In the last episode, we learnt that Tam Ki had stepped out from spirit worship in faith and determined to follow his mission from God. What then did he learn next as a newborn Christian, while living amongst spirit worshippers in his village? How did God continue to guide him?

“Although we were a small and precarious group, the good Lord preserved us in the faith against all odds, despite the fact that we were living in the antagonistic environment of spirit worship.”

During the first week of April 1974, Tam Ki and some believers’ families were invited for a celebration at Pa Za Mung’s Baptist Church. During the gathering, Pa Za Mung preached using these words, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, to be born into this world, to redeem lost souls who are precious in His sight. He has indeed given eternal life to those who believe in Him. At this Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” It was a completely new festival for them. During this first Easter service, they learned about the Lord’s work of redemption for sinners on Good Friday. Tam Ki realised for the very first time, that the Man he met in Heaven was the Lord Jesus Himself. It was during this celebration that they learned about another important Christian festival – the Lord’s birthday, which is celebrated on Christmas Day.

Tam Ki noticed that, during gatherings, Pa Za Mung and Saya Cieh Ceu would read from a large book whenever they made speeches. Tam Ki asked Pa Za Mung what was that book that he always read during gatherings. Pa Za Mung said - that was the Word of God. All Christians must study this book carefully. Tam Ki realized that this most important book would guide his faith. He was determined to get hold of one. It was not until 1978, five years after the Lord raised him from the dead, that he was finally able to buy an old copy of the New Testament Bible. Bibles were not readily available in Southern Chin State in the 1970s. Even Pa Za Mung had only the New Testament. By then, there were five families of them who were believers.

Occasionally, Pa Za Mung would drop by and teach them about the faith. Through his teaching, they came to understand that, as Christians, they should live according to God’s will. They also knew that when Christians died, they should no longer put on the traditional funeral ceremony of sword dancing and feasting. Instead, they should comfort one another with the Word of God. When their little gathering finally had a New Testament, all believers were so grateful for this precious treasure, and really thanked and praised the Lord for it.

Only then did Tam Ki realise that during the past five years when the Lord repeatedly visited him through dreams and visions, the Lord had been instructing him from the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation. In particular, truths from John 14 and Revelation 3, 21 and 22 had been revealed to Tam Ki.

For example, he remembered that before they got their first Bible, when he shared his Heaven experience, he would often feel God speaking through him. Tam Ki would proclaim, “In heaven there is no death, sickness or sorrow. People do not grow old in that golden dwelling place. Life there will be full of joy. But here on Earth, evil spirits are seeking to destroy us, destroy all we have and all we desire. Therefore, we must drive them out and turn to God. God is like a loving Grandfather who dwells in Heaven. He will protect us while we are on Earth. He sustains our lives and even blesses our animals. He delights in listening to our grievances. He will always be good to us. But there will be a great judgment some day, when everyone on Earth will need to account for what they have done. Those who worship God will be with Him in Heaven.”

In the following year, Tam Ki was visiting a soldier friend, Bawi Thang, who had just returned from the capital Yangon. Tam Ki saw an old, big book with a black cover with the words, “Holy Bible”. He took it down and turned the pages. He saw Old Testament on the first couple of pages. His heart was thrilled and asked Bawi Thang to sell it to him. Bawi Thang replied firmly that the book was a gift from a missionary. It was not until Tam Ki visited him a third time, brought a chicken and presented it to him. Moved by Tam Ki’s persistence, Bawi Thang gave him the Holy Bible. Tam Ki finally had the complete Word of God in his possession.

One of the most significant events that happened after Tam Ki’s conversion was the sudden death of 75-year-old Düih Yaw, the high priest in their village in 1974. Düih Yaw was a distant uncle. It was an urgent matter, to fill this all-important mediatory role with the spirits, and Tam Ki was the obvious choice. The village elders reckoned that Tam Ki was the rightful high priest. But he refused. They forced Mana Ling Mana, another distant uncle, to undertake the ritual. He took it on grudgingly, afraid of putting his family under threat from the unpredictable spirits. But he held Tam Ki responsible for his predicament.

After the ceremony, it was suggested that this proxy high priest should approach Tam Ki for some kind of donation, to the costs of the ceremony. Tam Ki refused to donate anything, saying he was a servant of God, and no longer belonged to the spirits anymore. Realising that no amount of persuasion would get any money from Tam Ki, Mana Ling Mana began to threaten him to get out of their village.

Suddenly, he grabbed hold of Tam Ki’s hair and punched him three times in the face. Tam Ki’s nose started to bleed, and he felt dizzy. A crowd had gathered around, mocking and laughing. Some even cursed him. Not satisfied, Mana Ling Mana brandished a large knife and came after Tam Ki. He shouted, “I will kill you!” Mana Ling Mana quickened his stride towards Tam Ki, raising his knife.

