My amazing experience in India! 

 

It is a Friday morning on the 5th of September 2008; I woke up at 5:00am, showered and got myself ready for the trip. This is going to be exciting as I will be meeting missionaries from all over India for a retreat over the backdrop of the majestic Himalayas.

 

The taxi arrived at 5:30 am and picked me from the hotel to the New Delhi train station. The train came on time at 6:50am and the sonorous bellow of its horn marked the beginning of my amazing journey. After navigating my way around, I find that the train's condition was not very good but surprisingly enough, they served complimentary breakfast – a full western breakfast with tea – nice, although it didn't suit my palate very much. The train was scheduled to arrive at the Dehra Dun station by 12:40pm, and it did make a stop around 12:40pm, but I hesitated getting off the train because it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.  

 

There were just no definite signboards and each time the train stopped, I had to guess whether I should jump off, you know, like the people you see hanging off the sides and tops of the train that you see a lot of in the Indian movies.  I was just quite anxious, not knowing if I missed my stop or should I just stay on.  There were no announcements and I was unable to communicate with the passengers.  Finally, I decided to sit in the train until it came to a complete long stop before I got off.  The train did make a long stop at 1:00pm and I hesitantly alighted.

 

Thank God I spotted a church brother waiting for me at the station, so Dehra Dun, it is!  He drove me by car to a place called Mussoorie which is about one and a half hours journey from Dehra Dun. We headed towards the Deodars Church Center in Mussoorie.  Mussoorie is located some 250 miles north of Delhi.  This place is among the most popular hill stations of India, and is called the Queen among the hill stations. It overlooks the sprawling Doon valley and the city of Dehra Dun, the gateway to Mussoorie and in fact to the entire Garhwal. At a height of around 7000 ft above the sea level, Dehra Dun straddles a ridge in the Garhwal Himalayas - a region which is developing into a major tourism destination. The view was just spectacular and the air was crisp and nippy.  

 

There, at the Deodars Church Center, more than a hundred fifty people gathered together from every part of India to share their mission experience. Besides the Deodars Church Center, Mussoorie also houses the Tibetan Homes School, Tibetan Homes Foundation and the SOS Tibetan Children's Village which houses more than two thousand children from Tibet. Most of the Tibetan refugees have trekked and climbed over vales and mountains for months before finally arriving at the Tibetan settlement.

 

Twenty eight years ago, four Christian families from Japan decided to move to India to do mission work. Due to their extended stay in India, they have to constantly renew their visas and this has created some problems for them as the Indian authorities are a little suspicious of the nature of their visit. After much visa hassle, the families have decided to give up their Japanese citizenship for an Indian citizenship. Today they are still working in India to support their daily needs as well as to fund the mission work they are doing. They do not get support or donations from anyone.  They only use a small portion of the salaries and wages that they earn; the rest is plowed into mission work.  In essence, they have contributed their whole life to God.

 

Church meeting at Deodars Church Center

 

Today, the group has grown to more than few hundred people. The mission group has covered most of the cities, big and small towns in India for the past twenty eight years.  In India, hundreds of languages are being used daily, so in order to effectively share the word of God, they have produced many Indian gospel movies, tracks and flyers in more than fifty major Indian languages. Their mission is very simple; let everyone have a chance to hear the gospel, at least once in their live time regardless of how far off they live from 'civilization'; no matter what language they speak. With that mission in mind they don't build churches.

 

As the Nepali government is more open today, there is a lot of opportunity for God's word to be disseminated.  With that in mind, some of the missionaries have decided to move on to Nepal in full strength. Also many of them have learned the Nepali language and some of them have obtained the citizenship of Nepal so that one day they will not be "kicked out" of the country. As I found the tracks, flyers and movies to be very helpful in spreading the gospel, I asked them if they are agreeable to me obtaining the 'gospel kits' for our CBC Pastor Kumar based in Bihar. They agreed to avail the kits to Pastor Kumar at no cost. I contacted Pastor Kumar and he was most delighted to have the kits.

 

We stayed at the Deodars Church Center for four days and three nights. During our stay, the missionaries shared the tears and toil they experienced in sharing the gospel in India. Sometimes they have to walk few weeks to enter a remote mountain area to preach the gospel.  On the average, they carry 50kg bags for their supplies and clothing and it is not surprising that they often lose at least 8 kilograms of weight per trip. Enduring beatings by aggressive Hindus is not a surprise to them. So far they have converted many ‘cousins’ and brothers in India.  I also took this opportunity to share the issues and problems faced in sharing the gospel to our "cousins" in Malaysia.

 

I do hope that with their language ability, they can help us share the gospel to the immigrants from Nepalese and Bangladeshis in Malaysia. I seriously think this is something we can do and should do in Malaysia. They have travelled thousands miles to reach the Nepali and Bangladeshis, and now since we have them at our door steps what

we are still waiting for?

 

The American medical doctor and his two local assistants

 

During my trip I also met an American doctor who is part of the mission group; he related to me that he has risked his life to help many poor people by performing a few thousand surgeries in the past four years in Siliguri, the Indian border near Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. His patients are mostly from India, Nepal and many nearby countries.Sometimes the patients have to walk few days to reach the clinic. He only charges about US two dollars for a major surgery such as breast cancer operation. His fee includes medication. He used his navy pension to subsidize the medical fees and his own living expenses. Today, he has saved a few thousand patients and many more souls. Normally, he will share the gospel with the patient before treating them. Seeing the hundred and fifty odd full time missionaries in Dehra Dun commit their lives so passionately for God made me feel so small and guilty to associate my trip for God's glory. I daren't call this a mission trip; it is just an eye opener trip for me. I have witnessed with my own eyes, how missionaries put God above everything and I can only say, God's grace enables a willing heart.

 

A cute Tibetan boy

 

Allow me to close with Paul's exhortation:

Colossian 1:24-27

“24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of Gods in its fullness.26 The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but now disclosed to the saints.27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

 

Two Tibetan boys peeling potatoes at an amazing speed!

 

Dr Ooi Chee Keong worships at CBC Puchong Center.

Member of Group 8 Shepherd Group in Puchong.