NEUS OF RALPH "BUD" HARTER,

MISSIONARV

BIBLE SHAi/AN, BOX 3, P.O. NAdJABGANJ, KANPUR, U,P.

20S-002

JNVIA

FEBRUARY 1986
SALIM IS NO

MORE

The. m}\Mt thing to happen to oA ^o^ a long time. woA the. death o^ Salim on OctobeA 28th,
not. quite, the, ^ifu>t death a.miiveJUiaA.y o^
Gandhi. Salim had bzen ailing ^oA, ^e,\feAal
yea^ but he, continazd to be {^aiihiul in ka> duties thaough the. la&t day oi kU liiz. The

adjustment to li^e without Salim has not been easy but we have now "come out on the othen.

side." A^tea {^oAty days OjJ mouAyiing, Haa. Salim is cooking ^oA us again. When she came
back to mAk it ms oa though hal^ o^ Salim had come backthe betteA hat{^, you might say.
We had good news too. On VecembeA 15th I baptized ^ive believeAS ^Aom one o^ the chuAches
wheAe T pAeach monthly. In concuAAence with that congAegation's wishes, I had also oAdained

theiA new pastoA on Nov. 24th. NoAe good news is that we have Aeceived notice that oua

telephone will soon be installed a{^teA two yeoAS o{^ waiting.

VLyu,ng the second week oj JanuoAy, LawAence iazaAus and I enjoyed the wanmth o^j south
India, as we attended the thiAd convention o^ ouA chuA,ches in India. It was like a tAip to
Miairu,. We even got to wade in the AAabian Sea. Ny muppet UoAy was a sensation and caused a
bit ol a stampede among the childAen on the last night. The 1987 convention is to be held

in the coldeA heights o Meghalaya while the ckuAch in KanpuA has invited them ^OA 1988.
The bookstoAe once again did AecoAd business at the end oi 1985 but I am happy ^OA the
sloweA pace o^ JanuaAy. Now I must get busy and cAom {^OA the ^iASt o^ my B.V. exams which
will come in ApAil.

As the date gets closeA I may have to leave town.

FAom July we hope to have two boys in Bible Colleges and ^ive otheAS taking home couAses.
Samuel "Neelu" Jas is seeking admission to the Allahabad Bible SeminoAy, 120 miles east o^

heae, while H.V.S. Joel wants to attend the Union Biblical SeminaAy at Rune, 900 miles south

west o{^ heae, south o^ Bombay. Neelu is pAesently woAking in the bookstoAe while Joel woAked
JiA2. sevcAol yeaAi ago^ Joel's expenses Ojj' $50JioA the AiASt yeaA ajie being paid by the
Pate HemoAial Fund o^ Smithville, Indiana.

Allpi OUA young people in schools and colleges aae doing well except Layal Lai who is
tAXLuwng to^ be a tailoA. We conclude that Layal is too lazy to be successiul in anything,
li a man will not woAk neitheA let him eat, but what about the childAen?

VuAing the middle oi Uay I plan to attend a missions con^eAence in the Mid-southeAn city
oi BangaloAe. A^teA seveAal days in NadAos, I will pAoceed to PachmaAhi, a hill station in
centAal India wheAe I last visited in 1954. I am not going to Sat Tal this summeA and I
will not be absent ^Aom KanpuA ^oA as long as usual. In MadAas we will woAk out plans ^oa a
new publication tentatively named THE INDIAN INTERDEPENDENT which will pAomote the national

convention
oua chuAches and ChAistian Unity in geneAol. This will not be a AeguloA oA
even iA.equent publication due to ceAtain laws^ in India which make it diiiicult. The {iASt
evCA diAectoAy o^ oua chuAches in India has just been published in MadAas and is available
ioA $1.

One eoAly moAning I went down to the Aoilway station to welcome some BAitish visitoAS who

knew nothing about me. Thinking that I was an Indian, one oi the ladies AemoAked that I
spoke veAy good English. We all had a good laugh about that when she iound out that I was
an AmeAican. It does seem, as is o^ten the case with missionoAies, that the oldeA I get the
moAe Indian I look to be.

My heaUh has been exceptionally good this winteA. It is the LoAd's blessing but moAning

walks on a neoAby college campus have also been o^ help.

OUR

FORWARDING AGENT

Miss FloAence Douglas

1111 No. Main St.

Joplin,Mo.

64801

I do not jog.

^ALni-.j

COMTRJBUTEV

BaZanee on 10-4^
lozcuL uontAibuted

OCTOBER, MOl/Emk VbCBMBER, 1985

(tip to VacLokboA 24th]

HoZm E.BuAioA.d
ItSL,

Eto/ca ETJUt ChftyUtiRn

Ind.

SovithMAjdd Wormn

UiCA^Q, WaZkeA

O^good
COicZe.
Pate. fiiCs^tonaAt/ fund

H.SketZznbeAgcA
CfiAti G^upp
B/iad G/Lupp
StanZe.^ l/tnaznt
L. BaZZtet

M/u>. lOm.E,P/L^oA
Jom.

PejonZ E. Bond

Ky.

V^, S M'la. Thomas OmeA

lonAetta Hunttngton
Ge.OAgta Vomke.

W,
Mb.

