This is an amazing story of overcoming evil with good, turning darkness to light and turning fires of hatred to kindle revival fires.
Phillip Das, Balasore, Odisha/ Bengaluru
One Sad Morning When I was around 12 years old, early one cold January morning in 1999 in Balasore, Odisha, India, I was awoken rudely from deep sleep due to the sound of voices talking excitedly in the house. Some of them were crying as they were speaking. As I sat up on my bed rubbing my eyes sleepily, I could hear snatches of conversation of the cold-blooded killing of Graham Staines along with his two minor sons, Phillip, aged 9 and Timothy aged 7. I suddenly jerked, wide-awake in horror as I learned they were burned alive while sleeping in their station wagon, having attended an annual jungle camp gathering the previous night. Aghast at the terrible news, I thought in horror, “How could anyone do that!
Graham Staines was an Australian missionary. He had founded and established the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home, reaching out to the lepers, treating them with medicine, and when they were healed, teaching them to make mats and hand weaving. He spoke fluent Oriya and his kindness and love drew many to Christ. He along with his two sons were killed by the Hindu activists that night. We learned later that false rumors were spread that Graham Staines forcibly converted the Hindus to Christ. Early that cold January morning, we set out to travel 40 miles to Manoharpur to meet with Gladys, his wife, and daughter Esther to pay our last respects and attend the funeral. We were all numb with pain and shock and on the way, I remember the pastors discussing what they should do and they were especially worried about how to comfort Gladys at this hour. We came with great trepidation to their newly renovated home. I was struck with acute pain when I saw the toys and bicycles of Phillip and Timothy still on the veranda.
When we arrived at their home, I was surprised that Gladys Staines looked calm, strong, peaceful and was a tower of strength as she moved among the people asking them if they need a cup of water and seeing to their needs. She only broke down with the song “When the Trumpet of the Lord Shall Sound!” I saw victory in death for Gladys Staines knew she would meet her husband and two sons again in Heaven. She also displayed a power from within when she could say she has forgiven those who killed them! I heard that later on of course. I was deeply motivated from this time on to follow Jesus because I saw a strength, power, and great qualities that come from those who truly belong to Christ.
After Graham Staines went to glory, I heard many whispers from different people saying, “The ministry is over now that Graham Staines is no more.” Well for three years, there was silence and it appeared that indeed it was over. Then slowly, tiny miracles began to happen. Some of the people involved in the killing started to feel pierced, God started convicting them and soon they started believing in Christ! Others joined; soon, many, many people started believing in Christ and new churches started growing and expanding over the area. When you hurt God’s faithful children, God has the right to touch the perpetrators’ lives too, either to conviction and transformation or to judgement.
Ministry Calls In the year 2000, the Lord called me to be a minister of the Gospel. Though revival fires were spreading around Odisha, the climate is very spiritually sensitive, even to this day, 2015. In 2005, I got the privilege of ministering in Bhadrak District of Odisha. At this time, I was 22 years old and I had a lot of fear in my heart as well as filled with joy at this opportunity. I started working among Christians and sharing the gospel with people who did not know the Lord and who wanted to know more about Jesus and within one year, there was tremendous results as ten to twelve families new in the faith marvelously started attending my church. They all experienced the love of Christ and the fire of the Holy Spirit and wanted to be true disciples.
In 2007 the month of January, two people Calamine Padihari, 25 years and Trilochan Padihari, 30 years, took water baptism as a witness of their new life in the Lord. Many new people started accepting Christ as their Savior. This again drew the attention of the Hindu activists who kept feeling we were converting people to Christianity, the anger started brewing again, and I was under their scanner at that time. The truth is, we were not converting anyone, we simply preached the Gospel as we are commanded to do from the Bible. The Holy Spirit drew them to Christ and we helped them to grow, as they were baby Christians in their faith.
