Hello Friends! In the last episode, Tam Ki and his villagers suffered heavy losses during fire and sickness, but God's mercy and love continued to shine and protect the believers all the time. In this episode, we shall witness how the peace and love of God continued to give them courage to share the Good News.

It was another coming Easter, the believers were planning for a celebration to mark the special event. “Let’s have an open air campaign this Easter and invite nonbelievers!” This idea came from one of their more zealous believers and everyone nodded in agreement. However, there was a problem. They had no money. How were they going to feed everyone? The believers committed their situation to the Lord in prayer as was their usual practice.

The Lord spoke to Tam Ki, saying that if the believers went out hunting, He would certainly provide some wild game in a miraculous way. With this assurance, the nine of them, who were the men in the congregation, set off on a hunting expedition in the surrounding forest, leaving the women and children behind to pray for their safety.

As it happened, the spirit worshippers of Machung were also out hunting. It was the time of the year for the Ng’thi festival in April. Spirit worshippers would consult the spirits for safety and prosperity of the village. By tradition, this was the only time of year when all of the men would go out hunting together. Seeing that the believers were few in number, the spirit worshippers invited them to join their team – but the believers refused.

“Even though we are few in number, our Lord will provide,” was their confident response.

This was met with peals of laughter from the spirit worshippers, who predicted that the Christians would not find anything. And indeed, although the believers painstakingly combed the forest all day until they were totally exhausted, they did not have a single kill. Tam Ki boldly encouraged the men, “God has promised us meat, so we will not go home emptyhanded.”

They stopped by a stream to drink. Suddenly Kee Mana grabbed his gun saying that he would scout around. He thought he knew where to find some barking deer. So he darted off.

As the hunting team waited patiently for Kee Mana, each of them went to different parts of the jungle to pray, leaving Pa Maung Kee to guard their belongings.

Returning to the stream, they heard the rustling of bushes piercing the stillness of the night. Kee Mana appeared through the dense foliage. Leaping into the air, he shouted repeatedly, ‘Hallelujah, God is great!” He was so breathless that he could not answer their questions at first, but then announced, “The Lord has provided three bears! Yes! Three huge bears!”

Kee Mana told them how he had spotted the three bears sitting in the branches of a huge m’keiu tree, feasting noisily on the juicy dark red fruit. As he was carrying a double-barrelled gun, Kee Mana knew that he had to kill two bears with a single shot and the third bear with the second bullet. There would not be enough time to reload his gun with a third bullet if he missed the targets. A missed shot would provoke the bears into attacking him, with no chance to reload.

Taking careful aim, he fired two shots in quick succession. Thud! Thud! Thud! All three bears fell from the tree. The believers could hardly believe him until they saw it with their own eyes. Yes, there were three dead bears! The first bullet went through the spine of the first bear and the head of the second. The second bullet killed the third bear. It was very unusual to find a threesome like this, as bears usually live in pairs in the wild. No wonder they joyfully gave thanks to the Lord till dawn.

Early the next morning, the believers carried their princely haul to the village. As they approached, they fired nine shots into the air, shouting “Hallelujah” with each one. The women and children were awed by God’s goodness. Meanwhile, the large band of spirit-worshippers returned from their hunting trip empty-handed. That Easter of 1984 was certainly memorable. More than 400 guests feasted on the delicious bear meat – a rare treat indeed!

When Kee Mana and Tam Ki sank their teeth into the tender meat, they were reminded of Deuteronomy 12:20, “When the LORD your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire.” Indeed the Lord is a loving Father who had faithfully provided the believers through good and bad times, keeping their faith alive.  

Thang Nai, a believer from Mindat, asked Tam Ki to hold an evangelistic rally at his home village, Baung, seven miles from Machung. When the people of Baung heard that Tam Ki was planning to visit, the village elders wrote him a threatening letter. “If you dare to come here preaching your strange beliefs, beware of the grave consequences! You’d better bring along a few others so that they can carry your corpse home!”  Despite the threat, Thang Nai and Tam Ki resolved to take the Good News to Baung and got together a team of 10 to help them.

