Dharma Bhoomi

“Someday, someone is going to tell the last person on earth about Jesus. And we get to go home.” – Bruce Fjarli in Maranatha’s “The Volunteer” 1st Quarter, 2005.

The Adventists claim that 50% of their total membership (of converts) of 1,000,000 come from Andhra Pradesh (current claim of converts in AP is 500,000). The most famous member-supporter of the crusades of the Adventists is Samuel Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Shame on Hindus that the TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam) should accept the “Visesha Vastram” for Bhagawan Venkateshwara during the Brahmotsavam from the hands of this Christian, Samuel Reddy. The entire Hindu Samaj has to atone for this sin, for seven generations, for allowing him into the Parama Pavitra Mandir and for electing him to a position of power so the ‘Visesha Vastram’ is even touched by him. These days he does not hide behind his carefully cultivated crypto-christist image. He is emboldened under the stewardship of his Mother Maino. Gone is his light coat of Hindu camouflage. He will soon be celebrating his 56th birthday (8th July), with his converted family at Bethelham; naturally, after obtaining the blessings from his mother-incarnate, Antonia Mary, oops, Maino.

(Many wrote to me that they never knew he was a Christian, until I urged people openly to refer to his name as Y. SAMUEL RAJASEKHAR and NOT as YSR, because to append the Hindu caste name of a valiant Reddy to a Christian is a shame to all the Reddys). Why should a man who gave up his Gothra, stick to his caste identity?

The names of Ron and Dorothy Watts have become synonymous with conversions in India. If this is the first family of Adventist-adventurism in India, who supports the church construction with finance? While Maranatha Volunteers International sends in droves of locust-volunteers for proselytization and church building activities, who really is behind the fundraising and the construction?

Southern Oregon Builders - A construction company based in Medford, Oregon, USA.

Writing in the Mail Tribune, Paul Macomber says: The skeleton of the final structure in the 76-acre development north of Rossanley Drive and west of Sage Road is now taking shape. EvenFjarli doesn't know how many buildings or how many square feet of industrial space _ certainly well over a million _ he's erected on the site over the past 25 years. The development has 50 tenants and a property tax bill that will top $200,000 this year. Merlin Fjarli kept putting up steel buildings and tenant after tenant kept moving in.

He took this experience to build churches in India so his wife and son could personally convert gulliable Hindus to move into these with ease.

Merlin Fjarli is supported by his two sons, Clint and Bruce. Bruce seems to take fancy in travelling on Tourist Visa to India to construct churches for the neo-converts. And what does the old, bored housewife, Joanne Fijarli do? She travels to India 8 times in three years and assists Ron and Dorothy Watts to convert close to 50,000 people to christianity. Merlin makes money in the USA, Joanne converts people in India and Bruce builds them churches.

Remarkable delegation of responsibility in this family, ain’t it? Maybe, there is more than meets the eye. A symbiotic and a highly profitable relationship between the construction business in USA and the business of constructing churches in India. Great.

During a conversation at the ASI Spring Fellowship, Merlin Fjarli from Medford, Ore., said that when they first went to India in October 2001, they could finance a church, built with the help of Maranatha volunteers, for between $3,500 and $10,000, depending on its size. Today, because of the strength of the rupee and increases in building material costs, a church seating 150 people would cost $5,000, a church seating 250 people would cost $7,500 and a church seating 400 people would cost $11,000.While this is still a bargain by American standards, it is costing more to provide churches for our newly baptized brothers and sisters in India.

A rough estimate at $ 5,000/church X 1000 churches leaves you with a turnover of $ 5 mio. At 1000 churches in 1000 days, $ 5 mio turnover is not bad at all for 1000 days of work. One need not take the cost of land into account because most of these churches are built illegally on Poromboke lands or on Mandir lands. Later, they get the local big-wig to fabricate the documents of ownership. It would be interesting to see how many Mandir lands in AP have been occupied by the Adventists for their church planting business.

Over 62,000 people attended the final meetings of a 100 village outreach project in Kanigiri, India. The outreach meetings were the capstone to a coordinated effort to reach 100 specific villages located in the vicinity of Kanigiri, which is in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

For the past several months, lay Bible workers have been working in each village, coordinating prayer meetings and Bible studies. These Bible workers will stay in each village for at least three years. Meetings were then held in each village by district pastors of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

In February, teams, led by Merlin and Jo Ann Fjarli, joined the local people in visiting people in the villages, praying with them and inviting them to evening meetings. They also dedicated churches constructed by Maranatha. As part of the 100 village program, a new church, or prayer hall, will be constructed by Maranatha in each village.

