Annual Letter 2010

Dear friends and prayer partners,

We bring Christmas greetings to you through this letter. We also want to share about our ministry, how God helped us, and how your support sustained us through the twelve months from October 2009 to October 2010.

1. October floods:
Repalle township in Guntur District　and surrounding areas with thousands of rice paddy fields were submerged under flood waters for many weeks. There was loss of animal life more than human life. Matilda Education Society (MES) distributed blankets, school uniforms and supplies, water storage pots, and saris for widows. This was part of the help given to eight villages. Distribution was done in co-operation with local pastors and church institutions.　

2. Andrea Buchanan and Julia Guyer:
Julia and Andrea arrived from Reba Place Church, Evanston,

3. Christmas:
December came and the　Christmas celebrations　interrupted our interviews. There were many preparations,　decorations, paper cuttings and carol singings. School children learned the song of the drummer boy with rolling "R’s," but added their own　accents, which sounded even sweeter.

Two nights before Christmas, the Matilda school children, with their parents, cousins and friends, sat around a traditional campfire reading the nativity story from the Bible followed by fire crackers and　candle lighting. Christmas is　considered a　festival of the community of Mallepalli rather than just a festival of Christians. Half the town's population gathered on this night.　Thousands sang "This little light of mine" and carried their candles into the dimly lit streets.

Until two years ago, the government treated Christmas and New Year’s Day as a mid-year　ten-day holiday for educational institutions, but now they treat these as one-day holidays. The ten-day holiday has been moved to Sankranti, a Hindu festival which marks the new year of the Hindu calendar.　

4. Exam Time:
March and April are exam times. All classes are required to prepare for the final exams, and the students in the tenth class are hard-pressed　to put on their best performanc for the future.

5. Summer Camps:
This year we conducted three summer camps, one for the village pre-teens, one for the youth and another for a joint delegation of AGIF Shanghai youth and local Indian youth. The interesting aspect of this camp is that the Shanghai youth took part in painting the school campus as their physical labor assignment and each evening they conducted a Bible study, skits, and dramas. The Indian, Chinese and American children adapted themselves so well to each other that at the end of the week it was difficult for them to　part ways. The Shanghai youth were eager to finish their painting assignment though it was a hot summer. Their ability to eat spicy Indian food was commendable.　 We are hoping that　this high school level　intercultural program can be conducted every year.　

6. Baptisms:
This year the VEDA pastors reported forty-five baptisms. Most of these baptisms are for those who come fo healing or seeking relief from economic poverty and unemployment. We see the need for nurturing in spiritual matters, steering church members away from the idea of getting material gain. We have started Bible studies in　area villages about the cost of discipleship. More people are desiring baptism. 　

7. Away to Taiwan:
We visited the Taiwan International Church (TIC) in Taiwan and participated in Pastor Doug Street's wedding. We visited many house fellowships, shared about our ministry, went sight-seeing in the Sulfur Mountains, and travelled by Hi-Speed train to Kaushing on a typhoon day. These fifteen days gave us much needed rest and a time of introspection. We lost two great friends and supporters of our ministry from TIC, Gloria Cooper in August and Chris Lawrence in October.　

8. Taiwan International Church dental and medical camp:
We held a dental camp at Malleplli from October 30 to November 6, 2010. Sixteen dentists an their assistants screened nearly 4,000 school children and adults for dental extractions, fillings, and dental care. A team of four doctors from the USA branched off from the dental team and went to visit the 2004 Tsunami-affected village of Muthaipalem in Guntur district to treat general ailments. The one-day　clinic attracted 160 patients for treatment.　　
　
Our special prayer needs for the coming year:

1. Churches:
--We hope to construct two village church meeting houses.
--Pray for newly baptized Christians.　
--Complete four churches which are under construction, but unfinished.
--Three mopeds for pastors for rural evangelism travel.

2. Bindu child sponsorships

3. Matilda schools　

4.　A tractor and a tube well with pipe line for our self-supporting farm.

5.　Health needs for Das and Doris　

Das Maddimadug (11-19-10)
　Illinois, on October 30, 2009, and stayed for four months. Their assignment was to teach at two　Matilda schools and write a book on the ministry of the Matilda Education Society (MES). Their midnight arrival at the International Airport in Hyderabad was marked with many questions　about the new surroundings, people, diverse languages and cultures.

Andrea and Julia liked to wear saris whenever the could, especially on public occasions. Children had a good laugh whenever one of them tripped over their tightly wound sari. Though they wore modest clothing, they were trend setters in dressing　up and hairdos. They sat for many interviews with us, paper and pen in hand and　a recording machine on the table, determined to catch every word that was spoken. Later on they edited these transcripts for eventual publication. After returning to the U.S., Andrea　wrote, " I have　learned a great deal by coming to India, and now I'm inspired to become a teacher."