Mark Gillmore: Hello once again. I’m Mark Gillmore here with the GoMission podcast, and today I’m privileged to be sitting with my friend Brother Athing in Northeast India, in the state of Assam, where God has directed him into some wonderful mission work. Brother Athing, welcome to the podcast.

Brother Athing: Thank you so much, Pastor Gillmore, for welcoming me to the podcast.

Mark: It’s been a privilege to get to know you over the last several years and to sense your burden. When I first visited up here, you and I didn’t know each other, but within ten minutes we knew we were together in the same mission.

Brother Athing: That’s right.

Mark: God brought you here to Assam. Could you briefly summarize how He prepared you for this work?

Brother Athing: Certainly. After I finished my studies, my older brother invited me to come to Assam. I wanted to start a small business so I could help others, but my brother said, “Just come and work with me.” I honored his request and followed him for a year.

We began a small fellowship in Guwahati city. People joined us for Bible study and Sunday worship, and one pastor promised to pay the house rent for the meeting place. He helped for two months, but then we heard nothing from him—and we could not pay. The police came and put us in jail until the landlord forgave the debt.

When we returned, my brother and I prayed about planting a church. We began sharing the gospel door-to-door, distributing tracts in hospitals and on the streets. After about a month we reached the village where we now serve. We arrived tired and hungry in the heat of the day. The local people asked who we were and why we had come. When we explained, they were eager to learn more and invited us back the next day.

They suggested we start a small school, and we agreed. My brother and I built a simple bamboo hut and lived there for three years—no electricity, very hot, and during cyclones the wind was fierce. Because this is a Hindu area, people will not kill snakes, so we often slept with snakes nearby, and I’m very afraid of snakes!

We trained pastors in the early morning, from six to nine, and then taught the children during the day. In 2007 we trained twenty-eight pastors and missionaries.

The ministry grew, and we planted a church. Many people accepted Christ, but our neighbors were not happy. They burned the church building and all our belongings. A few months later my brother became sick and died within a month. I was alone and asked God, “Why did You bring me here?” The Lord comforted my heart and told me He had a plan.

After my brother’s death, his family came and took everything that remained. The Hindu neighbors said, “Your brother is gone; why are you still here? You should leave.” I answered, “I will stay as long as God wants me here.” Some friends helped me rebuild the house and the school. I rededicated my life to the Lord and began training local believers again—this time thirty-four of them.

The landowners who had donated our property later forced us to leave, saying they wanted to build a medical school. I searched for another place and finally settled where we are now. Soon after we arrived, a Hindu student union destroyed our equipment and beat some of our people. I asked the Lord again, “Why?” and He impressed on my heart that these troubles were preparing the way.

So I trained sixty more pastors and church planters. People thought I was foolish, but God kept blessing. Those pastors went out and started churches.

Mark: Every time you took a step forward, opposition came, yet God used it to push you into something greater. When your brother invited you, the rent money ran out, but God moved you to a new place. The village welcomed you, then persecution arose and you were expelled—but you trained pastors who planted more churches. Living in bamboo housing with snakes, cyclones, and little food was not easy.

Brother Athing: No, it wasn’t easy. The most painful thing was when some Hindu men, knowing I had no money, threatened to take our ladies in exchange for money. That broke my heart. I wept and knelt before God. He said, “I have a great plan for you.”

Mark: Then your brother—your key partner—died, a cyclone destroyed the buildings, and you were forced off the land. Yet you remained. People kept asking why you didn’t go home, but you said you would stay until God told you to leave—and you stayed, training more people.

Brother Athing: Yes. Eventually the main leader of the group that opposed us received a gospel tract called Who Is Jesus? He read it, surrendered his life to Christ, and told his followers, “We need Christians. We need a Christian school. From now on, do not persecute this man.” Since then they have honored and even helped us.

Mark: What a miracle! The former persecutor became your protector. On the land God provided, you now have school buildings, dormitories, and a church building—three stories high. The first floor is a children’s home, the second floor your living quarters, and the third floor a mission training center.

Brother Athing: Exactly. The school protects us because the community respects education. We house about 210 children—some orphans, some children of missionaries serving in villages without schools, and some who were expelled from their homes after trusting Christ. Last year sixty-four of them lived with us full time.

Our true burden is the mission training center. Pastor Mark, when you visited, you asked about that unfinished floor. With your help it is almost complete. We will bring local pastors and missionaries here, train them, and send them back out.

Mark: You have already trained more than 100 workers and planted thirty-eight churches, with thirty-two men currently serving alongside you. Recently we gathered many of them for encouragement, and they shared testimonies of enduring persecution. One church building has been burned down twice; each time the believers rebuilt and refused to fight their attackers.

Brother Athing: Yes. We didn’t file police complaints; we are here to share the Good News. After the second fire we simply prayed and began constructing again.

Mark: Persecution is part of serving Christ in this region, but the believers do not quit. Your story shows that every difficulty opens a door to something greater. God tests us before He opens a bigger door.

Brother Athing: That’s what I have learned. I began building the mission project by faith in 2018, not knowing how it would be finished. Then you visited briefly, and God used you to help complete it. We are almost done.

Mark: Young people listening to this podcast may face pressures when they step out in faith—perhaps resistance from family or school. Be encouraged: God is using these tests to build you, not break you. He is building your trust in Him.

Let’s join in prayer for this region, for Brother Athing, and for the completion of the training center, so that many more men can be equipped and sent out.

Brother Athing: Amen. Many good men are ready to be trained. Please pray for us.

Mark: We are truly in one of the world’s greatest mission fields, and God is at work. Thank you, Brother Athing, for sharing your story.

Brother Athing: Thank you.

Mark: Young people, in a world of turmoil and uncertainty, the way to be at peace is to be on mission with Jesus—His Go Mission.