Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approuch unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even thy holy temple."  (Psalms 65:4)

      Family Radios group of 15 weary missionaries from various parts of the United States were met by our leader, Mr Sumanth of Family Radio School of the Bible, at about 3am Thursday morning, November 14, 2002 at the Mumbai (Bombay) Airport. After a few hours of sleep, we were up for breakfast and out into the city with thousands of "Does God Love You?" tracts in the Marathi language. A lady who lives in Pune, India also joined our group. She has helped distribute tracts on several missions to India in the past. We are grateful that God has raised up five first timers for this important work of proclaiming the True Gospel of grace on this 17th mission trip to India.
      One team visited an area that the people seemed pleased that someone came. Many were so poor that they had to pick through the garbage to find food or anything of use. They were elated to receive the gift of God's Word, and the explanation of God's salvation plan on the tracts. They greeted our people with smiles and no one asked for any money. Please pray for these dear people who have none of this world's riches but now have the Word's of Eternal Life in their hands. Could it be that God in His grace, mercy, and love will cover the spiritual nakedness of those people with the robe of Christ's rightousness?
      We experienced an excellent reception to the tracts which we handed out at a rapid rate. We covered two of the large train stations where there was a steady flow of people entering and leaving throughout the day. Depending on the location of the missionaries, it's possible to hand out well over 1,000 tracts per hour at those stations. Many of the tracts are then carried to distant parts of India by the recipients. We praise God for keeping the door open to the Gospel here in India.

Please pray for our work and that God will use His Word in the hearts of many Indian people to draw them to Himself for His honour and glory.

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TRIP TO INDIA, Mumbai & Nasik, Maharushtra State

LETTER 2

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shalt be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."(Acts 1:8)

Distribution of the "Does God Love You?" tracts continued at a rapid pace in Mumbai today. Our teams worked at several large train stations, a hospital clinic complex, a large street market, and several schools. The reception factor remained high and the discarded tract volume was relatively low. We always make an effort to pick up as many of the discarded tracts as possible, and sometimes we get help from a few kind Indians.
      As is our usual practice, we moved out farther from our hotel in several different directions. Some locations required a one hour taxi ride each way. For those of us who have been to other cities in India, the absence of the 3 wheel "autorickshaw" was immediately apparent. Usually we travel in teams of three in those small and manueverable rickshaws, but they have been banned from the main parts of this city because of all the air pollution they cause with their two-cycle engines that burn a gasoline and oil mixture.
      Despite all of the religious turmoil that India has been experiencing, we thank God for His hand of restraint on those who would seek to interfere with our efforts to send the True Gospel of Christ. The resistance we have encountered has been relatively minor as we continue to ask for God's protection and guidence.
      We can see God's hand upon us in many ways on these trips. Here is an example as experienced by one of our lady missionaries: We came upon a place with a high fence and lots of women inside. I thought it must be a womens jail and wondered how I could give them the tracts. As I was standing there, a man came up and asked if he could help me. I said I wanted to give the women some Gospel tracts. He said he was the principal of this womens school and wanted to read the tract first. After he read the tract, he said, "Give me 127 tracts and I will give one to each of the students.
      We distributed all of our tracts at a large train station and found that I had only one left.I wondered who should get the last tract and saw a disabled woman begger half asleep. I gave her the tract and immediately she was energized and began reading the tract in a loud voice to the people around her. We praised God for His guidence and mercy and returned to our hotel with much joy in our hearts.

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TRIP TO INDIA, Mumbai & Nasik, Maharushtra State

LETTER 3

"O how I love thy law! It is my mediation all the day." (Psalms 119:97)

