Ministry: Updates

Christmas Greetings
Date: 12.26.2009
MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010


Dear friend in Jesus

The seminar on Biblical Counseling (Nov 27-29) and the Training of Evangelist (Nov 30-Dec 3) ended successfully. A total of 63 delegates attended. We are grateful to the resource persons: Mr. Jim Thomason, Mr. Scott Johnson, Dr. Gallen Curah, and Dr. Asangla Ao

To see pictures from the seminar on Biblical Counseling, please click or copy and paste in your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/TLAministries/SeminarOnBiblicalCounseling#

To see pictures from the training of Evangelist, please click or copy and paste in your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/TLAministries/TLACBCNEITrainingForTheEvangelist#

CBCNEI family in Guwahati will host special Advance Christmas Program on Dec 18. If you are in the city you most welcomed to join us. On Christmas day, I will be preaching in Guwahati Baptist Church. I will appreciate your prayers.

The year 2009 has almost come to an end. Asangla and I are very grateful to God for many blessings in the year of 2009. We have completed 14 months with CBCNEI ministries and have also been able to carry out effectively our vision through TLA ministries by equipping, encouraging, and empowering some Christian workers in our region.

Our Children, Joshua and Neema are already home, and Sonam will join us on December 22. We look forward for a family reunion during Christmas. We love our family ritual of thanking God for the past year and entering the New Year together on the eve of the New Year.

We pray that the Lord will bless you and your family a wonderful and fruitful year of faithfulness and service in 2010.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2010.

A.K. Lama and Asangla
Bomb Blasts in Assam
Date: 10.31.2008
Dear Prayer partners

Today is the saddest day for the state of Assam.

I was sitting in my office in Guwahati working on my computer this morning. At 11:30 a.m., a huge blast shook the whole office. The tube light in my office came off. I ran out with all my staff and saw black smoke and flame just one block away on the road. I saw one person with jean lying with his stomach open and a lady with her skull blown out. They were dead. I recognized that it was a car bomb.

The crowd yelled and shouted but no one had the courage to go near the fire. The fire spread from one car to another. Nearby buildings were all full of smoke. The Police came with fire brigade after an hour. It was too late. Everything nearby was destroyed. We had dead bodies splintered all over the street. No body knew how many died. Some told me that few families who were in the car waiting were wiped out. I had seen these scenes in the TV but to see with my own eyes was very painful.

After an hour, I discovered that there were 5 bomb blasts all over the city and 11 bombs including other cities in Assam. Total death tolls rose to 66 and total injured are more than 300.

Later in the evening we discovered that two of our own boys from our Christians L.M. hostel were missing. Some of the staff rushed to hospitals. After hunting through several hospitals, one of the students could be identified by the wallet in his pocket. He body was completely disfigured beyond recognition. We could not find another. There are several bodies which are beyond recognition and some were scattered into pieces. Sorry for the gory details. Their families have been informed and they are likely to come today.

Pray for the situation. Different political parties are trying to make score out of it. Some political party have declared closure of the city and asked for the President rule.

I am concerned for the TLA training program that starts from Monday (Nov 3) in RRTC, Shilling. All delegates have to travel through Guwahati. Our resource persons, Pastor Lee and Mr. Scott Johnson are arriving tomorrow to Guwahati. Please pray that I will be able to received them and take them to Shillong.

Please pray for the peace and wisdom of God to prevail.
Update October 2008
Date: 10.11.2008
Dear Friend,

We have just returned from quite a long and exhaustive trip. On our way to Kohima, we had three times flat tires and then finally one SUV hit our car on the side and smashed the rear right door. Since we were sitting on front seat, we came out unharmed. Praise the Lord!

In Kohima, we ministered in the Nagaland EGF conference. There were 121 delegates. The theme of the conference was to “Preach the Word” (2 Tim 4:2). All the delegates returned with a commitment to spread the good news of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have uploaded some pictures on Picasa. In order to see, please click, or copy and paste on your browser

http://picasaweb.google.com/TLAministries/NEGFConference#

Unfortunately, AK could not get the Visa for Bangladesh and so he had to cancel his trip. In stead, he attended a Medical Board meeting in Jorhat and was able to preach in two morning devotion. Please pray for the four Baptist Mission Hospitals and their Nursing Schools in the Northeast India which are undergoing crisis. The Nursing schools are at the verge of closing and the hospitals are running in loss. These institutions were started by American missionaries in early part of 19th century but today they are in bad shape because of lack of leaders with vision and passion for Christ.

