From the Monastery to the Mission Fields

FROM THE MONASTERY TO

Mission Fields

DR. C.V. VADAVANA

FORM THE MONASTERY TO

MISSION FIELDS (English)

Dr. C.V. Vadavana Copies : 3000 Copy right (C) 2005 First Print 2005

Our Aim

Second Print 2010 All rights reserved Published By Sathyam Ministries Thottabhagom P.O., Thiruvalla - 689 541, Kerala, India Tel/Fax : 0469 - 2619209, 2619005 Mobile : 9447126182 E-mail: satyam_india@yahoo.com www.sathyam.org U.S. Address Sathyam Ministries P.O. Box - 1088 La mirada CA - 90637 - 1088, USA Tel - 562 477 8372 ISBN: 81- 87357- 53-3 Layout & Cover : Computer Graphics, Kerala.

Printed at : Sathyam Press, Kerala, India

28 Years in Literature Ministry

SATHYAM MINITRIES

SOULS THROUGH GOD’S WORD

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IN THE MONASTERY “There is a moment in each day That Satan cannot find.�

William Blake

For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention .

(1 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

I was raised in an orthodox Roman Catholic family. My family was

very poor and we lived in a small village. We had no tiles or marbles on the floor, just cow dung which had been dried and spread on the floor to keep the surface cool. My father was a farmer. My mother had a strong and potent religious background. She was and continues to be very strict with church matters. She saw to it that I attended the holy mass every day. I was very hard working from my childhood. Helping the people in need was my passion and I always enjoyed serving people less fortunate than me. I was also an active member in all the youth movements.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields From my childhood, I spent much time in prayer and was very active at my church. Serving as an altar boy paved the way for my close association with other priests. It is no exaggeration to say that I grew up in the company of priests and they became my motivation and inspiration. Impressed by their simple ways of living, I desired to follow their example, and knew someday, I wanted to become a priest myself.

Even as a child, the poor and needy were very special to me. The conviction of my heart was to spend my life in the company of these people and endeavor to raise their quality of life. So, it was no surprise that, after completing my basic education, I joined the seminary. My parents had always wanted someone from the family to become a priest, and were thrilled with my decision to pursue the priesthood. Our village community

From The Monastery To Mission Fields was also pleased, and encouraged my decision. Thus, with the support of my family and friends, I was determined to become a monk and devote my life to serve the poor. Though my parents were not financially sound to send me to the seminary, my mother used to collect coins in a box and keep it under the firewood. Learning that these savings were insufficient, my father sold our cow, our primary source of income, to meet my expenses.

In 1980, after completing my studies at the monastery, I was ordained as a Franciscan monk. The day I was ordained, my parents and relatives cried tears of joy because they had been anticipating this day with so much excitement. Their son was now following in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi, bringing great honor to the family and village.

I felt it was a divine calling and commission from the Lord to communicate the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to the outcasts, poor and illiterate of the society by cleaning their wounds and providing them with kindness and comfort to the best of my ability. I was very content with my life as a monk, serving the poor and hungry. My parents and the village community were happy with me and took great pride in what I was doing with my life. Little did I know that a simple piece of literature, given to me by a shabby looking country preacher, was about to transform my life radically.

The extremely crowded bus I took to my parents’ home was full of people pushing, jostling and arguing for a seat. Children were crying and yelling at the top of their lungs, and vendors were desperately trying to sell their goods. Amid this chaos and heat, I was grateful to God for giving me a place to sit. As I sat in my seat, sympathizing with the

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields struggling street vendors, I noticed a slovenly dressed old man entering the bus. From a cloth bag hanging from his shoulder, he began to pass out papers to people. Some people accepted them, while others did not. As I saw him approaching me with one of these pieces of paper, I could see that he was contemplating on whether I would accept or reject him. I noticed that others were watching me when I took the paper that he gave me. While giving a quick glance through the paper, I realized that it was a gospel tract, and felt as if the questions that it contained were being hurled on my spirituality. So I folded the paper, thrust it into my pocket in order to give it a detailed study once I get back to the room. Little did I know that this single sheet of paper would soon be redirecting my life’s course forever.

As soon as I returned to my room, I took out the tract to read it carefully. As I began to read, I was fascinated with the content because

From The Monastery To Mission Fields to this little tract, no amount of sacrifice or work would ever earn me a place in heaven. This was greatly disturbing.

I tried to forget it, but every single question in that tract reverberated to the very foundation of my faith. I could not sleep nor could I concentrate on my work. I knew I could not continue with this struggle in my mind, so I approached my rector and told him how this tract was causing me such mayhem. My rector heard me, and comforted me saying that it was a passing phenomenon and I should not be troubled by it. It did bother me, however, and I started reading the Bible. The more I read, the more I was convinced of my sin and need for a Savior.

The battle within me was great; on one hand was the tradition and education I had embraced since my childhood; that my salvation is attained by good works. On the other hand, the ‘double-edged sword’ was piercing my heart and convicting me of my sin. So on that very day

the tract was saying something contrary to my belief. I read its content thoroughly several times. I personally felt that the questions it contained were real and were being pointed to my spiritual conscience. I heard a voice in me asking, “Do you really have Jesus in your heart?” Until that moment, never did I once doubt my salvation. To me, salvation was by works and nothing else would take me to heaven. Jesus was a good man, a great philosopher and thinker, who had immeasurable compassion on the poor and outcasts of society. His good works earned him heaven and many others followed his footsteps with the hope of entering heaven.

Saint Francis of Assisi was a follower of Jesus and now I too was following the steps of Saint Francis to gain heaven. However, according 8

C.V. Vadavana taking priestly oath during his ordination 9

From The Monastery To Mission Fields inside the monastery, I fell on my knees and confessed Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord.

My parents were devastated by my conversion to Jesus Christ. Their son, who once brought honor to the family, now brought disgrace. They became the laughing stock among relatives and friends. I can still picture my mother coming to the monastery, crying at the top of her voice and beating her chest for her son who brought disgrace upon them. The authorities in the monastery thought this was a passing phenomenon and that I would soon return to my normal routine. But I knew I could not stay in the monastery for long because my convictions had changed.

I would no longer do social work to gain salvation, but rather, it was an expression of my love for God, for giving His only son to die on the cross for me.

The catholic bishop who mentored C.V. and is still working with him 10

From The Monastery To Mission Fields Despite my newfound faith in Christ, I continued to stay in the monastery, but did not have peace of mind. Every day in the monastery had its own difficulties and challenges and I knew I could not continue as a hypocrite for long. Realizing my need to profess my faith publicly, I approached the rector and told him of my struggles since I had become a Christian. I told him of my desire to serve the Lord. My rector advised me to stay in the monastery and continue to do the work I was doing.

I thought many times that I should leave the monastery, but the monastic authorities encouraged me to stay back because they thought I would change my mind. They knew I had a compassionate heart towards the poor and the neglected in the society. My rector then told me that they had planned to start a program for the poor and wanted me to help them. I was ecstatic with the idea. India, with the second largest population in the world, is also one of the poorest. It is widely accepted that over six hundred million people live in exstreme poverty with three hundred million people living below the poverty line. Because serving the poor and needy was my passion, the plan to start this program excited me.

Now I could secretly continue to live as a Christian and at the same time fulfill the mission of serving the poor. This compromise gave me no peace of mind. Deep in my conscience I was being unceasingly convicted of my hypocrisy, so I wrote to the authorities about my newfound faith and sought permission to leave the monastery. Leaving the monastery was not easy because I had promised to keep my vow to poverty, chastity and obedience until my last breath. Now within only four years of taking that vow, I was in jeopardy of breaking it. My letter surely created chaos among the authorities, as they advised me and tried to 11

From The Monastery To Mission Fields explain the foolishness of my new convictions. They reminded me that I had taken the vow in the presence of God and men, and of the consequences involved in breaking it. They tried to persuade me to ‘come back to my senses’. By then, however, I was already determined to act on my decision to follow ‘The Way’.

Realizing that they could not turn me away from my faith, they gave me the letter of dispensation, releasing me from all the vows I had taken.

Although the future looked bleak and my days in the monastery were numbered, I decided to persevere and run the race. I focused on Jesus,

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields the pioneer and perfector of my faith. My decision to leave the monastery left me with only one mission in life; to preach the Good News to the poor. I had not been trained for this task, and did not know how to do it.

I had witnessed the poor being mistreated my whole life and I had compassion for them, but never really knew how to help them. Now, having met the Savior, I knew my mission would be to help the poor and the needy by introducing them to Jesus who had come to redeem them and set them free. Deep in my spirit, I envisioned reaching the neglected and downtrodden in society. The Bible verse that often came to my memory was “…He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind and set at liberty those who are oppressed.” (Luke 4:18).

I knew God had a definite plan for me. I knew He had called me out of the monastery to set me apart for His ministry. I knew God had called me to be a light for the voiceless, oppressed and neglected ones in society. God had given me a mission with a vision to reach out to those who are poor, oppressed, depressed, downtrodden and struggling.

I knew helping the poor would be my lifelong mission, but how to fulfill that mission haunted me.

Will people accept me and believe my message? Who would support me for my provisions? Where will I stay? How will my needs be met?

Even with these questions unanswered, I was firm in my resolve to leave the monastery and follow Christ.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields receiving my letter of dispensation, I was told to return the cassock. It was a Monday morning, and only while ironing the cassock in preparation for its return did the harsh reality dawn on me that I was no longer a part of the monastery.

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The monastery, which had been my home for nine years, was now foreign to me. Those dear brothers, who had studied with me and promised to stand by me through thick and thin,

LEAVING THE MONASTERY Come ill, come well, the cross, the crown The rainbow or the thunder, I fling my soul and body down For God to plough them under.

Robert Louis Stevenson.

With the vision to serve the poor, I was determined to commence

the very mission that had dishonored my family, brought disgrace upon my friends, humiliation to relatives and shame to my home church. One of my final steps before leaving the monastery was giving away the cassock –the symbol of authority, power and pride, which I had been given when taking the vow of celibacy, poverty and chastity. After

C.V. Vadavana being baptized as he is testifying the Lord

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields began to look down upon me as if I were a stranger. I was no longer accepted among them. My presence brought silence in the rooms; nobody wanted to talk to me or wanted to know of my newly found faith. It was as if I was an intruder, destroying the peace and harmony, which had been there since its formation. It was a frightening realization and I felt fear gripping every inch of me before feeling the tears starting to flow down my cheeks. I felt insecure about my life, my future and I was both confused and shattered. If only there was somebody to dry my tears; but I found no shoulder to lean on other than Jesus.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields had given me had come from the Sunday’s offering that contained one or two rupees. The dispensation that I received had a reason instilled in it – to go serve the lepers hospital. But the conflict inside me said that I have to continue my journey to proclaim the Truth which I accepted.

This was my turning point. Not knowing where to go, I set out from the monastery on 11 February 1985 with only an old rusted iron trunk filled with books on philosophy, and the money given by the superior priest.

I realized I could not stand and cry for long in the pretext of ironing the cassock. My fellow monks were watching me. I was quivering and felt as if my legs were too heavy to support me while my hands felt too weak to lift the iron box. I thought my knees were about to give out due to the intense physical weakness that I felt. Within a few hours, I would be leaving the monastery without the slightest idea where God was leading me. Where am I to go from the monastery? Who is going to meet my needs? Can I go back to my parents whom I have disgraced?

Returning home was not an option, for my parents did not have the slightest idea that I had abandoned the Catholic faith and was about to leave the monastery.

With no destination in mind, I stood at the bus station where buses would be going in all directions. I could hear the helper boys in every bus shouting the name of places the buses were destined. There was pushing and jostling everywhere. Everyone seemed busy and looked as if they had a purpose behind their journeys. I was in no hurry for I had no place to go. When I looked above, I could see the sky stretched out like a blue sheet above me, and when I looked below, I could see acres of land stretched before me with people hurrying in it to finish their task before dusk. I was overcome with emotion and before I knew it, I found myself sobbing. Soon I realized that people were watching me. Some college students were laughing at me. I felt as if the whole world was conspiring against me at every turn. But where could I possibly find solitude? I had nowhere to go.

Enduring great emotional struggles, I finished ironing the cassock and went to my rector to return the cassock. As I entered the room, I do not know if the expression on his face was one of sympathy or hatred towards me. After handing over the cassock, my superior priest gave me 153 Indian rupees (four U.S. dollars) and offered me a ride home, which I had politely refused. The bundle of 153 rupees that he

My only companion was the old rusted iron trunk, which silently stood beside me. I was afraid the bus station authorities would question me for loitering without riding a bus. Trying to hide from both the authorities and the scornful eyes of the people, I went to the corner of the bus stand and sat there. Still, the question in front of me was “Where shall I go?”

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields Sitting in the bus station discouraged and disappointed with no one nearby, I decided that I would follow Jesus whether my parents accepted me or not and complete the mission of reaching out to the poor to whom God had called me. In that dark hour, as I sat alone in a corner of the bus station, God began to speak to me and revealed that He is responsible for me if I preach His gospel. I just had to trust Him and depend on His grace. He told me that it was His responsibility to prepare for me a house to stay and that He would attend to all my needs. All I needed to do was to preach God’s gospel as Paul did. I did not know where exactly in the Bible Paul spoke of preaching God’s gospel, but what was vaguely impressed in my mind was that if we preach God’s gospel, God would take care of the rest. I later discovered that the Bible portion by which God dealt with me in my darkest hour was from II Thessalonians 2.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields her home. She accepted me gladly as her own son and took care of me. I knew I could not stay in their home for long doing nothing.

Uncertainty was written all over my future for I did not know how I could face the realities of life without any resources and any kind of support. I was afraid that I would become a burden to those around me, which was the last thing I ever wanted to be.

Paul often says in this chapter that it is God’s gospel and He is responsible. I had the assurance that what I was going to do was not my business but God’s. As God began to speak to me, great peace flooded my soul and I realized that God is responsible for me. I just needed to do his bidding and he will take care of me. Still, the daunting question lingered in me: where to go?

As I stood in the bus stand thinking where to go, I remembered an aunt of mine who had recently accepted the Lord. Immediately I took the bus going to her place and reached her home. She was surprised to see me with my trunk but gradually I told her the reason why I was at 18

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields his life to becoming a monk, defying the holy orders of the Catholic Church.