ItbeAty CZjoMiet
^AjigiZ l^anthjaZZ

M. y.
N. C.
Ufiio

UotAgan.et W. Vunne.
CapZtaZ City ChuAch
CCCnton fZA6t ChuAch
Linden ChuAch
Linden MomebutZdeAd
M/la. WanAen StetneA
Ruth HandweAk

Stephen HandweAk
BAanek HZZZ ChuAch

MadgaZene Bowen
Ruth SrrUth

BZadenbuAg LadZe6
Betty Deem

A.8. SZough
Ai/L. S Ma&. E.CZo^e

SebAtng ChuAch
HeZen Stephen
- Vo.Aii BZack
Rittman GuiZd

Pa.

LaVoAn Rome&buAg

Tex,

Oak GAove ChuAch

LucAetZa MtchoZson
Va. Von F. PeeZ

Wa.

hleZZte CopZey

WTVa. HooveA6on Heights

Budgeted expende&
Unbudgeted:

Extka on Conventions
ExtAa on BenevoZenee
ExtAa on BookstoAe
TOTAL EXPENVEV

5637.03

TotaZ Receipts

9117.16
6420.11

Less Expended
$50.00
141.00
50.00
120.25
45.00
500.00
40.00
14.00
10.00
60.00
10.00
25.00
16.00
200.00
25.00
200.00
77.00
100.00
20.00
773.78
975.00
300.00
100.00
20.00
310.00
325.00
100.00
60.00
30.00
60.00
50.00
100.00

50.00
15.00
20.00
15.^00
10.00
60.00
75.00

25.00
100.00
80.00
270.00

TOTAL COhiTRlBUTEV
EXPENVEV FROM 10-5-85 to 1-23-86
SaZoAy IthAee montfts)

$3480.13

BaZanee on 1-23-86

$2697.05

Thlnteen yeoAS ago. In eomptianee to new

Zam oj the GoveAnment o^ India, we ^oAmed a

managing

committee In KanpuA named the

KaZlslya ^ Sahayak Sanstha, oA, the ChuAch

HeZp Society. The committee is composed o^

seven membeAS

o^ the ChuAch o^ ChAlst in

KanpuA and they have woAked togetheA veAy

nicety. The accounts OjJ this committee,
heAe caZZed Budgeted Expenses, oAe audited
by a

choAteAed accountant.

OtheA monies

which I spend oAe Zlsted undeA"Un:deAbudgeted':

The {^oZZowing is the total o^ aZZ the money
Spent duAing 1985.

HoAteA's saZoAy

$2700.00

OtheA saZanles
Book StoAe

2349.59
2704.80

ChuAch Buildings

1833.33

TAanspoAtation
Religious functions
Housing

1015.01
850.47
1536.35

Benevolence

984.82

Education

1995.08

Postage S StationaAy
SundAies
TOTAL

621.42
707.37
$16590.87

The J^inst copies o^ my new booklet "The

Loveliest TAip in the (UoAld," weAe AeZeased

at the convention in JanuaAy.

Eventually

most people on oua mailing list will Aeceive

a copy but it will

take some

time.

The

^iASt o{^ my "Reflections" will appeoA in the

ChAistsan StandoAd afiound-thcIdjis of hkiAch

and then theAeafteA at the end of each
QuaAteA duAing 86.

Ny New VeoA^s scAmon was a "Recipe foA the

ChAistixin Life," since then I

have been ex

pounding on "The CouAage of Haggai." BefoAe

Chnlstmas I was Aeviewlng "The GAandmotheAS

of Jesus."

Within

eight days

senmon when my Aound of chuAches

I need a new

begins all

oveA again.
$ 675.00
$ 5000.00
258.00
147.00
339.51

$6420.11

hi RSI CHURCH OP CHRIST

NON-PROFIT ORG.

2545 W. Comet Rd.,

U.S. POSTAGE PAIV

CLcnton, Ohio 44216

CLINTON, OHIO
PERMIT 7

"HARTER THROBS"

.HORf ZOHS

P.O. Box 2427

KiioxviUa^ TENM

37901

3/83, Vishnupuri
Box 3, P.O* Nawabganj
Kanpur 208-002, India

End of April, 1986

Deal' Ones,

Groetii^gs from a hot and dry Kaniiur.

The electricity supply

sec3is to be better than usual hit I am having difficulty getting

enough v/ater to keep my ears clean.

I am keeping the faucet

open all the 24 hours but even then manage to collect only about
one bucket of v/ater.

X am thinking that it would help if I

could get a plimiber to come in hero and lower the pipe about 18
inches.

Oui' house is crawling back to noimal following the wedding of

our landlord's oldest daughter last v;eek. The water supply to

my part of the house may improve after their visitors go home.

My studies of the past winter are now over, 1 have taken the
examinations and mw there will be a long wait for the results.

Four papers were easy and ti-ra were hard.

I am required to get

at least a B in each paper.

Two days after Easter the picture was printed in the paper of

a young man who had committed suicide. The picture looked too
much like that of a boy who had been coming here. It gave us two
weolcs of uneasiness until the boy walked in here two days ago.

He is probably wondering why we were so glad to see him.

VJhile in Mlahabad taking my exams, I had the joy of baptising
two of my "granddaughters," the daughters of two boys who had
lived in my house many years ago. The girls are doublocousins,
a sister and brother having married a brother and sister.

Several nights sleep was ruined looking for Halley's Canet tut
, I thinlc whatever we saw was a mirror of our imaginations.
Mrs. Salim is doing our cooking for us and is making out fine

with tlie help of some of hor family msnbers.

One of her daughters

also cones here twice a weelc to do some cleaning.

life goes on

without Salim.

