India Sept/Oct 2025

Hello Friends,

This was a much anticipated trip to a people group that I had heard about earlier this year. The Siddi people, an ethnic minority of Bantu descent from East Africa were brought to India centuries ago. A major influx of Siddis to the western coast of India occurred between the 17th and 19th centuries, when the Portuguese brought them to the subcontinent as slaves. After escaping from slavery, many Siddis fled from Goa into the dense forests of coastal Karnataka, spreading out so as not to be caught together.

In September, I had the opportunity to travel to Karnataka and visit some of these wonderful people. There is not much ministerial work going on among them, but my brother introduced me to a pastor and his wife and they invited me to come and spend time with them. Many of them are very poor, and do not have much basic necessities, but God is raising up young people among them to preach His Word. There is a lot of work to be done, and they need a lot of help.

I had the opportunity to meet one family from a neighboring community who gave their lives to Christ. Because of that, they are rejected by the families of the community, and if anyone there talks with them, they have to pay a heavy fine to the leaders of the community. In spite of that, they are very strong in their faith, and it really touched my heart how much people from different parts of the world give up and suffer for the sake of Christ.

They recently built a small church building, but still needed a bathroom, so we are helping them to build that.

Many people work for people they have borrowed from, so they have to work whenever they are asked to. Because of this, they are often not able to come to church because their bosses will not allow them to. Eventually we would like to buy farm animals so they can raise them, create income, become independent, and able to go to church. Please keep the Siddi people in your prayers!

As some of you know, for the last couple of years, I have been working with the Muthuvan tribal people in Kerala. Last year there were still around fifty villages that had not heard the Gospel. Ten pastors have been going to these villages in the forest and sharing the love of Christ, and it is so amazing to see what God is doing through them. One of the things they needed was burial land, and we were able to help them buy this last week. My brother has been very involved with teaching the Word of God among them, encouraging Pastors and Evangelists and working with the people. Many of them are very poor, but it is a blessing to see their love for God.

I had the opportunity to go and preach in different places during this trip, encouraging the body of Christ. I look forward to many more visits to reach the unreached and to see the hope of the Gospel spread throughout all the villages of the Muthuvan people and beyond.