Mission Trip to AP and NE India Report - Part 2

Journey to North East India

We left early morning at about 4.45AM for Hyderabad Airport. We had some excitement before checking in. Missing luggage, missing pax... but thank God we all landed safely in Bagdogra with our entire luggage and the while team. Rev Samuel Sharma, our NE Coordinator was there at the airport to receive us.  Then it was a 4 hr drive to Jaigon.  By the time we reached Jaigon it was about 7.00PM and-... dead tired. 

 Visit church planter at Todey. 

The next day we set off to visit Pst Kamal Rai who has pioneered a work in the Himalayas mountains. It was almost a five hour drive up the mountains. The landscape was scenic and beautiful but the journey was torturing. Bad roads, steep cliffs and narrow winding tracks. Then we had to climb up a steep gradient as the vehicle can’t go any further. It was a steep climb and Bro James had some difficulty in climbing. Pst Kamal eventually carried Bro James on his back along the way. After another 30 mins of climb we made it to the church gathering. About 100 people had gathered there since 10.00AM and we were late by 3 hrs. We had a great tome of praise and worship. There was no fear or shyness or any protocol. It was just them and God. It was worship from the heart. 

 Sis Jenifer, Sis Marilyn and Sis Jeya shared words of encouragement and Bro James shared the Word. We prayed for those with needs and made our journey back to Jaigon. Church planting and reaching the remote areas in no small feat. It calls for dedication, passion and commitment. 

Visit church planters in Assam

On 6 Jun it was another 4 hr drive to meet our church planters in the remote part of Assam.  We went to Pst Soban’s church in a village called Mackulli. We built a church here in Sep, last year. We were given a very warm welcome by the tribal people as though we were some kind of celebrities. But the love and warmth shown by these simple people was simply overwhelming ad humbling.More than a hundred people gathered under the tent for the service. Due to the rain many from the other church planters’ members could not make it. These people lived in very primitive conditions.

One of our church planters, Martha, 26 years old, has been pioneering a work in another village about 30 km away, She brought 8 people to be baptised. We were told of a recent incident where Martha (single) was almost killed for the sake of Christ.  My heart went out to this young woman as she smiled and shared of how God is helping her with the ministry. The joy of the Lord was all over her face.   

In fact when our ladies asked for a toilet, they were shown an open space and covered by a perforated canvas, no doors...Our ladies declined and had to wait for hours before we ran into a toilet on the way back. Some of the tribes do not have the Bible in their own language. In fact when I was sharing the Word, the interpreter had to translate it into three languages. It was so uplifting  to see what our church planters are doing in these remote places. But the sad reality is that we are only scrapping the surface. There are many more thousands of villages in the interior parts of Assam that has not heard the gospel. If we had more resources, we can do more.

Graduation and Youth meeting

On 7 Jun, 11 students graduated from the PEC School of Ministry. IT was a joy to see these young people perform and share their testimonies. These will be our future church planters. They will reach their own people for Christ. We need people to support them in the field.  A government Minister from Assam, who is a Christian, attended the ceremony. He was appreciative of the work PEC is doing in NE India.

That afternoon we had a combined youth meeting with the youths from several churches in Jaigon. Our team danced a song and shared their testimonies. Sis Jeya shared a powerful message and challenged the youths to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.

We left Jaigoan on 8 Jun early in the morning for home. It was a long journey as we had to stage through Bagdogra-Kolkatta-Hyderabad-Singapore. We arrived Spore on 9 Jun at 8.30AM after 26 hrs on the road, airports and in the air. I had to rush to my office straight from the airport.

Follow-up action

The following issues were raised for our perusal.

-   We need to built at least 5 new churches in AP. These are going to be in the remote places and simple structures. Each structure cost $5,000. The local church will also contribute half.

-   We need to build another two churches, one in Sikkim and the other in Todey, West Bengal. Each church cost $7,000

-   4 bore wells are needed for church planters in AP. Each bore well costs $1000

-   A refresher course is needed for all church planters in NE India (33 of them). This will be a 13 day program to be held in Oct. 

Conclusion

We are pleased with what we have seen. Our youths now see missions differently. The trip has made them to think about their own future. The Lord is blessing the work and it is growing. The church planters are working very hard in the field. More importantly, the church planters are learning to trust God. I thank God for Bishop Nehemiah and Rev Samuel and families and team that works with them to see this vision being carried through. Praise God for PEC and all our sponsors without whom, it would have been difficult to complete this assignment.

ALL GLORY TO OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST