December, 2011
Kardias Ministries 2011 Year-End Report
Haung Dau and the Burma Scholarship Fund
A world away from his own, Haung Dau is making great progress
toward his life back home in Burma. We are so proud of how hard he is working at
his studies at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana. God is to be praised
for all the good things He has provided for Haung Dau.
He continues to live at a boarding house there, run by an older gentleman who has
a heart for international students. It has been an adventure living with individuals
from both African and Middle Eastern countries, individuals of a differing faith,
some having very different values. Haung Dau has been a Christian example of patience
and kindness to those with whom he shares a roof and a dinner table.
There are some exciting developments in Burma that we are hopeful will pave an easier
path for Haung Dau’s work once he returns home. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
visited in December 2011; the government has negotiated peace with the various tribes;
they have even let the leader of Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, free from her decades-long
house arrest and allowed her political party to participate in the next election.
However, many, most especially the oppressed in Burma, have a healthy skepticism
about a government that has made promises in the past to obtain favor diplomatically,
only to continue its brutality toward its people behind the closed doors of its
borders. Please consider praying regularly for this root of change to take hold
and make a lasting difference for the citizens of Burma.
With two years of college almost complete, we now turn our attention to the final
half of Haung Dau’s education and training here in America. This is a crucial transition
that we cannot make without God’s blessing and the help of our supporters who are
being led to assist Haung Dau. Vincennes is only a two year institution and has
been a wonderful launching point for Haung Dau’s college level learning. The small
campus has proven to be a great place to start. This summer he will move back into
our home here in Indianapolis and make preparations to attend Indianapolis University-Purdue
University Indianapolis (IUPUI) beginning in the fall of 2012. The transfer process
begins soon.
IUPUI is a larger institution where he can zero in on his goal
of learning crucial management skills for his work back home. IUPUI is significantly
more expensive than Vincennes, though a good bargain when overall tuition rates
are considered. The cost for a year of schooling will be $29,000 per year compared
to the yearly rate of $11,000 at Vincennes. We humbly ask, in what we know is a
tough economy, that you might consider a donation to the Burma Scholarship Fund
to help Haung Dau finish out his education.
Haung Dau lost his father when he was very young. His mother struggled to provide
the very basic of needs for him and his siblings. Education was considered a luxury
they could not afford, but we in America know that education is crucial to reaching
the higher goals of breaking the cycles of poverty and despair and for making a
difference for others in the same situation, passing on the blessing of hope through
education and training. Haung Dau has fought against the barriers of his youth,
leaving a place barren of opportunity, travelling first to Thailand and now to America,
to find an education that he can take back and share with others.
We believe God has blessed his heart of humility and obedience to His ways along
this journey. It has been a true blessing for us to watch the Lord work in his life
and we ask for you to consider in prayer if the Lord might have you share in our
joy by helping him further along his way. We wanted Haung Dau to write from his
own perspective how life in America is going for him and to share his steadfast
heart for his goals and his people back home, so you can
read his words here.
India Report
[This is a quick overview of some of the activities for the Gampala family. For
a full discourse of these and other stories, please
go view the Indian Supplemental.
It has been a year of growth, maturity and trials for our precious brethren in India.
Kardias has been blessed by the grace of our Lord and your generosity to be able
to make provisions and fill many of the physical needs of the congregations in Rajupalem
and Lanka during 2011. Our primary goals continue: To embolden our brethren to continue
in the faith, and to empower them to preach the Gospel to the Hindus around them.
Were it not for this ministry and your efforts in support of our mission it is a
sobering thought to consider where our brethren might be right now.
The Hindu leadership has stepped up their persecution of the Gampala family. The
act of baptizing new Christian converts in the local river (considered a god by
the Hindus) has resulted in threats of physical harm or killings from the Hindus.