Last week I was happy to be able to give ^4000 to a Belieyers

Assoubly on the east side of Kanpur to enable them to buy a piece

of land for a church building. They are a fine group of people.
At this time they are bisy \dth a Daily Vacation Bible School.
I was also able to give ^500 to Joel for his first year expenses

in K-ble College.

Joel used to work in our bookstore.

The

present incumbent in the bookstore, Sam Jas, also hopes to enter

Bible College from July.

The construction of the chui'ch building in Sv;arupnagar, on our

side of town, lias been held up because the man who sold us the

lard did not get it registered.

This case has been going on in

the court nov; for several years. About the time a decision is to

be made, the judge gets transfered. The man who sold us the land

has also died. Moves are being made for an out-of-court settlement.
It would be nice to have a ne\-; church building there when we host
the 198 8 All-India Convention of our churches.
Our telenhone seems to be working okey. at least X get an

occasional call. I have not had much success in reaching the ^bers

that I dial.

Our number is 248507 but I really do not recarQaeid

your trying to reach us.

Have a good dayl

Love,

X '' Dear Caiman;

'

^ seamail I am sending you 35

copies of the Indian Church lirectoiy.

a donation to Iforisons.
for several months.

You can use the proceeds as

You can sell for i,?! each.

Don't expect them

" .

/ /4=z.

NBIS OF RALPH "BUD" HARTER,

UlSSlOUm

BIBLE BHAI/AM, BOX 3, P.0. WAIOABGAMJ, KAWCIR. U.P.

MAY

Z0-002

INDIA

1986

MY STUDENT DAYS

During the first half of April, I was east at Allahabad taking exams on six subjects. I
thought I did fairly well on four of the papers and not so good on two but I won't know for
sure until the results are out several months hence. In order for the exams to do me any
good, I must get at least a B in each paper. After that I will think about the next year's

studies. During the middle of February I had some giddiness which may have been partly due
to cramming of the cranium. Otherwise I enjoyed the studies tremendously and learned a
great deal.
While

1 was in Allahabad, I baptized

my house many years ago.

1ived at
At this

two of my

"granddaughters,"the daughters of two who

One of the fathers is with the Lord.

time of year I am usually packing for my fifty day sojourn at the Sat Tal Christian
I have interrupted the cycle for this year, but, the Lord willing, I will be there

Ashram,

again in

1987.

weeks at

a small hill station in Central India named Pachmarhi.

April

This month

I will

spend one week in Bangalore, one week in Madras, and two

18th was a happy day when I was able to present a check for $4000 to a group of be~

1levers on the east side of town for the purchase of a piot

lana. M.u.b.
plot or
of land.
H.D.S. Joel
Joel also
also re
ceived a check for $500 for his first year's expenses in Bible College. Samuel Jas has not
yet had any reply about his admission to Bible College but we hope he will be studying from
July.
Our house

daughter.

was
topsy-turvy for two weeks due to the marriage of our landlord's oldest
It was a nice wedding but we are glad that it is over and all the relatives are

gone.

For the past 18 months we have been visited by

a non-Christian

student named Dixit.

It

has been very difficult to separate his interest in Christianity and his desire for financial assistance but since he shows suicidal tendenciess we have had to be very careful with
newspaper carried the picture of a ~^i^de who looked very

much like our Dixit. This gave us a great deal of uneasiness until Dixit showed up here

about two weeks later. He will always wonder why we were so happy to see him.
a problem to us but we don't like to lose our problems that way.

Our telephone is working fairly well.

He is still

It is occasionally helpful and occasionally trouble

I am not always at home and

some. Our number is 248507 but I do not advise you to try it.
the person who picks up the phone may not know English.

Two of the girls^ whom we have been supporting in nursing training are not finished with

their course and will work at least one year in the hospital where they trained. We have
supported these two girls since they first started to school twelve years ago. One of our
boys in technical training is also at the end of his course.

We have mailed out 300 copies of "Lovliest Trip In the World" to the U.S.A. and 200 copies

to Indian readers. Despite all efforts, it came out "Loveliest Trip" instead of "Lovliest

Trip,

which isn't very lovely; but the greatest of these is love.

yet.

It is presently at the repair shop suffering from shock.

1 borrowed an electric typewriter from Kulpahar but the two of us are not working together

At this time of year it is very hot all over India. Kanpur has a permanent water short
age but It is worse in summer. In my bathroom I collect about a bucketful of water a day by
keeping the faucet open all the 24 hours. That of course is not enough so I must carry it in
from somewhere else.
REMEMBER

OUR FORWARDING AGENT IS

Miss Florence Douglas

1111

No. Main St.

Joplin, Mo. 64801

CONTRIBUTED

EXPENDED FROM 1-24-86 to 4-23-86

Salary for 3 months
Harjinder Nagar Church
Pune Church Building
. '
Scholarship for Joel

JANUARY, FEBRUARY. MARCH, 1986

Canada

T.G. Rash for his own

Projects

$300.00

Sat Tal

Illinois and Indiana

Flora First Christian

50.00
132.50

Kenneth Eade

600.00

Osgood Mission Circle

Frank Reas
Cleo H. Blake
S. Vincent

C. Grupp
B. Grupp

Book Store
Students

Other Benevolence

95.00

6.25

Transportation

60.00
100.00
^fO.OO

28.62

Photography

4.75
$6290.02

TOTAL SPENT
SUMMARY

Balance

Kentucky and Tennessee

Missouri and

Christian Ashram

National Missionary Conv.

