Ernesto “Che” Guevara The Revolutionary

Warm Christian greetings to you brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a real blessing t once again to greet you by way of our mission blog posts. For those of you who have been receivers of our blogs over the years, I trust that they have been a source of blessing and encouragement to you and your family, as we have sought to document and share with you our travels around the world as we seek to spread the Gospel light. In a special way, we are deeply appreciative for those of you who have helped us, and partnered with us, as we seek to reach the world for Christ. Because of your prayers and sacrificial giving, much has been accomplished, and we pray that by God’s grace much more will be accomplished for Christ in our Generation.

Some years ago I read a very interesting book by a Cuban Pastor entitled “ I Will Die Free.” I found this book to be quite a riveting and captivating read, as the author took us on a vivid, explicit. and graphic journey, as he recollected his experiences as an Adventist Christian who suffered persecution in Communist Cuba. I always had a deep admiration for the author and his steadfast lion like faith, but, I never dreamed that one day I would be able to visit and preach in this communist strong hold of Cuba.

My good friend from Austria, Dr. Markus, called me a few months ago and expressed to me that he had a desire to plan a mission trip to the country of Cuba. He further stated that this was his first full scale mission trip, and that he was soliciting my participation in this project that would be in March 2013. I honestly was not sure whether or not it was God’s will for me to go, to be honest I was quite overextended in my many and varied commitments around the world, and Cuba would be a challenge both financially and mentally. Nevertheless, as I considered Markus’s assistance to me in India just a few months ago, where he and his team came and gave me ready assistance in the field, as well as build a new church in a village for us, I just could not refuse his request for support. After prayer and meditation on this point, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to go forward, and decided to seek the Lord for provision on yet another mission project.

Going on mission projects are always a challenge to say the least. It seems like Satan and all of his hosts wait until you are fully committed to go, and then all of hades “ breaks loose in your life.” That has been the consistent pattern over the years, and this trip was to be no different. Trouble after trouble besought me as time drew near for the trip, in fact, I was not able (due to some visa issues) to secure my flight until the day before I was supposed to be in Cuba, and the funds needed for the trip, only came to me 8 hours before I was scheduled to fly. I am not sure why, but God usually opens the door for us, not in the last minute, but in the last second of time. It can be quite a nerve racking experience at times, but we are constantly learning to operate and excel in such constraints.

My plane arrived in Havana Cuba on a breezy, clear, and quite sunny day in March 2013. As the airplane taxied on the Havana runway, my ears were greeted by a most rousing applause, and shouts of exhilaration from the mostly Cuban passengers. In fact, the excitement was almost reminiscent of a Latino football game I had attended in the US some years before. Cuban nationals, expatriates, refugees ( some of whom escaped from the Cuban dictatorship years before), had now returned home. Due to the Obama administration’s easing the embargo restrictions some, many Cubans, and Cuban Americans, can now travel freely to and from Cuba. Many were tearfully happy to be in their homeland again, and had returned home to visit long lost loved ones. The Cuban passengers were mostly originated from Miami Florida, many were adorned with multiple gold rings, bracelets and gold chains, not to mention the latest designer sneakers and sunglasses. Many of the women could be seen in their stiletto heels, wedged canvased sandals, designer handbags, and freshly painted lip stick and mascara  . Some had left the country, fleeing on makeshift rafts, heading to Florida with only the clothes on their backs. Many others entered the US from the Arizona Mexico, and various other borders, some were undocumented political refugees living in the US for years, but now they had returned home, better than when they left, and they wanted to make that point emphatically clear as we embarked upon the city of Havana.

The Airport in Havana was quite small, and consisted of only a few modest and un- assuming  buildings. In fact, in my many travels overseas, I can honestly say that it was the smallest airport I have ever landed anywhere in the world. As I entered the airport, I was anxious to view the faces of actual Cuban nationals working at the airport. Many of men were smartly dressed in their green uniforms, while women could be seen in their (unusually short) green mini skirt uniforms . Inside the Airports were the people from my flight, many of whom were jostling for the 1^st place in the line, as many seemed anxious to clear customs, and claim their merchandise that they had brought back for their families. Big screen tvs, bicycles, laptop computers, clothes wrapped in big bundles of black saran wrap, and toys in abundance could be seen parading around the luggage conveyor belt . One man explained to me that he bought a bicycle for his son that caused $150, but, by the time he paid to ship it on the plane from the US to Cuba, and again paid duty to clear it at the Cuban airport, the price grew from $150 to over $600 US.  He complained to me that it was just not fair, but he had no choice, as Cuba is still one of the most impoverished countries in the world, and unless you bring merchandize from abroad for your family, they will just go without.

As one enters Cuba, it would immediately seem as though one has stepped back in time. It would seem as though we have stepped on the set on a 1950’s movie, as we see mostly cars from the 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s almost everywhere. Few people know the history, but based on what I was told, Cuba used to be almost considered US territory for many years, in fact, as far back as the early 1950’s, one could easily board a ferry from Florida with your car, and be in Havana in a few hours where you could easily drive around and spend US money in your travels. Many of the cars in Cuba up until the 1950’s actually came from the USA. Fidel Castro overthrew the Government of Batista in 1959, and shortly thereafter made himself president for life, but when he embraced communism, he became an enemy of the US, and thus began decades of strained relations with the US, and most of the western countries.

My family and I have lived in India and have seen poverty, in my travels elsewhere I have also seen many and varied cases of poverty, but I can relate to you through this blog that Cuba is one of the poorest places that I have visited so far. The people dress quite well overall, but still the living conditions are far below the standards of much of the world.

I was told by a Cuban national, that the average salary for a Cuban is between $13-$20 per month, in fact, the maximum salary in the country for a person who is a surgeon or lawyer is only $25-$30 per month. In Communism, the people also get a ration card, and receive a small amount of beans, rice, and other provisions that last them a portion of the month. According to the doctrine of Communism everyone is seen as equal, so irrespective of whatever you decide to study in school, you will never make above that $25 per month mark. A friend of mine who studies in Cuba, was relating to me the fact that his professor in medical school was a very gifted and brilliant man. This professor was so brilliant that he invented several devices in Cuba that can be used to regulate a person’s heart, and treat different kinds of irregularities. Even in all of his brilliance, this professor had to resort to sell ham sandwiches on the side of the road after school every day, just to make $5 or $8 extra dollars per month for his family. Every person in the country is free to study whatever they desire, and received equal educational opportunities, so that they can make a contribution to the Communistic society, but they will never be wealthy or financially successful from that education, as long as they live on the island of Cuba.

The Cubans in general are a very educated group of people, as education is free and available to all, and the majority of the population is highly educated. I have met several accomplished musicians who have studied, and mastered several instruments, yet are as poor and desperate as the man who sweeps the streets. I met a very charming and well rounded Cuban young lady on my trip, she was just 20 years old, but spoke fluent English, French and was learning German just a few weeks before our encounter. She explained to me that life was hard for her and that just a short time before, she used to sell cheese in the market in order to buy food to eat. My translator Leonardo who translated for me during my meeting, shared with me that when he received the call to translate for me he was very happy for the opportunity, but he could not even find the money to travel the 4 hour journey to the town of our meeting. He told me that he sold his wedding ring of 18 years, in order to secure the bus tickets for his family, and to buy a pair of shoes for his young son to attend the meetings. After the meetings,  I stayed with him and his family in the slums of city of Santiago de Cuba for 1 week, and personally witnessed the living conditions there. During my stay with them I daily purchased food for the family at a cost of $7 per day (just vegetarian beans, vegetabes and fruits) and the family was extremely thankful. Leonardo personally thanked me, and reminded me that as a result of my being in his home, his wife and children were able to eat  for the whole week.

One might ask the question why don’t the people just farm? I also asked the same question as I saw them struggling to obtain food. I came to understand, that unlike the US and other Countries of the world, Cuban policy was different. The people of the country do not own their houses, lands, cars or anything else. If a person wanted to grow a few acres of peas of corn etc, he must 1^st obtain permission from the Government to do so. Secondly, the government could make a demand to receive a portion of whatever he or she grew, at the price that they set, and whatever percentage remained the individual was free to do with it as they liked, providing that they paid their taxes after. A refusal or neglect to obey such an order could land one in prison for 5-10 years of hard labor and (or) the seizure of one’s property. Because of these and other stringent measures,  as I traveled from West to Eastern Cuba, that the majority of the rural lands were hundreds of thousands of acres of vast barren wasted lands.

The government can also show up at any given time and demand that you vacate your place of residence, irrespective of however long you have lived there, if they deem it a place of interest for themselves.  If you are one of the fortunate few Cubans who can afford to buy a vehicle, you must seek permission from the govt. to own a vehicle, and then they must inform you as to what kind of vehicle you can buy. Even if you end up with quite a bit of money from some source, you cannot just own a new vehicle, as these are restricted for Govt. uses only. If you are caught somehow owning a new vehicle, that vehicle can be immediately seized, and you can be put in Prison. I have heard of people who have worked in the US for some time and decided to build a nice mansion of a home for themselves upon their return home. The Govt. gave them permission to build these mansions, and then shortly thereafter, upon completion, demanded that they be demolished, as they were inconsistent with communist standards. Essentially, the houses that were built were too big, and too fancy, in comparison with everyone else’s.

Communism is an interesting ideology that I struggle to accept. In my opinion, there are many undesirables features to this system of government. But, I have learned to really appreciate Cuba’s higher education system. Irrespective of whatever educational vocation  you desire to follow, all education is free. Not only is the education free to the Cubans, but individuals from any other nationality or people groups are welcome to study for free in Cuba. I was fortunate enough to meet many Africans, Haitians, Jamaican, and individuals from many Caribbean islands. I also came to understand that there are currently about 100 students from the US, who are taking advantage of this golden opportunity, and are studying medicine in Cuba. Once they return to the US after their studies, their degrees are recognized anywhere in the US, and the blessing is that they have no student loans to repay. It is one of the many admirable humanitarian gestures that Cuba offers to the world, but unfortunately many times, such admirable benevolence gets lost in the shuffle of political rhetoric in the ever evolving global arena.

Markus had scheduled our evangelistic meetings in the Holguin province of Cuba. Holguin was truly a remarkable place to visit during our trip. What I found to be quite interesting was the fact that most of the population in the Holguin province was Caucasian. Having originated from the country of Jamaica, and having visited several Caribbean islands, I was under the impression that all of the islands were the same, and that they consisted mostly of people of African descent, boy was I wrong. I came to understand that a large percentage of the population of the people in Cuba were European. Most people of European descent in Cuba, were descendants of the Spaniards who had came to occupy and colonize Cuba a few centuries before. Other Spaniards fled Spain during the terrible periods of the Spanish civil war under Franco, in order to escape the terrible persecution that later ensued. As I preached to an almost exclusively Caucasian audience every night in Cuba, I was reminded of how little I really knew of the world. In my mind I knew that I was still in the Caribbean, but Cuba was just a whole different experience in itself.

In Holguin province, the main modes of transportation for those who were operating taxis were actually horse and buggy, and bicycle taxis. It was hard to believe that in 2013 people were still using horse and buggies as taxis. In fact, in the rural village where I conducted our meetings, the only mode of transportation was horse and buggy for the local people. Due to the economic depression that had oppressed the people in the past decades, they had learned to use their ingenuity and to become self sufficient in many ways. We can boast of our Hybrid and electric vehicles in the US, but the Cubans had far exceeded us I believe, in that they had learned to even operate a taxi that does not require gasoline or electricity, only grass, now in my opinion that is truly thinking green.

We conducted 2 Evangelistic meetings in total on this brief mission trip to Cuba. My Austrian friends Markus, Beatrice and Kristoff conducted 1 meeting in the main town of Holguin province, while I conducted 1 meeting in a rural district 1and ½ hours away. I was able to vist Markus’s meeting site on one particular night and I was really quite blessed. Markus was the main speaker who delivered the message every night in Spanish, unaided by a translator. As I work with this young man, I am more and more impressed by how much he allows the Lord to use him. As I mentioned in my last blog, Markus is an Austrian who speaks fluent German, Spanish, English and possibly other languages. He was our lifeline and main means of communication with the Cubans, as my 2 years of Spanish in high school could not get me past hello and how are you. His meetings were also intensely interesting, and it seemed as though hundreds and hundreds of people came every night to hear him. He had fostered many friendships with the Cubans in his past trips, and he had sacrificed and invested many thousands of Euros into the Cuban missions from his own pocket, and so the people of the Cuban Adventist missions held him in high regards. Markus had seen the plight of the Cuban brethren in his past visits, and promised himself that he would not forget them. As a layman, he brought us with him as a missionary and Evangelistic team, to preach the Gospel, and to uplift the down trodden brethren in Cuba.

As mentioned earlier, my meeting was in a very rural town almost 2 hours away from the main  province. The people in the town were almost wholly agrarian, and very, very poor. The local Adventist church was a large building indeed, and was almost full to capacity every night. Many of the people who attended my meeting lived in other small towns and villages scattered miles away from our meeting site and without transportation they had to walk many miles to come to our meetings. Because of this fact we found it necessary to hire a large dump truck, and an agricultural tractor to carry the people to and from the meetings every night. Some had to travel more than  20-30 kilometers every night on rough and bumpy roads, but in spite of this and other inconveniences, many never missed a night.

The meetings were filled with the power of the holy spirit every night. I had prayed and studied my topic that I preached on every night, but I quickly discovered where the power was coming from, as there were a group of some 6 people who prayed for me every night continuously while I preached. Though they themselves wanted to be in the meetings and hear the word, they sacrificed their time to pray for me while I spoke. In fact, the leader of the prayer team said that they began to pray for me months before, even as soon as they heard that I was coming to their town. Whenever we preach on certain topics we can expect opposition from Satan, one night as I preached on the subject of the mark of the beast, all of a sudden my computer and projector went blank. I stopped preaching and try as I might I could not fix the problem, 2 members of the prayer team then prostrated themselves flat on the ground and prayed aloud and most earnestly, and in just a few seconds after they began to pray, everything again resumed without interruption.

In some meetings, people could be seen with tears streaming down their cheeks as we made our appeals. Several people took their stand for baptism, even my translator and his wife decided to get baptized after the meeting. My translator Leonardo and his wife Anya were dis-fellowshipped from the Adventist Church some 18 years before. Leonardo explained that he had an adulterous affair with Anya some years before, things intensified between the two and finally Leonardo left his wife and their 2 children to be with Anya permanently. They were subsequently dis-fellowshipped, Leonardo divorced his 1^st wife, and then married Anya and they had 2 children between them. They had both been struggling to keep their marriage alive because of the intense guilt that they felt, and with no church support they finally found themselves on the verge of divorce. They felt impressed to come to the nightly meetings, and after 18 years of being on the run, they want to make things right between them and the Lord. They have decided to make a public confession before the church, and to seek the brethren’s forgiveness. As well as they both want to get baptized. Many were the testimonies that came from my meetings in Cuba, and all that I can say is to God be the glory, great things He hath done.

