the hospital, as they felt that my delivery might become critical! But, I left for my native place and prayed to God that if He would give me an easy delivery, I would dedicate my child to His ministry! Then, God answered my prayer and gave me an easy delivery. From that time onward, I was bringing you up with a desire that one-day you should do His ministry! Now I am getting older and have some health concerns too because of my age and I don’t know when I will be called to eternal home: but I wanted to tell you that you are a dedicated child of God who has to do God’s ministry!" As I read the letter, tears rolled down my eyes and I had a desire to do God’s ministry; but I did not know where and how I should start! Should I take tracts and distribute or, go to the streets and preach the gospel – was my question of concern!

During that time, around October 1985, in ‘Amalapuram’, where I was working, some pastors’ meetings were held and I started attending the meetings regularly in the evenings. Two young men from the United States came to share the word of God during those meetings. While they were preaching, somehow I felt that they were preaching only to the need of my heart! I started understanding my self-centered nature, and asked God for His forgiveness. I also dedicated my life to Him. During the last meeting, the two young preachers asked everyone to dedicate his or her life to God, and asked those, who really dedicated their lives to God, to lift up their hands! I was by nature, a shy person and never liked to lift my hand in a public meeting, but on that day, I lifted up my right hand without any hesitation! I felt like getting special strength even as I was doing it and I went home as a special person, realizing that I fully dedicated my life to God - voluntarily! I became a bonded slave to Jesus Christ, willingly and happily! Praise God! I then started asking the Lord, "God I dedicated my life to you completely and I want to do your ministry, so please call me to your vineyard!"

After a few days, I went to Vuyyuru and one day, as I was at home, suddenly I heard an inner voice say to me, "Amruth Kumar, you are asking me to call you to my vineyard! It indicates that you do not have the discernment to recognize my voice, that I have already called you to that task." I immediately confessed my sin of disbelief and asked for God’s forgiveness. Then I got a strong assurance that God called me for His ministry! I opened the Bible and I found verses, confirming - God’s call to me, for His ministry. I came back to Amalapuram and shared my experience with my wife and wrote letters to my parents informing them the same. They all understood it. We did not have children up to four years after our marriage; but, during the same time, God gave me an assurance in my heart that he was going to bless us with a child! I thanked God in faith!

At that time, I had a small motor bicycle and a small electronic keyboard (about two and half octave, which is meant for children). Almost every night I used to go to the surrounding villages to share my witness and I used to get back home in the mid-night and sometimes, in the early hours! Daytime, I was busy teaching in the school. In response to God’s call to me, I was thinking of resigning my teaching position and do full-time ministry. At that time, both of my parents were retired from their teaching positions and my youngest sister was yet to be married. (Settling the marriages without sound status is a difficult affair in India – particularly, for women). Added to this problem, both of my younger brothers were not yet settled in life at that time! So, being the eldest child of the family, a lot of responsibility was rested on my shoulder. When I thought about all these problems and prayed to God, I saw in a vision all my family members, being protected by God’s hands! Then I understood that God was going to take care of all of my family members!

When my wife and parents supported my desire to resign my job and do a full-time ministry, I went to the Director of our school in January 1986 and requested him to relieve me in the month of April, as that was the last month of the academic year. At first, he refused to relieve me and suggested that I should continue the ministry there itself, simultaneously, without leaving the teaching position. But, I felt that obeying God’s prompting is better than obeying any human suggestion, no matter how better it might sound. So, I finally resigned my teaching position on April 8, 1986 and on the same day, I shared my testimony and God’s plan for my life (as I perceived it) with my colleagues; and they presented to me - a good leather-bound Bible. On the same day, one of my students presented to me a nice useful item and a large cake! My wife and I trusted that God would provide us our basic needs like – food and shelter etc. After this, almost for about a year, I was going to different places to share the word of God and my personal testimony. I was at the same time, waiting on the Lord for His clear guidance as to what exactly I should do, as his servant and where!

God’s promise fulfilled: As God revealed it to me earlier, He blessed us with a daughter on June 24, 1986! We named her ‘Gladyss Natasha’.