7.00
A.50

Ralph B. Clary
East Union Church
Embreeville Church

4000.00
250.00
500.00
250.00
300.00
60.00
182.88
32.52

Evangeli sts

72.00

Mr. & Mrs. Glen Valbert

Portland Singles S Doubles

$ 675-00

on 1-23-86

$2697-05
8015-91

Contributed

100.00
15^.75
600.00

Total Receipts
Less Expenditures
Balance on 4-23-86

10712.96

6290.02
$4422.94

Iowa

Liberty Sunday School

Neeper Church
Mrs. Pearl E. Bond
North Carolina and New York

Capital City Church

Cousin Dorothy Guay
Pennsylvania and West Virginia
Oak Grove Church
Laverne Romesburg
Hooverson Heights Church

50.00
176.25

Harinam the film actor dropped by several

weeks ago. He was looking good and talking

sensibly but I had sad news waiting for him.

10.00

His mother

977-91
10.00

the blind boy,

reports from New Delhi that

ent.

in the bank has

Kuku would like

pur if he

270.00

Deenanath,

been made perman

to come back to Kan-

can find a good job.

no new news from

Ohio

a month before and no

to contact him.

his job

75-00
60-00

had died

one knew where

"There is

Tommy but he often visits

Kanpur in the summertime.

Clinton First Church

975-00

Ruth Handwerk

244.00

Stephen Handwerk

292.00

Mrs. Warren Steiner

20.00

Bladensburg Ladies

40.00

Recent sermons: A study of Bible Chro

nology was more interesting than the name
indicates. The symptoms of ageing put me

in a good mood for "Paul's Last Words,"

11 Timothy;
but Onesimus provided more

Linden Homebuilders

100.00

dramatic

Linden Church
Linden Guild
Sebring Church
Branch Hill Churgh

30G-.00~
150.00
10.00
100.00

month I am tackling the difficult book of

Romans.
Mary Muppet says that she knows

Old Stone Church

120.00

all about

Romans

from

and

that

Philemon.

This

Julius Caesar

died of indigestion. Perhaps she had mis

interpreted Julius's last words, "Et tu.
Brute?" She is also not right in thinking

Mary Jane Drollinger

IN MEMORY OF

DOROTHY SCHMALE
Mrs. Madgalene Bowen

material

that all

1500.00
30.00

Romans

are Catholics and that all

Catholics are Romans.

Texas and Washington

Dr. Donald F. Peel

Wapato Christian Church

TOTAL CONTRIBUTED

150.00
40.00

$8015.91

FIRST'CHURCH OF CHRIST

NON-PROFIT ORG,

2545 W. Comet Rd.,

C1inton, Ohio 44216

U.S.

POSTAGE
PAID

CLINTON,
HARTER THROBS

HORIZOHS

P.O.

Worship Together

OHIO

PERMIT 7

2427

2^

NEWS OF RALPH "BUD" HARTER, MISSIONARY

BIBLE BHAVAN, BOX 3, P.O. NAWABGANJ, KANPUR, U.P.

AUGUST
OUR

208-002

INDIA

1986

NEW FORD

Ford is the name of our new employee in the Bible Book Store. The former boy, Sam Jas,
has gone off to Bible College. Ford lived with us twelve years ago when he was training to
be a signboard painter. He failed in that occupation but God seems to have given him a gift
for bookstore work and he has had some Bible College training. He married a girl who is

slightly handicapped and they have been living below the poverty level. He will probably
become a permanent employee because the bookstore work is expanding but the final decision
will not be made until December.
Ford is a bit clownish in appearance, especially when he
wears a

hat and a

red tie.

On June 12th, I had the privilege of

baptizing a family of four but they were not my con

tacts.

They had been reached through Christian radio broadcasts and they were brought to me
for immersion by a Methodist pastor. Six days later, I baptized another one of my "grand-

daughters," a girl whose mother I had baptized 25 years ago.

Our Swarupnagar (Kanpur) Church has been hindered in its building plans for many years be
cause the man who sold them the
land fall ed to get the sale registered.
The church finally
took the case to court where it has
languished ever since.
In the meantime the respondent
died and the son moved to another state.

I don't know where this leaves

the church and

court case.
The son did one good thing before he fled town: he enlarged
leads back to the church. May the Lord bless him for that kindness.

Two years ago we advised two of our house churches on the southside of
gether, buy a plot of land and build a building.
They didn't do anything

town to get
about it and

they were not prepared when a good chance to buy arose.

Eventually something may come
it. It has been a long time since I have been over to the southeast corner of the city
view the progress of the "First Christian Church," but I think they have slowed down.
results.

res^ults have not yet come

One of our

girls

failed

its

the road that

toso

of
to

and-some of the young peorple are also waiting for their

the Xth Class and she is now seeking admission to a

secretarial course at Ghaziabad near Delhi.

I enjoyed my first ever

visit to

mer tour was not all that great.

Convictions," and "You Ought to

first is for

the southern city of Bangalore but the rest of my sum

Somewhere along the line

I wrote two tracts, "My Deepest

Know at Least This Much," both in

Christians and the second for

non-Christians.

English and Hindi.

The

Returning to Kanpur, I wrote

another article for the Christian Standard, "Salim and Onesiphorus."