I have already been invited back to the country of Cuba to conduct another series of meetings in the very near future, and I will put it in the Master’s hand as to when is the right time to return. Please continue to keep our brethren in Cuba in your prayers, as they face many struggles that we in America can hardly imagine. My local church where I worked expressed an urgent need for 3 bicycles that would be used to transport the local Gospel workers from village to village, as well as they are in desperate need for another horse and buggy. If you are impressed to help and are financially able, please feel free to make a donation online at www.3goingforward.com or you can mail us a check to 3 Going Forward Ministries P.O. Box 324 Burtonsville Md. 20866, please just note your donation “Cuba.” As a ministry we are always grateful for your support, as you support helps us to carry the light of God’s word around the world. May God continue to richly bless and keep you in His loving care is our prayer for you.  Maranatha.

Camilo Cienfuegos Of The Cuban Revolution

General Antonio Maceo Of Cuba

Young Fidel Castro

Cuban Propaganda Poster

Cuban Bus Ride

Cuban Taxi

Cuban Taxi

My Cuban Translator And His Family

Young People Singing On Sabbath Morning

Young Cuban Cello Player

My nightly Evangelistic meeting in Holguin Province

My nightly Evangelistic meeting in Holguin Province

Nightly Prayer Meeting For Me During My Sermon

Young Cuban Doctor

Church On Sabbath Morning

My Friend Markus Preaching In Santiago de Cuba

Nightly Evangelistic Meeting

Youth Sabbath School Class

Church Parking Lot

People Coming To The Nightly Meeting By Tractor

Church Members On Sabbath

A Good Ending To A Powerful Mission Trip

This Woman Has Waited years To Be Baptized

Visiting some local church members

Missionaries From Europe

House In Rural Cuba

Markus and Gavin In A Cuban Classic

Most Cuban Car Owners Are Also Mechanics

Doing house To house visit

Traveling 1st Class

Communist School Children In Havana

Markus And A Local Market Salesman

Visit To The Market In Havana

Ice Cream Shop In Havana

Craft Market In Holguin

Gallery Painting

Portable Cuban Juice Bar

Inside A Cuban Ration Shop

Outside Of A Cuban Ration Shop

Young Girl Leading A House Meeting In Cuba

Nightly House Meeting

Old Cuban Man

The Only Adventist Printing Press In Cuba

The School That Educated Fidel Castro

The School That Educated Fidel Castro

Trying To Be A Good Samaritan In Santiago de Cuba

Local Market Woman

Cheap And Best Transportation

Interesting Picture

By the grace of God our family is doing well, and still pressing on with our missionary endeavors in different parts of the world. Inevitably, there are many and varied struggles to be met as one embarks upon this kind of labor, but God has proven Himself strong to His servants, and has been a sure and ready defense in every time of need.

When we first arrived in India in 2010, we did not know what would become of our labors. We had no point of reference for such an endeavor, it just seemed to us that time would have to tell our story. Our family labored with an unrelenting zeal from the 1st day that we arrived in India until the present time, because we did not want to fail in our our church planting and missionary endeavors. As time progressed, we came to see that the blessings of God were indeed upon us, and that God Himself had taken the reigns in His own hands. Though we were young, untrained, laypeople, we came to learn by experience that all God needs are people who believe Him, and take Him at His word. Natural and acquired endowments are good, education and finances all have their place, but as a humble family, we have found faith to be the chief ingredient necessary for success in the Lord’s work. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “ without faith it is impossible to please Him” and that by faith, “the elders obtained a good report of God,” Hebrews 11:2. The book of Luke 18:8 further amplifies the point when it asks the question “ When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth?” As Adventists in particular, we talk much about “finishing the work,” but the chief ingredient necessary to do so in my opinion is not money, contrary to popular belief, but a         whole-hearted faith in God, and a resolute determination to do His will come what may.

A short time ago I was privileged by God to be able to re-visit the place in India where this faith journey begun for us. What an amazing journey this was for me, as I was able to travel and survey the condition of the work. Time had indeed told it’s story, and the report was indeed a good one. The District of Villupuram was now a strong and robust Region, with many church congregations, many lay pastors, large groups of eager dedicated young people, and many ministerial and Evangelistic projects of all description. It seemed as though this small, insignificant, barren region, had received new life, and had become a massive fruitful tree, bearing much fruit to the glory of God. The men and women of the different churches now seemed to be revived, and many were, as in the days of Nehemiah, ready to “arise and build”. Friends of mine, my joy knew no bounds, as God permitted His humble servant to see some of the fruit of our family’s struggle, toil and sacrifice, of the last few years. In the beginning, it seemed like we took the ultimate gamble, as we gave everything, and thus had everything to loose. I learned an important lesson through our time spent in India, that it is not a vain thing to work for and serve The Lord.  Even though tasks in life may seem impossible at first, but, with patience, diligence, and much faith and prayer, success can come from even the most discouraging and forbidding situations, if we follow the leadings of God. With this lesson permanently etched in my mind, I pray that our ministry shall be enabled to traverse every nation, kindred, tongue and people. Thus spreading the mighty three angels messages, and preparing a people to see Jesus come in the clouds of heaven the second time.

Unlike past missionary journeys, this trip was conducted with some help from friends in Europe. In the days of the old testament, the Children of Israel were commanded to go forward and possess the promised land in the name of the Lord. Each tribe was to assemble their armies and to assist their brethren until the whole land of Caanan was possessed by the people of God. As a family, we had attempted the church planting and evangelistic work in India without many others collaborating with us. Though we had  friends who visited us in India from time to time, this was the first time we had workers who had come specifically for the sake of Evangelism.

The team of 4 members who joined us from Europe was quite a joy to work with. We were all in somewhat of the same age group, except for Michaela, a young lady from Austria, who was only 16 years old. I must admit to you that I was a bit hesitant to have a 16 year old girl under my responsibility, as I knew of the harsh and difficult conditions that must inevitably be endured in the rural villages of South India. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised as to Michaela’s maturity level, as she seemed to me at times to be a young woman beyond her years. Her calm, quiet, cooperative disposition were traits that were to be be admired by all. Her unshrinking kindness extended to the many villagers near and far were truly commendable. She was willing to embrace those who were disabled, and even those who were dirty or dingy from lack of hygiene. I also discovered that young Michaela also had an extremely robust immune system and constitution,  the entire team ( including yours truly) came down with several different stomach infections, and all had to be on medication at different times. This young lady was like a native Indian, and she never once got sick in the least, and was well the entire trip.

Deborah is a PHD student from the country of Australia, who came also with the group. A very gracious young lady, with a beautiful singing voice, and a warm loving hug for everyone, Deby (as she likes to be called) was a true joy to work with. She was a very thorough, meticulous worker, who had to arrange all of her presentations in great detail before she left home everyday. Her wonderful sense of humor, and  concern extended to all, made Deby deeply beloved by the India people as well.

Sebastian is a young man from Germany about 23 years old. He was the tallest in the group, as he stood about 6’6” tall. That may not seem like extreme height to those of us who are from the West, but to the Indians, he was quite a giant, and had to constantly duck down to avoid hitting his head on fans and very low doors. He was a new Adventist, but I could tell that he was a young man who loved the Lord deeply, and came to India as a service to his God. He was a very systematic young man, who arose very early in the morning while the group was wrapped in slumber, to go on the roof patio for early morning prayer. Though of a shy and at times reserved disposition, he also did his service for the Lord with a willing heart and gave his all in his service to the Master, especially as he daily taught the bible lessons at the local Adventist school. 

Dr. Markus from Austria was the leader of our mission group from Europe. We met some years ago in Mexico in a past mission trip, but never thought that we would work together in India of all places. Markus was always an encourager to our family since the days of our first mission trip, he had heard us make the “Macedonian Cry” time and time again, and so at the Lord’s leading, he felt impressed to personally come to our aid. Markus is an extremely gifted and talented young man, who often translated in German for Michaela and Sebastian, translated in Spanish for Deby, spoke to me in English, and was also trying to learn Tamil during his trip.He was also the main preacher in his mission group.  Markus and I are about the same in age, but we differ vastly in culture, race, educational background etc., but it is such a beauty to see young people of different nationalities, and backgrounds come together, and work together with the common goal in mind of advancing the kingdom of Christ in these last days. We all had many precious seasons of prayer and study together during their time in India. Every one was in oneness and unity the entire trip, and there was never a discordant note.

The trip though successful, was met with many obstacles even from the start. I was quite delayed in getting to India to prepare for the group’s arrival due to some legal challenges that I was facing. The very 1st night of our meeting, I was taken very, very ill. In fact, I was sicker that I have ever been in all of my time spent in India since I first arrived. Everyone in turn also got sick from various stomach ailments as mentioned before. It was also the beginning of rainy season, and we had no Church building to accommodate us for for our first series of nightly meetings. The meeting in one place was conducted outdoors, and the rain seemed to threaten our meeting almost on a nightly basis. Not to mention the fact that we had to endure almost nightly power cuts, which proved a major inconvenience to our team, especially since we were working with a laptop and projector. The incessant mosquitoes, bugs, and other flying insects, coupled with the extremely high and humid temperature at nights, proved a real test to our resolve. Not to mention the fact that we were working in places where there was no running water, or toilet facilities available. Nevertheless, in spite of these and many other conditions, the group pressed on, night by night to conduct our meetings anyway. The day time was reserved for  weeks of prayer that were conducted at the local Adventist school. Electricity was a problem here at times also, but still the group took good courage, and all performed their duties cheerfully in spite of these and many other challenges.

We are happy to report  that as a result of the generosity of the mission group from Europe, we were able to construct 1 new SDA Church in a village that was previously Evangelized. This church building was also another miraculous answer to prayer. Upon entering that particular area in 2010, it was our earnest desire to construct a church for our newly established company there. The believers were worshipping in a structure that was similar to an animal shed, and this was quite a pathetic sight to behold indeed. We promised  that we would one day build them a proper church by the grace of God,  as a result of the sacrifice of our missionaries from Europe, this promise also became a reality during my time in India.

Please continue to pray earnestly for our work around the world. Remember in a special way our widows, orphans, our blind group in the city of Bangalore India, and our many other church planting and evangelistic plans around the world. Please also pray for our upcoming mission trip to the Country of Cuba that will take place in the next few weeks.

May God richly bless you my friend, may we all continue to be faithful to the Master, and labor with our might while the day lasts, as the night will soon come when no man can work. May God bless and keep you in His loving care, Maranatha.

Welcome To India

Latest Church Donated By Our Missionaries From Europe

Latest Church Donated By Our Missionaries From Europe

Church Dedication In A Rural Village

Cottage Bible Study In The Mountains

Semi Orphans In Need Of Sponsorship

Kneeling For Prayer On Sabbath

Communist Protest In Town

Dedication Of Our New Church Site

Deby Offering The Prayer Of Dedication

Local Gypsy With His Trained Monkey

Team Members Preparing to depart at the Airport

Buffalo Being Transported To The Markets

Michaela And Her New Best Friend

Sebastian Teaching a Bible Lesson During The Week Of Prayer

Nightly Presentation without Electricity

Deby And Michaela Teaching Children Songs

Seventh Day School Week Of prayer

Markus Helping With Our Nightly Prayer

Nightly Meetings In A Village

Many In Attendance For The Nightly Meetings

Many In Attendance For The Nightly Meetings

Deby and Michaela wearing a Sari for the 1st time

Markus and Michaela having prayer for a new baby

Visiting Previous Churches

Best $2 Elephant Ride In India

Best $2 Elephant Ride In India

Children are Fascinated by the new guests

Deby praying for a sick lady in the village

A local Elephant

Back Home Again

Orphan Girls In Nepal

Warm Christmas greetings to you my brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope and pray that today finds you abiding in Christ, and holding fast the faith that was once delivered to the Saints.

I hope you had a chance to read our last blog entitled “ When The Devil Came To Church,” that was posted a few weeks ago. It is a very provocative topic I am sure, but I think it so aptly describes some almost unbelievable events, that I witnessed in the country of Nepal, during my visit. I am so very grateful and thankful to God,  for carrying me through those events with good courage, and allowing me to return home unharmed, unafraid, and in my right mind. Truly, my confidence in Him who has declared Himself to have “all Power” has been strengthened 10 fold, as a result of the spiritual warfare that I have had to contend with in the Mission field.

I am happy to report to you that the young girl Maya that we adopted is doing very well by God’s grace. She does not have any more demon possession and she has settled in her new Adventist school quite nicely. In fact she called me just today, and recited for me some scripture verses that she had learned both in Nepali and in English. She also recounted for me how she and my dear friend in Nepal, Bhaju, went to have prayer for an elder who was sick, and how shortly there- after the man got well in answer to their prayers. She also shared with me a debate that she had with a local Pastor, not of our faith.  Maya had only attended 1 Adventist evangelistic series, but she remembered enough information to debate with a young pastor who was trying to lead her away from our church. Friends, at times mission work can be arduous and trying.  To the naked eye it would seem that the sacrifices are so many and the rewards so few. But, along the journey we have a chance to meet people like young Maya, and we see the raw power of God in action. God uses these experiences to remind His servants who He is, and to give us courage and faith to press on.

Like Maya, there are many children In Nepal who are hired out by their parents to work as laborers. Child exploitation is a very visible malady in the country of Nepal. One can easily see under-age children, some as young as 7 or 8 years old working in restaurants and in food and tea shops as servants. Young, underage boys, are mostly hired for manual labor and factory work, while many young, underage girls in many poor villages, are hired out by their parents to be field workers in the Nepali mountains. The more unfortunate ones find themselves  cases of human trafficking. Some are even sold by their own parents into Nepal’s sex work industry. It is such a pitiful sight, to see innocent children made in the image of our God in such a predicament. Many of those who sell their children, are often the victims of unbearable hardships, and grinding poverty, and they sell their children as their last desperate measure to survive.

As I have seen many of these little ones working hard in the cold, it breaks my heart at times. I think to myself, what if this was my son, how would he feel knowing that he had no mother, or father, to care for him? How would he feel, if he were a young boy, washing dishes outside in freezing cold water ?  I have seen children, some as young as 6 or 7 years old, living with strangers and working for their food, and it has caused me some sleepless nights, and made me to really take stock of what is important in my life.

We would like for you to pray for our Ministry, because by God’s help, we would like to start a small Orphanage in 2013 to help some of these boys and girls in Nepal. It is a lofty vision, but the God whom we serve is also a great God. We are commanded in numerous places in the holy scriptures, to remember and care for the widows and the orphans. The bible and the SOP both remind us, that as we go forward with the Gospel work, we should also compliment that work with our work of benevolence. We are also reminded in Mat 25:40 : “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Please also remember our Christmas/ New year’s program in your prayers as well. For the last few years we have given gifts of clothing and school supplies to needy children in India, and we also supplied blankets, and warm clothing to our entire blind church there. By God’s help, we would also like to extend this holiday program to the many needy boys and girls in the country of Nepal. Please remember us and this good work, in your Christmas giving this year. You can feel free to make a secure pay-pal donation online at:  http://www.3goingforward.com  or, you can mail your  donation to 3 Going Forward Ministries, P.O. Box 324, Burtonsville Md. 20866.

May God continue to bless you and your family on this holiday season. May we all work together for the up building of the Master’s kingdom while the day lasts, for the night will soon come when no man can work.  May God bless you, Maranatha.

