Prayer is a medium for communication with the divine power who loves us and delivers us from evil. It is not only for asking but a medium for thanksgiving.
As I taught my children, it is when we wanted to say something to God – to speak what is in our heart. There were places specially dedicated for prayer.Let met tell you something here:
My grandfather was one of the first or second generations of Christian in our community. He served the Lord his God, leaving his job as a teacher, first as an evangelist and later on as an ordained pastor.
During his service as an evangelist, he’s looking after of few villages along the Manipur River and Chakpi River. He walked barefoot with no trousers but only with a traditional shawl in the hills and valleys where the blood-sucking leeches, snakes, and sharp edges stones are prevalent.
I can still see him in the back of my mind carrying his lunch packed in banana leaves with a staff. When he came back, I saw him bringing fruits or saplings for our garden. He was happy to report his journey. He would list down the name of newly baptized persons and a report to be submitted in the Office.
The fervent prayer son the small hill:
My grandfather used to pray at a certain hill before or after entering his destination.
While he was staying with the few believers, he also prayed on that hill. When I interviewed him for his short autobiography which I wrote, he told me that he was talking to God quietly but sometimes bursting into praises and hymns.
In the later year of his servanthood, I happened to accompany him few times as he tended to the sheep of the living God. I’ve seen him delivering the gospel and leading the small congregation into the holy communion in those small cottage-like churches. He was not good at preaching – his messages about Christ were short and to the point.
I feel privileged to be his only companion during those visits. I am also privileged to sing and recite Bible verses with him in those small churches. As I can now recall we must be not more than 50 on a good attendance – sometimes less than 20.
Kamkhozam’ Thumna Mual”
Today, more than five or six decades have passed, the church is growing. But not as big as in the metro cities but I hope they’re able to look after themselves spiritually and financially. There were evangelists and pastors who looked after them from time to time.
The hill where my grandfather used to pray outside the village was locally referred to as Kamkhozam’ Thumna Mual, loosely translated as Kamkhozam’s Prayer Hill – Kamkhozam being my grandfather’s birth name.
We got to know from the elders that the nearby churches used the place as a place of prayer and even constructed a small prayer house.
Since they were low on budget and the construction was done in a day or two, it was not usable. However, the cross enacted by them was still standing on the hill.
A few years ago, with the consent and approval or request from the village that owned the place, we decided to build few prayer cabins on that hill. My grandfather was humbled, he feels unworthy to name such a hill after his meager contribution to the Kingdom of God.
Then my grandfather started asking contributions among our family bit by bit. The construction was delayed because we’re short of funds, which was further delayed by the pandemic.
The First Prayer Cabin:
Some days ago, the villagers sent us pictures of the first cabin constructed so far. It is the picture you saw here today.
There is a long way to go. I’m not sure if we can continue the construction due to financial constraints. But I hope this is the beginning.
“In the small prayer cabin” was a recollection of my time on such cabins, in another prayer hill, during my late teenage years. It was a great pleasure to visit the same cabin we visited again with my family after a decade as I am now living far away from the countryside where I still called home.
In the metro city where I am now living, a quiet place to spend time with God is rare. However, we’ve made an effort to visit the church during the weekdays.
Mission- a prayer cabin for all:
I am eager to visit the new prayer cabin on the hill. We’re 2500 miles away from the place right now. I can see how excited my grandfather would be.
We are not eager to make a legacy but we’re tring to provide a cabin or cabins for spending quiet time with God – a place for communion. I you are one among those people who are not willing to make a leagcy but interested in the project, you can always reach me or drop by here.
It is our wish that the hill would become a place where the spirit of God filled the visitors with empty hearts and get filled spiritually so that they may lead a fruitful life.
