March 22, 2015
Recently, I was blessed to personally visit Vijayawada, India, and many of the WEI teachers and brothers and sisters involved in a very fruitful effort called WEI – India.
This work began in 2007 under the direction of an Indian preacher named Prabhu Kumar. He has been preaching for churches of Christ for twenty years after earning Bible degrees from World Bible School and College at Chennai, and the Jack Nelle Institute. He was encouraged to begin this work by his dedicated WEI Internet teacher in Texas.
If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you have, no doubt viewed many baptisms as a result of this amazing work. There have been 552 baptisms since the beginning of WEI-India. There were 83 baptisms in 2014, and already 92 baptisms in 2015. Praise the Lord!
There are currently twenty-eight Indian WEI teachers in the state of Andhra Pradesh in association with twenty-six different churches of Christ. This ministry is fully operated and staffed by Indian Christians. I was asked to come and speak in January of this year at a number of churches and to preside over several graduation ceremonies at these year-round WEI schools. I was also privileged to meet many of the Indian WEI teachers involved in this work and to speak to several new classes of students enrolling in the WEI schools for the first time.
Arriving at the Vijayawada airport on a Monday morning after a long, sleepless 30 + hour flight, I was greeted by many Christians with beautiful garlands of flowers and handheld bouquets. They had prepared banners for my arrival and in honor of the WEI founder Dr. Dick Ady and the brother in Texas who began this great work from scratch eight years ago.
I was rushed off to speak to a local congregation that was waiting patiently for my arrival, and then hustled into a small car to drive to a location many hours away where WEI graduates were waiting for me to preside over their graduation ceremony. I had to recover from jet-lag in the seat of Prabhu’s small car. It’s amazing how a person suffering from sleep deprivation can comfortably sleep in contorted positions in the cramped seat of a little car.
I have never in my life been treated with such hospitality and genuine Christian love. It was the most humbling and the busiest experience of my life. The next four days were a blur of traveling from location to location, speaking to different crowds of people gathered to hear an encouraging message from the word of God. Everywhere we went, I was greeted with flowers. garlands, and shawls. It was incredibly humbling, invigorating, and inspirational—all at the same time.
Prabhu rearranged our schedule so we could find a little more time to catch our breath and rest. Still, we seemed to always be traveling to a new location to speak to interested crowds.
Scores of brothers and sisters saw me off at the airport five days later. It was truly a once-in-a- lifetime experience, and I am so grateful to God to have been blessed with this most humbling opportunity.
This amazing work is in danger of losing most of its financial support in a few weeks due to the expected passing of its primary supporter. This has to be one of the most fruitful works in our entire brotherhood and in the kingdom of God worldwide.
We encourage any church or individual who is looking for a way to invest in The Great Commission to seriously consider WEI-India as a proven investment opportunity that will produce eternal rewards in God’s glorious kingdom.
There will soon be a shortage of approximately $2500 per month to sustain and grow this work. Please contact either Dick Ady or me if you would like to learn more about this opportunity. Brother Ady and I have personally witnessed this amazing work with our own eyes. Our telephone numbers and e-mail addresses are printed on the front page of this newsletter.
