Bev and I will be launching a new church in Islamabad, Pakistan in early March. We plan to use the same strategy that the Lord taught us when we started the church in Sri Lanka and devote our efforts to developing a young pastor and his wife. The city we have targeted is a newly developed area about five miles outside of Islamabad. As you could imagine, Pakistan is a bit more of a challenge than many of the other works we have done but I believe the experience we have gained in the church plants in Sri Lanka, India and Nepal will help us to effectively launch this new work.
I have been traveling in and out of Pakistan for the past two years and when I was there this past December the Lord directed me to a place where I believe there is vast potential. I have been praying for $50,000 that we could use to buy land and begin a building. We already have 150 adults meeting in a home where they sit on the floor in extremely cramped conditions. We will be constructing a 500—seat building and I believe we can fill it within one year.
In late January, a pastor friend of mine committed $25,000 in matching funds toward this project. Since that time another $20,000 has been committed from other pastors putting us within $5,000 of our goal. We will be leaving February 24th for Islamabad and hope to have the funds organized by that time. I also need an additional $7,000 for travel, living expenses and for a motorcycle for the young pastor we are working with.
I have never had resources for a project come this quickly. It has been a huge encouragement and has helped us to know that the Lord is leading us. Thanks for all you have done to help us take the Gospel to some of the most needy and difficult areas in the world. We do not take your partnership for granted and are grateful to the Lord for all you have done to help us.
Rick