Main Street Baptist Church

August 4, 2010

WE are going!!!

Thanks to the wonderful generosity of a friend who sacrificially shared frequent flyer miles with us, both Nancy and I are going to India.  We leave on January 5.  Nancy returns January 20 and I will return February 9.

 Our first week will be spent in northern India with Chris and Debbie.  I have been asked to do numerous teaching sessions on spiritual warfare.  Some conferences will be just for pastors, others for any who want to come.  We are trying to have my Spiritual Warfare Handbook translated into the local dialect for use when there. PRAY God will enable us to have this handbook translated and printed in time for this.  Also start praying now for God’s protection and use of these conferences.  This subject in this area need lots of prayer.  Northern India is said to be the most unevangelized area on earth.  Satan has a strong hold on this place so pray God would even know start breaking that hold so the Kingdom can advance there.

The rest of the time in India will be spent in central India with the pastor I have been working with each time I go there.  There will be lots of travel to rural areas for conferences with pastors who have never had any training.  Church meetings, children’s and teen meeting will also be common.   Pray God will help me prepare for what He would have me share with these special people.  A lot of what we can do depends on the finances we have available.  Food and transportation costs have risen greatly in India in the last year so pray God provides financially so we can help these pastors come to these conferences.  Finances are also needed for translating and printing the Spiritual Warfare handbook for this section of northern India.  If God puts it on your heart to give you can make donations payable to Main Street Baptist Church.  Write ‘India Fund’ on the memo line.  Mail it to Jerry Schmoyer, 252 W. State Street, Doylestown, PA  18901.  Giving to your local church comes first, so don’t neglect the needs there.  Thanks!!!

 Please pray for us as we plan and prepare for this special time.

 Thanks!!!

 Jerry and Nancy

To view my blogs about my current trip to India look under 'Pastor's blog' then 'From My Heart to Yours.'  The current blog should be on the home page.

PICTURES of my trip can be found in Photo Album, then open India 2009.

I leave Oct. 18 and return Nov. 17.  Thanks for remembering me in your prayers!

(Friday, May 22, 2009) I used to be afraid of many things but God has helped me have victory over my fears. One fear that has persisted is fear of travel. There are so many things that can go wrong, so many things that are completely out of my control. I’ve always dreaded and avoided travel. Now here I find myself traveling to India. Of course traveling to India and in India magnifies all my insecurities and apprehensions. The first two times I went to India I always had someone to travel with. In fact, finding someone to travel with was sort of a condition I set for returning to India. However fall I will be returning to India and there is no one to travel with. I will be going alone. Or will I? God has made it quite clear to me that when I think I will be alone I am ignoring His very real Presence. He has taken away all hesitation of travel ‘alone’ and given me great peace about it. He has assured me He will always be with me in a very real and effective way. What ever made me think I would be alone? How can I possible be alone when the God of the universe will be right beside me every step of the way? What better traveling companion could I possible have? Who can better handle the challenges and change in plans that come with travel better than Him? Will I travel alone – no! do I ever travel alone? Never! None of His children ever travel alone wherever they journey in life. He’s always with us. You can count on it wherever you go.

Heb 13:5 "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Gen 28:15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Deut 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Josh 1:5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Ps 37:28 For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever,

Isa 41:9 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isa 41:16 "The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

Matt 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Dear Friends,

I thought I should give you an update of what’s been happening concerning India, and I have some prayer requests for you.  In the 6 weeks I’ve been home I have heard from many of the pastors who have attended the pastor’s conferences.  The letters show how helpful and even life-changing these times have been for them.  They really want another one soon, plus one for them to attend with their wives.  The Bible Institute they want to teach is ready to move ahead.  It needs only a commitment from me as to when I can come.  

I’ve stayed in close touch with numerous pastors and friends from there, and we are supporting the family with Aids by sending $50 a month to them.  The mother and son are still at home as they continue to weaken.  The other son and daughter are at a Christian boarding school where for the first time in their life they are properly fed, clothed and taught.  Thanks to those of you who have contributed to this needy family!  The ministries to the slum churches (Dalits, or untouchables) are going well.  

