“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalm 136:1)
Thank you for all your prayers on my wife’s behalf! She has been receiving chemotherapy treatments for several weeks now. On September 8, she is scheduled to receive the next treatment, and that will mark the halfway point for all of her treatments. After the first chemotherapy treatments were completed, the testing showed that her lymph nodes had shrunk back to normal size, and her tumors had stopped growing. Praise the Lord! With the current chemotherapy treatment, they are hoping the tumors will shrink so they can do surgery. Please keep her in your prayers. The first chemotherapy treatments were bad, but the new chemotherapy is almost unbearable.
Ajay, the pastor of the church plant in India, died suddenly of no known reason. He was just 29 years of age. They were just finishing the main structure of their new church building. He was one of the few bright lights shining out in that dark country. May God help the people of India! The sad news is that there is no one to take his place. For the time being, Pastor Manu, the pastor of another independent Baptist church, will preach at his church and then drive to fill the pulpit for us. All of the church members are new converts that Ajay and his wife Sanjana had led to Christ. Please remember these dear people in your prayers. As you may remember from previous letters, Ajay and I have had many adventures together for the Lord. I will greatly miss him!
We have had the opportunity to lead several people to Christ since coming to the U.S. I’ll share one with you. Just two weeks ago, I was teaching Bible school at one of our supporting churches. A mother dropped off her son, and she and a 19-year-old brother asked if they could stay. “Sure you can,” we replied. “It may get loud and a little crazy, but you are welcome to stay.” That night, I taught about when God saved a whole city because of the children (Jonah 4:11). After the service, Maleak, the 19-year-old, came up to me and asked, “Is that story you told about the man being swallowed by the whale really true, and what about that part where God loves me and wrote in a Book about how He wanted me to look and then made me look like what He had written down (Psalm 139:16)? Is that really true?” “Sure is,” I replied. He then asked if I would write down where it was in the Bible. He said he was going to go get a Bible and read it for himself. He sat down beside me, and we began to talk as I was writing it down for him. After we talked for a little while, I asked him if he knew where he would go when he died. He replied that he thought he would go to Heaven because he was pretty good. I then ask if anyone had ever taken the Bible and showed him what the Bible says about going to Heaven. He said, “No, will you show me?” I spent the next few minutes sharing the Gospel with him. When I got to Romans 10:13, something happened that I’ve never experienced before. I read the verse to him and said, “Jesus is up in Heaven right now listening all around the world for anyone who wants to be saved to call on His name.” Maleak reached over and put his hand on my arm and said, “Excuse me. I want to do that right now.” He bowed his head and began to pray, “Dear Jesus, I want to go to Heaven, and I believe what You said. I can’t come because I’m a sinner, but you paid for my sin with Your life and gave Your blood to wash my sins away. I’m asking for that gift You have of that life forever.” He looked up at me with a big smile on his face, and I asked him, “What did He say?” Maleak said, “I didn’t hear anything.” I said, “Jesus said it right here,” and I pointed at Romans 10:13 and said, “Read what He said.” Maleak read it and said, “Jesus said I’m saved.” I said, “Where do saved people go when they die?” He said, “Heaven.” “Where are you going when you die?” I asked. To which he replied, “Heaven, because all my sins are gone.” It thrills my soul to no end, watching people come to the Saviour. I would that mine eyes could witness this millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of times. Glory to God!!!
Thank you for all your faithful prayers and support!
Yours for His harvest,
Andrew Long
Romans 10:14