Gavin, Marion & Noah Simpson,

3 Going Forward Ministries.

Local Napali Man

Young Orphan Boy In Nepal

Orphan Girl In A Small Nepali Orphanage

Orphans In A Small Nepali Orphanage

Small Orphan Boy

Visiting A Local Orphanage on Sabbath

Young Girl Doing Some Field Work In Nepal

Visiting Mountain Villagers After Church

Visiting Mountain Villagers After Church

Young Orphan Girl In Nepal

Young Orphans In Nepal

Orphans In Nepal

Trekking to Church on Sabbath

Women Working In Nepal

Church Members In Nepal

Church Members In Nepal

Church Members In Nepal

Church Members In Nepal

Preaching In Nepal

Small Adventist Church In The Mountains

Inside the Golden Pagoda

A statue of Buddha made from solid jade, at the top is a crown made from rubies

Many women In Myanmar, apply a powder from a certain tree to their faces. This is supposed to protect them from the intense Burmese heat

Inside the Golden Pagoda

Graduation of the Global Pioneer workers in Myanmar. They will be sent to their various ethnic and language groups as evangelists.

This is the 1st Cousin of the now famous Burmese pro democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Traditional Burmese Painting

Some of my new family in Burma

One of the 3 Literature Evangelists in the Country Of Burma

Local woman selling food in a Burmese Market

Young orphan girls in training to be female Buddhist monks

Young girls helping out during song service time

Young girl helping out during song service time

Entrance to the golden Pagoda

Very interesting looking Asian Dragon Fruit

Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Greetings to you in Jesus name. I want to extend to you a hearty Namaste from the regions of the mighty Himalayas and from the home of the majestic Mount Everest.
In the providence of God our humble work has carried us to a new and distant field only a few hours to the north of India.
The country of Nepal until a few years ago was the world’s only Hindu State. But, in the providence of God a small door was opened recently for the promulgation of the Gospel after many years of instability and political turmoil between the Maoist, and the Marxist parties.
We received an invitation to assist the few struggling Adventist companies still alive in Nepal so time ago and by God’s grace we graciously accepted the call. Our believers are mostly housed in mountains away from the cities and remote villages. Some even requiring as much as 2 days hiking through the mountains to access them.
Due to this fact and the fact that we were not able to raise sufficient funds to travel as a family this year we thought it best if I advance forward alone without the family at this time. As one might imagine, it is quite difficult to be in a new country with its culture, people, language and food etc. But to be by myself amidst these challenges is a whole new dynamic to me. It is especially hard as I have never spent any considerable time away from my son since he was born 11 years ago or from my wife in our 13 years of marriage. God has nevertheless been gracious to us and has given us the grace to maintain our respective duties while we are apart. As a family we claim the promises of God that such sacrifices will not go unrewarded in the courts of heaven. At certain times in the Christian journey God requires sacrifice in order to sew the Gospel seeds into the regions beyond. Those who thus pledge themselves to labor for the Master at any cost will reap an abundant harvest that will not fail.
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. With its ever rising inflation, daily strikes, massive power outages, lack of clean water and ever increasing contention between the Communists and Maoist Governments making it one of the more difficult countries on the planet to live in. Child labor is also an acceptable way of life in Nepal and one can daily see children some 8 or 9 years old working in restaurants as cooks, on buses as conductors, or in shops as general servants etc.

The majority of people in Nepal are of Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan descent. One can also expect to see small numbers of Indians, and East Asians also.
Thus far I haven’t seen anyone who has as beautiful a sun tan as I possess. I struggle to find words to express some of the reactions that I have received from people here. The average person here in Nepal is barely 5’2”tall and about 120-130 lbs. One can only imagine their reaction when they come face to face with a 6’ 1” tall 230 giant. Couple that fact with the fact that I am also black and many people even in Kathmandu city, the Capital of Nepal have never seen a black person, why I believe in Nepal I am a mystery of nature and quite possibly one of the lost wonders of the World. The people’s responses have been quite colorful to say the least, if one can imagine everyone in a shop, car, and house or even people standing on the road pointing, whispering and staring, that is life in Nepal for me at the moment. I have even seen people grab their children closely to them as pass me by, or I saw the fear in the eyes of an old lady yesterday who locked eyes with me and proceeded to pass me very, very cautiously in an alleyway. Even some school children came to a stop directly in front of me on the sidewalk and were busy deliberating among them as to who would pass me 1st. I am learning to make light of my present predicament and I am taking my new found fame in stride. I am learning just to wave and say hello to those who are visibly confused at my being, but I think the mere fact that the dark giant can also speak only ads to their state of perplexity.
Until a few years ago Nepal was the world’s only Hindu kingdom. It was only a few years ago that the monarchy system was dissolved after more than 240 plus years of existence. The country only recently moved from being a Hindu kingdom to a country governed by a secular system of government. This new system of government is one that offers religious freedom to all religions bodies and faiths.
It would seem that throughout the world there is a consistent pattern of this trend repeating itself in various countries. Many countries that had certain political systems in place are now relaxing them and giving way to more secular or moderate forms of government.
I think it is a direct fulfillment of Mat_24:14 that says:
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Everyone must get a chance to hear the Gospel message before it can be a witness to all nations. That is why it is imperative that we seize the opportunities and quickly advance through the opened doors that God in His providence has opened for us around the world.
By the help of God our work in India has expanded greatly and the Region that was once an un-reached, un-entered territory now boasts more than 24 Churches and Companies scattered throughout the Villupuram District with many trained lay pastors and bible workers. When we arrived there, there were only few companies of believers that were still meeting. Many of our Churches were empty on Sabbaths and the people were scattered, many as sheep without a shepherd. Our family moved to India in 2010 under most discouraging and forbidding circumstances not knowing what to expect. Feeling inadequate by a sense of the magnitude of the task of starting the Gospel work in a new place, we gave ourselves to prayer and working 6 days per week in the harsh living conditions of India. Today, our seeds of faith are now beginning to grow into small trees; God has blessed us to see that little truly becomes much when it is placed in the Master’s hand. Our work in India is still ongoing and we plan to physically return there in a few weeks. God has made it clear to us though that we should not center all of our resource in on place, but that we should continually enlarge and expand our territory until the whole world is reached for Christ.

We want to thank you for your prayers in behalf of our humble ministry and we want to ask you that you continually pray for us as we enlarge and advance our work into the regions beyond unto every nation, kindred tongue and people.

We are also happy to report to you that after many months of filing and processing, the 3 Going Forward Ministry is now an official 501-C3 Corporation recognized by the IRS. We can now provide you a tax deductible receipt for any size donation to our Ministry. Thank you so much for partnering with us as we seek to carry the Gospel to the world in this generation. May God bless and keep you in His loving care and may we daily work and live for the Master as He is soon to come. Maranatha.
Gavin, Marion & Noah Simpson
3 Going Forward Ministries.

Women Bringing Their Offerings To The gods

A Large Statue Of The Father Of Buddhism

Small Disabled Boy Begging At The Hindu Festival

Women Selling In A Local Market

Doing Some Family Visits High In The Himalayas

Pilgrims gathering For The Hindu Celebration

Pilgrims gathering For The Hindu Celebration

My Friend Has The Best Food In Town

Worshippers waiting to pay their homage to the Gods

Hindu Festival Paying Homage To The Dead

Hindu Festival Paying Homage To The Dead

Hindu Festival Paying Homage To The Dead

Hindu Festival Paying Homage To The Dead

Hindu Festival Paying Homage To The Dead

Children Attending The annual Hindu Festival For The Dead

Hindu Festival Paying Homage To The Dead

Children Attending The annual Hindu Festival For The Dead

Our family is doing well by Gods grace after being home now for a few months. As always we have to deal with the reverse culture shock of coming back home to America. I had to get adjusted to driving on the right hand side again and I had to re program myself to operate in an organized orderly setting as opposed to chaotic overpopulated rural villages. We also had to find  housing again and somehow settle down to a sense of ‘normalcy’. I think the life that we live at present is particularly challenging because we do not live fully in our mission field of India or in the US at present. We cannot be there full time or here full time, so we are in a state of constant adjustment and re adjustment. The cause of God requires greater and greater self sacrifice at every step, but as a family we still believe it is worth it.

It has been quite an eventful series of months overall as we  have travelled quite a bit to minister in various States in response to the invitations of many brethren. Our ministering partners are scattered far and wide and so we have made the commitment to visit them and to give them a personal report of the various accomplishments of the past year in India.

God has truly given us His Spirit as we have sought to encourage and inspire our brethren here on the home front. I can honestly report to you that the Holy Spirit has attended our efforts in a marked way and men and women have been stirred and motivated as we have gone forward and shared our testimony. We have sought to be as faithful Calebs and Joshuas in our day and to bring to our brethren in the U.S. a good report. Yes there are giants in the land but we still believe that we are well able to possess the land in the name of the Lord.

At present we are in the planning stages for another Missionary journey to India. I spoke to a friend of mine there in India and he informed me that the current temperature there was was over 113 degrees Fahrenheit he said “ brother we don’t have to worry about what hell will be like because I think we are living in it right now”. Another Pastor friend of mine also warned us not to return now because in some places in India there have been fatalities and various sicknesses and maladies associated with the intense heat. Also in  Villupuram where we reside  they are averaging  a minimum of 10 hours of mandatory power cuts daily in order to keep up with the huge demand for energy. We have contemplated these very relevant and concerning matters as it relates to the conditions on the ground and still feel impressed to go  forward again. This humble work in India was began out of much struggle and sacrifice so why should it stop now because of such hardships. We daily think of the many souls that the Lord has  gathered during our course of labor in India and we look forward with longing expectation to be re united with them.

It would seem that every year the work in India is expanding wider and wider. When we began we weren’t sure if we would be there just for one missionary trip or more than one. As we have sought to follow the Lord’s providence we now see that this was not meant to be a 1 short term trip but something much bigger. So we are again planning to enter into the warfare.  I feel like the Lord has resurrected a place that was dead for many years and has truly revived the stones out of the rubbish as in the days of Nehemiah. A placed was was relatively unreached with the Gospel for many decades is now slowly blossoming as a fresh flower in the spring time.

We have several lofty goals planned for this trip to India by God’s grace. 1. We plan to construct 4 new Churches during our appointed time for work in India. 2.  \We have a plan to conduct 5 Evangelistic and health meetings in areas that were newly entered. We have devised this plan as a means of strengthening our new companies and instructing those young in the faith. 3. We will be entering  several new Villages on this year as our plan is always to expand the work further and further into the regions beyond.  4. God has blessed us with a team from Europe who will be working and training with us for a few weeks in Villupuram. My good friend whom I have worked with several years ago in Mexico has agreed to come and strengthen our hands and so we will be training some new workers by God’s grace. 5. The Christmas projects over the years have been very successful and we hope to provide food and clothing to more than 1,000 needy individuals this year. 6. We also hope to secure land and possibly begin construction on an Orphanage and education center to help many young boys and girls who are motherless and fatherless.

We never are not sure when it will be our last Mission trip to India. Whenever we go we try to work with all of our might because we know that “the night will soon come when no man can work” ( John 9:4 ). Some of you reading this blog have been the recipients of our blogs since the beginning. I want to thank you so very much for your prayers and encouragement to us over these years. At times we would almost feel alone in this struggle were it not for your e-mails of good cheer to us as we fought the battle in the name of the Lord. I also want to thank you so very much for the trust and confidence that you have placed in 3 Going forward. We are a Ministry that does not receive a salary or a monthly guarantee from any Church or Ministry. But still we have been able to preach the Gospel to hundreds, build Churches, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and take care of the blinds, the orphans and widows. This has all been done through God inspiring fellow laymen like yourselves to help us. People, some of you whom we have never met have invested in this most worthy cause and  have enabled us to be a voice for the many voiceless ones in India. On their behalf I want to humbly say thank you. I want  to also extend to you the invitation to partner with us as we again go back by faith to India In the month of July 2012. If you are so impressed to support you can made a donation online at www.3goingforward.com just click on donate. Or you can mail checks to P.O. Box 324 Burtonsville Md. 20866. Friend, please pray much for our humble family and please drop us a line as we are always delighted to hear from you. May God bless you and may we work together to carry the Everlasting Gospel to every nation, kingdom, tongue and people in this generation. Maranatha.

Gavin, Marion & Noah Simpson

3Going Forward Ministries

Greetings,  ministering partners and brothers and sisters in Christ. We are ever grateful to God for the awesome power of technology that allows us to communicate in real time, around the Globe. We know that Daniel’s prophecy has truly come to pass when we think of knowledge increasing. As we consider the plight of many of the great Missionary pioneers in ages past. Those who have paved the way for the undertaking of modern Missions with their blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice we have nothing to complain about.  There was a time when Missionaries had to wait months to send and receive even urgent letters from home. As we daily check our e-mails from the Mission field, use our cell phones to converse with family and friends, and every time we send an update blog we realize how fortunate we are.  As we read letters of encouragement from our brethren and gain renewed strength to continue our Missionary journey we praise God for the power of technology that is being used in these last days as a vehicle to quickly finish the work.

The Month of January was an extremely busy Month for us in India. We were able to establish a new company in a place called Innanimangalam. This was a large Village of mostly higher caste Hindus (which are normally harder to reach). We preached for 2 weeks in this village and had a warm reception from the people. Old and young crowded the open upstairs Apartment of a rented house as night by night we dug deeper and deeper into God’s word and shared the precious messages for the last days. At the end we had 10 people who were baptized and another 10 preparing for baptism.

We were also able to dedicate the 2^nd Church building sponsored by The Metro New York Men’s Prayer Ministry. This is the only Church of any denomination for many kilometers around. We had more than 150 individuals of mostly Hindu background in attendance for the dedication ceremony. I vividly remember 2 women who brought their offering with them that they had been keeping for some time, to give to God since they finally had a Church to give it to. This is another new group that has been formed and we hope to return soon to work and strengthen this place.

A friend of our invited us to a program in a place called Nelli Kuppam where we provided school supplies to many children affected by the AIDS virus. It was a touching scene as we saw many of the children who were scarred with sores and who were orphans. Please remember these children in your prayers.

In the book of Nehemiah we find the story of a man of opportunity. Nehemiah was called and chosen by God to rebuild the broken down wall of Jerusalem that had been destroyed by Israel’s enemies for over 100 years. After reading this most eloquent and touching story, we realized that all around Villupuram  there were broken down walls that also needed rebuilding. There were a few Churches that were started and because of discouragement and lack of care were closed and fell into disrepair.   The people scattered as sheep without a shepherd. By God’s help we also renovated and reopened 3 Churches and re-gathered the scattered believers.

This has been our second Missionary journey to India. And I want to share with you brethren that truly God has blessed this humble work and has caused it to grow ‘exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think’ Ephesians 3:20. If this were to be our last Missionary journey and we were commissioned by God to again resume our home labors, I could honestly say that I have learned many bible promises to last me a lifetime.