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CHALLENGES “The desire for God which cannot break the ties of the world is a mean thing.�

From relatives and friends she discovered where I was staying and came to meet me with the hopes that she would be able to convince me to go back to the monastery and repent for all the trouble that I had caused.

When she finally found and confronted me, she began to scream at the top of her lungs about how I had brought shame and the wrath of God on my family and me. She pleaded me to repent or else I would bring a curse upon everyone. According to her, I had taken the vow to remain faithful to God by leading a celibate life and serve him; breaking such a vow meant bringing the wrath of God on my entire family. Not only that, our family had become the laughing stock of the community.

My mother could not believe that I had done such a thing to them.

As a son, it was extremely difficult for me to see her cry and I personally knew the struggles she had endured just to send me to

E. M. Bounds

I stayed with my uncle and aunt during the period of my life when

I had no idea where my life would be leading me

In the mean time, my mother discovered that her son had left the monastery to follow his newfound faith. At first she could not believe what she heard and had to have the news verified by several sources before accepting it as being the truth. It was the last thing she expected from me - to leave the monastery.

She was astonished and became filled with both grief and shame for her son. She could not stand the thought of her son, who had dedicated

C.V. distributing tracts in Rajasthan, India

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields the monastery. I can still vividly remember when my mother realized the reality of my dedication to being a Catholic monk. On that day, she had brought in a piggybank filled with coins that she had been collecting and broke it open to help provide for my needs. When she realized the money in her piggybank was not enough to buy even the basic of necessities, she went to the extent of selling the calf to help me. It was because of her kind and generous heart that I could meet some of the immediate needs. Now this son, for whom she had given up everything, was shattering her dreams. She was furious and wanted to know who had bewitched me. Seeing the tears flowing down her face, I felt a wave of grief but I told her how I could not go back to the seminary because I had found the Savior. I had noticed that her eyes were red and face was swollen due to her crying. When she realized that she could not convince me to change my mind she left for home with a heavy heart.

From this moment on, I realized that I could not depend solely upon people nor could anyone I know understand my reason for leaving the monastery, which was Jesus Christ. People thought I was insane to give up everything for the sake of this gospel. It was during this time that I was inspired to write the first tract. I still had the money that was given to me by my superior priest when I left the monastery. With that money, I printed the first tract, “Why I am not a Roman Catholic.�

Though I had left the seminary, I was still preparing for the university exam that I was enrolled in when I entered the monastery. While I went to the seminary to take my university exam, I also took the tract, which I had published and gave to all the students and teachers who had come for the examination. Within a few hours after distributing the tract, 22

From The Monastery To Mission Fields it was banned in the seminary for I had written against the adoration towards Mother Mary, a subject taboo among Roman Catholics. I did not do it to disturb the church but to let the people know the right teachings of the Bible.

Yet, despite the confidence I had in my spiritual life, the question that still hung over me was how I would meet my financial needs. My pride prevented me from asking people for money or receiving money from any one despite my struggles for meeting even the most basic of necessities. Many people offered to help but my pride foiled me from accepting it. However, I will never forget the moment when my uncle, who earns his living by selling fish, pushed an old crumbled note of Rs 5 into my pocket. He realized that I was struggling for provision and, knowing how I always refused assistance, he just pushed it inside my pocket. Tears glazed over my eyes for I was in desperate need of money and my uncle, though struggling financially to look after even his own family, had given me money. That was the first offering that I had received after stepping out of the seminary. I am grateful to this uncle of mine for he realized my needs and aided me despite his own personal difficulties.

It was my friend Johny who taught me to receive every gift without refusing if given in God’s name. I still remember Johny coming to me one day and giving me some money. I refused it right away but he insisted that I take it for it is the right of the servant of God to take tithe, so I accepted his offering. That was the second financial assistance I received. From then on, I have not refused people offering me money, for my provisional needs or ministry.

Meanwhile, I contacted many Christian leaders and one of the leading Christian leaders of Indian Pentecostal Church, Philip Sir, encouraged 23

From The Monastery To Mission Fields me to study God’s word. Having studied in the seminary for so long, my impression was that Jesus Christ was simply just the greatest philosopher and nothing more. I now realize what an insignificant aspect this was of Christ and that I was just a beginner in my walk with the Lord. With the encouragement and support of Philip Sir, I joined the bible curriculum at Kottayam, one of the largest cities in the state of Kerala. As a new born again Christian, I was trying to learn whatever I could about this man Jesus who had revolutionized my world. In the process of learning a completely different theology, I had to unlearn many of the things I was taught in the seminary. Even when I joined the Bible curriculum to study the Word of God for myself, I still saw Jesus as a philosopher. I found it difficult to accept all those things written in the Bible without proper reasoning and logic. One of the issues I struggled with during that time was on adult baptism. Looking back, I thank God for all those teachers and friends who, with their finite knowledge of scripture, tried to answer all my questions and encouraged me to put my entire faith in Jesus.

During my study of God’s word, I came to discover that Jesus is the only living God. I was under the impression that those who had taken child baptism did not need to be baptized as adults. However, after studying more on God’s word, I realized what God expects from us is adult baptism - to know him personally in our lives and declare publicly to the whole world of our faith in Jesus through the cleansing of adult baptism. Therefore, in obedience to His word, I obeyed the Lord in water baptism. I was baptized by Pastor P. M. Philip, one of the most respectable senior pastors of his time who encouraged me during the early days of my Christian walk. It was during my study at Kottayam 24

From The Monastery To Mission Fields that I understood the need for personal evangelism. I was introduced to door-to-door evangelism and street evangelism and told of the necessity of witnessing to my neighbor.

Though I was studying at Kottayam Bible College and witnessing Christ, I was still ashamed to testify about Jesus to the public. I did not want people to recognize me as a believer of Jesus Christ. Therefore whenever I went to church, I wrapped my Bible in a newspaper so that people on the streets would never recognize that I was going to church.

I knew what I was doing was not right. I began to pray that God would give me boldness and strength to witness as he gave to his disciples. As days went by God gave me new boldness and He told me that I would carry the Word of God all over India. At that time I never really understood the meaning of it and in my finite thought it was an impossible task. But now looking back I can testify that His plans for our lives is much better and higher than we think for ourselves and He is faithful to his promises. God has given me the privilege of literally carrying bundles of Bibles on my head and in bags hanging from my shoulder to different cities in India and abroad. I have carried bundles of Bibles in trains and buses and often been abused for causing inconvenience to fellow travelers. And now my prayer to the Lord is that he will give me opportunity to smuggle Bibles.

Throughout this whole time, I was still staying with my aunt who patiently accommodated me in her house and considered me as one of her children. But I still found myself worried about my future. I knew people were anticipating that I would fail and I found that to be very discouraging. How are my daily basic needs going to be met? What would be my means of finance? Who will sponsor me? I have a desire 25

From The Monastery To Mission Fields to be in the ministry but who will support me? How am I going to be involved in ministry without any financial support? Doubts and uncertainty constantly gripped me and I wondered at times if it was worth leaving the monastery so that I could live this life filled with fear and ambiguity? I felt that I could not turn to anyone to express such feelings, for everyone was expecting me to fail and proclaim, “I told you so.” I felt like a fish out of water with no hopes of finding relief in my struggle to survive.

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UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD While studying at Kottayam, I became aware of the need and

necessity of witnessing to others about Jesus. Deep inside, I wanted to share about Jesus and the salvation we receive through him to everyone I came across. But the problem was I did not know how to communicate or share about Jesus to others. As the days passed by, I knew I could not simply sit and give the excuse that I do not know how to share about Jesus. During that time, as I was battling with the thought of “how to share Christ with my non believing friends,” I became aware of the need of reaching out to my own Roman Catholic friends. Keeping the Roman Catholic community in mind, I thought of printing a book that I had written while in seminary. The book, THIRUVOSTHI 26

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields URUMPUTHINNAL, contained the details on the holy mass. I used to keep this book in the monastery with the doors closed tight behind me, as I did not want anybody to discover it until it was published.

I wanted to convince them that what they were doing was wrong, and that Holy Communion and mass were against the Word of God. But the question was, “how would I be able to print it without money?”

I was struggling to make both ends meet and was living at the mercy of

A view of Sathyam book store in Kerala my aunt and now printing a book seemed like an impossible task to me.

I was worried. I prayed about it and waited for a miracle to happen. I went to different publishers, pleading with them to print the book by promising to give the money once the books were sold. However, no publisher wanted to take the risk for the obvious reasons: I. The book strongly opposed the Catholic Church and their beliefs.

II. I was a new figure in the field of publishing and there was no assurance that my books were going to sell.

III. I did not have the money necessary to publish a book.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields on me and said that he would print my book and I could give him the money after the books were sold. I was thrilled. I thought things were working in my favor. But my joy was short lived. Although I had a printer who would print my books, I had to find a publishing company to buy my books and sell them for me. To find a publishing company, I went from one person to another pleading with them to help me sell the books. However, no one wanted to take the risk of selling a book that potentially would incur a financial loss but, more importantly, no one wanted to incur the wrath of the Roman Catholic Church, which the book opposed strongly. To make the matter worse, I was just beginning my career as a writer yet the publishing companies were not sure how the public would respond to my writings. Nobody wanted to take the risk.

But the main reason why nobody wanted to publish my book was because I did not have any money. I did not know what to do and every door I knocked on seemed tight shut on me. Every plea I made for help fell on deaf ears. I did not know where to go, what to do and whom to approach. To make the matter worse I had no one on whom I could lean. I had no parents to support me, or friends to stand with me through the thick and thin. In fact, it was so bad that I had no one with whom I could pray. I was a discouraged and disappointed man. But amid this trial, I said to myself, “I will not be defeated by any circumstances and will overcome every hurdle, and be a conqueror.” I felt confident that one man with God is a majority. Soon my disappointment went away for I had the assurance that God was with me and that He would guide me. I said, “I am more than a conqueror in Christ.” With this perspective, I kept persevering and asking the Lord to open new doors for me.

I went from one publisher to another but no one wanted to take the risk. I was shattered. Finally a Catholic printing press owner took pity

In search for a publisher, I met an evangelical publisher who agreed to publish my book. I was thrilled because the answer to my prayers came true. Like an excited little boy, I ran to the press, which had

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields agreed to print the book for me, and gave them the publisher’s name.

They printed the book for me and I showed a copy of the book to the publisher with the hope he would be happy and appreciate me for my hard work and contribution in the Christian literature world. As he was reading my book, I waited for him to tap me on the shoulder and say, “great work.” However, as the minutes went ticking by, I became nervous. Through the corner of my eyes, I watched him glancing through the pages and the expression on his face told me that he was not happy.

After flipping through the pages for a while, he kept the book on the table and looked at me. By then all the excitement I had with the printing of my first book vanished and I was sweating profusely.

The publisher looked into my eyes and I wanted to disappear. He told me that he could not sell my books for it condemns the Catholic Church and its practices. And if he published such a book, he would incur the wrath of his Catholic friends and many would stop buying books from him, which meant a loss in his business. His words almost brought tears to my eyes. He opened the book and realized that his name had been printed as the publisher. He contacted the press, which had printed the book and told them to somehow remove his name as the publisher because he did not want to be in the bad light amongst his Catholic friends. However, the people at the press said that all the books had been printed and nothing could be done to remove the name of the publisher. The publisher became very angry and said that the books could not be sold in his shop. I was shattered because I needed to sell the books and pay the printing press money for printing the books. My first attempt at Christian literature was a great disappointment. But soon 30

From The Monastery To Mission Fields I said to myself, “I will not let defeat overtake me. I will take every failure and disappointment as a challenge.”

I reminded myself, “My life was transformed reading a little gospel tract. This book I wrote contains the living Word of God and the living Word has the power to transform people.” With new determination and vigor, I decided that no matter what the price I have to pay, I will continue to write and tell the world The Truth I have found in Jesus Christ. I took up the challenge to cross every hurdle and pave the way for writers like me to express their thoughts and ideas without hindrance.

I said to myself, “I will not complain but accept all that God gives as a challenge and opportunity to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.”

Although I had no money and I owed the press people their money, I decided one day I will establish myself as a publisher to promote God’s word. If you asked me how it was going to be possible, this I did not know.

Later that day, I brought the books with me to the place I was staying. I told my plight to a few of my friends who studied with me at the Bible College and they promised to help me. They took the books and introduced them to their churches and friends and soon my book was in great demand. My book quickly sold in their churches. I was thrilled with the book’s success and was able to pay the printer. From this experience, I learned God is faithful to those who trust in Him and rely upon His provisions. Little did I realize how this one, small book would be just the “tip of the iceberg” that God had in store for us.

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SOULS THROUGH GOD’S WORD

The first edition of the book sold quickly and we developed a second

edition. I was excited with the success of the book. Everywhere I went people were asking me for a copy. I was thrilled and happy that my pain and labor was beginning to pay off. I now knew the purpose for which God had called me out of the monastery. I accepted writing books as the ministry in which God wanted me to be involved. To fulfill this calling, I burned the midnight oil writing books. All the books I wrote were a war against corruption and wrong teachings of the Catholic Church. Despite the financial struggle, I continued to write with the hope that God will open doors for me and through my books people will be able to see the light.

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With the sale of these books, I was able to pay off my debt to the printing press owner. However, I was still struggling financially to make both ends meet. Despite the emotional and financial struggle I was going through, I kept my pain inside by putting on a fake smile in front of the people not letting them know what I was going through. However, I persevered in my work because I knew that the truth needed to reach my Catholic community.

Within a few months, my second book was ready for printing. But the question once again was, “where is the money for printing?” I waited for a few days for something to happen but nothing happened. I knew that if I did not do something, the book, which took many sleepless nights and was the fruit of my labor, was never going to see the light.

I was willing to risk anything to get my second book published. In the end, when no doors seemed to open, I was determined to go and knock at the door of the owner of the press who had published my earlier book.

According to the courtesy of the day an initial deposit had to be paid in advance to the press. But I had no money. Prepared for the worst, I knocked on the door of the press owner.

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He welcomed me warmly and after exchanging courtesies, I told him the purpose of my visit and the financial strain I was going through. The press owner was moved with sympathy and promised to print my second book without any advance. I promised to give the money as soon as the books were sold. By God’s grace, the second book was printed and I was on my way to selling books again.

he has no other job. This brought great discouragement. By evening, my whole body would be writhing in pain carrying such heavy bags. In addition, I had no one to tell of the physical pain or to share my emotional struggle. More than the physical pain, it was the emotional struggle, which was bothering me. However, I kept going out day after day because my greatest concern was to pay the press for printing the books.

