The last time I was in Warangal, Telangana was before the partitioning of Andhra Pradesh, when it was still called Andhra. I remembered there were demonstrations and flare-ups going on at that time regarding the issue.
My first missionary call was to Warangal. This came after a long fast, while I was seeking answers from the Lord regarding my calling and ministry. So, Warangal shall always have a special place in my heart.
Click here to read The Andhra Pradesh Report.
I laboured with the brethren there for nearly 6 years, visiting Pallikonda, Warangal City, Parvathgiri and later Odithella . I visited the churches there once every 2 months, then finally had to move on to another chapter in the ministry in Coimbatore, as the church there was growing too. As a result there was a long gap, and the connections between me and the brethren in Andhra Pradesh had fizzled out, the main reason being Pastor Moses of Parvathgiri could neither communicate in, nor understand English well.
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| With Pastor Moses' Family, 2009 |
Now after what seemed like a life-time, and all according to God's plan, I had the pleasure of getting in touch with Pastor Moses once again through his son Bro. Prasad.
We fixed up meetings there from the 13th to the 17th of July of this year.
There were to be two meetings in Parvathgiri village where I had begun my missionary work, and another three meetings in Hyderabad, the current capital of Telangana.
10.07.2022
I and my wife left Coimbatore for Warangal, Telangana on the evening of the 10th of July, 2022. Our train, coming in from Kerala, which was supposed to arrive at 3:00 pm, was delayed by 2 hours, which inevitably delayed our arrival in Warangal the next day. We were supposed to reach by 8:40 am the next morning, but were now expected to be there by at least 11:00 am.
11.07.2022
We had a bearable journey until the next morning when we got ready to alight. The train kept going and our destination was always another few stations away. We held it together, expecting to reach there by 12 noon at least, and kept notifying our hotel that the train was running late. The train halted at a station just a few kms from Warangal City at 1:30 pm, and then just stood there, stationary, for all of 2 and a half hours.
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| Warangal - 1st view |
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| Warangal Railway Station |
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| Slick roads and constant rain on arrival |
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| Rain Sludge on Station Road |
The next morning's meeting was in Parvathgiri, around 40 kms from Warangal City. Bro Prasad said he would be there to pick us up by 11:00 am. We would have only 1 session that day, and a late lunch, we were told.
We first visited Bro. Moses and his family at his home, got reintroduced and caught up on ministry happenings in the area.
Pastor Moses was the first missionary in the village. He was the main man instrumental for introducing Christianity in the 'Mandal' which comprised around 150 villages. Pastor Moses would travel to, and evangelize in each village, and managed to establish a church in Parvathgiri in times of great privation, with the believers travelling large distances to feast on the Word each Sunday.
I remember the last time I had preached in his church. There had been around 250 people gathered. He informed me regrettably that that was not the case now.
The brother I had mentioned before had sown discord among the brethren and managed to lure a large following of well-earning believers to his side, establishing a church with them in another part of the district. This left Pastor Moses with only a faithful few who chose to support the truth.
He was undaunted though. But related to me how, in those days, Parvathgiri was the only church for miles. However today there were churches in every village and the congregation, who were mostly field workers, farmers, and labourers opted to attend church in their own villages rather than traverse the great distance to Parvathgiri.
Still there were a few members who were holding him and the faith in the village, and it was to them that I was to preach that day.
The rain was constant but the meeting would go on as planned.
The venue was The 7th Day Adventist Church building, a half a mile down the road from Pastor Moses's Place. The approach road to the church had turned to clay as the rain had been coming down fiercely for the past 3 days.
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| Pastor Moses leads the Worship |
My theme was I Peter 1:19 - 'A More Sure Word of Prophecy'.
I preached on the Importance of Recognizing Prophecy, the Signs of the Prophetic Times we were living in, The Lamb who was Worthy to open the Seals, and Our Position as the Lamb's Wife ref. Rev 21.
The meeting ended at 4:00 pm and we retired to Pastor Moses's home for our meal.
Bro. Prasad's niece, Sis. Sheeba was with us, and so was Bro. Sam who were both trying their wings at ministry life. Their father was a pastor in Pocharam, Hyderabad, and they both had a lot of stimulating questions.
Bro. Kripanandam and his family had traveled from Hyderabad. Their son Little Immanuel had now grown into a young man. It was wonderful to see Sis. Moses as well, who had been deathly sick just a month ago with acute jaundice, but was now bent over a hot stove and serving us with a smile on her face. We shared a good spiritual discussion over steaming plates of Telangana style rice and chicken gravy before setting off again in the cold driving rain for our hotel.
13.07.2022
We had a good rest that night and an early breakfast the next morning.
Bro. Prasad arrived to pick us up for the day's meeting at 11:00 am as planned.
The next day, Pastor Johnson who served as Pastor at an independent Baptist Church in Hyderabad had made the journey to interpret the message into Telugu.
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| Pastor Kripanandam prays for the service. |
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| Pastor Johnson interprets |
I ended with a Call to Awaken and pay attention to the Signs all around us so that the Coming of Christ may not creep up on us as some giant frightening spectre, but rather as a welcome glory.
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| Pastor Moses concludes the service |
The meeting ended at 4:00 pm, and we adjourned to Pastor Moses' home for supper.
We spent some time in prayer after lunch, and discussed further on future meetings in Parvathgiri, and the Pocharam, Hyderabad Meeting Schedule.
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| Prayer @ Pastor Moses's Place |
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| Entering Hyderabad |
Hyderabad was a 2 hour drive from Warangal, and we got to see Telangana's developments on the way. The roads had been developed tremendously mostly owing to the growth of Hyderabad City's IT and SEZ Parks.
