When I heard how long it was going to take, I was not excited. Not excited at all. Our ministry site in India was literal days away from where were flying into. It would take a 30 hour bus ride to Calcutta. Where we would find a friend of our contact’s then stay the night in Calcutta. That in it of itself is a looooong day. Then we would get up and catch a flight to Imphal, which is the actual region where we were going to be this month. Thought we were in the clear, but no there was another hour and a half van ride through the country side.
I was exhausted. The travel day into India itself had been a bit of beast. I still don’t really know what the problem was. But still, I was hanging on by a thread. Then we got here. We met the people. We figured out what we were going to be doing this month. And boy, is it awesome.
We are in the village of Sielmat, Mannipur, India. In the faaaar Northeast. Close to the border of Burma. When you think of India, you get this image of a sprawling city. Hot. Dusty. Full of people. Trash. Sielmat is none of those things.
We’re situated in a valley surrounded by high mountains. The climate is cool, chilly even. With beautiful views and sprawling forests. The people are fantastic. Some of the nicest I’ve encountered. And I’ve literally been all over the place meeting people at this point. Not to mention the fact that we’re spoiled rotten. We’re staying in the guest rooms of a theological seminary and doing work all over the region. We’ve helped build a church in a village, hung out with students in a high school, hung around with the seminary students, done construction in the local hospital, and done mobile medical camps in surrounding villages.
We get to do it all.
But one of the most striking things about this area is the story behind it. My entire time in Asia has been spent in areas that were predominantly every other religion but Christianity. Upon our arrival I thought this would be the case, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The contacts we are working with are descendants of the Hmar tribe. A tribe that back in the late 1800’s beheaded over 500 British soldiers in the region. Crazy stuff. But then in the early 1900’s a British missionary came alone into the tribe to bring the Gospel to them. Through this lone missionary Christianity grew in the area. It grew and grew and grew. Eventually our contact’s grandfather became a preacher for the tribe. Then our contacts father translate the entire Bible into the Hmar language. Throughout the 100 plus years that the Gospel has been in this area, their entire tribe has been completely evangelized. Now there are numerous churches, Bible colleges, seminaries, and all kinds of other things in the area. These people are truly on fire for God.
When we were presented to their congregation, so they would know what we were doing here for the month, the men were presented with these large shawls. We were told that in the past the shawls were presented to the fiercest warriors. The ones who took the most heads. Now they’re given to those that are warriors of the Gospel. It will always be something I cherish.
There are already a ton of stories that have come out of this place. Tons of amazing things I’ve gotten to do. And tons more to come. This is one of my favorite places we’ve been to. The irony is not lost on me that this was the country I dreaded most on our list, and it has easily become one of the best.
For this month, pray for teams Catching Fire and Anchored By Freedom to learn the ways of God. For Him to show up in ways we’ve never seen. For us to not take this beautiful place and be complacent, but grow and learn. I’m excited for what’s in the works.
I’m still a bit short of being fully funded. Only around $800 to go, now! If you’re interested in donating, please go the left side of the page and click the “Support Me” tab. If you wish to do so by mail, the address to donate has actually changed! It’s now:
Adventures in Missions, P.O. Box 742570, Atlanta, GA 30374-2570
I am so thankful for the support I've already received! And I am just as thankful for the support I will receive that will get me fully funded! Thank you guys!
Seth
