June 2008
Dear Ones in the Lord:

Both Marykutty and I are overwhelmed sensing such love and affection shown to us especially these days as both of us were having some health challenges. We are indeed thankful to God for your love and prayers for us.
We want you to know that the Lord is taking good care of us and both of us are doing better. Marykutty has passed one Kidney stone, but there are two small ones left. I am fit and fine and no one can say that I have any health problem. The present situation only makes me to rely on Him and trust Him more as never before. But we do covet your continuous prayer.

A Million Dollar Vision
The burden to place Bibles in Bible less homes has only increased and we are now getting ready to enter into U.P., one of the strongholds of the enemy in North India with Bibles in our hands and prayers in our hearts. We do need thousands of Bibles as our burden is to place 1000 Bibles in each of the 71 districts. Each Bible by the time it reaches a home costs $7.oo now. Your prayers and specific supports would be greatly appreciated. Even during the last two months our Teams have placed over 2000 Bibles in both Hindu and Muslims homes.
Our burden is to saturate the land with the knowledge of the only true and living God, the God of the Bibles as the waters covers the sea ( Habakkuk 2:14). Only the true knowledge of God alone can break superstition and traditional religious beliefs ensnaring millions for centuries. If Mao’s “Red Book” could change China, the Bible can certainly do better. We do need your cooperation and help at this time as never before. Bible backed up by Intercessory prayer can do wonders.
Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel.

Dr. Thomas Samuel

February 2008 India’s Temple city hosts Standing in the Gap 2008

The 8th Standing in the Gap was held at Varanasi (Benaras) from 23rd to 26th January 2008. The choice of place was significant, since Benares is one of India’s most important religious centre. It is also called "Temples Town" as every second house has a temple. The town receives several lakhs of pilgrims from different parts of the country to take a dip in the Ganges to get rid of the generic sin. It is a common sight to see the burning of dead bodies and releasing it into the water. By this, the people say that they can attain 'moksha' ie ……. The presence of Christians here is very small and thus holding the Standing in the Gap here was a strategic decision.

There were 82 delegates representing 13 states of India excluding the large number of participants (around 82) from Varanasi. God’s people had assembled here to plead to the Almighty for His mighty and sweeping revival – the only answer for the prevalent condition of the people and the church. Besides the usual programme from morning to evening, some days intercessory prayers for the nation and for the city of Benares extended even beyond the scheduled time. The delegates from different states prayed in their mother tongues for the nation. The highlight of the Seminar was the prayer walk on the banks of the river Ganga and Sarnath the place of Buddhist temples. This prayer walk challenged all the delegates to continue with their prayer mission to intercede for the nation.

Rev. Dr. Thomas Samuel spoke in detail on the Power of Intercessory Prayer, Ordinary prayer and Intercessory prayer, Marks of Intercessory Prayer, Marks of an Interpreter and the Bible Vision Programme. Participants were greatly moved and vouched to stand in the Gap on every Second Saturday of the month. Bro. Vishwanand shared thoughts related to the Essentials for leading a victorious life in Jesus, Life Transformation that would influence society to turn to the Lord, and City Transformation. Participants responded by promising to have a larger vision for their respective cities rather than just their church by working to forge a unity among different Christian denominations. A team of QCI staff was always available to uphold the programme in prayer, and render help in every possible way. On the final day of the conference, people shared on what remarkable things God had worked in their personal lives.

We praise God for the travel mercy, safety and good health God has given to all the participants in spite of the severe cold. We also thank the help extended by the local co-ordinators in making the programme a success.

