Just three weeks ago I arrived home from my second mission trip to India. I was thoroughly exhausted after spending 14 days with this group of gentle Christians (whose ancestors were head-hunters). Having been to “mainland” India last year, this time I (with the full support of the Faith Fortress Board) desired to visit the North East of India, the actual homeland of the Nagas. Missionary friend, Dick Clark, went along with me and staged two excellent workshops on discipleship for Naga young people and church leaders.
The geographic location of Nagalim (Nagaland) is situated squarely in the middle of the Hindu culture of India, the atheist country of China, Muslim dominated Bangladesh and Buddhist Myanmar. Due to their being surrounded by adverse religious cultures, the Nagas sometimes refer to themselves as “The Israel of Asia”. However, as Nagas seek to reach beyond their own region with the gospel of Jesus Christ, they find themselves increasingly struggling with the breakdown of their own society as young people increasingly reject Christianity in favor of western popular culture.
The first impression one gets as he arrives in Nagalim (Nagaland) is that of breathtaking scenery and warm, hospitable people but after a few days the reality begins to sink in that these precious people are struggling with the same societal problems that afflict the rest of the world. Drug and alcohol use is rampant and nearby Myanmar provides a plentiful supply of heroin and marijuana. Although drugs are easy to come by for the Nagas, widespread poverty leads to the sharing of needles which results in the region having the highest incidence of HIV in all of India. Another unfortunate consequence of substance abuse is the ever-increasing orphan population.
One special privilege that Dick and I shared was the opportunity to preach to congregations that are made up of Christian converts from Hinduism. The valley that lies below the hill country of the Nagas is populated by a people group called Mei-tei. These are distant cousins of the Nagas who, as legend has it, were led into Hinduism by one of their ancient kings. Naga churches and associations have invested great resources in evangelizing this area they simply refer to as “the valley”. It is a special experience to be able to worship in the midst of Christian brothers and sisters who have recently been set free from the demonic oppression of a religion that recognizes 330,000,000 “gods”.
I expect to return to India each year that the Lord allows and trust that He will direct Faith Fortress’s work there in ways that the most people will benefit and that He will be glorified. Please pray that God will give us a clear vision for this region and provide the means for ministry there.