     By God's wonderful grace, our hard working group remains healthy and joyful in the Lord. We are all grateful for the priviledge of serving Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior in this spiritually dark land.
     We have been joined by dozens of guests at our Bible studies for the past two nights. Some are members of an english speaking church and seem to be hungry for the True Gospel. We supplied them with King James Bibles, various Family Radio booklets, and information about the Family Radio School of the Bible.
     Last night all of the conference rooms were in use by other groups, so the hotel staff quickly set up a meeting area for us on top of the roof and provided temporary lighting. We could see fireworks displays all around us from a festival as we talked about Jesus Christ, the True Light of the World.
     One of our first time missionary men when asked about his impressions and experiences shared the following: It was if I had hundreds of nieces and nephews screaming my name, the small school children in one Mumbai location kept calling me "Uncle English." They wanted Family Radios "Does God Love You?" tracts. They surrounded me in order to shake my hand and get the tracts. At one point, the teachers let the children come out from class early to receive the Good News from us in both the English and Marathi languages. I noticed they wanted to say "Hello" and "How are you?", to which I responded "Jesus Christ is Lord". Perhaps they will practice this response with favor, Lord willing!
     On Saturday our team of four distributed tracts at the Bombay Central Station. The Lord had given me the opportunity to witness to two Israeli teenagers travelling to Goa, India. We talked for several minutes and they promised to read the tract with an open mind. They told me God loves me, and I responded as I had earlier with "Jesus Christ is Lord". They smiled as they departed.
     While distributing tracts in a local street I had momentarily glanced to the top of a high rise building. Several small children were watching us. I waved to them and they waved back. Several minutes later 3 girls were standing beside me with a wide grin. I shook their hands and gave them a Marathi language tract. One man standing by talked with them in their native tongue and I took their picture. I approched the man to thank him. He did speak English and professed to be a Christian. The Lord moves in such marvellous ways. His choreography of events is perfect and flawless. I invited the man to a Bible Study this evening. I hope he comes to fellowship with us.
     This mission trip has been a great blessing for all of us, and we pray that God will continue to raise up faithful men and women to serve Him in this manner. Your prayers and financial support are what makes these trips possible.

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TRIP TO INDIA, Mumbai & Nasik, Maharushtra State

LETTER 4

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

     Sunday, November 17, 2002. After breakfast we had a short worship service and our four teams dispersed to various locations in and around Mumbai. The weather has been sunny, hot (with temperatures in the mid 90's), and very humid during the past four days since our arrival. We continue to thank our Lord for guiding and protecting us as we bring the Words of Eternal Life to the people here and for the good tract reception wherever we have worked.
     Although we are primarily distributing the "Does God Love You?" tract in the local language, Marathi people who have moved here for employment purposes from other parts of India or who may be passing through usually cannot read Marathi ask for the national language of Hindi or English, which we can also provide to aquaint them with the Truth of God's salvation plan.
     In contrast to the tract, one team was working in a busy market when many followers of a well known guru passed by dressed in their trademark of white robes. They were on their way to pay tribute to the guru with flowers and gifts and to catch a mere glimpse of him. They were expecting over 100,000 people to throng the area to hear his teachings that all mankind is good and that one should have complete faith in oneself.
     We are thankful that many of those followers of the guru accepted our tract that explain the sinful nature of mankind and our need for the Saving faith of Jesus Christ. Please pray that God will apply His Word to the hearts of many of those people as well as many others in India.

The following comments were contributed by another man who is a first time missionary:

This is my first mission trip with Family Radio and so far it is to early to relize the effects this trip will have on both the people here and the members of this group of believers passing out the tracts. It is so plain to see that the people here are not only lack things like food, shelter,and other things that we have and enjoy back home. The thing that they are lacking most is the True Word of God, The Bible. They are so tossed about by many false gods, doctrine, and philosophies, they don't know the real truth. We are constantly praying that God will bless our efforts and save those here that He intends to save through our hands and bodies as we go out and hand them His precious Word the Gospel. May God continue to give us strength and keep us well so that His will may be done and everything we do is faithful to His Word. We pray we will be used as His tools to bring His people here in India to truth to His honor and Glory alone. May His great salvation abound now and forever.