My last newsletter was fuzzy in two places. First of all, the correct spelling of
Loveliest is not Lovliest. We also meant to say that two of our girls were N0V7 finished

with their training and not "not finished." In my last newsletter I introduced you to Dixit
who sometimes talks of suicide. During his last visit he gave me the impression that I mav
not see him for awhile. He did have an original suggestion for the solution of his financial

problems. He suggested that I write a bestseller and give the royalties to him. I could
gift him some of my unsold books yellowing in the back room.
At the beginning of July, everything settles back into familiar routines including my own
circuit of churches, schools, sermons, Bible studies and preachers' workshops. Our problem

with the water supply ended when the rains began at the end of June. However, the telephone
and the electric typewriter are out of order. My electronic clock also refuses to work dur
ing the three or four months of the rainy season.
My sermon topic this month is not one that I would have chosen myself but it was sort of
pushed on me by public demand:

"TV or not TV, That is the Question."

The schools have also

wanted some Biblical teachings on the subject of national integration. It's there.
India continues to be beset with communal troubles: Hindus and Sikhs on the one hand, and
Hindus and Muslims on the other. Christians are affected but not much involved. There are
occasional grumblings by Hindus about Christian conversions but it seldom results in violence
There has been
some anti-Sikh agitation in Kanpur but so far it has not exploded as it did
after the death of Mrs. Gandhi,
I have
seldom mentioned Sani Masih, one of "my boys,
now past forty.
He works as a
tailor in a government factory and helps me in his spare time.
He is very efficient and so
his duties have been increased from time to time.
Most recently he has been put in charge

of dispensing the scholarship

funds although the decisions about

the scholarships are made

by the committee of seven.

Our forwarding agent, Florence Douglas, celebrated her 8lst birthday on May 21st.
been our forwarding

agent for 32 years

Hostess at the Ozark Bible College.

and has seldom made a

N.

Main St.

Joplin, Mo., 6A801

She has

She also serves as

Some of you may have seen her at Indianapolis.

Miss Florence Douglas

1111

mistake.

Your favorite missionary recently rode

free on the train. It happens that rail

CONTRIBUTED

APRIL,

way tickets

Indiana and Illinois*

Garrett Fi rst Church
New Ross Christian Church
Osgood Mission Circle

Emily F.Aikins (also Osgood)

Flora FIrst Christian

113.50
700.00

A5.OO
15.00
108.00

Iowa and Missouri

Pearl

Bond

Liberty Sunday School

North Carolina and Florida:--

67.00

Capital City Church

890.86
100.00

Laverne Romesburg

in Kanpur.
We are always told to buy a
ticket to Banda (where we change trains)
and from there to buy another ticket.

The

trouble was that the crowd at Banda was so

great that I couldn't get

window.

A number of

waited more

than an

were out-pov/ered
10.00

Helen Burford

Pennsylvania and West Virginia:-

to Kulpahar are not available

near the ticket

us

older

hour in

people

line but we

by the younger

ones who

pushed in from both sides and also from

above.
V-Zhen the train came in I climbed
aboard.
I have written several of the

railway authorities that if

to buy tickets they should

they want me
make it pos

sible.

60.00
75.00
25.00
270.00

Computerization at the New Delhi railway

station has greatly simplified
getting
seats and berths on trains leaving New
Delhi.
I was also delighted with the ar

Donald F. Peel
Mrs. Grace Conner

160.00

Secunderabad in

100.00

Wapato Christian Church

is better than it used to be.

120.00

Down in Hamirpur both the church and the

church building are in about as bad a

975.00
300.00

shape as bad can be.

Oak Grove Church

Mrs. Lucretia Nicholson

Hooverson Heights Church

Texas,Washington S Colorado;--

rangements

Ohio:--

C1inton Fi rst Church

Linden Church
Li nden Homebui1ders

Stephen Handwerk

100.00
80.00
20.00
2A2.00
250.00

Edward Chamber!in
Branch Hill Church

100.00

Bladensburg Loyal Daughters

Sebring Church
Ruth Handwerk

Madgalene Bowen

at the

reservation

south India.

We

office in

Even Kanpur

have been trying

to salvage something during the past sev

eral years but without much success. This
time we are sending one of the elders to
Delhi for a short Bible course. Thirtyfive years ago he was a student at the
short-lived Bible College at Ragaul.

100.00

60.00
25.00

Doris Black

ELLA MORSE MEMORIAL FUND

100.00

Perry Christian Church

20.00

Betty Deem

50.00

""TOTAL CONTR rBUTED

EXPENDED FROM A-23-86 to 7-11-86
$ 675.00
Audited General Expenses
$7000.00
Salary for 3 months
Evangelists

Sam Jas for Bible College

Li terature

A25.OO
175.00

li -..

67.00

Photography

7.00

TOTAL EXPENDED
SUMMARY

Balance on A-23-8^
Contributed

Total Receipts
Expended
Ba1ance on 7"11-86

$kk22.3k
5281.36
9704.30
8349.00
$1355.30

mm

GUESS WHO?

YOUR FAVORITE MISSIONARY

R.H.

HARTER THROBS
hiRST CHURCH OF CHRIST

NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S.

2545 West Comet

CLINTON, OHIO 44216

CLINTON,
OHIO
PERMIT 7

HORIZON:;

P.O. Bo.r 21^27

Kno.wlllop TENW

Address correction requested

POSTAGE
PAID

37301

NEWS OF RALPH "BUD" HARTER, MISSIONARY

BIBLE BHAVAN, BOX 3, P-0. NAWABGANJ, KANPUR,

NOVEMBER

U.P.

