A Haircut and a Changed Life

Everyone who comes into Pochiah's barber shop for a haircut gets a Gospel tract.

Rajender Sahare cut through violence, poverty and despair to share Jesus with a whole village simply by getting a haircut.

Rajender serves in Tripura, India—a landlocked state almost completely surrounded by the country of Bangladesh. Tripura's first wave of armed insurgent conflict came in the 1970s. Lingering conflict from the Indo-Pak war and a mass migration of Bengalis fleeing Bangladesh were the root causes of the fighting. Ongoing illegal immigration from Bangladesh has resulted in a tense situation today, in which the indigenous people of Tripura are now a minority group in their own country.

"There is a possibility that this whole village will choose to follow Christ," Rajender Sahare, Gospel for Asia missionary.

The violent atmosphere has left Tripurans searching for hope, which they find in Jesus. God has softened their hearts to His Word and as a result, six of the country's tribal groups have embraced Christ en masse. The immigrant Bengalis, however, turned away from the Gospel after seeing the indigenous tribal people choose to follow Christ. And many indigenous tribal people groups have yet to hear of Jesus.

It was amid this backdrop of violence and confusion that Rajender Sahare began ministering the love of Christ to the people of Tripura.

Early in his ministry, Rajender served two congregations in separate villages. This meant he frequently traveled through a third village situated between the two.

"This was a big village and I knew that it was still unreached," Rajender recalls. "So I prayed to the Lord, asking him, ‘Can I go to this village? How can I do it?'"

One day Rajender stopped in the village market for a haircut, at a shop operated by Pochiah Ekka. Rajender felt the Lord prompting him to share the Gospel with the barber.

Pochiah was thrilled to hear that Rajender was a Christian! He had read a Gospel tract and had many questions.

"In that tract I came to know that there is a God," Pochiah said. "From that time onward I began to think about God, but I couldn't find any Christians and nobody came and shared or explained it to me. So it was a blessing for me when I happened to meet Pastor Rajender."

Rajender visited Pochiah several times and soon, the barber gave his life to Christ. He was the first person in this village to follow the Lord. Rajender knew that others in the village needed to hear the Gospel.

"I asked Pochiah if there would be a possibility that I could come to his village and share the Gospel. Since we had developed a friendship, he said yes, I could come," Rajender said.

There is a God who died for us!

Pochiah told Rajender that the people in his village wanted to see Dayasagar, a popular Indian-made movie about the life of Christ. GFA's Film Ministry shows Dayasagar, so Rajender immediately invited a film team to the village.

Both Pochiah and Rajender knew the people adored Indian Bollywood movies. Photos of Indian actors and actresses graced the walls of almost every home in this remote area. They also knew these villagers were strongly devoted to their traditional religions, so they prayed that God would open their hearts.

They praised God when 300 people showed up to watch the movie! Rajender and Pochiah watched in amazement as God began to touch the people and tears flowed during the crucifixion scene.

"You could tell that God was working," Rajender remembered. "That was the time when this village began to change. The villagers met someone who is very special to them. They came to know God through seeing the film; it was speaking to them."

The next day, the film team and Rajender followed up with the people who watched the movie.

"Some of them said it was really shocking to know that there is a God who died for us. ‘We never knew this,' they told us. So then, we prayed for them," Rajender said.

No more wasted time

Hetal Gurung was one who gave her life to Christ after watching Dayasagar. Her husband had many health problems and she sought help the same way most Tripurans did—by turning to the gods of their traditional religion.

"We went to many of them and sacrificed, but there was no relief. Then I began to question my devotion to them since they were silent and nothing happened," she admitted.

"When the people came and shared with me about Jesus, I wanted to believe in Him but didn't fully understand. Then they brought the film, and I carefully watched. When the crucifixion time came I saw Jesus suffering, and the blood was gushing. And when I saw that, I really cried. That made me think that there is a God who came and died for me! Jesus' blood talked to my heart. Right there I gave Him my life. He is my God," Hetal said

.

"My final decision, my final thought on the matter is that if God already shed His blood for us, why should we waste our time worshipping here and there with other gods?"

Hetal and her husband are now separated, but their daughter has chosen to follow Christ, too.

Hetal Gurung was moved to tears by the crucifixion scene in Dayasagar. She chose that day to follow Christ.

"Because of that film, my tragic life has changed into a happy, joyful life full of blessings," Hetal said.

Within a few weeks of showing the film, Rajender was leading a fellowship group of 35 people in this village. He is praying that more people will come to know Christ through the witness of this small group.

"There is a possibility that this whole village will choose to follow Christ," Rajender said.

Rajender is not the only one preaching Christ here. When the people stop in Pochiah's barber shop, they get more than a haircut. They also hear about the Savior. Everyone leaves the shop with a neat haircut; and some also have a new heart.

Assam, India, is a study in contrasts. It has beautiful geography and a lawless social structure.