Reaching Out to India and Bangladesh

by Pastor Mitch Horton | March 1999

Victory Fellowship was involved in a short term missions trip to Calcutta, India, and to Khulna, Bangladesh, from January 28th through February 15th. Working with Bruce McDonald, the team of eight participated in the trip included Pastor Mitch, Shawn Tracy, David Ballard, Dianne Boyette, David Hartz ( a doctor from Tallahassee, Fla.), and Tom Cabbell (a pastor also from Tallahassee, Fla.).

We arrived in Calcutta, India on January 30th after the approximate 12,000 mile flight from the US. The sights, sounds, and smells of Calcutta were almost overwhelming to us westerners. The first thing we did was to "turn off" our western minds and try to identify and understand the complex culture by which we found ourselves surrounded. On the same block we observed (through the blue colored, car exhaust filled air!) a mixture of people involved in all sorts of activities. Some were cooking in pots over small fires while others were selling their recently cooked food. Many were selling vegtables and fruits, or flowers that would be sacrificed to their "gods". Still others were involved in activities that ranged from sleeping on the dirty streets to bathing, shaving, getting a haircut, playing cards in a circle on the sidewalk, or just "hanging out" as a family on a spot they claimed as their own on the sidewalk. They simply had nowhere else to go. All this was going on while hundreds of 1950's styled taxis hurried along the busy streets, oblivious to any traffic laws, seeking to reach their destinations along with an assortment of rickshaws, bicycles, pedistrians, animals, carts, wagons pulled by men, and large overcrowded busses.

Calcutta is a city of well over 15 million people, many of whom live on the streets or in slums on the edge of the Ganges river. Calcutta is named after Kali, the goddess of destruction, whose temple in Calcutta is visited by millions seeking to appease this one god. The people worship Kali along with the 330 million gods of Hinduism out of fear that they will be harmed by them. The atmosphere of this needy city is so oppressive that Rudyard Kipling called it "the city of the eternal night". You get a sense just how evil and ruthless our enemy is when you see so many people living in poverty with an absolute sense of hopelessness while worshiping idols that do not help their plight.

We were sent into the midst of this darkness with the LIGHT of God's Word that brings life and liberty to all who will believe! Because of your faithfulness and prayers, our pastors conference and the night services were a great success. Approximately 200 pastors attended the three day conference. Many of them traveled from long distances to attend, and a large part of the conference expenses went towards housing and feeding them during the conference. With Christianity being embraced by less than 1% of the population of their country, these pastors were hungry and eager to hear the Word of God and took voluminous notes as Bruce McDonald, Tom Cappell, David Hartz, and Pastor Mitch ministered from 9:30 AM until 5 PM each day. Many of the pastors received the baptism of the Holy Spirit during the conference, and much of the ministry was directed toward dispelling the fear of sharing the gospel because of recent uprisings against Christians in India.

Each night we went to villages on the outskirts of town and to churches near the villages. As the Word was preached, the people responded and were born again and many received healing. During the entire trip, we had well over two hundred born again during our night meetings!

Shawn Tracy, David Ballard, Sheila Bupp, and David Hartz returned to the US after the ministry in Calcutta. Bruce McDonald, Dianne Boyette, Tom Cappell, and Pastor Mitch flew to Khulna, Bangladesh for the next week of ministry.

Bangladesh is a country of approximately 150 million people with 80% of the population involved in the Muslim faith. When we arrived we were greeted by similar scenes as we were in Calcutta, with one major exception. There were few cars!! After our bus ride from the airport to Khulna, we were transported to our hotel by rickshaw! During our stay in Khulna a political strike began in Bangladesh that stopped all transportation services, including the rickshaws in Khulna! So we had the privilege of walking to our meetings! One night, several team members from Khulna including Dianne Boyette and Pastor Mitch enjoyed a ONE HOUR bicycle ride to a Baptist church on the outskirts of town. The Holy Spirit still ministered in a wonderful way in spite of our SWEAT and TIREDNESS!! And He enabled us to endure the ONE HOUR ride back!!

The believers in Bangladesh were precious people who have endured much persecution as a result of theirChristian faith. One pastor had been jailed 4 times in the past year for preaching the Word of God! Many of the believers had been ostracized from their families after converting from the Muslim faith.

The Pastors conference was attended by approximately 200 people. The pastors were so hungry to receive the Word! Again our ministry was directed towards encouraging them to face the evangelization of their nation with boldness, and to act on the authority that belongs to them in Christ. Many were born again during the night meetings throughtout the city and at the conference site. Healings occured as prayer for the sick was offered.

Please pray for the nation of India and Bangladesh and for the pastors that were ministered to during the conferences. These nations are ripe for harvest! As we pray and do our part, millions of lives will be changed by God's power. Again thank you for your financial and prayer support as we ministered in these nations. Because of your faithfulness, lives were changed for eternity. Only when we get to heaven will we realize the full impact of what was accomplished during this missions trip.