In 1985, my mother and father started God's ministry in the remote and hilly tribal areas of South India, where the people depend on the forests for their living. At that time, God's ministry had not yet begun anywhere in these regions because the people there had very cruel natures, worshipped pagan gods, practiced idol worship, animal sacrifice, child marriages, and were addicted to homemade liquor. Both men and women were dying prematurely due to excessive alcohol consumption. Many women were widowed at a young age because their husbands died from alcohol abuse.

My father was from a pagan family in the tribal area, and my mother also belonged to a pagan family and lived in extreme poverty. After my parents got married, they both worshiped idols with my father working to set up the sound systems for pagan celebrations in the tribal areas. Completely addicted to alcohol, and a businessman who sold alcoholic beverages to others, my father did not take proper care of my mother.

After 25 years of marriage, they did not have any children. They used the medicines given by the traditional healers in the tribal area and also went to many hospitals, seeking help to have children. But no matter what they did, they were not able to have a child. Then a miracle happened! A pastor came to our home and met my mother. He told her about the Lord Jesus Christ who died to forgive her sins and who would give her eternal life. After many visits by the pastor, my mother believed in Christ and stopped worshiping idols. She started praying to God. In the same year that she believed in God, God opened my mother's womb and gave me as a gift to my parents. But my father did not stop worshiping idols.

However, soon after I was born, I fell seriously ill, and the local traditional healers and doctors in the nearby town declared that my survival was unlikely. At that time, a man of God from the town visited the hospital and prayed for me, asking my mother to pray to God with faith for my healing. Through God's powerful intervention, I recovered completely and returned home safely. My mother recognized this as a healing granted by God solely through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Through my mother’s prayers and seeing God heal me from a terrible disease at a young age, my father later experienced a complete conversion and salvation. He was transformed. He repented, gave up alcohol, sold his sound system, and spent the money on the gospel of God to do the work of God. In the very places where my father had previously indulged in drinking and behaving disgracefully in front of many, he now carried God's gospel, moving forward to share the truth. However, he faced opposition everywhere he went because no one in these tribal areas was willing to accept God's gospel. While some did believe, others mocked and hurt him with sarcastic and humiliating words, saying, "This is the same man who drank with us until recently, the same man who sold alcohol until recently, and now he's preaching the Word of God, thumping the Bible!" But because of the faith my mother and father had in God, the vision they had received, and the way God spoke to them, they endured all the insults and continued in God's ministry. They established a small church in a tribal area and began sharing the gospel. God used them powerfully, and in the following years, a small group of people began gathering in that church to worship God. Five years later, as per the call of God, my father was ordained as an evangelist and a dedicated servant who worked for the salvation of souls in this tribal area and continued the ministry of God until he breathed his last breath.

In August 2016, my father received God's call and went to be with the Lord. As his son, I greatly rejoice to share that he fought the good fight for God and His work. The ministry started by my father has led to the transformation of many individuals in leading many lost souls towards God. That same gospel continues to be spread in our time as well. As a family dedicated to God, my mother, my wife, and I are continuing in God's ministry. We are reaching out to some orphaned children and young widows in this tribal area, caring for their well-being, meeting their needs, and involving them in God's ministry.

There are still many families in these tribal areas that need to be transformed. Those who are against Christ are committing acts of violence against Christians in these areas. Because of our faith in God, He is enabling us to continue in His ministry without weakening or being put to shame. There is great need for food and education of the tribal children, training for widows in handicraft skills, the purchase of Bibles for new tribal converts, and the provision of drinking water and toilets. Also, young people from our village must travel to the nearby town to attend college. The daily trips by private transport are very expensive for them, so we hope to purchase bicycles so they can go to college safely in the morning and return home in the evening.

My wife and I are convinced that worldly jobs are not for us but that God has appointed our family for His work and has kept me alive for this very purpose. We visit many tribal areas every day, offer special prayers for those who need prayer, organize prayer meetings at night to share God's gospel, and preach the gospel to those who have not yet repented, leading them to salvation. All the people in this tribal area belong to the lower middle class and a large majority are from the poor class. There is a custom of performing child marriages for many young children. However, we visit many villages and families, explaining to them the obstacles and dangers that will arise in future generations due to child marriages, and we share the gospel of Christ, thus bringing about change in them.

From the beginning of this ministry until now, God has never forsaken us but has guided us according to His grace and love, using us for the salvation of perishing souls. We desire to undertake new works for God and to be greatly blessed and prosper in His work. I am the gift given to my parents after many years of marriage, their only child, with no children before or after me. However, after my marriage, God has blessed me and my wife with two sons. At present, our family consists of me, my wife, my mother, and our two children. We are all dedicated to the ministry of God, continuing to do the work of God. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.

Pastor Kavala Gangadhar and his family live in Pydipaka Village in South India.