208-002

INDIA

1986

ENCOURAGED

It is not quite a story of "Baptisms Galore,"but I am encouraged that I have baptized ten
persons so far during 1986, and

these during*the past

five months.

Seven of the ten were

from a non-Christian background. The bookstore also gets better and better. Sales during
September 1986 were double those of the same month last year. Our new employee. Ford, is
doing well in his daytime duty while Amarjeet is helping us in the evening hours. I am
preaching and teaching more places than ever.

^ast newsletter I introduced you to my efficient

assistant Sani who earns his liv-

' ^inGovernment
Saniof isKanpur.
now taking
stepsis named
to lead Burra,
in themeaning
establishment
chwrch
one of the factory.
newer areas
The area
lamb, andof wea
already have several sheep living there.
Whenever I get unhappy with Kanpur, I can visit

Calcutta 625 miles to the east. Calcutta

is running neck and neck with Mexico City as one of the world's"1argest cities.

cently made my third visit there. In Calcutta one gets the impression
drown in people.
It is interesting to ride the trams (street cars)

I have re

he is going to

that

when you can get on

them.
Those who can't get on sometimes cling to the windows" and plant their feet
flat on
the side of the tram,
I did not try this myself.
While in Calcutta, I fulfilled a longtime ambition to visit the graves of William Carey and his fe11ow
missionaries Marsham and
Ward.
These three did a fantastic work for the Lord in the early iBOO's.
My next big trip
s

will be to have a convention in central

am planning to make my first

India where I will preach seven sermons. In January

ever visit to the state of Orissa, the only major state of

visited. The city of Cuttack is a 26 hour train ride'from Kanpur

Our Bible college students are working hard at their studies. In addition to H.D.S. Joel

and Samuel Jas,we are also now supporting Narendra Singh who has been awarded the Chidanand
Stephens Memorial Scholarship. Narendra is not a native of Kanpur but he has done some
evangelistic work here. He is now a graduate student in the United Theological College in
Bangalore.

^^y.^cent^rmoi-rs have been on "Judges," "Ruth," "1 Samuel," "God," and" "A Visi t~to~the
Church at Philippi."^ My studies continue by fits and starts. Whether or not I ever pass
the course, the studies have been both interesting and helpful. I have also found that my
power of memory has also improved, and my health this year is better than it was last year.

any o you will remember "Kuku" who married at an early age. He expects to become a
rather , in December. His sad nev/s is that he lost his mother on Sept. 13th. Another of our

members, Mrs. Wardha, died on August 1st.

An old friend, Puttu Lai, died on Oct. 1st.

Puttu was one of those who brought us to Kanpur back in 1952.

One detail you may tend to forget is that we have a committee of seven here in Kanpur who
This is in compliance with the laws of India and it has
worked very well during the past thirteen years. One of our members was no longer able to
help direct the mission work.

attend the committee meetings and she has now been replaced with Pastor Victor Das.
has been a leader in the Swarupnagar Church since 1953.

Victor

This IS now my third year in coaching four Bible College students at Kulpahar. To these

have now been added one each at Kanpur, Lucknow, Fatehgarh and Firozabad, for a total of
eig t. rt Morris and others In south India are organizing a committee to spread this type
or study through our churches all over India.

We will cooperate with this new venture.

uixit, the student who sometimes threatens suicide, has continued his visits and seems to

be in a better mood these days. An uncle of his also came to see us and spent the niqht
here.

The state of the nation seems to be in pretty good shape despite several assassinations
and assassination attempts.

It is sad to see the security precautions which must be taken

in this era of terrorism as what in itself entails a certain loss of freedom. The rainy

season was normal this year although it is never normal everywhere, which is normal.

i-J
yo'*e"iost
Indian Christian
thinkercanofnever
our day.
M.M. Thomas,
residing
in
the n
United
States,says
that the world
becomeDr.better
because presently
it is always
defeated
by pride which follows success. He argues that if the world should become ]% better, it

does not follow that the world will be ]% less worse; but if the world becomes ]% better,it
It is now a year since Salim died and two years since Mrs. Gandhi died. V'e have adapted

also becomes K worse; only the tension between good and bad increases.

to the loss of both.

Mrs. Salim continues to cook for us and there is a continuous flow of

other members of the family young and old.

Greetings from all of us and from our forwarding agent: Miss Florence Douglas,

Mam St., Joplin, Mo. 64801 and from Mrs. Charles Jeffries who does the work on our
Throbs at the Clinton Church.

1111

N.

Harter

Copies of my books are available for the asking. Just contact Mrs. Jeffries, Clinton

First Church of Christ, 2545 W. Comet Rd., Clinton, 0. 44216

Please let us know when you have a change of address. Thanks!

CONTRIBUTED

TIME CHANGING AND UNCHANGING

JULY,AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER--1986

If someone

From T.G. Rash in Canada for

projects
Garrett First Church
Frank Reas

. Flora First Christian

l^i ssour i-Texas-Wash ington

^Liberty Sunday School
^Neeper Church
Dr.

$200.00

63.00
^5.00
30.00
60.00
80.00

136.85

Donald Peel

Wapato Christian Church

North Carolina and Kentucky

Capital City Church
East Union Bible School

Pennsylvania and West Virginia

LaVerne Romesberg
Oak Grove Church of Christ
Lucretia Nicholson

Hooverson Heights Church

Leona B. Blythe
Stephen F. Handwerk
Ruth E. Handwerk
Linden Church

Linden Homebuilders
Old Stone Church
Branch Hill Church

Sebring Church

of the way.