After receiving the books from the printing press, I divided the books into bundles so that I could carry more books and the weight would be evenly distributed. Every morning I set out to the market with one bundle on my head supported by the left hand, another bundle hanging from a bag in the left shoulder and third bundle I held in my right hand. The bundle of books were incredibly heavy and extremely difficult to carry but I could not sit and brood over my fate because I owed money and was convicted to be obedient to God’s call in being a writer and publisher.

Even though my 100-pound frame could hardly hold the weight, I moved forward in faith to sell as many books as possible.

I had promised the printing press that I would pay the amount within a certain period and the dead line was approaching fast. I somehow needed to pay the money or else I would not be faithful to my word. On the given date, I collected the money through different sources and got into the bus. I was happy that I was able to pay them the money on the due date. When the bus reached my destination, I got out of the bus feeling light hearted and joyful. I felt I was on top of the world. Humming a very familiar song I slowly walked towards the press. At least now, nobody would laugh at me or push me away for I was not carrying any

So carrying as many bundles as I could, I pushed my way through the crowd to sell books. Not a day passed, while I carried those bundles, that the crowd did not abuse me for inconveniencing them. One of the most painful memories is of the bus conductor who abused me in front of all the passengers in a crowded bus for bringing in all the bundles inside the bus. Seeing me carry the bundles on my head, hand and shoulder, people ridiculed and laughed at me. In the midst of all this, more than the physical pain, it was the emotional pain that was difficult to bear. Often people tried to push me away when I approached them for they thought I was just another sales man trying to sell books because

books with me nor was I pleading with people to buy my books. As I

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got nearer to the printing press, I slipped my hands into the pocket to make sure the money was there. I stood there for a minute checking my pockets and as I searched all over, I began to perspire. The money I borrowed from friends, which came at the cost of abuse and scorn, had vanished. With a lump in my throat, I realized I had been pick- pocketed while on the bus.

Standing in the middle of the road, I wished the earth would open up and just swallow me. But nothing happened. With great difficulty, I dragged myself into the printing press and saw the owner. The owner

From The Monastery To Mission Fields welcomed me warmly and wanted to know why I looked so pale and what was bothering me. I broke down and told him while on my way to pay the money I was pick- pocketed. The owner, a very kind man, comforted me and said that he trusted me and I could pay the money at a later date. As the owner of the publishing company spoke those words, I felt as if the mountain had been rolled away and a great peace flooded my soul. Soon I found myself relaxing at his office. As I left the printing press, I thanked the owner profusely for trusting me and promised to pay back the money as soon as possible.

Encouraged by the response of the people I was determined to write a third book. As I was writing the third book, it struck my mind that what I was writing was the truth. So then and there, I decided that when I become a publisher, my publishing company would be known as Sathyam (Truth) publishers. I was convinced of the power of the printed page in transforming lives and the Lord gave me the motto of my mission,” Winning Souls through God’s Word.” But I still did not know when my dream would become a reality. In the meanwhile, I started printing a magazine in Malayalam called “Jeeva Vachanam”.

From there, I gradually started climbing the ladder of success in the world of publishing with God being my guide and counselor.

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FIGHTINGAGAINST TRADITIONS Direct me? Yes, I know He will For God the Word hath spoken The heavens and earth may pass away His promise ne’er be broken; I see not what before me lies ‘Tis wisely hidden from my eyes, But to my Lord ‘tis always clear, And while He leads I need not fear.

Kate Satines

My personal friends and those who wished me well encouraged

me to get married. Since I left the Catholic faith and brought disgrace to my family, neither my parents nor my relatives would help me get settled.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields In India, especially in traditional, orthodox families, it is the parents who take the initiative in finding a suitable life partner for their daughter/ son and it is the parents who take care of the wedding expenses.

Marriage is one of those occasions where the family’s wealth is exposed and is the status symbol of society. How rich you are depends on the car you hire/buy on the wedding day and the number of guests you invite and the clothes you wear and the food you serve.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields It is also important that you have the beautician helping you get dressed and have plenty of photographers and camera operators beside you.

Such arrangements help you earn the respect of the community.

C.V. and Mary on their wedding day

In India there is no greater event in a family than a wedding. Indian weddings are very bright events, filled with ritual and celebration that continue for several days. Arranging a marriage is a critical responsibility for parents and other relatives of both bride and groom. Arranged marriages have been traditional in Indian society. They are not small affairs, anywhere between 100-10000 people attending. Even today an overwhelming majority of Indians in India have their marriages planned by their parents and other family-members. Arranged matches are made after taking into account factors such as age, height, personal values and tastes, the backgrounds of their families (wealth, social standing), and their castes.

My marriage was an arranged marriage. One of my friends introduced Mary to me. At that time she was working as a teacher in an English Medium School. I met her and I understood that she knew about me from reading my first book, this made the arrangements easy.

After 3 months of communication through love letters and so on, we came to know each other deeply and decided to get married. However, her parents strongly objected. The main reason for these objections was that I was a writer against Catholicism and I had a poor financial background. Mary took a firm step and told them that if she were to marry she would only marry me. Finally, her parents and relatives agreed to let her decide.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields Everyone with whom I was closely associated encouraged me to get married. I had left the seminary as a revolutionary, fighting against all customs and practices, which I thought, were evil and I decided to fight against such traditions starting with the wedding. I determined in my heart that my wedding would be different. I would not let the culture or customs of society rule my wedding and I proceeded into preparing the wedding arrangements.

One of the very first thoughts that come to our minds when we make preparation for the wedding is getting the invitation cards printed. But on the other side of the card was the invitation given for the official inauguration of Sathyam Ministries. My relatives and friends were offended. They objected my book as it was against their faith and practices. I had ruined their status in society by organizing the releasing function of that book on the wedding day. Also, the Sathyam Ministries inauguration was at two o’clock in the afternoon followed by wedding, which starts at 3.30 P.M. The plans for the wedding spread like wild fire. There was a great uproar at my home church and my parents were then excommunicated, for their son was going to get married outside the church without receiving permission from the authorities of the church.

My parents were devastated by my decision to get married outside the Catholic Church and they were once again the laughing stock of the family.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields While all this was going on, I began to receive letters threatening to kill me if I wrote any more books against the established church. However, I was not deterred. I reminded myself, “God had called me out of the monastery to fight against the corrupt practices and teachings of the church and I will continue to do so till my last breath and that will be my mission.”

In spite of the threats I received, both through letters and in person, I persevered. On one occasion while I was returning home, a group of people stopped me on the way and they threatened to kill me if I wrote any more books against the Episcopal churches. I told them that they could kill me and I would be happy to die as a martyr than die as a hypocrite. They warned me once again and threatened me with dire consequences before letting me go. I was not discouraged or afraid. I was glad that God had considered me worthy of the mission to fight against the evil practices of the established Churches.

My parents in particular were shattered with my decision for they were now targeted and scorned by relatives and church members alike.

Though difficult to witness, I decided to stick with my decision. I was not moved by the chaos or disturbances I was causing. I thought, “I will keep up my revolutionary spirit and fight for it out with all of my strength.”

Amid all the chaos and threats, there was still a wedding to plan and I was running around inviting friends both for ceremony and the inauguration of Sathyam Ministries. I decided I would not invite any catering services to cook or serve food but instead told my close friends to bring homemade goodies so that, after the wedding, tea and snacks could be served to the guests.

I thought to myself that I also needed to fight against the evil practices in the wedding ceremonies. My marriage would be different but simultaneously difficult to accomplish. I had no money to buy the wedding dress. I went to the shop by myself and bought the dress and the total cost of all my wedding dress was Rs 140 ($3). I wanted my wedding to be very simple. Bringing about a change or revival in the church was

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields added to my mission of serving and helping the poor and I thought it best to start it with me - my wedding. I had no car waiting for me at the doorstep decorated with flowers. I did not know who would attend because most of my relatives were upset that I was conducting two programs on the same day that were also at the same venue.

To make matters worse, it began to rain when it was time to go to the venue for the programs. My pastor had come to pray for me, and after the prayer, I went to my wedding, riding in the pavilion on the pastor’s bike. While we were on our way, it began to rain and by the time I reached the place of my wedding I was drenched to the skin. I knew people were laughing at me, while others looked at me with sympathy. I was not bothered by their reactions because I knew I was a revolutionary fighting against the customs and traditions that bound man. The program started as it was scheduled: Me - the groom in his dress, drenched to the skin, gave the welcome speech and told the plan and purpose behind starting and officially registering Sathyam Ministries.

At the end of the program, as I was giving the vote of thanks for the Sathyam Ministries official registration, the bridal party arrived. I invited the bride and others to occupy their seats. I wanted my wedding to be simple while bringing glory to God.

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WHOM DO YOU TRUST? “True valor lies, not in what the world calls success but in the dogged going on when everything in the man says, Stop” Amy Carmichael

Though my parents were not happy with me leaving the monastery,

they gradually accepted my wife Mary and me into their home. I was glad that my wife and I could join them. My wife, a teacher by profession began to teach at a school. Her school was located in another town named Kumbanad, which meant we had to move into a one bedroom rented apartment. Keeping Kumbanad as the base, the Sathyam 42

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields Ministry continued. Our goal was to reach out to the poor and oppressed people of the society. India is one of the poorest countries of the world with its population growing at a rapid pace. There we started the first tailoring institute for women with the goal toward self-employment. All the money we received was reinvested in the ministry. During our stay at Kumbanad, God enabled us to conduct the first Biblical symposium with 600 people on July 14, 1989 at Kottayam, one of the largest cities in Kerala.

On July 24, 1989 our son Sam was born. When Mary was admitted in the hospital for the birth of our first child, the doctors advised that she would be given an injection called Anti D within 24 hours after the baby was born because our blood groups did not match. The doctors wanted us to take the injection because if we ever planned to have another child, the child would be disabled. We did not take the injection the doctor prescribed because we did not have the money for taking that injection which we were told was very expensive and secondly that medicine was not available in India and had to be imported at our own expense from abroad which for us was an impossible task.

After only one year, Mary was transferred to another town called Kandamperoor, which meant we had to move our house to Kandamperoor, where she got the posting. Though our stay at the new place Kandamperoor was very short, it was a memorable stay for the history of Sathyam Ministries. It was while we were at Kandamperoor that we conducted the first Leadership conference at Charalkkunnu in 1991 based on the theme,” church leadership” which was a great success as it was attended by all the leaders and pastors of the brethren church.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields Another milestone in the history of Sathyam ministry was the publishing of the magazine called, “Jeeva Vachanam.” We had no staff to assist us, so all the work on the magazine was done by my wife and me. After my wife returned from school, she would look after our son who was one year old and at the same time manage the home. After finishing all the household chores, she would sit along with me late into the night writing addresses on the magazine wrapper and sticking stamps to get it all ready to be posted the following day. Every cell and fiber in our body cried for sleep but we had to keep the ministry going, which God had entrusted in our care. Since we had very limited finances, we tried to save every penny possible. To save money, instead of hiring a taxi or auto to take all the magazines to the post office, my wife would carry one bundle with her to school and leave it at a shop near the post office and I would follow her by carrying two more bundles. When I reached the shop, I would take all three bundles and post them for delivery.

Yes, our finances were limited during those days but we had the joy and happiness of knowing God and serving Him. As human beings we worry as to how our tomorrow will be but God never lets us go hungry or naked. On one occasion we ran out of money and there was no rice at home to cook. Then we remembered the table drawer where we put all our coins. When we counted all the coins, we found out that there was more than enough money to feed us for several days. The Lord has been faithful to us in meeting all our needs as we serve His ministry.

My wife was transferred again from one school in Kandamperoor to another place called Kumbanadu, which meant we had to move 45

From The Monastery To Mission Fields again. While we were living in the new place Kumbanadu our second son Justin was born. While my wife was in delivery, all I had was Rs 4 and I did not know how the hospital expenses were going to be paid.

The doctors had also advised my wife to take an injection worth Rs 500 ($9) because our blood groups did not match, but since I did not have the money my wife was not given the injection. When our son Justin was born we knew something was wrong with him. We were later told that our child had learning disabilities because we failed to take the injection prescribed by the doctor after the birth of our first son. I knew my relatives and friends would have happily given me money if I had asked them but I decided that I would not ask anyone for any sort of financial assistance and the Lord miraculously met all the needs at the hospital. When my wife was discharged, we came to the rented apartment, which had been our home and office for one year.

Sickness, difficulties, financial crisis, criticism and tears were all a part of our lives. My mother always said that I had brought the wrath and curse of God on me and my family by writing a book against Catholicism. But there was no turning back. I often remembered the proverb, “Opportunity never comes and knocks at our door.� So I was always on the lookout for opportunities to expand the ministry and touch souls with the love of God.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields of luggage and had to travel such a long distance, they were filled with compassion for me. They immediately made room for my luggage and helped me be comfortable. After reaching Delhi, few bundles were sent to me by post from Sathyam Office so that I could exhibit and sell those books at the book fair.

After the book fair I did not bring the remaining books home but started a Christian book store in Delhi. The world book fair at Delhi was a major breakthrough for the Sathyam Ministries. During this book fair, we received many contacts and from then on our publication work improved. Thrilled with the success of the book fair at Delhi, I was prompted to conduct similar book fairs in the future. So after returning home from Delhi, the Sathyam Ministries conducted similar book fairs in different parts of India and the response of the people has been encouraging. We also started the Sathyam Book Club where we promote readers to buy books and read.

During that time we were told of the International Book Fair in Delhi and I set out for Delhi carrying 23 bundles of books. I had no one to help me and to make matters worse I had no travel reservations. I was helpless and sitting in a corner of the train when I cried out to the Lord for help and mercy. And the Lord heard my cry and answered me that very hour. When the fellow passengers on the train saw that I had lots

During this time we had to shift to a larger town known as Eraviperoor from Kumbanadu because the ministry was based at Eraviperoor.

Moving houses had been hard especially with two little kids and a growing ministry. It was in Eraviperoor that we got the first Sathyam staff working with a payment of Rs 300 per month ($7). Though we hardly had any resources coming in, we all worked together with a burden and passion for lost souls. I would often ride the bicycle for miles carrying bundles of printed books and magazines to be posted because we had no money for hiring an auto rickshaw. The Sathyam Ministries headquarters was also moved to the same city Eraviperoor where we were staying and we saw a tremendous growth in the ministry.

