Welcome to Anand Ministries!

Rev. Simon & Anjana Gounder

Missionaries to Asian Indians in USA

Anand is the Hindi word for joy. When one soul is saved, there is much rejoicing in heaven and we share the same sentiments and intend to win souls.

The Gounder's hail from the Fiji Islands. Many of you may not know where that is. Fiji is a small island nation in the South Pacific, closer to Australia and New Zealand. It has a population of three quarters of a million, comprised of native Fijians, Indians and many other nationals. English is the medium of communication and the two other major languages are Fijian and Hindi. We are fourth-generation migrants from India, brought to Fiji by the British to work in the sugar industry as indentured laborers. We speak the Hindi language and our ministry is to the Hindi and English speaking Indians. We both got saved in our teen years. Our son, Sylvanas will soon be 10 years old.

In our twelve years of ministry we planted (pioneered) four churches. The largest had a membership of about 250. All of these people were from Hindu backgrounds. God allowed us to reach people from many walks of life, bringing (Hindu) religious leaders, educated and illiterate, rich & poor, young and old to give their life to Christ.

Receiving great support from the Southern California District of the Assemblies of God, our work is centering around Artesia, which is also known as Little India. We have a building to hold services and have already started reaching the community. Our goal is to reach as many cities in USA as opportunity arises. Asian Indians are the fastest growing group of US immigrants.

Our next Fiji Missions trip is July 17 - Aug 17, 2008.  Check out our Mission Fiji page for more information.