Reports from Subodh Jena Kumar in Orissa
February 6, 2015
“For the last three or four days I have been calling our Elijah Challenge Pastor Junul Putry to get the latest field reports, but he was out of range. Today I spoke to him and received the following report.
Junul Purty is one of our dedicated pastors, and he works in the very difficult, hardened region where Australian missionary Dr. Graham Staines and his two young sons were martyred in 1999.
This month he went to a remote Hindu village in a jungle area where he preached the gospel and ministered to the sick. Wonderfully, eleven families from a tribe called “HO” accepted the Christ. After a few days the other villagers started persecuting our new believers, not allowing them to withdraw water from the village well or a nearby stream. So our new believers are now suffering because of this. They must walk 3 kilometers to get water, and it is very difficult on them.
So they called Pastor Junul to help out. He went there and spoke with the village chief to help our believers get water for their essential daily needs. Please pray that the Lord will speak to the village chief and provide help to our believers.”
February 10: “Last night I got a phone call from our Elijah Challenge Pastor Junul Purty and received this especially good news. He thanked all of the Elijah Challenge intercessors for praying for the situation over there as our new believers were struggling for water. Dozens of police along with a IIC police officer went to the village yesterday and had a meeting with the people along with the village chief. The police spoke with the chief and warned the villagers that if they make more trouble for the believers, legal action will be taken by the police. And so they opened the way for our new believers to get water from the village well and stream. The new believers are so very glad for this outcome. Praise the Lord for His intervention on their behalf.”
February 4
“I am glad to write you that the Lord is doing great things through our Elijah Challenge Pastors in needy villages. Our brother Kilaka Muthamajhi arranged a small Feeding Event in a place called Sorada located in a remote hilly region. He went there by walking for one hour as there is no access road for vehicles. Sixty to seventy tribal people gathered who did not know anything about our Lord Jesus Christ. He preached the gospel to them. They spoke only their tribal language and do not understand any other language. Almost all of them drink locally-brewed alcohol every evening.
He preached the gospel and then asked people to come forward to experience the healing power of Jesus Christ. Many of them came to the front, raising their hands indicating that they needed healing. Afterwards they accepted Christ. Many testified that the Lord had healed them from various infirmities such as fever, joint pain, eye problems, headaches, and many others.
One interesting testimony involved an elderly woman who upon going outside to the field felt something enter into her lower leg. From that day onwards she would experience pain when walking. But she testified that she felt something come out from her leg when ministered to in Jesus’ name. She was totally well.
By seeing the miraculous healings the villagers accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Praise God for this wonderful report from the field.
Our brother Jatin Nayak arranged another Feeding Event in a small village called Gumma, where a group of people called “Dangria Kandha” live. They are illiterate and appear uncivilized. Even their women drink wine and smoke cigarettes made locally. Jatin shared the gospel and told them about heaven and hell. They were amazed and told that they had never heard such things. They also said, “we are poor and illiterate people living in a remote area, so who will come and tell us such things?”
He ministered to many sick people, especially from jaundice. He saw many children also suffering from the same kind of diseases because their drinking water came from a nearby stream. The Lord healed many of them, and they testified that stomach problems, joint pain, hemorrhoids, and throat infection had disappeared in Jesus’ name.
A woman was possessed by a demon for many years. On some days it would torment her. As our evangelist Jatin was ministering to the sick, the demon caused her to scream loudly. But when our brother rebuked the demon and commanded it to leave in Jesus’ name, the demon left her. The villagers were surprised that Jesus Christ had such power. Our brother then asked them who would like to accept the Christ as Lord and Savior. Around ninety people raised their hands to believe in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord for bringing such precious souls into His kingdom.
Our Elijah Challenge Pastor Philemon informed me last night about a nearby village where around fifteen families live. A woman was sick for a long time, and the family took her to several places for treatment but there was no change even after spending much money and time. She became very sick and was bedridden. Somehow after a few days she came to know about Christian prayer. She demanded that her family bring a pastor who could pray for her. And so our Pastor Philemon was summoned. It was an opportunity for him to share the gospel and minister to them. After the sharing the gospel he ministered to the woman, and the Lord healed her.
Wonderfully, the family accepted the Lord Jesus, and shared their testimony to the other villagers. Then the villagers called our brother back to pray for other sick people. In this way one after another called him to come pray over the sick in Jesus’ name. Praise God, the majority of the villagers accepted Jesus Christ after experiencing miraculous healings from the Lord.
Thank you so much for praying and supporting us to reach Hindus with the gospel. Please continue to pray for the continued spreading of the word of God.”