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While we were in Eraviperoor, our son Sam fell and hurt his mouth.

He started to bleed and we thought the bleeding would stop after a while. However, hours passed by and he was still bleeding. Worried about our little son, we tried whatever home remedies we could to stop the bleeding but it would not stop. Finally, we took him to the hospital for stitches. Later we noticed that the blood was not clotting, and any cut or wound would bleed for hours and even days. This was a cause of great concern for us. With the advice of his doctor we took him to Vellore Medical College and later to All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in Delhi. At AIIMS the doctors, after thoroughly checking him, advised us to do a bone marrow test on our 3½ year old baby.

While our son Sam was taken to the room for his bone marrow test, we waited outside. Later the doctor called me inside to help him hold the baby. As a father I found it difficult to see the struggle my son had to go through at such a tender age. I thought the doctors were merciless on the tiny skeleton of my son as they bend his body and almost made a full circle with his head touching the lower part of his legs and at times between his legs.

The process seemed to last forever because Sam was trying his best to get away from the hold of doctors while they were putting in all the energy to keep the boy under control. At last after struggling for what seemed eternity to me they got him into the position they wanted to insert the needle into the backbone for collecting the marrow. As little Sam writhed in pain with the insertion of needle I felt helpless and courage failing with every ticking of the clock.

At that juncture when my courage and strength failed me, I heard the voice of God and heard his voice screaming into my ears, “You

fool”. I came out of the room trembling and told my encounter with the Lord to my wife and friends. I was terrified but did not then understand the meaning of it. After two days Mary, Sam and I went to the hospital for collecting the result of the bone marrow test and to consult the doctor.

The doctor told us after going through various reports that our son had a rare disease called ITP but would be cured when he gets old. As the doctor told these words to me, my encounter with the Lord began to make sense to me.

Though days had passed after hearing the words “you fool”, it was ringing loudly and clearly in my ears. I felt guilty that I trusted doctors more than God. Sitting in the doctor’s office I repented of my unbelief to God and vowed that I would never again put my trust in horses or

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chariots but in the name of my Lord, God. I rededicated my life once again to serve Him. Looking back I can say that this incident was a turning point in my life. Till then all I wanted to be involved in was literature ministry but from now on I decided to send out native missionaries so that people out in the villages would also know and experience the power and presence of the only True and Living God. After returning from the hospital we got immersed in the ministry.

But Sam was taken for regular treatment to the hospital. At the age of seven the doctors advised that our son undergo spleenectomy (a surgery for removing the spleen) We thought it was best for our seven-year-old son. But where was the money for surgery? We could not approach any one for help. And if anyone was willing to help us, how much money could they give us

From The Monastery To Mission Fields and how were we going to pay them back? But one day, Lord led one of His great servants to come to my home and give us some amount of money for my son’s treatment. I first thanked him for his generosity and the help he offered, but I kindly refused it. After he convinced me and insisted me, I accepted the money for the treatment. Thus, in this way, we were blessed by God to continue Sam’s treatment.

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DARK DAYS IN MINISTRY “The symbol of the Christian Church is not a Burning bush nor a dove, nor an open book, Nor a halo round a submissive head, nor a crown Of splendid honor. It is a Cross.”

C. M. Clow

With two little boys to feed, and suffering a deep financial crisis,

we were pulling on our days. At times, we were discouraged but we decided we would not give up but run the race faithfully until the end.

People were laughing at us and some hated the sight of us but we determined in our hearts that we would not give up. God has not called us to be failures but to lead a victorious Christian life.

In spite of all the personal struggles, we carried on with the ministry, which God entrusted to our care. Since most of our ministry was 50

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields book and approached us to publish his work. I gladly accepted it and Sathyam Publication published his book. It was a book that made a comparative study of Christianity with other religions and strongly condemned other faiths. After releasing the book, I went to Delhi for the meeting of Bible Society, which spoke against including the apocrypha in the Bible.

C.V. and Family concentrated in the publishing department, we were finding it difficult to move forward without a printing press. Earlier we had sold the printing press, which we had bought on a loan at much cheaper rate because we needed money to take our son to the hospital. As we were thinking of it, the Lord opened a door for us and in 1995; we bought a computer with the loan received from the bank and started the Desk Top Publishing work. At that time, we thought of printing the Bible in Malayalam language with reference but could not complete the project due to various hindrances.

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In my absence, my wife continued with the office work. One day, as my wife and other staffs were working in the office, about 20 men rushed inside the office and started talking in a very rude manner. My wife and the other staff members understood that something was wrong but never knew what. The men who entered inside asked, “Where is Vadavana?” After threatening my wife they left the office. In Delhi, while I was attending the meeting, I was told of the developments taking place back at home. I was worried, so I proceeded to cancel all events, and return to the Sathyam office to be with my family. My wife looked pale due to fear. To aggravate the situation, the fanatics had made it a police case. The police were searching me because the book that Sathyam Publications had published, offended the religious feelings and freedom of others. I was disappointed with the ministry and I thought to myself, “Is this why I had come out of the monastery - to be caught by the police and labeled as a criminal? To be charged and accused falsely?”

I was discouraged and almost on the verge of quitting the ministry.

During these times of discouragement, we received phone calls from pastors and believers, both in India and abroad, saying they were praying for me and the ministry which really strengthened my faith. By then the news spread that the police were searching for me and I went into 53

From The Monastery To Mission Fields hiding. Though I was away from home and the office, the work of Sathyam ministry continued, and in the magazines, prayers were solicited for the ministry and me. Letters began to pour from different parts of the globe saying they were praying for us. That strengthened our faith and boosted our energy to strive on. I was forced to go into hiding because the police had charged an arrest warrant on me. Eluding the eyes of the police, I hid in the houses of my friends and came home in the middle of the night for hardly 5 minutes just to know what was happening with my family.

One day, as I was going to the hospital to see my son Justin, who was admitted there due to high temperature, the police van came and stopped beside me and told me to get in. But I did not get in because I knew if I got inside, it would be on the headlines of the newspaper the next day. I told them that I would surrender myself to the police station after visiting my son at the hospital. By then I had published an explanation about my religious faith and chaste intentions in all the local dailies.

After publishing the book, the police demanded an apology as they had interpreted my book to be a means to convert the people. The S.I asked me to submit an apology letter stating that Jesus Christ was not the only Saviour, but other gods also were saviours. But I did not submit any apology letter as I believed and trusted in one God, my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Instead, I took this case to the court and in the end, I won the case.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields at our residence. The police gave us the notice that they were going to raid the house and, if they found any books, we would all be arrested.

We were terrified. The book had already been printed in large numbers and the author had promised to collect all the books as soon as possible but he did not turn up. All the books were piled in our office cum residence. I was thinking, “What are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to hide all the books?” We were worried and every time a vehicle came near our house we were afraid that the police were coming to raid our place or arrest us. Only after making sure that the vehicle did not belong to the police did we go about doing our daily chores. My mother and my wife hid as many books as they could in whatever places they could think of that the police would not search, including between the firewood. A couple of days later the author came and collected all the books. It was only after he took away the books that we began to relax; for we knew even if the police came they would no longer be able to arrest us.

It was during this time I understood the meaning of Jesus’ words, “carry your cross and follow Me.” As I went through these trials and difficulties, I realized that following Christ is not an easy task; it is definitely not a bed of roses but rather extremely demanding- it demands my soul, my life and everything!

But we were told to remove the books from the literature department and that they were not to be sold anywhere. The fanatics warned us that the books should not be found anywhere in the Sathyam office or 54

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WIDOW’S MITE FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE

During this time, a man of God told me about some property which was going to be sold in the Thottabhagam area and the Lord enabled us to buy the land there. After constructing the office on the piece of land that we had bought, we shifted to Thottabhagam where our office is located at present. Soon Thottabhagam became the base for Sathyam ministry and became the headquarters of Sathyam Ministries in 2001.

We were able to establish ourselves as publishers in the Christian literature world in the south. But then we were burdened to reach out with Christian literature in the northern part of India as well, where hardly any Christian literature is available. But the question we faced was, “How can we reach out to the whole of North India with Christian literature?” India is a vast country with the second largest population in the world and reaching out in the North seemed like a Herculean task.

We had a strong desire to reach out to the communities of the North but had no idea how we would do it.

“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” William Carey

In 1996, The Sathyam Ministry office was shifted to a larger city

Tiruvalla in a rented building and was named “Aksharakhani.” We continued in that rented building for six years. During those years, we experienced the mercy and providence of God. We needed a huge amount to pay the rent in addition to the money needed for the staff as payment. With the Sathyam publication based in the heart of Tiruvalla, the ministry began to flourish. I had a great desire to settle down in the Thottabhagam area but we had no money to buy any piece of the land.

Sathyam Ministry Head Office, Kerala

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It was then that we came up with the thought of having a mobile bookshop where we would be able to reach out to most of the states of North India. But we questioned where we would receive the finance for obtaining such a vehicle. The idea of owning a mobile literature shop looked great but funding seemed to be the one hindrance from turning our dream into realty. Meanwhile, our magazine, “Jeevavachanam,” changed in 1997 from a monthly to a fortnightly magazine.

During these years though the ministry was going on, I was constantly harassed by police and I had to report to the police as and when they demanded. And the newspapers found pleasure in writing about me and the ministry in which I was involved. It seemed God was not listening to my prayer or bothered about what I was going through. Finally I came to a point when I said to myself, “I cannot go on like this with police always behind me and newspapers writing every move of mine.

I am going to close down the ministry.”

I and my family always make it a point to share with each other the word and works of God before we started our prayers. We always spend an hour or so sharing some encouraging stories, experiences or testimonies with the children that would bolster their souls and spirits.

This was the only time when the entire family would meet each other.

That particular night, as we sat for family prayer, I shared with my family about frustration with the police and newspaper reporters. I also declared my decision to close down the ministry. As I spoke of closing down the ministry, my wife Mary, who had been silently sitting sympathizing with me, spoke up and asked me, “Who told you to start

this ministry?” As Mary asked me this question, I felt a sword piercing

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right through my heart. On that night we as a family rededicated our lives once again for ministry and resolved to do the literature and publishing ministry more effectively.

As soon as the prayer was over I went back to the room and began to ponder over the question Mary had asked me during the prayer, “Who told you to start this ministry?” In those quiet moments, God told me that what I was doing was God’s ministry and not mine. I was only an instrument in His hand for fulfilling his plan and it was His job to take care of me, my family and the ministry. I went to bed fully assured of God’s provision and protection for me and my family and the faith that God was going to bless me and the ministry he had entrusted in my care.

It had been my desire ever since I left the monastery and into literature ministry to own a mobile book bus which would enable us to carry gospel to every nook and corner of India. This desire of mine became my passion. I shared my passion with my friends and many of them thought I was crazy to even think of such a big project which costed around 15 lakh rupees ($ 35,000). Some of them encouraged me but most of them laughed at me saying it was an impossible task.

Others told me that they would help me financially for my dream to turn into reality. I trusted these friends of mine and hoped that they would give me financial assistance. But these friends did not help me and I learned my lesson. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields

From The Monastery To Mission Fields

I still remember with gratitude the three widows who on hearing my vision project came forward to meet me after the speech. They gave whatever little they had for this project. They were the first people to donate for this cause. And God Almighty blessed the widows’ mites.

During this time the Lord opened a way for me to go to the United States. While in the United States I was told of an exhibition of mobile book buses in the state of Ohio. Immediately, I took ticket and flew to Ohio. I visited every company that were present in exhibition and collected every brochure available on mobile book buses. I took as many pictures as I could of the buses to bring down to India with me for

The book mobile team ministry in North India

designing the bus. During my stay in United States, I visited most of the Brethren churches. I shared my vision and passion of having a mobile book shop to reach “the un-reached” people or groups, with the churches I visited. I laid before them my blue print and the expense involved in turning this dream into reality. The Kerala congregations were thrilled with my vision to reach to those deprived of God’s word in North India and they ended up donating generously towards this project. From the Kerala churches in the United States alone I received a sum of Rs 12, 000, 00 ($27,906) for this cause.

I returned to India excited about the way that the Lord worked in the hearts and minds of people.

Vachana Vahini, the Mobile Book Shop 60

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields After returning to India, I went to Bangalore. Here I visited a company that manufactures buses and laid out my plans and blue print for them.

With the contributions made by the children of God in different parts of the globe, we were able to buy the vehicle. Within months the bus was ready to go on roads!

We named the mobile book shop as, “Vachanavahini” meaning “Messenger of His Word.” With the mobile bookshop, we were able

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to reach out with the Christian literature to most of the states of North India.

WHO WILL LOVE THEM? ORPHANAGE He is the Life that I want to live.

He is the Light that I want to radiate.

He is the way to the Father.

He is the Love with which I want to love He is the Joy that I want to share He is the peace that I want to sow Jesus is everything to me.

Without Him, I can do nothing.

Mother Teresa

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Some time ago a Hindu gentleman was asked, “Who is a Christian?”

He gave an answer that was both very simple and surprising. “A Christian is someone who gives of himself.”

I know many Christians may not agree with this answer but this is true. God gave us His Son not because we were rich or worthy or highly educated but because He saw our helpless state of sin. Jesus Christ while on earth gave us the greatest command to love our neighbor as our selves. The question that each one of us reading this book needs to ask

From The Monastery To Mission Fields God has called us to heal the broken hearted and set the captives free.

From the very start, we believe that to be a Christian is nothing other than to give oneself for the sake of Christ. God so loved the world that He gave us His Son. That was the first act of self-giving. His Son was given to us because He wanted to be one with us, like us in every way except sin. He wanted to pass on to us the opportunity to give ourselves to Him, so we could turn our love for Him into living deeds.

As I got into the ministry, I decided that I would give my time, health and wealth for the poor and oppressed in the society. I would express my love to the Lord by loving them and being their hands and feet.

is,” How am I to love my neighbor as myself?” The answer is, by giving our time, money, health and above all showering him with the love of Christ. But we Christians in our Christian race to reach heaven are so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. We are so focused on getting to heaven that we forget to look and see what is happening.

Often we forget the purpose behind God calling us and setting us apart.

