I had breakfast this morning with a dear brother and he remarked, “Can you believe it’s September already?” NO I CAN’T!! The months continue to pass by a lot quicker than I want them to.
Time is one of the things that He reminds the redeemed to redeem wisely and yet I find myself needing to prioritize my time again and again. Is there any hope for us?
I realize that in a few months I will be 64 and I still have so much more to do and feel that I have so little time to accomplish it. I find myself looking at my children at their present ages and wonder if they realize how fast the years will slip away? Elizabeth our 5th daughter just turned 44 and when I was 44 we were moving back from England to the USA after 3 years of ministry. Where did the years go? Were they in vain? The answer to that is a resounding NO! Many of you were there with me when the Lord gave me a vision for GHI and we can now look back in time and see that He has been good to us. He has granted us 20 years of profitable ministry across the world finding ourselves consolidating the work into two countries…Ghana and India. Over two hundred churches have been planted and over 2 million have come to Christ as their Savior!
With so much ministry on our plate, we have found ourselves going through a struggle with finances the last two months. Will you stop and pray and ask the Father to open the windows of Heaven and send in the supply for the needs of:
I realize that in a few months I will be 64 and I still have so much more to do and feel that I have so little time to accomplish it. I find myself looking at my children at their present ages and wonder if they realize how fast the years will slip away? Elizabeth our 5th daughter just turned 44 and when I was 44 we were moving back from England to the USA after 3 years of ministry. Where did the years go? Were they in vain? The answer to that is a resounding NO! Many of you were there with me when the Lord gave me a vision for GHI and we can now look back in time and see that He has been good to us. He has granted us 20 years of profitable ministry across the world finding ourselves consolidating the work into two countries…Ghana and India. Over two hundred churches have been planted and over 2 million have come to Christ as their Savior!
With so much ministry on our plate, we have found ourselves going through a struggle with finances the last two months. Will you stop and pray and ask the Father to open the windows of Heaven and send in the supply for the needs of:
the 39 missionaries that depend on us;
the monthly church planting work in Ghana and India;
our Bible College in India; and
our Orphanage in India?
the monthly church planting work in Ghana and India;
our Bible College in India; and
our Orphanage in India?
Please, if the Lord would move on your heart, we really need to see the “inflow” again begin to match the “outflow”.
SPECIAL REPORT ON THE INDIA PROJECT IN JULY FROM RICHARD BRADFORD
Several months ago I asked Richard, a dear friend and GHI board member, to go to India to exercise his singing and preaching gifts. God mightily blessed. Here’s his story!
SPECIAL REPORT ON THE INDIA PROJECT IN JULY FROM RICHARD BRADFORD
Several months ago I asked Richard, a dear friend and GHI board member, to go to India to exercise his singing and preaching gifts. God mightily blessed. Here’s his story!
Hello Dear Friends:
Before this ‘adventure’ becomes dull in my mind, I wanted to provide an overview for those who have been praying on my behalf and those on our team. Therefore, let me jump into this with the same sense of purpose and determination that was demonstrated as we left the US on July 12.
Before this ‘adventure’ becomes dull in my mind, I wanted to provide an overview for those who have been praying on my behalf and those on our team. Therefore, let me jump into this with the same sense of purpose and determination that was demonstrated as we left the US on July 12.
To Review: This project was under the banner of Gospel Harvesters International of Hurst, TX. Look them up on the web at…http://www.gospelharvint.org
GHI has a primary focus within 2 countries…Ghana and India. Since this was my first trip to India, I had little preparation for what I would find. As many of you know, I have traveled the world somewhat…Japan, Korea, China, England, Scotland, Ireland, and of course, all over Canada. However, let me say up front regarding India…I was absolutely overwhelmed!!! From day one, I could not get over “the press of people”…the abject poverty, the traffic; along with the infrastructure of the country…it was overwhelming!!
The majority of the team arrived at midnight in Bangalore, India on July 13 and I landed 30 minutes later going an entirely different route. So, from the ‘get-go’, I felt that God was working “all things for our good”. We spent what was left of the first night at a Women’s Retreat Center in Bangalore. We were quickly introduced to the fact we were no longer in the “western world” because of no A/C or toilet paper. That was no problem since the night was fairly cool and our host, Rev James Sundar had anticipated the 2nd part of the problem and supplied us with a 1 day supply of TP. Already, I’m grateful for little things!!
