Before I tell you about my journey in to the mountain villages, I’d like to give you some background of the northeast India area Manipur. The gospel was first brought to the northeast India in 1910. A 22 year old, chemist from wales, Watkin Roberts, felt a calling on his heart and obediently went. He sent out the gospel of John translated into a local language. one tribe sent back the copy with a message asking him to come back and explain the book. The British army that was controlling India at the time told him he could not go because the tribe was known as head hunters. He decided to defy the orders and make the journey anyway.
Hmar tribe doing a bamboo dance
He hired two men to help him and in return he paid for a year of school for them. He spent time up in the remote villages around that area and explained the gospel. A tribe of people who used to behead their enemies became Christian. Eventually he got in trouble with the authorities and was not allowed back in Manipur. Roberts eventually moved to Canada to live out his time.
Chawnga was a little boy during the time of Roberts and grew up to be a leader in the tribe. Chawnga and some of the other tribe members became dedicated christians, but they did not have the resources for more knowledge of Christ. He knew there was a need for the entire bible to be translated into Hmar and in order to do that someone would need a lot of schooling.
His son, Rochunga, volunteered for the job at the age of only 10. He traveled 96 miles on foot through the jungle to get to a school that was nearest the tribe. He would make the journey alone 4 times a year to get to school. At this mission school Ro learned to read and write. When WWII broke out, the Japanese started to invade that area of India. Ro worked as a messenger for the British army and earned money to further his education. Ro went to university at Allahabad university and graduated with a B.A. in economics and English. He also studied at Wheaton college in Illinois. During his time at Wheaton College, he created a written language for the Hmar tribe and translated the entire bible.
As Ro grew up he knew there were other people in the world who also were in need of the bible to be translated into their language. Ro founded an international ministry called Bibles for the World. They focus on bible distribution, child sponsorship and the Indian Children’s Choir. (The Indian Children’s Choir have not been able to run their tours for a few years, but they are hoping to be back on tour in 2 years. So if you hear about them, you should check them out!)
Rochunga and his wife
This story was made into a movie called “Beyond the Next Mountain.” It tells the story in a really great way and can be found on the Bibles for the World website.