On March 10, 1987, I attended a youth meeting in a place called ‘Narasapur’, which is close to Amalapuram. In the afternoon session, an evangelist from a tribal field shared his testimony: After a few minutes, I surprisingly visualized in my mind, the flashing word " Tibet " written in my mother tongue! I wondered why it had happened so! After the youth meeting, we went to our rooms but I could not sleep that night. The word "Tibet" again came to my mind! Within a few minutes, I sensed that God was calling me for His work among the Tibetans. My father used to tell us stories about Tibet and about a popular pioneer missionary, Sundar Singh, who took the gospel to Tibet. Then I remembered how the Tibetans persecuted him and I was scared to think of myself as a person, now being called by God, to go and work among the Tibetans! Then I prayed, " Lord! Please don’t ask me to go to the Tibetans; I am ready to go to any place in the world except Tibet." I was struggling within me, but the Holy Spirit was trying to convince me. I could not sleep that entire night. At about five in the morning, I lost the battle and finally surrendered to Jesus Christ completely! Then I prayed, "Lord I am now ready to go to any place you send me to – even Tibet!" Great peace flooded into my heart. I shared this experience with my wife and some of the elder brothers in Christ. They prayerfully confirmed to me that I had God’s call. I started buying some books about life in Tibet from the local bookstores and started reading some books written by Sundar Singh to find out how he began his work in Tibet. I also bought a road map to figure out different routes to reach the Tibetans living in that area. I found out that visiting Tibet was a difficult thing and so, I decided to spend some time in places where, there were lots of Tibetans in India and surrounding border areas to Tibet, and wait for convenient times to pay visits to Tibet from there. After much prayer and waiting on the Lord, I have decided to go first to Sikkim to visit the Tibetan people.

June 24, 1987 was the first birthday of our daughter, Gladys, but I was to leave for Sikkim on that day and God strengthened me to leave our one-year old child, lonely wife and sick parents behind and go to Sikkim. At that time, I did not even know any other languages except my mother tongue (Telugu) and a little bit of English, which was not even sufficient to manage myself! But, I trusted God that He would provide all that was necessary and I finally arrived in Sikkim.

After staying a few days with some local Christian brothers, I moved to a rented room. Since I grew up in a warmer weather in south India, even in July, I felt it was very cold in Sikkim. I had a single sweater to use at that time and so, I was using my marriage coat most of the time. I started cooking my food after fifteen days of my stay there, though up until then I never tried cooking. After a few days, I became physically very weak and adding to that problem, I received the news that my beloved father was called to eternal home. This made me feel very sad and I felt very discouraged, but I wanted to wait until the Lord would give me a convenient time to go and visit my mother and other family members.

Putting my burden upon God, I started to adjust to the new environment and train myself suitable for God’s service by learning to walk long distances and by climbing steep hills. I learnt a little bit of Nepali language too. I once donated blood to the parent of a believer and some times I tried to visit Tibetan Buddhists with the gospel and participated in some of the gospel meetings there. During this time, God somehow helped me to meet my basic needs through someone or other and did not allow me to completely let down!

During my three months of stay in Sikkim, I learnt that there was no possibility of crossing into Tibet using a land route. So, I thought of moving to another place, and some of the local brothers suggested that I should consider learning Nepali language and helping in the Nepali ministry first, before I could consider visiting Tibet. Then I learnt that Nepal is a land locked country with a population of about twenty million! There are about twenty groups of people having their own cultures and languages, though ‘Nepali’ is spoken by most of them. The main religion in Nepal is Hinduism while Buddhism stands next. People can practice their own religion, but religious conversion is prohibited. Any person who becomes a Christian and takes baptism spends one year in prison, while the person who gives the baptism spends six years!

After much prayer, I could find a brother with a common plan to go to Kathmandu in Nepal, but I was suffering from fever and bad stomach at that time. After spending much time in prayer, I preached my last message in Sikkim in September 1987, and we set off for Nepal.

After travelling for six hours in a bus from ‘Gangtok’ to ‘Siliguri’ (in the State of West Bengal in India), we took a jeep to go to the Nepal border. From there, it took another seventeen hours for us to arrive in Kathmandu in another bus. The Lord protected me during the journey though I was very sick. After staying in a hotel for two days, we shifted to a rented room.

