A Visit to Shillong

Shillong was never in my itinerary this time. Though I have been very burdened for the saints and the church there, I did not deem it right to visit without a proper fellowship from the brothers there and also from the brothers overseeing the Lord's work in that region. I was glad to meet two of the responsible brothers who attended the training in Guwahati. 

One day during the training break, one of the brothers from Shillong came to me and said, "Brother, the saints in Shillong came to know about your being in Guwahati and they invited you to visit them!" It was a surprise and a shock to me. My simply reply was, if the brothers really felt I should visit, only in fellowship, I can: Yes, after proper fellowship with all the brothers concerned. Even after this, I still did not think I should indeed visit as I thought I was not prepared and did not make any plan either. 

The next day, a leading brother from Shillong invited me again, and later he reconfirmed it through another brother that the saints indeed wanted me to visit. Then I fellowshipped with the brothers serving the Lord's work and also with leading brothers from the North East. They all felt good, and then only I made the decision and visited Shillong. A surprise visit for me and them as well. Nevertheless, God knew best. 

In Shillong, the first thing the saints told me was, "Brother, Praise the Lord! As a church we were praying yesterday for your visit. Now, the Lord answered our prayers." When I heard this I was so moved in my being by the saints' love, and much more by their thirst for fellowshipping on the word of God. 

Later we had long hours of fellowship as the Lord's speaking was so dear and sweet. I texted the local church where I came from as an update of the visit, the date was 8th May 2017:

Dear Saints, 

Praise the Lord and thank you for your prayer. The Lord blessed our fellowship last night with the saints in the church in Shillong. 

We fellowshipped from 6:30 pm till 12:30 am, with three group of saints organically in three informal sessions. And this morning another fellowship over breakfast till 10 am. The Lord's timely speaking was very sweet and rich. 

May the Lord continue to shepherd the saints with the ministry of the word into the oneness and fellowship of the Body of Christ. Amen.

On all organically arranged sessions, the main things fellowshipped were:

• The name of Jesus, how wonderful, powerful, and sweet when we call on Him. I strengthened this burden for all the saints experience and enjoyment of their Christina life. 
• Household salvation, as many saints were the only one saved in their families. The Lord burdened me to share at length with testimonies, the importance of claiming God’s word using Acts 16:31 and Isaiah 45:11. 
• Reading and praying the word of God with an emphasis on daily pursuit of the Lord in His word by regular daily Bible reading and prayer. 

After the fellowship I gifted the saints two ministry books: The Orthodoxy of the Church and Enjoying Christ as the Word and the Spirit through Prayer. 

The next day morning, a sister whom I baptised when I first visited Shillong came for fellowship over breakfast. She was an MD of a Govt. Dept. then,  and now just retired. It was a joy to fellowship on the word of God and testify to one another what the Lord has done and has been doing. 

After all these fellowships, I was clear why the Lord took me there. The Lord knows the best, and I simply have to follow Him step by step. 

Lord, bless the church in Shillong! 

May the Lord gain His testimony all over Meghalaya!