Mark Gillmore: Hello once again, this is Mark Gilmore here with our GoMachine podcast. And today I am privileged to be sitting together in the land of India with my good friend Somatai. Welcome to our podcast. Thank you. It’s good to be with you. Thank you, sir. I think we first met in 2015. Yes, I think. Yes. You were at Bible College. Bible College. Yes. And I visited just one time and I was asking the Lord to give me a connection. And the leader there said, you must meet Somatai. Yeah. So I think that’s a divine appointment. Yes. And it’s been my privilege. What part of India are you actually from? From Manipur. Yes.

Brother Somatai: Our district.

Mark Gillmore: Yes.

Brother Somatai: Village, Mapum Village.

Mark Gillmore: Yes. Mapum is your village. And I’ve had the privilege to be there a couple times.

Brother Somatai: Yes.

Mark Gillmore: And be welcomed. And just beautiful mountains. Thank you. Thank you. Your village is right on the top. Yes, yes. Just looks over valleys from all directions. Yes, sir. And how did the gospel come to your region?

Brother Somatai: Oh, the first missionary in Manipur, Willem Pitikur. He came to Manipur. He traveled all the places. Nobody except Christ. At last, he prayed to the Lord, as in God the lead. And finally, the Lord lead him in the Ucruel district. And he came to Ucruel. We were at that time a headhunter. So by the grace of God, the king accepted him. And through the king, whatever king said at that time, king is the power. So they obey and they follow. And we have a mass conversion over there. And then our village was not a believer. But one of our village members visited one village and see that they are worshiping the Lord. And he went and sat there and learned how to pray. And then he came back home and then he started sharing our neighbors and our villages. It is a real God that we have to worship. That is the way the Christianity of our villages started.

Mark Gillmore: That is a thrilling story. Just summarizing that this missionary you came was having no progress. Yes. until he was invited up to your side. Yes. And yet you were headhunters. Yes. So he could have refused. Yes, yes. He could have been afraid. Yes, yes. But he saw the open door. Yes. The king protected him. Yes. He began to witness, and there was a breakthrough. Yes. But then someone from your village went over to where the gospel was. Yes, yes. Heard the gospel. Yes. Came back to your village. Sure. And then he became the messenger that brought the gospel to your village. And that happened over and over again, didn’t it? Yes. In those hills.

Brother Somatai: Yes, yes, yes. That is the way one village brought and every village visited our village. And that gospel slowly, slowly spread all the villages.

Mark Gillmore: Yes, till today. Yes. Every village. Every village. A beautiful Baptist church. Yes, yes, yes. But now through these years, some 100 years later, the people identify as believers. Yes. Even as Baptists. I believe 65% of the people are Baptists. Yes. But yet there has been a problem. They have not at this point continued the missionary work. Yes. Is that true? What is the reason?

Brother Somatai: That’s, we concentrate our people at the same time, all the other tribe of Manipur. We reach as many other tribe people. After that, we could not able to think of to go to cross culture, the outside of Manipur. And that’s a great problem for us, that we could not able to go there.

Mark Gillmore: So God did use you to reach nearby tribes back in that time. Yes. But now that vision of stepping beyond your own culture, there is a Baptist association. Yes. Yet all of the energy and all of the monies stay just with your own churches. Yes. Your own associations. Yes. Yes. And there is not sacrifice to send out missionaries.

Brother Somatai: So many. So many churches could not have sent out a missionary this time. That’s a sad thing.

Mark Gillmore: Very, very few. So you, God began to burden you with missions. Yes. And how did he do that in your heart, in your life?

Brother Somatai: In 2011, I finished my Bachelor of Theology. And then I just want to go back. And my elder brother was there. He said that you don’t need to come home because everyone is a believer. There are many pastors. So you already have knowledge about the Word of God. You have to go where there’s no gospel. So I just came to Jadisgaard 2011 and one year I was there. I don’t know how to speak Hindi, but I stayed one year. After that, I just went for my father’s study, Master of Divinity. Yes. And then I studied there for three years. And 2015 was my creation. About the creation, I was praying to the Lord, God lead me where you want me to go. And God put in my heart to think about the Chattisker, that is a very dark place for gospel. There’s no gospel for many places. So I just went there by faith. And I asked my college, will you help us? And they said, we’re not able to give us a full sponsor, but we’ll be praying for you as you are a creature from here. So they are giving for house rain. I was there in Chattisker. And then one of my friends was there from Chattisker. I asked him, will you take me to all the villages where there’s no church? I want to be there.

Mark Gillmore: Yes.

