Wishing You a Blessed and Prosperous New Year

January 1, 2009

Dear Friend in the Lord,

Now we are standing on the threshold of a New Year, a decade after the turn of the
millennium. The burden for India and now all of Asia is as fresh in my heart as when
the Lord spoke to me 36 years ago in a remote village in India, and gave me the
Master Plan for India.

When I saw the suffering people on that first missionary trip to India, I was
especially moved at the sight of sick, suffering and homeless children.

They were not responsible for their lot in life. And as I looked into their eyes, I know
that I could not leave them in such a wretched state, knowing that children on
America were loved and pampered so much. I am the youngest of ten children, and
during my youth my parents gave me so much. But they also taught me that “to
whom much is given, much shall be required.” They by example showed me that we
are to obey the Great Commission, and minister to the needy of the world.

In that context, God spoke to me a message that I will never forget. I was in a small
village near the Bay of Bengal in the southeast part of India. I was lying on my bed
—a 5-foot wooden frame woven with sisal twine for a mattress. The Hindu man next
to this building worshipped rats as his gods, and fed them. There were dozens of
rats running in my room, and a young boy stayed near my bed, and with a 5-cell
flashlight, beat the rats off my bed. The message I heard from the Lord was that if I
would care for these homeless children, house them, clothe them, feed them, and
love them in the name of Jesus, that He would save them, and call them in the
ministry to reach their own people. At the time, I was the pastor of a small church
and was heading a Missions organization. But my salary was small, and I was raising
a family, with little money to spare. In spite of this, the Lord moved me to pledge
support for 25 homeless children in that village. A young pastor named
Rakshananandam agreed to operate a children’s home in a village called Mori. His
parents had recently passed away, and his family home was used to house the
children.

Now 35 years later, after thousand of children have been reared in our Homes by
loving Christian workers, and so many are involved in the ministry, the burden is
still as fresh and clear as the day the Lord commissioned me. So again, I thank you
for being my partner in this Mission of Mercy. I pledge that I will continue until the
Lord calls me Home. May 2009 be the best year of your lives as we serve a Higher
Cause.
All for Jesus,

Dr. Johannes Maas, President