The second day found us….all of us…headed back to the airport for a quick flight to the city of Coimbatore…a place I had never heard of, but soon found out that it was a “town” of some 2 million people!! The streets were 2 lanes wide, BUT carried 4 lanes of traffic! There is a ‘pecking order’ that we soon discovered. Here it is….the biggest has the right of way where ever THEY want to go!! That means the pedestrian is at the very bottom of this order while the big trucks and buses holding top rank. And, you drive with your horn!! I would like to call this…”controlled chaos”, but there is not much control to it. I could not believe there weren’t people smattered all over the streets and sidewalks, but to my relief, we did not see one incident of vehicular mayhem the entire trip. I did witness buses and trucks coming at us ON OUR SIDE of the road to only miss collision by a ‘layer of paint’!! Needless to say, by the first Sunday, we were all ‘prayed up and ready to go”!!
Sunday, July 15 found us speaking in a number of churches around the city. I spoke and sang at a CSI Church….Church of South India…to about 300-400 people thru an interpreter. We took communion from a common cup (welcome to India) at the conclusion of the service and we were off and running back to the hotel for lunch and some rest.
The two-weeks of venues found our 10 American Team Members joining some 18 India Team members most of whom were students at Harvesters Training College along with several dedicated business people who served in the interpreter capacity. We were divided up into 3 separate teams with 9-10 per team. Each team had its own schedule, designated van, driver, equipment, preacher, musical team and support crew. That first week, we were able to share the gospel in 39 schools and colleges over a 50-mile radius of Coimbatore speaking to nearly 25,000 students and faculty. On 3 of the nights, the Jesus Film was shown in as many communities of various sizes. The organization of all this was a Herculean Task and was accomplished by Rev. James Sundar and his son, Sam. Typically, we would leave our hotel around 6:30-8:00 am and drive with our ‘designated team’ to our first of three schools of the day. That ‘cross city or country drive’ could take 30 minutes or and hour and a half depending of traffic, potholes and cows in the road!! Upon arriving at each school, a courtesy visit to the principal was in order by the interpreter, preacher and another American. We would receive instructions regarding the ‘where, how long and any other info’ that might be germane to the program. Now, this is where it all gets very interesting….
The majority of the team arrived at midnight in Bangalore, India on July 13 and I landed 30 minutes later going an entirely different route. So, from the ‘get-go’, I felt that God was working “all things for our good”. We spent what was left of the first night at a Women’s Retreat Center in Bangalore. We were quickly introduced to the fact we were no longer in the “western world” because of no A/C or toilet paper. That was no problem since the night was fairly cool and our host, Rev James Sundar had anticipated the 2nd part of the problem and supplied us with a 1 day supply of TP. Already, I’m grateful for little things!!
The second day found us….all of us…headed back to the airport for a quick flight to the city of Coimbatore…a place I had never heard of, but soon found out that it was a “town” of some 2 million people!! The streets were 2 lanes wide, BUT carried 4 lanes of traffic! There is a ‘pecking order’ that we soon discovered. Here it is….the biggest has the right of way where ever THEY want to go!! That means the pedestrian is at the very bottom of this order while the big trucks and buses holding top rank. And, you drive with your horn!! I would like to call this…”controlled chaos”, but there is not much control to it. I could not believe there weren’t people smattered all over the streets and sidewalks, but to my relief, we did not see one incident of vehicular mayhem the entire trip. I did witness buses and trucks coming at us ON OUR SIDE of the road to only miss collision by a ‘layer of paint’!! Needless to say, by the first Sunday, we were all ‘prayed up and ready to go”!!
Sunday, July 15 found us speaking in a number of churches around the city. I spoke and sang at a CSI Church….Church of South India…to about 300-400 people thru an interpreter. We took communion from a common cup (welcome to India) at the conclusion of the service and we were off and running back to the hotel for lunch and some rest.
