God’s Hands in India- Part 2: GhunaKumar Rathinam

Finally, I can share fully about the man I have been teasing about that God has allowed me to spend many days with in India.  He preaches, laughs, baptises, plays, disciples, teaches, prays, dances, blesses, and generally lives one of the most full lives a human could possibly ask.  He’s an inspiration to millions, and through him God has brought COUNTLESS lives to himself throughout all of India and even America.  He is GhunaKumar Rathinam, or as most others and I know him lovingly, Ghuna.  In my month in India I have been blessed to visit churches with him, play games with him, sit beside him as he falls asleep in the car, be his patient as foreign illnesses ravaged my body, witness  baptisms by him, laugh with him, pray with him, and celebrate his birthday (Founders Day to those at the Campus of Living Hope) with him.  I couldn’t possibly tell his entire story in this blog, but if you’d like to read more about him you can go to http://www.fishhook.org/ghuna/about.html. In short, he started Gospel Friends Ministry, which has started thousands of congregations across India, gives women the ability to earn a living through their sewing school, hosts huge vacation bible schools every year, has a primary school, paramedical college, bible college, orphanages, televised ministries, and much more.  To hear about this you would think they have worldwide connections and people giving money left and right.  Sadly this is not the case.  Lately they have had to cut back in many areas, including funding pastors in villages around the country.  On the plus side, Ghuna lives a life of faith, knowing that what God desires, he will provide for.  I pray some of you checking this out will go to the fishhook link above and hit the Donate button.  There is quite certainly very few things in the world that are more worthy a cause than this.  Daily people are coming to Christ out of Hindu and Muslim lives through Gospel Friends. Despite the lack of these funds, Ghuna remains unphased and unwavering, serving Christ daily.  Surprisingly even, having turned 64 years old on my trip, he outpaces everyone I know. You cannot spend time with him and not desire a deeper walk with Christ. You can’t watch him minister to others and not desire a life as eternally significant as his.  You can’t look at his passionate, smiling, laughing, praying, crying out face and not see Christ in him.  I want to look like that. 2014-08-23_001 2014-08-23_002 2014-08-23_003 2014-08-23_004 2014-08-23_006 2014-08-23_007 2014-08-23_008 2014-08-23_009 2014-08-23_010 2014-08-23_011 2014-08-23_012 2014-08-23_013 2014-08-23_014 2014-08-23_015 2014-08-23_016 2014-08-23_0052014-08-23_017 2014-08-23_018 2014-08-23_019 2014-08-23_020 2014-08-23_021 2014-08-23_022 2014-08-23_0242014-08-23_023 2014-08-23_025 2014-08-23_026 2014-08-23_027 2014-08-23_028 2014-08-23_029 2014-08-23_030 2014-08-23_031 2014-08-23_032 2014-08-23_033 2014-08-23_034 2014-08-23_035 2014-08-23_036 2014-08-23_037 2014-08-23_038 2014-08-23_039 2014-08-23_040 2014-08-23_041