Shilpa - An Update

Five years ago, we published a letter that was given to us from Shilpa.  She was a young woman who wrote her testimony telling how Christhia Seva Mission came to the aid of she and her mother.  In her testimony Shilpa described how she had to quit school at the age of 11 in order to work in the fields everyday to provide for the needs of her family.  Shilpa also tells of how Mathew Mathai, Director of CSM, learned she had left school and made arrangements with her mother that if Shilpa was permitted to return to school, Mathew and Mary Mathai would guarantee their food, shelter, clothing and school supply needs would be met.

Shilpa and her mother 2019

There have been some great things happen in the life of Shilpa since we first published her testimony.  First, she has completed school.   In her testimony, Shilpa indicated she wanted to attend nursing school.  Well, she did.  She also graduated with honors.  Today Shilpa has a job as a nurse in a major hospital near the Bengalaru Airport a few kilometers from her home.



Speaking of her home, in 2016 several of us had the opportunity

Shilpa, her mother and cousins

in front of their home.

to visit Shilpa's village to see the property she had obtained on which she would build a house.  We prayed with and for Shilpa and her mom that God would provide for her a home through which she would be able to honor and glorify Him.

Since then, the house has been completed. Shilpa, along with her mother, lives in this home.  Shilpa has most definitely found a way in which she can use this home to honor and glorify God.  In addition to housing Shilpa and her mother, she has taken in two

Shilpa serves on the worship

team at the church in

Shidalaghatta.

young cousins who find themselves in a similar situation to what Shilpa was in at their age.  Nisarga and Niharika are the daughters of Shilpa's cousin, but is not able to take care of them.  Shilpa is now providing these girls shelter, clothing, food and an education, passing along the same benefits she had also been provided.  These girls have been raised in a Hindu home.  Shilpa now has the opportunity to be the instrument through which they can see the love of Jesus in action..

It is gratifying to see someone like Shilpa who has seen the blessings God has provided her through CSM and who obediently has chosen to be an instrument through which God can use her to be a blessing to others.

May God be glorified in the lives of Shilpa's cousins as He is in hers.

Silpa's Story

Shilpa

My name is Shilpa and I am 22 years old. I am the only one child to my mom. I never knew my father because he left my mom when she was pregnant with me. Till this day I haven’t seen him. I live in a one room small house in Malur village. My mother worked hard as a laborer in the agriculture field to provide for us. We struggled so much to survive.

When I became 11years old I quit school and went to work with my mom to support the family. I grew up in a Hindu family and did all the rituals as a Hindu. During this time Christhia seva mission pastors (Sunny and Ramkrishna) started to visit our village to conduct bible study. They visited our house and invited my mom and me for the bible study. We started to attend the bible study and prayer meeting. A year later we both accepted Jesus as our savior and were baptized into Jesus Christ.

One Sunday Pastor Mathew and aunt Mary came to our church in Sidhilaghatta. After the worship service we were talking and Mathew asked me what grade are you in school. I said I am not going to school. He called my mom and asked why I am not in school. She explained everything to Mathew. He asked mom if he provides the needs will you send Shilpa to school. My mom said surely I will send her. Uncle Mathew and aunty bought 2 pairs of clothes and bought all the school supplies for me to go to school. This was a beginning of a new journey in my life.

I grew up as a Hindu girl 12 years, but never experienced love of a true living God until now. During this time my Mom developed asthma and was unable to go to work. This almost pushed me to quit school and go to work. Again uncle Mathew and Mary visited our home and said don’t quit school we will help. I stayed in school and graduated high school with good marks. After my high school graduation they asked me what you like to do. I said I wanted to become a nurse. He said they will support me to go to nursing college. I studied in kannada medium school and didn’t know English. Nursing college was in English. I was scared to go. But my Jesus helped me to be the top in nursing college all 3 years. There Jesus helped me to share about Jesus to many of my friends. Making the long story short, to day I am working as a nurse in a medical college hospital in Bangalore City.

There are many people involved in my life to make me who I am today. First of all it is my Jesus. Then white Oak Christian church who send Mathew to preach about Jesus to a girl like me. To our both preachers who shared Jesus with us. Then uncle Mathew (my appa (dad)) and aunty. Their love and care for a girl like me. Providing our needs and loving us unconditionaly. I need to tell about my appa and aunty. One day they came to our mud one room house. I prepared some food for them and they ate it. That taught me what true love is all about. THANK YOU MY JESUS FOR MEAKING ME WHO I AM TO Day. Thanks to all of you who helped to become who I am today.

Thanks for reading my life story. THANKS THAT’S ALL I HAVE

Your sister

Shilpa

Mathew and Mary Traveling to Burkina Faso



Mathew & Mary Mathai



Friday, October 25th, Mathew and Mary Mathai will leave Chickballapur, India for a visit with their grand kids in  Burdina Faso.  Well, Tom and Suja will be there too.

