February 2011 Global Church Newsletter

We left Australia on Monday the 27^th December, 2010 and arrived safely in Dharma Puri in the early hours of Tuesday morning.  It was such a joy to see everyone and to spend the next few days sharing with the Eastgate Pastors in India. 

The Lord has blessed Mercy and Vinci with bumper crops and they have been able to share their  abundance with other  local farmers who are in need.

Our next stop was Colombo, Sir Lanka where we held the Pastors’ Retreat.  This was a time of refreshing for the Pastors and their families. Most of them had never been on holidays before.  We also hired 2 boats and took them around the lagoon which was next to the guest house we were staying at.  We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs as the clouds came over and the wind began to blow.  Those of us who didn’t get wet by the waves, got wet by the rain but thankfully it was very hot and it didn’t take too long to dry off.

On the last night we had a talent show and enjoyed being entertained by so many talented people.  Singing, dancing, drama, it was wonderful.  Our relationships are growing strong and we are becoming a family.  There were lots of tears when we left.

Pastor Sathiya whose work is in the tea plantations of Balangoda, shared with us his need for transport.  His wife Baradi is expecting their third child and can no longer travel by bus and walk the last few kilometers to the church.  Last Sunday we took up a love offering and have raised the money required for a deposit on a three wheeler.  This will allow him to earn an income as well as transport for his family. 

Since we left Colombo, Pastors Artheepan and Gnanidas have been flooded twice and have had to relocate their families to refugee camps.  They have now returned home and we thank God for their safety. Please continue to pray that this won’t happen again.

Our monthly commitments to overseas missions are:

• India $700.00
• Bridges for Peace $100.00
• Sri Lanka $600.00

Thank you for being so faithful in your giving. We are seeing God take what we give and multiply it far beyond our expectations. Our God is great!  Our God is awesome! Our God is faithful to His word!

Blessings

Pastors Alan and Mary