Testimony: Man Awakes from the Dead in India
 
In its October "Friends Focus" magazine, the Friends Missionary Prayer Band of India circulated this story which it titled, "A True Story."
 
A Santhal tribal man from Jharkand State became a believer and adopted the Christian name Solomon. Though a man of poor means and not well educated, he took charge of the local worship meeting whenever the local elder was absent. His wife also became a strong believer and assisted her husband.
 
In September, Solomon fell ill with malaria coupled with an attack of Kala-zar, a deadly disease caused by the sand flies. He went to the doctors, but they were not helpful. Gradually Solomon became bed-ridden and struggled for his very breath.
 
His relatives heard of his plight and came to the house. Not being believers, they told the wife it was her fault her husband was sick because both of them had become Christians. "Throw away the Bible and all things relating to it. We will bring a Bhagat (witch doctor) and perform puja, and he (Solomon) will be all right," they said.
 
The wife refused. "Even if my husband dies, I will not allow a Bhagat in my house," she said. "Jesus will surely heal my husband. No one else can help us in this matter."
 
Suddenly, in the midst of the argument, Solomon recovered his breathing, and the relatives left the house.
 
A week later Solomon had another attack of breathlessness and soon breathed his last. Arrangements for his funeral were in progress when Solomon's relatives again arrived on the scene, angry and weeping. "You have killed Solomon by not allowing the witch doctors to come," one of them said. "Kill her also," said another.
 
They surrounded her and began to beat her. Some friends rushed in to break up the fight, and the wife escaped to another room and bolted the door. Then she knelt down on the floor and prayed, "Lord, look upon me. Let not Your name be despised. Give my husband back his life." While the people outside were knocking on her door and raising a fuss, she was knocking on heaven's door.
 
Suddenly it grew totally quiet. The wife opened the door to see what had happened, and saw her husband sitting alive and well on the cot. Arguing about whose God was real was no longer necessary.
 
By the beginning of this year, Friends Missionary Prayer Band had 700 cross-cultural missionaries working with 700 local evangelists in 19 states of India. These are reaching out among 146 people groups, but mainly among the Maltos and Santhali in Bihar State, the Kuknas, Varlies, Choudri and Vasavi in Gujjarat, the Gounder, Kathodi and Oravan in Tamil Nadu, and the Chamars in Maharashtra.
 
FMPB workers led 1,254 people to the Lord in September, and now gather 174,698 believers into 2726 worshiping groups. Their goal for 2002 is to lead 39,950 persons to Christ and establish 836 new worshiping groups. FMPB raises support for its national workers within India, but accepts supplementary support for special projects and needs. To learn how you can help, write insider@christianaid.org and put MI-344 610-FMPB on the subject line.