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David had been assigned to bring the gospel to five such villages. Arepally seemed the least receptive. But God had called this young man and, through plenty of adversity, had equipped him for hard tasks. Despite the threats, David remained undaunted.
In the early 1980s, an Indian Mennonite Brethren preacher had conducted a vacation Bible school in the village of Saudapurum, south of Hyderabad. David had come and received Christ. Later some Mennonite Brethren Bible Institute students visited the same village on a practical Christian work assignment. They found David, still keenly interested in following Jesus. They suggested he come to the Bible Institute in Shamshabad.
But such a dream seemed hopeless. David's entire family were bonded labourers, indentured to a local landowner to whom they always owed more than they could earn. Neither parents nor children had attended one day of school in their lives. Nor would the owner give them permission to attend church.
However, David prayed, "Lord, if you want me to go to Bible school, show me the way." He remembers a "force inside me" telling him to go to the school. Without telling his parents he set out for Shamshabad, arriving penniless and, of course, illiterate. He wasn't sure how old he was, but appeared to be about 18 at the time.
"When the landowner found out that the boy was gone, he told David's parents that they would pay the consequences. In his view, he "owned" their labour. David's parents begged him to return, but he refused, saying that the Lord wanted him in Bible school and would take care of them.
Beginning with the alphabet, David began his studies. Three years later he earned a certificate enabling him to begin as a church extension worker, responsible for evangelizing five villages along the Krishna River. Before starting his ministry, he married Amrutha, a young girl from a village near his own home town.
In 1986, they settled in a place called Rachintala, living in a room in the home of a land-owning family. Then David began his itinerant preaching. The death threats soon followed.
Ten years later, David is still alive and well. Some of the men who once wanted to kill him are now elders in the Arepally Bethesda Mennonite Brethren church, and David is their pastor (though he remains officially unordained). They recall how he kept coming back, and how, when no adults would listen, he gathered children under a tree to tell them about Jesus.
Though the adults continued to harass and threaten him, David faithfully persevered with the children. Very slowly, a few townspeople began to listen to the message that Jesus is Lord.
After six years, 14 people were baptized, and the new church was born. Two days after the baptism, David urged the new believers to get rid of their idols. They gathered up all their images and marched down to the Krishna River, where they threw them in.
On December 31, 1995, the most recent baptism took place with seven new Christians entering the water. Before the service, without being told, they brought their idols and tossed them into the river. The church now numbers over 30 baptized adults, plus numerous children and other non-members.
Though the people scarcely earn enough to sustain themselves, they collected $100 and bought a small plot of ground for their church building, an accomplishment which has given them much satisfaction. On one side they have built a small thatched building which serves as a temporary worship center.
Construction has started on a larger, stone "prayer house". As God has supplied resources from various directions--their own funds, help from two nearby Mennonite Brethren churches, relatives who have moved away, and the area field council--they have finished the foundation. Local non-Christians contributed a few bags of cement.
Recently they purchased large quantities of sand and the first several stones. They estimate 7,000 stones will be needed, as well as many more bags of cement.
Werner Kroeker, Mennonite Brethren Missions/Services and General Conference of MB churches representative to the India Conference, observes, "Their faith is strong, their stewardship faithful. They pray, they give, and they ask others to help them."
People still threaten David and the Christians of Arepally. "That, it seems, is expected. They seem astonished that we show surprise at this," Kroeker says. However, some non-Christians respect them and are helping the church.
David's work in the other towns has also borne some fruit. In his adopted home base of Rachintala, there were two Christian families ten years ago; now there are ten, worshipping in a building completed with their own tithes and offerings. In the village of Kathepally, there are now three Christian families.
No one has yet responded to the Good News in the other two locales, but that seems unlikely to deter God's determined messenger from his appointed rounds.
Condensed from a report by Werner Kroeker, MBM/S and MB General Conference Representative to India
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