Visit to Shadrach Home

I arrived home this morning from Trivandrum, India after a tiring but fulfilling trip. Six of us from Singapore went on this trip. Dr Lim and his wife Doreen, James Ng and his wife Marylynne, Chandra and myself. Two other brothers, Suresh (Session 934/935) and Raja (M11029), both HI Alumni from India also joined us in the programs.   What a blessing to meet these brothers. These brothers had taken time off from their hectic schedule to be with us. Praise God.

On 15 Aug, we visited the Shadrach Home. It was a joy to see the 21 boys again. They greeted the visitors with garlands and hugs. They were well polished in their mannerism.They have grown, picked  up a  bit of English and have shown good progress. The trainers have done a great job. These are our future missionaries. There are 21 boys now and we plan to take in a maximum of 25 by this year.

 We celebrated India's Independence day with  the boys by hoisting the flag and singing the national anthem. The visitors toured the Home and mingled with the boys. It was love at first sight. They put up an hour's program for the visitors. The boys displayed great potential in leadership and in drama skills. The visitors were indeed impressed. Dr Lim said the boys look much healthier compared to his last visit in  2011.

That afternoon, we drove about 4 hours to visit one of our church planters who is pioneering a work in a village in Tenkasi, about 50 km from Tirunalveli. Pst Wilson, one of our graduates of the PEC Ecclesia Training Center works in this village.That evening we had a service on the roof top of the house where Pst Wilson was staying. The ambiance was unusual. Not the normal air-conditioned setting. Open air and the cool breeze howling in the background. The place was dimly lighted that we had to struggle to read our Bibles.

Yet about 35 adults and children  sat on the floor and that was their place of worship. But we felt the awesome presence of God in that place. The people sang from their hearts and worshiped the true living God without fear of shyness. How different from our cultured services back home. Raja shared his testimony and James shared the word. Many people came forward for prayer and we witnessed instantaneous healing. It was just simple faith in the living God. My heart was overwhelmed to see the sacrifice of our church planters, just to fulfill the Great Commission. I dared not ask Pst Wilson how he was managing with his daily expenses with the minimal support we were sending. Everyone of the visitors were humbled by what they witnessed and walked away with a deep sense of appreciation and conviction. We thank God for what He is doing through our church planters. We drove back to our hotel and arrived at 2.30am in the early hours of the morning. Tiring but fulfilling.

The next day we had a half day sessions with the church planters and the Training Center students. It was a joy to see them again and to hear the good reports of what God is doing.in spite of the many challengers. Praise God for such committed people. All the guests shared with the participants.

That evening before leaving for the airport, we were blessed to visit Suresh's home and had fellowship with his lovely family. It was a joy to see his parents still actively engaged in the Lord 's work. 

We concluded the visit by noting the following: 

1.    We need to start building the second floor for the Shadrach Home immediately. It costs $25,000.

2.   We need to construct two more rooms and install a converter  for the Training center. That costs $9,000. Sometimes at night there is no electricity and the students have to sleep in unbearable conditions. We covert your prayer for these needs. 

We left with sense of fulfillment, seeing the good things God is doing. My prayer is that you too will be  a part of this plan. Help us fulfill the Great Commission. All Glory to God.