One of our Advisory Council members, Tim Bartlett, shared with his church family about how the Lord has called him to serve the Untouchables in India and also shared the persecution of a low-caste family that was walking long distances for clean water.  His church family decided that they wanted to be a part of Tim's vision and fully funded the bore well project.  The well has been drilled and we hope to have the pump operational by Easter Sunday.  Keep praying that the villagers that were persecuting Sandya's family hear the gospel and desire living water.  Jesus says, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:38 ESV)

One of our Discovery Groups in Delhi, India, is being held among a group of young families that belong to the Zomi, an ethnic group that is from Myanmar (formerly Burma). The  disciple-maker that hosts these meetings asked us to pray for a new refrigerator and the Lord provided the funds within 48 hours - Praise the Lord! Due to the severe persecution of believers in Myanmar, many of the Zomi have sought refuge in India.  Please pray for the Zomi people, especially now with the civil unrest in their home country.

We had a wonderful DBS session with a group from Senegal last week. We studied the passage found in Genesis 2:4-24 (Creation: God creates humanity). During our discovery session (through a French translator), we observed that God gives us laws for our own good, that he knows our needs before we ask, and that He had a special purpose for man and woman.

A local pastor shared a very emotional story of how he was unemployed and his wife, who was 4 months pregnant at the time, were forced to move into his family's home with 15 other people. It was very hard and he became depressed, locking himself in a room for days at a time. His wife comforted him during this difficult time with meals and words of encouragement. It was such a wonderful testimony of how God had given him a suitable helper just as Eve was given to Adam in the story. The Holy Spirit revealed His character to all of us through this wonderful story of love and companionship! We ended with a prayer time, rich with thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father who gives us everything we need. Praise the Lord!

My dear friend, Mary Skelton, has launched a new blog called Pray Thru the Bible. The theme is "God speaks and we respond." Each day, Mary provides a chapter from the New Testament and a prayer that is tailored to that scripture reading. This daily devotional is perfect for those who want to get into the practice of responding to God's Word through prayer.

This cadence of He-speaks-and-we-respond  is a foundational principle of Discovery Bible Study (DBS) too. We read the Word of God, we discover His truth through His Holy Spirit, and then we respond in obedience. What has God been speaking to you through His Word and how has that prompted you to respond in faith? I encourage you to visit Mary's new blog Pray Thru the Bible and share your story.

Phil Alessi and I have really enjoyed our 30-40 min chats on the Discover Jesus series (10 stories of hope).  Join us as we discover Jesus through the parable of the prodigal son found in Luke 15.  Watch the discussion now.