India Update: November 2020

Leadership in Obscurity Partner Update

Prayer Requests for India LIO Partners

Due to your giving to the Leadership in Obscurity Network, we can still support our LIO Daniel P. through the Shubh Sandesh Foundation and their ministries.

THANK YOU for your support & generosity!

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Here's the latest correspondence from our LIO partner in Jharkhand, India:

Dear in Christ!
Blessings to you all for your partnership in the gospel!

I request for your prayers for the work of evangelism through our programs: 

1. This week we are celebrating our Foundation day for our new registration of - Shubh Sandesh Foundation. We started four years ago on the 20th of July 2020. We have been blessed with a partnership with you that is enabling us to touch thousands. By God's grace we are standing steadfast in the mission that God has given us.

2. Please pray for the 1300 migrant families we are giving dry ration, most of them are migrant families returning from larger cities across the country. They are the most vulnerable of all. Some of them orphans, some widows, some senior people, bonded laborers etc. Our total budget for this project is 3 Lakhs. 

3. Please pray for Pastor Jamadar whose mother is seriously ill. She has severe unexplained pain in the lower part of her body. Test results are due soon.

4. The Bible training center buildings will start soon at the Land of Canaan. The roof for two buildings will be laid. We are working out the details with the contractors and the shops. Please pray for smooth work completion. We need about $5,000 to complete them. 

I will next send you an update about our counselling ministry.

Thank you for being our warriors in the gospel. Your support and prayers are always appreciated. 

Blessings, 
Daniel P.

Nigeria: 160 Families Served

Leadership in Obscurity Partner Update

Update from our LIO partner serving in Nigeria
Background about message below:

The group of LIO volunteers from Ilé-Ifẹ̀ drove many hours to serve the Osi-Sooko village & its tribal king. In order to distribute, the families came to his house to be served & overseen by the king. LION provided support for the provisions but the volunteer LIOs took care of all of the transportation & organization! This is truly the mission of LION in action: to encourage, equip, and empower God's people around the world.
We are making a difference! Thank you for your support!

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Good morning!

We gave out food to 160 families
We had to make them be on a straight line beside the house of the king.
We tried observing social distancing also.
The University gave the Toyota Hillux to pack the food to the village accompanied by our personal cars. They were so thankful.

They offered prayers. A lot of prayers

The king also send their prayers and appreciations
The village happens to be in the deep interior part of the State. We learnt they suffer a lot of hunger due to the pandemic. The businesses are closed, their local products can't get to buyers. We decided to go that far instead of the nearby village we earlier planned, so we can reach these families.

We adressed them, counseled them against suicide, we preached to them also.
We are so thankful to God for you and the teams. Please let them know how grateful we are to be a small part of this outreach!!

Amen. Thank you so much. We will send pictures from Kenya also in the next one or two weeks.

~ Honey O.

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Prayers For The Persecuted

We received this message from our LIO, Daniel P.  Please pray right now for our Christian brothers and sisters in Dhanbad and through out India. I will send you an update as soon as we hear more.  Thank you for partnering with us in this way.
             ~Jerry

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Dear in Christ!

We love you all and pray for you regularly!

Prayer requests for the work in East India: 

1. In 3 separate incidents believers were attacked in the district of Latehar. There is fear and unrest. I ask for your prayers for the believers. (Some of them are in the following photo.)

2. In one village over 20 people were taken back to Hindu faith - ghar wapsi. It is a fearful situation in that village. 

3. I ask for prayer for a sperate situation in Latehar with Pastor SN Tiwary and his believers. They were tied up and beaten. They have been able to reconvert or be driven out of the village. They need our prayers. 

4. The situation in Dhanbad with the persecution in Bhelgaria is stable for now. All of the above persecution situations need prayer, finances and our empathy. 

5. Please pray for the volunteer and ministry team in Jharkhand and Bihar. Some of them are under quarantine and waiting on their test results.

6. Two homes were destroyed by the rains of new believers. They need our assistance. We need about 12,000 INR to complete the roofing of the homes.

7. There is fear from non-christian people as Daniel P. has led the movement to stand alongside the new believers. There are threat calls coming to him and he needs your prayers. 

I want to thank all of you for your prayers. Thank you to those of you giving month on month to support the work of the gospel in word and deed in these East states of Jharkhand and Bihar. 

We are all praying for your safety during this corona pandemic.
Be safe and well! Blessings to you,


~ Daniel P. (last name withheld for security reasons)

You are making a difference! More stories from L.I.O.N. response team in Jharkhand, India

Dear L.I.O.N. Outreach Partners,
Your gifts and prayers are having a huge effect on many lives.  Over the next few days I will be sending you some special reports and photos showing how our LIOs 
(Leaders IObscurity) are using these special resources.  Please take a moment to scroll through this email and pray for these leaders! 
We thank God for you!


Jerry Vreeman

 Our partner agency in Jharkhand is called the Shubh Sandesh Foundation (Good News).  Rev. Daniel P. and a dedicated team of students and LIOs sent the below list as their outreach during the past three weeks. 

Urgent request for prayer for West Bengal

Please Pray for Us!

