COVID Update: India
Dear loving brothers and sisters in Christ, greetings with gratitude from the servant of Jesus Christ, Sanjay Darla.
Please allow me to present to you my ministry report for the months of April and May in 2020.
Fear of the coronavirus pandemic has been on the rise, and many problems related to it have surfaced here in India. However, we have kept our hearts in steadfast prayer, and we are keeping our trust and hope in our Lord.
My dad and I have trained thousands of young men as preachers and teachers of God’s Word in many cities in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, and Kerala since 1998. However, as police have been putting increasing pressure on everyone to stay confined to their homes, with no worship or meeting going on, and without any contributions available, these preachers are now facing terrible conditions—such as suffering from hunger.
With the kind help sent by you, many preachers have survived, and they really are thankful for the help you have sent in this most critical time. We have distributed food such as vegetables, rice, pulses (lentils, peas, and beans), and edible oil.
This has also opened new doors for our Gospel ministry. These preachers have shared a portion of your help with the villagers to whom they have been preaching the Gospel. The villagers who received this relief rejoiced so much and have opened their hearts to receiving the Gospel more.
As we are not allowed to go outside, God—by his grace—blessed me to preach and teach daily using Facebook Live from my home. With the days seemingly lengthened, many groups of Telugu-speaking Hindu Orthodox Brahmins have started to watch my Facebook videos. Many of them have also requested that I teach the same lessons in English, so that they can share with their families (some of whom have settled in Argentina and Guatemala).
In accordance with their requests, I have made several YouTube videos supported by graphics in a way that they can understand the messages. Day by day, some of the well-known Hindu and Muslim political leaders have also started listening to the Word of God. I praise God—for He has used this lockdown situation to open new doors into the hearts of political leaders, who in a normal situation might not have ever heard the Word of God through Facebook Live.
I request that you kindly keep these new Facebook and YouTube ministries in your prayers.
After watching our Facebook Live teachings daily for 3 weeks, one of my friends who is the CEO of a Christian devotional channel suggested that I present the same lessons through his TV channel. God has really blessed this program. Now, many preachers with whom we’ve been connected for many years are so happy with the TV programs. Previously, they could not listen to the monthly teachings that I gave in their native places due to the lockdown. They are now able to receive the Word of God through these TV programs.
Church members of these preachers are also very happy to be able to hear the Word of God through the TV program. The local church members in Nellore are also very happy to watch the Bible programs on TV, as they could not attend the normal worship and the various Bible classes in the church building. The TV programs are able to reach all the places where we would normally conduct monthly preacher trainings and weekly Gospel meetings.
Kindly keep this TV ministry in your prayers.
In the month of May, I started helping the migrant laborers on the national highway with daily essential food items. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, they walk with their small children many miles from their work place to their homes under the hot sun burning on average 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Their feet are cracked deep and have begun bleeding due to the heat. Many have lost their daily labor jobs due to lockdown.
Also in the month of May, I began helping poor villagers in the villages near my home town of Nellore with edible oil, vegetables, and rice (as they get only rice and pulses from the government store). However, the rice provided by the government stores are not edible for consumption as it is old and outdated rice.
These villagers are isolated from towns and live alone in fear without any access to their basic daily needs due to the lockdown. In spite of this, this situation has opened the new door for me to preach the Gospel to them, sing, and praise God with them. I don’t think they would have cooperated under normal conditions. The villagers might have been busy with their agriculture works and religious activities in their temples if the lockdown had not happened. But, I utilized this lockdown situation to bring courage and hope into their hearts and minds by the Word and hymns of God.
I really thank God and praise Him for opening all these new opportunities. We are establishing faith and hope in Him in the hearts of many Indian people through the pandemic situation and the lockdown.
We have provided relief to 55 preachers with your help in this pandemic situation. All of us convey our humble and loving gratitude to you for your timely help.
We have also helped blind people and leprosy patients in the villages. There are also poor women in the local congregations who are daily wage laborers. They’ve lost their work due to the lockdown.
Here in Nellore, more and more streets are becoming containment zones and red zone areas. The spreading of the virus has become faster with the advent of rains. The streets next to our house have also become red zones due to recent coronavirus deaths. Please remember us in your prayers.
I request you to kindly keep my service to God and His beloved Son Jesus Christ in your prayers.
Your Brother in Christ,
Sanjay Darla, humble servant of Jesus Christ.