Yet another discouragement: During our stay there, we studied the local life of people and looking for the possibilities of reaching the Tibetan people around that area. As the days slowly passed by, the little money I had in my pocket was coming to an end. I was feeling very weak and suffering from other health concerns too. The local people started suspecting me to be "spy!" After spending many occasions without regular food, and days without taking shower (because of water scarcity), I spent the last penny I had in my pocket and I became completely helpless. I had many unpleasant experiences during my stay in Sikkim and Nepal, which discouraged me very much and so, I was praying that God should give me a time off to be with my wife and children, atleast for some time. But, I did not even have a penny in my pocket for travelling, so when I was praying about it, I was reminded of just one last most precious thing to me that was still in my pocession – it was my ‘wedding ring!’ With a great difficulty I had to sell it and the money was just sufficient for my journey back home. I left my bedding with a brother in Nepal with an idea to get back soon after taking some time off with family, and I started my train and bus journey to Amalapuram in October 1987.

My wife and family members were horrified to learn about my experiences, and the thought - that I would soon be going back there, made them almost mad! At that time, some of the elders of the local church suggested to me, that I should better stay with the family for some time, before I could go back to Nepal. After giving much thought to the suggestion of the elders and praying, I started a youth ministry in the same place where my family was staying in Amalapuram and also in the surrounding places. It was very encouraging and my vision for Tibetans slowly started to diminish.

During this time, while I was at home in India, one evening, I attended a youth meeting conducted by Mr. Sekhar, a friend of mine. When the meeting was finished, there was a film-show about Sundar Singh, about whom, I talked earlier. While I was watching the film, God again reminded me of His call to Tibetans. Then I started to repent for entertaining discouragement in my heart. I prayed, " Lord! You gave me a vision for Tibetans, but I forgot it and am just satisfied with this youth ministry here in India. Please forgive me, now I will go back again."

A couple of months later, I decided to visit Tibetans in Shimla in India, which is very close to Tibetan border but I did not know anybody there! I just heard about an Indian missionary lady, Ms. Satyavani, whom, I never knew or saw before. I did not even know her address. When I started there thinking that God would provide some way, another brother accompanied me and we both reached Shimla on a Saturday evening in April 1988. Sunday morning, we went to attend one of the church services and when the service was finished, I noticed one lady wearing a sari and going out quickly! God prompted me that she was Ms. Satyavani! I immediately followed her outside and straight away asked her, "Are you Ms. Satyavani?" She exclaimed, "How do you know me?" I told her that the Holy Spirit prompted me! She could understand what I said, and after a brief conversation, she asked me, if I attended the centenary celebrations of Sundar Singh which were going on in that very city at that time. I said "no" but I was surprised how God brought me to that place at such an occasion like that and I attended the celebrations!

When I told Ms. Satyavani why I was there, she understood my vision and introduced me to another brother, Benjamin Daniel from ‘Manali’ in the State of Himachal Pradesh, India. He too understood my vision and invited me to go to ‘Manali’ with him. I followed him there and he introduced me to Ms. Beryl Norman, an English missionary lady, who had been working among the Tibetans for many years. After I talked to her, she understood my burden for Tibetans and suggested that I should first learn Tibetan language to work among them. She said that she would arrange a tutor for me, if I was interested and like to stay there for some time. I said "yes" and Ms. Beryl Norman arranged a Tibetan lady, Ms. Dolker, as my tutor.

Ms. Tsen Dolker taught me the Tibetan alphabets. During that time, she was also working as a teacher in Manali in a Tibetan school. She was married and had a daughter. We used to share many good things and she accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior. She suffered persecution from her neighbors and also from some officials because of her belief. After some time, she had some problems in her family and so she could not continue tutoring me any longer. Then, Ms. Beryl Norman arranged a medical doctor, Dr. Tenzing, as my tutor.

Dr. Tenzing taught me the fundamentals of reading and writing the Tibetan language. He was a strong Buddhist. He used to attend Christian meetings and listened to the gospel. We used to share many good things and he used to take me to many places where Tibetans lived. But, I could not continue my tuition longer because of my financial problems at that time.

God’s blessing – a second child: I visited my family in India to be with my wife, when God blessed us with a second child, Joshua, on October 21, 1988! Then I left back for Manali soon after his birth.

After arriving in Manali, I was thinking of giving some free tuition to Tibetan children and I went to Ms. Dolker to take her advice in this matter. She suggested that I could consider doing some voluntary work in a Tibetan school, if I liked. I followed her suggestion and volunteered between October 1987 and June 1989. Finally, I got a teaching position in a Tibetan school in Manali, India in June 1989.

