“Our Elijah Challenge Pastor Prem Pani [in India] shared with us about an elderly man named Alok who had had a heart attack near his area of ministry in Orissa. For the past eight to ten years he had been suffering from high blood pressure and a heart condition. For some years he had been taking medicine prescribed by his doctor. But slowly he began to neglect taking the medicine on time. Although his children and in-laws urged him to take the medicine regularly, he did not listen to them. Then he became very weak. Suddenly one day he had a heart attack.
He was having severe pain in the heart and then had lost consciousness. So many people were there at that moment. The family was weeping, but could not do anything because it was at night. But somebody told them about Pastor Prem Pani. That night the family went and called our Pastor Prem Pani to come for prayer. Brother Prem took a few of our trained believers and they went to that village to minister to the man. The Lord touched him and he was healed, returning to consciousness with the pain gone. From that day onward he has been doing well.
It was actually good that he was not taken to the hospital and did not take any medicine. So when they heard about what happened, the entire village was surprised. Many people believed and accepted Christ through this miraculous healing. [Doesn’t this sound like something out of Acts?] Pastor Prem is going there and sharing the gospel with the villagers.”
“A young girl had been suffering from seizures since the age of five years. For years she would suddenly fall to the ground and pass out. Her little body would convulse with saliva dripping out of her mouth. Her parents took her to the hospital. They were told that there was no allopathic medicine available to treat the seizures, so instead they tried ayurvedic medicine. But still the little girl was not healed.
Our brother Pastor Pani went to that village and ministered to the girl. She used to have the seizures at a particular time each month. But afterwards she had no more seizures. The family and the relatives accepted the Christ. Praise the Lord!”
“Our Elijah Challenge Pastor Mansukh Kerketta shared with us that last month he went with his wife to two villages to share the gospel. He works mostly among the people groups called the Kharia, Munda and the Sansar. These groups are still considered “untouchable” and live in severe poverty. Alcohol addiction is common among them. The men labor in the morning, and when they return home in the evening they are drinking. They quarrel with their wives and beat their children.
On several occasions our brother visited them and counseled them with the gospel. The Lord touched their hearts and minds. Many of the villagers believed and gave up alcohol. Brother Mansukh has prepared them for baptism. We are planning to baptize them this Sunday.”
Orissa, India,
October 2015
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Reports from TEC India Coordinator Subodh Jena