India (MNN) — Even with India’s religious freedom under attack in Rajasthan, Bibles For the World’s Mawii Pudaite is excited about the ministry that is happening across India through their national missionaries.
There are currently 13 national Bibles for the World missionary families serving throughout India, and Pudaite says, “This is harvest time in India, and our missionaries are having the times of their lives, reaching out, sowing the seeds and harvesting souls for Christ and His kingdom.”
With a Christian population of only 2.7 percent, it is a great task to reach people with the Gospel. Bibles for the World now has a network of 300 churches in Northeast India, and Pudaite recently visited India to speak at their annual general assembly of churches.
A team of Americans on the visit with Pudaite got to share in a unique ministry opportunity while they were there. Pudaite shares, “I encouraged them to carry the Gospel of John that we had published wherever they went. And so they gave those out in Rajasthan, very discreetly, but people gladly received those and the sightseeing trip was much more meaningful for them.”
The hunger for God’s Word is great; people throughout India are asking for Bibles. Many lower caste leaders are discussing Christianity and large numbers of people are embracing Christianity. Pudaite says this is an encouraging trend, and a prime opportunity for sharing the Gospel and leading people to Christ.
“The beautiful thing is that when they embrace Christianity, then we have the unlimited opportunity to reach them with the Gospel. While they were in another religion, you and I have very little chance to reach out to them. We do it with great difficulty. But once they have come ‘in the fold,’ then we have the privilege of explaining to them what it means to be a true child of God.”
Missionaries with Bibles for the World do experience persecution, yet Pudaite says that God is working even through those hardships. One missionary was attacked and left for dead, but recovered. Three of his attackers have since come to know Christ, and this missionary had the amazing opportunity to baptize these men.
When Bibles for the World realized that they could print, package and mail Bibles right from India, they took advantage of the lower costs, in order to send out more Bibles. Postage from the United States was more than $4 per Bible, but Pudaite says, “Within India, we can do it for two dollars and 25 cents. And so we can do double of what we could do from here, so we have moved our operation as far as the printing and the mailing, the distribution, to India.”
The exciting part of the process is that Bibles for the World provides jobs within their distribution center to the ‘untouchables,’ who are not able to get decent jobs elsewhere because of their low caste.
That’s where the body of Christ is needed, to help with financial costs of distributing Bibles. Pudaite says it’s a team effort, “One person’s gift might not send very many Bibles, but together many homes will be reached with the Word of God.”
To help provide Bibles, contact Bibles for the World using their information listed below.
