May Letter

If you are a Cleveland sports fan, you enjoyed waking up this morning. As you opened your eyes, you smiled and savored the moment because last night, the baseball Indians shut out Kansas City, 5-0. And, in a remarkable upset, the basketball Cavaliers beat the highly favored Detroit Pistons, 86-84 in game 5 of the second round NBA playoffs. As an Asian friend once said: “I am not joking to you.”

If you are a friend of Jesus, a devoted follower, you have infinitely greater joy in waking up this morning.

As you open your eyes, you smile and savor the moment because He is your Savior, Lord and soon-coming King. Although oil prices and the stock market shifts like the wind, He is reliable, trustworthy and blessedly unchanging. And you are one of His.

Carol and I have never treasured this truth more than today. Returning a few days ago from EFC-ER ministry in India, we savor God’s love and purpose for every man, woman and child around the world.

In India, Evangelical Friends are making a remarkable difference as the Lord works in and through us:

• more than 1,100 students attend the Christian English School in Chhatarpur, a school established by long-time EFC-ER missionary Norma Freer, that teaches academics, English and the Gospel of Christ
  
  
• new, dedicated young leaders are emerging in the church
  
  
• many, many Christians in Chhatarpur and surrounding areas are living for Christ, thankful for the EFC-ER missionaries who shared the Gospel and their lives with them over decades of faithful ministry (many of them shared their stories with us)
  
  
• our Christian Hospital, led for more than 3 decades by EFC-ER missionary doctor Ezra DeVol, provides quality medical care with the compassion of Christ. Last year, more than 1,250 babies were born in the hospital, thousands more received care for gastroenteritis, water-borne disease, heart problems, cancer, eye infections, parasites, maggot infestations and more.
  

Care given in the name of Jesus.

• In Dharwad, where our missionaries Arun and Shobha Massey are reaching out to the the daughters of davadasi (temple prostitutes),planting new churches, discipling believers and caring for 70 young girls, building a new home to accommodate up to 100 and lives are being changed by Jesus Christ
  

. . . as Carol and I taught in our Christian Leader’s School in Dharwad we looked into the faces of a former davadasi and we saw women transformed by the power of God

. . . we saw a man, formerly wasted by alcohol and drugs, a man who neglected his 3 daughters to the point that they were diseased, weak and near death ---- now, today, a man gloriously free from alcohol and addiction, smiling at the truth of God’s word, faithfully fathering his family and following Jesus in daily obedience and freedom

. . . and we hugged his young daughter, once near death and now a healthy, alert, loving 8 year old, following Jesus

How can we take it all in? This is just a sample of how God is at work, just a glimpse of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ can do to set people free.

And we are part of the work - together.

Oh, if you love Christ and His kingdom, this morning is another moment to wake up and savor something far more important, for more enduring that the delight of sports victories.

Christ’s victories change lives for eternity, change hearts radically, change life immediately and bring hope that makes life purposeful, productive and joyful.

Carol and I appreciate so much your prayers as we traveled to India. We thank God for the ministry of Duane and Carol Rice and Ralph Shields in India earlier this year! And we look forward to walking through new doors of opportunity in India, here at home and in so many other places around the world.

All because of Jesus.

We are in this together, and by his grace, we are making a difference for His sake.

Thank you for your prayers, your giving and your heart of partnership.

Dr. John P. Williams, Jr.
General Superintendent, EFC-ER