Nagaland
Sounds like a Narnia or a Shire kind of place doesn’t it. Sounds like a far off land that one must trek through mud and mir, over mountains and through deserts to get to. It sounds like a lush, rich, simple paradise far from the corruption of this world. A place of peace and tranquility. Maybe creatures live there?
Well Nagaland is a real place. Nagaland is a province in the far reaches of India. It is located along the Myanmar border on the eastern side of the “chicken” shaped attatchment of India. In Nagaland there are over a million people living there. The people are not like other Indians. The have round, Asian faces. One joke was that when the Great Wall of China was built, it locked the Naga out. They are from the Mongolian people groups.
Now the Naga people have a rich history. I’ll give you the simple version of it: Nagaland was famous for it’s head hunters. Basically when a Naga would meet a stranger they would chop off their head as a sacrifice to their Gods. Their Gods were of the Animism type (very similar to North American natives). And so when the first white people came, they were all killed and their heads offered to the Gods. One man was spared though…
A man with a name I have forgoteen, was called to Nagaland. He was an American from the south. He was Baptist, and he was going to share Jesus with these ruthless killers. And so he did. By God’s mighty hand, the American wasn’t killed, but rather feared. People listened to him and after many years he had communicated enough to be able to share. And this is when the work of God is evident. The gospel spread like a wildfire throughout the Naga people. Now, 3 generations later the state is 95% Christian. It is the largest Baptist area in the world (more than Mississippi).
This month I have been blessed to serve alongside a young man named Eyeizo. He is Naga and he is proud of it. The Lord had called him here to Delhi and this is where he’s been living and ministering for about 6 years now. He plays his guitar, he lives with almost nothing, and he doesn’t have an income. He seeks God for direction, protection, and encouragement. He goes among the alcoholics and drug addicts. He worships in different churches. He ministers to the slum children. He travels across the city to spend time and encourage university students.
I have been blown away from the selflessness someone can be. I’ve spent the majority of my time here tagging along with Eyeizo and joining him. I’ve seen things that have made my heart break further. He’s the connection that I needed to truly see the challenges here in Delhi. To meet the people at their level and not just have confrontations with beggars. I thank God for Eyeizo and who he is. God has used him to minister to me!
