GOA
Sis Eva Antao and I became Facebook friends in mid 2019. We communicated often on FB and she went through RLMs blog online. I had a chance to share with her my testimony and MY INDIA vision as well.
So, when we planned to visit Mumbai in Jan 2020, we thought we would stop at Goa along the way. I shared my plans with Sis. Antao, and she and Bro. Antao invited us over.
We left Coimbatore on the 22nd of Jan by the 3 pm train and were in Tivvim, Goa by 5:30 am the next morning. The Antaos were waiting to receive us at the railway station, and drove us the little distance from it to their village of Moira in Mapusa, North Goa.
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| Moira Village |
23rd Jan, 2020
Bro. and Sis. Antao live in a cottage nestled in a peaceful corner of Moira a little distance from the Mapusa market.
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| On the porch with Bro. Antao |
The Antao's have three children - Rhoda, Beniel, and Talitha. The elder two are married, one settled in the US and the other in Goa. Talitha is the youngest and won our hearts the moment we saw her.
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| With our lil' sister Talitha |
After a wonderful breakfast of Goan 'poyos' that day, we sat around the kitchen table and discussed the Word. I was able to share with them the marvellous work the Lord had accomplished in Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh last year, and about the prophetic awareness campaigns we had conducted in different parts of India. We shared our testimonies, about how we each came to the Lord, and enjoyed each other's fellowship for the remainder of the day.
Bro. Antao related how the church in Goa had at one time been teeming with souls, and how over the years, many had fallen away for diverse reasons and gone their own way, and how the spirit of division had entered and split the body into fractions, as it has happened in many message churches all over India.
After Sis. Eva's wonderful Goan prawn curry lunch that day, we were told that that evening there would be a time of fellowship, it being a Thursday. Another brother, Bro. Benjie, and his wife would arrive by 5:00 pm, and I would be given a chance to share my testimony with them.
The Antao's have dedicated a room for prayer on the first floor of their home. And we joined together singing the songs we all knew and loved, before I was given a chance to testify and share an introduction of my ministry with them.
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24th Jan, 2020
The next day Talitha was our guide across Mapusa. We visited the Mapusa market and scouted out dry fish and rose tea to take back home.
That evening we were told we would be travelling to a brother's home in Panjim, North Goa.
The family had tried to arrange meetings in the church there, but things did not fall through. However Bro. Alex who had just recovered from surgery, had agreed to meet us.
We arrived at Bro. Alex's home by around 6:00 pm, and spent some time in fellowship there. We exchanged testimonies and had a chance to talk about the Bride Ministry and the end time prophecies that were being fulfilled in our days. We concluded our brief time together with prayer, and made our way back across town.
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| With Bro. Alex and family |
On the way back, Sis. Eva pointed out the floating casinos at the docks - casinos on yachts that attracted the party goers and the affluent, especially the flux of foreign tourists. There were beach parties at every corner, and seaside hotels adorning the shoreline with much to tempt the young. It was a world within a world. And we wondered at it and how merciful the Lord had been to call us out from among all this in His foreknowledge.
We arrived home and gathered around the kitchen table for some pre-bedtime conversation, and then off to sleep.
25th Jan, 2020.
The next morning was free. We slept in, and after spending some time in prayer and lunch, the family had planned to take us to Vagator Beach. We left for the beach at around half past four to see the sun set.
We passed many old Portuguese colonial buildings, some of them almost falling into ruins. The roads in Goa are narrow, and the houses surrounded by shrubbery, each cottage in its own magical circle. It was pleasant to navigate the old streets, Sis. Eva pointing out the notable sights in town to us.
Vagator beach is known for the dark black rocks protruding on the surface of the shore. There were hawkers along the shoreline vending away, and the roar of loud techno music blasting from a nearby eatery actually disturbing the tranquillity of the ocean experience. This was the new Goa tourists who came , more to party in than to enjoy sound of the waves lapping against the rocks.
Bro. Antao showed us the harbour line and recalled how he used to come to the beach as a lad to play. The beaches had been isolated and silent then, and they had seen the face of Goa change so much over the years.
It was a pleasant family evening. And we returned home fulfilled.
