December 2023
“How precious are your thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand.”
Psalm 139:17-18
Dear Ones in Christ,
As I reflect on my father’s life, so many passages of scripture come to my mind. Many of these are from the Psalms, which my dad loved so much. One of his favorite passages that he often meditated over is Psalm 139, especially verses 17-18 in which King David rejoices in the thought of how the God of the universe thinks precious thoughts about His children. Dad would always say, “Isn’t that wonderful?” It was God’s love for His children that motivated my dad to preach the Gospel to a lost world. He did this with passion and great joy.
We had a blessed time celebrating Dad’s life at the memorial service in Southern California on December 2nd. We sang many of Dad’s favorite hymns, read some of his favorite scriptures, and gave testimony of how God used him to impact his family, friends, and the country of India.
In January I will be traveling to India with three of my nephews–Schuyler, Ethan, and Luke (Mishal and Len’s sons). These young men were in India last January, and they are excited to be returning. We will be traveling to Mumbai for several days of food kit distribution in the slum areas. Then we will be traveling to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, for three days of witnessing our expanding ministry there. We will be meeting with pastors and engaging in distribution of food kits and blankets. Finally, we will travel to Kerala, South India, where IEM is hosting a large Christian Workers’ Conference on our campus. We will be gathering workers from all parts of India to be edified and encouraged in their ministries. Many of you enjoyed the video update that Ethan and Luke prepared this year, and we are excited that they will be documenting this trip as well. It would bring my dad such joy to see his grandsons participating actively in the ministry of IEM.
My sisters and I want to thank all of you for your prayers, sympathy cards, encouraging notes, and hugs. We are so blessed to have had the parents we had. We are grateful for each of you and look forward to continuing to partner with you in the work of our Lord in India. We love you, and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
God bless you,
Dayan Mathai