January 2020  

Dear Friends in Mission,

Enclosed is your 2019 income tax receipt, and with it comes our sincere thanks for your continued support of our ministry!  It has been a wonderful year, with God clearing the path for me to return to India, increased training opportunities for pastors and leaders, and other exciting venues of witness.  Below is a picture of S. Kumar, our regional coordinator with myself and Ginny, along with the two ladies who also came on the November mission trip.  The ladies had meaningful times of teaching and sharing in four different locations and I was able to speak to three different groups of pastors and at various churches.  It was also a time to catch up with many that I had not seen for quite a few years.  Ginny and I were able to spend four days visiting family and friends in South India.

We are continually challenged and inspired by the vision of our partners in India and Nepal.  For example, in December, as part of a local ten-day festival, Shakti and others from the area churches had a booth in conjunction with Gideons offering free bibles in various languages.  During this festival they gave out over 28,000 bibles!  So please pray for those people who willingly took them, that God will speak to them through His word and His Holy Spirit.  This year will also see more CMPT (Church Mobilization & Pastoral Training) courses underway that will bring solid training to many pastors. 

Presently, a congregation served by one of our sponsored pastors is getting a much-needed church building. This is being funded by one of our partnering churches in NB and will be completed in March. I will be heading back to India in March with the pastor and missions head from that church to dedicate that new building and do some teaching. This year we are also praying about supporting a couple of additional pastors. Right now, many of our sponsored pastors do not have reliable transportation to take them to their areas of ministry, often riding double on an old motorbike. So, if anyone is looking for a worthy project, we are hoping to purchase five new motorbikes. The cost with taxes and insurance is $1,700 each.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.  Once again, thank you for your ongoing support.  Please keep us in your prayers as we seek His guidance in all aspects of this ministry!

Yours in the Lord’s service,  
Rev. Dr. Shant Manuel,
Executive Director, Far Corners Ministry