In the school though I was friendly with my colleagues, I was keeping my identity as a Christian. The spiritual warfare was so great that I was losing my peace of mind from time to time and I was wrestling with the powers of darkness in prayer throughout. Mean while, my wife applied for long leave in her school in India, to support my work with children in Manali in June 1989 and stayed up until December 1989. She again joined me between June 1990 and December 1990.

During this period of my stay in the Tibetan school in Manali, I met a Tibetan Buddhist monk, Tenzin Wangyal, who was also teaching in the same school I used to. When he was sick, one day I went to see him at his residence and I told him that I would again go and see him the following day. Though I had a strong desire to see him, I could not go due to other pressures. I met him in the school on the third day and he was telling the other teachers that I went to see him two days regularly! I was surprised to hear that, as I did not go to see him the second day and I asked him, if I saw him the second day, and he answered a definite "yes". I could not understand why he talked like that. After a few days, he asked for a Bible and I gave an English Bible. I trust God’s word will work in his heart someday.

During my stay in Manali, I encouraged and accompanied some of my staff members to go to Christian meetings. We were having good Christian fellowship for prayer and worship with some of the local believers and also with another brother, who was staying twenty kilometers away. I also taught in the Sunday school and in the ‘Nepali’ children’s fellowship, each - once in a week, at Ms. Beryl Norman’s place. I was helping playing the music in the local youth camps. We also made some visits to our neighboring districts -‘Lahol’ and ‘Spitti’ by taking rides on the so-called highest road fit for motor ride in the world! God helped me to work in this Tibetan school in Manali for about two years.

During my stay in Manali when I was praying about my future ministry work, I was prompted to move to a small town ‘Paonta Sahib’ , which is at a distance of about twelve hours of journey from Manali in the same state of Himachal Pradesh in India. God opened a way for me in one of the Tibetan schools as a Math teacher. So, I moved to ‘Paonta Sahib’ in April 1991 and stayed up until July 1992. During my stay there, I lived in the Tibetan camp eating Tibetan food. I was in ‘Paonta Sahib’ between April 1991 and July 1992.

During my stay in ‘ Paonta Sahib’, I was thinking of the Tibetans in Nepal. I had also come to know that visiting Tibet was easier from Nepal than from India. So, I preferred to go to Nepal again though I had some unpleasant experiences during my first one-month visit to Nepal in September 1987, and I requested for a transfer to Nepal. As per my request, the Tibetan refugee Government gave me a transfer to the only Tibetan High School at that time in Nepal. Then, I got into a bus to travel to New Delhi and from there, I took a train to go to Gorakhpur in the State of Uttar Pradesh in India. Surprisingly I met Dr. Chintu, a medical missionary, whom I knew earlier, in the train. After we had a nice conversation, Dr. Chintu prayed for me and my onward journey before he got off the train. I continued my journey and finally arrived in Gorakhpur. There, some of the people tried to cheat me, but the Lord protected me. When I crossed into Nepal, even there, some other people came up and threatened me, but the Lord gave me boldness to speak out for truth and justice.

I finally reached Kathmandu and the principal of the school, where I am supposed to work, was my colleague back in Manali. He graciously received me and offered one of his guestrooms for my temporary stay. Fifteen days later, I moved to another rented room. The school used to provide the lunch but, for breakfast and dinner, I was a ‘paying-guest’ to a Hindu teacher.

While I was in Kathmandu, one day, a Christian brother came from ‘Hyderabad’ in India on some work. He had heard about me in our home state and so he wanted to visit me, though we never knew each other before. Since he did not even know my address, he made several inquiries before he could contact me and expressed his desire to meet me at the school itself, if I was interested. I asked him to wait near a Buddhist Temple in Kathmandu so that I could go and meet him. I arrived there in a bus but could not find him. After waiting there for a while, when I finally was about to leave, I found someone up in the temple sitting and reading a Book. When I got there, it was this brother, who I had been waiting for. He was reading a Bible there! After we had good conversation with each other, we departed. When I went back home, I lost all peace of mind and I could not even pray or read the Bible. I was struggling hard even to pronounce the name of ‘Jesus’! ‘After some time, an evil spirit talked to me and said that it happened because of our entering its premises and talking against it. I struggled like this for about ten days and then the Lord helped me to get normal once again!

