Miracles in Bihar
By Pastor Paul Silvanus
Apostolic Faith Mission
Bihar, long called the “the graveyard of
missions,” is now becoming “a vineyard for missions”. Once known as the darkest
province of India where persecution was rampant, it is now one of the most open
and responsive states for the gospel in India today. In the 1970s missionaries
from South India sent by the indigenous missions came to Bihar but although
they worked hard, they were utterly disappointed by the poor response to the
gospel. Christianity was still seen as a “foreign White religion” by most
people in Bihar. After ten or fifteen years without seeing any fruit, the
missionaries got discouraged and moved to other states and most mission fields
in Bihar closed.
Tensions and bloodshed between different
castes resulted in the breakdown of law and order several times. Widespread
corruption, poverty and illiteracy, as well as poor communications, poor
transport and no proper roads all made Bihar seem hopeless and contributed
greatly to the ‘spiritual dryness’ in Bihar. Many local pastors also hesitated
to come here. But now a new picture is emerging. People from all castes and
communities are responding to the gospel in an unprecedented manner. Opposition
to the gospel, prevalent in many other states of India, is not seen as much in
Bihar now. The Lord is doing a new thing in Bihar
In early 1990s, the Lord opened doors for
the gospel in Bihar. The despair and hopelessness of the people made them look
for alternative hope, which they found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The
picture of Bihar as the vineyard began emerging. This is God’s time for India,
especially for North India and Bihar. God is at work opening wide the door for
the gospel to the 105 million people of Bihar. Thousands of people are
responding, new churches are being planted, and Church Planting Movements are
emerging among the unreached peoples.
The Lord is calling on the churches in India
and the world to observe these new trends in mission and to respond positively.
If this could happen in Bihar, why not in the other states of North India and
beyond!
BIHAR TESTIMONIES
In 2007 we sent our first missionaries into
Bihar, Pastor Amod Nanda and Pastor Joseph Nayak. Although they were young people just out of
Mission school, they were full of zeal for the Lord. They arrived at the District
of Khagaria in Bihar where there was not even a single church. They did not
know any one, when they jumped off the train and as they walked down the street
they prayed and asked the Lord to find a place for them to stay. Immediately
they came across a school run by a Christian Brother and as they shared that
they are here to work for God’s kingdom, he allowed them to stay in the school.
In return one of the Pastors who was good in plumbing and electrical wiring,
helped the school to repair their plumbing and helped with their electrical problems.
They were allowed to stay in the school premises until they found a place of
their own.
They started their work in a village called
Tikka Rampur, a village belonging to the high-caste people called “Yadavs”. As
they went around sharing the Gospel, the people listened but no one would commit
to Christ and they felt discouraged. One day the village head man took ill and after
he was taken to hospital, it was discovered that he had a very aggressive form
of cancer and the doctors gave him a few days. So his family brought him home
to die. Pastor Amod Nanda went to the village and ministered to the Head Man,
Bindeswari Yadav. The pastor took a scripture from John 3 that unless you
repent and take baptism you will not enter into the kingdom of God, and this
verse troubled the sick man and he began to question where he would go after
his death. “Please give me that Jesus so
that I can to go to heaven if die today” he asked the Pastor. He accepted
Christ and was baptised the same day. As he was too weak to walk, his sons
carried him to the nearby river for baptism. A week later Bindeswari passed on
to be with his Lord and Saviour. His son Gopal Yadav followed his father and
accepted Christ, he committed his life to work for Jesus and has gone on to
become the first native pastor.
Latchoso Shane and Sudhamma
Devi
This couple belongs to a Hindu group called
‘Sath Pal Maharaja’ sect. Lathchoso was a priest leading the villagers into idol
worship and had built a temple to the goddess Kali in the village. Meanwhile
someone had done witchcraft over his wife Sudhamma and she became terribly ill
and was bedridden. Being a Hindu priest himself, Latchoso offered a lot of
animal sacrifices but it did not change his wife’s situation. He spent all his
money on medication but it did not help. His wife was getting worse as days
went by. Finally, in desperation he came to the local church pastor in their
village, Joseph and Namitha Nayak. They shared the word of God with Latchoso
and encouraged him to come to church regularly. He did so and God in his mercy healed
his wife gradually. Finally Sudhamma got completely healed. They testified that
Jesus had healed them and on 18 June 2013 they got baptized. After baptism the
village council called them for a meeting and asked them who will lead the ‘Kali’
temple now. Latchoso answered that he had brought the idol into the village and
he was willing to remove it. He started to testify about Jesus to his own
villagers. Some have decided to follow him and come to church. But the others
have turned against Latchoso and the Pastor’s family. Pastor Joseph Nayak was
called by the village counsel and warned. They however continue to preach the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, unafraid.
Urrmila Devi was suffering with severe leg
pain for some time. There was no medical treatment available in her village and
she simply did not have enough strength to travel to the nearby city to seek
medical help. Pastor Gopal Yadav met her and shared about Jesus and prayed for
her. She got a little better and the she started coming to church with the help
of others. Now she is completely healed. She is joyfully worshipping the Lord.
She accepted Christ and got baptised also on 18th June 2013.
Celebration in Heaven
“There is rejoicing in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10)