Thus it was

As

usual

the hawkers

pushed

of India have begun to eat apples, thanks to

120.00

a renegade missionary who introduced the

industry after he lost his Christian faith.

1026.65
]k].2k
60.00
75.00
25.00
270.00

1118.50

(His name was not Adam.)

Popcorn and coffee

are also often available on the trains.

older things

channa,

are

there

too

a hot mixture of

parched

When I first came to

India in 19^7, piped

found in almost every village.

ago few people had radios but now most homes

308.00

ation radio and tape recorder.

TV aerials
are to be seen everywhere, even in front of

300.00
200.00
20.00

100.00

have at least one radio, and often a combin

the meanest huts along the railway tracks.

It was a great thing in those days to own a
bicycle but today many own scooters. Other
wise the day may never come when the common
man will own a telephone or an automobile.

Even if he had the latter,

25.00

place to park it.

100.00

1ittle by 1ittle.

TOTAL CONTRIBUTED

30.00

$5189.2A

EXPENDED^FROM 7-11-86 . t-n 10- 7-86,

Salary for three months
$675.00
Audited General Expenses
$2500.00
Students
^61.38
Personal Studies
Book Store

U.62

357.36

Benevolence
Travel

46.18

40.72

Church Buildings

2250.00

TOTAL EXPENDED

$6345.26

Balance on hand 7-11-86

$1355.30

Contributed

5189.24
6544.54
6345.26
$ 199.28

Expended

Balance on hand IO-7-86

he would have no

Air service

is improving

Although the cities are unable to keep up

with road construction and repair, the vil
lages have good roads leading up to them. It
is _a delight to see these new arteries as
one rides along on the bus.

The construction of high-rise buildings

has not been permitted in Kanpur, which I
think is a good thing.
Tall buildings have
been built in

some of the other

cities but

they are really not suitable for Kanpur. As

it is, our town very seldom has a serious
fire.
V/hat our city is famous for are un
covered

manholes

and

buses

which

crash

through the railing of the Ganges River kil

ling 70 people at a time.

SUMMARY

Total Receipts

Forty years

50.00
390.00

20.00

Madgalene Bowen

gram and

water and electricity were only found in the

large cities but these facilities are now

Helen Stephens
Chamberlin

The
tea and

like

raw onion.

5.00
^0.00

Edward R.

their way

through the crowded aisles selling their

eatables. What was unusual was that day they
had huge baskets of thousands of apples
which they were selling for a nickle apiece.
It is only in recent years that the people

Bladensburg Loyal Daughters

Doris Black

that one day re

cently I was going "on foot" to the town of

Firozabad which is on the line to New Delhi.

150.00

Oh io

Clinton First Church

they went to a cer

went by train but that they had to stand all

Indiana and 111inois

Osgood Mission Circle

says that

tain place "on foot," It may mean that they

Kanpur (a city of about 3 million) now has

eight modernized intersections

lights.

with traffic

Even with the traffic lights, there

may be three or four traffic police at each

intersection to make the drivers obey the
lights. When the 1ights malfunction it does
not make much difference.

HARTER THROBS

MISSIONARY NEWSLETTER

NON-PROFIT ORG
U.S.
POSTAGE

RALPH HARTER, INDIA

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST
25A5 WEST COMET RD.
CLINTON,0. 4^216

PAID

CLINTON,
PERMIT

Sharlotta Ray

Mission Som'lcsK
Hap TW 37^01

2A27

OHIO
7

2-

Saiim and Onesiphorus

SALIM MOHAMMED YUSUF, aged 73, passed
from this life at 2:00 a.m. on Monday October 28,
1985, after a lifetime of faithful service to Christian

missionaries. His departure was so quiet that it was

as though he had evaporated. I was out of town when
Salim died which led to a slight complication.
In leaving the house three days previously, I had
absentmindedly left the cash drawer open with the
key in the lock. When Salim discovered my blunder,
he immediately locked the drawer, stored the key, and
began to prepare some hard words aimed at my refor
mation.

Unfortunately I did not get home in time to hear

Salim's lecture or to even attend his funeral, nor could
any of us find the key. Even the widow interrupted
her mourning to look for it. When I finally gave up
hope of finding it, I swiveled around at my desk and
the key almost fell into my hand. Salim had not hid

den it in some obscure place, but had placed it near

where he thought I would be sure to find it.
In other ways also I could see that Salim had stead
fastly performed his duties on the last day of his life
although he was not fit to be out of bed. Such was the
fidelity of one of the best employees that any man
ever had. If Salim had served the Lord as well as he

had served the missionaries, there would not be any

doubt about his eternal salvation.