Brother Somatai: So he took me through his two-wheeler. Two-wheeler. And then he was taking me one after a village. And at last where I’m living, that’s a polite tree. We don’t find any church. And I want to be here. That’s the place. To our church. So that people know God and they may have a worship. The place of church. Go to church.

Mark Gillmore: Praise the Lord. So there really was one voice in your life that said, you cannot stay home. Yeah. You must go to where the people do not have the gospel. And that voice encouraged you and you responded and you began to learn another language. Hindi is not your language. Not my language.

Brother Somatai: I never speak in my childhood Hindi.

Mark Gillmore: Wow. So that’s a huge work to learn a new language. Yes. And then you received some further training And then you went out and yet were not fully supported. There was some small money coming, but you still obeyed. Even your home church and association was not supporting you.

Brother Somatai: Nobody is helping me. At that time, they are not ready to help us. Even not single rupee till now, they are not helping me.

Mark Gillmore: From that side, those churches, not a single rupee, not a single dollar has led me your way. You’re on the home churches from the association. Noah. What a tragedy. And yet they are learning about what you are doing. Yes. So your testimony is making a difference. Yes. Even among those churches. Yes. Even though they are not yet.

Brother Somatai: Yes, yes. One of churches, they don’t have a mission. They don’t have a supporting mission. But by I’m staying here, whenever I go home, I used to preach in their church. Yes. Right now, they are sending 13 missionaries in that church. Okay. But before, no single one missionaries they are sending. But by the praise of God, by knowing and hearing about my testimony, they have a mission minded.

Mark Gillmore: It’s growing and now they are supporting 13 missionaries going out. Different places. Different places. Even though it’s not you, they’re supporting. Yes, yes. He’s the Lord. Yes. So in this region that you are working, as God led you, as you were going to village to village, and God said, Bilayatri, this is the one. Yeah. And you remain there. Yes. What is God doing there? What are you seeing God do among the Hindu background people?

Brother Somatai: Wow. That’s, um, there is no, even that’s people. And there are those who live over there that never heard about a gospel. That’s a surprise. And I used to have, I didn’t know anyone. I used to have evening, morning, a prayer walk. Even I don’t have bicycle. I used to walk by food every day, five, six kilometers. And I used to take a gospel track, distributing all the places. And when I used to go all the surrounding villages, I distributed tracts and personal evangelism, I did it. And slowly, slowly, by the grace of God, one person, young man, was I found and I shared about the gospel. And he’s ready to listen. Through that, by the grace of God, through him, his wife and mother got saved. First family was God baptized.

Mark Gillmore: Praise the Lord. So you begin just by walking and praying. Yeah. Several miles every day. Yeah. Encountering people. Yeah. Ready to give them the gospel. Hand a piece of literature. And God led you to a man and a whole family. Yeah. Received Christ.

Brother Somatai: And every year we have an annual conference and we invite everybody. So at that time we have no problems and no persecution. So many people used to come, more than 300 people, unbelievers, into satire. And we used to share the gospel. So they say that I ever heard before about Christ. That’s a very sad thing. So many people hear the gospel in that area where I’m living. I’m praying to the Lord that one day the word of God they have heard, one day the word of God will walk into their life and bring revival in that area.

Mark Gillmore: Yes. You told me about a lady who was right near your meeting place, who was paralyzed, and just no one was caring for her. Yes. She just lay there day after day. And you began to just walk by and to pray for her. Yes. And what happened? What did God do?

Brother Somatai: Doctor says that that auntie will not able to do anything. You have to serve and feed her and she will die. And daughter-in-law is not taken care of properly. upon the plastic, plastic paper, plastic hairs, upon them without wearing a cloth, auntie was lying there. And uncle used to come and call me morning and evening to pray for her. And one week, she wakes, she’s 10, and starts walking. And that day onward, they are saying that your God is a great God, even son and daughter-in-law is saying, and God completely healed and they received Christ as their Lord.

Mark Gillmore: The people in that family. Yes. Because they saw God heal. Yes. This paralyzed woman. Praise the Lord. I met her when I was there. Yes. I saw the joy of the Lord.

Brother Somatai: Yes. With tears. Did you remember? With tears she was saying that I was about to die. Yes. But through this young man, I could able to say through Christ.

Mark Gillmore: And he will stand with her Bible and read it in public. So everyone will know this is the true God. What an amazing miracle God did. Yes, God. And advanced the gospel there. Now you have taken some steps of faith. You’ve also faced some persecution in that region. What recently even something happened. What was that?