We'll be going to Tura on 16th Oct to minister a group of 70 pastors from Garo Baptist Convention. Asangla will take seminars on Biblical counseling and AK will take sessions on Biblical preaching. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Sonam is doing well in her studies at Dordt College in Iowa. Neema and Joshua are also doing fine with their studies in Kodaikanal School in South India. Here are few of their pictures on Picasa.

http://picasaweb.google.com/TLAministries/KodaikanalInternationalSchool#

We are always mindful of you all. We appreciate your partnership. We know that we are not alone in our daily struggle to love and serve Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray for India as many Christians continue to suffer severe persecution.

May the good Lord continue to watch over you.

Praying for you regularly.

AK and Asangla
India
Northeast Leaders Congress 2008
Date: 09.07.2008
This week I attended Northeast Leaders Congress on Transformation. There were more than 200 leaders from all over northeast region. The emphasis was on networking to reach out the unreached and on empowering every Christian to plant a Church.

There was lots of energy in the congress. Testimonies, stories of victories, and mission challenges filled the air. However, the purpose of the conference to set a goal to reach the unreached by every delegate began to become clear only on the last day. One of the speakers, Dr. Augustine from Philippines, very aptly said, "If the interpretation of the scripture without application is abortion then a vision without action plan is hallucination." His emphasis on the planning and the need of a right theology caught my attention.

Unfortunately, the planning session was hurriedly held. There was not much brain storming, much less the prayer. The emphasis seems to be on the “number”. We tend to emphasize the numbers, which provokes “halleluyah,” but not so much on the “discipleship,” “sound theology,” and “strategies that might prevent duplicity and wastage of God's resources” in missions. The latter of course are not appealing and may not get many “halleluyah”. This is the general trend in our mission. Missions of Jesus Christ are caught in the glamour of quantity, sometime at the expense of quality. Both must be emphasized. In fact, the latter may need more emphasis.

On the positive note, a comprehensive research data on the potential mission field of northeast region was presented. The leaders were made aware of the 42,250 villages in the northeast where we do not have a single Christian. Dr. Chowdhary, a surgeon and the retired Director of CMC, Ludhiana, who is also considered as the “Guru” of house Church movement in the north India emphasized on participation of every Christian, rather than just missionaries. However, how every Christians be equipped, empowered, and encouraged to fulfill this task was left unaddressed.

Much will depend on prayers, careful planning, and dedicated follow up of this conference. Please pray that the Lord will enable our leaders to think clear and plan prayerfully to reach out the unreached northeast.
A Report from Jim and Eleanor
Date: 02.26.2008
The TLA workshop was held in a remote area and we didn't have internet. We arrived in Shillong Sat 16th. and hit the ground running. Church all day beginning with church prayer time [about 30 to 40 church members participating] at AK and Asangla's home then church service @ Shillong Baptist Church There was standing room only with many outside in the yard. The bldg. capacity probably 250 with approx 350 in attendance. It is a dynamic ministry. Monday we traveled around 2.5 hrs to the mtg ctr for the TLA workshop and began our sessions early Tues AM. Typical day began with group quiet time then Bible study, session on virtues of a Spiritual leader; Biblical preaching; Biblical counseling; Devotional time; and fellowship sharing. Each day started at 7AM with last session ending @ 930 PM. Theme of workshop was taken from Paul "Imitate me as I imitate Christ" intended to train on virtues of a Spiritual leader. There were about 65 in attendance from all over N.E. India and 4 from Bangladesh. A highly successful and Spiritual time. It is overwhelming to see the excitement and commitment of these people to doing the Lord's work in spite of all the problems and persecution they face on a day to day
basis. We in USA are a spoiled lot. It's almost 1 PM on Tues. We head back Thursday and will be home Friday late AM. The Lord has truly blessed us with safety, good health, successful service and a renewed spirit. And we are convinced that it's because of your prayers lifted up on our behalf. Please continue to pray for us for our time left here with AK and Asangla and our trip home. Please pray for AK and his family separated, pray for the TLA ministry work going on here, for FBC Shillong and AK and Asangla's daily ministry. They have quite a heavy load and need much prayer for God's power and strength to uplift them constantly.
God bless. Jim & Eleanor

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