Whenever I went to Mumbai (Bombay) I visited the slums and saw many boys and girls wandering through the streets not knowing whom their parents are and where they would spend the night. If you ever pass through the streets of Mumbai, you will see children doing all kinds of awful jobs just to feed their hungry stomachs. Though child labor is banned in India, most of the restaurants and shops employ children under the age of 18. The employers are keen on employing these little children because they can be easily exploited, made to work for longer hours and paid very little or no wages. But not all children are lucky to get menial jobs to fill their stomachs. Not all are born with good health and many of them are victims of chronic illness. The question is, “what do these children do to feed themselves who are too small or sick to work?” They are not blessed with caring and loving parents whose priority is feeding their children. The sad part is not many kids know who their parents are or where their house is.

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Kids at the Sathyanikethan Orphanage

From The Monastery To Mission Fields Mumbai is one of the largest and fastest growing metropolitan cities in India. Industrially and commercially with thousands of large factories, Mumbai is a thriving city in a modernizing India. But with economic growth comes the people who flock to the cities in hope of finding work. And the city of Mumbai cannot support their demands. Therefore the city’s slums are grim reality. With thousands of slums and the estimated 12 million slum dwellers, Mumbai is having one of the world’s largest, if not largest slum area growths.

If you happen to visit the railway stations in the major cities of India, you will find these children sleeping covered with mud and dirt on the pavements and on the railway platforms. Most of them stink terribly and are blanketed with flies. But they are not aware they need to have a shower and put on clean clothes to keep off flies. For them being blanketed with flies has become a part of their lives and are not concerned about keeping themselves hygienic. If you tell them to take a shower, the question they ask is, “Who will give us clothes to change?” So most of these street kids hardly take a shower or change their clothes. Since these children are living in such grubby, unclean and unhygienic environments, they have various types of skin diseases and other chronic illnesses. The most pitiful sight is when these children loiter near the restaurants waiting for the customers to throw their leftover food into the trash bin so that they can all grab one bite each. Seeing the plight of these innocent children with no future, I was disturbed and my heart was heavy. I knew many of these little girls would turn to prostitution and the little boys would become drug peddlers and criminals. I was burdened to do something for them. I often imagined myself standing before the judgment throne and God saying to me, 66

From The Monastery To Mission Fields “I was hungry and you gave me no meal I was thirsty and you gave me no drink I was homeless and you gave me no bed I was shivering and you gave me no clothes Sick and in prison, and you never visited.

(Matthew 25: 42, the Message) Every child I looked at was crying for bread, for justice and for human dignity; yet I passed them by! Not just once or twice but many times. I saw in my dreams the faces of these little innocent children covered with dirt and heard their voices telling me, “ I am naked and stripped of every necessity, denied justice and even the simple recognition that I am just like you, created by the same loving God to love and to be loved. But I was left for dead, alone and dejected. I was thrown out into the streets, unwanted, unloved, and ignored. Do you have room for me?” These thoughts for these street children kept haunting me and I decided to do something for them.

I realized that the poor do not need our pity. They do not need our sympathy. What they need is our love and compassion. We do not need to love them from our abundance. We must love them with whatever we have. We must love them with our time, our hands and our hearts. In short, we need to share all that we have. For these needy children, we need to live a life of sacrifice.

I shared my concern of starting an orphanage for these helpless children with my friends, Randy and Mitchell. They were instantly filled with great joy as they too shared the same thoughts that I had and were about to bring the same to my attention. Without delay, they prayerfully donated some amount of money for this noble cause and thus we started 67

From The Monastery To Mission Fields the Sathya Nikethan, an orphanage at Mumbai for children. We reminded ourselves that today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens.

C.V. praying with the Kids at the Orphanage With much prayer and determination to create a better society, Sathyam Ministries opened its first orphanage in Mumbai on February 17, 2004. Sathya Niketan or ‘Shelter of Truth’ was inaugurated just on the outskirts of Mumbai, mere miles away from what is known to be the largest slum in Asia. On the inauguration ceremony of Sathya Niketan, many government officials and elite in the society honored us with their presence and assured us of their moral support for this noble cause. Pr. David Mills from California, USA honored us by dedicating Sathya Niketan for the glory of God. Today Sathya Niketan is a witness of God’s faithfulness to the poor, fatherless and the needy.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields At present Sathya Niketan is a home for 50 children. Sathya Niketan is definitely home for these children because they are blanketed with love and care by are dedicated staff who spend their days and nights with these adorable little children. We hope to provide these children with good health care, the best education possible, nutritious food and above all with love and compassion. We try to provide not only physical care to these children but also spiritual. We have constructed a permanent building for the orphanage in the newly owned seminary campus.

At Sathya Niketan children are introduced to Jesus from the very first day of their arrival and are taught to love God because we believe God has brought them to us with a special purpose and God has a special plan for their lives. The words of psalmist, “He lifted me out of the miry clay” is literally true in these children’s case. They have literally been picked out of dirt and bathed. They have literally been picked out of dirt and bathed. They are given a new set of dress to wear, we cut their unkempt and lice filled hair, treat their wounds and sickness, and give them an altogether new look, which at times is a real challenge. But till date God has given grace and wisdom to our staff to do everything as they would do to Jesus.

These children are hungry for God and love. These children are gems because they give us a lot of love and joy by accepting us. They are grateful for the shelter they have. They have no complaints with the food provided and are happy with the clothes they wear. For them every broken toy is a treasure that they cherish. Above all, they appreciate the little things we do for them.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields When I see these innocent children, the smiles on their faces, their enthusiasm to study and involvement in extracurricular activities, tears trickle down my cheek. It is the tears of joy for these children who have been pulled out of the clutches of poverty, drugs and other abuses and given new life. And when I see these children I am assured that our efforts are not in vain but will produce better citizens for the country and bring glory to His name.

On 1 November 2009, a massive fire had left the orphanage in complete ruins. By the good grace of the Almighty Lord, there were no casualties. The fire was caused by a huge gas explosion that occured in the building.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields The children who were clutched to the trauma had to be soothed and comforted by the staffs as well as some village women. The children and the staffs had to reside in another shelter until the orphanage recouped its ruins. The persistent support from the villagers had made things easier for us.

After months of toil and sweat, the Sathyanikethan Orphanage recouped its loss and has started functioning normally by the grace of God and through prayers.

Swingli, a church father once said “Gospel without social work is soul without body.” Apostle Paul said, “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”. (Ephesians 2:10) So the next time you see the poor and neglected, remember God has chosen you and set you apart not to condemn them but to love them; not to push them away but to hug them. They do not need your sympathy but your sacrificial love, time and energy.

The Orphanage house in Gujarat While sister Mini was preparing dinner for the children, the gas leaked out, which ultimately led to a giant explosion. The villagers who were rattled by the sound of the explosion rushed to the spot with buckets of water and with great effort managed to put down the fire.

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GOD HAS NO HANDS BUT OURS

January 26, 2001 was like any other day for the people of Gujarat.

Being Republic day, children dressed in their best when attending school to pay respect to the country. The older working folks were making the best use of their long awaited holiday by chatting about their glorious past and valiant deeds when all of a sudden the people of Gandhidham, Gujarat realized that the building in which they were residing was tilting.

Was it a dream? No, they could hear the vessels falling on the ground and cries of women and little children from the kitchen saying the building is collapsing. The serene atmosphere was filled with cries of men, women and children - all running for their lives. There was an earthquake and in no time, the skyscrapers were razed to the ground.

Thousands of people lost their lives within a few seconds and many became crippled for the rest of their lives. As I heard the news, I became restless and I said to myself, “We as the light of this world and salt of this earth need to do something about it. We also need to reach out with a helping hand.” I was more burdened than ever to reach out to the

“Make us worthy, Lord, to serve out brothers and sisters scattered throughout the entire world, who live and die in poverty and hunger. Through the service of our hands, give them their daily bread and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy.”

Mother Teresa.

In the past, our country has witnessed many calamities like

earthquakes and flood, famines and the Tsunami in 2004. When calamity strikes one part of the country, the most common tendency of the less affected people is, “They are paying for what they have done” or, “Thank God we are safe.”

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More wheelchairs for the Tsunami relief operation 73

From The Monastery To Mission Fields people there because only a few months before our mobile bookshop, “Vachanavahini” had been to Gandhidam to conduct many meetings. So, with a team of men from the Sathyam ministries, I left for Gandhidam. We carried with us old used clothes, medicines and wheelchairs.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields disturbed. I was not at peace with myself. I could still hear the cry of little children searching for their parents and while the older folks writhed in pain. So after a few months, I once again paid a visit to the earthquake affected areas of Gujarat and I realized that people still had not recovered from the aftermath of earthquake. What really bothered me were the innocent faces of children walking about the streets playing.

Food distribution in the flood-affected area

Food distribution in north east India When we reached there, all that we could see were the debris and the rescue operations still going on. The stench from the corpses was terrible. The fear of the government authorities was whether or not any epidemic like cholera, malaria and plague would breakout. While covering our noses with handkerchiefs, we made our way through the debris and the sight was heart wrenching. Many children had lost their homes with nowhere else to go. The old clothes, medicines and wheel chairs all vanished in no time and we returned to our homes. Though I was comfortable within the four walls of my house, my mind was 74

As I walked through the streets, I asked the children in my broken Hindi, “Why are you not going to school?” They told me that in the earthquake, their school had vanished and there were no schools nearby.

I was concerned about their futures for I knew today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens. I also realized that if these children are not educated, they will pervert to crime and will be a threat to the society. I came home with the determination to do something for these innocent children.

A few months later, I returned to Gandhidam with the idea of starting a school for these innocent children. The government was not in favor of Christians and Gujarat is one of those states in India where the antiChristian movement was so strong that Christians were persecuted frequently. However, with the support of Mission Global Impact as 75

From The Monastery To Mission Fields

From The Monastery To Mission Fields

well as the help of like-minded people and friends, the school was started on a rented building in June 2003.

The intention of starting the school was not financially driven but to provide an education to the children of the villages because I believe education is the right of every child. Depriving a child of his/her education is to deprive him/her of a decent livelihood and a secure future. So we started the school providing scholarships to the less privileged ones, irrespective of their caste or religion and now Sathyam Mission School at Gandhidam in Gujarat is one of the leading schools in the region.

Every child who attends the school is taught from scripture to love God and live for Him. School has turned out to be a powerful medium of spreading the good news of salvation. A Christian banner flies at the entrance of the school but this has not prevented the parents from sending their children to receive an education there. We are using every opportunity in every possible way to spread the good news.

In December 2004, when the Tsunami waves hit different parts of the world, people were terrified. Millions of people died and many were left homeless. The rich and poor, officers and beggars all came under the shelter of rescue homes. Those rescued from the Tsunami affected areas were in tears for they had lost everything they had and now craved for one meal. The cities of Ernakulum and Alappey in Kerala and Koduloor and Velakanny in Tamil Nadu were the places that were affected by Tsunami. Many islands of Andaman and Nicobar were wiped out from the map of the world.

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C.V. with lepors in a village in Andhra Pradesh Hearing the plight of the people, and seeing their condition on the television, I could not sit at home without doing something for the people in need. As I lay down to sleep, words once heard and long since forgotten came to mind. It said, “God has no hands but ours, He has no feet but ours. We are His messengers of peace and love and we are His spokesperson.� I knew God wanted me to reach out to the Tsunami affected areas with His love and compassion. With three trucks full of old clothes, food and wheel chairs, a team from the Sathyam ministry reached the Tsunami affected areas and distributed it. We are not doing it out of abundance but with whatever limited resources we have. I do it because I love God. I know whatever I do to the least of my Brethren I do it to Him. The only motive and joy in my life is to love Him and serve Him among the oppressed, poor, hungry, thirsty, unclothed and 77

From The Monastery To Mission Fields homeless. By working this way I am proclaiming the love and compassion of God for each one of my brothers and sisters who suffers.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields causing major problems among the people. To avoid the shame of not being able to pay back their debts and to avoid facing the threats from moneylenders, many of the poor, along with the family members, commit suicide.

Very often we think that poverty cannot be eradicated, however the problem can be lessened if we are willing to share our food with the hungry and provide shelter to the homeless and clothes to the unprotected.

The bus team getting ready for Gujrat earth quake relief operation in 2001 We live surrounded by a sea of suffering and poverty. If we look around, we can see hundreds of families struggling to make a living.

India is a country with the second largest population in the world and has 16% of the world population. According to Reaching Indians Ministries International (www.rimi.org), India has over 1 billion people in an area 1/3 the size of the US and in India. Over 600 million individuals live in deep poverty and 300 million live below the international poverty line. It is estimated that by 2020, India will become the most populous country in the world with nearly 1.3 billion people.

If the poor have at times starved to death, it is not because God does not care for them; rather, it is because you and I have refused to give them food. We have not been instruments of love in God’s hands so that He can give them bread or offer them clothing.

If we want poverty to disappear, we must share what we have. A gentleman once asked Mother Teresa, “What must we do to eliminate poverty from India?” She replied, “We need to learn to share with the poor.” Sharing with the poor and helping them in their need is something that God demands from us.

One of the major problems India is facing is unemployment.

Unemployment is like a cancer, eating society of its health and depriving people of joy and peace in their lives. Unemployment has resulted in a gap between the rich and poor, where the poor borrow from the rich for their existence. Often, the poor are unable to pay back their loans,

The number of the poor is very high because India’s population is very large, the second-highest in the world. The income distribution in India is better than three-fourths of the countries of the world, however it has not trickled down to all the sections of the society. The improvement in social indicators like health, education, population, income, etc. has not kept tempo with economic growth and poverty decline, and this has led to escalating interstate inconsistencies in growth and poverty. Low or no income and education are some of the major factors that point to poverty. Poverty apparently lands one into hunger.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields This hunger is clearly seen on the streets, villages and footpaths. The Indian governmental policies on income and education have not been implemented in a way that benefits the poor. Many women are underweight and undernourished which has made a major contribute to the fact that 30 percent of Indian babies are born weighing less than 5.50lbs.

India is home to 57 million (more than a third) of the world’s undernourished children. According to the National Family Health Survey, 46 percent of children under the age of three are underweight and 70 percent of children under five are anemic. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has acknowledged the severity of this situation as a “national shame.” The World Bank, quoting estimates made by the World Health Organization, states “that about 49 per cent of the world’s underweight children, 34 per cent of the world’s underdeveloped children and 46 per cent of the world’s washed out children, live in India.” Limited or no access to electricity, water, houses and sanitation are some of the other factors fueling poverty in India.

