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KARNATAKA, INDIA (ANS) -- In his remote village in Karnataka, India, Chiman Safal was a very influential man. As a wealthy landlord, he owned over 30 acres of fertile land. He was also the head of his extended family, which included his wife, four daughters, and 64 other relatives. Most people thought Chiman did not have a problem in the world, but they were wrong. Chiman dealt with severe stomach pain every day for several years.
Waking up at 4 a.m. to worship and pray, he dedicated much of his life to his family's traditional religion. The problem was that he was worshipping gods and goddesses who had no power. Each day, Chiman would spend the mornings in worship, and then in the afternoons he would go to the local temple to offer sacrifices. But no matter how much he prayed, the pain never left. Desperate for relief, Chiman also visited witch doctors and priests from traditional religions.
"I am your family god, and if you worship and offer sacrifices to me, then I will heal you completely," one of the priests told Chiman. So, in an attempt to receive healing, Chiman faithfully worshipped him for many months. After realizing that all of his efforts were worthless, he gave up religion completely and became an atheist.
Chiman became so discouraged that he thought that he would rather die than deal with the pain any longer.
As they prayed, the Lord began to take away his pain, and he felt a lot of relief. In no time, his pain was completely gone and Chiman joyfully jumped up and down.
One day while he was sitting on a train, his pain stomach pain became even worse and he began to shiver. A Christian man named Satyak Adarsh was sitting next to Chiman, and began to ask him about his problem. When Chiman told Satyak about his pain, Satyak began telling him about all the miracles Jesus performed and how He could heal his stomach pain.
"I don't believe in any gods or goddesses," Chiman said. "I used to worship them, but none of them answered my prayers."
In spite of Chiman's cold response, Satyak continued to encourage him to place his trust in Jesus. Finally, Chiman agreed to pray to Jesus with Satyak. As they prayed, the Lord began to take away his pain, and he felt relief. In no time, his pain was completely gone, and Chiman joyfully jumped up and down.
"Please tell me more about Jesus Christ," Chiman told Satyak. So, Satyak took Chiman to Sagar Hari, the pastor of a Gospel for Asia-related church.
As Pastor Sagar shared the message of Jesus, Chiman began to weep bitterly because he realized he was a sinner. That very day he received Jesus as his Savior.
When his family saw the great transformation in Chiman's life and how the Lord had healed him from the terrible pain, all 69 of them placed their trust in Jesus as well. Now, they are faithfully following the Lord, and Chiman gives his full support to sharing the message of Christ's love in the village. Many of the villagers were deeply impacted by seeing the miracle and are now open to hearing the Gospel message.
Pastor Sagar requests prayer that all of the villagers will come to know Jesus as a result of Chiman's testimony. He also asks for prayer that Chiman's family will continue to grow in their faith and knowledge of the Lord.
Gospel for Asia is a mission organization involved in evangelism and church planting in Asia's unreached regions. Currently Gospel for Asia supports more than 16,000 church planters in 10 countries.
Used by Permission: Assist News www.assistnews.net
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