Obediah – brings in blessings

Obediah hardly knew of the blessing he would be to the entire village of Bukyathanda...

Obediah hardly knew of the blessing he would be to the entire village of Bukyathanda.

Bukyathanda is a village of just 1000 people, a majority of whom belong to the Lambada caste. This rocky terrain earns its living though agriculture laboring. With just one primary school and 11 kms away from the nearest hospital, the people of Bukyathanda have a difficult life to live. Yet they are a hard working lot and take on any challenge boldly. But the only major problem which they could neither find solution nor get rid of was the water problem. The only water source in the village is the hand pump in the government school. This sole hand pump is not sufficient for the entire village because it is not working properly. The water problem is an acute crisis and the people had given up hopes of this problem getting solved.

It was in this setting that Obediah, the only believer in this village lived. His faith in his God was strong. Seeing the transformation his beliefs brought into his life, his family consists of his wife, son and daughter-in-law also became believers. The attend CSI church is 2 km. away from their village. He is so known for his amazing faith that many from his village go to him when they are bitten by poisonous snakes and scorpions. When in prays in the name of Jesus, they are healed and are relieved from the pain. But he faces opposition also for this. There are people who believe that he practices witchcraft and that’s how he is able to heal. Such people insult him whenever they see him. Yet Obediah practices forgiveness and goes about doing his work. He remains faithful to God despite the hurtful insults and behaviors of the people in his village.

Apart from the healing Obediah was instrumental in solving the water crisis at his village. When he related his village’s problem to the pastor, the pastor of his church contacted OBI and informed them about the water crisis. OBI team came to his village and installed a hand pump that work perfectly in his village. The villagers were pleasantly surprised and overjoyed to see the new bore well. During the dedication time there was another blessing in store of Obediah’s family. When Reverend Jaya Kumar was praying for the well, Obediah’s daughter-in-law suddenly fell down. Through the power of prayer she was delivered from an evil spirit that had possessed her.

Obediah was a happy man, not only was his daughter-in-law healed, but the village was delivered from the major water crisis in an unexpected way. The villagers thanked the OBI team for their act of generosity.