The big day arrived in February 1984. Early in the morning, Tam Ki's beloved wife Thang Shwe prepared a special breakfast for him. Tam Ki had told her about the death threat but she was completely supportive of his wish to go.

“Pa of my children,” she said, “this might be our last meal together as husband and wife!”

She served him stewed chicken and rice from her cupped hands – a traditional act of love in their local custom. She vowed her faithfulness to Tam Ki no matter what happened. Tam Ki was overcome with great sadness and could hardly eat as he looked at their young children, fearing that they might never see their father again.  Thang Shwe said, “Go in peace. Follow the Lord’s calling. The Lord will provide for this family.” 

Along the way, the team prayed, sang and committed their hearts to God’s perfect plan.

They arrived at Baung in the afternoon, meeting at the home of Thang Nai’s parents, who had killed a pig in preparation. Thang Nai threw a delicious banquet for all who came and then the team began their rally in an open field in front of the hut. They set up their two loudspeakers in the trees so that the whole village could hear the Good News being preached.

As they were singing their opening praises to the Lord, a crowd of villagers suddenly appeared from nowhere and surrounded them. The open field was in a shallow valley. The throng quietly positioned themselves on the upper slope. As Tam Ki began to preach, the crowd grew hostile and began to shout and throw stones at the believers. They had nowhere to hide.

Tam Ki was hit several times on the back. Then a stone the size of a grapefruit hit him on the right side of his head. Miraculously, Tam Ki was not hurt but he fell sideways, landing on his left side. On impact the stone split into several fragments and one of which hit Thang Nai. Blood gushed from his head until soon his body was soaked in blood. Another believer was also hit on the head and he began to bleed profusely. Soon, all of them were injured. The attackers retreated to drink wine to celebrate.

Believers took refuge in Thang Nai’s parents’ hut. While the injured were being attended to, Tam Ki stayed outside. Although sad that his brothers were injured, he was astonished and grateful to be escaping with nothing but bruises. Tam Ki was fully prepared to die, and he intended to continue preaching through the loudspeaker so that the whole village could hear the message of salvation. But Thang Nai’s parents insisted that Tam Ki took cover.

Unexpectedly, the attackers returned, made even more aggressive by drunkenness. They hurled stones at the hut, and some even cut through the woven bamboo walls. Others climbed up to remove part of the grass roof, thinking to get through and hack believers down with their long knives. However, a broken bamboo stick pierced the calf muscle of one of the leaders in the midst of the confusion and the angry mob retreated. The Lord had been merciful to the believers, saving them from being massacred in cold blood.

Interestingly, that very evening, believers in both Mindat and Machung were praying for the evangelistic team in Baung. While they were praying, the Lord revealed to one of the women that the team had been brutally attacked, with many injured.

Before dawn, the Mindat believers sent a rescue team to Baung. Meanwhile, the evangelistic team had left Baung, fearing further reprisals. Both parties met midway. It was an emotional moment. Although grieved to see the evangelistic team so badly injured, the others were grateful that no lives were lost and that the injured could be carried to Mindat for treatment. 

Tam Ki and his team did not let this dreadful experience deter them from more missions in Baung. With their persistence, 10 people became Christians. In fact, two of their attackers from that incident are now pastors of Christian churches.

All praise to the Lord, for His mercy, eternal love and protection to his children. No matter how humanly impossible the situation may be, God has His divine way and plan for good. Tam Ki and his team had overcome difficulty and threat of death to serve God. And the Lord honoured them by protecting them and adding new believers to their number. What other plans did God have for the believers as He continued to reveal Himself to them. Do listen to our new episode on next Thursday. Stay tune and good bye!

Song: In Christ Alone

Composer: Keith Getty, Stuart Townend, Shawn Graig, Don Koch

Arrangement: Benjamin Harlan

Choir: Dawnbreakers, Wesley