Divine Appointments in India

by Linda Campbell

October 26, 2007

I am busily preparing to leave on Monday for Uganda, where I will meet up with Bill. I wanted to ask you to pray for travel mercies, timely connections, favor with customs to get our additional 22 boxes through, and divine opportunities to share Jesus. Thank you for your part in the great harvest and all your prayers.

We have some very precious friends who live in Lugazi, Uganda who are Hindu. The husband is Patel and his wife is Harsha. Patel is a man of integrity and loyalty. God has been working in this family. Last year Harsha had a dream in which the Lord, Jesus appeared to her. She immediately recognized Him and said that He did not speak to her but looked at her with sadness in His eyes. She said that “my God” came to her but her god has never appeared. Six months later, their 5 year old son, Anuj had a dream where Jesus walked up to him, picked him up, and gently held him to His chest. Anuj said he felt happy.

The Lord divinely orchestrated the timing for Bill to spend this past week in India. He traveled with Patel and his sister-in-law. The sister-in-law was diagnosed with a large tumor on her uterus. She was going home to have surgery. Bill was able to pray for her. God touched this young woman and completely healed her. When she went for her surgical appointment, the doctor told her that she was wrong and did not have a tumor. This family was able to see the God of all power reach down in love and mercy.

Bill started out the week staying in a hotel in Fatehgunj but wanted to become closer to this dear family so he moved out to their village and into their home. He sat on the floor for all his meals in typical Indian style. He slept on a mat attached to a metal frame. He was treated with love and care. One day, the family asked if they could gather so that Bill could pray for each of them. They were looking for peace from “our God” in their lives. He was able to pray with each member for their physical (lame, paralyzed, and barren), spiritual (their gods were distant), and emotional (much strife in their families) needs.

The village/town is like a mix of the old world and the new. The streets are crowded with camels, cows, donkeys, goats, sheep, auto rickshaws, and cars. The streets are lined with bricks. The homes are built close together and stacked on top of each other. The families are close knit and live in the same building or across the street from each other. This past week on a daily basis, coconuts were being sacrificed to one of the 330 thousand Hindu gods. The air was thick with smoke making it difficult to breathe at times.

In Patel and Harsha’s home state, it is against the law to evangelize for Christ. The Lord in His sovereignty, arranged for Bill to meet a Methodist minister who is the president of the pastors in the city of Fatehgunj. This man is spirit filled and very hungry for going deeper in the Lord and experiencing His presence. The first day, Bill was taken to a high school where he spoke to 500 students. The next day, he was the guest speaker at the Methodist Seminary. He spoke about what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. The students grabbed every word and their eyes showed their desire to know and love this man Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit stirred up their hearts to live every day in His presence. His presence is too valuable to take lightly. Jesus paid too great of a price for relationship. He is worthy of complete surrender.

Each year during the Passion Week, this large city of Fatehgunj has their annual pastor’s conference. The average attendance is about 2,000 people. The president has asked Bill and me to be the guest speakers for all of the sessions for 2008. This means we will be preaching 21 times in a week. We have been praying about it, and once again we are saying “yes” to His plans and His ways.

As you know, in India the cultural belief is that of a caste system. The rich will always be rich and the poor will always be poor. If a person is not born into a family of land owners no matter how hard they work, they can never own land. The law forbids it. The rich live just across the street from the extremely poor. On the final day that Bill was in this city, he walked over a very poor village. His heart was torn when he looked at the beautiful and precious children. He walked back to a store and bought a big arm load of snacks. He returned to the children and handed out the treats. His heart melted at their sweetness. These children eat one meal every other day, but yet they thanked him and shared with the other children. In his heart, he knew that he could never minister in the big city without reaching out to the poor of the low caste villagers. “Lord, may our hearts always be moved by what truly moves Your heart. May we never see through man’s eyes. May we weep over those whom You weep over. May our eyes see through the eyes of heaven. What the world would call the “least of these” are the treasures of Your heart. Let us become lower still so we can reveal Your heart to a dying world.” We do not just want to start a feeding program, even though it is a noble thing to do. Our purpose is to bring God/Jesus the “True Bread of Heaven” near to these people who worship thousands of gods that are so far away. Our plate is full with the work in Uganda, but Jesus has given us new wine skins that can be stretched to His hearts desire. If we are to minister in India, it is our compelling joy so that He might increase as we decrease.

While Bill was at the airport preparing to leave Mumbia (Bombay), India, the custom’s official was questioning him about what he was doing in India and what he does when he is in Uganda. Initially, Bill’s words were guarded because he knew it was forbidden by law to openly evangelize or talk about the Lord. The man was genuinely interested and eager to hear. As Bill opened his heart, the man became excited. He said that he wants to help us. Christians in this Indian state are free to worship for now, but must bring the good news underground for it is also illegal to convert to a different religion. The harvest is great.

Pray for us,

Pastor Bill and Linda Campbell

P.S. Today, as I read my emails, I discovered that I had received an email from man requesting that I come to do a healing crusade in Pakistan. If this is genuine, it is amazing because Pakistan is a Muslim state that was once a part of India. Until now I have never had an email from Pakistan. Is this a coincidence??? Will “Saul be struck by God’s presence on the road to Damascus” again?