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TRIP TO INDIA, Mumbai & Nasik, Maharushtra State

LETTER 5

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." (Colossians 3:17)

     Monday, November 18, 2002. Today we experienced another high volume day of tract distribution. We continue to work in new areas in Mumbai. Our missions group consists of 8 men and 9 women, 12 from outside the United States and 3 from India. It is always a pleasure to be a part of such a diverse group of brothers and sisters in Christ and to work harmoniously together for the sake of the Gospel.
     God continues to open many doors to the Gospel and to guide us in wonderful ways. The opposition our teams have encountered has been minor and short-lived, and we are thankful for that. An example of this would be when a well dressed man approached one of our missionaries on the street and introduced himself as a government official. After a brief conversation about our work, he gave his cell phone number and said to call him day or night if we have any problems.
     Today we visited the largest public hospital and clinic in Mumbai, where the tracts were well received. We also continued to visit schools, markets, and busy train stations where there is a continued flow of people. As we were picking up discarded tracts near one train station, a young vendor offered the following advice: "Don't give the papers to those who don't want them, they just throw them down." If only we knew in advance, our distribution efforts would be much more efficient.

Please continue to pray for us and that the Gospel will have free course in this vast religious country.
In Christian Love,
The Family Radio Mission Team in India

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men:" (Colossians 3:23)

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TRIP TO INDIA, Mumbai & Nasik, Maharushtra State

LETTER 6

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

     Tuesday, November 19, 2002. While distributing the "Does God Love You?" tract at a busy train station outside the inner city of Mumbai one of our missionaries was approached by a man who spoke fluent English. After receiving a tract, he explained that he was a street evangelist also but was not affiliated with any church or denomination. He said he had in his heart to share the Gospel of Christ and has been doing just that in recent months. He asked for some more tracts and whatever number of Bibles we can afford to give him so that he can distribute them to the poor people in the rural areas. We invited him to come to our hotel to speak to our leader Mr. Sumanth, about his needs. It is always a blessing when we meet people who have the same desire to proclaim the precious Gospel of grace as we work in many places all over the world.
     Three young men who have been attending our nightly Bible Studies strapped on backpacks full of tracts and went with one of our teams to a very busy area this morning. Apparently they were impressed by the work we have been doing and had the desire to participate. A number of people from our Bible Studies have filled out applications for the Family Radio School of the Bible and have turned them in to Mr. Sumanth, who works in the School of the Bible.

Please pray that the men and women in this city who will avail themselves of Family Radios numerous Bible teaching resources, and continue with the work of the Gospel.

     By God's grace, tract reception remains high and resistance to our work remains low. As we hand out each tract as a personal gift we wonder how God's Word will impact each person's life. If the receprient reads it, his life will never be the same; and it is always a pleasure to see so many people sitting, standing, and walking along reading the precious Gospel of Christ. Most of these people have never heard the basics of the True Gospel of salvation. We come with a clear message of judgment and grace, which is not something most people want to hear, but in something they need to hear.
     Tonight we held our last Bible study in this city and the large conference room was packed with people many of whom come for the first time. We gave them Bibles and Family Radio Bible study booklets. For those who have access to computers, we gave them compact discs that contains most of Family Radios written material as well as many hours of audio Bible studies. These CD's are a very economical way to distribute the Gospel in these last days.

In Christian Love, The Family Radio Mission Team in India

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

FAMILY RADIO MISSION TRIP TO INDIA, Mumbai & Nasik, Maharushtra State

LETTER 7

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20)

