Dear Prayer Partner,
Greetings from Silchar, Assam. I reached home on August 7, 2009. I was supposed to arrive Silchar on August 6 but I missed my flight from Calcutta to Silchar and so arrived on 7th. The flight was at 5.40 AM on 6th and I missed it because I did not calculate the long serpentine line in the morning rush hour. As soon as I reached the counter, it announced closure over the PA system. They revalidated my ticket for next day flight.
So I shifted to the city and took accommodation at Baptist Guest House and stayed the day visiting Rachel (my daughter) in her Dorm and accomplished some other important works in Calcutta. Praise the Lord for ‘all things work together for good to them that love God’.
On August 8 (Saturday) I invited all the staff & faculty members of NEIBBC to my home for Thanksgiving Fellowship and showed them the pictures of my US Trip 2009 which I had made into a power-point presentation.
The pastor of Silchar Baptist Church saw me preaching at SW Calvary BC, Houston, TX in front of their church banner/theme ‘Loving God, Loving People’ in the power-point presentation and requested me to preach the same message at Silchar BC and so I did on August 9. Is it not amazing that one preaches in Houston, TX on August 2 and at Silchar, India the next Sunday?
On August 13th I had meeting with 12 leaders of ministries started through Baptist Mid-Missions in India since 1935. We are planning to celebrate 75 years of BMM ministry in India in November 2010 and I had called this meeting before I left for USA on June 16, 2009. The meeting was very fruitful in terms of fellowship and achievement and formed the necessary Sub-Committees for the Jubilee celebration. We meet next on February 24, 2010 to take stock of the activities of the sub-committees. Please be praying for this event.
The other interesting thing coming up the agenda is Children Camp (age 9-14) during September 29-October 3, 2009 at Grace High School premises (during school holiday). The camp was a regular event while our missionaries were in the field and was very effective but stopped after they left in early 1980s. I have had this burden in my heart for a long time. I happened to stay with Mark Davidhaiger & family at their Beechpoint Camp home in Allegan, MI in 2001 because my mobility was restricted due to the 9/11. Since then we have maintained our relationship and this time God is bringing it into fruition. I visited the camp on July 20 in this trip after my meeting at First BC, Allegan on July 19 and had lunch with Mark while the camp was in full swing. We talked and prayed about having camp in India and God is making it happen. Please pray for this event where we are expecting more than 50 children.
As Grace School ministry grows (600 students) the needs are also increasing. One of the most urgent needs is Drinking Water. The ponds at the school used to suffice the demand for water but not anymore. We need to drill deep-well, pump the water up, filter the water of excess iron and then reserve the water for consumption. The budget is for $5,000. In addition we have to keep in touch with the Public Health Engineering department. The project should start in October so that the water is supplied by Christmas. It is rainy season now but soon the rain will cease in October and the water scarcity will begin. Please pray for this project.
This is the season for government filings. The accounts were audited before I left for USA and is being filed at Home Ministry for the Foreign Currency we received and utilized during the year (April 1, 2008-March 31, 2009). The next is Annual Board Meeting in mid-September and then filing Income Tax returns. We are a charitable organization but every year we have to file our returns to maintain our status showing that our activities are in compliance with the Constitution. This is another area of prayer since it keeps me busy (seeing the lawyers/officials) till the end of October.
This year we have resumed Outreach program to the City using the NEIBBC students. For this we have printed 10,000 copies of the tract (So Great Salvation) in Bengali ($150) and formed groups to go out to different locations of the city on Fridays. We are planning a special Gospel Night on Dec 15, 2009 (before students return for Christmas vacation) where we will invite people whom we meet through this outreach program. Please pray for this program.
Sincerely in Christ
Ishak Ahmed