I would like to return in February or March for another 4 weeks.  That works best with their schedules, my schedule and the weather.  I want to have a pastor’s conference and a shorter one for husbands and wives, then start the new Bible institute and teach there each day for 2 weeks.  The last week would be spent in Ahmednagar speaking to a special gathering of all the churches there.  

Before this can happen, however, I need two things I would like you to pray for.  I need the finances to cover the cost of the trip and conferences.  The total would be about $4,000 and I now have about $1000 in donations.  Please pray God would provide what is needed in time to make plans and secure facilities, etc., in India.  Pray also that God would provide someone I can travel with, someone going from here to India about that time.  It’s very hard maneuvering through airports in India if you don’t know the language!  I have been working hard at teaching myself Hindi since I have been home, but many of the sounds in it we don’t have in English and it isn’t easy for me to learn.  Pray for God’s mercy on me as I study this language.  

Please pray for God’s guidance and provision in all areas of this.  He had put a deep burden in my heart for the people of India and I look forward to returning soon.  If God leads you to contribute you can make check payable to Main Street Baptist Church for a tax deduction or to me personally.  Either way mail them to 252 W. State St., Doylestown, PA.  18901.

Thanks and God bless!


Jerry

 

Various times and places on 3 different continents from Thursday evening (India time) to Saturday morning (EST)

If you are reading this email it means I made it home. But it wasn't an uneventful trip!

The day was spent with the children. I tell them they are my India family and after visiting my American family I will come back to them. They are a close family, the ones who live at the school.

The evening before leaving Abigail's whole India family had a reunion. It's the first time they've been together in 6 years. I've known some of them quite well for a long time (ride the train with me, help at pastors conferences, baby dedication, etc.). It was special being part of such a meaningful reunion. The father is very old, a fine man of God and long-time pastor who sacrificed untold things for the gospel. They asked me to say a few words and share a Scripture. I picked Joshua 24:15. It was a very meaningful evening and they seem to think I have had a very positive impact on their Indian family.

The bad news is that we got a call saying our flight to Newark has been put off 5 hours. The good news is that they promised us free transportation and hotel rooms while we waited. The bad news is that we had to wait an hour for the Hyderabad to Mumbai flight to take off (4 AM - we were up all night). The good news is that they upgraded up to First Class so we waited in the lunge and got free bottled water, something you can't take through check-in and I would have been without for 12 hours. The good news is that I talked with 3 young American software programmers who were on their way home from India after 2 weeks working with a company here. The good news is that First Class was great!

But the bad news is that when we got to Mumbai they didn't make good on their promise to give us rooms, nor did they upgrade our seats here as they also promised. The good news is they did give us a free breakfast but the bad news is that my stomach has totally rebelled against anything but the mildest food (and I can't blame it). The bad news is we had to sit on hard seats and wait from 5:30 AM until noon when we could board the plane. The good news is that we got to know several other passengers due to our common 'misery' and promises not being kept to them, either. Shared pain breaks down walls between us and Hindus that would never come down otherwise.

The good news is the plane finally took off. The bad news is that the ride was longer (18 hours) and more crowded than I remembered. The good news is that they gave us several meals. The bad news is that Air India serves white rice and puts lots of curry in their food. The good news is that my mouth is getting to not mind curry. The bad news is that my stomach won't stand it.

The good news is that we finally made it, 50+ hours after getting up in Hyderabad Thursday morning. I arrived home a little after midnight Friday night/Saturday morning USA time!

MANY THANKS!!!

Words cannot express how much I have needed and appreciated your support through all this. Your financial contributions made it all possible. Your prayers were the key to all that happened in me, to me and through me. And your supportive words and emails really encouraged me. They still do. I thank God for you and for allowing me to share this part of my life with you. God will eternally reward and bless you for your faithfulness. The fruits of this India trip are yours as much as they are mine!

SO WHAT HAD GOOD BEEN TRYING TO TEACH ME THROUGH THIS ALL?