Brother Somatai: Yes, 2024, month of February 6th, I have a prayer meeting in the village. We have a lay leader appointed to work in a village area. So that’s our lay leader says that one of sisters, she wanted to take water baptism. And one sister, one family, one sister is to go fasting for nine days. So today is the last day for me. My children are not believers. So why not that senior pastor, that is me, to call him to pray for my family so that my children also get saved. So just we went there and have a baptism program, sister. After finishing that, we have a prayer meeting in that sister house. We are about to finish. At that time, all the villages, young people, more than 30 people surrounded us. And they’re shouting and taking a slogan about their God, saying that we want to talk to the person who comes from outside. If they are coming and teaching about their God, why not he worship our village God? Otherwise, we will not allow him to go. And then they say that we say that we cannot do that. They said that they come inside forcefully and took out my lay leaders. He was a short guy. One person pulled me out, I pulled him out easily. But to me, one person could not be able to pull out. So two persons came in and they took my whole belt and pulled out. And after that, when they pulled me out, one person took a stick and beat him from back. And by the grace of God, that day I experienced the presence of God and I don’t feel fear, neither angry. I was smiling and I rejoiced the presence of God and the two gods in the temple. And they asked us so many things to do. I said I will not do. And the pull-outs taking each and every room, their goddess where the goddess is keeping. the beating, praying side, friend side. I was not worried about myself. I was rejoicing. I had ever experienced in my life that kind of joy. That kind of joy I ever experienced before.

Mark Gillmore: So you had, in this village, baptized a new believer, gathered for prayer daily after, and the people assaulted the house, chanting about their God. Now, something to know is that every village in this region of India has their own village god. Yes. And so we talk about all the gods of Hinduism, but each village has their own god. Often it’s an idol. Yes. Yes. It’s a cow. Yes, yes. And so they were demanding that you worship their village. Yes, that is the way they say. And you refused.

Brother Somatai: I refused, but they said our church members, three ladies was there. They were standing. We called them. If you want to harm us, do to us, not to them. Not to them. We invite them. Yes. They said that we don’t want to talk to you. We want to talk to the person who comes from outside.

Mark Gillmore: So they are beating you and dragging you to that temple and interrogating you. Yes. and further beating you. And all that time, you have peace.

Brother Somatai: I have peace. I am really experiencing great joy. Even joy you are having. No fear. Just no fear, no fear. Even the police was there. All when we reached the temple, all the villages surrounded us. In the presence of police, they were beating us.

Mark Gillmore: And yet you are having joy, just like the book of Acts. They are rejoicing that they are counted worthy to suffer. And you had prayed that God would be with you if something like that happened.

Brother Somatai: I pray to the Lord that God, you speak to them. And whenever they took me and there, I told. And I pray every room that God, you use them. You speak to them. That is the way that I pray. And I just after that, four hours, I was inside the temple. And after that, police took me in a police station. I was there in three hours again for no reason. After they said that we can go. After we took our two-wheeler and went home. Three days, I’m unable to see it. The pain has remained. By the grace of God, my wife served me and helped me to do with the hot water. And I go to able to feel good and I’m okay right now. But if I sit for a long time, I feel pain and backside. Even to this day. Even to this day. Yes. Some pain, injury is there. But after one month, I received from the believers, the one who is beating us, among them, one leader was there. He got sick early in the morning and before they took the hospital, He died. So I asked our arch, I was telling my believers that we’d never pray for them to die. So that all the people are just thinking that because of their religion, that the pastors, because of that, he got a consequence. So they think like that. So it was cool and calm and They’ll know our members are having a prayer meeting over there, but we are often, we are not able to call because our villages, our members say that you don’t need to come this time. Please wait for a while. But they have a prayer meeting every Sunday.

Mark Gillmore: But the local people continue to meet.

Brother Somatai: Local people are there meeting.

Mark Gillmore: Yeah, we don’t have to go. But God showed his hand in even an act of judgment by killing the main man who is beating. Well, all the village knows that this judgment came on him.

Brother Somatai: Yes, because that day they took us in temple, all the villages surround us, not less than 300.

Mark Gillmore: Wow. So truly, one thing believers must know is how to respond correctly to persecution. Because when we respond correctly, God can show His hand and do greater works, even as in the book of Acts. Now that, what is your vision for the future as you look at this region? Yes. What is in front of you?

