A heart-warming testimony shared by Richard Tamang from Darjeeling.
Richard Tamang
Darjeeling, Siliguri, India
Childhood: I was born
in a Buddhist family in Metalli Tea
Garden, Dooars, the beautiful foothills of the Himalayas in the year 1945. Early memories were of beautiful fragrant tea
gardens with fresh cool breezes, night times with fireflies dancing all over
the Dooars and velvet purple skies studded with thousands of sparkling stars
with the heavy fragrance of jasmine and magnolia hanging heavily in the
air. At the age of three to four, I has
a mild recollection of my mother taking me to visit her relatives in Mal Bazar
where I was introduced to an oldish looking man whom she announced was my grandfather and two young youths as my
uncles. My mother told me that my father had died before I was born. There was
no contact and nothing is known about his family.
My mother later remarried a tea planter and they moved to
live in the big white bungalow. My sister Lily was born and later moved to
Malaysia (known as Malaya in those days) My step father joined the rubber
plantation in Malaysia. I grew up there
and studied up to class 6.
School days Mount Hermon School
In 1959, I came to India to study at Mount Hermon School,
Darjeeling, a missionary school started by an American missionary, Emma
Knowles. It was an excellent boarding
school. The teachers taught all subjects
with creativity and enthusiasm. .
Creative extracurricular activities enriched the school, so the children could
grow in their sphere of talents to become greater graceful people. The missionaries were very clear that they
would include the Bible and prayers in the school and all the Christian
practices, lilting choruses and hymns in the assembly, Bible readings, and they
taught scripture classes. They did not
forcefully convert any child as only the Lord can draw people to Himself if
they are willing, but they did open a way of thought of a higher life with God.
On Sundays, chapel was compulsory for all students. Mrs. Murray, a very gifted music teacher, led
the school choir. There was Hi C meetings for senior students, in the
hostel. The wardens had fellowship and
invited students to tea after the meetings. I had also joined the choir though
I was not a very good singer, but rather liked the hymns and chorus they sang
which touched my heart.
My Marvelous Encounter with Christ and God Calls
An interest in Christ was rising in my heart. One evening, I visited the principal Dr Rev D
G Stewart, who was from New Zealand. I wanted to know more about Jesus, and so
the principal talked to me about Jesus and gave me books to read and I also got
a Bible. One day as I was reading the Bible, a verse caught my eye where Jesus
claimed in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father, except through Me." This verse started questioning my young
mind, how could it be possible, only through Jesus? What about other religions?" This verse
started to eat me up. I would often sit
in the night, at Fern Hill Hostel, the boys hostel which overlooked the rolling
valley at night, a breathtaking sight with the valley being lit up with
hundreds of lights twinkling, and even
the silver stars studded on a clear night. I was thinking hard at those times, more and
more about God.
One night, I knelt down on the floor in the dormitory and
prayed-without knowing how to pray, saying "Jesus if you are really God,
appear in my dream." From then every night, I prayed this way.
Then, one night Jesus came in my dream. I saw a beautiful
green field with flowers growing and in the middle of the field , I saw a man
wearing a long white robe with long hair.
I saw him from the back and there I was kneeling in front of Him and He
had placed His hand on my head and blessed me.
When I awoke, I knew He was Jesus and He was really God. I had a deep
sense of deep and a warmth filled my soul.
In joy, I shared my dream with my principal, and told him I wanted to
become Christian. The principal taught me the Bible and prayed for me and told
me I needed baptism to be a Christian and to do so, I would need my parent's
permission. So I wrote to my parents, but my stepfather wrote back in concern
replying, "What will happen to your mother if anything should happen to her?
Who will do her funeral rites, you are her eldest son, it is a no,
no". I, however, kept insisting
that I wanted to take baptism. After
that, there was a chilling silence from home, no reply, for months no letter
from home. Then I wrote a final firm letter, "I am taking baptism, who
knows what will happen in the future!."
I was baptized by Rev D G Stewart in the school's swimming pool on 13th
Oct.1963. It was a blessed heart-warming
day for me. This was the start of my
Christian life with Jesus. My miracle was my salvation!
I later met Lydia, a lovely lady, and we got married
later. We had two children, Roshni and
Eddie. Lydia much later in life became a
powerful prayer warrior, interceding and praying for many and Roshni and Eddie
too became strong in their faith in Christ.