The answer to that is a definite "I'm not sure!" I know it has to be something but I'm not sure what. Last year I was aware I was being stretched beyond what I'd been before. Still, I was with a group of Americans eating a lot of American food, living in an American-style house and riding in an AC van. It's like this year God took me out of the bubble and set me down in India with no one to count on but Him and a few people I had never met before. I have special promises I've read and trusted every day and I know He's teaching me to trust His promises. I've learned how totally weak and incapable of ministering or even living on my own I am, but that when I admit that He takes over and good things happen. And He's clearly pointed out how much pride still remains in me - and it’s not very pretty! Obviously He was teaching me to find my security only in Him. Also I've been able to forget about the past and future and live more in the moment, enjoy it for what it is.

Still, I think there is more. I haven't just been stretched; I've been totally taken outside myself. God hasn't just stretched what's there, He been building something new and different into me. It's been such an extremely intense time. So very many events happened, almost daily (sometimes several times a day) that would have been the highlight of my whole year not many years ago. But here they are topped by something later that day or the next day. God had me totally outside myself, and then He rained down these wonderful experiences and blessings on me continually. So I know He's doing something. I just don't know what. And I'm wondering if I ever will. Maybe it's not something to put my finger on, to put into words on paper. Obviously He had something in mind. It's like He planted a seed inside me to gradually grow and produce the fruit its creator desires. It’s still all Him, its nothing I get any credit for.

WANT TO JOIN ME?

I’m looking for some willing people (or children or teens) to go alone to help minister here. I absolutely guarantee you that when you come as a group your housing, food, transportation and overall living conditions will be similar to what you experience in America. Mine were so different this trip because I ventured off on my own to better experience the ‘real’ India. I won’t be doing that next time. If you are at all interested please let me know. It’s an experience you’ll never forget and will change you completely! Cost will probably be around $2500, depending on the cost of the flight. Thanks again!

There are other ways of joining than coming to India. I am committed to sending $50 a month to the AIDS family. They are depending on it for their schooling and daily life can't continue without it. I want it to be an 'us' thing, not a 'me' thing- so you can share the blessing and reward. If you can sponsor them for a month, or even part of a month, send the money to me, Jerry Schmoyer, 252 W. State St., Doylestown, PA. 18901. I'll keep an email update list of those who contribute and keep you informed of the family.

AND PLEASE PRAY FOR GOD TO PROVIDE FOR THE NEXT PASTOR'S CONFERENCE AND TRIP. I CAN'T COMMIT TO ANYTHING WITHOUT THE MONEY BEING AVAILABLE TO FINANCE IT. I KNOW GOD WILL PROVIDE, BUT HE WANTS US TO PRAY. Thanks!!!

IN A NUT SHELL

Here is a quick summary of my trip

Days in India 29

Travel here and back: 10,000 miles each way

Travel by plane, train, car, van, 3-wheeler, motorcycle, scooter, foot

Miles traveled by train 3,000 in 70 hours

Places slept 11

Hour+ long neighborhood walks 27

Pictures taken 2500

Messages given 63

To pastors 22

To church congregations 23

Different churches 14

To children 14

Misc. 4 (baby ded, widow’s food distribution, sewing center girls)

Times spoke in Biblical costume 17

Magic tricks done 125

In the first 8 days I spoke 28 times, then 1 day train ride to Ahmednagar and spoke 7 times in 3 days

Last week I spoke 22 times

I averaged 3 messages a day on the days I wasn't traveling.

Also: updated and edited my Spiritual Warfare Handbook, something I’ve been wanting to do for some time but haven’t been able to get to. India is an appropriate place to do such a work!

Thanks for praying and don't ever stop!

You can find updates and more information on my web site http://www.mainstreetbaptist.org/ , either at Ministries, Asia Mission Journal http://www.mainstreetbaptist.org/asia-mission-journal/ or on my blog page http://www.mainstreetbaptist.org/blog/ .

As to showing the slides of this trip, I’ll have a real brief overview on Sunday morning as part of my sermon. It seems Wednesday evening (7 PM at church) would be best to show more. We’ll start and see how far we go. We may finish or we may need to continue the next Wednesday. That seems to work best for the majority of those who responded. If it doesn’t work for you let me know and I’ll see what else I can do. I have many excellent pictures and great stories to go with them. I’ll be able to do little more than give an overview on Sunday. I think they are very interesting and informative and look forward to sharing them with you.