Go to "the graveyard of missionaries."
That was the order God gave Zacharia, a preacher from southern India.
Speaking to Christian Aid Mission, Zacharia said at first he was hesitant to accept the assignment given him by God Himself. He said the Lord specifically told him to minister to the people of Bihar, a state in India populated by people who are so highly antagonistic of Christians that it was given the nickname "the graveyard of missionaries."
"That was really, really hard for me," Zacharia said. "I prayed for a few weeks, 'Lord, send someone [else] to Bihar. But the Lord said, 'Not someone else—you must go.'"
Zacharia said he could never disobey the Lord and thus he went to Bihar, leaving behind his comfortable life as a member of a Catholic family that ranked high in India's notorious caste system.
He immediately became a target upon arriving in Bihar.
One day he knocked on a resident's door to ask for a glass of water. A man opened the door and asked what caste he was.
When he said, "I'm a Christian," the man angrily looked at him and said, "If you speak more, I will kill you."
However, despite the many death threats he faced, Zachariah said he felt God's protection wherever he went. He said one night while he was meeting a group of people during a Bible study, six suspicious looking men came. One of them took out his gun, and pointed it at him. He pulled the trigger. But the gun apparently jammed.
He believed God save his life that night.
The following day, the man who tried to shoot him figured in a road accident, and he happened to be at the scene. Zacharia said it seemed that God used him to demonstrate the Christian kind of love as he took the man who had tried to kill to the hospital, saving his life.
Despite the initial enmity shown him by the people of Bihar, Zacharia eventually won them over—at least some of them. As a result, he was able to build a school and led 30 people to Christ in a span of two years.
Starting from Bible studies, Zacharia's ministry has now grown to include leadership training, literacy training, vocational training, free meals, clothing and medical aid.
