SEND! magazine Third Quarter 2006: Death of One, Life for Millions
Death of One, Life for Millions
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He realized with a stare that this strange and repulsive food was his dinner. Beyond the pot of goat sat Dayal's hosts, watching him . . . and waiting.
This was Dayal Thomas's first day in Assam, Northeast India, among the Mising, a tribe where the Lord had called him to bring the Gospel. He was a long way from home—about as far away as he could be and still live in India.
Dayal did manage to swallow some bites of goat that night, to the great satisfaction of his hosts. But the food was just the beginning, for it signified loss to him—death to his own culture, to all that was familiar and comfortable. And he grieved that loss.
"I understood that from this day onward, Assam food was my food," he remembers. "There was no other option for me."
But it was a loss Dayal willingly embraced out of obedience to His Lord—and for the sake of two million people, most of whom had not yet heard the name of Jesus. His choice came from a surrendered heart, one that had long before learned to bow to the will of God. And as time went by, Dayal would begin to understand the reason for his tears and struggle.
Speaking Through His Leaders
The only Christian in his family, Dayal had a desire to serve God and make a difference with his life. He attended Gospel for Asia Biblical Seminary in his home state of Kerala in order to prepare for a life of ministry.
During his last year, as he prayed about where the Lord was calling him to serve, GFA leaders mentioned to him about the need for Christian workers in Assam. Dayal promised to take some time to think and pray about it, but inwardly he was dismayed. He knew the Northeast had a reputation for ethnic warfare, terrorism and brutal tribal murders, and he definitely didn't want to serve there.
In the meantime, however, he paid a visit to a good friend. A godly, elderly lady, she had no idea of Dayal's private struggle, but the Lord used her words to soften his resistant heart.
"Sometimes God may speak through your leaders about His will," she told him. "If this is the case, you need to be ready to obey without complaint." Dayal knew then what he must do, and as he submitted to the Lord, the turmoil inside melted away.
The next day, he told his leaders he was ready and willing to serve in Assam. By June of 2003, he had arrived in the land of the Mising and begun to learn their language. He also set up a fledgling Mising-language Bible college and began teaching God's Word to 70 young men and women.
Behind the Beauty
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| Dayal has been faithful to bring the truth of God's Word to the Mising tribe, despite numerous hardships and adjustments, and the people have been amazingly receptive to his teachings. |
But he quickly discovered that behind all this beauty were deep needs rooted in spiritual darkness. Dayal encountered immorality, rampant alcoholism (80 percent of the rice grown in the area went to produce local liquor) and family violence.
And the Mising were animists. They worshiped the sun and moon, the wind and the earth, and other elements of nature, some of which they feared greatly: the god of rivers who caused destructive floods, the god of storms whose lightning burned homes to the ground, the god of war and bloodshed.
Other barriers to the spread of the Gospel loomed before Dayal. The annual flooding of the giant Brahmaputra River isolated each village for months at a time. Travel was virtually impossible, and this tribal group's remote location also meant that communication was nearly as difficult. And although the cultural heritage of the Mising was rich and varied indeed, this very thing made them cautious and resistant toward outsiders—including Dayal.
The food remained a challenge for Dayal. It wasn't just new flavors he had to adjust to-it was the contents. Having been raised in a home where he was taught that pork was "unclean," he was dismayed to learn that this was a staple in the Mising diet. One day a neighbor brought him some homemade chutney to accompany his dinner, which he gratefully received. Then he discovered, to his inward horror, that the main ingredient was raw caseworm, freshly plucked off the rice stalks in the paddies and chopped into a chunky sort of paste.
"The Holy Spirit told me to eat it," he recalls. "I ate with my eyes closed."
'Things Are Not Good Here'
The first two months were an intense struggle for this Gospel for Asia missionary: mistakes, surprises, adjustments, learning and letting go. He lost weight. He was homesick and lonely. He cried every night. Twice he packed his bags. Finally, Dayal laid his heart open before the Lord.
"This is too difficult," he prayed. "I want to go back, because things are not good here." The response he received in his heart from the Lord marked a turning point.
"If everything were good here," Dayal sensed God speaking, "why would you need to come here? It is because things are not good-because things are not convenient-that I called you here. "I am giving you two million people. I have sent you here to change things." Dayal's own life changed that day.
"What God said to me broke my heart," he remembers. " 'I am not worthy,' I told Him. 'I take it as a privilege to serve here.' "
Dayal still faced the same challenges and struggles of each day among the Mising, but now with a perspective that was bigger than his own. And as he persevered in his ministry work, the fruit from his labors motivated him even more.
"I began to see results, people coming forward and accepting Jesus Christ. I understood that the struggles that I am going through bring results. This gave me encouragement to suffer and go forward with my work."
Beginnings
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| Although many village leaders still follow their traditional religions, they welcome Daya when he visits them; and when he prays, they bow their heads in respect. |
One of Dayal's first ministry efforts was among the 70 young men and women he was teaching. Within just a few months, his work expanded dramatically when these students began to take the Bible and apply it to their lives—and consequently experienced something of a revival.
"The Word of God really began to enter their hearts," he describes. "The response was spontaneous. They would come to me, weeping over their sins and praying for forgiveness. I could see in their faces that the Holy Spirit was really working among them."
Dayal's vision to reach the lost was also instilled in these young people.
"When vacation time came," he recalls, "they began to go and preach the Good News to their relatives and friends. So many responded that we started numerous churches."