After dinner and some strawberries crem'e al'a Talitha, we sat talking late into the night.
I felt a special burden for the Antao family who had become so dear to us within a matter of days. It was not just their warm hospitality, but the love of Christ radiating through them that had bound us together as family. Wherever I travel, I always feel, that if the Spirit of the Lord has indeed led me there, then I would have to leave behind a blessing for the family who hosted me in some form, and was in prayer for the same.
It was during our conversation that night, that we returned to a topic we had discussed earlier regarding baptism. Talitha has not yet been baptised and we had been talking about the baptism of water and fire, and discussing some aspects about it from the Word. When I asked her what had been hindering her, she confessed that the Lord has been leading her to think about being baptised a week ago, and she had had a desire to be baptised by a senior minister who had visited their home before, however she was wondering when he would come to visit them again and if she had to wait until then.
I felt the Lord leading me to encourage her to make a decision, urged her to search her heart and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit, and told her that I would be more than happy to baptise her if she did not want to wait. It would be the blessing I left in Goa for the Antaos.
We prayed about it, and that night, Sis. Eva messaged me saying that Talitha had committed for baptism.
26th Jan, 2020
The next day was a Sunday, and the Antaos informed me that, that the Sunday service would be held in Bro. Benjie's home in the evening. So the morning was free, and we planned to have the baptism at a nearby beach.
We made our way there after 11:00 am, and had a small time of prayer on the shore, the waves crashing in the background. Bro. Benjie's family too had joined us, and I shared a brief message about 'Godly Sorrow and Repentance.'
We waded into the sea and baptised the young sister there at mid-day, the sun beaming down, and the waves foaming around us.
It was the first time I had baptised someone in the ocean too. And it was a happy time for all of us.
After lunch we had a bit of rest and then headed out to Bro Benjie's home for fellowship.
We had brought our projector along, so I took some time to go over the two major signs of the coming of the Lord as per II Thessalonians 2- The Falling Away, and the Man of Sin being revealed. I went over the Missing Colour of the Vatican - how Christianity had rejected the moral righteousness of God for their own code, Revelation Chapter 17, The 7 kings, the King of the North - the prophecy regarding The Battle of Ezekiel, and elaborated on the Prophet's vision regarding the destruction of America linking to the world events we see unfolding today.
After tea and snacks, we left for the Antao's.
It was 10:00 pm by the time we reached. And we packed up our stuff for our journey the next day before settling down to a hot dinner before we hurried off to bed.
27th Jan, 2020
We were up bright and early the following day in preparation for our onward journey to Mumbai - the city of pani pooris,vada pavs, and pollution.
Our dear Talitha made us some awesome pancakes for breakfast before she left for college, and Sis. Eva packed us a lunch for the way.
Our train was due at 10:30 am, so we left the house by 9:30 am after prayer for the family.
Do pray for Goa, and especially for the Antao family, that the Lord may strengthen them and use them for His glory and work a new and mighty work in their land, to shake the roots of tradition, and open many eyes to the light and purity of God's true Word, in the days to come.
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Mumbai - Badlapur
A miraculous thing had happened actually at the end of 2019 which I would like to elaborate on.
Many of you who have read this blog know about the incidents leading upto my conversion - how my father had left the home a little before this, and how it propelled me into seeking the Lord. (For those of you who don't, do read My Call to the Ministry)
My Father is the member of a very proud and well known Maratha family. After he left us, soon after I surrendered my life to Christ I began praying for his salvation, that he too may one day know Christ, and had continued in prayers for my Father's family as well.
After almost 27 years, I received a phone call from one Sister Pushpa from Badlapur, Mumbai. She had managed to get hold of the Hindi Copy of the Book - The Original Sin, and it had my address and contact details for distribution printed on the back.
She was a bit taken aback when she read my name 'Khanvilkar', and was wondering how a Khanvilkar would find his way into Tamil Nadu. So out of curiosity, she called me on my cell. After introducing herself, she told me that she too was related to the Khanvilkar family and asked about my relationship with them. I then shared with her my testimony and we traced our family line to make sense of this new tie. Over the course of several following conversations, we learned that she was my father's cousin sister - the daughter of my father's paternal aunt, and so my aunty.
