Asia Trip Hyderabad Advantage of Heart Pocket

Asia Trip Hyderabad Advantage of Heart Pocket

Prayer & Praise Report #2,  2008

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"Training Leaders to Reach Millions"

One more Simply The Story workshop completed; 60 more leaders trained! One pastor who attended mentors 550 pastors in Orissa state India. Last year, when our TGSP India team recorded two new versions of God’s Story for Orissa, this pastor who helped arrange those translation, was trained in STS along with 50 other pastors. The first-hand reports this pastor gave about the impact of God’s Story and STS were most exciting to hear. (His location in Orissa is where 200 of the 400 prisoners in a jail now meet in "cell" churches inside the jail. All this as a result of Bible stories told STS style! This Hyderabad India visit was our second 5-day workshop of this trip.

This workshop was held in an RC retreat center used for conventions. Wonderfully we were able to hand off some copies of God’s Story to some sisters and the mother superior. They, and their staff, were touched by the way the attendees and staff cared and treated them, so the response to the gift was very positive.

After the workshop in Hyderabad closed on Friday, we traveled an hour away to tell a story to 300 youth workers and children. God led the presentation. The organizer of this meeting was training 20,000 workers to lead ten days of VBS in May to 1,000,000 children! He loved STS and now wants the leaders who we just trained in Hyderabad to train his youth leaders in STS as a follow up to salvations and as on-going church planting strategy.

Then Sat, before leaving Hyderabad, we went to the offices of a very large mission organization (org name withheld for security) where I spoke for 2 hours to about 25 of their leaders and 15 leaders from other ministries. They caught the concept! These leaders plan to use God’s Story and to have their workers learn STS for discipleship. They work in almost every state in India. They, as well, can now be trained by those we just trained.

Today was our first full day in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). We had anticipated that Sunday would be a true day of rest in between workshops, but on the way from the airport Saturday evening the host announced, "We will pick you up for church at 8:30."

Then Sunday, at 10:15 am after songs and announcements in church, the host's wife turned to me and whispered, "You have until 12:30."

"I do? What does that mean?"

"Oh," she said, "Didn't my husband tell you? You are speaking today."

That's India!

Having stories in your "heart pocket" is so great. I named off three

stories I knew, but our host said they had told them already. Mercifully, I found two new to them. Whew! God carried the next two hours.

Before I spoke the host asked the 250 gathered, "Do you remember how we used to teach topically and then in Nov we changed to stories? "Yes." the people responded.

"Do you want to go back to topical teaching? "No," they all shouted."

So, even though in Oct we sent a fledgling team of STS instructors that was still learning how to train others, God has greatly honored the telling and discussion of the stories recorded in His Word. These leaders ask their pastors to tell and teach a new story Sunday in their main churches, then, during the week, their house church leaders tell and discuss the same story with the over 10,000 church members. This week we train 100 of these leaders how to train others. When we are done, then Mumbai will be another location in India, besides the ones in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mysore, where those interested in learning STS can come to be trained. We want to try to free up our Indian TGSP director to enable him to focus on orchestration and recording of new God’s Story languages. He has 5 new languages now ready to record!

For now we live in a hotel on the edge of the slums. At 11:26 pm the sounds outside my window are loud and mixed from the many people crowded into very small spaces. The need is very great! Even the smells reveal the need. The darkness is everywhere, but as in the Bartimaeus story, when the blind call to Jesus, He responds and gives light.

Thanks for your prayers,

Dorothy