Jesus gave a specific charge to His disciples in the book of Luke 22:35 as they went out on their 1^st extensive missionary journey and here is the account:Luk_22:35  And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing.  Jesus gave His disciples power over the demonic spirits, power to preach the Gospel, heal the sick and cleanse the lepers. But they were not to take with them any money as they went out into the vineyard. They were to simply go forward and as they needed they were to trust in God to provide.

When we came to India on our 1^st term of service in 2010 we were in somewhat of a similar situation. We had no money to do mission work, no pledge of support from any individual or Church. The only thing that we had were the promises of God’s power to provide for His children found both in the bible and the SOP. I remembered trying to share our Missionary vision with friends and brethren but in the end all we had to  our name was $400 and a ticket to India.  But after almost 2 years of full time Mission work, we like the disciples in Christ time who went out without purse, or script, or shoes can report to you that we too have not lacked anything.

As I pen these words to you today my eyes fill up with tears as I recount the goodness of God to us. By the grace of God we have been able to build 2 new Churches in Villupuram, start new companies of Adventists in un entered towns, conduct almost 15 Evangelistic meetings in new places, baptize new believers into God’s last day truth, restart the work in areas where it has languished, build homes for many desperately poor Adventist, provide gifts of food and clothing to many hundreds of needy children and widows, helped many widows regain a new start in life by starting their own small business,  and the list goes on and on.  Today, I have come to learn that God will equip us with all that we need to do His work, but we must 1^st show that we trust Him by going forward in faith.  My wife and 10 year old son have both travelled with me to India. In the face of disease and sickness, heat, weariness and  discouragement they have stood strong and have faced all with invincible faith and courage and have proved a great source of strength for me when at times I felt as a cart beneath sheaves.

To you our ministering partners, I am encouraged by your prayerful support of this Ministry. We know that we are in the midst of unprecedented economic woes, but still there are those who sacrifice to advance the cause of God and specifically the work in India.  We owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude and from the bottom of our hearts we say thank you. Of absolute certain we can see the prophecy fulfilling that lay people are helping other laypeople to finish the work and usher in the second coming of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. We have partnered with the metro New York Men’s Prayer Ministry on last year and they have been a tremendous blessing to the overall work in India and have been the sponsors for the Church building projects and various other projects.

By the grace of God we have just arrived back home in the US. Our 6 Month time has quickly come to an end and, in order to stay in compliance with Indian law we had to make a mandatory departure from the Country. We are home for a few months to regroup and to re-plan and so we ask for your prayers. We also ask you to pray for the work that is continuing in Villupuram in our absence and please remember us with your continued sacrificial giving as we seek to expand and strengthen the work that has already begun in the name of The Lord.

We are also privileged to once again have a re-airing of our interview with 3ABN Television Network. If you had not yet had an opportunity to see it, this interview will be broadcast on 3ABN  TV and on 3ABN.org at the link http://3abn.org/ . On Thursday February 16, 2011 at 7AM, 2PM & 10 PM.

May God bless you and your Family and keep you in His care until then.

Gavin, Marion & Noah Simpson

3goingforward Ministries.

Children With AIDShttp://youtu.be/d-jzQPJQfDI

Greetings to you brothers and sisters in Christ. We trust that by the grace of God you had a good Christmas Holiday and New Year. I hope that this time was an opportunity for you to connect with family and friends and to receive some spiritual refreshing from the Lord.  We all know that December 25 is not the exact birthday of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ when he came in the flesh. However, it is still a wonderful opportunity to contemplate and recall the goodness of He who has made a way for all the children of Adam to find salvation.

This has been our second time spending Christmas in India. There is a vast difference between Christmas in the US and Christmas in this Hindu land. In fact one would hardly notice that it was the Holiday Season unless you were to check your calendar.  The Hindu temples continue their ubiquitous rounds of ceremonies dedicated to the over 2 million gods of India and the frantic pace of life in Tamil Nadu continued in its daily incessant rounds.

By the grace of God we were able to carry out our plans to do good for many widows, orphans, blind, and desperately poor people on this past Holiday season. Through the kindness of friends like yourselves and the Metro New York Mens Prayer Ministry we were able to be a blessing to more than 600 people in India this year. The bible says in .     Psa 41:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

We were able to provide a suit of clothing, a school bag loaded with school supplies and a hot meal to needy boys and girls from many of the surrounding Villages in Villupuram. Many of their families are day laborers who only make between $2 or $3 per day  so many were greatly appreciative for these much needed items. It was such a blessing to see the smile on the faces of these beautiful children. The excitement in some places was almost uncontrollable as the kids received their gifts. For some, even though they were in school for years this was their first descent school bag and for others this was their only new dress for the Holidays. We learned experientially what the bible says that it is truly better to give than to receive.

Our friend Gunasekaren in the city of Bangalore invited us to come and celebrate New Year’s day with him and his blind Church. This is an Adventist Church that was started to reach out to many in the blind community. As I shared in a previous blog, many of these individuals are abused and exploited in unspeakable ways. We met and conversed with some of these women and became painfully acquainted with some of their past history. I heard about how some were thrust out into the streets by their families and resorted to begging and even “soliciting” as a way to survive. We came to understand that there is not much available by way of social services to assist these unfortunate individuals, so our heart was moved with compassion to help. Our brother Guna has rented a house that serves the dual function of a Church and a housing place for some of these blind individuals.  He is quite a remarkable man who has become father, guardian, counselor and caretaker to many of our blind brothers and Sisters in Bangalore.

We arrived in Bangalore at our bind church and were greeted by enthusiastic singing. We later discovered that many of the men and women who attend this Church were quite talented indeed. Many played musical instruments and were also excellent singers. Many were mothers and fathers and there were even quite a few blind couples. Some even had their own employment and were sustaining themselves and their loved ones. One commonalty among all these individuals however was their love for Christ. Even though they were without physical sight they were not blind spiritually. And they personally knew Him who was king of Kings and Lord Of Lords. Through your donation we were able to provide for them a suit of clothes, a blanket, and braille bibles with some EG White books in braille. It is truly amazing to me that God has provided a way for all to receive his holy  word.

The bible gives us some sound counsel which I think it would do well to heed, especially during the holiday season. In Luke 14:12 the bible says :   Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. Luke 14:13  But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:  Luke 14:14  And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. As we do our daily rounds of buying and selling and taking care of our families,  let us not forget our Master’s command to us in Luke 14.

We also had the privilege a few weeks ago of dedicating our Adventist Church in Meiyyur. Wow, that was quite an experience for our family. As long as time shall last I will never forget the feeling of standing in that crowded Church on that inauguration day and looking into the faces of the more than 200 who were present. I remembered our struggles in that Village as clearly as it were yesterday. I remembered the persecution that our brothers and sisters faced daily in that Village. We promised the local Pastor that we would put a place of worship there for our people even without the 1^st dollar in hand. But with the riches of faith alone, in less than one year we were dedicating that Church which we prayed for. I learned a valuable lesson on that faithful Sabbath as I stood to address that congregation in Meyyur. With tear stained eyes and a thrill of Victory in my voice I learned that my God could truly do anything. Even though we were surrounded on every side by Hindu Temples to false gods, The Lord made a House of worship where his people can worship him in peace. No more worshiping outside in the elements or being crammed into a neighbor’s houses. The people can worship freely in the first Adventist Church for many, many miles around.

Below you will see some of the pictures from the aftermath of the Cyclone (Hurricane) that hit the Pondy Cherry, Cuddlore, and Villupuram district on New Year’s Day.  This was a furious storm with torrential rains and wind.  As everyone was celebrating the beginning of 2012 the people of this region were hunkering down and doing their best to prepare for the storm that was approaching.  We lost power in the early evening of New Year’s Eve and spent the whole night and New Year’s Day itself mopping up water that was spewing through of locked windows.  Even though, we are staying in a concrete home the windows and other parts of the house are not built for such high winds and rains.  In fact, we have been told by our friends that this is the first Cyclone in many decades.  The majority of the people live in thatched roof houses in this district, unfortunately, they were hit the hardest.  Their roof literally flew off with them inside.  Others who had tin roof houses had to flee to other shelter as the tin peeled back.  Our family was without electricity or water for about four days, but others are just now receiving electricity and water.  The papers are reporting about 100 hundred deaths and many injured.  By the grace of God none of the church members or families that we know sustained any injuries.  Please remember these fellow believers in your prayers.  Many are still displaced and desperately seeking to rebuild and gain a sense of normalcy.

Thank you for your continuous prayers and support of the 3goingforward Ministry.  Please, continue to pray for us and the people of Villupuram. If you are impressed to support you can do so at our home page at 3goingforward.com.

Please forgive us as the wordpress editing software is not cooperating with us at the moment.  We wanted to put the pictures in order and place comments with them in order to best tell the story of what has happened here over the past few weeks but were not as successful as we would have liked.

May God bless and keep you in his loving care.

It is better to give than to receive

It has been some time since we posted a blog as we have been travelling quite extensively in our visits to a few different States in India. It has been quite an experience for us to have travelled over the last few weeks. Truly India is quite a vast and diverse Nation indeed. The different States that we have visited all have their own language, food, traditions and customs. I have never been in a Country where there are so many different languages, in fact the scholars say that there are more than 18 Official languages and 1,600 unofficial dialects across India. The official languages each have their own alphabets some of which number in the hundreds. So for those of us in the West who thought that the 26 letters of the alphabet was a challenge, they should take a trip across India.

The one thing though that I have found to be consistent across the different States of India is the condition of our Church. We have found our Church to be in much distress and hardship in the various places that we have visited. We have seen religious persecution in the rural places in South India but I have come to understand that this phenomenon is not just limited to the Sout. I have met Pastors who have told me that they were beaten and even placed in Jail as they sought to preach the Gospel in different places. I also met a local Pastor in one State who recounted for me with graphic explicitness his near death experience at the hands of a radical Hindu group. He told me how he and a group of students were conducting an Evangelistic meeting with some tribal people. Then all of a sudden his meeting was abruptly interrupted by a large group of extremists mounted on a tractor. These extremist also came with the police who were complicit in their activities and who were in support of this group. Many such cases never make the light of day in India because of the local political support that these groups receive, what a shame. Some of the participating Pastors in this Evangelistic effort escaped into the woods but one Pastor unfortunately was caught.  He told me how the men demolished his tent and destroyed the books and church reading material and how they purposed to kill him as an example to all of the other Christian believers. This Pastor told me how the men captured him and poured Gasoline on him and was about to set him on fire. He told me that all that he could do was pray earnestly to the Lord for deliverance as he thought about his wife and his 2 week old baby. The Hindu man was about to set him on fire but felt as though a power was restraining him as the pastor prayed. By the mercy of God the Hindu man all of a sudden felt compelled to let our Pastor go and so he escaped to tell the story. In many places across India unfortunately this is an almost daily occurrence. People lose their lives and even have their homes or churches demolished for the claiming the name Christian.

One would naturally be discouraged as you see and hear of these bitter circumstances except for the fact that we have read the end of the book and know that God’s truth will triumph against all opposition.  One writer said that bible is a great anvil that has destroyed many hammers. Throughout the centuries many men have arisen who have sought by various means and methodologies to exterminate Christians and to destroy the bible. These have all come and gone from the stage of action but the bible and Christians are still here and will remain until the very end of time. Even though groups of men led by Satan marshall themselves against Christ and His people, I can take confidence in the fact that I stand on the right side of secular as well as biblical history.

We have also spent considerable time on our project to restart the advent work in many places. Due to discouragement and lack of care, in some places congregations were left without pastors and some churches have fallen into disrepair. We have been diligently working by God’s grace over these last 2 Months to reopen all the Churches that were closed and to revive the work and re gather the flocks that have scattered hither and thither as sheep without a shepherd. Please pray for us and this work.

As I pen this blog it is now December 15 and it is hard to believe that we only have 10 days until Christmas. It is our 2^nd Christmas in India and we hope by God’s grace to spend the holiday doing good and giving, as the bible has said that it is better for us to give than to receive. The Metro New York Men’s prayer Ministry has been kind enough to sponsor part of our Christmas program for 2011. They will be giving towards our Children’s program which is a program designed to provide clothes and school supplies for 500 of our needy children in the Villupuram Region.  We are also planning to provide clothing and braille bibles for some members of a blind Ministry in the City of Bangalore. In most of India there are no social services in place to assist people with such disabilities, as many abled bodied persons can barely scratch out a living for themselves and their families. Many of these individuals are thrust out from their homes as they cannot work to contribute to the home economy. Some of these blind women are exploited and abused. Both men and women are sometimes beggars on the daily trains and others try to make and sell small trinkets to provide for themselves and their families an income. It is a bitter life for many of the blind individuals in India and we wanted to do something to show them Christ’s love. We believe that everyone should have an opportunity to read God’s word the bible and so we have volunteered to purchase some braille bibles and also provide a suit of clothing for our brothers and sisters in Bangalore. We take seriously the admonition found in the bible in Matthew 25, Jesus said concerning practical Christianity:

Mat 25:42  For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:      Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Mat 25:45 then shall he answer them, saying, verily I say unto you, in as much as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

If God has impressed your heart and you feel impressed to support this project please feel free to make a donation to http://3goingforward.com/ just click on the donate button. Your support will be greatly appreciated. May God richly blessings be with you on this Christmas season. From Villupuram Tamil Nadu South India. Maranatha

We are ever grateful to God for your prayers and letters of encouragement that come our way from time to time. The letters of encouragement that we receive via e-mail from you are a true sense of comfort and strength to our family as we labor for the master in the mission fields of India. We are also grateful to God for your financial support that is helping this Ministry to fulfill our part in the Great Commission.

Since our last blog, much has transpired in Tamil Nadu where we reside. We wrote to you with the title of “meeting the crises” and we explained to you the difficulties we were facing at the hands of  some Hindu youth  as we sought to construct our Church. We sincerely thank you for your prayers, we are happy to report to you that not only did the Lord hear our prayers but He answered in a dramatic fashion.  As I reflect back a few weeks, I remember having a day of prayer and fasting and asking the Lord to respond to this situation in such a way that these individuals would know  the true God.  After much earnest prayer on this issue we received word that the individual who was responsible for organizing this disturbance had a sudden and terrible attack of insanity. We prayed and asked many of you to pray for us, shortly thereafter this individual woke up one morning going about his daily duties, and before the sun set he was bereft of his reason and a total lunatic.  We will be quick to say that we do not take delight in or rejoice in the suffering of anyone. As we know that this man’s family will suffer as a result of his present condition.  However, even in the bible there are cases such as Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and Pharaoh King of Egypt where God who gives the power of mind and reason, at time sees it best to remove it to humble the hearts of proud men. In such cases and under such circumstances all that we his humble servants can say is Amen.  Interestingly enough it was in this same Village on last year that we were accosted by these same group of Hindu youth and a few days later the leader died suddenly and unexpectedly.  A few weeks later a second high ranking member of this same group of extremists also died mysteriously.  I hope and pray that these signs will serve as warnings and cautions against future attacks from this group.

Please keep our ongoing Evangelistic meetings in your prayers, many souls have attended nightly and some have committed to learn more about Christ. And in other places we have already reaped several souls in baptism. Please pray for these news souls as we and the Villupuram bible workers partner  together to teach them the precious truths of God’s word.  We have been earnestly seeking to educate and inspire this  newly formed team of bible workers.  This is a new venture for the Villupuram region and many of our workers have only a basic bible education at best.  This is a daily struggle especially to motivate them as many have been in a luke warm condition for years.