The two-weeks of venues found our 10 American Team Members joining some 18 India Team members most of whom were students at Harvesters Training College along with several dedicated business people who served in the interpreter capacity. We were divided up into 3 separate teams with 9-10 per team. Each team had its own schedule, designated van, driver, equipment, preacher, musical team and support crew. That first week, we were able to share the gospel in 39 schools and colleges over a 50-mile radius of Coimbatore speaking to nearly 25,000 students and faculty. On 3 of the nights, the Jesus Film was shown in as many communities of various sizes. The organization of all this was a Herculean Task and was accomplished by Rev. James Sundar and his son, Sam. Typically, we would leave our hotel around 6:30-8:00 am and drive with our ‘designated team’ to our first of three schools of the day. That ‘cross city or country drive’ could take 30 minutes or and hour and a half depending of traffic, potholes and cows in the road!! Upon arriving at each school, a courtesy visit to the principal was in order by the interpreter, preacher and another American. We would receive instructions regarding the ‘where, how long and any other info’ that might be germane to the program. Now, this is where it all gets very interesting….
Each school/college was different, but the average size was between 700 and 1,500 students. Most schools had a dress code that called for all students to look alike and look sharp!! As an example, the first program our team had was with a Catholic All - Girls High School of about 900…all dressed in blue smocks, all in pigtails with white ribbons. When they filed into this large room, they did so in order of class and were seated on the floor. When our preacher greeted them and asked “how are you this fine day”?….they all responded in ONE voice… “We are fine suh”(sir)…..900 HS girls sitting in perfect order all looking exactly alike and loudly speaking with a British accent was some kind of greeting and caused you to love them from the ‘get-go’. That scene was repeated some 90 times over the 2 plus weeks on the ground…some venues smaller while many were larger. Now, here is kicker…the Catholic Schools were the most open to the message…from the Sister Headmistress/Father Principal to the faculty and the kids. They just raved about the “clear short and sweet presentation of the gospel”. That gospel message consisted of the same simple story each time…. “The 3 Steps to Heaven”. And for all you who are reading this, may I share the short version….
Step One: We have a PROBLEM and it’s called ‘sin’. The result of ‘sin’ is a dirty heart and you cannot enter heaven with a sinful, dirty heart.
Step One: We have a PROBLEM and it’s called ‘sin’. The result of ‘sin’ is a dirty heart and you cannot enter heaven with a sinful, dirty heart.
Step Two: There is a SOLUTION to this problem and His name is Jesus. Jesus can and will cleanse your dirty heart and give you a clean heart through his precious blood.
Step Three: We must make a CHOICE to either accept or reject the solution provided for us through the death of Jesus Christ. We make that choice through prayer by calling on His name to save us.
The message took around 20 minutes with little variation. At each school, we then led in a ‘sinner’s prayer’ and asked those who would make that choice to pray with us. The results were pretty astounding. From 60-90% of the students INCLUDING faculty would pray and respond by indicating that they understood they had a problem of sin and had asked “for a clean heart and had accepted the solution to their problem”. I guess that for most, it was their first opportunity to hear a simple gospel message. And, as I mentioned, the Catholic Schools were the most accepting and excited about receiving this response. By the way, colleges and teachers colleges were just as enthusiastic regarding their acceptance of the message.
Over the 2 weeks in schools, this scene was played out over 90 times. In addition, similar messages were shared in 8 church services, the Jesus Film presentations and a Pastors Conference with about 140 pastor and leaders.
In the middle of the two week project, we found ourselves in a rather unique setting: high up in the mountains at a mid-1800’s British Mountain Station called “Ooty”. (The full name of this place was a tongue twister hence the name as simply “Ooty”.) I swear, you would think this place was taken out of a National Geographic Special in the foothills of the Himalayas somewhere. In the 1800’s, the Brits grew tea and coffee and shipped it back to England….this is what they STILL do, an interesting place. We were here from Sunday afternoon the 22nd to Wed afternoon the 25th. To give an idea of its remoteness, I developed a friendship with a guard at the hotel named Jayraj and was told that I was the first “white Christian man” he had ever met or spoken with. He was so taken by this that he asked if I would pray with him the next morning, which I readily agreed to do. To my surprise, the next morning at 5:30 am, I met not only him but also his pastor to meet this “white Christian”. His pastor had left his home at 3 in the morning to meet with us and could not speak English and Jayraj served as our interpreter. This pastor was sharing the gospel with “tribes” up and down the mountain who were considered “unreachables”. They wrote out the gospel story by hand to share with these peoples. I am really praying about what God wants me to do about this new, unusual and miraculous relationship.