A brief about UP : Report By our team member

1. Significance of State of UP: Population of India has crossed one billion mark. Our nation has made significant progress in Info Technology and financial progress is almost steady. Nations of the world are looking to India for its contribution.
The whole India looks up to the state of UP comprising of 70 districts which is largest in the nation. This State has tremendous influencing power in the areas of culture, religion, historical and political. The state population was 16.62 crore as per the 1991 census.
2. Significance of Varanasi: It is built on the banks of river Ganges and has ancient history of Indus Valley Civilization.
* It is next to the smallest district yet with high density of population - 44 lakhs.
* It is also called "Temples Town" as every 2nd house has a temple. The town receives several lakhs of pilgrims from different parts of our country to dip in Ganges and rid of generic sin. It is a common sight burning the dead bodies and releasing it into the water. By this, the people say that they can attain 'moksha'. The water is highly polluted causing even skin diseases.
* This is the land wherein some simple people shot to fame like - Rani Laxmi Bai, Ustad Bismilla Khan, Lal Bahadur Shastri etc.,
* Saranath temple of Buddha built 2550 years ago attracts sizeable no. of tourists. He gave first teaching to 5 monks. A huge pillar is built as a monument could even be seen from a long distance.
* Samadhi of Seetha, wife of Rama, is situated near the town.
* Sweets made of pure milk and ghee, Banaras silk sarees and chewing beetle pan is a common sight.
3. Strategic location for SIG program: Considering the clout of religiousity and dominance of ignorance of reality, present platform for quick and easy way of salvation, favoured QCI almost one year ago to choose Varanasi.
* Segment of Christians is very small. Within it RC hold a large size.
* God with His sovereign strategy has been inspiring missions to visit and intercede for the City.

4. Participants:
* Though success of a program is not measured by mere number of persons attended, yet for encouragement it is heartening to know that about 75 from 7 States and about 80 local leaders participated.
* Painstaking effort of local coordinators was evidently observed. They were in constant touch with Rev. Varghese Mathew, National Coordinator, QCI for effectively organising this program. The local coordinators are -
Pas. Sam Joshua Singh Pas. Nathan Pas. Ajay Kumar
5. Conduct of program:
* Rev. Dr. Thomas Samuel precisely spoke on Power of Intercessory Prayer, Ordinary prayer and Intercessory prayer, Marks of Intercessory Prayer, Marks of an Interpreter, and Bible Vision Program. Stirred inside, the participants responded to stand in the Gap on 2nd Saturday.
* Bro. Vishwanand shared thoughts related to: Essentials for leading a victorious life in Jesus, Life Transformation that would influence society turning to the Lord, and City Transformation. Participants responded that they would have enlarged vision for the City rather than just their church by forging unity among denominations.
* On 26th after a time of fasting prayer participants visited ghats and Saranath Buddhist temple.
* A team of QCI was readily available to uphold the program in prayer, and render help in every possible way.
6. Conclusion: Though the outcome of the program is encouraging, it would be better to review critically for better impact of the program.

Christmas 2007 in the Jungle

Dear Loved Ones,
This is just a brief report to let you all know that Marykutty andI just returned to Bangalore from Quiet Corner after a fantastic Jungle Christmas with the largest crowd ever, over 1300 villagers. Over 400 families and 250 children were gifted with clothes as a token of God's compassion for the needy. Everyone enjoyed the Christmas message and the sumptuous Christmas feast. This was our 30th Christmas in the Jungle. The first Christmas was celebrated with just five tribal families' years ago. We are grateful to God for those who have contributed already for Christmas and those who will be contributing. We have spent more than we received and trust God for the rest. A detailed report with pictures will follow at a later date.
FRESH COMMITMENT TO CHRIST:
It gave us great joy to see several souls who made decision for Christ during Christmas meetings in the three Churches at Gundlupet, Mavanahalla and Masinagudi.
GIRLS READY FOR BAPTISM:
Also do pray for another five village girls ready for baptism. It is not easy for them to take this step but they are determined. May the Lord honor their genuine and simple faith?
BIBLES URGENTLY NEEDED:
We do need sponsors for more Bibles. We placed more than 15000 Bibles in non-Christian homes in 2007 and our minimum target is 25,000 for 2008. Each Bible costs $4.oo but this is a lasting spiritual investment in the lives of lost souls. Millions of homes are waiting for a copy of the Bible for the first time. Our youngest donor for Bible is Beth Watson, an eight year old boy from Dallas who regularly contributes $4 a month. What a challenge?
Marykutty and I along with Paul and Jaya and the entire Quiet Corner family take this opportunity to wish you all God's richest blessings for a purposeful God-centered New Year 2008! Each of you means so much to us and thank you for your partnership in the Gospel.
Thomas & Marykutty Samuel.