To avoid this threat, a baptismal pool has been constructed on top of Pastor John’s
house. However, the Hindus will still not allow them to put the name of their church
on Pastor John’s home, nor allow them to care for widows in their own home. The
Gampalas were forced to evict the widows they were caring for, though they are still
surruptitiously providing daily food to these widows. Please pray that this situation
will turn out well, for we know that “when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord,
he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.” (Prov 16:7, NIV)
After the flood of 2005 destroyed Pastor Chitti’s house, a new home and House of
God were rebuilt. However, the House of God was only finished to the bare minimum
to be used. There was no electricity, lighting, or fans, and the walls were bare
concrete. We were able to finish these amenities in 2011 to make the space more
conducive to worship services.
Two new portable P.A. systems have been provided for the use of conducting church
services in locations where there is no permanent church building in order to increase
the reach in preaching the Gospel.
Though he was not able to visit the USA as we had hoped, this has still been a big
year for Prasad Gampala, son of Pastor John. In this year he has married his new
wife, Anusha, been ordained for pastorship, and been tasked with the responsibility
of tending the growing church area in the small city of Kakinada. Please pray that
Prasad will preach Christ boldly and succeed in this new adventure.
The Gampala family has been plagued with sickness from the Strep virus. This condition
was not originally diagnosed correctly, leading to complications such as rheumatoid
arthritis and scarlett feaver. By God’s blessing, the entire Gampala family and
widows were able to go to the doctor to test who was carrying the virus and get
proper treatment.
The big news from the States for 2012: Mr. Michael Deering will be traveling to
stay with the Gampala family for about four months beginning in late January. The
primary purpose of this visit is to help the Gampalas have a more perfect understanding
of God’s Word and to teach Prasad occupational skills in graphic design.
Financially speaking, donations to Kardias Ministries were down this year. We attributed
this decline to the continued degredation of the US economy. It has been a very
difficult time for the nation, yea, for the world, and those who support this ministry
are certainly not immune to the downfall. 2012 may prove to be a difficult year,
indeed, if this trend continues. We pray and trust, however, that God will provide
for His work, and if He chooses to continue to work through this ministry, then
He exactly what is needed will be given. Thank you for your continued support!
|
Ministry
|
Starting
|
Donations
|
Disbursements
|
Transfers
|
Remaining
|
|
General Fund
|
$ 550
|
$ 2,645
|
$ -
|
$ (3,015)
|
$ -
|
|
Burma Scholarship
|
$ 4,353
|
$ 6,590
|
$ (9,462)
|
$ 3,015
|
$ 4,496
|
|
Gampala Family
|
$ 8,455
|
$ 6,680
|
$ (11,527)
|
$ -
|
$ 3,608
|
|
Mission India 2012
|
$ -
|
$ 3,700
|
$ (1,430)
|
$ -
|
$ 2,270
|
|
Grand Total
|
$ 13,358
|
$ 19,435
|
$ (22,419)
|
$ -
|
$ 10,374
|
Conclusion
Our hearts swell with joy to serve “the least of these” brethren our Lord has allowed
us to come to know. There is so much work yet to be done that our Lord’s people
in India are called to do.
2011 has presented many challenges for our brethren in India, but it has also provided
challenges for our ministry. The storm clouds of a bad economy and uncertainty in
the world darken the horizon. Donations to the monthly support Kardias provides
for the Gampala Ministry and the Burma Scholarship fund have dwindled appreciably
in 2011. We know the times are very tough for most of us, but in comparison to the
plight of many Christians in the third world, we as Americans are still blessed
above and beyond the comprehension of most of our brothers and sisters in Christ
living in Asia. There is still time that we can redeem to serve in a mighty work
our Father is performing directly for His people there. We so much appreciate your
support and help that we cannot adequately express our gratitude. If you saw the
faces of those brethren your support directly helps, no amount of money in the world
can buy such love and thanksgiving that they convey.
We are reminded of the words of Christ: “As long as it is day, we must do the work
of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4) We pray our
Lord would give us the strength to complete the work to which He has called us.
Please continue to join us in this effort with your whole heart, as we continue
to serve in the Lord’s work with ours.
After the end of the year and all donations are tallied we will post the 2011 finances
to this location.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according
to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ
Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Agape,
Brian, Stephanie, Michael, and the Kardias Family