Phillip Das
Balasore, Orissa, India
One Sad Morning
It was an early cold January morning in 1999 in Balasore, Orissa,
India, when I was awoken rudely from deep sleep due to a lot of talking of
people in the house. I was a young boy
at that time and as I sat up on my bed rubbing my eyes sleepily, I could hear
snatches of conversation of the cold-blooded killing of Graham Staines along
with his two minor sons, Phillip, aged 9 and Timothy aged 7, who were burned
alive while sleeping in their station wagon, having attended a jungle camp
annual gathering the previous night. I
was aghast with horror at the sad news.
I too was a young boy like them, "How could anyone do that!" I thought horrified and afraid.
Graham Staines was an Austrialian missionary who played a great
role in establishing the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home, reaching out to the lepers,
treating them and when they were healed, teaching them to make mats and hand
weaving. He spoke fluent Oriya and his kindness
and love drew many to Christ, which was why he along with his two sons were
killed by the Hindu activists that night.
Early that cold January morning, we set out to travel 40
miles to Manoharpur to meet with Gladys, his wife, and daughter Esther to pay
our last respects and also attend the funeral.
We are all numb with pain and shock and on the way I remember the pastors
discussing what they should do and they were especially worrying about how to
comfort Gladys at this hour. It was with
great trepidation that we came to their newly renovated home. I remember being struck with acute pain as I
saw the toys and bicycles of Phillip and Timothy still on the verandah and it
broke my heart, I being a young boy myself.
When we arrived at their home, I was struck with Gladys
Staines, she looked calm, strong, peaceful and a tower of strength as she moved
among the people asking them if they need a cup of water and seeing to their
needs. She only broke down when the song
"When the Trumpet of the Lord Shall
Sound!" I saw victory in death
in that Gladys Staines knew she would meet her husband and two sons again in
Heaven and also power from within when she could say she has forgiven those who
killed them! I was deeply motivated from
this time on to follow Jesus because I saw a strength and power and great
qualities that come from those who belong to Christ.
I heard many whispers from different people saying "The
ministry is over now that Graham Staines is no more." Well for three years there was silence and it
appeared that indeed it was over. But
then slowly, tiny miracles began to happen.
Some of the people involved in the killing heard the gospel from
somewhere and started believing in Christ! Others joined, soon, many, many people started
believing in Christ and churches started growing and expanding over the area. We could say that the seeds that Graham Staines had planted were now growing!
Ministry Calls
In the year 2000, the Lord called me to be a minister of the
Gospel. Though revival fires were spreading
around Orissa, the climate is very spiritually sensitive, even to this day,
2015. In 2005. I got the privilege of ministering in Bhadrak
District of Orissa. At this time I was 22 years old and I had a lot of fear in
my heart as well as filled with joy at this opportunity. I started working among Christians and sharing
the gospel with people who did not know the Lord and who wanted to know more
about Jesus and within one year, there was tremendous results as ten to twelve
families new in the faith marvelously started attending my church. In 2007 the month of January, two people Kamalini
Padihari, 25 years and Trilochan Padihari, 30 years, took water baptism as a
witness of their new life in the Lord. Many new people started accepting Christ as
their Savior. This again drew the
attention of the Hindu activists who kept feeling we were converting people to
Christianity and the anger started brewing again and I was under their scanner
at that time.
A Great Miracle and Protection
On Christmas, December 25, 2007, a curfew was declared in
Orissa due to the previous conflicts between Hindu Guru Late Laxanananda
Saraswati. On the same day in the church, we were celebrating Christmas and the
church was filled with both Christians and non Christians. Around 80 to 100 people had gathered there to
celebrate the Christmas celebrations. I
was preaching from the pulpit when all of a sudden, 200 to 250 Hindu fanatics
came to my church entering violently through the doors and windows. All of them were inebriated, smelling heavily
of liquor, carrying knives in their hands and rushing towards us mad with
fury. They started dragging each person
out of the church, thrashing them violently and swearing, cussing, and cursing.
As I watched, I was stilled with fear and almost terror, but
then suddenly as I called on God, a deep supernatural calm filled me. I was suddenly in a different plane. I was filled with great courage and strength
and I was ready to stand strong no matter what happened to me, even if I was to
be killed that night! I was ready to die
for my Lord. Within a short time, they also dragged me too by the collar
abusing and hitting. The church was
surrounded by huge crowd from outside and the tension mounted it seemed for
hours. I kept praying within my heart
for the protection of my church believers.
Suddenly something strange began to happen. The activists started quarreling among themselves
on some issue and went on to such an extent that they fought bitterly amongst
themselves and then left the church! It
was the hand of God that saved us that day because they were bent on killing
us. After they left, I suddenly realized how close
we were to dying and I was filled with fear and the calm left me! It seemed the Lord gave me that calm for that
situation and when it was over, I was normal again! Later that night, a police officer asked me
to leave the area as soon as possible or the situation would not be in my
favor. I was unable to take that
decision as I was not sure whether running away was a good thing to do, so I
just went to my house, went into my bedroom, shut the door and started praying
hard. As I kept praying, I had a strong
sense that I should leave the place, so within fifteen minutes, I packed a small
bag and left the area. The next morning
I reached home and I immediately called the police by phone asking them about the
situation in the church. I got to know that the activists came to my home, and
took away all my stuff and then burned my place. I realized I had a narrow
escape from death as they would have surely burned me too had I been
there! I praised and thanked God for
strengthening me in such a situation and allowing me to take a wise decision in
the right time to go away.
The Fire From Below and the Fire From Above
The
killings did not stop, even in 2008 another spurt of violence occurred where Christian
were being killed all over. Many died in this violent spree. This violence was sourced from the Hindu extremist
party. They set fire to many Christian
settlements, and more than 40 people were killed or even more were killed.
In addition, several Christians were forced to flee their villages "after
their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs. The Hindutva burned
730 houses and 95 churches. Hundreds of displaced Christians took shelter in
various relief camps set up by the state government.
Despite all this, today, there is a great revival in
Orissa. There is an old saying "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
church"…well I could see that happening! God's Spirit is the converter of the souls,
not man! In 1999, there were two churches are now
there are now thirty two churches, with many, many people coming to the
Lord. In 2013, the churches grew and
spread to such dimensions that Gladys Staines handed over the care of the
thirty two churches to Indian Evangelical Mission as they would be able to take
good care of the people and ensure the foundation of a good solid Word of God
ministry be taught to the people along with prayerfulness. Gladys Staines has returned back to India helping in the ministries as her heart was in Graham's India. Her daughter Esther continues
her medical studies in Australia. Though
there is still pain in their hearts because that loss is irrevocable, there is a
victorious hope to meet their family again in Heaven. Both the mother and daughter echo amazing
forgiveness saying "The killers should
not be killed. We hope Dara and his
accomplice will be transformed and follow the right path!" As we know, Dara Sigh is presently in prison.
Phillip Das
m
Only God is the true converter of a human soul. No human can convert anyone. It is God's Spirit to a human's spirit that converts. Every person's experience is different and unique. With some dramatic; with some, a slow walk uphill in steps, no one is superior in their experience. In the end, all that matters is whether we were walking with the Lord, obeying Him and living in Divine Love, producing the fruits of the Spirit.
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