On the last night of the two-week project, attendance peaked at the six meeting locations as 62,000 people streamed in from the villages. As a result of the local efforts, over 30,000 people chose to become church members. (48% converted)

"We have coordinated many ten village projects and several 50 village projects, but this is the first 100 village project," says Don Noble, Maranatha President. "It has shown us a glimpse of the opportunity that awaits us. Thousands of villages, just like these 100, await the arrival of the Gospel message."

A team of Maranatha volunteers, led by the Fjarli family, closed their seventh 50-village effort in India on October 28. On the last night of their Bible meetings, over 14,000 people attended the meetings which were simultaneously held in five different locations. Over 8,000 people were baptized. (Rate of conversion=57%)

On the heels of this success, a second team, spearheaded by the Fjarli family, began an eighth 50-village effort. One location already had 5,000 people attend in the first night. A local pastor expects to baptize at least 11,000 new Christians as a result of the second set of meetings.

The Fjarli family, from Medford, Oregon, went on their first Maranatha project in 2001. Earlier that year, Merlin Fjarli and his son, Bruce, happened to catch the same program about mission work in India on Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN). Inspired, they immediately called each other at their respective homes and decided to step into the mission field.

Following several meetings with Maranatha Volunteers International, the Fjarlis, who own a construction company, began fundraising to sponsor church construction in 50-villages where missionary pioneers were already working. They also raised money to support a major evangelism effort in the area where the Maranatha churches would be built.

In an interview with Maranatha in 2003, Bruce was preparing for his third 50-village effort to India. The enormity of his family's commitment had just begun to sink in.

"It's really overwhelming to think that we're doing this. We haven't been involved in things like this before," said Bruce. "But we accepted the call, and the doors opened up. I don't know how long it's going to last, but for now it's a privilege to share Jesus."

For now there seems to be no plans to stop. Merlin and his wife, Joanne, and Bruce, have become a powerhouse recruitment and fundraising team for Maranatha and India's mission field. They have traveled to India at least twice a year for mission trips, taking a crew of volunteer recruits along with them each time. Already they have another effort scheduled for February 2005. Prior to leaving for their most recent efforts in India, the Fjarli family spoke at the 2004 Maranatha Convention in Gladstone, Oregon. Bruce shared the spiritual impact missions has had on his life, and pleaded for others to take up the opportunity to get involved.

"I encourage all of you not to stay at home if you're afraid. I encourage all of you to go if you are afraid. [Going to India] was the most wonderful experience of my life-to cry out to the Lord and for Him to touch me. Then I got the blessing of going and meeting these people," said Bruce. "Someday, someone is going to tell the last person on earth about Jesus. And we get to go home."

Through the work of volunteers like the Fjarlis, Maranatha has constructed over 750 churches in India. Since Maranatha began work in India in 1998, Adventist membership in India has grown from 225,000 to over 850,000. As part of its 1,000 Churches in 1,000 Days initiative, Maranatha has committed to building 750 more places of worship in India.

Maranatha is working with the Fjarli family again for the ninth 50-village evangelism effort in India. In February 2005, Maranatha needs 30-36 people to be a part of this exciting event that has the potential to impact thousands of people who have never heard of Jesus Christ.

Volunteers will be divided into five teams of five to six volunteers. Each team will be responsible for outreach and evangelism for a cluster of ten villages. Teams need a preacher, health-care speaker, people to greet at the evangelism meetings, and people who will pray with those attending the meetings. Children's ministry leaders are also welcome.

Maranatha has agreed to match funds raised by the Fjarli family to build churches in India. Maranatha needs to raise money to meet this matching challenge. Help us succeed in the India Matching Program and double your dollar by giving to Maranatha today!

If you can get a copy of these videos, nothing like that. This is a step by step demonstration of proselytization in action.

Take a journey to India and learn how you can take part in this ultimate mission experience by ordering Maranatha's latest DVD production. The disc features Phase 9 of the Fjarli family's efforts in India, where meetings were held for 100 villages. The DVD also has segments on how to sponsor a church in India, an interview with Ron Watts, president of the Southern Asia Union, and other inspiring stories from the mission field.

To receive your free copy of the India DVD, please send your name and mailing address to marketing@ maranatha.org


This is an open affront to Hindus. Their sensibilities. And their practice of fair-play. This is provocation of the worst order on the world’s most peaceful religion and its practitioners.


It is the duty of every good Hindu to stop them before they continue with their reckless slope down the slippery dustbin of history, following their paedophile predecessor, who went up in flames in the neighboring State or end up mutilated in sacs under the Hussain Sagar.


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