Therefore, in order to help the weaker section of society, we started a tailoring institute in the city of Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh where about 100 women are given training to stitch clothes and do embroidery work. The women who had been trained in the earlier batches are earning their livelihood by stitching clothes. Their income has been a source of blessing to their families because they could send their children to school and meet the basic needs of the family. We were also able to provide many economically backward families with sewing machines irrespective of caste or religion. The Lord enabled us thus far to provide 65 sewing 80

From The Monastery To Mission Fields machines to needy families and we hope to give more sewing machines to needy people in different states of India in the future.

Gujarat Relief Work If you are a regular reader of the newspaper, you will notice that every day in different parts of India women are burnt to death or they commit suicide due to the problem of dowry. In India, the people rejoice at the birth of a baby boy but with the birth of a baby girl there is grumbling and dissatisfaction. People express their unhappiness at the

C.V. among the homeless after Tsunami 81

From The Monastery To Mission Fields birth of a girl not because they do not like the child but because they need to pay a large amount as dowry at the time of the girl’s wedding.

One of the evils prevailing in the Indian society is the dowry system.

In many families, the girl is considered a burden right from her birth. At the time of their daughter’s wedding, the family needs to pay a huge amount of money (varying from place to place) to the groom’s parents.

I do not call this a gift because a gift is something you give voluntarily but in this case it is demanded. And the bride’s parents have to give whatever amount the groom or his parents demand. If they fail to give the amount within the stipulated time the innocent girl is harassed and tortured both physically and mentally. Many families are in tears because they are not able to get their daughters married off since they are not able to meet the dowry demand. I was disturbed when I saw the plight of so many families and the Lord enabled the Sathyam Ministries to give financial aid to a number of families, irrespective of their caste or religion and thus get their daughters married.

Gift boxes and love buckets were distributed to the victims of chikungunia and their family. In January 2001, our teams had also participated in the relief work in the earth quake affected areas of Gujarat.

Some of our members visited the schools in the village school in Vijayanagara and other places, where they distributed several gift boxes and love buckets. The gift boxes brought smile and happiness onto the face of the children, which in turn brightened our souls.

28 September 2009 shone a black day on the people residing in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. The normal rain took a cruel face, a torrential rainfall which eventually led to a 82

From The Monastery To Mission Fields grave flood. The Government has described this deluge as the most awful in many decades in Southern India, which killed more than 280 people. Thousands were left without a roof over their head and deprived of food and clothing.

The weather officials said that a depression in the Bay of Bengal led to the heavy rains in the region. This ultimately led to the death of about 169 in Karnataka, while the neighboring state Andhra Pradesh witnessed 50 deaths and 21 in Maharashtra.

Our Sathyam Ministry Relief Centre workers were sent to Andhra Pradesh. They were on their toe to help the people, who have been deprived of shelter, food, clothing and other necessities, recoup.

Through charitable works we were sharing the love of God. We proved that we were “created in Christ Jesus, for good works” (Ephesians 2: 10).

As we live in this dark world, St. Francis of Assisi prayers to the Lord, Make me an instrument of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy.

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been able to reach these villages personally, I always had a burden for these lost and perishing people. Deep inside I wanted to declare to them that Jesus is the only true and living God who could give them joy and peace. At the same time I also understood my inability to reach out to them. The Lord knew my innermost desire and He opened the door for starting Sathyam Theological Seminary.

Theological Seminary was initially started by the Faith Community Church, Los Angeles (California). One of the goals of Sathyam Ministries is to equip able men for the evangelization in the North Indian villages and we realized that we could at least aim towards

SATHYAM THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

If you ever travel from one part of India to the other in a train you will pass be many dirty, unclean villages and, according to the statistics, about 60 % of the country’s population live in villages. They live in tiny, thatched-roof, mud huts which are hardly ventilated, with dirt all around them. While traveling by train I have often thought about their eternity.

I have wondered, “Have they ever been reached with the gospel? Are there missionaries working in these slum villages?” And to this day I don’t think my question has a positive answer. Though I have never 84

C.V. with the Seminary Students this goal with the help of a seminary. Therefore in order to bring this into our dream of reaching the North Indian villages with love of Jesus Christ, Sathyam Ministries started Sathyam Theological Seminary on July17, 2003, at Mumbai (Bombay). The seminary was opened at the same 85

From The Monastery To Mission Fields time when the leadership conference was held at Mumbai sponsored

by Sathyam Ministries.

Sathyam Theological Seminary was started not to add to the list of seminaries. It was not started to compete with any other seminaries in the country. It was not started with the financial promises of an individual or a church. It was started with a clear vision and direction from the Lord. It was instituted when the Sathyam Ministries clearly felt the need of training native missionaries and sending them out to reach the people irrespective of caste or creed or religion with the

From The Monastery To Mission Fields “rightly dividing the word of God� with a vision and passion for the lost.

Our desire is that the graduates of our seminary will become the local pastors and church leaders on the front lines of evangelizing India.

The first batch of students in the Sathyam Theological Seminary represented six states of the country, with a total of 26 and 20 students, respectively. It was a humbling experience to train these men in the knowledge of the Word of God knowing that these dear students of ours were going to be the pillars of the ministry in rural villages of India.

The third batch of 16 students graduated on 16 March 2010 in the presence of Evg. Mathew Paul from Coimbatore, Pastor David H Mills and Pastor Jonathan Marshall.

At present, the fourth batch of students is being trained at the seminary. They are being educated in English and Hindi, as knowledge of both is essential for effective evangelism in North India. As part of their training, the students participate in the following programs in conjunction with their regular curriculum: Evangelistic outreach in remote villages, distribution of Gospel tracts, and preaching at open air meetings within the cities.

Third Graduation Ceremony gospel of Jesus Christ. It was established when the Sathyam Ministries felt the need for more native trained men of God to stand in the front line of the battle field, especially in the rural areas, by equipping them through theological education. It was set up because the Sathyam Ministries believe that each servant of the Lord has the right to master the basic doctrines of the Bible which will also prevent the teaching and spreading of false doctrines and also being victims of it. The desire and mission of Sathyam Ministries is to produce good native theologians

The students who study at the Sathyam Theological Seminary are provided with free boarding and lodging and given help in many other ways as and when the faculty and staff feels the need of it. I am grateful to God for providing Sathyam Theological Seminary with dedicated teachers and staff who love the Lord and labor for Him irrespective of time and are willing to cross any hurdle for the smooth functioning of the seminary. Without their hard work and dedication, smooth functioning of the theological seminary would have been difficult.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields At present the seminary is located in Kerala. In the long run, our vision is to accommodate about 500 students and to become an excellent academic as well as church planting institution in India. For this purpose, we need to construct a hostel and classrooms for students, and quarters for the faculty and staff. Hence, we prayerfully rely on God to provide us with the same.

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Justin’s Home Sathyam Research Institute and Disability Center

Every child, blonde or black, yellow or brown, is a gift from God.

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God has given them to our care to love them, nourish them and bring them up in the fear of the Living God. It is the desire of every parent that their child would grow up to be a person who brings them honor and respect in society. But what will be your reaction if you are told that your new born baby, whom you had longed to see and had been dreaming of all these months, is not a healthy baby as you had wished and will live all his life as a mentally disabled person? Do you think your castle which you had been building for your son/daughter will come 89

From The Monastery To Mission Fields crashing down? Well, that’s how I felt when my son Justin was born and doctors said that he is a mentally retarded child.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields Raising a differently able child at times is a real challenge. Mary and I had been challenged many times in the past few years in raising him.

These children cannot go to regular schools and have to be given special care and attention in every step.

As a child we took Justin to different hospitals and all they told us was his IQ was low. No doctor ever told us that he should not be put in a regular school for children. So when Justin was about 4 years old like any other kid in our country, he was sent to a regular school with the hope that he will pick up his lessons. But every day we got complaints from the school about Justin’s inability to adjust in the class and his attitude problem. Since we were receiving complaints from both teachers and students, we were forced to remove him from school.

A Mentally Retarded Child undergoing Vocational Training

At that time, we were told of a school for the mentally disabled children in another city. We drove to that city and met with the authorities.

After talking to them they promised to give Justin admission in their school. But the problem was since the school was far away; he could not stay with us and had to be in the boarding. On our way home, we told our son that he was going to be sent to the boarding school. Other than that the drive back home was quiet. The silence was broken by Mary when she expressed her desire to start a special school for the mentally challenged children in the town where we were staying. I did not encourage the subject because I knew that to start a school required a lot of finance and we did not have money then. Justin was disturbed with the thought of being send to the boarding school and did not sleep the whole night. We as parents were worried about the developments taking place in him and we dropped the plan of sending him to a boarding school.

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C.V. and Mary with the kids at the special school The moment our second son Justin was born, one look at him and we knew something was not right with him. But then we knew he was a gift to us from God and God wanted us to be good stewards of the gift he had given to our care.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields He was sent to another regular school closer to Mary’s school where she was working as a teacher with the hope that she will be able to pay more attention to him. But changing schools or placing him in a school closer to Mary’s work place did not improve the situation. We kept receiving complaints from school about him. The worst to suffer was Mary because in my absence she had to take care of him, manage home, office and then go for work. It was taking its toll on her. And if Justin failed to go to school one day, Mary had to take him with her to her school where she was working as a teacher. Justin was hyperactive and disturbed everyone.

Mary still remembers vividly one particular incident where she really cried out to God asking for special grace. Mary had been teaching the tenth grade when she was interrupted by one of the helper boys of Justin’s school. Excusing herself from class she came out to meet him to learn what happened to Justin and he told her that Justin has soiled his class room by wetting his pants. Mary excused herself from the class after explaining the situation to her students and by the time she reached Justin’s school- to his class room, there were no students in the class except him and he had messed the room completely. Anger and frustration gripped every inch of Mary and she was almost on the verge of tears. The other children were accusing Justin of soiling their classroom but Justin was least bothered about what was happening around him and what people were saying.

Mary looked around for water to clean both Justin and the classroom but there was no running water available anywhere. So she went to the well, fetched water and cleaned Justin and the classroom. People looked at her with sympathy but she did not want their sympathy. She was 92

From The Monastery To Mission Fields frustrated. She cried out to God “Please God, find me a special school for mentally retarded children closer to my home or give us money to start a school.” And God heard her despairing cry and when Justin was eleven years old, a special school for the mentally retarded children was open in the neighboring town and Justin was admitted there. In spite of finding a school for Justin, Mary was forced to quit her job to take care of him.

In the mean time we came across parents with children who were mentally disabled. In India to send a mentally disabled child to school is expensive and not every parent can afford it. Mary was moved with sympathy and she wanted to do something for these neglected and discarded children. Both Mary and I believe that God has gifted us with Justin to be a blessing to other parents who are struggling. Mary was all more burdened to do something for these mentally challenged children after reading Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, and she began to pray to God for opportunities to serve mentally challenged children. God answered her prayer and we were able to open Sathya Niketan – a learning disability center for the mentally challenged children, in a rented building and currently we have 48 children between the age of 3 and 15. Though much expense is involved in maintaining and running the institution most of the children coming to Sathya Niketan do not pay any tuition fee as they are from poor families. Our prayer to the Lord is that God will strengthen our hands to manage this institution for His glory and to be a blessing to the mentally challenged children and their families.

For 22 years, Sathyam Service Trust has been working in the field of social welfare and charity and had thrown light to the downtrodden 93

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in the society, through its outreaching programs and activities. It has mainly focused its activities in the area of disability and has prepared thousands to be independent. We understand disability as a condition of dependence, which can be ameliorated through proper guidance and training.

Hence, with the vision to empower the disabled population through the help of the society, I started the Sathyam Research Institute and Disability Center in Tiruvalla, Kerala. SRIDC is the result of immense requirement of uplifting the disabled population in the Indian society.

The mission of SRIDC is to expose and develop the hidden skills and abilities of a person with disability, to train and develop life skills, to promote and direct employment opportunities to people with disability, to remove social, cultural, economic barriers of disability towards development, to provide basic education and training for betterment in the life of a disabled person, to organize and implement a comprehensive, integrated program of research and training, to develop rural community infrastructure, to enhance opportunities for people with disabilities and to achieve their own goals by leading healthy and independent life.

We at SRIDC provide services like screening and identification, referrals for hospital and surgical interventions, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, mobility aids like wheelchair and tricycles, social survey and research works, day care and residential services, parent and student counseling, community and house based rehabilitation, health care and medical facility, daily living skills, and nutritional skills.

Apart from the Sathyanikethan School for the mentally retarded children, SRIDC also supports Women Employment Program, Industrial Training Center, Computer Training, Training Program for staff and

parents, Skill Development Programs, Pre-vocational Training, Printing Technology and Tailoring Unit.

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The Tailoring Unit of SRIDC Sathyam Ministries organized the 2nd International Seminar on Mental Retardation on 27 November, 2009 and 28 November, 2009 at the Kaviyoor Disability Center, Tiruvalla, Kerala. Around 250 people keenly participated in the seminar.

Jackie Mills- Fernald, Washington DC, who is considered to be the most valuable resource person interested in improving the access for people with disabilities, was the key-note speaker for the two-day seminar. She instituted the Capital Area Disabilities Ministries, a coalition of 20 Washington DC churches, in 2007. She has been an active participant of the Access Ministries since 1999.

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Justin's home The parents of mentally retarded children were taught the techniques to educate their child. They were also introduced to the ways to prepare a special curriculum tailored to their child’s needs. “Involve your child in extracurricular activities to foster a sense of social interaction�, said Jackie Mills.

The aim of this seminar to provide awareness to the parents as well as teachers in making their child self dependent, was successfully sent across to the hearts of all the parents.

About 100 mentally retarded children were left with excitement and happiness when they were given a great opportunity to cut a 300 kg cake in the form of a shooting star, as apart of the 2009 Christmas celebrations, which was organized in collaboration with the Physically Handicapped Association, Pathanamthitta, Kerala.

At the dawn of a new century, we are witnessing a new day in missions. A few years ago, no one dreamt that the Asian church would be ready to lead the final thrust. But dedicated native evangelists are beginning to go out and reach their own. Even more exciting: we have a role. God is calling all of us to be part of what He is doing.

