Report by Albert Kang, Coordinator, Elijah Challenge Asia
Megchami Village, Faridput, Bangladesh
April 2014
Note: Bangladesh follows primarily the religion of the prophet M originally from the Middle East
Our host, Pastor Proshanta Roy had decided to take us to minister healing in Megchami Village, very poor hamlet in Faridpur, which is three hours from the city by public transport. Then we had to walk deep into the forested area to reach the village. The Assemblies of God of Bangladesh had secured a house as an outreach center in that village. Pastor Palos and his family live among the villagers, working with them in the fields, helping them during the time of planting and harvesting. In the course of time, there were quite a number of new converts and this little village church was thriving.
As Pastor Palos was helping in leading worship, he suddenly sat down and grimaced in pain. I was sitting near him and so I leaned forward to ask him about his condition. He had extreme pain in his side for quite a while now. Without hesitating, I laid my hand on his painful side and whispered a command for healing. He suddenly looked at me with amazement written all over his face. He then broke out into a wide smile because the pain had instantly left him. That was the first miracle of that day with many more to come.
Before the healing session, we had individuals literary begging for healing. Even though we could not understand a word they were saying, their pleading eyes and begging hands told us of their plight. These villagers were desperate and had great expectation for Jesus to heal them. Many had been sick for a long time. When it was time for the healing ministry, the sky had become dark and some villagers had to go home earlier because of the distance. We had to hurry.
When we interviewed the villagers about the types of infirmity, many had pain all over their bodies. We asked them to lay hands on their heads and our healing commands were mostly directed healing “from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet”. The healing miracles happened exceptionally quickly. Apparently, our Lord Jesus had extra grace and mercy upon these poor villagers who are the descendants of Indian migrants brought by the British, during the colonial time, to Bangladesh to cultivate rye.
The faith of these villagers was so strong and they believed that the Lord could heal them without any doubts. And that was what happened – the Lord healed all who came to Him by faith. Many were in a state of shock or disbelief because their long-term pain was gone! Chronic headaches, giddiness and migraine disappeared as they laid hands upon their own bodies. Snarled fingers received total relief and straightened up. Arthritic knees became as good as new. Painful limbs were all restored to normal. They were praising God with their simple faith. Their sad haunting disposition of hopelessness gave way to a sudden glow on their faces. In gratitude, they bowed before us to touch our feet and then put that hand to their foreheads. We tried to stop such homage but Pastor Proshanta said that this was their customary way of expressing gratitude. We had never seen a group of more grateful people than these poor villagers of Megchami. Surely the Lord was in that place. Praise the Lord!