God has also been blessing our church planting endeavors here in Villupuram. We recently had an inauguration ceremony for a new church plant in a town called Kallakuchi. This is a very large town with a few hundred thousand people but sad to say until recently no Adventist presence. In this district we met a most remarkable young man by the name of Deavanbu, who became an Adventist from reading a tract given to him by someone.  He was later baptized and immediately began to evangelize and share his new found faith with his mother and his wife who also believed and accepted the truth. Several other families were also witnessed to by this young man and they were also baptized. When we met  Deavanbu  we discovered that he had converted to Christianity from Hinduism. Without any pastoral leadership of any kind he went  from place to place sharing the love of Jesus with many people. He told us that the nearest Adventist Church was almost 1 ½ hours drive and that all of the new converts were being transported in his vehicle to Church on Sabbaths. He appealed to us to please do what we could to assist him as there is no Church there for our people. We hope by God’s grace to place a Church building there soon for our newly formed Adventist Company. Please pray for us that the Lord would open the way for us, remove road blocks that will inevitably come, and help us to expand and occupy new territory for Him. Please remember Deavanbu as he has boldly taken his stand for the Lord in this vast heathen District. We have also embarked upon a project to re-open some village Churches in different places that have been closed due to lack of care and nurture. We hope by God’s grace to rebuild as it were the old waste places and to rebuild the broken down walls of The Remnant Church in India.

Mark Finley writes in his devotional book  Solid Ground that,   “Christianity is not giving up bad things so I can be saved; it’s giving up good things so others can be saved”.  Our family read this excerpt for devotion on the first day that we arrived in India back in August.  This had me thinking daily about how true this statement was.  When I came into the truth back in 1996 I knew that I had a lot of bad habits that had been formed over my short 18 years of life.  With neither of my parents being Christian or never really reading the bible or praying, I did not know how to come to Jesus.  I only knew that there was a better way of living than what I was taught .  I focused on what I was supposed to do as a Christian or more importantly not supposed to do.  This seemed to be my focus for years.  I should not drink or smoke, eat any unclean things, refrain from going to places that I know would be a bad influence, and so on.  I always loved people and enjoyed community service.  I loved encouraging the down trodden and the underprivileged.  This was easy for me and natural.  I even had a passion for it, but I placed so much emphasis on what I was not supposed to do.   It wasn’t until my family and I entered into full time Mission work that I truly understand what a Christian was.  To live as Christ lived.  Not to focus over and over on the things that “WE” shouldn’t do, or  the things we have to give up, but to focus our lives on reaching the lost.  This is what Christ’s Mission was all about, to heal the sick, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked and comfort the widow.  This is what He saved us for.  He saved us to serve.  When we serve others that cannot repay us except with a smile and a hug we are saving our own souls.  When we bring hope to a hopeless soul,   give simple medical advice to a mother with a sick child, pray for and encourage the drunkard we are participating in Christ’s Mission.  Jesus’s life was centered on other people.  He lived, breathed and even died to save people.  We are most happy and content with our Christian walk when we focus our lives on saving others.  Even though being a full time Missionary has it’s definite struggles and sacrifices, our family is the happiest that we have ever been because we believe that we are saved to serve.

Here in India it is increasingly difficult to be a Seventh Day Adventist and to keep God’s Sabbath Day. Many of those who become Adventist suffer greatly because unlike in the US most have to work on Saturdays. Or if they are day laborers the can only collect their pay on Saturdays. Many find it a real challenge and if they are not firmly grounded they leave the Church. We also discovered that they are many young women in our Churches who are illiterate and unskilled and as a result unemployed. This led me to do some thinking about what we could do to help this tragic situation.  We came to understand that our people need some employment ventures of their own. We have devised a plan to provide some stitching classes that would help some women in a local Village to become self employed tailors.  We would like to start this program as soon as possible but we are in need of some sewing machines to get started. We can purchase these machines at a cost of $150 . If the Lord impresses you and you are able to support this project please feel free to make a secure donation on our blog site through pay pal at www.3goingforward.wordpress.com or contact us for other donation options. May God richly bless and keep you in His care. From Tamil Nadu South India, blessings to you, Maranatha.

Marion, Gavin & Noah Simpson……………3goingforward Ministry.

We are in the Region of Villupuram in Tamil Nadu, South India where we have successfully completed over a Month of Missionary labor.

We thank God for his unceasing protection and His tender watch care over His children as we seek to plant the standard of the Gospel in the un-entered Regions. We are also ever grateful to the readers of our blog who daily intercede on our behalf before the throne of God.

We shared on a blog last year entitled “face to face with persecution” about a Village called Meiyyur in the Villupuram District where we conducted some Evangelistic meetings. For those who remembered, we also shared the story about the 100+ men who accosted us and demanded that we cease to preach in that Village. Our Church members have lived under the boot of a radical Hindu group for many years. In this area and in surrounding areas there is a group called the RSS. This group is a militant offshoot of right winged Hinduism. In many places their name strikes terror into the hearts of any minority religious group that are not Hindu derived.  In the North of India there have been many attacks on Christians and Muslims alike that have resulted in much bloodshed and fatalities. Unlike other Orthodox Hindu groups who only use the arm of politics to advance and enforce their agenda, this group is a well-trained paramilitary styled organization that believes in using maximum force if necessary to implement  all India  under Hinduism. This group is tremendously powerful even though the Nation is one that professes to be Democratic and offers full protection for all religious groups under its Constitution.

Some of the readers of our blog well remember our earnest appeal as we sought to purchase land on which to put a Church for our fledgling congregation last year. We can praise God as we announce to you today that the Church building that was once faith is now sight. The building that we have prayed about and longed after for our people is now under construction and at present stands 6 feet high in the Village of Meyyur. All that we can say is to God be the glory great things he hath done. The Metro New York Men’s Prayer Ministry has rallied to the call and has sponsored our 1^st Church building project in the Villupuram Region.

We anticipated some opposition in the planting of Churches in India and our anticipations unfortunately, were not disappointed. Our building work has been staunchly opposed in this Village from its earliest beginning. There are some groups of youths who have daily harassed and tried to intimidate our Contractor as he has sought to do his building work. We have been told by these youth that even though it is the Constitutional right of the people to practice their religion, still we will not be allowed to place a Church there. Even though we have legal rights to the land and have taken all the appropriate steps our rights will be denied. It has been a daily trial over the last few weeks for us as our Church has had to secure legal aid and appeal to the local police for protection as there was some minimal damage done to our building by these youth.  One of our local Pastors here has spearheaded the counter response to the many threats and daily disturbances that are being launched by this extremist group and for that we are eternally grateful. Our life and work we daily place in God’s hand but we especially need the prayers and the support of the saints for the Villupuram work. Our Family is not in any immediate danger at the moment thank God, as we live 1 1/2  hours away from this troubled Village but we feel a great need for God’s intervention as we continually advance forward into un entered territory. Our team of workers in Villupuram are not discouraged in the least bit as we know that our work and cause is of God. As we advance forward in faith we know that He will continually open the doors for us and grant us the desired wisdom to do His will.

We are very happy to report that our other building project to construct 7 homes for some of our poorest believers is almost complete. We received some minimal support for this project but by faith in God we advanced forward and the Lord opened the way for us to complete it. We can feel content knowing that the elderly women that we have helped will not have to worry about snakes entering their dilapidated houses or being drenched by the soon coming Monsoon rains, praise the Lord.  Many thanks, to those few faithful supporters for making sacrificial donations and coming to the rescue of these poor sisters in Christ.   They had no shelter and no one to help them, but God heard their cries and blessed them.  Thank you for being a part of this blessing.

Brother William Lewis from the Washington DC area came to visit us for 10 days and assisted us in our Village Ministry. He was able to see firsthand the many sights, sounds and smells of rural South India.  We also conducted a week of prayer at the Valavanur SDA School.  This school has close to 1,000 children from pre-school to grade 10 in attendance.  It was a very large task to cover the whole school daily for 1 week, but God gave us strength and all four of us, even Noah worked tirelessly to teach these young children bible truths.  We also took Brother William to the villages that we worked with during our previous trip to India.  We still visit these villages on a regular basis and have forged strong friendships with many of the villagers.  They were happy to see another face from the U.S and openly welcomed him.  We were thankful that he was willing and able to come and see this vast area for him  self.  It is truly a different world to behold.

We want to thank you again for your e-mails of encouragement to our family. They have proved a tremendous source of strength to our family as we labor for the Master far away from home. We know that with every advanced step Satan will battle us for every inch of ground.  The bible says that he is angry because he knows that he has a short time (Revelation 12:12), we pray by God’s grace that our humble efforts in this Country will help to make his time even shorter.

From Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu, South India, God bless you and goodbye from 3goingforwardministeries, Maranatha.

We took a travel route through Europe and then through the Middle East to get to our final destination in India. As I examined the Map of Europe I saw names such as Prague, Geneva, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland etc. Some of these places from my reading of History were the birthplace and launching pads of the Protestant reformation, that mighty movement which forever changed the course of both religious and secular History. As we flew over parts of Germany I thought of Martin Luther with his 95 thesis nailed to the door of Wittenburg in protest of the erroneous doctrines and papal excesses of the Church of Rome. I also remembered his unforgettable declaration of “here I stand and I can do no other may God help me” as he was called to give answer for his work and teachings. I also thought of John Wycliffe the “Morning Star” of the Reformation as we landed in London England for a brief layover.

As we flew over Prague I remembered John Huss, that great man of faith and ardent zeal who was burned at the stake for his belief and conviction in the bible and the bible alone.

We passed over the Middle Eastern States of Dubai ,Turkey, Quatar, Iran and Afghanistan. Some of the most ancient Civilizations still in existence. We passed over Iran the former World leader known as the Persian Empire of which Daniel prophesied in the book of Daniel Chapter 2. We also passed through the Arabias, the homeland of Mohammad the leader of now Islam.

As we travelled by plane for almost 24 hours I had time to think. I thought about the shortness of time and how most of the World that was once Christian is now under the control of other gods other than Jehovah. I thought about how just beneath our Airplane, how our great God is put to shame and His most marvelous name dishonored among the heathen. Oh how I wished that not only could I give my 1 life to the work and cause of God but that I had 100 lives to give for each Country that is unreached and shackled in the grip of Satan. Oh how I wished that it were not only 3goingforward but by the grace of God hundreds and even hundreds of thousands going forward to the battle in the name of the Lord.

We then approached our home away from home, the Country of India, with it’s teeming hundreds of Millions. I thought about our humble family of 3 people embarking again upon this gigantic task. I thought  about those who have attempted what we are now attempting and have not been successful in times past since Christianity’s inception. And for a brief moment  a shadow of doubt seeks to arrest my thoughts and defeat my faith and confidence in God. But we have fully invested in this cause  and work even knowing the very real dangers to our life  and the challenges and hardships that lay ahead for us. Most importantly we thought about the fact that this cause for which we stand today is the only cause which cannot fail.  The bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:24 faithful is he who has called you who also will do it. Even though Satan seeks to employ the agencies of wicked men and devils to aid his cause,  to those reading this blog today I want you to submit to you that the truth is soon to triumph gloriously and we will soon triumph with it. To the naked eyes things may look uncertain. Our efforts at times seem to be  inadequate and not to bear much real fruit but irrespective of how it looks today, we can trust the Bible and know that God has promised us certain victory because the battle is not ours but The Lord’s.

We have now completed 2 weeks in India and we thank God that the jet lag has subsided and that our bodies have adjusted well to the climate and food.

We have spent the time trying to get settled in to our new temporary home and have visited some Villages where we have held previous meetings. We found some of our Church members of 1 Colony living a most deplorable condition. Many of the people live in thatched roof huts supported by mud walls, and we found out that for many the roof had rotted completely and the mud walls were completely broken down. (See pictures below) These people were promised help by the previous government, but the Government left office without keeping their promise. The people appealed to us for help and we learned that for between $150-$200 we could build them a new thatched roof house that could last them for several years. The request to us was quite urgent as the rainy season with it’s monsoon rains are due to begin in a matter of weeks but we hope and pray that by God’s grace we can be of some assistance to them before then.

We want to solicit the earnest prayers of each reader of our blog, the case is such that we need divine intervention to advance our work.  In fact the battle will be fought on our knees as we wrestle with God in prayer. We also ask  that as the Lord impresses you,  that you remember our Mission work here in India with its many financial needs, and as the Lord impresses upon you that you seek to strengthen our hands to work. Please feel free to make a secure donation online at http://3goingforward.wordpress.com/ just click on the donate now button.

There are many who are recipients of our blogs but we have never heard from you. We would like to get some feedback so please just take a couple of minutes and select the comment button at the bottom of our blog where you can leave a comment. May God bless you and keep you in His richest care until next time.

Gavin, Marion and Noah Simpson

3goingforward.

Greetings to you friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. We greet you this day in Jesus name.

The book of Jeremiah 32:27 reads  “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? “ I myself have also herd many great sermons on this provocative topic over the years .Our blog this week is a resounding affirmation of God’s holy word the bible that there is nothing too hard for God.

As we mentioned in our last blog, we have spent month after month traveling to the South and Mid West  and the East of the U.S sharing the  Testimony of our work in India.

Going to India in the 1^st place seemed to be the biggest gamble of our lives. That is  going to a foreign Country to live and work and not really knowing how we would survive but God proved himself strong and sustained and prospered his servants.

After returning from India our plan was to immediately return to our jobs and try to regain a sense of normalcy in our lives. But after working in such a place and living among the people, preaching, teaching, laughing and crying, holding their babies, praying with and for them, loving them and struggling with them. We felt convicted that we just could not go back to business as usual but we felt convicted to be a voice for many of our voiceless brethren suffering in India without hope.

We therefore decided to put aside our plans for work and plans to purchase another home and go out and tell our story to whoever would listen. This seemed to be our 2^nd gamble as we were now back home without our own home and without jobs. How would we survive the coming Months? How would we get enough funds to embark upon another Mission trip to continue our work? These and other questions hung ominously over our head. Yet we decided to act on the principles of faith that had prospered our journey in India and we decided to advance upon another phase of our work, again trusting God.

It was the man Hudson Taylor the pioneer Missionary to the Country of China who said “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” And our humble Family is a living testimony as to the veracity of this statement that God cannot, will not fail those who put their trust in Him.

The 3Angels Broadcasting Network took our story and granted 3goingforward an interview with their Network. Almost overnight our Ministry’s work went from being obscure and unknown to being viewed by 100’s of thousands of Adventists believers and Christians  around the World. We expected a good response from the viewing audience as our story was quite moving but the response that we received was unbelievable. Even while our taping was being played on TV  we began to receive phone calls almost immediately. And we received many phone calls all day, late into the night and throughout that week from people, some who were even moved to tears from our Testimony as to what God did  and is doing in India with the Gospel message.

We also received letters of encouragement from people around the world  who were praying for us and some even gave small donations to assist the future work. Wow, we serve an awesome God.

