How We Entered into the Chin Hills

How We Entered into the Chin Hills

By Ngul Khaw Pau

The Chin Hills is a mountainous part of Upper Burma. In 1899 the American Baptist Missionaries entered Haka. Slowly they spread out through many parts of the Chin Hills until World War II. I became a member of that denomination and was appointed an elder of our village church. When we prayed in our meeting on Sunday, we asked God: "Oh Heavenly Father, Thou art the true God, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day, today; Thou hast blessed and sanctified today (that is Sunday), so clean us, too, from all sin as Thou hast cleansed this day." We believed Sunday to be the seventh day of the week, and worshipped on that day.

In 1946 I met Vanlalrawna, a Lushai boy with a very good appearance. When I made his acquaintance I offered him some cigarettes, but he said, "Friend, thank you very much; I am a Seventh-day Adventist, so I don't use tobacco or any other unclean things, as unclean flesh, etc." Then I drew back my cigarette tin to me with shameful face, and wondered about him. Then I asked him, "What kind of people are Seventh-day Adventists?" That began a discussion about Bible truth. He told me his experience. He also had been a Baptist believer. But in our discussion, I objected very seriously, saying that Sunday is the seventh day of the week. In the Chin Bible the word for, Sabbath was translated "Nipi" and when we named the days of the week, "Nipi" was Sunday. But opening the Bible to Luke 4:16 and 23:50-56, my friend made it clear to me that the Lord was crucified on Friday and the next day was the Sabbath -of Creation. That is the day our Lord Jesus had observed. When I continued to discuss with him, he said: "You may become a Seventh-day Adventist someday, because you are a pious man and you love God." Then we each went our separate ways.

I wondered at all I had heard but didn't mention it when I went home. Moreover, I still served as an elder in my church. In the latter, part of 1952 my mind became agitated by certain happenings in the church and I remembered my Seventh-day Adventist friend's words, "You may become a Seventh-day Adventist someday." Pastor A. E. Anderson was sent to the Chin Mills to pioneer the work. When he went through the Tiddim Hospital, he talked to 'Me and showed me my last letter to the mission in India. He had already won several souls in the Chin Hills and 'in the latter part of 1953 he moved with his family to Tiddim. Within a few months of his arrival there many souls were converted to God, including Brother Go Za Kham, an editor„ of Lungvak magazine, as well as pastor of Leilum Village ABM church. Brother Go Za Kham contacted me and we joined the baptismal class conducted Brother - Anderson. After we finished our class, Pastor P. A. Parker came up and baptized fourteen of us on May 8, 1954: This was the first baptismal service held by us in the Chin Hills.

So I wrote a letter to the Assam Seventh-day Adventist Mission, Aijal, India, and asked the difference between Baptists and Adventists. They replied: "Brethren Zakhuma and Lalkhuma have been sent to the Chin Hills as missionaries from the Assam Mission. You can contact them, or our office at 68 U Wisara Road, Rangoon."

Before I could do anything about contacting these men I was accidentally injured by a bombshell explosion and admitted to the Civil Hospital, Tiddim. That was in April 1953. While I was at the hospital, 

In 1954 Pastor Anderson conducted efforts in the villages of Bukphir, Laitui, Kaptel and Leilum with the help of Brethren Kham and I went down toKalemyo fifty miles from Tiddim by truck. We held a short effort at Sing-u-nau village. There was also present an overseas missionary who had been invited to oppose us. He made us hold a debate as he still believed Sunday to be the seventh day of the week, as I had also believed in the past. He said, "We observe the seventh day of the heaven and the earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day. He also blessed and sanctified it. So we the Christians observe it for a memorial of Creation, and that day is Sunday." Then we proved from Luke 23:50-56 that the day of the crucifixion was Friday and that even now the Roman Catholic Mission abstains from eating flesh on Friday which is another witness that our Lord was crucified on Friday. The Scriptures told us that the crucifixion day was the preparation day before the Sabbath. "They rested the Sabbath day according to the Commandment." As a result of this discussion thirty souls decided to believe the Bible and accept the true message. They were baptized by Pastor P. A. Parker in 1956 and at present are - one of the most faithful church organizations in the Chin Hills.

Now we have over a hundred members in the Chin Hills and twelve workers. We also have several hundred interests. We are glad for God's blessing on our work. We also expect to open new fields in 1958, and increase the number of our believers.

The work opened in the Siyin. valley this year (1957). My family and I entered this valley last July. We located at Khuasak village in a rented house. The pastors and leaders of the local church forbade their people to listen to our mes7; sage. So we could not hold any public effort. But I tried visiting the homes, one by one, and now there are some faithful souls converted to God's last message. On November 16, 1957 Pastor R. H. Woolsey came up, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Murrill, and held a baptismal service for twelve souls. These twelve souls are the first group of baptismal candidates for this area. Among them is an old officer of the British Indian Army, who had served in Government service over thirty years. He is now pensioned. Another is the doctor for this valley and another is a man who donated his land to be used for God.

Southern Asia Tidings, (1958-02-01), 6.