India (MNN) ― June began monsoon season in Southern Asia and India. An average rainfall for the period ending in September is approximately 70 inches of rain.
That's not always spread out over the course of the season. In 2005, torrential rains in Mumbai dropped 37 inches of rain over 24-hours. That led to flash floods and whole villages being washed away or buried under mudslides.
In 2007, June's eight-inch downpour in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh resulted in more of the same. Annually, flooding also causes hundreds of deaths and damage to infrastructure, homes, and farms across India.
Audio Scripture Ministries' Tom Dudenhofer says partner World Cassette Outreach's ministry center in Bangalore hasn't fully recovered from the damage suffered from last year's storms. "The building that the residence currently is in is over 100 years old. We spent some money to repair the roof, to seal some of the obvious cracks in the residence that's there. These fixes are only temporary."
The repairs are expected to last the current monsoon season and perhaps the next. However, as the aged building has already suffered significant water damage, the structure can't withstand much more.
Dudenhofer notes that the audio Scripture work the team does is often disrupted by repeated flooding. Repairs further delay translation and recording projects. That's why they're trying to raise funds for a replacement center. "What it's going to do is give these folks just the basic protection from flooding that would be available to anybody who had a house that was built at the right grade. It'll keep their cars out of the water, and the residence area for the staff is going to be up a floor. So they should never have to worry about flooding."
Plans for refitting a new Ministry Center in India are completed. Pray that God will continue to supply the finances needed to complete this building without incurring any debt. The total cost will be $375,000.
Among the things WCOI distributes is "The Word for the Family" project. It has been receiving a good response among the believers. Teams have distributed more than 3,500 "Word Listening kits" in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Jarkhand, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
