Ministering to Bangladesh Tea Garden Workers
A Godly Tag Team
As daylight fades and the palpable humidity subsides, Mitra and Verma wander into a yard where three men rest from work.
Mitra and Verma immediately start their tag-team approach to proclaiming the Truth.
“Sometimes I preach and he rests, sometimes he preaches and I sit. When he preaches, I should pray,” Mitra says.
Mitra stands back as Verma begins to talk to the tea estate workers.
“Sometimes, we don’t understand the purpose of our life,” Verma says.
“If you want to go to heaven and live with Him, you should surrender your life,” Verma says.
Still holding their tools, the men nod in agreement as Verma talks.
Women begin gathering by the fence to listen.
“He wants to enter,” Verma says. “Open your heart, He will come in.”
Verma backs away and Mitra takes over by asking several questions, his preferred way of presenting the Gospel.
Several women pause from their voyage to weigh their tea leaves. They place their bags of tea on the ground to listen.
“Do you know who made this system?” Mitra asks, referring to the solar system and earth.
“Yes, God should make,” the workers answer.
Mitra tells them how much God loves each of them and that’s why He died for them. Mitra paints a picture of God as a Father.
“When you love your children, you are doing many things for them,” Mitra says, as he puts his hand on the shoulder of one of the men.
Mitra and Verma soon say their goodbyes, having piqued the curiosity of the men and women they met. They promise to return soon.
War Stories
The next day, Mitra and Verma sit in the church office, snacking on the Bangladeshi equivalent of Chex Mix and sipping chai made from leaves that grew just outside these walls. They enjoy sharing their “war stories” from their time in ministry.
Mitra and Verma laugh about eel curry and a cup of bad tea Mitra had recently.
Mitra told his hosts, “It’s really good.”
When the family wasn’t looking, he poured the tea out the window.
“It was very bad,” Mitra says, shaking his head.
At another estate, Mitra was served eel.
“We cooked skin of eel just for you,” they told him.
“What can I do?” Mitra thought.
“It was not so good,” he says, cringing at the memory. But, it’s worth choking down eel skin, Mitra says, because he had the opportunity to talk about God.
Family Ties
The men and their families are very close. Verma’s wife passed away in March, 2012 from a kidney disease.
“It isn’t easy for me to carry the load,” Verma says, speaking softer and putting his hand on his heart. “When I see the children … I get some comfort from my family.”
Verma has four daughters and two sons.
As the men handle the challenges that arise in their families and personal lives, they work hard to keep their evangelism goals in sight. They hope to start four new churches in the tea gardens in 2013.
Despite threats, personal losses, and other bumps in the road, the men will continue to tell tea garden workers about Christ until all have heard.
Will you pray for four new churches to start this year? Will you pray for Bangladesh’s tea gardens and Mitra and Verma’s ministry?