Kingdom of Light and Kingdom of Darkness
Years later, when in Darjeeling, one time in the early hours
of the morning at 3 a.m., I was awakened with the eerie sound of chanting and a
dreadful presence filled the room. The
presence I experienced was cold and frightening unlike the warm and calming
presence of Jesus. The room's
temperature was an icy chill. With that
chill, a glass in the bedroom snapped and crashed into splinters. Shivering and afraid, I got out of bed to
look out of the window at the sound that was coming below. Down the hill, I saw Jhakri's "witch
doctors" (Shamanism is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching
altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the
spirit world) dressed in white, muttering their magical chants and doing black
magic at that dead hour of night. I
prayed, rebuking the evil and to my amazement, the room's temperature started
to return to normal and the chanting dimmed.
From that day on wards, I was impressed with the illumination of the
fight in the battle of Christ against the Kingdom of Darkness, Satan's kingdom
and the role as believers we have, the authority Christ has given us to rebuke
evil when it confronts us.
Ministry Years
Over the years, I kept sharing my faith in Christ. My faith grew stronger and later in
Darjeeling, I started Bible studies, held in the cozy wooden cottages over the
hillsides. Often one could hear groups
of people gathering and singing beautiful songs resounding over the hills. Due to the blessed ministry in the teaching
the Word, and even people getting healed when prayed for, I was often asked to
come and preach in a church.
One Sunday in Darjeeling, I went to preach. Before starting, I sat in the vestry, and
closed my eyes to pray. God had given me
the gift of visions and in the vision, I saw a big brown color snake coiled up,
but it's head could nöt be seen. I
rebuked it but it did not move or go out.
This had never happened before and I did not understand it. After the service, a member of their church
brought a girl for prayer. When asked
what the problem was, said she is not well. So as I began to pray, I heard a
hissing sound. Then I knew immediately that this girl was possessed by an evil
spirit, so I rebuked it to come out in Jesus name. I finally understood why the snake appeared
in the vision and would not go, because it was in this girl. Next, I asked lady what happened with the
girl. She told me that evening at prayer
time this girl was also present, she is not a believer and while praying, she
saw a dark shadow go out of her and the next morning, she was normal and
professed her faith in Christ. There is power in Jesus name and He does
hear prayers and help us in times of trouble!
A Dream, A Warning, and A Healing
Mr. Anthony, who lived on the Mount Hermon School premises
had a bad dream early one morning. He
dreamt he was bitten by a snake on his foot.
He tried to shake away the uneasy feelings the dream evoked and went on
with getting ready. He then started to
climb up the hill. Suddenly something
stung his leg. To his horror, he saw a
snake, around 2 feet long, it was known to be a poisonous snake. It bit him on the same side of the foot as in
the dream. Mr. Anthony managed to weakly
call some passerby for help. A team of
people managed to get him to the little hospital in Darjeeling town area, but
unfortunately no antidote or serum was presently available for the poison for a
number of hours. The doctors sadly shook
their heads. Meantime I spoke with Mr.
Anthony. Mr. Anthony finally shared that
he had a similar dream in the morning, but perhaps he did not take much note of
it or pray about it. It was a warning to
prepare him to pray. I sat next to him and prayed earnestly. Mr. Anthony also prayed hard along with
me. After a few minutes, Mr. Anthony
symptomatically started to feel better, and he was fine later on, healed, and
his faith in God grew stronger. Jesus
heals us supernaturally when no medicine is available!
Bijanbari Church, (UCNI, United Church of North India)
Some years later, I was called to preach at (Bijanbair
Church (UCNI), a little below Darjeeling.
It was a warm pleasant town on the other side of the valley, where the
Chota Ranget River rushed out of the River Teesta, which furiously flowed out
from the snow mountains. The surrounding
tea gardens across the valley made this a beautiful scenic place.
That particular day, I went behind the little church to pray
quietly. The church elders wanted to
extend the little church. As I was
praying, I saw a picture with closed eyes of a green tree, which was bound by
green creepers up to the top. I prayed
asking for interpretation and the Lord answered, "The church members have
grown cold, there was division, unforgiveness, and gossip among the lady
members in the church." I did share this
with the church, and they agreed that it was true, this was happening and all
prayed together, asking for forgiveness.
The Presence of the Holy Spirit entered the congregation heavily and
many people started crying and repenting and asking for forgiveness and
embracing each other and love sprung out among them, with forgiveness flowing
freely. This dramatic change led to the
extension of the church. The Lord
reveals the secrets of man's heart and sets us free when we repent!
Bijanbari Church Revisit (UCNI, United Church of North
India)
In November 2011, after many years again, I was called to
preach in the same church During the
sermon, I looked up and noticed a young man bending his head on both his hands
as if he was asleep, while the others were listening. After the service, I called the people to
come up in front to the alter as I always request after service, asking them to
come if they needed prayer. I noticed
the young man also coming forward. On
asking his name, he replied, "Moses"
A grand regal name, I thought. I
asked him, "What happened to you?
