The Mynso Seventh-day Adventist congregation in India had been waiting for a church of their own. For too long, they had been rotating through people’s homes for worship. Now that the congregation was growing, there was hardly enough space for everyone to fit into a living room. They needed a proper church.
Then, Maranatha volunteers with the Rio Rancho Adventist Church in New Mexico and the Texico Conference were scheduled to arrive in July 2016 and build them a church. The Mynso congregation was overjoyed—but it seemed the joy would be short-lived.
First of all, they were having a hard time finding a meeting space. The volunteers had requested a place to hold evangelism meetings. But as a newer faith in the area, villagers were suspicious of Adventism and reluctant to provide a place for worship.
Then, there was the issue of rain. It was monsoon season in India, and everything was drenched. The village was doubtful that a church could be built in such weather.
But the people of Mynso prayed. They prayed for help on finding a place for the nightly meetings and for relief from the rain.
The first answer to prayer came in the form of a meeting hall. The members finally secured a school auditorium near the construction site. As for the rain, it stopped during the day—just long enough for the volunteers to build the church. Volunteers also coordinated children’s programs, welcoming more than 100 children each day.
At night, the rain poured down on the village. But it didn’t stop people from attending the evangelism meetings. The auditorium was packed with people every evening.
By the end of the project, the Rio Rancho/Texico team had completed most of the brickwork on the church, and they were able to worship with the Mynso congregation in their new building. Â They also witnessed the baptism of eight people into the Adventist Church.
The Mynso Adventist Church is located in the state of Meghalaya, in northeastern India. While there is a strong Christian population in the area, the Adventist presence is relatively small. Despite prejudice from the community, Adventism is growing in the region. Yet there are few churches available, and many congregations have to worship in homes or outdoors. This year, Maranatha has been working almost exclusively in this part of India to provide churches for existing congregations.