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| Bhongir Fort |
We went to Bro. Sam's place directly for a piping hot lunch.
Bro. Sam and Sis. Sheeba's father, Pastor Samuel ran an independent church named Jerusalem Prayer House. We had a chance to meet him and his sister there.
After some good fellowship, Bro. Prasad took us to the Sewa Bharat Campus where we met Bro. Kamlakar.
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| Sewa Bharat, Pocharam, Telangana |
We were supposed to be put up in a dormitory as there were already a few seminars going on in the campus and independent rooms would be available only the next day. The dormitory bathrooms were quite far off from the living quarters though. And we were wondering about how we would maneuver across campus for the loo. However by God's grace, the manager informed us that a room had been made ready for us, and we could occupy it that day itself, which came as a welcome relief.
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| Bro. Prasad's Home |
We had no meetings that day. And since Bro. Sam and Bro. Prasad lived close by they would be taking care of our lunch and dinner, with breakfast being provided at the center.
We had a good rest that day, dinner at Bro. Prasad's place that evening, and good fellowship with the rest of the family who had arrived for the meetings from Warangal.
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| Left to Right: Sis. Moses, Bro. Prasad, Sis Benita with Prashanthi, Prasanna, and myself. |
There was an indoor auditorium that could seat around 350 people, an outdoor amphitheater that could seat more, a mess hall where meals were provided for attendees, 2 mini conference halls, around 200 AC and Non AC rooms, and a couple of dormitories across 3 floors.
The campus had greenery all around and was situated on the outskirts of Hyderabad where the fields began waning in size and the buildings started getting higher - an ideal location, very close to the city hub, but away from its hectic buzz.
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| Indoor Auditorium |
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| Dining Area |
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| Amphitheatre |
Over breakfast we planned for future meetings to be held in the campus.
That evening a late meeting had been arranged at Bro. Kamlakar's home.
We were picked up by 7:00 pm.
There was quite a gathering in the verandah of Bro. Kamlakar's home by the time we reached.
The meeting began at 7:30 pm, and it was almost 8:00 pm by the time I began my message.
I preached on The Mystery of the Godhead, and attempted to expound on the LOGOS being the Express Image of God - the Expression of the Mind of God, The Fullness of the Godhead, The Unity of Divinity, and the Myths regarding the Trinity.
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| Pastor Samuel concludes the service |
The meeting ended by 9:30 pm and we adjourned to Bro. Prasad's for dinner with the family and then to a good night's sleep.
The meeting had been fixed for 6:30 pm that evening.
The drive from Pocharam to Chengicharla was around half an hour. The Church was held at a rented premises on the 3rd floor of a building there.
That evening I preached on True Repentance, and touched on The Original Sin, and The Fall of Man.
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| Pastor Kripanandam interprets |
The meeting ended by 9:00 pm, and we were then invited to Pastor Johnson's house for dinner.
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We were to attend Church at the same venue as the day before.
The service began at 9:30 am.
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| Pastor Johnson leads the worship |
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| Pastor Kripanandam prays for the message |
After the worship, the congregation had a time of testimonies and special songs. And before I began that day's sermon, it was heartwarming to see the entire congregation rise up together hold their Bibles up high and sing a refrain I remember from Sunday School when I was a child - "There is no better book than the Bible"
My message for that Sunday was 'Repentance and Restoration' reiterating what True Repentance was from the day before, The Suffering of Christ on the Cross, The Difference between Godly and Wordly Sorrow, The Sin of Judas and Peter, and The Appearance of Christ after His Resurrection.
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The congregation was blessed.
Pastor Moses who had traveled from Warangal for the meetings there concluded the service.
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| Pastor Moses concludes the service |
After the service a few people came forward for prayer.
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We bid goodbye to Pastor Johnson and his family, as we wouldn't be seeing them later, and made our way to the center.
Bro. Prasad's and Bro. Kamlakar's kids came along with us and wanted a photo shoot on the center grounds. It was then that we realized that our bodies were getting older and wearier :-)
That evening, we were to have a time of fellowship and discussion and pray for all future endeavours in Telangana.
Bro. Kripanandam, his wife Sarah, his son Immanuel, Pastor Moses, Pastor Samuel, Bro. Prasad, Bro. Sam, Sis. Sheeba, Sis. Benita and myself all sat down in an outer alcove near our rooms and had a time of prayer.
I reiterated The Unity of the Godhead, how God was not moving in denominations anymore, and how we had to be a called out, separate people at the risk of seeming foolish to the rest of the Christian world.
I rehashed the Origins of the Trinity, the misrepresentation of the Godhead Truths, and how over the years Christianity had become steeped in traditionalism.
We then discussed holding a 3 day youth seminar and a 2 day Pastor's Conference in Pocharam, Hyderabad, and a 2 day Gospel Meeting in Parvathgiri the next time round, and prayed for the same.
Dinner had been arranged for us at Pastor Samuel's place.
Bro. Prasad and Bro. Kamlakar joined us for dinner, and after a hearty repast, we were full and waiting to get some shut-eye before we awoke for our flight the next day.
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| Prayer @ Bro. Samuel's Home |
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| Until next time... |
Our flight was at 7:00 am and the airport was an hour's drive away.
We reached in time for check in and said our last goodbye to our dear friends whom we hoped to see again very soon.
May the Lord bless all of our future ministry work there.
Do pray for Pastor Johnson, Pastor Kripanandam, Pastor Moses, Pastor Samuel, Bro. Prasad, Bro. Kamlakar, and their families.
May the Lord bless them for their hands of fellowship and their co-operation in organizing these meetings.
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