History of Diocesan Missionary Prayer Band continued...

D.M.P.B. joined hands with the N.M.S. in 1964 and worked for 14 years on Jawadi hills.  Some of us visited the Jagir Kalrayan hill in 1974 and surveyed the need of those people and prayed for them. On 20^th June 1977 the gospel work was started at Thekkampattu, a village on the Kalrayan hills of South Arcot (Villupuram) district. Many people were kept as bonded labourers till 11^th August 1976 until the late Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi freed them.

Kanyakumari Diocesan Missionary Prayer Band sent Rev. Dr. D. Elias as its missionary to them. He walked 18 kilometres along with a coolie and reached Thekkampattu. When the tribals saw him, they started running here and there out of fear. He met some of them and told them that he had gone only to help them. Then he allowed to stay in their verandah and there in the verandah, he first started his missionary work.  He had bitter experiences in the beginning but was never discouraged. Within two weeks the other missionaries appointed to work with him in the Kalvarayan hills by the D.M.P.B. also joined him and then they began to go to different hamlets of the hills. They started mission fields and stayed with them doing the Lord's ministry.

The people slowly began to understand the commitments of our missionaries and then started to cooperate with them. As a result many accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and so we had to build small churches in those places in addition to the houses for missionaries.

Social services were started for the following areas :
Health Care
Children Education & Adult Education
Other Rural development services