Just days after Christmas this year, Harvest India welcomed a team from Rock Harbor church to serve and experience what God is doing in India. One of the focuses of their trip was a three day Vacation Bible School extravaganza! The team tirelessly prepared bible lessons, crafts and memory verses to ensure a wonderful time of learning, hilarity and fun was had by all.

Sally Blotzer, one of the Rock Harbor leaders shares, “this year, I was blessed with the opportunity to return to India, to reunite my feet with the dust that forever changed my life, and my heart with hundreds of familiar smiles, exclaiming “Akka! Akka!” (“Big sister! Big sister!”): a Kingdom moment, a taste of heaven, and an invitation into organized chaos for the next three days. 

My responsibility for VBS was to coordinate the different stations. While doing my rounds during day two of VBS, a little guy, age ten, runs to me, proudly extending a picture of Joseph that he colored for his craft. My journey with Subini began by me extending my hand to him, guiding him to his proper station. Subini grabbed my hand, and asked “Akka, you Rock Harbor VBS leader?” To which I replied with an affirmative smile.

His eyes widened and he exclaimed “Wow!”

From there on he became my partner in making sure everyone else was in line.

We first walked from Bible memory to games, hand in hand we continued to the crafts area, to check on the mayhem occurring. As we were walking, I hear a sweet little voice singing “Jesus is my super hero, he’s my friend…”

When we arrived, I noticed a little boy laying down, separated from the rest of the group. I sat with the boy and asked if he was ill, the temperature of his forehead definitely spoke for itself. Subini quickly came to my rescue to translate. I asked the little boy if he wanted us to pray. After he said yes, I asked Subini if he would like to pray for him. Reluctantly, Subini told me his English was not very good—so I encouraged him to pray in Telugu. He immediately reached his hand out to me, wrapped my Chuni scarf around my head, and laid his hand on his friend, and prayed.

As we go on to check on Bible memory, Subini and I notice another little boy, lying in the back. We walk over and, once again, I invite him to pray for this boy. However, this time, we were joined by about ten other Dalit children—lifting up their brother in prayer.

I cannot tell you the beauty that my ears have been captivated by in listening to those prayers. We read in Proverbs 15:29 that God hears the prayers of the righteous. To imagine the smile on our Heavenly Father’s face as he watched his precious boy lifting up other children simply strips me of all words. What a sacred, sovereign, delightful moment this was—with a lasting impact on my heart.

As I was talking to one of the Harvest India workers, she informed me that Subini, before he was orphaned, was raised by a Muslim father. His mother passed away when he was young, and then he lost his father. Subini’s faith is a living testimony to God’s work at the Harvest India Children’s Home. His love for the Lord shines in his radiant smile, his songs of praise, and his reverence in prayer. I am thankful that through the partnership of Harvest India and Rock Harbor, Subini gets to experience a life based on a foundation of Christ’s love.”

I’m on a visit to Chennai to send off our friend Kallie from 31 Bits. Over the last two and a half weeks we have all been amazed at the ways that the Lord is already up to big things for our anticipated launch of 31 Bits in India. 31 Bits is an organization working with displaced women in Uganda teaching small business training, education and health awareness providing sustainable opportunities empowering women to begin small business that provide for themselves and their families. By creating fashionable jewelry out of recycled bits of paper these five young women have changed the lives of over one hundred women and opened endless doors of opportunity to the next generation of children in Uganda whose parents can now afford to send them to school and get a proper education. We’ve known about each other and partnered in small collaborations through IPP over the years, but last summer we learned that God was up to something new at 31 Bits. The girls were feeling called to India. Over coffee at the Gypsy Den in Costa Mesa, Suresh and I sat down to discuss the opportunities and needs existing in India and invited the girls to visit us and see what the Lord might be leading us in. Weeks later tickets were booked and the trip was scheduled. Time flew and the girls arrived in India on September 13th amped on what they would learn and see through Harvest India’s expansive ministry.

It’s been an amazing time of learning, praying and seeking God’s direction as we’ve shared what God’s been up to at Harvest India and learned more about the phenomenal work being done in Uganda. It quickly became very clear that we were going to working together in India and we turned our prayers and attention to developing a product and sourcing raw materials that would be needed in our venture. Meeting with fabric wholesalers, sari shop owners, metal smiths, hide tanners and artisan hand block printers should have taken months, but in the course of three weeks we accomplished nearly every connection needed to move forward in product development in the US. Praise God!

 We are excited to see the way that God continues to work and move in both 31 Bits and Harvest India. We are moving forward in partnership, trusting that the Lord will continue to provide through what we all hope to be a generous and successful Christmas season. We are proud to announce that 31 Bits is coming to India in 2012!