The Lord used that growth to lead Dayal into the next phase of his ministry efforts. He knew the Bible college alone would not be able to fuel the outreach necessary for reaching the entire Mising tribe. He came in contact with Praval Taleng, a Mising Christian who had received training in radio broadcasting, and together they helped launch the first ever Mising-language radio broadcast in October 2003.
Radio was unhindered by the transportation and communication challenges of the region. Just a month later, Dayal received an earnest response to the program.
"For the first time in our lives, we heard a radio broadcast in our own language," the letter read. "We are 13 people here, ready to know Jesus more. We don't know what to do. Something is happening in our hearts; please come and help us."
The village where these seekers lived was about 45 kilometers (28 miles) away. Dayal and Praval traveled by bicycle and reached the village in the afternoon.
"We told them about Jesus," Dayal says. "They understood the necessity of believing in Him." The group—12 women and 1 man—received salvation through Jesus that day.
This was the beginning of the first church planted through Dayal's ministry, and today more than 30 believers regularly attend worship services there. In addition to four satellite churches planted out of this initial congregation, two more "radio churches" have since been established, primarily through listeners who have spread the word about the broadcast to their relatives and neighbors.
Opportunity—and Response
Today, what God has done through Dayal's willing surrender is amazing. Since he arrived in Mising territory just over three years ago, he has watched as opportunities to share the Gospel and responsiveness to the message have both increased dramatically.
More than 200 missionaries have been sent out to do full-time evangelism and church planting, many of them trained in the Mising-language Bible college.
When Dayal first came to live among the Mising, there was a total of seven churches for two million people. Some of the Mising knew of Christianity, but most of these had no personal relationship with Christ. Since then, 91 new churches have been started.
The geographical isolation of the tribe meant that few Mising children had real opportunity to make the most of their education. Today, more than 1,000 children are enrolled in Bridge of Hope centers throughout Mising territory. In addition to hearing the message of Jesus' love, these boys and girls receive daily assistance in their studies and a nutritious meal, and their parents are grateful for provision of uniforms and medical care.
Dayal has also initiated a film ministry among the Mising. During the dry season, two missionaries travel about 20 times per month to Mising villages and present Daya Sagar, an Indian-made film on the life of Christ. The film's impact on viewers is twofold: First, the film itself holds a fascination for these remote villagers, many of whom do not even own a radio; and second, they are personally touched as they watch the story of Christ's life, sacrifice and resurrection.
Praval Taleng's work on the Mising radio broadcast has led to another avenue of outreach. He created Gospel tracts from broadcast script portions, which students and missionaries then distributed during outreach. Mising men and women received them eagerly, even if they could not read, because it was in their own language. That, and the knowledge that only portions of God's Word were available in Mising, spurred Praval toward Bible translation. Today, he is part of a team assigned to this project.
As the Gospel has begun to penetrate Mising society, it has also radically transformed the hearts of women who have come to Christ. Deborah, leader of the women's ministry, describes it this way:
"When women receive Jesus Christ, they realize that they also have a very major role in the kingdom of God. It is not just a man's ministry. They understand that when they pray, God will move, and that's why they are motivated to go and tell others."
These ladies take the Great Commission seriously. Mothers pray while weaving and caring for their children. They gather for corporate prayer meetings. Others have taken the initiative to cultivate garden plots and donate their proceeds from vegetable sales to the local churches. And at least one group of women has organized a Gospel team. They get up extra early to do their household work, travel to surrounding villages for outreach and return home by mid-afternoon to cook for their families and keep up with their weaving.
A Time for the Mising
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First, there is the powerful testimony of changed lives. As they receive Jesus Christ and follow His teachings, Mising believers are experiencing what it means to be saved out of lifestyles of adultery, alcoholism and violence. Their lives are a potent witness to their non-Christian neighbors, who see a walking-and-talking transformation every day.
Second, Mising culture holds the judgment of a respected leader in high regard. As the Gospel began to spread through Mising communities, there was an extremely high response wherever a village chief was open to the message, and this has given Dayal opportunities to further explain the Good News.
But the final reason, says Dayal, has nothing to do with culture or even the testimony of a changed life. It is because God is moving.
"There is a time for every tribe," he states, "and right now I am seeing the work of the Holy Spirit and many blessings from the Lord among the Mising people. Previously they worshiped the sun and the moon. Now they worship Jesus, the Creator of these things."
Dayal's desire to make the most of this time has created in him a sense of urgency, for he doesn't know when this window of opportunity may close.
"I don't know how much longer we will have," Dayal explains. "I have asked our GFA leaders, 'Whatever you are deciding, please do it very fast.' "
One Among Them
Dayal is daily grateful for the response he's seen among the Mising and for their acceptance of him.
"I have become one among them," he says. "They don't see me as an outsider anymore because I visit with them, I eat with them, I dance with them, I pray with them.
"Even though I have a traditional Kerala last name, some of them now have given me a Mising last name. They say, 'He's no more a Keralite. Now he's a Mising man.' "
In many ways, Dayal is now on the other side of a death—the death he died to his culture during those first painful months. Now he sees with his own eyes what he could only see by faith three years ago—the beginnings of spiritual transformation of an entire people group. Out of his own personal death, life has come in abundance among the Mising.
"My heart rejoices when I see these people coming to the Lord, and I want to use everything I have for the expanding of His kingdom."
See more stories and pictures showing how God is moving among the Mising people.
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