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Sathyam Mission Schools

The moment you think of school, the picture that comes to our

mind is of children neatly dressed in their school uniforms and saying goodbye to their parents as the school bus comes to pick them up at their doorstep. This is a privilege that is enjoyed only by a few especially those living in cities. For the simple village folks, this is a fairytale or, even if reality, could happen only in a far, far away land.

In most of the villages the children do not go to school. For sure everyone will be enrolled in the school but hardly anyone goes to school.

As you read these lines, you might wonder why it is that child do not go to school or why the parents are not taking the initiative in sending them to school?

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields town looks like or cannot imagine that a person could talk over a phone.

For them, the phone, computer and internet are still unimaginable concepts. When the ministers of our country are talking of a hi-tech city, it makes no sense to the common man in the village. What bothers him is his paddy field and his animals which he wants to give his children as their family property.

Students of the Mission School, Gujarat In villages, more children means more hands for work in the fields and home. These parents do not know the importance of education and can hardly understand the need for it. For them sending a child to school is waste of money and time. They may consider sending their sons to school but many village folks still prefer to keep their daughters at home and the reason is “she is to be given in marriage to some man and why bother to teach her to read and write.” And the other reason for not sending the girl child to school is “she is not going to get any job by studying and so why teach her and spend money on her. Instead of going to school, if she learns how to manage both household work and the work at the field, it will be easy finding a suitable groom for her by the time she is of marriageable age.”

If you go to many of the villages in North India, you will find villages where not even one person has cleared his tenth grade. These villages are economically very poor and you will find people who haven’t crossed the boundary of their village. They do not know how or what a city or

Why blame the parents for not sending the children to school or why blame the children for not going to school? Most of the schools do not have even the basic necessities like benches and tables. The children sit on the ground and write by bending towards the floor, and during the winter they have their classes outside under a tree! And what shocked me the most was the complacent attitude of the government because most of the schools have only two or three teachers and they are to manage 5 to 6 classes at a time which is impossible. In addition to that, these teachers have to maintain all the records and accounts resulting in not going to classes and not teaching students.

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Children of the Mission School in the Vijayanagaram Village, Andhra Pradesh (India) along with their gift boxes.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields When I look at these children, I am always reminded that they are tomorrow’s citizen and are to be the pride of the nation. But if they are not disciplined and educated right from their childhood, they would, for sure, follow the path of their parents. I believe as Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we have responsibility and obligation to our society and our country at large. The privileges and jobs that we enjoy today are because our parents strove to give us the best education possible and if we consider how our parents or grandparents were inspired to educate us, it is because of the output of missionaries in their lives. The missionaries who came to India have made us aware of the need for education, they established schools for us so that we could study and rise on the ladder of success. But not everyone in India has been privileged as we are. Many of the towns and villages in our country still do not have access to education. If we ourselves who claim to be children of the Almighty God cannot do it for our own people, who will do it?

From The Monastery To Mission Fields As I traveled to some of the Indian villages, my heart ached and I determined to do something for them. The more I traveled the more I became sensitive to the need of starting schools in the villages, not with profit motive but for serving the poor, downtrodden and the oppressed.

After the devastating earthquake hit Gandhidam, Gujarat, Sathyam Ministries saw the opportunity and need to take part in the rebuilding process. In partnership with Global Impact, the Sathyam Mission School was opened in Gandhidam. Later on we felt an urgent and immediate need to develop a school in the village of Vijayanagara. In each of these schools, the children are taught not only to read and write, but also about the only true and Living God who can save them from eternal hell and give them joy and happiness and a promising future.

At Sathyam Ministries, we do not do these things because we have abundant resources, but because the love of God compels us. Our dream and prayer is a better India where everyone will be educated and call upon the name of the only one Lord who is Jesus Christ.

Sathyam Mission School has a twofold purpose. First, to create a Christian institution that would function as the head quarters for the ministry in the northern state of Gujarat and second to educate and raise up the children in a Christian environment and prepare them for their role in budding the Gospel. Scholarships are offered to the financially poor children so that they will also receive the same quality education.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields school is running in an owned building, while the new building is underconstruction. Truth Ministries International is praying that in the near future, plans for the purchase and construction of the building will be on its way. Please continue to pray for this new and exciting ministry. Pray that the children will be the good soil in which the seeds sown by the gospel grow and bring forth fruits pleasing to the kingdom of God.

Gujarat school Mission activities have recently been prohibited in Gujarat as the state government has made new laws. Religious fundamentalists in the changing Indian government have passed laws which make both public preaching and baptizing a new believer as illegal acts in Gujarat. This in turn has made these activities, the forefront of many anti-Christian laws, still pending in the state legislature.

The Sathyam Mission School is one of Sathyam’s efforts to find new ways to spread the good news. The Gospel message is proclaimed to the enrolled children despite the laws prohibiting the preaching of the gospel which at the same time is difficult to do in public ministry. Although the majority of the students are of Hindu religious backgrounds and a Christian banner flies at the entrance, parents are willing to send their children because of the quality curriculum and facilities available, making it a promising school.

Kids in high spirit eagerly waiting to play on the new playground received from Kids around the world & friends

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields on me that though the cities are crowded with mission organizations, pastors and evangelists, the villages are yet to be reached with the gospel. Therefore the Sathyam Ministries decided to send missionaries to interior villages that are unreached with the gospel.

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CHURCH PLANTING & VILLAGE MINISTRY

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n February 2004, while I was visiting the state of Andhra Pradesh, a lady about 80 years old came with tears in her eyes and hugged me.

I asked her, “Why are you crying and what can I do for you?” As I asked her these questions she began to sob uncontrollably and told me that she had been waiting to see me to thank me for sending the Sathyam Theological Seminary students to her village. And she wanted to know why the Sathyam Ministries delayed in sending missionaries to her village.

Believers of a Village Church Training evangelists for village ministry is one of the goals of Sathyam ministries. We have been able to train men in many batches teaching them basic Christian doctrines and methods of evangelization. We have realized that there are hardly any churches in the villages. Hence we are focusing on remote villages where there are no churches.

What she told me opened my eyes to the fact that there are still many villages in India which have never been reached with the gospel and the question,” Why did you delay in sending missionaries to my village?” by that old woman kept ringing in her ears. Then it dawned

These men who are send out to reach the unreached villages are people with passion and vision to reach out to them, willing to pay any price and use whatever means are available for spreading the gospel.

Many of these missionaries travel from one village to the other either on foot or bicycle to spread the good news. Rain or shine, they make their way through the rough gravel roads, along the paddy fields to the neighboring villages so that those illiterate, poor village folks will also know about Jesus. These villages are really the front line of the ministry.

In the cities, other churches and ministries are present to uphold truth,

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields but out in the villages, there are no churches. Most of these people have never heard the name of Jesus, much less of His great love and sacrifice. The wonderful thing about this ministry is that the people are so open and receptive to the Gospel. In many of the villages there is very little opposition from religious fanatics, and the work is fruitful and unhindered.

Comparing with the urban ministry, ministry in the rural villages is less expensive. The cost of a church building comes to nearly $100 and the evangelist can have their basic needs met for a mere $25 per month.

The life of a missionary in a village is really tough. Some of them toil for the Lord in those areas where no electricity or sanitation facility or proper transportation is available. But the native missionaries are determined to plant churches in those villages/ areas where there are hardly any churches. What makes the Sathyam Ministries reach out to those interior villages with the gospel is the love of God. Many of these villages do not have churches and compared to the cities, the cost of building a church in village is cheap and the living expense of the people is also cheap. In the villages it has been estimated that a family can have their basic needs met for a mere $50 a month and church constructed for only $500.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields where access to the word of God is limited. Many foreign pastors, such as Pastor David H Mills have come and made the church leaders aware of the need to plant churches in those places where people desire to hear the word of God, but have no access. States like Vijaynagara (Andhra Pradesh), West Bengal, Assam and Calcutta are the main targeted areas where we have started plans to plant the churches. The church leaders from various and near-by states have been made aware of this noble cause and they have promised their full support and prayers towards this action.

Pastor David Mills explaining to the leaders the importance of Church Planting

We have also had organized various and numerous seminars and conferences on Church planting, especially in the North-eastern India

Some leaders used to address the gathering with the word of the Lord, while the other evangelists share the updates of their ministries, their Assembly gatherings, church building and the needs of their assembly. Often, their meetings and worships have to be conducted in small open air sheds or in rented buildings. Despite such adversities their passion to spread the Lord’s word is truly incredible and inspiring.

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During December 2005, Sathyam Ministry students and the mobile literature team visited these villages. The team distributed thousands of gospel tracts and preached God’s word in many villages.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields Most of them, who come from Hindu background and had to face much persecutions from within their family and society, took these ordeals and tribulations as a mark of increasing their faith.

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LITERATURE MINISTRY The church leaders from various states taking notes during the conference When I see these missionaries working for the Lord I often imagine that God will give them a standing ovation as a mark of respect because forsaking the comfort of city life they are willing to live in villages with their families. For them not having a fan to relieve the heat of summer does not bother them or not having dry fire wood to cook meals during the rainy season is no reason to grumble. They are happy to climb hills and walk through valleys for the Lord Jesus Christ. If you ask them why they are doing it, all of them would unanimously say, “God has saved us and how can we not tell of this God to the village folks.”

If you ever asked me how I met Jesus Christ or who introduced me to Jesus Christ, without hesitation I would say, “a gospel tract.”

Yes, it was through a gospel tract given to me in a bus that changed my life. And I believe the written word has the power to transform

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields the life of an individual or a community.

It was a simple gospel tract that revolutionized my thinking and forced me to get out of the monastery not knowing what the future was holding for me.

I believe if a gospel tract could transform my life, it can do it to others too. And it was this belief that forced me into literature ministry. To give literature to a person you don’t need to be an orator or a preacher but a simple instrument in the hands of the living God. When I got out of the seminary, I was only a babe in my Christian faith and I did not know how to witness Christ or serve the people. But I knew I could write and thus began writing for the glory of God. When I saw my first book, “ Why I am not a Roman Catholic?” being sold in the market like hot cakes I was thrilled and determined to write again. Along my life’s journey of literature ministry God honored me and helped to become a leading publisher in South India.

As the ministry began to grow we felt the growing need for publishing a Christian family magazine informing the people of what is going on in different mission stations of the country. Thus Jeeva Vachanam, a family magazine, was started in 1991 and published as a biweekly. Through this media we are reaching out to people with news from different mission stations of missionaries with their struggles, challenges and also news from around the globe. We also publish Christian articles which help in the growth and renewal of individuals and churches both in India and abroad.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields had no access to books of his own language. This thought really bothered me and the Sathyam Literature Service took up the challenge of translating the books of some of the well known authors of the Christian world like Dr. Billy Graham, D. L. Moody, C. H. Spurgeon, C. H. Mackintosh, Dr. H. A. Ironside and Dr. Paul Yongi Cho. God enabled us not only to translate their books but also publish them. Translating and publishing these books had been a painful and tiresome job. But we forget it all when we see smiles on the faces of people as they are able to read and understand it in their own language. We forget about the struggle we endured and the money spent when we see students studying in the vernacular medium buying it for writing their assignments.

When I see all these happening right in front of my eyes, I silently thank God for saving me through one Gospel tract. It is my dream to translate many more books and make it available to the people in their own language. Please pray for me and the Sathyam Literature Service that God will give us the grace and strength to translate and publish many more books.

The landmark of our literature ministry was when the Sathyam Literature Service published the first encyclopedia in the Indian language.

For this major task more than 100 Bible scholars from India and abroad contributed. This encyclopedia is published in four volumes and contains 5000 pages and a lot of colored pictures.

As we ventured further into the literature ministry, I realized that there were very few books in Malayalam. This meant the common man

It had been my dream to own a large Christian book shop and God opened way for it in 1988. Sathyam Literature Service now has a large Christian book store in the heart of Tiruvalla and is known as Sathya Koodaram. Today it is one of the leading book stores and also serves a distribution outlet of Bibles, cassettes, Christian books etc. My prayer

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields to the Lord is that the Christian book store, Sathya Koodaram, will continue to serve the needs of the people and every person who comes into the store will know and love God. I had always desired that every believer rich or poor will have access to Christian books which will not only encourage them but help them in their spiritual growth and walk with the Lord. For doing this, last year Sathyam Literature Service decided to start libraries by donating books in different parts of the country with the co-operation of local churches and Christian organizations. We do this not because we have many books to be given away but with the prayer and belief that people will have access to Christian books and will not be disappointed at not having money to buy them. Please pray that God will strengthen our hands to donate books to many more churches in different parts of the country.

Though Sathyam Literature Service Trust started the Christian Book Store, Sathya Koodaram, in the city of Tiruvalla and about hundred Christian libraries with the cooperation of local churches and Christian organization around the country making literature accessible to as many as possible, the thought still bothering me was, “What about those villages and towns which still has no access to Christian literature?” In many ways I was happy that God had enabled us to reach out with the written word of God to thousands and thousands of people but I was not satisfied. I wanted to reach out to the whole of India- the dirty mud covered villages up in the north, the red light areas in the city of Mumbai, in short every corner of my country with the Gospel.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields The only way we could do it was through mobile literature ministry.

But then the question was finance. I shared my vision with my friends and church both in India and abroad and they generously helped for this project. With the prayers and help of believers all around the world, the Lord has made this Mobile Literature Unit called Vachana Vahini, or “Messenger of God’s Word” a reality.

Vachana Vahini is a custom designed large bus which serves not only as a mobile book shop but also provides with a convertible preaching platform as and when the situation demands. This mobile book shop, Vachana Vahini, is always on the move from one state to the other giving away literature and conducting meetings whenever possible. The road for Vachana Vahini had not always been smooth.

Often Vachana Vahini has come under attack from religious fanatics and anti social elements. At times the inmates of the bus have been threatened and were forced to cancel all other programs for that area and leave for the next city or village. Will you please pray for this ministry that God will honor our desire of reaching the villages and cities with the love of Jesus Christ through the written word? Till now Vachana Vahini covered all states of India except Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. Our prayer to the Lord is that God will enable Vachana Vahini to go to every state in India proclaiming Jesus is Lord.

Sathyam Ministry opened a new Literature Center in Mumbai in 2009. Translating the Bible into various languages has always been one of the goals of the Ministry. It has been our vision to publish the Bible in various languages, and hence equip the unreached with the reachable and readable word of God in the form of Bible translated in their native 113

From The Monastery To Mission Fields language. The centre has always been on the efforts to interpret the Bible in Hindi, which by God’s grace became successful.