Shortly thereafter we connected with a Ministry based in New York by the name of The Metro New York Mens Prayer Ministry. After seing us on 3ABN Television they also wanted to help. This Ministry is really a conference call that begins at 5:15am weekly. Several hundred men and their families listen to hymns, the preached word and pray together 7 days a week. The people in this Conference call listen in  from all over the US, Canada, the Caribbean and many Countries around the World. Metro New York has stepped forward and has pledged to construct 2 Churches. 1 school and 1 Clinic for our present target area in India. And they have also promised future help as we advance into new territories.Here is a link to The metro new York Prayer Ministry is interested http://www.jocaed.com/recursos/metro-new-york-mens-prayer-ministry.php

We have also taped and preached at Mission TV and we were just featured in the July edition of  the Columbia Union magazine the Visitor, which covers many States along the East Coast of the US. Here is a link to that Magazine Article if interested http://www.columbiaunion.org/article.php?id=770

The work is now advancing more rapidly that we ever thought possible, plans  are being framed to reach new Villages and Towns even as we speak.

Last year this time we were packing our bags to venture deep into this mysterious and unknown country called India, with few to encourage us. We left without fanfare or publicity to humbly follow that still small voice. With only $400 dollars to our name and a return ticket, my wife myself and 9 year old son Noah set out to change the World forever. God has prospered our efforts, accepted our sacrifice and is now positioning us for greater things to come. We plan to return to India in  17days to embark upon the next leg of our journey. We will go with a 1 way ticket, and book our return ticket as the lord provides. We still hunger at times and long for the comforts of our 1^st and only home that is now long gone. We reminisce at times about the  Vacations that we took in times past and the nice comfortable cars that we once owned. We think back on our life as it once were and parlay with it’s seductive invite, but there is a deeper longing a deeper thirst to do Gods will. It drives us and beckons us to go forward again into the horizons beyond. Again the 3goforward to labor, not for temporal riches, but for the eternal, not for that which is seen but for that which is unseen. Not for earthly treasure  but for that Kingdom whose builder and maker is God.

To those reading this blog today we sincerely thank you for being there for us. Some reading have been with us from day 1. Because of your financial support and especially your prayers on our behalf we have been able to do God’s work in India. Because of your sacrifice many have heard the Everlasting Gospel preached to them without compromise. And the knowledge of God is now going forward through the Earth  to hasten our master’s coming and bring the end of all things.

The next blog that you receive from us should be from India in a couple of weeks. Until then God bless you and Maranatha

Gavin Simpson

301-693-1562

Or

240-293-2040

There is a definite sense of excitement and anticipation as we think about re-uniting with our Brothers and Sisters in India. When we say Brothers and Sisters I know that some immediately think in the context of Church jargon. But when we say Brothers and Sisters we really mean Brothers and Sisters as in members of our own Family. While living in India we were able to forge many lifelong friendships and so returning  to work there is almost the same as returning home for us.

Even though we are definitely excited to return to India, we vividly remember the intense heat, as well as the daily 2-3 hour power cuts, the never ending supply of mosquitoes, the water problems, the sewage problems and near death illnesses.  These and other very real challenges are things we must daily weigh in the balance beside our love for our brethren in India. People commend our Family all the time and tell us how wonderful we are for being Missionaries but I will be real and honest and tell you friend that sometimes there is a part of me that wants to stay in the US where we have hot and cold water, A.C, a comfortable bed, and clean and healthy surroundings and put off until another time our going back into the Mission Field.

As I assessed the situation one day it dawned on me that the Gospel has not gone to the World yet precisely because of this kind of reasoning. Where would Christianity be if all the leaders in the Reformation movement thought about their own comforts first? Where would we be if the Pioneers of the Advent Movement share in that Philosophy? Where would the Christian Church be if after Pentecost The Apostles did not leave Jerusalem and carry the precious Gospel message of salvation free and complete through Christ to the very ends of the Earth, what if they did not go because they wanted  to be comfortable? My brother and Sister where would we be if Christ did not leave His comfort and glory unspeakable, to become a homeless wanderer, despised, slandered and hated of men as he sought to find His one lost Sheep you and I?

I realized that as a Christian (one who does as Christ does) I must follow His great example and carry the torch that has been passed down to me as such a cost of suffering and sacrifice. It is clear that as a Christian I am called not to stay but to Go, (Matthew 28:19) whether locally or internationally we must each decide for ourselves.

Since we returned back to the U.S. we have been very busy with Ministry as we wanted to get some awareness for the work in India. After living there for several Months, we saw great needs and unbelievably difficult circumstances for the very small Christian minority there. My Wife and myself after seeing the hardships of Christians there decided that we must do something more to assist our brethren. So we have been travelling from place to place sharing our pictures and Testimonies of our work with whoever will hear us.  There have been many Churches that have been less than receptive to us but still God has opened up doors for us in several places.

We have taped 2 interviews and a sermon with Mission T.V in Tennessee last week. The Simpson Family will be appearing in the Visitor magazine July 2011 edition where we will be sharing some of our  Mission work with the entire Columbia Union. We have also visited several States and spoken in many Churches. We would like to also solicit your special prayers as we tape an interview for 3ABN Television on June 22 for the 3ABN Today Program. We especially hope that through the medium of television we can share God’s Ministry with a broader audience. We hope to share many more photos on our blog as we did last year but in addition to that we hope to post bi weekly high definition videos of our tour . So those who are receiving this blog can get a better fell as to what’s taking place on the ground.

We have a great vision to carry the Everlasting Gospel throughout this Nation and into the Regions beyond so that this long night of sin and suffering can come to an end.  The truth is we need your financial blessings to continue our planned projects in India. I know that we cannot all go but we can either go or send. Our time to work is short and I know that with or without The Simpson Family God’s work will go forward, not only in India but throughout the whole World. But we are very grateful to be His helping hands in these exciting and eventful times. Even though the hour is late, God is still offering us an opportunity to invest ourselves not in the temporary but in the eternal World to come.   By faith in these last days God can and will give us the nations (Psalm 2:8).

Your generous support to our Ministry will help us to sponsor native Bible Workers who can begin the ground work and preparation work as well as give bible studies to new converts as we enter into more unreached territory We presently employ 4 but we hope to be able to sponsor 10 workers. We want to provide widowed Village women with micro loans to help them start small business and generate for themselves an income. We hope by God’s help to start several new congregations this year in Villupuram .  After people accept God’s message we must have somewhere to place them. Hence we must purchase land and build a few Churches. We can build a Church for $10,000 in India and we hope to build at least 3 in the very near future. Some have inquired about our projected budget for this upcoming mission. We have put together some of our immediate expenses for those who are impressed to support if possible, but most importantly to help us pray  as we again move forward by faith.

• Air fare $4,500 round trip to India
• Housing: rent $70 monthly + furnishing & amenities =$1,800  total
• Transportation $150 weekly
• Bible workers (6) $350 monthly
• Health Screening supplies & equipment for 3 villages $700
• Evangelistic meeting $700 times 5 villages
• Micro loan (goal to loan 10 women $ 100 each to start small businesses to generate income)
• Lay Pastor training $500
•  2^nd annual Christmas project (clothes for widows, orphans & impoverished children) $800

May God bless and keep you in His care, until then. Maranatha.

The Simpson Family

301-693-1562

It has been a few Months since we have communicated by way of a blog and I felt as though we were past due. We have now been back home in the U.S.  3 Months,  after a  6 Months tour of duty as foreign Missionaries to the Country of India.

First of all we want to say a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all of our friends and supporters of our Ministry. We know for absolute certain that the work which we did in India was a great success because of your faithful prayers on our behalf and the generous support of many who are reading this blog today. Our Family stands forever grateful to you and we know that God will richly reward you on that great day.

Making the decision to go and serve in India as Missionaries was the most difficult decision that our Family has ever had to make. We discovered that it takes a tremendous amount of courage, faith and determination for one to embark on the journey as a full-time Missionary. We learned from experience  that it is not easy to break away from one’s  ‘normal ‘, daily , predictable life and set out on a course toward self-supporting labor in order to spread the Gospel. There is that ever resounding ‘what if ‘that always seeks to hound us every  day and at every advance step.

What if we fail? What if we fall flat on our faces?  What if we don’t stay afloat financially?   What if all of our struggling and sacrificing is in vain? What if we return to India and we get terribly sick or even die due to the environmental conditions there?  These and many other what if’s are a regular part of everyday life. The book Patriarch’s and Prophet however, has given us some sound counsel that has helped to guide us on this journey. It says “ Often the Christian life is beset by dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before and bondage or death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly, “Go forward.” We should obey this command, even though our eyes cannot penetrate the darkness, and we feel the cold waves about our feet. The obstacles that hinder our progress will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit. Those who defer obedience till every shadow of uncertainty disappears and there remains no risk of failure or defeat, will never obey at all. Unbelief whispers, “Let us wait till the obstructions are removed, and we can see our way clearly;” but faith courageously urges an advance, hoping all things, believing all things.”{PP 290.2} .

Beyond all of the challenges and hardships that we have faced over the past year, we the Simpson Family have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt  that God is faithful. And because God is faithful we can go out on the limb for him at any time. And so with that foundation being laid have decided after prayer and serious consideration to return for a second Missionary tour to the Country of India in July 2011.

We plan to return to the Villapuram Region in the State of Tamil Nadu India to continue our work there as Missionary Evangelists. Our initial visit last year yielded much fruit to the glory of God even though it was only our first visit to this Region. We were able to evangelize many unreached Villages and spread the Everlasting Gospel Message there.  We were also able to secure land for a group of persecuted believers, this property is still being finalized and plans are currently under way to construct a Church building for this Village.  We were also able to provide employment for 4 native bible workers who will be working with us to do ground work and follow-up work in our new areas of outreach.  As a result of our family’s humble efforts in helping to open this new Region, the Southern Indian Union has plans to plant several Churches in the  Villapuram Region  over the next  5 years, all to which we can only say praise be to God.

Our plans this time are to visit the local Villages where we have already conducted  Evangelistic meetings as well as to start  new congregations in un entered Villages. We also hope  to conduct nightly health meetings and provide free high blood pressure and diabetes testing for local Villagers throughout the region.

We want to solicit your earnest prayers for our family as we make preparations for a second Mission trip. We know that there will inevitably be challenges to meet in India, the last time we  worked in India we suffered through several bouts of Dysentery, internal parasites and various other ailments and afflictions. Yet, nevertheless we feel compelled to again advance in faith as we hear the Macedonian cry “come over and help us” sounding from this distant heathen land. As we see all of the unfolding of events taking place in the relentless tornadoes that are now battering our land. As we see the tumults and uprisings of Nation against Nation we know that our Earth’s history will soon close and that we must work while the day lasts for the night cometh when no man can work.

May God bless you as we  work together to hasten our Lord’s coming, Maranatha.

All Previous Articles and Pictures  Can Be Viewed Here: http://3goingforward.wordpress.com/

It has been a few Months since we have communicated by way of a blog and I felt as though we were past due. We have now been back home in the U.S.  3 Months,  after a  6 Months tour of duty as  Missionaries to the Country of India.

First of all we want to say a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all of our friends and supporters of our Ministry. We know for absolute certain that the work which we did in India was a great success because of your faithful prayers on our behalf and the generous support of many who are reading this blog today. Our Family stands forever grateful to you and we know that God will richly reward you on that great day.

Making the decision to go and serve in India as Missionaries was the most difficult decision that our Family has ever had to make. We discovered that it takes a tremendous amount of courage, faith and determination for one to embark on the journey as a full-time Missionary. We learned through experience that it is not easy to break away from one’s  ‘normal ‘, daily , predictable life and set out on a course toward self-supporting labor in order to spread the Gospel. There is that ever resounding ‘what if ‘that always seeks to hound us every  day and at every advance step.

What if we fail? What if we fall flat on our faces?  What if we don’t stay afloat financially?   What if all of our struggle and sacrificing is in vain? What if we return to India and we get terribly sick or even die due to some of  the difficult conditions there?  These and many other what if’s are a regular part of everyday life. The book Patriarch’s and Prophet however, has given us some sound counsel that has helped to guide us on this journey. It says “ Often the Christian life is beset by dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before and bondage or death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly, “Go forward.” We should obey this command, even though our eyes cannot penetrate the darkness, and we feel the cold waves about our feet. The obstacles that hinder our progress will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit. Those who defer obedience till every shadow of uncertainty disappears and there remains no risk of failure or defeat, will never obey at all. Unbelief whispers, “Let us wait till the obstructions are removed, and we can see our way clearly;” but faith courageously urges an advance, hoping all things, believing all things.”{Patriarchs  And Prophets pg. 290.2} .

Beyond all of the challenges and hardships that we have faced over the past year, we the Simpson Family have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt  that God is faithful. And because God is faithful we can go out on the limb for him at any time. And so with that foundation being laid have decided after prayer and serious consideration to return for a second Missionary tour to the Country of India in July 2011.

We plan to return to the Villapuram Region in the State of Tamil Nadu India to continue our work there as Missionary Evangelists. Our initial visit last year yielded much fruit to the glory of God even though it was only our first visit to the Region. We were able to evangelize many unreached Villages and spread the Everlasting Gospel Message there.  We were also able to secure land for a group of persecuted believers, this property is still being finalized and plans are currently under way to construct a Church building for this Village.  We were also able to provide employment for 4 native bible workers who will be working with us to do ground work and follow-up work in our new areas of outreach.  As a result of our family’s humble efforts in helping to open this new Region, the Southern Indian Union has plans to plant several Churches in the  Villapuram Region  over the next  5 years, all to which we can only say praise be to God.

Our plan this time is to  visit the local Villages where we have already conducted meetings as well as to start  new congregations in un entered Villages through nightly preaching and evangelistic Campaigns. We also hope to conduct nightly health meetings and provide  free high blood pressure and diabetes testing for local Villagers throughout the region.

We want to solicit your earnest prayers for our family as we make preparations for a second Mission trip. We know that there will inevitably be challenges to meet in India, the last time we went we suffered through several bouts of Dysentery, internal parasites and various other ailments and afflictions. Yet, nevertheless we feel compelled to again advance in faith as we hear the Macedonian cry “come over and help us” sounding from this distant heathen land. As we see all of the unfolding of events taking place in the relentless tornadoes that are now battering our land. As we see the tumults and uprisings of Nation against Nation we know that our Earth’s history will soon close and that we must work while the day lasts for the night cometh when no man can work.

May God bless you as we all work together to hasten our Lord’s  coming, Maranatha.

All previous blogs: http://3goingforward.wordpress.com/

Accomplishing the Impossible

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Greetings to you, friends and Family. We wish you Gods grace and peace and His richest blessings upon you this day. We give all honor and praise and glory to the Creator and sustainer of all mankind. Even as we labor in these final hours of Earth’s History our prayer for you as well as our selves is that we be found as faithful witnesses for Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

It has been sometime since we have posted a blog due to our very busy and hectic daily schedule and our constant travelling these last 6 weeks.