     Friday, November 22, 2002. This letter covers activities of the last three days of this trip. "Be ye reconciled to God" is the message we are bringing to the people of Nasik, India with the "Does God Love You?" tracts, and those who read the whole tract are then confronted with the final question, "Are you ready to meet God?" We wonder how many of those will become troubled by this warning of the Judgment to come.
     Our rickshaw teams worked in their assigned locations all over this city again today, and one "Roving Rickshaw" moved from place to place and into the suburbs. Tract reception continued to be high and opposition low under God's merciful hand.
     This is a big month for Hindu weddings because of good weather conditions. Every wedding is a major production with bands, processions, receptions, and many relatives and friends of the bride and groom. Sometimes the groom rides through the various parts of the city on horseback to meet his bride with much pomp and ceremony. These events give us opportunities to distribute tracts to the onlookers. During the last two nights, there have been three different wedding parties at our hotel, and there has been much merry-making into the wee hours. Out of respect to the participants, we do not disrupt the activities by distributing tracts to the hotel guest's, but we are quick to give anyone a tract who sees our "Does God Love You?" badge and asks about it. These weddings bring to mind our Lord's work in Mat 24:38 about "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark."
     One team with two of our Indian ladies concentrated on schools today. They were allowed inside to pass out tracts in eight schools and colleges and were able to catch a few more as the children were leaving. We make a special effort to give tracts to young people because it is a good way to reach entire families with the Gospel. A boy about 15 years old stood in front of one of the ladies and shouted, "She is preaching the white man's religion. My father received one of these tracts yesterday and told me not to read it. Don't take any tracts from her!" That just aroused the other boys' curiosity, and a group of about 40 crowded around her to get the tracts. God works in many wonderful ways when we faithfully send forth the True Gospel of grace.
     Saturday, November 23, 2002. From our perspective, our situation suddenly took a turn for the worse at about 5:00 o'clock this afternoon when "there arose a small stir" amoung a rowdy crowd of radical Hindu men against the Gospel of Christ. Four members of our group were roughed up slightly while distributing tracts in the busy commercial center of the city. The men took away all of the missionaries' remaining tracts, piled them up, and burned them up in four seperate bonfires. They also stole several backpacks with personal items, but our people were able to get safely away from the tumult, albeit quite shaken by the experience.
     We know that religion is big business in this country. Many people make a living by crafting and selling idols and all manner of items used in the practice of religious ceremonies and we were reminded of the words of Demetrius, a silversmith who made shrines for the goddess Diana of the Ephesians in Acts 19:23-28.We also know that religion is a big part of the politics of this country, and right now the Hindu party is in power. As we later learned, they had a huge political rally at 6:00 o'clock in that very same area, and the situation might have been a lot more serious if our people had not been driven away from there only one hour earlier.

The rest of our group who worked in other areas in and around Nasik experienced the usual excellent reception of the tracts that we have come to expect here over the past 2 1/2 days.

     On a lighter note, one of our lady missionaries, who was born in India, offers this account: "A guy asked me what the tract was all about, and I told him it is the Word of God. He then wanted to know "which god?", and I said "Jesus", but he didn't understand, so I said in Hindi, "Yeshu Masih" [EE'-SHOO MAH-SEE'-HAH]. Still he couldn't understand. Then I said "Khreest", and he became very happy and replied, "I know Christmas is coming next month, but why are you distributing so soon? People will forget by the end of December. Anyway, if I forget by Christmas, sister, please bring me some cake." The Christians around here celebrate Christ's "birthday" by giving other people pieces of cake.

Sunday, November 24, 2002. We have concluded that yesterday's ruckus was a carefully organized attack against us and not a spontaneous event, and we have decided to stop tract distribution in the city center today.

     We have held our customary Lord's Day worship service this morning, and one team made a scheduled visit to a large prison to hand out tracts and Bibles in Marathi and English. Although there are 2,080 men and 30 women inmates, we were only allowed to meet with about 20 men and 10 women who are identified with Christianity. Several officers and guards also received tracts and Bibles. Seventy Bibles are now in that spiritually dark prison, and we pray that God will shine the Light of the Gospel there in a mighty way.

Other teams went to several markets away from the city center and to some outlying villages and experienced no further problems.

     This is our last report for this trip. We have distributed over 50, 000 tracts here and plan to travel by bus back to the Mumbai Airport tomorrow afternoon. God willing, we will all arrive safetly to our homes in the United States on Tuesday, November 26, 2002.
     By God's grace we placed a total of 450,000 "Does God Love You?" tracts and 826 Bibles in the hands of the Indian people. Please pray that God will pour out His mercy on these dear people and raise up faithful men and women who will take advantage of Family Radio's free resources and continue the work of the True Gospel of Christ in this country.
     We thank God for His guidence and protection and give Him all the praise and glory for what He has done through us on this trip. We also thank the listener/supporters of Family Radio for their prayers and financial support that make these Mission trips possible. We consider our being "Ambassadors for Christ" on these trips a great honor and privilege and highly recommend it to others.

In Christian Love,
The Family Radio Mission Team in India

"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word; in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."
(1 John 2:3-5)