Harvest India first encountered Srinu 2 years ago when he brought Raj Kumar, a small child from his village, to the Harvest India children home in Tenali. Raj Kumar, then 10 years old, was left orphaned after the death of his mother and no one in his family could take care of him. Srinu had heard about Harvest India and the care we freely give to children in need. Harvest India gladly accepted Raj Kumar and sporadically over the next year Srinu would drop in to visit him. During one visit Bishop Suresh inquired about Srinu’s relation to the boy. He shared that there was no direct tie. He formerly had a small fishing business, small boat and a staff of about 10. When the tsunami hit in 2004 he lost everything and was left bankrupt. He watched men and women in coastal villages struggle for survival and noticed many children were left orphaned by the storm. When Raj Kumar was left orphaned in his village he felt that he was obligated to do something. Due to his financial crisis he vowed to see that the boy find a good home. After visiting us he became certain that Harvest India could provide for the future Raj Kumar needed and Harvest India has been taking wonderful care of him ever since. As he departed that day Suresh prayed over Srinu. He was a Hindu man but was willing to receive prayer that day. Suresh prayed abundant blessings over Srinu and sealed the blessing prayer in the powerful name of Jesus. After the prayer he left the campus. A few weeks later Srinu returned to Harvest India’s campus. With a bag in tow and a huge smile on his face he approached the home of Suresh and Christina. He proceeded to share about his recent fishing trip.

He recalls, “Just weeks after Bishop Suresh prayed for abundant blessings in my life I inquired about hiring a small boat and taking a crew out for a deep sea trip. When we cast the nets they immediately filled with fish. Again we cast them and the boat became heavy with fish. The single fishing trip provided enough fish, which we sold for enough money to completely re-establish my fishing business. I knew that day that Jesus was Lord and I surrendered my life to Christ.” 

He had returned to the Harvest India campus to bring the best of his catch as an offering to God’s work through Harvest India. He has visited several times over the last year, often coming for prayer before his fishing trips and bringing fish from his trips after they have concluded. He’s been sharing about how God is good in his life. His business is growing again and the Lord is blessing him one hundred fold more than ever before. Last month he caught word that Christina’s birthday was approaching. He vowed to freely give 500 fish as a gift to Harvest India. His desire was that every child in Raj Kumar’s children home would have a fresh, hot fish lunch to celebrate this joyous day. Today, on Christina’s birthday, he kept his promise and arrived early this morning with over 135 pounds of fish (over 500 fish) to give to the children at Harvest India. Every child in our children home in Tenali was served their own fish today for lunch, marking the first time ever we have been able to give such a lavish treat! It was a beautiful day, a beautiful picture of God’s blessing through prayer and a beautiful way for a former Hindu man to boldly and faithfully declare his love for Christ through his heart for God’s children.

Many of you responded to the stories you heard this summer through child sponsorship. We thought it fitting to share this update about one boy beginning the next step of his journey because of the support provided by so many supporters like you. Yesubabu joined our very first children home just after the monsoon floods of 2005. Just prior to the tragic floods In that year we had just complete construction on out 40,000 square foot building dedicated to caring for and educating the growing next generation of neglected children in India. Originally built to care for 100 children, the tragic floods left hundreds more orphaned and in need of shelter. Harvest India responded by taking in over 400 children. Some children had been left orphaned and others had parents who were not able to provide suitable care and would allow their children to be cared for in our home and educated in our school. Yesubabu’s mother had died and his father was unable to afford to care for his son. He was a fisherman and made only a small daily wage. He humbly requested Harvest India take in his son and provide for his needs of food, shelter and education. Yesubabu adjusted to his surrounding quickly and began to study hard through his desire to make a difference for his father and family. This year, Yesubabu completed his final year of basic education at Harvest India. His final testing ranked him at not only the top of his class, but amongst the top children in the entire state of Andhra Pradesh. He is now being scouted by local universities all over the region with opportunities to continue his education through various scholarship programs. His hopes of making a difference for his family are coming into view and the possibilities of his future are seemingly endless. With his confidence in the Lord and his great appreciation for the love he first discovered at Harvest India, this young man’s future shines so much brighter that he could have otherwise imagined. He embarks upon his future with confident hope that all things are possible through Christ who strengthens us!

As Suresh travels to visit friends, church partners and new connections that God has provided to us over this past year we are expectant of the ways God is going to move this summer to continue to grow and expand our abilities to reach the unreached in India. We hope that you will join us to hear the stories, celebrate the life transformations and empower the movement of God’s love reaching the lost. Suresh will be speaking at the following churches across the US on the dates specified below::

Sunday, May 1, 2011 at Revolution Church in Long Beach, CA
Sunday, May 15, 2011 at Grace Fellowship Church in Tehachapi, CA
Sunday, May 22, 2011 at the Garden Church in Long Beach, CA
Saturday June 4, 2011 at Rock Harbor Central in Costa Mesa, CA
Sunday June 5, 2011 at Rock Harbor Central and South Orange County Campuses in CA
Sunday June 12, 2011 at Cornerstone Church in Chandler, AZ
Tuesday June 14, 2011 at Scottsdale First Assembly in Scottsdale, AZ
Sunday June 19, 2011 at The Way Church in Scottsdale, AZ
Sunday June 26, 2011 at Collision Church in Cerritos, CA
Sunday July 3, 2011 at Immanuel Church in Gurnee, IL
Sunday July 17, 2011 at East Leesville Baptist Church in Leesville, LA

He will also be visiting::
Bend, OR May 26-June 1
Scottsdale & Chandler, AZ June 9-21
Atlanta, GA July 9-11
Charlotte, NC July 12
Nashville, TN July 13-14
Dallas, TX July 15-16