Since our last post we had the privilege to visit a place called Temple city which is located in a city called Madurai. We were told that Temple City is to the South of India what the Taj Mahal is to the North and so we were happy when our friends Joel and Sucilla Israel  organized a 2 hour tour for us to this place. As soon as we entered the vicinity of Temple City we were astounded at the great mountains of idols, each containing the images of more than 30,000 Hindu gods. These mountains of Idols were erected there hundreds of years ago to honor the millions of different gods here in the Country of India. This amazing City dates back as early as 650B.C. and we even saw 2 Temples there whose tops were made of real gold. We learned that the Temples themselves took a few hundred years to construct and more that 60 kings gave treasure and skilled workmen to the construction efforts. These Kings though contemparies of each other were in solidarity and oneness in their cause to create a City that would give praise to Hinduism forever.

We spent a few hours there and took pictures of many different and fascinating Architecture and well as art work. But we must say without question the most fascinating part of our trip there was that we were able to see paganism first hand and ancient Babylonian worship for which God overthrew and destroyed many cities in Biblical times. We saw the people offering sacrifices to molten calves, and hideous gods of all shapes and descriptions. We saw people doing penance for their sins and we also saw the places where people would bring pounds and pounds of gold to offer to these gods as sacrifice. We were exposed to all the allurements and entrapments and we were able to see firsthand  the enticements and seduction of this false religion, that Satan has used as a stronghold in this Nation of over 1 billion people. We saw the long lines of worshippers, many of whom pilgrimaged hundreds of miles to come and attend worship. We also saw  the sincerity, the dedication and the tears of a people searching, a people who were pouring out there tears and treasure to idols of wood and stone who cannot hear or answer them. I left Temple City with a firmer resolve and dedication to expand the name of Christ in this land where the Gospel message has hardly begun.

The title of this Month’s blog is “accomplishing the impossible,” I know that to some it may seem quite a provocative sounding title. But if we were to be honest with you, our arriving and thriving in India these many months have been to us just that. This Mission trip was birthed through much prayer and study of God’s word. We knew for sure without the shadow of a doubt that God was the one who had inspired us to come to this distant land as Missionaries. Yet surprisingly, many of the financial pieces were not in place at the time for us to undertake this great journey. God wanted this Family to learn experientially what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. God helped us tremendously to get things in order at home and helped us to get out of debt before our trip. But few of our friends and Family knew that we came to India with our airline ticket in hand and only enough money to take care of our Family for 1 Month. We had read and believed all of god’s promises in the bible and the Spirit of Prophesy and so we came to this Ancient and distant land of India many thousands of miles from home to spread the Gospel. Knowing only 1 person in this Country of over 1.3 billion people the Simpson family arrived in India on September 25, 2010 to do God’s Mission. I remembered how we were down to our last $100 shortly after we began our work and how after it was almost spent God blessed and provided for us.  We want to submit to you today friends and Family that our God is faithful, and that He will never fail those who put their trust in Him. Many of you have submitted to God’s leading and have made yourselves instruments in God’s hand to aid us in our Mission project here. We want you to know for absolute certain that you have given and invested in the greatest of causes, even the cause of the Gospel.  We want to extend our sincerest most heartfelt thanks to you for helping us to build up the infant Churches in India. We know that only on that great day of the final Harvest will we see the fruits of our labors.  We have been self supporting Missionaries for the past 6 Months  yet  we have not made any personal appeals for financial help as God has more that met our greatest expectation of Him.

Upon arriving and acquainting ourselves  with the Villupuram Region we quickly realized that they were in great need of  committed souls to provide the following:  lay pastoral training, help in strengthening their small congregations,  dedicated individuals to conduct home visits of MANY people who have been discouraged and left the church,  training  the members on the fundamental beliefs, offer relief aid to many who’s homes and churches were destroyed by monsoon rains and electrical fires and over all encouragement and love.

This task seemed overwhelming at first but by God’s grace we constructed a plan to visit every small church and company in the Villupuram region and to conduct a one week Evangelism meeting in ten of those villages.  The devil tried to discourage us from every side with lack of help and funds, help and transportation in the beginning. But as we pressed forward by faith the Lord provided the funds and the help for us to be able to accomplish everything that we set out to do.  I would be lying if I did not tell you that it was the biggest challenge of our lives.  We all fell very ill often and had to learn to live in not so ideal living conditions, but God aided us daily to reach our goal.  It was such a great feeling that in spite our sufferings, whenever we walked into any village in the Villupuram Region most of the villagers would be come running toward our directions and they would know exactly who we were.  It didn’t matter so much if they knew all our names but that they knew that we were Christians and that we came to spread the love of Jesus Christ.  Even if they did not attend our meetings or come forward for prayer they knew that we were there and that we were not some typical tourist (foreigners) who came to India for a holiday.  They knew that we would extend our hands to greet them and that we would hold their babies and hug them.  They knew that we would listen to their problems and offer aid to those who we could.

We had a final meeting last week Sunday for all the villages that we entered.  It was so touching to see and hear so many people testify of God’s goodness and to hear their appreciation for our service in their villages.  It was touching to hear the testimonies of those who were grateful to God for leading us here, grateful to those who financially supported us and grateful to our family for dedicating the past six months of our lives to their villages and Region.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to those who responded to the call and rallied to our aid for the land purchasing project in the Meyyur Village. You will be happy to know that that Pastor Johnson from Chennai has also rallied to our aid and is going to help us purchase the land in April. He is also formulating plans to build a Church for these our persecuted Brothers and Sisters who have no house of worship.

We will be returning to the U.S this week.   By Government mandate all foreigners with visas have a maximum of 6 Month to reside in India after which they must vacate the Country. So we must make our exit in the next few days in order to be in respect and full compliance with the Government. Our Mission trip to India has not ended, but has just begun. We will take the next few months to work, plan and pray as we try to organize a return to India by August for another Missionary tour of several Months. We thank you again for your prayers and support to the work here in God’s Vineyard, from the Simpson family stationed in South India may God bless you, Maranatha.

This past Christmas Season was the first that our Family spent away from home in the US. I must admit that it was quite different for us to spend the Christmas Holidays in a Hindu Country where the majority of people are not Christians and hence the Holiday did not have much significance to them .

We on the other hand embarked upon a Christmas project to provide clothes to some of the most needy children here in the Villupurum region where we are stationed.  Truly we thought, what better way to spend the Christmas holiday than to spend it giving to others. In the US we often times look forward to receiving gifts, but what better way to truly spend the Holiday than to give to others who can give you nothing in return. This gift giving idea was originally  the brainchild of Sister Felicia Chelliah of the Seabrook SDA Church. Sister Felicia came to India last November and visited us in Villupurum for a short time where she received a first hand opportunity to see some of the need that exists in this Region and thus this project idea was born. In the US we have to search to find needy Children at Christmas time to give gifts to, but in this part of  India that is not the case at all . In fact things are quite the opposite, in every Village that we go to it seems that there are only needy children. We decided then to identify 100 of the most needy Children from the all the Villages that we have visited so far and provide them with Christmas gifts.

We prayed to God to send supporters for this project because even though we were sure that this was a good idea we knew that it would also be a costly one. We made an appeal on one of our blogs and several people responded to the call. Sister Felicia Chelliah also worked tirelessly to raise much of the needed funds by appealing to many of the Sabbath schools at the Seabrook SDA Church on our behalf.  Because of your support we were able to purchase clothes for 130 Children plus several widows.  From the bottom of our hearts we are truly grateful and thankful to all who supported the Christmas project and allowed themselves to be instruments in the hand of the Lord to minister to many who are in great need here in India.

The day for the Christmas project finally came, the distribution program was held at a nearby SDA School on Christmas Day. I am usually not emotional person in public but I remember distinctly as I approached the School room where the program was to be held and saw  over 100 Children, many of them with their parents singing Tamil songs and  awaiting our arrival.   I was almost overcome with emotion. I knew that for many,  their parents were daily wage workers making only $3 per day and that this was the only gift that many would receive for the Holiday Season and for some this was the only gift for the Year.  I was just thankful to God that we were obedient to His voice and that we came to this Country in faith and obeyed his voice and were able to make so many people happy.

As we mentioned the Christmas Season was a particularly busy time for us because while we were planning the Christmas program we were also conducting some meetings in a Village called Edethu Portan Colony.

Of all the Villages that we have worked  in this Region,  this was the poorest one.  The name in Tamil actually means to take and throw away, this Village is totally isolated from any other Villages,  business or shops, also there are no government or any other buses that run close to this Village. The members all have to walk many miles to town to even get essential supplies. There are no buses to even carry the Children to School and so even they too have to walk  rain or shine . Many of these people don’t even own a bicycle and so if there is any emergency it is next to impossible to get to Town for help. On the first night of our Meeting we were lost and so we sought to get directions to this village but many in the main Town had never even heard of this Village or could even tell us how to get there. Finally we received directions and made it to our destination after travelling many minutes down long winding bumpy roads with swamps and rice fields and thick vegetation on both sides of us. It honestly seemed to me that this  Village was thrown away. The members of this Village are considered a Dalit Colony and are considered India’s lowest caste. Their ancestors were once considered by the Indian society to be untouchable and so the Colony was established far away from any  Village or business so that no one would be contaminated by them.

The people were very happy to see us as no foreigners had been to this Colony  prior to our arrival. The Ancestors of these people were  relegated to doing the lowest most menial jobs in the Indian society. These people were assigned this small Colony to live in and many had been there for generations as the bottom of Indian Society and these were their descendants, still living in exile on this Colony.

We found the people to be very warm, friendly and very receptive to our nightly messages most of them were overwhelmed with gratitude that foreigners, of all people had come to see them. After seeing the conditions here in EP Colony we decided that since these people were considered to be the lowest of the low, that we would do our best for them and be as Christ who came to minister to the needs of even the very lowest among us. At the close of our Meeting we ordered food from a local Restaurant as a treat for all the people of this Colony and Noah donated many of his Hot wheels matchbox cars to all the young boys , as well as we provided hair accessories and books to many of the girls in EP Colony.  The people were visibly pleased with the time that we spent with them and the Children asked us to promise them that we would not forget about them as everyone else had.  We assured them that we would always remember them and most importantly God will never forget them.

We again want to thank everyone for their support of our work here in India, especially we are grateful to all who gave their support to the land purchasing project for our Brothers and Sisters in the Village of Meyur. We have not yet met our goal  for this project but we are confident in God’s ability to provide so please pray for us as we seek to do our part to hasten His coming.

To God be the glory great things he hath done. We are moving into the 4^th Month of our Missionary journey here in the Country of India, and we can honestly say that God has been tremendously good to us. He has more than fulfilled even our highest expectations of Him. Truly the mercy of God has been before, and behind and beside us every step of way on this Missionary journey. We are forever indebted to you, our  friends and family who have continually kept us in prayer these few months. We know for absolute certainty that these prayers on our behalf have sustained and kept us amidst many dangers seen and unseen, and amidst many trials, and hazards that come with Missionary service.

This week’s blog is about a Village on the outskirts on the Villupuram Region named Meyyur. We were very enthusiastic about doing Ministry in this particular Village for a number of reasons but primarily because this Village is pastored by the only Woman Pastor in the entire Region. This Sister in my opinion is one of the most committed and diligent workers here in the Region. She is the lay pastor for 3 Churches and she nurtures many families in different Villages, and she is also a literacy teacher who conducts 5 different literacy Meetings per week where she teaches many Village Women to read.

Our 1^st nights meeting was an interesting one. We arrived at the Village after 1 1/2 hours of travelling down bumpy and severely damaged roads that had taken  tremendous beatings during the annual Monsoon rains. We also discovered that the only path to our Meeting site was through several inches of very slippery mud. Marion and Noah feared the worst as they both were wearing opened toe shoes. We also noticed an especially pungent smell surrounding us, this smell we were no stranger to as we have encountered it many, many times during our Missionary journey here in India, the smell was human excrement. What was particularly disturbing though was that at the entrance to the Village, every few steps that we took there were piles and piles of human waste on both sides of the road and when the sun was at it’s pinnacle the smell was immense.

Nevertheless we proceeded to our meeting site where we encountered a large and vibrant group of Seventh Day Adventists who were singing songs as they awaited our arrival. These believers also have no Church building and so they decided to set up Church outside. We began our 1^st night’s meeting outside, the woman pastor (Sister Daniel) told me that they were eagerly looking forward to our meeting and that they had especially prayed to God that it would not rain during our meetings as the Monsoon rains were still pouring nightly. Believe it or not, God worked miraculously for us because it did not rain one drop during our nightly Meetings. This was the 1^st week that we had conducted meetings in all the Villupurum region that it did not rain during our nightly meeting, praise God.

On the first night I began to preach, about 15 minutes into my presentation I realized that someone in the adjacent street had mounted some speakers and was gradually increasing the music Volume. The music volume was increased to the point that hardly anyone could hear either myself or my translator as we were preaching the nightly message. The disturbance had come from some Hindus who were  not pleased that we were having our meeting and wanted to make sure that no one heard the presentation. I had a strange feeling from that nights exhibition that this was only a harbinger of bad things to come, and unfortunately I was right.

The following night we received several prayer requests from people who were complaining to us that even at their homes, they were being harassed by local Hindu radicals. In this outer region of Tamil Nadu many of our Adventist Brothers and Sisters are experiencing real religious persecution. In some Villages if people convert to Christianity, they are completely ostracized. They are treated as the lepers were treated in biblical times. They have to vacate their homes and move to the outskirts of the Village, where they can no longer use the one water pump that comes into the Village. There are no Police Stations or Fire Stations remotely close to any of the Villages that we have been to so far. And so fellow Villagers are most people’s only source of security and protection, but not if you have converted to Christianity.  Here in India many people still pay a tremendous price for their faith.

On the 4^th night of our meeting we were preaching on the state of the dead.  As I was preaching from Ecclesiastes 9:5 I noticed a  disturbance ahead, and as I looked carefully an Army of about 100 Hindu men began to briskly walk towards our group meeting. As soon as I saw them I knew that we had a big problem on our hands. There is a really sick feeling that comes over a person’s body when you are faced with confrontation and you are greatly out numbered. The young Pastor who was our translator was a young man 32 years of age named Circunam Silverage, this young man told me “ boss don’t worry I will take care of them” he then proceeded to skillfully handle these men. These Hindu radicals most of whom were in their 20’s  staunchly demanded that we stop our meeting. They wanted to know why we were converting the people.  Every Hindu that night had a different contention with our small group. Marion and Noah were hastily escorted into a nearby house for protection from this group of very angry men that descended upon us.  Marion immediately  began to pray with the Lay Pastor Sis Daniel and she broke down in tears.  She was so heartbroken and told Marion that this happens all the time.  The Hindus taunt them and say “ where is your God ?” “where is your temple? ” because they do not have a church building to worship in and are forced to congregate outside.   I was told by these men that I had no business in what was taking place and that I was a foreigner and I should pack up and leave immediately. Our Adventist group was composed of only 8 or 9 men including myself, most of these few men were very afraid and intimidated except our translating pastor Silverage. If I were to leave this young pastor with these 100 Hindu men what would become of him? I whispered a prayer and decided that I would stand by this young Pastor’s side come what may, even though these men demanded that I leave the scene, I felt that I could not leave him by himself in this terrible hour. God gave Pastor Silverage great tact and wisdom in that crisis hour, he was firm enough with the men to let them know that he was unafraid yet respectful enough to not  use any harsh or provacatory words. He began to reason with them as they all leveled their different charges against the Adventists. Some were angry with our people because they refuse to pay the local taxes to maintain the Temples, some were angry because of a local graveyard issue, etc. Yet this 32-year-old Pastor stood as firm as a rock in the midst of a tempestuous sea of angry voices. After 30-45 minutes of talking to the leaders of these men he was able to disarm them, and we all escaped without blood shed or loss of life. I truly thank God that those who were with us were more than those who were with them, and that the Angels of The Lord encamp round about those who fear Him and they are ready to deliver.

