cef august 2013 news
TRANSCRIPT
This past June I had the great honor of traveling to India with Conner Moore, Andrew Martin, and my youngest son, Trevor Shropshire. We had a wonderful trip and it was awesome getting to watch these young men preach as they are 17, 19, and 18 years old. We were truly blessed as we baptized 71 new believers and dedicated a new church building. We actually did some of the baptisms in a river with folks watching as they went about their normal routines of wash-ing clothes, bathing, and swimming. Isn’t that how our world is today? Everyone is busy doing their thing as Jesus passes by!! The church in India is growing and Abraham and Valsa are doing a fantastic job of leading the mission there. There are over 12,000 con-verts being ministered to on a daily and weekly basis and the number is being added to daily! It is my hope that as each of you read this newsletter that your spirit would be stirred to work harder to secure support for Our church in India. May our God truly bless each end every person involved with this important mission in India.
Larry Shropshire Larry Shropshire Larry Shropshire Larry Shropshire - CEF Vice Chairman
A Visit with Abraham Thomas and the Mission
Christian Evangelical Fellowship
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Love In Action in India I had first-hand opportunity to see Christian love in action in India during February.
You need to know how faithfully our brothers and sisters there are to the direction of John on
behalf of Jesus, “Walk in love.”
I arrived in India January 23 and at Kumily on January 26 where I expected to carry on
my usual teaching ministry among the pastors and afterwards go to Chennai for a week of
ministry in a college and seminary there. But my intentions were not to be fully realized. On
Monday, February 4, following my morning teaching session with the pastors, I found myself
too weak to walk more than three or four steps at a time. To make a long story short, I even-
tually was unable to walk any farther at all. Thinking rest would do the trick, I did not teach
that evening or the next morning, but I was no better and finally went to a mission hospital
near Kumily. And that is when the pastors and families from CEF went to work to show how
to walk in love.
I spent two days in ICU at the hospital—until they could work with my insurance
company to get me transferred to a teaching hospital in Madurai. During that time, one of the
pastors and his wife stayed with me to make sure that I was cared for and had food. (Family
or friends must bring food to the hospitalized in many places in India, for many hospitals
serve no food.) I was finally transferred by ambulance to Madurai where I remained in the
hospital for thirty days. All of that time, at least two people from CEF were present and lov-
ingly cared for my needs.
My birthday came toward the end of my stay in Madurai—and my CEF friends made
sure I had a birthday party to remember, complete with doctors, therapists, and nurses stop-
ping by to share the time with me. The entire experience was a clear demonstration of walk-
ing in love—doing for me what was needed and what I couldn’t do for myself, often at great
personal inconvenience for them. I thank the churches for fasting and praying for me during
the early critical days. It was an experience I’ll not soon forget.
When a Buddhist Thai flight nurse arrived from Bangkok to prepare for travel
home, she one day said to me, “I don’t understand what I am seeing. I’ve done this work as a
flight nurse for a long time, and I rarely see anyone with the kind of support you have. And
now that I’m here, these folks (referring to the CEF pastors) are eager to do anything they can
to serve my needs. How can you explain this?” I could simply respond, “Mai, you are seeing
the Kingdom of God at work, Christians being Christians!”
Who knows what impact this show of love will have on an observant Buddhist? One
never knows. But I do know what it meant to me. I can only humbly express my apprecia-
tion for such a clear demonstration of walking in love.
Dr. Eleanor Daniel—CEF Chairman
Your help is a real partnership in the Gospel. Thank you very much for your prayers and financial support for helping us meet the needs
of the mission. Your great help makes possible the advancement of the Gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ. It gives us great joy knowing that you are praying for us.
Abraham, Valsa, and the CEF Team
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Abraham Available to Speak this Fall!
Abraham Thomas will be in the States this fall and will be available for
speaking engagements during October, November, December, and the first
two Sundays in January. Abraham will arrive toward the end of September
and be with his supporting church at E. 91st Street Christian Church in
Indianapolis at the end of that month.
From the first weekend in October, he is available for Sunday evening,
Sunday morning, or Wednesday evening speaking engagements and at other
times to meet with mission committees and other interested people. He re-
turns to Indian January 13.
Please schedule a time for Abraham to be with you, and make ar-
rangements as soon as you can. You may do so by contacting Eleanor
Daniel at [email protected] or calling her at 423-302-9572.
If you want to know more after To Make a Financial Contribution contact:
reading this newsletter contact:
Dr. Eleanor Daniel Christian Evangelical Fellowship
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Savoy, IL 61874 12327 Medalist Parkway
Phone:: 423-302-9572 Carmel, IN 46033
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