Raised a Christian, Philip Murmu, 35, followed his church’s teaching that Sunday was the day of worship, but as he grew up he discovered that other Christians worshipped on Saturday. Which day was correct became the biggest question for which he wanted an answer. He brought the issue up in many religious discussions, but either the question was ignored or no one offered a satisfactory answer. He decided the best way to find the answer was to ask someone who worshipped on Saturday for an … [Read more...]
The stubborn motorbike
One day during my work as a Gospel Outreach evangelist in Sundar Nagar, Himachal Pradesh, in northern India, I received a phone call from Adventist World Radio (AWR) about a listener named Mahinder. The AWR representative asked me to try to find Mahinder’s village and indicated that Mahinder was a prisoner. I had no address for Mahinder, but I prayed to God and started out on my motorbike in search of this young man. After asking about 50 people but finding none who knew of him, I sat … [Read more...]
Praying for baby
INAGALLU, India—Baby lived with her husband, Abraham, and her son in a remote village where superstition and sorcery are rampant. Some in the village could even cast spells of death and sickness on others. In 2008, Baby was possessed by a demon that caused her to scream, refuse to eat or sleep, and speak strange words. Her family paid 60,000 rupees (about $1,500) for a year of rituals, mantras and pujas to get rid of this evil spirit, but nothing changed. After two years of little food … [Read more...]
A daughter’s request
HATHIKUTA, India—Although raised among idols and gods, 17-year-old Chinki Hembrom grew up among Christian friends. She learned from them and began avoiding unhealthy foods. She even followed their way of keeping their homes clean and tidy. Hembrom also noticed that when the Christians got sick, they went to the doctor as well as prayed, but in her religion, the priest had to be consulted before any treatment. When her father became sick for months, Hembrom was frustrated that the priest … [Read more...]
Depending on God
SIVARAMPURAM, India—G. Marimma, a poor widow in Andhra Pradesh, India, had stomach cancer. A doctor provided medicine to treat her tumors, but when her money ran out Marimma had to depend solely on God. She went to the Gospel Outreach worker and asked him to pray for her healing. He agreed and, together with Marimma, prayed the cancer would disappear. One night after she prayed, Marimma fell asleep. During the night, she saw a man in white robes carrying a Bible appear and touch her. She … [Read more...]
God vs. the goddess
Strange circumstances brought Omprakash, his wife, Bala, their son Jeeta and his wife, Mukta, to the Adventist church in Haryana in northern India. These family members were staunch worshipers of Durga, the goddess of revenge. They were so devout they even had a small temple dedicated to Durga built beside their house. Each morning before breakfast, the family gathered to offer prayers and sing praises to this goddess. Such dedication garnered the admiration of their entire community. People … [Read more...]
A father’s answered prayer
UTTAR PRADESH, India—Banson Lal, who serves in the Aonla Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Upper Ganges Section, visited a local family for three months and introduced them to Jesus Christ. The parents accepted the gospel, but their eldest son did not. This son suffered from the bad habits of smoking, drinking and stealing, so his father asked Lal to pray for his son. Lal prayed many times for him. After a month of prayer, this boy’s life began to change. Gradually he quit smoking … [Read more...]
On fire for the Lord
BAGARPUR, India—Rural kutcha houses in northern India are made of mud, grass and bamboo. One summer, a village suffered devastating fires that burned 75 percent of these homes to ashes. And then, making the situation even worse, floods came and washed away all the crops. The people did not know the cause of these calamities, and the villagers panicked. When Pastor Rajpal visited and told them about God, he prayed about this problem. Prayer meetings were held in the village, and the … [Read more...]
Full freedom through God’s grace
BHOGPUR, India—A Gospel Outreach worker and his brother were worshiping with a family when someone came in and asked the group to pray for a Punjabi man who was sick and suffering from an evil spirit. After worship, they visited the sick man and prayed. While they were still praying, the man fell down, and the demon left him. Having received full freedom through God’s grace, the man is fine and growing in Christ. … [Read more...]
Adventures in communication
Editor’s note: James Campbell recently wrote to the Gospel Outreach headquarters and provided insight into the challenges of getting these stories out of the field and into your hands. Campbell describes conditions most of us have difficulty imagining, creating even greater appreciation for the thrilling stories and pictures published in Adventures in Missions. The 10/40 Window has experienced explosive growth and depends heavily on volunteers. The Eastern Uttar Pradesh region of India has … [Read more...]