BYM ONLINE DESK Blessing English May 2017 | Page 14

Church Profile - 18 History of Gallibhatta Church, Odisha congregation started to grow. Buduram's house could not hold the surging crowds. They decided to build a worship shed with mud and wood. Four days after the construction, the worship shed was destroyed because of a storm. The village believers did not lose heart. They started to build it again. Again after few years, this worship shed was broken by another storm. But the believers were very steadfast. The worship services continued in Buduram's verandah. Later in the year 2015, with the help of mission- minded partners, a beautiful Church building was dedicated for the glory of God. Gallibhatta is a small village in the Umerkote area of Odisha. It is an interior village and the road to this village is very rough. There is a thriving church in this village today with around 65 people worshipping the Lord all are first generation Christians! The light has penetrated the darkness. People have seen the light. All glory to Him! The pioneering missionaries to these areas were Mr. Ponniah, Mr. Ponnusamy, Mr. Gideon Pani and Mr. Karunakaran. There was an active congregation in a nearby village called Pujaribhorondi. It was a congregation of leprosy patients. People with leprosy came for prayers. There were miraculous healings and a strong congregation was established in Pujaribhorondi. On hearing reports about the miraculous healings of leprosy patients, two families from Gallibhatta came to Pujaribhorondi for prayers, which is 12 kms far away. One of the seeker was Sanai who was herself suffering with leprosy. She was miraculously healed after prayers. They became regular hearers of the Gospel and became ardent followers of Jesus Christ. And another seeker Buduram invited the missionaries to Gallibhatta. They encouraged the missionaries to reach out to their village. Hence the missionaries started to visit Gallibhatta on a regular basis and held prayer meetings in the house of Buduram. Many sick people were brought to the house of Buduram for prayers. God did many miracles and slowly the Several other missionaries like HiranKhosla, Jihuda, Kaina, Christodas, Dhaneswar, Bilod, Santanu, LanduTadingi ministered in this remote village. Mission leaders like Dr. Jaishankar, Christopher, Prakash Chandra Nag, Solomon Das, SantanuKorada and SusantDigal helped coordinate the ministry in theseareas.Presently, missionary Netranandha Dongri along with his wife ministers in this place. Praise be to God! “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt 16:18).” |PAGE 14|