Harvest India

Suresh’s Summer Schedule

John Brokenshire — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:56:27 +0000

Suresh and Christina arrived just three days ago along with their three children (David, Mercy, and Nancy) to begin Harvest India’s annual trip across California and Arizona. See below for a list of dates and locations Suresh and his family will be visiting near you. We hope to see you this summer.

Church Visits::

Saturday May 19th @ RockHarbor, Costa Mesa, CA 6PM

Sunday May 20th @ RockHarbor, Costa Mesa, CA 9AM, 11AM (before services), 7PM & 9PM

and also at Newport Mesa Church, Costa Mesa, CA at 9AM & 11AM (after services)

Sunday May 27th @ Park Church, Long Beach, CA 9AM & 11AM

Sunday June 3rd @ Grace Fellowship, Tehachapi, CA

Sunday June 10th @ The Garden, Long Beach, CA 9AM and 11AM

Saturday June 15th @ RockHarbor, Costa Mesa, CA 6PM

Sunday June 16th @ RockHarbor *India Weekend, Costa Mesa, CA 9AM, 11AM, 7PM, 9PM

Sunday July 1st @ Cornerstone, Chandler, AZ 9AM, 10:30AM, 11:55AM & 5PM

Have and opportunity for Suresh to share with those in yur communnity?

Contact Harvest India USA Administrator, Anita Barry at 949-701-9296 or email info@harvestindia.org

Testamonies of a Village Woman

John Brokenshire — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:53:19 +0000

In a village church in Bhattiprolu, Andhra Pradesh emerges a story that shows the unique abilities that Harvest India continues to utilize in standing behind the lives of thousands. While much of our ministry is to the downtrodden and neglected, Harvest India has growing opportunities to provide jobs to youth and middle aged nationals who are rising into a place of dignity and hope and making change possible for their families and their lives. On a recent trip to Bhattiprolu, a village where Harvest India supports a local church, runs a satellite bible college and educates 850+ women at K.S.K. Intermediate and Degree College, we gathered to join the local church in Sunday Service. At the beginning of each Sunday Service the congregation in Bhattiprolu gathers to worship God and hear His word through teaching. After worship, the congregation has some time to share praises for the ways God has met their needs and answered their prayers in the week past. During this time of sharing we met Vijaya Kumari. Vijay Kumari is a woman in her early 30’s who has been a member of the church in Bhattiprolu for as long as she can remember. Her mother, Sujatha, became a believer when she was 6, after visiting Sunday school with some of her Christian friends. She accepted Jesus into her heart and became the first Christian in her family. When her marriage was arranged, her parents insisted that she wed a Hindu man and shortly after her wedding Sujath became pregnant with Vijaya Kumari. When Vijaya Kumari was born her mother dedicated her to the Lord and began teaching her and instructing her in the ways of righteous living. As the time drew near for Vijaya Kumari to wed she was also betrothed to a Hindu man at the demand of her Hindu father.

Vijay Kumari and her husband bore two children, Santosh 8 and Naveena 11. Her husband worked hard as a mason, making barely enough to provide the basic necessities for the family. There was food on the table and enough money to educate their children with occasional excess income for some other needs. Everything seemed to be going as well as could be expected for a Christian woman and a strong Hindu man with two children struggling financially in rural India. Then in April of 2011 Vijaya Kumai’s husband became possessed by an evil spirit. This tormenting spirit made it difficult for him to work which tightened the family’s already small budget and caused even greater hardship in the home. Twice Vijaya Kumai’s husband attempted suicide, once jumping off of a building and another time overdosing on medication. Both attempts were unsuccessful and caused only high priced hospital bills. She encouraged him to come to church and receive prayer but he refused. Then after two months of severe financial struggle and no luck in his suicide attempts, Vijaya Kumari’s husband abandoned her and her two children in the night and has not returned for 6 months. Vijay Kumari struggled to get the family’s finances to a level that could continue to provide for her children’s education and provide for their needs. She looked to her parents, but her father refused to help because of Hindu beliefs that when hardships fall upon you it is a cursing of the gods and if another interferes with the gods plans it will likely bring hardships upon your own household. Her mother and Vijaya Kumari sought the prayer of the church. Sujatha knew of an opportunity at K.S.K. College that has recently opened up as a grounds keeper for the school, where she also works. Sujatha approached Suresh and shared her daughter’s hardship with him. He generously granted trial employment at the college run by Harvest India to Vijaya Kumari, since she had no prior experience. It has been one month since Vijaya Kumari began working at K.S.K. College. Her position has become permanent and she is doing a wonderful job maintaining the grounds.

As she shared, through tears of thankfulness and the heartbreak of her husband’s abandonment, Vijaya Kumari is finding healing in Jesus as she works at her new job, gathers with her family of believers, and prays steadfast prayers for her husband to submit his life to Jesus and return to their family. She praised God for the ways He turns our sadness into laughter and our struggles into times of great celebration as we grow in faith and deepen our understanding of the great plans God has for us.

Sujatha, Vijaya Kumari, Santosh and Naveena
2 Kings 6:17 “… O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!…”

Through Western Eyes

John Brokenshire — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:42:29 +0000

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.”

John Brokenshire — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:19:06 +0000

John Brokenshire — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:31:48 +0000

Ministry Update:: 31 Bits Designs

John Brokenshire — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 10:50:11 +0000

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!

Fishers of Men

John Brokenshire — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 15:34:54 +0000

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.

God continues to raise up Harvest India children.

John Brokenshire — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:49:22 +0000

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!

Suresh’s Summer 2011 Schedule

John Brokenshire — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:52:52 +0000

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

Bundles of God’s Love Go Out

John Brokenshire — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:42:47 +0000

This year as the season of our dear Savior’s birth drew near we asked our partners to give one additional gift for Christmas. Through prayer and the multiplied resources that were given, Harvest India blessed thousands of men, women and children by giving clothes, breaking bread, and preaching the Good News.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Our 24 children homes worshiped Jesus and prayed for all of our patners on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas morning, all of the children recieved new uniforms for school.

We also gathered with our Staff to bless their families and gave clothing to the widows and elderly in each village we ministered to throughout the Christmas Season.

THANK YOU! Through your prayers and support we watched many receive Christ’s love and find the true meaning in Christmas.