Tuesday, October 6th

From Cynthe:

Greetings from Gurgeon, New Delhi!

We are here, safe and sound, now into our second full day in India, and having gotten enough sleep to be well rested at last! We have been so grateful for the hospitality of Aunty Molly, Lacki, Indu and Minga. They have taken good care of us - and we have greatly enjoyed getting to know them a little more in our two days.

This morning we fly out to Pune (120 miles south of Bombay/Mumbai). We are looking forward to fellowshipping with some women in a counseling center that Aunty Sheila has been ministering. Laurel and I will sing, Laurel will share her testimony and I will share from Matthew 1. Tomorrow we'll enjoy a morning of sight-seeing.

I personally have been deeply humbled in hearing the stories of God at work through the Aunty's lives. These Massey sisters are incredible women of God, with steadfast faith, humility, deep love and compassion for others, and a Gospel-orientation in their lives that deeply challenges me. It seems each person we meet boasts of the incredible influence the Massey sisters have had in their lives. God is truly at work in powerful ways here.

Persecution is at large, though. Aunty Molly told us yesterday morning about a man, Pastor Isaac, whose church was just two kilometers from her home, who was beaten and his church destroyed, because of his faith in Christ. Please pray with me for him and his family - and others in their community who now face greater fears of persecution than they have previously known.

We are safe from the violence - the Auntys are extra-cautious about where we are allowed to travel. Yet the violence is real. Pray for the safety of the Auntys and all the believers here in India. This kind of persecution is unprecendented.

I look forward to being able to share more when we get back from Pune. Thank you all for your prayers! We continue to feel God's strength in our team unity, in our health (not one of us has gotten Delhi belly yet!) and in our overall well-being thus far. We have been continuing to pray that God would make our presence a blessing, and a demonstration of His strength and love to those around us.

May the riches of His grace be yours in Christ,
Cynthe on behalf of the Team