"Did you sleep well or are you not well?" He also had not been
sitting straight in the pew.
Moses replied "I have a terrible backache and cannot
sit straight for a moment. Even medicine
don’t help."
I replied, "I know the One who heals, put your faith in
Him and I quote Exodus 15:26 "I am the Lord your healer." I then prayed for his back.
The following Sunday, a pastor I knew was going to the same
church to preach. I told him about the
young man, Moses and his back problem. I
asked the pastor to find out how Moses was feeling. Later, the pastor gave me the good news. After prayer, his years of crippling back
pain was gone and he could once again sit straight. We all praised God for this marvelous
healing. God heals supernaturally! Though Jesus, we get healing...
My Son's Miraculous Escape
In July 1990, my son Eddie had to go to Kolkota to give an
entrance exam at the Don Bosco Technical Institute. After the examination, he was on his way back
on the night bus to Siliguri from Kolkotta.
For the return journey, he was not able to get any tickets due to the
rush season. With great difficulty, he
managed to get a ticket on a private bus and he got a ticket for the cabin seat
number 1 which was meant only for their staff.
Before the departure, there was a heated argument and
shouting among the staff and ticket counter man for allotting seat number 1 to
Eddie with the staff even fighting with Eddie shouting, "that is my
seat". Eddie also decided not to
fight back for the seat, and go with whatever they gave him. Finally a settlement was made and they
managed to give Eddie a seat in the third row from the entrance door on the
same side as the cabin seat. The bus
traveled at high speed that night, racing over the bumpy highway from Koltotta
to Siliguri. At around 2 a.m., the bus
ran out of control and could not stop in time before it hit a huge diesel
tanker that stood silently in the roadside.
Eddie got up with a jolt to a huge screeching sound and the sound of
glass breaking. He also heard
heart-wrenching screams. He got up in
shock, looking around. It was a terrible
bus crash though Eddie had minor injuries.
He saw a man lying dead. To his
horror, he saw it was the same man that had been quarreling for seat number 1,
he had died in that seat, in a mangled position. Tremblingly, Eddie realized God protected
him. He stood in awe, sorry for the dead
man, but in awe of the great God who was watching over him, knowing that our
daily family prayers in our home protected him.
We pray daily as a family, praying for each member and all
our known people and for many, many other people in distress. This powerful life of prayer builds for us a
fence of protection against all evil and accidents that might have
occurred. Each time we travel, we claim
the Lord's protection, Psalm 121:5, 78, Psalm 91 and the Lord has always been
merciful and gracious to protect us. He
protects us from harm, danger and accidents!
Eddie's Second Accident
October 12, 2007 was a hard sad day for Eddie. Eddie at this time was in Darjeeling, married
and running a travel agency business from his house and had rented a small shop
in town for the same. His wife, Sadhana
was working in Gyanoday Nikkatan School in Darjeeling as the headmistress. The night before October 12, 2007, I woke up
at 12:30 in the night and could not sleep.
So I prayed, asking for the Lord's guidance for whom or for what I should
pray about. Inside my heart, the Lord
seemed to say, "Pray for Eddie's safety and protection." In obedience, I sat in my bed and started to
pray for Eddie's protection and safety, which I continued through the next
day. At that time, I was in Siliguri,
working for Marbert School, an English Medium School, the oldest and most renowned
school in Siliguri. At around 2 p.m. in
the afternoon, I was told by the school authorities to contact Eddie. Having no idea what had happened, I called
him in Darjeeling. I found out Eddie was
electrocuted! The nurse, who was
dressing his bleeding hand relayed the news to me that he was electrocuted by
440 volts. This news did not rattle
me. A deep peace filled my heart. I knew God was in control! Eddie was then admitted in another hospital
and in the evening, my wife, Lydia phoned.
She could not look at his wounds and was greatly disturbed. The family then got the frightening news by
the doctor that Eddie's hand had to be amputated! The family was shocked and could not accept
that. We decided to come down to
Siliguri and arrangements were made for him to be admitted to North Bengal
Clinic. Throughout all this, I was still
in peace, having confidence in Jesus being assured He would take care of Eddie
and heal him.
Finally, on arrival to the hospital, the doctors opened his
bandages and at that moment, I realized how bad it really was and was shocked
to see his wounded hands.