Divine Appointments in India by Linda Campbell October 26, 2007 I am busily preparing to leave on Monday for Uganda, where I will meet up with Bill. I wanted to ask you to pray for travel mercies, timely connections, favor with customs to get our additional 22 boxes through, and divine opportunities to share Jesus. Thank you for your part in the great harvest and all your prayers. We have some very precious friends who live in Lugazi, Uganda who are Hindu. The husband is Patel and his wife is Harsha. Patel is a man of integrity and loyalty. God has been working in this family. Last year Harsha had a dream in which the Lord, Jesus appeared to her. She immediately recognized Him and said that He did not speak to her but looked at her with sadness in His eyes. She said that “my God” came to her but her god has never appeared. Six months later, their 5 year old son, Anuj had a dream where Jesus walked up to him, picked him up, and gently held him to His chest. Anuj said he felt happy. The Lord divinely orchestrated the timing for Bill to spend this past week in India. He traveled with Patel and his sister-in-law. The sister-in-law was diagnosed with a large tumor on her uterus. She was going home to have surgery. Bill was able to pray for her. God touched this young woman and completely healed her. When she went for her surgical appointment, the doctor told her that she was wrong and did not have a tumor. This family was able to see the God of all power reach down in love and mercy. Bill started out the week staying in a hotel in Fatehgunj but wanted to become closer to this dear family so he moved out to their village and into their home. He sat on the floor for all his meals in typical Indian style. He slept on a mat attached to a metal frame. He was treated with love and care. One day, the family asked if they could gather so that Bill could pray for each of them. They were looking for peace from “our God” in their lives. He was able to pray with each member for their physical (lame, paralyzed, and barren), spiritual (their gods were distant), and emotional (much strife in their families) needs. The village/town is like a mix of the old world and the new. The streets are crowded with camels, cows, donkeys, goats, sheep, auto rickshaws, and cars. The streets are lined with bricks. The homes are built close together and stacked on top of each other. The families are close knit and live in the same building or across the street from each other. This past week on a daily basis, coconuts were being sacrificed to one of the 330 thousand Hindu gods. The air was thick with smoke making it difficult to breathe at times. In Patel and Harsha’s home state, it is against the law to evangelize for Christ. The Lord in His sovereignty, arranged for Bill to meet a Methodist minister who is the president of the pastors in the city of Fatehgunj. This man is spirit filled and very hungry for going deeper in the Lord and experiencing His presence. The first day, Bill was taken to a high school where he spoke to 500 students. The next day, he was the guest speaker at the Methodist Seminary. He spoke about what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. The students grabbed every word and their eyes showed their desire to know and love this man Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit stirred up their hearts to live every day in His presence. His presence is too valuable to take lightly. Jesus paid too great of a price for relationship. He is worthy of complete surrender. Each year during the Passion Week, this large city of Fatehgunj has their annual pastor’s conference. The average attendance is about 2,000 people. The president has asked Bill and me to be the guest speakers for all of the sessions for 2008. This means we will be preaching 21 times in a week. We have been praying about it, and once again we are saying “yes” to His plans and His ways. As you know, in India the cultural belief is that of a caste system. The rich will always be rich and the poor will always be poor. If a person is not born into a family of land owners no matter how hard they work, they can never own land. The law forbids it. The rich live just across the street from the extremely poor. On the final day that Bill was in this city, he walked over a very poor village. His heart was torn when he looked at the beautiful and precious children. He walked back to a store and bought a big arm load of snacks. He returned to the children and handed out the treats. His heart melted at their sweetness. These children eat one meal every other day, but yet they thanked him and shared with the other children. In his heart, he knew that he could never minister in the big city without reaching out to the poor of the low caste villagers. “Lord, may our hearts always be moved by what truly moves Your heart. May we never see through man’s eyes. May we weep over those whom You weep over. May our eyes see through the eyes of heaven. What the world would call the “least of these” are the treasures of Your heart. Let us become lower still so we can reveal Your heart to a dying world.” We do not just want to start a feeding program, even though it is a noble thing to do. Our purpose is to bring God/Jesus the “True Bread of Heaven” near to these people who worship thousands of gods that are so far away. Our plate is full with the work in Uganda, but Jesus has given us new wine skins that can be stretched to His hearts desire. If we are to minister in India, it is our compelling joy so that He might increase as we decrease. While Bill was at the airport preparing to leave Mumbia (Bombay), India, the custom’s official was questioning him about what he was doing in India and what he does when he is in Uganda. Initially, Bill’s words were guarded because he knew it was forbidden by law to openly evangelize or talk about the Lord. The man was genuinely interested and eager to hear. As Bill opened his heart, the man became excited. He said that he wants to help us. Christians in this Indian state are free to worship for now, but must bring the good news underground for it is also illegal to convert to a different religion. The harvest is great. Pray for us, Pastor Bill and Linda Campbell P.S. Today, as I read my emails, I discovered that I had received an email from man requesting that I come to do a healing crusade in Pakistan. If this is genuine, it is amazing because Pakistan is a Muslim state that was once a part of India. Until now I have never had an email from Pakistan. Is this a coincidence??? Will “Saul be struck by God’s presence on the road to Damascus” again?
Login \| Blogs \| Donate \| Terms of Service \| Privacy Statement \| Home