These types of occurrences are daily experiences for our Adventist brethren here in India, and now we can say that we too have seen firsthand some of the religious persecution that takes palace daily in this vast nation.

From my study of History I know that tragedies and even atrocities continue to happen in our World because good people and even well-meaning people stand aside and do nothing to stop it.

The people in this Village of Meyyur are facing hardships and persecution as many people only read in a Magazine or see on Television. They are suffering in silence and we feel an obligation to be a voice for them. We have devised a plan that could put a stop to much of the hardships that they are enduring here in India. If these people have their own Church building they will protected by law from disturbances to their religious assemblies by these Hindu groups and others. We are not in a position at present to build them a Church building due to our present financial condition as that would be an immediate solution, but we have been in negotiation with some friends who work for Maranatha and if we can just purchase a plot of land for them, then they could be placed on the list to receive  a Church by Maranatha. The cost of this plot of land as we have investigated will cost  $2000 US. So we are making this appeal on behalf of our brothers and Sisters here in the Country of India, to any who can help this most worthy of causes. If you are able to support you can feel free to make a secure donation to our blog at: http://3goingforward.wordpress.com/ just click on the donate button and all proceeds will go towards this building  project.

As you are a recipient of our  blog we would love to hear from you. We send our blogs to friends all over the World but rarely do we get responses to our different posts, so if you are receiving this blog and if they have been a blessing or encouragement to you please drop us a line as we would really be blessed to hear from you. May God continue to richly bless you as we work towards finishing the work that he has given us to do. Gavin, Marion and Noah Simpson.

Hello Family, greetings to you  it has been a few weeks since our last blog but that has been because we have been extremely busy here in the Vineyard. By God’s help we are now in the Evangelistic phase of our Mission trip. It has taken us 2 months to visit most of the Villupurum district Churches, meet with and organize the Pastors and Lay Pastors  and seek to lay a foundation to begin .

Things here are quite different from what one might expect as far as Evangelism goes. There are no bible workers here to prepare the way for us, there are only a few lay Pastors who are dispersed over a vast territory here in Villupurum, So we have had to do the bible work and outreach work to get to this point. But we thank and praise God that in spite of sicknesses, discouragements, inconveniences, heat, mosquitoes, monsoon rains and many other trials God has kept us and we are moving steadily forward with an even firmer and stronger determination to complete our Mission here in India.

Some of the pictures that you will see in this week’s blog came from a Village here in the Villupurum called Malhavaranallur. I know it is a really long word but the local people say it here with no problem.   It took me about 1 week  to  learn to say it correctly.

Whenever a person hears the word Village one normally thinks of a small community in a rural district. Well Malhavaranallur is very very rural Village, but it is a far way from small. I can honestly say that I have never seen so many Children in one place in my life. It seemed that everywhere you looked every step you took there were children all around you. I was usually busy taking care of the electrical equipment and setting up, but Marion was always surrounded by a large number of Women and Children. As you can probably imagine, people in these very rural places have never seen anyone of her race and so it was truly a moment of awe and amazement for them. I felt sorry for her at times as she could not walk without people (adults and children) staring and many touching her from every angle. One lady even wanted to give her a baby girl as a gift, to which she graciously said no thanks. Another wanted her to allow Noah to marry one of her daughters when he got older. On the 1^st night of our meeting we counted almost 200 people  who were in attendance. These very poor people in this Village have no Church building and so we were forced to worship outside as it was the only place that could accommodate all the people who showed up. But being outside meant that we had to contend with the rains which interrupted our meeting several times of our week long Campaign. Nevertheless in spite of the rains and constant electrical problems we finished our Meetings with several souls committed for baptism.

The next Village that we visited was a Village named Periya Sevalai. This Village has an actual Seventh Day Adventist Church which was a blessing as we did not have to deal with trying to conduct a meeting outside with a Laptop and Projector and running from the rains.

The Pastor of this Church is a man by the name of Ahab Daniel. This man’s son is a one of the Pastors of the Southern Asia SDA Church in the Washington DC area.  We received a very warm welcome from Pastor Daniel’s Church family in Periya Sevalai . There were church members who had many struggles and trials but their faith in God was truly remarkable.  There was one young Brother who is the son of the 1^st Elder.  This brother has been suffering with brain tumors since he was a very young boy.  He’s had so many surgeries that we can’t even number them but still this brother Pastor’s one of the local churches in his area on a volunteer basis.  He is very sick and is awaiting surgery but he still came out to the meetings and was enthusiastic to be involved.  There was another Sister who came to the last meeting after she attempted suicide by jumping in front of a bus.  One of the locals brought her to Pastor Daniels church because his church is known to help many in the village.  I (Marion) prayed with this sister and asked her why did she attempt to commit suicide?  She told me part of her life story.  She said that she got married in 1994 and her husband started physically abusing her shortly after they were married.  I asked her if she could stay with some family and friends to get away from the abuse but she was very reluctant because she has four children.  My heart was touched with sympathy for her and her situation and I even told her that my Mother was physically abused by my father when I was very little.  I wanted her to know that it was not her fault and that others have experienced the same abuse but by God’s grace they were able to escape.  These are just a few of the stories that we hear on a daily basis when we go village by village here in Villupuram.  The Lord is giving us strength and wisdom to reach out to many people who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the marvelous power of his love.

As you can imagine there are many calls to us for help from every side. Most of our expense here besides our transportation is what we give away as donations to people. The needs that we encounter on a daily basis are beyond the power of words to describe. We know that we cannot meet every need but by God’s grace we assist who we can.  There are many, many children in these Villages both boys and girls that just walk around completely naked as many of them have no clothes.

We are embarking upon a project on this Christmas Season to provide as many Children as we can with clothes.  We are in need of $10 donations per child so that we can provide clothes to some of the Children in this Villupurum Region, many of whom  are  in desparate conditions and suffering terribly. If you are impressed to support at least one child in India this Christmas season you can make a secure donation at our blog: http://3goingforward.wordpress.com/ just click on the donation button. Please continue to pray for us as we labor to finish God’s work here in India. Sincerely, The Simpson Family.

The pictures from this week’s blog are mostly from a small Village here in the Vulupurrum region named Alagrammam. This Village is a very rural and difficult to reach place, but by God’s grace we were able to conduct a week long series of meetings here. It is now rainy season here, and so it rains just about every day. We had to travel 1^st by bus from our residence and then by a three wheel auto into this remote Village. We had to contend with the rains and even thick mud in some places every night, a few nights we even had some downpours  in the middle of our presentation. As these Villagers don’t have a Church we had to go to the Pastor’s house to continue the Meetings. In spite of some obstacles we were still   able to share with a group of mostly young people some critical bible truths for this time.

The Alagrannam Village is a place with many problems. Alcoholism is a very,very serious problem here, it is almost like an epidemic in this Village and in many surrounding Villages. It’s only comparison that I can think of  is the crack epidemic of the early 80’s in the US. The Alcohol that is used here is a home made concoction that is unfiltered and mixed with a certain kind of acid. This produces an intense high, but also gives instant concussion to many of its victims. Many men here even in their thirties die from heart attack caused by this drug. Many women and Children here suffer daily physical abuse because of husbands who use this form of alcohol.  One night after the meetings we even saw a man who was half exposed, laying in the mud and water, passed out but still clutching a bag of this poison in one hand. If it was darker our vehicle could have easily ran him over as he was in this condition the middle of the road.

There is a picture in this week’s blog with myself and a little girl by the name of Sanguita, her story is indeed a touching one. We arrived one night and someone told me that this girl’s Mother had died just 6 months prior to our arrival. She has a Father but he does not want to provide for or take care of Sanguita   or her brother, and so he has given them to the Uncle to take care of. I went to visit the house where the children live which was only a small,  cramped thatched roof hut.  The uncle is not happy to keep the children as he himself is struggling terribly and they are just an additional burden to him. Sanguita and her brother are quite emaciated and you can actually feel the brother’s  bones through  his  clothes. I can honestly say that I have never seen children living in such destitute conditions.  They have  become incredibly attached to Marion and myself, especially Sanguita.  I can remember as she held my hand tightly one night even as I entered the vehicle that was to take me home, she ran and followed the vehicle because she did not want to let me go. No one shows them hardly and love, attention or care so we have been trying to assist them occasionally  with supplies of food. We want to request your prayers for these children as they are living in a terrible condition. We have friends that have an Orphanage that are willing to accept the Children and provide them with food and clothes and shelter, but we have been told by others that the Father will not let them go. He does not want the Children, cannot and does not provide for the Children but will not let them go to a place where they  can get some help. So please keep them in your prayers as we are going to meet with the father and Uncle in a few days.

The pastor of the Alagrannam Village is Pastor Sambath. He is a very strong and dedicated man of God who has kept this Village Church in his home for the past 15 years. This man is also an ex-offender who was incarcerated for  15 years but he  discovered the love of Christ, left Hinduism and has been a Christian ever since that time. Most of the members of his church are young people, many of the  village adults are Hindus but they will allow the Children to go to the Village Adventist Church for worship because of their respect for Pastor Sambath.

Noah has been having a great time here with the Children and he has made many, many friends since arriving here in India. The Children in Alagrannam  waited nightly  by the Village road that leads to the Pastor’s house and as soon as our Vehicle began to approach you could hear the shout Noah, Noah, Noah and all the Children flock to him at one time. One night in the Meeting I was preaching on a very important topic, Noah decided to go to the bathroom and all of a sudden half of my congregation followed after him to the restroom so we had to get the local Pastor to bring them back so that I could finish the Meeting. Noah is especially endeared to the boys of this Village because he brought all of his matchbox toy cars with him from the US and gave all of the boys in the Village one as a special gift.

Sister Felicia Chelliah from the Seabrook Church in Maryland came and spent a week with us here in Vulupurrum. It was so very good to see a familiar face all the way on the other side of the World. We spent the week in Ministry at the Village as well as helping in the Vulupurrum district annual revival. We all were speakers at the Revival Meeting, Marion and Felicia spoke and I gave 2 Messages on this grand occasion. It was truly a spirit filled day as we all sought by God’s power to inspire our brethren in the region to do their part to finish The Lord’s work and hasten his coming.

Please continue to pray for us as we are laboring in the master’s Vineyard in the fields of India. Please pray for  our health, safety and our courage as daily we press on to do the Master’s work. If God has impressed you to support our Church planting project here in Vulupurrum  India you can make a secure donation through the donation button at the home page of our blog at http://3goingforward.wordpress.com/ May God continuously bless you.

By the grace of God we have been laboring in the Villupuram district for one month.  We’ve visited several villages and have many stories to tell.  Some are absolutely amazing and some are deeply sad.  We have traveled to places so rural and have seen things that we’ve never seen before in our lives.   The warm welcome we have received here can never be replaced.  We are 10,000 miles away but feel a deep sense of love and adoration daily.  Every where we go we draw a crowd (especially Marion).  People want to know your name, where your from and mostly just want to touch you.

By the grace of God we have finished two weeks of prayer at the local SDA schools here in the Villupuram district.The children were extremely attentive and respectful.  Their enthusiasm to learn is second to none. It was truly a gift from God to share bible truths with over 800 young people.

We received many prayer request from the children for typhoid fever and chicken pox.  Many, many children and their families battle with disease on a daily basis, diseases and  virus seem to be rampant here in Tamilnadu especially because the sanitary and health conditions here is extremely, extremely poor.  We intend to give some seminars on health to assist who we can.  Our whole family unfortunately on the 1st day of the Week Of Prayer also contracted a terrible eye virus that lasted for 1 week. The only way to describe it is to say that it was like having the “pink eye” but on steroids. We used different natural remedies from the US  and also prescription eye drops but nothing came close to  stopping this virus. It caused our eyes to swell and become blood shot red as well as produce days of fever and constant headaches,  but we are happy to say that by the grace of God we are well now and that” troubles don’t last always”

The Work in the Villages here has been a tremendous blessing. The people everywhere welcome us like the Apostles of Old, they fall down and bow themselves  to our feet. Some even want to kiss our feet.  We have to constantly remind them that we are men just like them. Their faith in God is so strong  that it challenges us daily to a deeper spiritual walk with God. We have visited several Villages to do bible work and Family visitations and I can honestly say that the poverty that we  have seen is second to none. People live in thatch roof huts in many places and some Children don’t even have clothes. This has saddened us greatly as you can imagine but we are doing what we can to encourage and uplift our Brothers and Sisters here.

We have visited most of the churches in the Villupuram district along with local pastors,leaders and elders.  The leadership here is very small but extremely dedicated.  Please pray for us as we are conducting  our first evangelistic campaign tonight in a very small rural village.

Hello Family, we thank and praise God that after much planning and preparation, after a 10,000 mile jorney we have arrived safely in the country of India. It has been a very challenging task to just get here but 1Thessalonians 5:24 says: “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” True to his word God has brought us here.

We were originally scheduled to work in Chennai but by the divine providence of God we are in a very, very rural district called Villupurum which is 300 km South of Chennai. Our coordinator in Chennai is a man by the name of Pastor Swamindoss Johnson, upon our arrival here he told us about Pastor Raj whose district was in desparate need of Missionaries.He wanted us to come to his district as he has only seen 1 Missionary in the past 20 years. We were given some brief words of caution however as the region was extremely rural and our coordinator was not sure that we could handle the conditions.

The Lord impressed us that we should go by faith so we took the 3 hour bus ride from Chennai to Villupuram. We spent the next few days getting to know Pastor Raj (the pastor that is housing us). He told us that he was so discouraged because of the lack of evangelism that he was able to do in this city. There are hundreds of small villages that need to be visited and small churches that need to be maintained and encouraged and just not enough pastors and laymen to do this. He told us that the night before while he was in prayer the Lord spoke to him and said “All Your Sorrows will soon be over”. He didn’t know what this meant but the next day Pastor Johnson told him that the Missionaries from America(us) have arrived and were in Chennai. He told us that he had been praying for 10 years that missionaries would come and help Villupuram. As he told us this we felt unworthy and surely he was mistaken and waiting for someone else. By God’s grace we are laboring with all our might to build up the small churches here and labor for souls. Please keep us in your prayers.

We are packing and preparing to move our belongings down south this week. We depart for India next week Sept 23rd. We ask for your continued prayers as we travel and get set up in India. Please keep in touch via this website where you can leave comments, via Skype or e-mail. We are working on setting up a local phone number through Skype and will let everyone know when that is available. We will also post our address when we get set up in India.

We Love ALL of y’all