Suddenly I had a new aunt right out of my Father's family! And believe me it was a great joy. The most joyous thing of all was, she was a Christian and had already embraced the truth of baptism in the Name of Jesus' Christ!
Sis. Pushpa Wable is the youngest sister of 9, of the Wable family. Her eldest sister is Lalitha Pawar, a well known celebrity of yesteryear who had played the part of evil stepmother, or torturous mother-in-law, or villain mom in countless Bollywood (Hindi Cinema) movies.
Sis. Pushpa is also the ex-wife of famous Bollywood villain 'Ranjeeth', She is a producer of a few Marathi social awareness films as well.
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| Sis. Pushpa and Ranjeeth Wedding File Photo |
So I had suddenly ended up with a celebrity aunt who had accepted Christ and had left her old life behind to worship the Creator of the universe in Spirit and in Truth.
She now resided in a humble flat in Badlapur on the outskirts of Mumbai City, and it was to her home that we were bound.
She had come over to Coimbatore in December of 2019 for the New Year Service, and I had the joy of baptising her while she was with us.
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| Sis. Pushpa's Baptism |
Soon after, she invited me and my wife over to her place, and said that she would arrange a meeting with a famous Bollywood Comedian - Johnny Lever, who had, a few years ago, become a practicing Christian.
I thought that this would be an opportunity for me to present the truth of the hour to him as well, and so took up the invitation. we had an appointment to meet with him in his residence in Oshiwara, near Andheri, the next day.
We reached Mumbai by 9:00 pm that night. Alighting in Kalyan station, we hailed a cab to Badlapur. We reached Sis. Pushpa's home by 11:00 pm that night, and after a light dinner, went to bed too tired to move, for the journey had been long.
28th Jan, 2020
The next day, we were up and fresh on the move by 10:00 am. Sis. Pushpa, Sis. Benita, and myself boarded a local train to Ghatkopar, from where we took an auto to Oshiwara.
We had been invited for lunch, so managed to brave the Mumbai dust and traffic and were there by 01:30 pm.
Bro. Johnny Lever lives in an apartment complex in Milat Nagar with his wife Sujatha and children Jesse and Jamie.
Although a well known celebrity, he welcomed us so humbly into his home. He first asked us to finish lunch so that we could sit and talk at leisure.
After a wonderful meal, we settled down in the living room for a chat.
Bro. Johnny and his wife Sujatha were were so kind, and simple, and welcoming, none of the airs that we usually expect from a celebrity family.
He shared how prayer had changed him as a man, and how he had felt that certain goings on the in the Christian world today were not according to the Word.
I then shared with him, how I had met Sis. Puspha, the testimony of my conversion to Christ, my call to the ministry, and MY INDIA vision. I also gave him a copy of The Original Sin in hindi, and urged him to read it when he could. I was able to explain how many things that were hidden in the Word of God and opened to us in these last days, when expounded to the public were usually swept aside and either ignored or rejected. I manged to ask for a second appointment to discuss this further, and Bro. Johnny readily agreed.
We also had a chance to meet his son Jesse before we left.
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| With Bro. Johnny Lever and family |
We ended the visit with prayer and after some evening chai, were wondering how we were going to brave the rush hour traffic, when Bro. Johnny offered us the use of one of his chauffeured cars so that we could drive home to Badlapur in comfort.
Well, that was a welcome relief because the thought of herding Sis. Pushpa into a rush hour railway compartment had been worrying us, especially as she was just recovering from a leg fracture.
The road traffic was bad though and even though we left Bro. Johnny's home by 5:00 pm, it was almost 10:30 pm by the time we reached Badlapur.
We freshened up and sank heavily into bed.
29th Jan, 2020
Bro. Russell who lived in Borivli (the suburbs) had called me and invited me over to his place to pray for his wife Reena, a dear friend of ours, who was expecting her second child in another 2 weeks.The continuous travelling had already worn us down, but we knew we could not pass up a chance to visit our friends and join them in a time of prayer before we sped back to Coimbatore. So we rose leisurely the next morning, and caught the 2:30 pm train to Dadar, then changed onto the local railway line and made our way to Borivli.
