In our last newsletter I wrote about a telemarketer who called my house from India a few years back and how we became friends after I learned that he was a Christian and a member of the Naga Tribes. For the sake of brevity, I didn’t delve into some of the interesting events that he and I have experienced over the years but in this issue I would like to further introduce you to a very unique young man.
When I first became acquainted with “Achui” I was practicing law in Bessemer, Alabama and he was calling for a well-known satellite television company. Over time I learned that I was not the only American he had developed a relationship with as it wasn’t long before he was connecting me with new friends all over the U.S.
One of these contacts was a broadcaster for Moody Radio who Achui arranged to have come to my law office and interview me about the unique long-distance friendship he and I had forged. Another connection my family made through Achui was with a family of Mennonite chicken farmers from Pennsylvania who later came to visit relatives in Hartselle Alabama and invited my family to join them for Sunday worship. Enjoying fellowship with this group and seeing how they worshipped was a very interesting experience for us.
Achui not only makes a lot of friends, he is also very loyal. When I submitted my name to the Governor in 2008 to be considered for appointment to the Judiciary of Jefferson County, Achui prayed and fasted. Later, when I ran for election to a full term of office, he would ask Jefferson County voters to support me while telemarketing in our area.
Like most Nagas, Achui loves America and closely follows our politics and culture. He has recently become very concerned about the negative effects American media and entertainment are having on the youth of India. He laments over the fact that his people who had such a dramatic and fervent conversion experience (from headhunters to Christian) are now experiencing a falling away from the faith due in part to a lack of support from their Christian brothers and sisters in the west.
The Nagas are very missions-minded and see themselves as having a special place in God’s plan for world evangelism. In the Northeast of India, several million Nagas find themselves surrounded by pagan cultures. To their west lies Hindu India, to their north is Atheist/Communist China, Muslim Bangladesh is located to their south and Buddhist Myanmar is on their eastern border. Because they are surrounded on all sides by adverse religions, the Nagas sometimes think of themselves as the “Israel of Asia” and fully embrace this role. Evangelism to Hindus and planting new churches is one way that they have been pursuing this call. Both Achui’s former pastor and his father-in-law have started new churches for former Hindus who have converted to Christianity. This is not an easy mission field as radical Hindus have become increasingly hostile toward Christianity, viewing it as a western religion and a threat to India’s cultural traditions. Hard-liners have even managed to get anti-conversion laws passed in certain areas of India.
After many years of getting to know Achui by long distance, it is a great pleasure to be able to work with him at this time in equipping Nagas for evangelism and reaching the lost in his part of the world. Faith Fortress expects to develop an ongoing relationship which includes training, humanitarian aid, and outreach in the Naga region of Northeast India.
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