This urgent request from L.I.O.N.'s key leaders in West Bengal, along the border with Bangladesh:

Praise the Lord sir,
Me and family, we all are well and safe from the Cyclone called Amphan by God’s grace. Thank you for your undying love, concern and timeless prayers. 
Some of believers house got damage and Many farmers are affected very badly due to the Cyclone, who are doing vegetables cultivation like Banana, Amorphophallus Campanulatus, Jute, Papaya, Ladies finger etc. 
Please pray for them.
— Tarik, West Bengal

View a brief, 60-second video of the devastation and please pray for our L.I.O.N. leaders as they struggle now with this disaster on top of the battle with COVID-19

From our LIOs in India: "Some of house got damage and Many farmers are affected very badly due to the Cyclone, who are doing vegetables cultivation like Banana, Amorphophallus Campanulatus, Jute, Papaya, Ladies finger etc."

THANK YOU

Thank YOU -- our dear L.I.O.N. supporters and prayer partners -- for making a difference during this global pandemic! You have Encouraged, Equipped, & Empowered L.I.O.N. leaders in India -- this nation of 1.3 billion people -- to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus.

Unfortunately, the crisis in India is still building.  Requests are coming daily from many other key leaders throughout this country where L.I.O.N. has had a presence for 12 years. We are not normally a funding or relief organization as we train and mentor of LIOs (leaders in obscurity); please pray with us for WISDOM to help them respond to this crisis and properly steward God's resources.

Thank you for considering these needs around the globe. We're all facing uncertainties right now in our families, ministries, and businesses. Please know that we do NOT take you for granted. We're praying for you and your families as you partner with us.

May God lead us and bless us for His kingdom's sake!

L.I.O.N. RESPONSE TEAM IN SOUTH INDIA

With state lockdowns slowly easing, L.I.O.N. leaders in South India provide food packs to some migrants walking more than 250 miles back to their city jobs.

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said:
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
— Apostle Paul, Acts 20:34-36

L.I.O.N. RESPONSE TEAM IN JHARKHAND

To those in hunger, fear, depression, and hopelessness

Our partner agency in Jharkhand in southern India is called the Shubh Sandesh Foundation (Good News) under the leadership of Rev. Daniel Ponraj and a dedicated team of students and LIOs. 

STRATEGY

Shubh Sandesh Foundation and L.I.O.N. are leading a national effort to care for those who are in desperation from the Covid-19 pandemic:
   Food security to prevent hunger-related death by providing life-saving essentials & connecting with public distribution systems
Trauma counseling - to improve mental health & community peace for those at home, for migrants, and for those in institutionalized lock down
   Essential protection gear - to provide masks, sanitation, and awareness to police & medical health workers
Network and develop Covid19-Ready churches - to respond to the opportunities of serving suffering people.

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THANK YOU

Thank YOU -- our dear L.I.O.N. supporters and prayer partners -- for making a difference during this global pandemic! You have EncouragedEquipped, & Empowered L.I.O.N. leaders in India -- this nation of 1.3 billion people -- to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus.

Unfortunately, the crisis in India is still building.  Requests are coming daily from many other key leaders throughout this country where L.I.O.N. has had a presence for 12 years. We are not normally a funding or relief organization as we train and mentor of LIOs (leaders in obscurity); please pray with us for WISDOM to help them respond to this crisis and properly steward God's resources.

Thank you for considering these needs around the globe. We're all facing uncertainties right now in our families, ministries, and businesses. Please know that we do NOT take you for granted. We're praying for you and your families as you partner with us.

May God lead us and bless us for His kingdom's sake!

Leaders In Obscurity FIGHT PANDEMIC & POVERTY DURING LOCKDOWNS

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Dear Partners in Ministry,

I thought you might be interested in seeing the latest report and some photos from one of our key LIOs (leader in obscurity) in West Bengal.  He describes in detail what they have just done with the monies originally sent for training in March and April.

Pray for India as they approach the peak of the pandemic there.  The results of the lockdown are devastating for most of our LIOs and their fellowships.

Thank you so much for your partnership with us.  You are making a difference!

~ Jerry

Below is his direct message:

Praise the Lord sir,

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Those are the grocery stuffs Harvest Mission has distributed among the needy people -200 families- of near by areas during the ongoing pandemic. Harvest Mission has used up the moneys which LION has had given for the leadership trainings.

THE STUFFS INCLUDE:

Rice - 1 tons Potatoes - 1 tons
Onions - 300 kg
Lentils - 200 kg
Dettol soap - 200 pcs

Thanking you for the help and giving permission to Harvest Mission for using the money to buy the stuffs for the needy during this pandemic. In His Service,

Tarik Kamran
Harvest Mission Of India

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Dedication/ribbon cutting of the Community Computer Outreach Centre in Rakabon Village


A wonderful welcome & time of dedication/ribbon cutting of the Community Computer Outreach Centre in Rakabon Village. Note the logos on the banner ! LION is associated as a social service agency along with Modi’s government agencies. This year we hope to open several more of these "Access Training Institutes" with laptop & other types of vocational training! [Each costs only $5,000) 

This village has also provided a home for LION and "Access Training Institute" to start the first school ever in this village. This is an unreached people group (a tribe with not one single Christian in the whole region.) Very exciting! We can't wait to build another Access center... Will you help us? Please donate today toward programs for the wonderful people of India...

(Hover over photos for descriptions)