Borivli was where my wife had grown up in Mumbai, so seeing it again brought back a lot of memories and we were very nostalgic as we entered Sis. Reena's home. We reached there by 5:00 pm, and Bro. Russell arrived a little after 7:00 pm. We were able to meet Sis. Reena's younger sibling Joel, who had grown up into quite the young man, her son Jonathan aged 4, and our dear sister Elize who had been such a support to us in troubling times.
We had some good fellowship, and exchanged news over dinner. It was so good to see them all again.
I had a chance to speak to Joel about the importance of baptism as well. And we were glad we had taken the time to come over and see our friends.
We stayed the night as we were tired out and had to leave for Coimbatore the following night. It was a long journey back and we had a prayer meeting arranged at Sis. Pushpa's upstairs neighbour 's place that evening before we left.
30th Jan, 2020
We prayed for Sis. Reena's safe delivery and for a healthy baby and left the next morning.
We reached Badlapur by 3:00 pm and had just enough time to pack our things before that night's meeting.
We had spoken to one of Sis. Pushpa's neighbours in whose home, a prayer cell regularly met for prayer. They had invited her over quite a few times as well. When the sister came to see Sis. Pushpa, the day before we left for Borivli, she learned that I was a Pastor, and I expressed a desire to join them in prayer and told her a little about my prophetic awareness teachings. She asked if I would speak to her pastor, and I agreed.
I had a talk with Pastor Kannan, who surprisingly was a Tamilian settled in Mumbai. He said that a few people would gather together the next day to hear me preach, and that he too would be there.
We had expected maybe 7 to 10 people, but to our surprise, when we entered the Sister's home, there were nearly 25 people already assembled, and more coming in. By the time we had all settled in the little room, there were around 35 of us.
Bro. Charles D'Souza, who was a good friend of Sis. Pushpa, was there too.
After a rousing worship session, I began my testimony, and related how I had met Sis. Pushpa. I also shared a bit about my ministry and my emphasis on Prophetic Awareness.
I was able to share with the little congregation, the message, "Walking with God", with the illustration of Enoch, the intimacy he had shared with the Creator, and the testimony he had that 'pleased God'.
I stressed on the importance of a closer personal relationship with Christ, and how it was not possible for us to be raptured on our own terms.
I also handed out tracts of a Bible Study on Revelation 17, and copies of The Original Sin to Pastor Kannan and a few mature sisters.
Pastor Kannan expressed a desire to know more about the Word preached there that day, and said that he would be in touch to arrange for meetings at a later date, possibly the next time we came to town.
He told me that day, that his wife had been hospitalized due to spondilitis. I was moved that he had taken the time out to come to the meeting in spite of this. And before we left, we prayed for his wife to recover and walk out of the hospital as soon as possible.
We were served snacks and then went back to Sis. Pushpa's to finish packing and get ready for the drive to Kalyan where we would be boarding our train.
A few other sisters cam to Sis. Pushpa's home to be prayed over for certain intentions.
Sis. Anthony Amma who was one of Sis. Pushpa's dear friends and prayer companions came to see us off with a dinner parcel and her words of blessing.
We left our dear Sis. Pushpa's home with prayer for a new harvest of souls in Badlapur. She packed us off with her motherly reminders, petitions to 'take care', and some mouth watering 'sheera'. (Indian sweet)
Bro. Charles D'Souza saw us off to our cab and bid us goodbye. We were in Kalyan by 10:30 pm and our train was surprsingly in time :-)
1st February, 2020
We reached Coimbatore on the 1st of February, and prepared ourselves with testimonies of our trip for the following day's Sunday service.
We heard that evening from Sis. Pushpa, that Pastor Kannan's wife had been dicharged from hospital, and had walked out just as we had prayed.
Do join me in prayer for Pastor Kannan and his fellowship in Badlapur who have a deep thirst for the Word of God, that the Lord may open the eyes of their understanding to receive the Prophetic Word of our times, for Bro. Johnny Lever and his second invitation, and Sis. Pushpa - that she may be a witness to many in the days to come.
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