A Great Miracle and Protection On Christmas, December 25, 2007, a curfew was declared in Odisha due to the previous conflicts between Hindu Guru Late Laxanananda Saraswati. The claim was that we set up a Christmas gate before their temple. On the same day we were celebrating Christmas, and Christians and non-Christians streamed into the church. Around 80 to 100 people had gathered there to celebrate the Christmas celebrations. I was preaching from the pulpit when all of a sudden, 200 to 250 Hindu extremists banged on the church doors and started smashing the windows. They entered violently through the doors and windows. All of them were inebriated, smelling heavily of liquor, carrying knives in their hands and rushed at us with fury. They started dragging each person out of the church, thrashing them violently and swearing, cussing, and cursing.
As I watched, I was stilled with fear and almost terror, but then suddenly as I called on God, a deep supernatural calm filled me. I was suddenly in a different realm. A new courage and strength came upon me and I was ready to stand strong no matter what happened to me, even if they killed me that night! I was ready to die for my Lord. Within a short time, they also dragged me too by the collar abusing and hitting me. The church was surrounded by huge crowd from outside and the tension mounted it seemed for hours. I kept praying within my heart for the protection of my church believers.
Suddenly something strange began to happen. The activists started quarreling among themselves on some issue and went on to such an extent that they fought bitterly among themselves and then left the church abruptly! It was the hand of God that saved us that day because they were bent on killing us. After they left, I suddenly realized how close we were to dying and I was filled with fear and the calm left me! It seemed the Lord gave me that calm for that situation and when it was over, I was normal again!
Later that night, a police officer asked me to leave the area as soon as possible or the situation would not be in my favour. I was unable to take that decision as I was not sure whether running away was the right thing to do, so I just went to my house, went into my bedroom, shut the door, got on my knees, and started to pray hard. As I kept praying, I had a strong sense that I should leave the place, so within fifteen minutes I packed a small bag and left the area. The next morning I reached home and I immediately called the police asking them about the situation in the church. The policeman told me grimly, “They came to your house last night, took away all your belongings and burned down your house, if you had been there, you too would have gone!” I felt a chill go down my spine and filled with praise I said to God, “what a faithful God You are, I thank You for giving me the strength and allowing me to take a wise decision in the right time to go away.”
The Fire From Below And The Fire From Above The killings did not stop. In 2008 another spurt of violence occurred where Christian were being killed all over. This violence was sourced from the Hindu extremist parties. They set fire to many Christian settlements, and more than 500 people were killed. In addition, several Christians were forced to flee their villages after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs. They burned 730 houses and 95 churches. Hundreds of displaced Christians took shelter in various relief camps set up by the state government. Despite all this, today, there is a great revival in Odisha. There is an old saying “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”…Well I could see that happening! God’s Spirit is the converter of the souls, not man! In 1999, there were two churches and now there are thirty-two churches, with many, many people coming to the Lord.
In 2013, the churches grew and spread to such dimensions supernaturally that Gladys Staines handed over the care of the thirty-two churches to Indian Evangelical Mission, as they would be able to take good care of the people and ensure a good solid Word of God and prayer taught to the people. Gladys Staines has returned to India helping in the ministries as her heart was in Graham’s India. Her daughter Esther continues her medical studies in Australia. Though there is still pain in their hearts because that loss is irrevocable, there is a victorious hope to meet their family again in Heaven. Both the mother and daughter echo amazing forgiveness saying, “The killers should not be killed. We hope Dara and his accomplice will be transformed and follow the right path!” As we know, Dara Sigh (the one who personally killed Staines and his sons) is presently in prison.
Phillip Das has been in ministry in Odisha for many years. He is married, and has two daughters. Presently, he is in ministry in the South, in a city, having started a Hindi Fellowship. What started with an evil storm brewing which led to an earthly fire burning Christians and killing them sparked a spiritual fire from Heaven. Today spiritual revival fires are burning strongly in Odisha. It is a work of the Spirit and not of man and we cannot stop them because they seek Christ, they seek God, it is their own spiritual hunger drawing them nearer to God.
Rita
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