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).”
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