Brother Somatai: My prayer is to plan the churches where there’s no church, We are looking, we’re focusing on village, not in a city. Yes. So we already started some villages that our prayer meeting already started. Yeah. We are still praying that we may be able to start their house church,

Mark Gillmore: every village where we have already started. Amen. A house church in all of these villages. Yes. And that is what a glorious vision. And I believe it is biblical. Yes. Right. Now you are also purchasing a piece of property. Yes. To build a single church building. Yes. In the center place as well. Yes. Yes. And that is a big step of faith as well.

Brother Somatai: Yes. Yes. We never thought that we were able to buy. And we have how last year, same month of August, I asked our church member, we have to sit in prayer this whole month for next month we want to buy a piece of Lent. And our church member, every week, three days fasting and prayer meeting, everyone comes, everyone praying. And then by the praise of God in the month of September come, the need of money, everything we receive. And then some archers members, they are in a garment shop. They gave us a one-month full bay to purchase this land. And there are so many of you contributed. That’s including you. You contributed us for us. And we were able to buy a piece of land.

Mark Gillmore: That is, faith is moving forward when you don’t have the resources. Yes. When there’s sacrifice involved. Faith is never waiting for God to make it easy. Yes. Waiting for God to give all the supply. Yes. But it’s moving forward and then God comes and he meets that need. Yeah. And I’m so thrilled to hear that your local people are sacrificing. Yes. So much. You just had 40 days. Yes. Of prayer. 40 days. And 40. Yes. Together. Meeting online. Yeah. One hour in the morning. Yes. in the evening, and seeking God that way. Surely, God is going to answer those prayers. Yes, yes. And the greater works. Yes. And I just had the joy of, in a retreat with so many of your believers. Yeah, to encourage and equip them. Yes. And my own role in this is so small, but I think there’s a pattern here. As I first came 10 years ago, what I was, as the outsider, I was asking God, show me a person here, a believer who has the vision that we can share and we can partner. Yes. My own role is so limited as the far culture crosser. Yeah. But your role is so more important. And if I can encourage you, the work will go forward. That’s really. And then if you can then, even you are crossing culture within India too. Yes. And if you can equip the local people of Chhattisgarh, they will go further. Then you can go. If you entrust into them the Great Commission and the house church planting. And this is how missions runs. This is the book of Acts. As we endeavor to get the gospel to every creature. Yes. To those who have never heard, I am so thrilled with how God is using you. Coming out of churches, a great breakthrough. Yet some of those churches have lost the vision. And that is the heartbreak of, by heart, churches in India, churches in the U.S., they have lost the vision. They are just worried about themselves. They are not sending their own magic. They are not owning the Great Commission for themselves. even though the Great Commission has reached them, they are not reaching others. We pray God will do a great work of reviving that missionary spirit in our day. So, Brother Somatay, it’s a blessing to be a partner with you. Thank you so much. To be able to travel and to be together. Yes. To encourage this great work of God. Thank you so much. Thank you for your steps of faith, your sacrifice. But praise God he’s met the need every day. Yes, God is providing where there’s no way. Yes. And your wife is with you.

Brother Somatai: Yeah. When you first went, you were alone. Yes, I was alone and I used to go. And even we don’t have a cylinder to cook. We have an induction. One day before we prepare food, light gone. and we go and collect a piece of wood and we prepare in that way. But still that I’m not discouraged by the grace of God. And God helped me to continue my mission that God’s put in my heart.

Mark Gillmore: If you are a single young man, don’t wait for marriage until you obey. Obey now. Yes. God will bring you the right wife. Very important. In the right time. Very important. A wife who has faith and will stand beside you when you have persecution. Yes, yes. And that’s the kind of wife.

Brother Somatai: When I got about the persecuted day, all the young men surrounded us. First, I go to my wife, sit and pray. Something is going to happen. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But still pray. My wife and my daughter was very young. Even that day, my wife, no disturbance, no thanks. Even my wife asks my daughter that we are going to pray because our father, your father, that is at a problem right now. So the kids also quiet until the prayer finish. Because of my wife’s prayer, God’s empowered me also, I believe.

Mark Gillmore: There’s as much faith needed from your wife as from you. She cannot have fear just like you cannot have. and God even gave peace to your child in that moment. Praise the Lord. Well, you are a great illustration to us. As I always say in this podcast, the only way to stay at peace in this world of turmoil and uncertainty is to stay on mission with Jesus and his go mission. So I encourage everyone listening, Please pray for this work of Brother Selma Tyke as he is taking the gospel to regions that have never hurt. God bless you.

Mark Gillmore: Thanks for joining us for this episode of the Thee Generation Podcast. If you have an issue you need help with, we have a resource that can help you. The Battle Plan for Victory is an online resource designed to help young people deal with personal sin issues through the Word of God and ultimately