Together for God:
India 2006

God's investment in our future

Simon Bell's visit to India

There have been some problems with receiving emails from Simon in India and also some delays in England in getting information up on this page. Apologies to those people who have been looking. Below follows a reverse chronological view of messages and photographs received. Jo Bruce.

Monday 22nd January 2007
A team from the USA and Bangalore have just returned on Monday from a 4 day gospel/pastor's conference. All went very well and we saw many people healed at the gospel meetings. I was able to return with the Indian team on the Sunday morning to spend some time with Grace after the English service before returning for the last evening meeting.

Monday was a day of rest for me and our wedding preparations begin in earnest tomorrow, Tuesday. Please would you pray for Grace's visa application? It is a very long and complicated process with a lot of paperwork to be completed. I may well have to extend my stay here in india to complete the process and even then I may have to return to the UK without her! Please would you pray that God will open a way for us both to return to the UK on the 17th Feb.

Other than that, all is going very well, and I know that I will miss India and everything here when we return to the uk in Feb. This has been a very exciting visit so far and there are many more things for me to experience here. Please would you also pray for Philomena and Selusiona as they have both been very unwell recently as has Anul?

With all my love, prayers and very best wishes to you all from Simon

Tuesday 16th January 2007
Please would you let everyone know that I will be getting married to Grace on the 8th Feb at 4pm local time with a reception later in the evening. As soon as i can get some batteries for my camera, I will send a photo of my fiance.

Last week Pastor Jackson, a few of the Indian guys and I went to make plans for the coming pastors/gospel crusade. We then went to a wedding in a church that the TFG team have been to. It was a very long day for everyone as we were all up very early and did not get back to Bangalore until about midnight.

We are all leaving for the crusade after we have picked up the American team. We will be back in Bangalore on the Monday some time. I am meeting with my fiance's family this evening to start making plans for our wedding.

With all my love, prayers and very best wishes to you all from Simon.

Thursday 11th January 2007
I am writing to tell you that I may be getting married to a young lady called Grace. Pastor Jackson arranged a meeting for us to have a talk this morning. We think that it would be good for us to marry before my return to the UK. We are going to pray about this over the next few days and make a final decision after the Tamil service on Sunday. Please would you tell everyone and I ask for your prayers on this, please? if you hear any conformation etc then I would be most pleased to hear from you.

With all my love, prayers and very best wishes from Simon 

Tuesday 9th January 2007
During the run up to Christmas I joined in with the evening carol singers and we visited many homes of the believers here. We sang some carols in Tamil and then wished them all a happy new year after praying for the families.

Fredrick's wedding went very well and we all had a very enjoyable time. Pastor Jackson celebrated his birthday at the church and we all had a very pleasant evening.

New Year's Eve is called "watch night" and they have a service from 10pm until 1.30am.

With all my love, prayers and very best wishes from Simon.

Boxing Day 2006 (received 29th Dec)
On Boxing Day we went with Pastor Jackson to see Pastor C. Paul and his family. Pastor Roger met him on the earlier TFG mission this year and it was very good to see him again.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow are three days of fasting and prayer in the Church and today we are here in KMP Church.

Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to pray for my health as I have not been very well since my arrival here. I have been OK with my stomach but I have had many other problems with my health.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. With all my love, prayers and very best wishes from Simon.

Christmas Eve 2006 (received 29th Dec)
On Christmas Eve I was with the carol singers who go around Bangalore singing carols and praying for different families. During this we visited a family who were in desperate need. The father had his left leg amputated after he contracted an illness. This has meant that he and his family are in very desperate need.

We visited many houses all around the city and were warmly received by each family. We got back to the church at about 2.30 on the christmas morning.

With all my love, prayers and very best wishes from Simon

Email received : Friday 29th December 2006
Here is the latest news for you. Sorry for the delay; getting to an internet connection is hard for me as the local internet cafes will not accept my memory stick.

The day before the wedding Fredrick was taken through a traditional wedding ceremony that saw him covered in turmeric, sandalwood, rice, salt and other herbs/spices and leaves. When everyone had prayed for him, blessed him and smeared the different pastes on him you could only see his eyes and mouth, the remainder of him was covered in yellow. He then washed and dressed in a sarong, sash and cream shirt, all of which were made of silk.

The day of the wedding were all up very early, with the bridegroom being groomed for the wedding. We then left for the church at about 2pm. The church was decorated very well and the wedding service went very smoothly, with one of Fredrick's cousins singing a solo.

We then went to the wedding reception hall that was very grand and we all enjoyed a wonderful meal that had been prepared for all the guests. During the reception, Reeba sang a solo that everyone enjoyed.
Then we all returned home after the reception while Reeba and Fredrick spent two nights in a hotel.

With all my love, prayers and very best wishes from Simon

Friday 15th December 2006
I am sorry for the delays etc, there have been problems at this end with the Internet. I have been told that things should now be working ok so here are the pictures for the first two weeks.

With all my love, prayers and very best wishes from Simon.

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