Tam Ki did not think of running away, but heard himself pleading, “God, save me from this knife.” Just as Mana Ling Mana was about to catch hold of Tam Ki, he stumbled on a rock and fell. His knife flew about 15 feet away from Tam Ki, landing on the dirt path. Tam Ki turned around and lifted the injured man as he heard the Lord’s prompting, carrying him to a nearby hut. Tam Ki applied ointment to Mana Ling Mana’s badly bruised ankle. From that day, people began to agree that, the God Tam Ki worshipped had protected him. But still, there were many who hated him.

The traditional method of farming the hill slopes meant moving from plot to plot each year or, every other year. When the 1974 season ended, no land owner was willing to lease a plot to Tam Ki, as they opposed his faith, and were offended by his refusal to be their high priest. They thought that his strange beliefs had led him completely astray. Tam Ki had betrayed his cultural roots and became an object of utter disgrace. With no land to farm, he was left with no means to earn a living. However, a distant relative, Thang Nu Mana, took pity on Tam Ki’s young family. He gave Tam Ki a four-acre plot of flat land to farm. But others who were not happy about this, began to grow their own crops on this plot, leaving only two acres for Tam Ki to work on. Not wanting to create any discord with his neighbours, Tam Ki and his wife worked hard on their two-acre portion. They knew that if the harvest was good, it should be enough to feed a small family.

“As we worked the land, my wife and I continued to sing the only hymn we knew, “Revive Thy Work, O Lord.” We gave thanks to God as we sowed our seeds. I raised my voice to Heaven saying, “Lord, bless these seeds and protect them so that the spirits will not snatch them away. Let them send forth roots into the soil. Let the harvest be plentiful.”

When the crops got to about two feet tall, two men got drunk and trampled on Tam Ki’s crops, wielding knives as they went. They shouted they were there to widen the pathway. Tam Ki and his wife were both devastated when they saw the damage. In despair, Tam Ki cried out to God, what had they done to deserve the evil that had happened to their crops. Tam Ki committed the whole matter to God, trusting that He would provide for them.

Tam Ki’s wife later discovered a knife in the field. From the markings engraved on the handle, they were able to identify the owner. They returned the knife to him, and he was rightly ashamed of his drunken behaviour. The Lord heard their cries. Miraculously, the millet and bean plants that were ruthlessly hacked, each produced two or three new shoots from the cut end of the stalks.

The Lord continued to bless them with excellent harvests during the three years that they worked on the 2-acre land. However, for some inexplicable reason, the fields surrounding Tam Ki’s plot had poor harvests. The jealous villagers forced Thang Nu Mana to drive Tam Ki off his property. In the years that followed, Tam Ki and his wife were forced to cultivate land that was not at all productive, land that others had rejected, or share plots with others. Life was tough. But the Lord continued to show His faithfulness by providing enough food to feed their family.

As they learned more about the faith, believers wanted to understand how Christmas was to be celebrated. They were ready to celebrate the birth of the Lord. The three families of believers went from hut to hut, singing the only hymn they knew, holding a burning torch to light the darkness.

Unknown to them, Tam Ki’s brother-in-law Thang Mana, who was against their faith, was stalking them, armed with a large piece of firewood and a gun. As they were walking in the stillness of the night, he ran towards Tam Ki and hit him on the back of his neck with all his strength. Tam Ki fell to the ground. When Tam Ki opened his eyes, no one was around. The caroling party had fled in fear, leaving him unconscious. Tam Ki reached home and was surprised to find the believers weeping. They stopped abruptly when they saw him alive. They told him Thang Mana had fired his gun aimlessly, yelling he didn’t want any Christians around. Thang Mana had threatened to kill all of them, so they ran. Seeing how the Lord had spared them, the believers’ faith grew immensely from that day.

Thang Mana continued his persecution. 10 years later, when it was again Christmas Eve, Thang Mana hurled stones at the believers while they were visiting Christian families. When none of them was hit, he began to shoot with his gun, screaming wildly to kill all Christians. One exclaimed that Tam Ki had been shot, but the bullet had very narrowly missed his head. Miraculously, none of the others were shot. Seeing this, a startled Thang Mana acknowledged, “The God you worship is indeed the true and living God!” The next day, Christmas Day, Thang Mana brought a big basket full of fruit as a gift to the believers, admitting their God was the true and living God, and the fruit is for their Christmas festival. Sadly, Tam Ki’s brother-in-law Thang Mana did not receive the Lord, and that grieved them.

Grown in faith, Tam Ki and the believers would face more challenges and opportunities to serve the Almighty God. Find out more about the exciting adventures these young believers would encounter as they continue to discover how powerful their Living God is. Don’t miss our next episode on the following Thursday. Stay tune and good bye!

[Song: Step By Step]