Please be praying for safe travels for Mathew and Mary.  She is still experiencing pain with her back issues.  Please pray their visit will provide the opportunity to have a relaxing time away from the responsibilities of Christhia Seva Mission and a time of great fellowship with their family.

Mathew and Mary will return to Chickballapur and CSM in a few weeks and prepare for a great Christmas celebration with the thousands of Christians served through CSM.

A Children's Church Celebration in Gudibunde

You have been following the building of the Children's Church area on the roof of the church at Gudibunde.  Sunday, August 25th brought with it a special celebration at the Gudibunde Church as they celebrate the completion of this special project.

This facility addition will enable Christhia Seva Mission to teach hundred's of children about the loving, saving grace of a living God.

Please join us in celebrating what God has done to make this project possible.




Worship at the church in Gudibunde as they celebrate the completion
of the Children's Church addition that was built on top of the
church building.

 


Of course you can celebrate without a great cake.



The children of the Gudibunde Church celebrating in their new
Children's Church area.



Everyone enjoyoing, celebrating the new Children's Church
area and worshiping the God that has made it
all possible.



Pappanna - A Very Special Testimony



Meet Pappanna and his family, wife Ratamma (left) and daughter Gayrathri

 Matthew has translated and shared the following testimony of  Pappanna in Pappanna's own words.  Please read, enjoy and praise God for how He uses CSM to bring people to a saving relationship with Christ.
------------------------

I want to share my testimony.  My name is Pappanna.  I grew up in a very traditional Hindu family.  From my childhood my parents encouraged me to be good and faithful to the gods we worshiped. I believed in many gods. 

About 10 months ago I became very ill.  I went to doctors and hospitals.  They couldn’t find anything wrong.  They did lots of tests, they couldn’t find anything wrong physically.  So I went to many temples seeking help from the gods I believed and worshiped. I did not get any help from them.  

I was getting weaker and weaker.  4 months ago I became like paralyzed.  I couldn’t stand by myself.  So my wife went and brought a witchcraft doctor, thinking that it was a curse from one of my ancestors.  He did all kinds of things on me to remove the curse from me.  He practiced witchcraft for 2 weeks and it didn’t do any good.  I was getting weaker and weaker.  I gave up hope and told my life I don’t want to do anything any more.  Please leave me alone.  Whenever I die, let it be.

All these times Pastor Johnson and Moses were visiting our village and conducting prayer meetings.  They came to our home and visited with me and asked if they could pray for me.  I said no, I don’t want to do anything anymore, leave us alone and don’t come back to our house any more. I was very discouraged and I prayed very earnestly to my gods and they didn’t do anything for me.  So I didn’t want to do anything with any god. 

The next week pastors came to our village and my wife went and asked them to come and pray for me.  At this time I was bedridden and couldn’t walk.  Because of my wife I told them you can pray.  They shared the gospel with us.  They prayed and left.  For the next 4 weeks they came and prayed for me.  4^th week I asked them to conduct the bible study and prayer meeting in my house. There are several Christians in our village.  They all came for the prayer meeting and started to sing and praise God.  I never experienced anything like this before.  I felt like something is happening to me.  Johnson preached about the paralyzed man whom Jesus healed.  I liked what I heard and it gave me some hope of healing.  I asked preachers come and pray for me.  4 days after, the afternoon, they came and prayed for me.  Then they left.

Day after they prayed for me, I started to lift my legs and move it around. Slowly day by day I started to get better and started to walk slowly.  This convinced me , my wife and daughter that Jesus is the true living God.  All three of us knelt together and prayed and accepted Jesus into our life as the Lord and Savior.  All three of us were baptized on August 4^th.  I walked into the baptistery and walked out of it without any body’s help. 

Amen, Jesus is our savior, healer and the only one God.   Please pray for us.

Thanks for listening to my life changing experience.

Pappanna

July Blessings at the Gudibunde Church - UPDATED AUGUST 14, 2013

The Gudibunde Church is suffering from growth.  A nice problem to have.
This is construction on top of the worship building for a
Children's Church area. 



This worship and teaching area will enable CSM to teach
hundreds of Indian children about Jesus.

 


Another blessing to great growth at Gudibunde is that on July27, 2013,
there were 20 new brothers and sisters in Christ who chose
to be obedient to Christ in Christian Baptism.

 


The construction of a roof over the Children's Ministry area of
the church at Gudibunde nears completion.


_______________________

Updated August 14, 2013

You can see this will be a nice addition to the church building and
will enable CSM to teach hundreds of children in the
years to come.

August 4h Baptisms at Parasandra Church



August 4, 2013 Matthew Mathai had the privilege of baptising many new
brothers and sisters in Christ at the church in Parasandra.  Pastor Moses
is on the far left, Pastrr Johnson on the far right.





Favorite past-time following ANY ceremony at any of the worship centers
in India includes what?   Yep......Eating!!