Send Magazine - 3rd Quarter 2010

Lal Vanderwall, Gospel for Asia’s leader in Sri Lanka, knows very well why Manu’s ministry has been successful for the past 10 years.

“His personal walk with the
Lord makes the difference,” Lal
says. “For God to use a person, it
doesn’t have to be a charismatic
personality. . . . If he’s doing the things the Lord
wants him to do, then God can use him.”
Lal knows there is no such thing as a “perfect
church,” and Manu’s fellowship is no different. The
believers continue to develop in their spiritual walks
with the Lord on a daily basis. Even so, their faith in
God and love for Him are pure, and this in large part
is due to Manu’s steadfastness and his passion to see
lives radically changed for Christ.

Lal Vanderwall

A Healed Heart, a Changed Heart

Manu’s own life changed after being miraculously healed from a heart problem. His physical condition brought on bouts of dizziness and fainting, which caused him to temporarily lose his job as a welder. He thought he was going to die. He tried all sorts of medical treatments for his sickness, and he even went to temples and prayed to his gods for a cure, but nothing helped.

Then he noticed that some people in his village were going to prayer meetings devoted to a God whom he knew nothing about named Jesus Christ. Desperate for healing, he started attending the meetings every day, and one day, Manu asked the Christians to pray for him.

During their prayer, he suddenly felt something change within him. Manu knew Jesus had miraculously answered the prayers of these Christians, and he surrendered his life to the Lord. Later, when he went to the doctors for a checkup, they told him he was completely well.

Joy flooded into his life, and a deep yearning to
know more about the God who had healed him began
to develop. Soon, a desire to take God’s Word to
others who were unhappy and living despairing
lives—like he had been—stirred in his soul. He
enrolled in a Bible college and, after graduation, went
back to his home village to start sharing the Gospel.

‘God Has Given Me the Strength’

Knowing he is just an ordinary man with no special abilities, Manu relies on God’s grace to help him as he ministers to people.

“I was not a person who could look at someone
and sit and speak to them,” Manu recalls. “But God
has given me the strength and ability to speak to a
person and understand them. So because this ministry
is God’s will for me, I am happy to go and do it.”
His method of preaching the Gospel is simple.
Manu travels to surrounding villages and homes and
talks to people about the love of Christ—something
he knows he couldn’t do if he weren’t dependent upon
the Holy Spirit for help and guidance. He gets to
know people and develops friendships. After a while,
he encourages them to have prayer meetings in their
village where they can get to know the Lord better.

Manu knows that those he encounters live without a hope for their future. He often asks them, “What is your goal tomorrow? What is your future tomorrow?” But no one can give him an answer. That’s when he is able to share with them the hope found in Christ and how they can look forward to eternity with Him.

He knows without a doubt that the Lord is using him as an instrument to touch the lives of those around him.

“God has chosen me and given me this thing to do. This is my duty and my job to preach the Gospel to each and every one who doesn’t know,” Manu says. “So if I don’t go, there will be no one to do this.

“Not that I’m unable to work as a welder and earn
a few rupees and live a better life,” he explains. “But I
can feel within me that through the Holy Spirit, God
has given me the strength to continue in this ministry.”
And with his heart in tune to the Lord’s will,
Manu presses on.