The doctors set to work, trying hard to save Eddie's right
hand and his fingers. Then after three
days, the doctor said, "I think it is better Eddie goes to Delhi immediately
to Gangaram Hospital. At this time,
prayers were going up globally for Eddie, even reaching the United States. In Delhi, Eddie underwent two major surgeries
and seven minor ones! It was still a
blessing that his hand was saved and was not amputated though Eddie did lose
part of his right thumb and parts of his ring finger! Glory be to God, he made a steady
recovery. Today, he can drive his car,
play the guitar and use his right hand normally. We as a family are so grateful to all our
prayer partners who prayed fervently for Eddie during that time and most of all
to the Lord, who cares for us and does marvelous miracles in our lives today,
as He does for any believer whose heart is towards Him. Jesus is our great Healer and protector who
does miracles beyond what we imagine...
Down the Road
I am still working and serving the Lord in Siliguri, UCNI
Church, (United Church of North India).
After 32 years of being diabetic and on insulin, the Lord has kept me
going on. Sometimes people are healed by
a direct intervention of God, and on other occasions, God does heal with
medications In John 9:6, Jesus healed a man born blind! Jesus spat on the ground and made a paste
with his saliva and put it on his eyes and sent him to wash it in the Pool of
Siloam, which means "sight" and he came back seeing.
"The Lord uses both means of healing people around the
globe. He heals in His own ways, by a
direct touch of His, by medicines, or by surgery. We must not forget Matthew was a physician, a
doctor. Jesus did not reprimand him for
being a doctor. We can only thank God
for His mercy and grace in our lives.
I would like a share a few thoughts: "The Lord wants us to have that close
fellowship with Him, Jeremiah 33:3. says "Call unto Me, and I will answer
you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know!" The Lord wants His children to call and
communicate and have that close fellowship with Him. He wants to reveal things to His children
Wind and Fire!
Wind and Fire!
It was in the year 2000, and there was a revival meeting to
be held in the Kausom Sandyang Memorial Church, Nobgaon, Doars. They were to preach there and Reverend Enosh,
Reverent Sukh and I. I had never
preached in a revival meeting before, so I prayed asking God what I should
preach about. It was a three-day
meeting. One night after the meeting, I
had a vivid dream. It was of a river
flowing, pillars of the bridge were on both sides but the bridge itself was
missing. After praying, the Lord
revealed that there was a broken relationship there in the church. So, I prepared a sermon for repentance and
forgiveness. I then had a second dream
where I saw wine glass arranged in rows on a table, but the glasses were all
empty.
In the last night of the meeting, Reverend Enosh was
preaching and I told him about the two dreams.
So at the altar call, people came forward and during the prayer time,
this was my first experience of the Holy Spirit coming upon believers. A great repentance fell on the people. All of
a sudden, they spoke in tongues, different languages, praising God, Some people
were crying and the whole church was filled with a very powerful cleansing
presence, the Lord was in the church, manifesting His presence mightily. I felt an awesome Presence touching me and I
was blessed and enriched by that encounter.
The dream of the empty wine glasses was clear, the wine was the Holy
Spirit and He now filled the church members and touched their lives to a richer
level and their cups were now full and not empty.
From that day on wards, the church has expanded and they had
to construct a new church building. As
in the book of Acts 2:47…all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill
of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who
were being saved. The church always grows when the Holy Spirit of God is
at work and not man!
I had the opportunity to attend the church's 25th Silver
Jubilee. It is a transformed church who
honor and praise God in His glory. Now,
they have a sister church in Bakrakote in the Dooars. Indeed, God is doing wonders among His
people, miracles happen in the mountains and in the plains when He is present!
"Try to live a holy, God-fearing life I Peter 1:15
"But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do and
lastly, never forget to read your Bible daily and pray.
May God bless you!"
Elder Richard Tamang
About Elder Richard Tamang:
Today, Elder Richard faithfully serves the Lord, who has protected him
from many accidents and harm and strengthens him. Elder Richard is a testimony that God truly
watches over His children and protects them.
Presently, Elder Richard along with a group of others pray much for the
needs of people. Cancers are healed, the
terminally ill and dying are cured and many wonderful answers to prayers are
heard, broken families restored, and people praying for marriage partners have
experienced a wonderful person added to their lives! Because of people like
Elder Richard, today there is a revival over Darjeeling and Siliguri, a revival
is flowing through these areas and hundreds of people are turning to the Lord
in belief. You can read more about it in
true stories "The Hills Are
Alive."
Also, Elder Richard's mother became a believer of Jesus Christ while she was
in England, as well as his step-father became a believer of Jesus Christ before he passed
away. His mother passed away recently in
England in her 80s. God was faithful to
answer Elder Richard's prayers for his parents!
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.
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