Salim and JesusAs it is, one has to do some stretch

ing of the imagination to make Salim out as being any
kind of a Christian. He had promised to be baptized
but he never was. He encouraged his youngest son to
be baptized but discouraged him from joining the
church fellowship. Some mornings Salim would say
that he had prayed to Jesus all night and that Jesus
had answered his prayers but Salim did not allow that

By RALPH HARTER
humbly and honestly, occasionally giving out hope
that they were about to become Christians but never
actually doing so. Salim joined a large company of
Muslim employees of Christian employers who proved
that Kipling knew what he was talking about. Salim
was buried in the Muslim cemetery across the street
from the Christian cemetery.
Some will accuse me of making too much of Salim's
failure to be baptized. After all, didn't Jesus say, "For
whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of
your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he
shall not lose his reward" (Mark 9:41).* Yes, and truly
the Lord gave many rewards to Salim, so much so that
Salim should have been the Lord's most loving disci
ple.
One of the dangers of receiving God's rewards is that
one can be lulled by them into thinking that God ap
proves of us, which is not necessarily true. God causes
His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous, as Jesus
taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:45).
The lesson here for preachers is that God's blessings
on their ministries does not prove that God is pleased
with their sermons. For Salim, baptism was no small
thing. It meant nothing less than accepting or reject
ing the lordship of Jesus. Salim was never associated
with the church and never partook of the Lord's Sup
per. He was a "good" man, but the Holy Spirit and the
fruit of the Holy Spirit were absent from his life.

The case of Onesiphorus Shortly after Salim died, I

was confronted in one of my Bible classes with the
problem of Onesiphorus. The apostle Paul wrote so
little about this kind and generous man that it is diffi
cult to say anything about him except that he was a
kind and generous man. It is one of those instances

to make a Christian out of him.

where we can make choices and our choices are influ

Salim's excuse for not becoming a Christian was

that he was repulsed by the lives of Christian

enced by our prejudices and preconceptions. In such

situations your guess and my guess are as good as
anyone else's.
Was Onesiphorus dead or alive when Paul wrote his
second letter to Timothy? Paul wrote, "The Lord grant
mercy to the house of Onesiphorus for he often re
freshed me" (2 Timothy 1:16). Many share my impres
sion that Onesiphorus was dead and that Paul was
sending his condolences to the bereaved family. The

preachers and other church leaders, which included

me. He thought that he was living a better life than
the Christians were. Salim's stance was not an unu
sual one.

A generation before Salim was born, Rudyard

Kipling had written vividly about Muslim servants in

India who servfid their Christian employers very

for December 21, 1986

(1187)

Page Fifteen

translators of the New English Bible preferred to have

Onesiphorus alive and so they translated it, "He has
often relieved me in my troubles" (Emphasis mine).
There is no strong basis for such a translation.

except by the way of the cross, and the Bible will not
be faulted in any way. We may have to revise some of
our interpretations of the Bible but the Bible will re

Most people conclude that Onesiphorus was a Chris

In the meantime we can say of our non-Christian

relatives and friends, "The Lord grant that they may
find mercy on that day." I can't see that our saying it
will be of any help to them but it may give some
comfort to us. At the same time we ourselves ought to

tian but the record nowhere says that he was. He had

been very kind to Paul, but kindness is no proof of
religious convictions. We know that those were diffi
cult days for Christian believers and not everyone
was willing to fight with the beasts at Ephesus and
Rome: not everyone was willing to give up their jobs
and place their lives in jeopardy for the sake of the
gospel.
Even today, not all loving fathers share church
membership with their families even though they are
always nice to the preacher. It is possible that One
siphorus was like Salim and some other heads of
households whom I have known who are something
less than dedicated to the will of the Lord. Something
was lacking in Onesiphorus, otherwise why would
Paul say, 'The Lord grant to him to find mercy from
the Lord on that day" (2 Timothy 1:18). This is not the
sort of thing we usually say to friends of whose salva
tion we are fully assured. This verse would make a
suitable text for some funerals, but it might cost the
preacher his popularity.
When he wrote Timothy, "The Lord grant to him to
find mercy," was Paul praying for the dead? It doesn't
look like a prayer to me in any translation. Paul is
only expressing his own personal emotion at the loss
of a good friend, lb say, "May God have mercy on him,"
is different from praying, "Dear God, have mercy on
him."

When Mahatma Gandhi died. Dr. E. Stanley Jones

found himself in a predicament. The newspaper re
porters wanted to know from Dr. Jones as to whether
or not the Mahatma had gone to Heaven. Not wanting
to say one way or another, Jones replied that if Gan
dhi was not in Heaven then Heaven would be the

main true.

live such lives in Christ that we won't leave doubts in

people's minds when we have "crossed the bar."

Ralph Harter is a missionary and Bible bookstore manager in

Kanpur, India.
Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard
Bible.

THE LESSON WRITER

BOB COLLIER is completing his fifth year of minis
try with the Community Christian Chimch in Rio
Rancho, New Mexico. Bob is a Johnson Bible College
graduate and prior to moving to New Mexico served
as associate minister with the West Tbwne Christian

Church in Knoxville, Tbnnessee, and then as preach

ing minister with the Colfax Christian Church, Col-

fax, Indiana. He and his wife, Loretta, Eure the parents

of three children: Kimberly, Jeanice, and Jonathan.

poorer for it. It would be just as well if we remained

noncommittal about the eternal salvation of such peo
ple as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Indira
Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Salim, and your grandfa

December 22

ther.

December 23

John 11:45-53

It is just possible that God, who searches the hearts

of men, has His own way of choosing whom He wants
to live with Him. There are some things of which I am
very sure: No one is going to get to the Father except
through the Son, no one is going to "go to Heaven"

December 24

Romans 5:6-11

Page Sixteen (1168)

Home Daily Bible Readings

John 10:11-18

December 25

Hebrews 2:5-9

December 26

Hebrews 5:7-10

December 27

1 Peter 2:19-25

December 28

Luke 24:4449
CHRISTIAN STANDARD