TALES FROM THE JUNGLE

 It was a great day when three families, members of the Mother church gathered together with Evangelists Benji and Vasu to initiate a prayer cell in the Mavanhalla group house tribal colony.  We realize that without such prayer cells we cannot break the many barriers and strongholds of the evil one.  Even children prayed devotedly asking God to make Jesus known to these inhabitants of the mountains.

 Women’s meeting at Masinagudi:

 Women of our rural churches were blessed with an exclusive meeting cum teaching workshop. Karen Haught has a special burden for women. She spoke through a series, telling examples and drawing heavily from the scripture on the practical ways of applying Biblical teachings for a solid Christian marriage and living a life pleasing to God. Women were greatly benefited from this unique teaching. Anita, mother of two girls summed up the talk thus, “Now I am empowered with very many tools to face both the harsh and good aspects in my marriage where I look to Christ constantly for help and to not rely on my human capacities to sort out issues. Just trust in the Lord and do things to honor him is my goal.”

Tribal girls receive education assistance:

 Quiet Corner has taken the initiative to support the education of two girls, Jayaseeli and Sita who topped their class. Coming from extremely poor homes, their daily wage earning parents were unable to fund their schooling. We have extended financial support to Sita paying for her school fees, books and uniforms. Jaya Seeli is being helped by one of our friends Karen Haught from the U.S. For the bright ten year old Jayaseeli especially it was a timely help, since her mother is mentally ill and physically abusive towards her and her partially physically disabled father, a daily laborer cannot do much for his daughter. Today Jaya Seeli is pursuing her studies in a good boarding School in Ooty. All thanks to Karen Haught who promised to see her through. Remember a little timely help goes a long way.

Bible Vision gets 2000 Bibles:

 The need for more Bibles is a constant one for the Bible Vision. We are deeply grateful to Brother George Verwer, ex-International Director of Operation Mobilization who generously sponsored the Bibles.  This is the fourth time Bro. George has helped us with Bibles. It is yet another proof of his deep love for the lost souls of India.

Wild elephant menace:

 Would you believe it? We have lost two coconut trees from our cottage backyard when wild elephants chose to make it their dinner. It was a night of heavy rain and harsh winds and nobody heard the elephants. Hence the early morning greeted us with badly eaten coconut trees.

Emergency medical help to tribal girl Lata:

 Village folks often depend upon witch doctors for their illness and disease. They thus end up wasting their resources and effort with no cure in sight. Ten year old Lata was in a very bad condition when her mother brought her to us seeking help. Since we have no hospital functioning we rushed her to a faraway hospital and later on to another one. At both the places she was pronounced as a case with no hope. Now we depend solely on prayer. Lata was one of the smartest kids of the vacation Bible School and also a beneficiary of the children-feeding programme. In her abject weakness too, Lata said, “Jesus is in my heart” and on 1st August she passed away. Do pray for her grieving family. It is during times like this that we feel helpless. So please pray for the revival of our rural hospital, an absolute necessity which is not functioning for want of resources and also a committed doctor couple.

Great grandchild born to our first tribal convert Gangamma:

 It was a great day for Gangamma, now over 70 years of age when she became a great grandmother. Her grand daughter Gracy delivered a baby boy.  Yes, a generation is born because of the gospel, that came into this inhospitable forest area thirty-five years ago. When we first came here, there was not a single Christian. Gangamma was an animist. Today there are four rural churches in addition to five Evangelists & Pastors serving the Lord from this local village.  Praise be to His name.
All these means preaching the Gospel both through word and deed, and this was possible because of your prayers and continuous support for this ministry in the Jungles.  This is in addition to the Prayer Mobilization and Bible Vision which continues with great zeal touching all over India.

Praising God for your Faithful partnership in the Ministry in India

Oct 9, 2007 - copy of e-mail from Dr Thomas Samuel to HOPE Ministries: