The call to pray for those who are new disciples
Last week has been emotionally challenging, making me ask
the question, “God, how do I counsel this new saved family in the midst of
suffering?” In a span of four weeks this family had seen all the four emotional
seasons of life. In the first of June there was joy and laughter as Setal
hosted a party for his son Vijay Marandi’s marriage which was attended by both believers
and unbelievers. Vijay was his oldest son and this first marriage in the family
was fully invested into by both the relatives of Setal and the entire village
of Bariarpur. That excitement climaxed when Setal’s younger brother Malu came
to faith. Setal believed this was a breakthrough in the mission of the house
church he was leading. They had been praying for over 6 months for unreached
people to be won through the testimony of his church believers. And there it
was, the church gathered and welcomed Malu and his family. All was going well,
when on the 24th of June 4pm, his little daughter was bitten by a snake.
The children had gathered leaves from the forest and was grinding them for her
mother to prepare some delicious stew. There the snake bite her and her father
heard her cry for help. He ran up to her and was first shocked. They searched
for the snake and found it hiding under the bricks. It was a cobra. In the next
four hours they heard suggestions from the villagers, some asking them to
appease the evil spirits and some not to. Setal took a stand, that he will not
ask the help of the evil spirits. He had the first to accept Jesus three years
ago and since then he has led 9 families to faith. He prayed and sought to hire
a vehicle to transport his daughter to a hospital 45 kilometres away. They rode
the jeep to seek medical care, but on the way his daughter died. He came back
home and all his unreached relatives and villagers blamed him for the death of
his daughter. “If only you had sought the evil spirits, your daughter would have
lived”, they told him. It broke his heart. He has lost two other children just
a year ago, one in child birth and the other to dehydration. It seemed to him
that the God he had believed in, was unable to protect and care for his family.
At the burial grounds I laid to rest his child, next to the
other two of his children. He had lost a total of three children in the last
couple of years. It just broke my heart. I shared this verse to Setal and
family gathered there, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of God, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” Matthew
5:3,4.
We came back home and realised that this will incident will
challenge the faith of Setal and the church in Bariarpur. Believers are under
0.2% and their faith is tested when they revisit the place of suffering and
death that they were accustomed to in their animistic faith. And as a servant
of the gospel, it gets painful and hard for me too! Thank you for partnering and
supporting the ministry of Engage India to the least reached regions of East
India. Your prayers for the new believers and for them to be firm in their
faith is much appreciated.
Daniel Ponraj
Engage India ministry
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