Yet on another occasion, one day, at about 2 P.M., I started experiencing severe stomachache and so I got back to my room to take rest. The pain was so severe that I could not eat or rest. In the mid-night, the pain started again and I vomited. Next day at about 10 A.M., the doctor who examined me suggested that I should go to a teaching hospital immediately. At about 2 P.M., a Nepali teacher helped me get there in a taxi. They started giving me some medicine while they were waiting for a specialist. Around 5 P.M., the specialist arrived and after examining me he was not sure if it was appendicitis, even after taking two X - rays! Though I requested them several times to perform a surgery on me if needed, they waited up until 8 P.M., when they took me to the surgery room. The appendicitis got burst inside and the Lord again protected me! It was thirty hours after I first experienced the pain, they did the surgery and at that time, I was away from home with no Christian brother by my side. The Lord used that Nepali teacher and his brother very much. I was in Kathmandu between July 1992 and December 1994.

After much prayer, I moved to a place called ‘Pokhara’ in Nepal in February 1995 by accepting a teaching position there in a school. I thought that this move would give me more access to reach more Tibetans through some of my ex-students who were living around there in the Tibetan refugee camps.

I arrived in ‘Pokhara’ in February 1995. I continued with my teaching in a school, while waiting in prayer for the Lord’s guidance in my future ministry. My wife once again applied for long leave in her school in India and joined me with our children to support me in the ministry between September 1995 and June 1998.

In the year 1996, my wife and I decided to shoulder the responsibility, for meeting the basic needs and giving education to two kids of the ‘Lowa’ tribe. We invited them to stay with us in our house but, the landlord raised some problems and so we had to send them back to their homes after promising that we would invite them back. We hired a separate house to avoid problems and invited those two kids back to stay with us. After some time, we started an English medium school to give them proper education along with other students who joined in the school. Now there are ten kids staying in the Children’s Home and Hundred and ninty children studying in the English medium school (Emmanuel School). There are thirteen teachers working under the guidance of a principal.

Every week we meet for worship and prayer with about twenty-five people. So far one Tibetan buddhist family accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and are baptized.  Many Nepali people got saved.  When God touched one Buddhist man, he left his idols and evil practices and started praying. Afterwards he had problems with his wife, who was not a believer at that time, and they almost got separated. When we all prayed, miraculously God reunited them and afterwards his wife too became a believer and was baptized.

The Lord send us some timely support, but sofar, He always made us to exercise our faith to take care of the basic needs of the ten kids staying in the Children's home. As the Nominal fee collected from students combined with the little support we receive from well-wishers is not quite enough to meet the operational costs.

During the past twelve years of my stay away from home, my wife and children joined me at my places of ministry for just four times – one of which is just for a one-month brief summer vacation stay. Other than that, I visited them just two or three times, for very brief visits each year, depending on the availability of time. So, I need not emphasize that but for the support and encouragement given by my wife, I would not have even left my place! At times of need, while I was away working in God’s vineyard, my wife some times met my basic financial needs, by working in her school and at the same time taking care of our children all alone. She was the one who actually gave me the encouragement and assistance in starting the English medium school and children’s Home in ‘Pokhara’. As I mentioned earlier, she applied for long leave in her school in India, and supported my work by directly joining me with family between September 1995 and June 1998, depending on faith. God spoke with my wife that she should continue with me in the ministry here in Nepal. She resigned from her teaching job and joined with me since May 2000 onwards.

God has been helping me to make secret trips to Tibet and preach His word in different areas. During my last visit, I met some Christians and we had a good fellowship. The need is great in Tibet and surrounding areas. The chances of visiting Tibet are getting worse day after day with the changing political conditions, especially as it is now under the control of China. My heart is always there but I should wait until God gives me a green signal guiding me, as to how I should proceed.

During all this period of my stay away from my own people, Satan was always active and I get thoughts of discouragement and some times, misleading ideas like – ‘Tibetans are very nice people; so why should I not stay friendly without mentioning the name of Jesus to them?’ While at other times, it some times becomes difficult for me to pray, and even while reading the Bible, it is just feel like reading an ordinary book! At times like these, I pronounce the name of Jesus with faith to get control over Satan.

God has been with me in the work I have been doing so far in His vineyard. I strongly believe that He will be with me in all the days ahead of me to accomplish the work, He has in His mind, through me. Please continue to pray for my family and me, that we may humbly serve Him, the rest of our lives.