Extending Hope

Shekhar was tired of going from temple to temple in search of healing. It never worked. Shekhar was only in his teens but he had a disease that would turn his skin pigment white and leave him disfigured. Although his family had taken him to many Hindu temples to be prayed for by the priests, their prayers had not been answered. Life seemed hopeless.

But one day Shekhar’s uncle, who was a believer, shared with him about Jesus. He told Shekhar that Jesus had the power to heal him. Shekhar asked Jesus to bring the healing that he longed for, and told Jesus that he would serve Him if he was healed.

Jesus answered his prayer and healed Shekhar! And as Shekhar began to follow Jesus, God called him from his home in South India to serve as a missionary in North India. While there is a strong MB church conference with almost 100,000 believers in South India, there are few believers in the North. The Indian MB Conference leadership has been hearing a call to the North and together with MB Mission has started to work in Delhi and in Patiala in the Punjab region.

Shekhar was trained in church planting and is now working among the Sikh people in North India. North and South India are very different and it is almost like moving to another country. Shekhar is learning a new language, adjusting to a different climate and a new diet, and trying to understand the culture in the North.

There are many people in India who have not yet heard the good news. Praise God for raising up missionaries like Shekhar who are responding in joyful obedience to His call to the North. Pray for strength and boldness for Shekhar as he shares about the power, love, and hope that are found in Christ.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” – 1 Peter 1:3