We concluded the mission experience returning to Coimbatore …. “hot town, summer in the city…back of my neck getting dirty and gritty”. I know many of you received my emails home and wondered, “just how I could do this”. Let me explain: From Coimbatore to Ooty and back to Bangalore, “internet shops” were available. Now, finding them was somewhat of a challenge at times. When I asked one of team members where a given shop was located, he gave me these instructions….. “go down this street for one block, turn left and go 2 blocks without getting hit by a bus or rickshaw. When you come to the lady with leprosy, go another 20’ and turn right by the legless man and then down the steps and take a right down a dark hallway to first door. That’s it!” And believe it or not, I followed that course and WALLA, there it was and I connected with the outside world for 20 Rupees an hour…that’s 50 cents. I found another place that was between a place with hanging chickens and a man cooking “mystery meat”...which was still moving as he threw it on the fire. As strange as it is, these places were next to a Nokia Cell Phone Dealer bringing the world to your back pocket!!
Step Three: We must make a CHOICE to either accept or reject the solution provided for us through the death of Jesus Christ. We make that choice through prayer by calling on His name to save us.
The message took around 20 minutes with little variation. At each school, we then led in a ‘sinner’s prayer’ and asked those who would make that choice to pray with us. The results were pretty astounding. From 60-90% of the students INCLUDING faculty would pray and respond by indicating that they understood they had a problem of sin and had asked “for a clean heart and had accepted the solution to their problem”. I guess that for most, it was their first opportunity to hear a simple gospel message. And, as I mentioned, the Catholic Schools were the most accepting and excited about receiving this response. By the way, colleges and teachers colleges were just as enthusiastic regarding their acceptance of the message.
Over the 2 weeks in schools, this scene was played out over 90 times. In addition, similar messages were shared in 8 church services, the Jesus Film presentations and a Pastors Conference with about 140 pastor and leaders.
In the middle of the two week project, we found ourselves in a rather unique setting: high up in the mountains at a mid-1800’s British Mountain Station called “Ooty”. (The full name of this place was a tongue twister hence the name as simply “Ooty”.) I swear, you would think this place was taken out of a National Geographic Special in the foothills of the Himalayas somewhere. In the 1800’s, the Brits grew tea and coffee and shipped it back to England….this is what they STILL do, an interesting place. We were here from Sunday afternoon the 22nd to Wed afternoon the 25th. To give an idea of its remoteness, I developed a friendship with a guard at the hotel named Jayraj and was told that I was the first “white Christian man” he had ever met or spoken with. He was so taken by this that he asked if I would pray with him the next morning, which I readily agreed to do. To my surprise, the next morning at 5:30 am, I met not only him but also his pastor to meet this “white Christian”. His pastor had left his home at 3 in the morning to meet with us and could not speak English and Jayraj served as our interpreter. This pastor was sharing the gospel with “tribes” up and down the mountain who were considered “unreachables”. They wrote out the gospel story by hand to share with these peoples. I am really praying about what God wants me to do about this new, unusual and miraculous relationship.
We concluded the mission experience returning to Coimbatore …. “hot town, summer in the city…back of my neck getting dirty and gritty”. I know many of you received my emails home and wondered, “just how I could do this”. Let me explain: From Coimbatore to Ooty and back to Bangalore, “internet shops” were available. Now, finding them was somewhat of a challenge at times. When I asked one of team members where a given shop was located, he gave me these instructions….. “go down this street for one block, turn left and go 2 blocks without getting hit by a bus or rickshaw. When you come to the lady with leprosy, go another 20’ and turn right by the legless man and then down the steps and take a right down a dark hallway to first door. That’s it!” And believe it or not, I followed that course and WALLA, there it was and I connected with the outside world for 20 Rupees an hour…that’s 50 cents. I found another place that was between a place with hanging chickens and a man cooking “mystery meat”...which was still moving as he threw it on the fire. As strange as it is, these places were next to a Nokia Cell Phone Dealer bringing the world to your back pocket!!