To date, Sathyam Publications has published 482 Christian books, in addition to ‘TruthAlive”, a monthly Christian family magazine in English, which is circulated to over 2,500 readers in India, U.S.A, and the Middle East.

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INDIGENOUS MISSIONS

Can you picture a scene in heaven like this? After your death, you go to heaven and you are a bit nervous as to what is going to happen there when people realize your presence there. As you enter through the door, not knowing what to expect, an old man comes and shakes your hand and introduces himself. Soon you

A Christian family magazine Bible Encyclopedias, Bible Commentary, Systematic Theology, the Indian edition of Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, Ryrie Study Bible in Malayalam language, Hollman’s Bible Dictionary, Bilingual Bible in Malayalam-English and Bilingual Bible in Hindi-English are some of the most prominent works of the Sathyam Publications.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields are engaged in a happy long conversation. During the conversation the old man is hugging you with tears rolling down his cheeks and beard but is so overwhelmed at seeing you. All this while you stand there not knowing why the old man is crying and between his tears he is calling out “Jesus,” “Father Abraham,” “Moses,” “Peter,” “John,” “James” and other people of whom you have only read in the bible. As you are trying to listen to him while he calls out different people, you also hear some names being called out which are not familiar to you. Hearing the old man calling soon there is a big crowd and you are the centre of attraction.

And everyone is so happy to see you and some of them hug you and like the old man they are also crying but in between the sobs you can hear their whispers, “thank you.” For you nothing makes sense. After the initial commotion has died down, you ask the old man, “Why are people thanking me?” and he would say something like this. “These men are from different villages and tribes and culture and languages in India and nobody had ever been to their villages to share the gospel until a few years ago.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields Do you think this is going to be an imagined story? I believe it is going to be reality. The question to be asked is, “Is this going to be just a dream or will it be reality for the church in the west?” I believe this could happen and on that day we will know where we have laid our treasure.

God had blessed the West with many things. The people of the west have been born among the privileged elite of this world. They have everything in abundance while many parts of the world have little. They had the opportunity to hear the gospel or in fact to be saturated with the gospel message for centuries where as in India there are still people groups and villages which have not heard the name of Jesus even once.

In many of the Indian villages if you go and ask them, “Do you know Jesus?” or “Have you heard the name of Jesus?” they would tell us, “I am not aware of any one with the name Jesus staying in this village but you can contact the chief and he might be able to guide you to his house.” Or if you are asking the question to a shop keeper, he would say, “The commodity called Jesus is not available in this shop but may be available in cities.”

The mission agencies in India wanted to send missionaries to these villages and they had no resources of any kind to send them. During this time, you prayed for them and gave them financial assistance by sacrificing your luxury of eating ice cream after dinner and giving up on junk foods.

And you continued to send money to the mission agencies in India who in turn used your money for sending out native missionaries to unreached villages and tribals. As a result these native missionaries could go, share the gospel and lead many to the foot of the cross. And all the people who came and said ‘thank you’ to you are people from those villages where native missionaries went with the money send by you.”

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields The people of the West have every reason to be thankful because they have been born into affluence, freedom and opportunity to hear the name of Jesus whereas the people here in India are poor, bound by their traditions and customs and not everyone born in this country of India had the privilege of hearing Jesus. But the people of this land are hungry for peace and joy and are willing to go miles and journey for days to meet the Guru or visit the holy place or are willing to take a dip in the dirt-flowing river which they call the sacred Ganga. If you ask them why are they taking the trouble of visiting the Guru or the holy place they would tell you that it is for peace in their lives, for solution to their problems and ultimately for getting to heaven after death. It is the prayer of every Hindu that once in life time they will be able to take a dip in the sacred river Ganges and visit other pilgrim places because they believe it promises them heaven and peace and prosperity.

I still remember the day I cried out to God saying, Lord, “send me as a missionary” after reading an article. A woman had thrown her two year old son in a river because a Guru had told her she would receive peace and happiness in her life if she could sacrifice her only son to the river goddess. She stood there watching her child rising and falling according to the surge of water, sometimes

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields hitting the rock but his hands stretched towards his mother in the hope she would save him from death and all the while crying his lungs out to be saved from drowning. As she saw her child disappear, tears welled up in her eyes but she continued her prayer to the river goddess that the goddess would be pleased with her sacrifice and would grant her joy and peace and happiness.

Unaware of what was happening in her life, a man approached her with a small booklet in hand and told her that reading the book would help her find Jesus and he would guide her to eternal life and give her the joy and peace for which she had been searching. As soon as she heard this she burst out crying, held him by the collar of his shirt and brought her face closer to his and screamed in his ears, “Why did you not tell me about this God a few seconds before? Why did you delay in coming to my house, village to tell about this God?” “If only you would have come a few seconds before, my son would not have died.” But then it was too late. Her son’s cry could not be heard any longer, and he died so that his mother could receive the joy and peace for which she had been searching.

Who will go to these unreached people groups, tribes and language groups? How many more innocent children will have to die so that their mother/ father or family can receive peace? Who is responsible for their death? Is it their mother? Is it their beliefs or tradition that is responsible for the death of their son? No. It is you and I. We failed to reach them with the Gospel.

We have been complacent in our attitude and in our teachings. We have been content with what we have and what we are. Or maybe we 119

From The Monastery To Mission Fields are too busy accumulating for our future, children and attending business meetings on how to expand our business. God wants us to invest our time and energy and wealth for the extension and expansion of the kingdom of God. He wants us to invest our treasure in heaven where the moth will not destroy and our treasures will not rust.

God is calling us Christians to alter our lifestyle, give up the non essentials of our lives so that we will be better equipped to invest our wealth in the kingdom of God. Most of the native missionaries come from Hindu background. After having accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, they had been kicked out of their houses, and chased out from their villages. And many of them have lost their jobs and ultimately had to flee to save their lives. Is it their crime? They have accepted Jesus in their lives and thus brought disgrace to their families and tribes. But nothing could stop them from following Jesus. And these native missionaries have taken up the challenge of giving up their dreams and families and going to villages with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

From The Monastery To Mission Fields diversity that makes India such a tremendous challenge to missionary work.

Sathyam Ministry believes that the native missionary movement is the only hope for these unreached villages. Thousands of native missionaries are being raised up by the Lord in different parts of the country to reach out with the Gospel to the neighboring villages. It has been widely demonstrated that the native missionaries are easily accepted into new villages as they are able to identify with the people, their struggles and difficulties and to assimilate into their culture. I believe with the dawn of a new century, we are witnessing a new era in missions with the native missionaries leading in the battlefield. Years ago no one dreamed that the Indian churches or the native missionaries would be ready to lead the final thrust. But dedicated native evangelists are beginning to go out and reach their own people and nation for the Lord.

More than 50,000 villages are yet to be reached with the gospel in this land of India. And undoubtedly the unevangelized villages are some of the greatest evangelistic challenges facing the Christian community today. India, it is estimated, has more than one billion people - three times the population of United Sates. And only 3.5% call themselves Christians. If the present trend continues, India will be the most populous nation in the world with millions yet to be reached with the Living Word!

The exciting part in what is happening with the native missions is that the church in the west need not be a spectator to all that is going on.

God is calling you to be a part of world evangelism, to be a part of what he is doing. How? With the prayers and financial support of the western church, the native missionaries would be able to preach the Word more boldly and to many more people. In order to fulfill the task of the great commission the whole family of God is needed. The body of Christ, forgetting petty differences, needs to come together to rescue souls from the clutches of Satan and the door of hell.

India not only has a very huge population but each state has its own distinct culture, language, dress and diet and people groups. It is this

Can you hear the cry of a mother who lost her son to appease the river goddess for peace and happiness in her life? Can you hear the bereaved

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields mother yelling to the native missionary, “Why did you not come to our village a few minutes earlier with the gospel?” Well, church, it is time to forget our differences and unite together to spread the gospel. What is your role in spreading the gospel?

Romans 10:13-17 says that if these millions of people who do not know their right hand from the left call upon the name of the Lord, they will be saved. But how can they call on Jesus if they don’t believe in him? And how can they believe in Jesus if no one has ever gone to tell them about Jesus? This is a question we all must answer.

I encourage you to pray and see what role the Lord wants you to play in this indigenous mission. If the Lord is laying a burden on your heart to pray for the native missionaries, please let us know and we will be happy to give you details of them for prayer. Or if he is asking you to help support one or more of native missionaries let us know of your decision, you will receive the photograph and testimony of the missionary you are praying for and supporting.

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CONCLUSION

We can make it possible for millions of brown and black feet to

move out with the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ. With the prayer and financial support of the western church they can preach the Word to many multitudes. The whole family of God is needed. Thousands of native missionaries will go to the lost if Christians in the west will help by sharing resources with them.

Should all western missionaries pullout of India forever? No, of course not. God still sovereignly calls western missionaries to do unique and special tasks in Asia. But we must understand that the primary role for westerners now should be to support efforts of indigenous mission works through financial aid and intercessory prayers.

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From The Monastery To Mission Fields I often picture the following the scene in my mind. And I am sure this will be reality in heaven. People from every tongue and tribe and nation will come and hug us and thank us for sending missionaries to their tribe, village, culture etc.

India has more than one billion people - three times the population of the United States. Only 3.5% of these call themselves Christians.

Although this figure reflects the official government census, a number of key Christian leaders who understand the situation believe the number of Christians is actually much greater than reported. Still India, with nearly 500,000 unevangelized villages, is undoubtedly one of the greatest evangelistic challenges facing the worldwide Christian community today.

If present trends continue it will soon be the world’s most populous nation. Many of the states in India have larger populations than whole nations in Europe and other parts of the world. Not only are their populations huge, but each state is usually as distinctive as if it were another world. Most have completely different culture, dress, diet and language. In short India is a nation with many languages, people and tribes. This diversity is what makes India such a tremendous challenge to missionary work.

As I sat for dinner after days of missionary conference the topic of our discussion was the preacher and his classes on leadership.

As I visit different villages, I can sense and experience God moving mightily among native believers. I believe these are the days of revival and the time for the whole family of God to unite and share with one 124

From The Monastery To Mission Fields another as the early church did, that is richer churches giving to the poorer.

The body of Christ in the East is looking to the West to link hands with them in this time of harvest and to support the work with the material blessings that God has showered upon them. With the love and support of the West, I believe, we can help native evangelists and their families march forward and complete the task of world evangelization in this century. I believe the will of God will not be accomplished in our generation unless the people of God wake up and respond to the cry of the lost. Each of us must follow the Lord in the place to which He has called him. There has always been the system of ‘the native missionary in his land and the sponsors in their land’. Hence financing and supporting the native evangelists should also be done from India, apart from the West. Some obey by going while others obey by supporting. You might be saying that you would like to go as a missionary but my responsibility/ circumstance is holding me back. You don’t need to be disappointed.

I think I have good news for you. You may not be able to go but can fulfill the great commission by helping send native brothers to the pioneer fields by supporting them with your finance.

God has placed us on this earth with a purpose. God wants us as His children to serve Him, love Him and be His witness. The great commission reveals the reason God has left us here on earth. The reason God has placed us on this planet is to be His witness. To be a witness involves not only handing out leaflets, holding street meetings or preaching. It also means to pray, to help missionaries and encourage 125

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missionaries to reach out to the unreached people groups and villages.

As the days go by, I continue with the same message, which is that hungry, half naked, hurting native missionaries are waiting to go to the next village with the gospel, but they need your prayer and financial support. What we need in this century is not new theories or theologies, but the cooperation of Christians in both east and west in spreading God’s Word. The challenge we have is: are we as Christians, one in the body of Christ, willing to join our hands and hearts together - regardless of our national boundaries - to spread the good news?

Truth ministries Intl. board meeting Dr. C.V's graduation from Biola University, California 126

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“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few�

(Matthew 9:37) INDIA CHALLENGES

! Over 1 billion people in an area 1/3 the size of the US. ! 28 states and 7 Union Territories ! 4,635 people groups 6,400 castes. ! 40% illiterate (equal to the entire population of the US, Canada and Mexico!) ! 18 main languages with over 1,650 dialects. ! Over 600 million live in deep poverty with 300 million living below the poverty line. ! Per capita income of $370/ year (1.2% of the US). ! Religion: Hindu 80%, Muslim 12.5%, Christian 2.4% (less than 1% in Northern India). ! Over 600,000 villages (2/3 of these villages have no Christian resident workers!).

“Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God�

William Carey

SATHYAM MINISTRIES 15 YEARS GOALS 1.Plant 50 new churches in each State of India.

2.Conduct 5 Evangelistic event every year.

3.Establish one seminary in each State.

4.Build up the main seminary in Kerala.

5.Conduct five leaders conference every year.

6.Develop one orphanage in every state.

7.Distribute 5000 free wheel chairs to each state 8.Establish medical clinics.

9.Construct one Vocational Training Center in each state.

10. Establish a more advanced special school and develop a training program for special teachers in Kerala state.

11.Make one evangelistic mobile bus team for each state.

12.Establish 10 schools in different parts of the country.

13.Print the Bible in 10 Indian languages.

14.Distribute 10000 tailoring machines to poor women in villages.

15.Eradicate caste system through starting schools.

HOW CAN YOU HELP US ?

I have a vision to reach the unreached villages/people groups with the gospel. I can hear the cry of the poor, down trodden and oppressed in society and am determined not to be a spectator or silent listener to their cry but help them know Jesus, the giver of eternal life, joy and happiness. I understand that it takes only $50 to sponsor a native missionary family per month and $100 to construct a village church.To sponsor a child in the orphanage/seminary would cost $25 per month.

To begin sponsoring today call 562 477 8372 (USA) or Contact

Truth Ministries Intl. Inc. P.O.Box - 1088 La mirada -California, USA - 90637 or

Sathyam Ministries Thottabhagom P.O., Thiruvalla -689 541, Kerala, India.

Tel/Fax: 0469 -2619209, 2619005 Mob:9447126182 Email: cvv.india@gmail.com www.sathyam.org

" All the money sent by you goes directly to your chosen cause and nothing is taken for administrative purposes. " All donations are tax deductible.

TRUTH MINISTRIES

WE CARE THE BODY & THE SOUL