India….what a place!!! As I have already said, I have never EVER seen anything like it!! The sounds, the smells, the noise, the food, the abject poverty of humanity, the call to prayer by the Muslims, the heat, interruption of programs by snakes crawling thru the ranks of students seated on the ground and the ever-present eyes of the radical “religious police”. Through all that, I witnessed the remarkable power and presence of God as we told of a universal problem and…how to experience a clean heart and be assured of a home in Heaven.
And now the wrap up:
Total Venues:99
Schools/Colleges 83
And now the wrap up:
Total Venues:99
Schools/Colleges 83
Total Estimated Audience - 51,465
Churches 11
Jesus Film Shows 4
Churches 11
Jesus Film Shows 4
Total Estimated Decisions - 35,245
Pastors Conference 1
Total days lost to Montezuma’s Revenge 4 (10 US Team members…6 got it) Only 4 members were NOT impacted….Old RJB was one of those who was NOT. Too tuff and too old!
Thank you for your prayer support!! Thank you for sharing with others for prayer support. I am amazed at the number of people that have told me that this project, our Teams and yours truly, have been the subject of direct intercession over these past 3 weeks. That’s pretty wonderful!!! And I am SO grateful!!!
God allowed this 67 year old guy to travel some 20,000 plus miles and speak to countless thousands of people; see things of this world that I have never seen before; and arrive home safe, sound and in good health. Upon arrival, the ‘enemy’ attempted to spoil the joy of these wonderful weeks, but even in the midst of that, I am more than confident that a victory has been won. Please continue to pray for those who made decisions and I will continue to give thanks.
Richard J. Bradford
Pastors Conference 1
Total days lost to Montezuma’s Revenge 4 (10 US Team members…6 got it) Only 4 members were NOT impacted….Old RJB was one of those who was NOT. Too tuff and too old!
Thank you for your prayer support!! Thank you for sharing with others for prayer support. I am amazed at the number of people that have told me that this project, our Teams and yours truly, have been the subject of direct intercession over these past 3 weeks. That’s pretty wonderful!!! And I am SO grateful!!!
God allowed this 67 year old guy to travel some 20,000 plus miles and speak to countless thousands of people; see things of this world that I have never seen before; and arrive home safe, sound and in good health. Upon arrival, the ‘enemy’ attempted to spoil the joy of these wonderful weeks, but even in the midst of that, I am more than confident that a victory has been won. Please continue to pray for those who made decisions and I will continue to give thanks.
Richard J. Bradford
Many thanks to Richard, Pastor Tommy Teague, Ashlie Duncan, Jackie Rigdon and Cindy Frazee from North Richland Hills Baptist in Fort Worth, TX. In addition, pastors Jerry Dockery and Mike DeBusk and Laura Stall and Jennifer Smathers from Crabapple First Baptist Church, Alpharetta, GA. They were all tireless in their efforts to see the kingdom advanced and enlarged.
GHI also wants to thank our director in India, Rev. James Sundar and his son Sam, as well as his wife Fay for going the extra mile, enduring hardship as good soldiers. It took almost 6 weeks of work to set up this project and God rewarded us with a good harvest.
Thanks to all of you who stood in the gap against the enemy in prayer, the militant political party whose headquarters were in Coimbatore.
Please be in prayer for another team from North Richland Hills Baptist who are going back with me later on this month to see if we can develop another partnership to reach more of the unreached people’s groups in India.
Dottie joins me in sending our love. Be faithful to Him who has called us. Not much time left!
GHI also wants to thank our director in India, Rev. James Sundar and his son Sam, as well as his wife Fay for going the extra mile, enduring hardship as good soldiers. It took almost 6 weeks of work to set up this project and God rewarded us with a good harvest.
Thanks to all of you who stood in the gap against the enemy in prayer, the militant political party whose headquarters were in Coimbatore.
Please be in prayer for another team from North Richland Hills Baptist who are going back with me later on this month to see if we can develop another partnership to reach more of the unreached people’s groups in India.
Dottie joins me in sending our love. Be faithful to Him who has called us. Not much time left!
Grace and peace….Mack
