FOREWORD
Years back someone introduced us, as people who live among the mountains and the monkeys. Today as I look back to these 50 years of my life and walk with my Lord, I feel I am seeing a vision or looking at a video of my old moving days, many of my blessings, doubts, waverings, tears and commitments to missions from Kerala to Kashmir and to the rest of the Himalaya Mountains. I can see the Attakulam Mar Thoma school building where I committed my life to Christ in 1944, the violent death of my old time friend, Philip of 15 dagger wounds, Mallapplly High School where I had my prayer meetings on the top of Poovalimala at lunch break, Punnaveli and Chelakombu schools where I taught as teacher, the conversion of many of my students there, Kottayam, where I did my Hindi studies in preparation for North India, the revival there when I wrote most of my Malayalam songs, Navajeevodayam, Manganam where I first started my ministry with Bro and sister K. V. Cherian in 1953, Maramon Mar Thoma Church where I made my commitment to resign my job in a missions conference arranged by the Cherians, Union Biblical Seminary, Yavathmal where I did my B.D., the hills and the jungles there where I sat with some of my close friends praying and preparing for a faith missionary work, my first missionary journey to Kashmir from UBS on faith in 1957, the dedication of our small missionary fellowship by Dr. Frank Kline our principal, the mud hut we made in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains in which my wife and I with our little baby lived and worshiped in Udhampur and from where the ministry has branched out to the unreached areas of not only the rest of the Himalaya Mountains but also to the rest of India and outside with thousands of missionaries and churches through our spiritual children and grand children.
Friends, I want to assure all who stood with us in these past years, your reward is great. The day is not far ahead when we shall gather around the glassy sea and share our reward, crying with the redeemed, “Blessing and honor and glory be unto him that sitteth on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever!” Friends, from my experience, I can assure you, no snow, no heat, no drought or no mountain can distract a man who really loves Him and are willing to obey Him. Elisha cried out as he faced the swelling Jordan, “Where is the Lord, God of Elijah?” But God proved He has not changed and that He can still divide Jordan. He is asking, “Where are the Elijahs of God?” To day, dear friends, we stand upon the verge of the unknown. There lies before us the Great Unfinished Task of the Himalayas, these unwanted and forgotten areas and we must go forth and possess it. In our experience the greatest problem in missions is not to find money or methods or materials but men with a vision, people who are willing to pay the price and move from their comforts to a mission field on faith alone. It is difficult to get people who are willing to move to remote mountains and valleys saying, ‘my Heavenly Father will provide’.
The Lord has been speaking to me again and again these days from Josh. 13.1, “You are old and advanced in years and there remains yet very much land to be possessed”. After serving in different parts of India for 10 years, we served in Jammu and Kashmir for 33 years and then in 1996 when I was 66 years old, the Lord moved us here to Gorakhpur to open this new center. Now we have completed 7 years here also which were years of struggle for existence in another new place and culture dealing with several types of corrupt government officials and contractors.
The Lord has blessed me and my wife, with a son Santosh with his wife Shimona and two children effectively taking charge of our NW region and daughter Grace with her husband Johnson George taking care of our NE region based near Bhutan border along with their three children. At this juncture I can boldly say with with Joshua “… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” and with Paul, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me”.
Finally, brethren, I want to exhort you to stand firm in your faith as the days are evil and the night is fast approaching when no man can work. Be of one accord and stand united to accomplish this great and unfinished task because no, one man or organization can complete this unfinished task. Let us do it together. Live and act each day in the light of eternity by doing His work in His way, looking forward for that day when a great multitude from all nations, tribes peoples and tongues will gather around the throne and before the Lamb saying .... Amen, Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Your brother in the Himalayas because of the Gospel,
P. M. Thomas
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Editorial
This souvenir is a small memento to commemorate the sacrificial life and work of Pastor P. M. Thomas and of his faith ministry of the past 50 years.
It gives a glimpse of the life, strugggles and the joys a missionary couple Pastor P.M. Thomas and his wife Christy Thomas, while living in a strange region, culture, language, far away from home, family, and friends.
The Union Church, Udhampur and the Kashmir Evangelical Fellowship in Jammu and Kashmir today stand as a great witness to their sacrificial and dedicated services begun many years back from a tiny mud hut. It is nothing but sheer love of God and obedience to the divine vision and call alone that they made a willful choice to stay back in this backward area amid, sickness, war, and persecution to witness for Christ.
While hundreds were saved and many people dedicated their lives for full time service through their ministry and today are working in different parts of India and outside, they however continue to concentrate their work in the most unreached areas of north India and the Himalaya region in particular.
This couple is an outstanding example for many people both in India and other countries who want to step out in faith to serve the Lord. We pray their latter days may be more glorious than the former days.
Acknowledgements:
I would like to thank the many people who have taken great pains and spared their precious time in bringing out this souvenir. Special mention is to be made of Uncle Ivan Joseph for his timely help in page making this souvenir inspite of his health ailments. Secondly, Dr. (Mrs.) Sheeba Sharma in proof reading and the other office staff, Mr. John Joy Raj, Mrs. Silla Charles and Ms. Emreen Emmanuel whose help and co-operation are noteworthy.
Aruna Roy
Editor, Himalayan Harvest
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A JOURNEY INTO THE MISSIONARY LIFE OF PASTOR P. M. THOMAS
“Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” I Cor. 15:59. We take this verse as a living challenge from Pastor P. M. Thomas as he looks back today over the fifty years of his ministry when he remained firm in his faith and faithful to the Lord’s call and did what his Master told him to do. Today we can hear the Master saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things….” Mt.25:21. We, the HEM Family, with hearts full of thanksgiving to our dear Lord, are celebrating the golden jubilee of Pastor P.M. Thomas as he has completed fifty faithful years of ministry in the Lord’s vineyard.
He is now 73, and remembers how the Lord led him and guided him with His right hand, all these years. A short biography of this man will be helpful in acquainting us as to how and when the Lord caught hold of him to use him for His glory and for the extension of His Kingdom. Thomas was born on 15th June, 1930 in a well to do Syrian Christian family of Kerala in South India as the eldest son among seven children. His name P. M. Thomas, included the name of his house, Puthenparampil and the name of his father, P. I. Mathai. As young Thomas reached his teens he found himself in a group of bad boys who indulged in all sorts of mischievous activities.
In 1944, a spiritual convention was held in which Ranni Kochupadesi presented the Word of God and out of the many, Thomas was one who was convicted of his sins and accepted Jesus as his personal saviour. Soon he left his bad company and was immediately gripped by a missionary spirit. He had hardly finished his matriculation when his family had a big financial crisis and were forced to move to a small house. '
He longed to study further; but his dreams were shattered. However he was offered a teaching job in the same primary school he studied. The small salary of Rs. 12 per month was a big help for the expenses of their family of nine members.
Although Thomas knew he had been called to be a faith missionary, he resisted, but when he could not bear the restlessness any longer, he asked the Lord to tell him where to go. The Lord specifically told him to go to the unreached people of the Himalaya Mountains to whom very few people want to go. On hearing God’s voice he obeyed and left home with his old Bible in 1953 as his family members were looking at him with tears. Soon he had an invitation from USA saying they heard about him and his sacrifices and that they are willing to sponsor him if he wants to go to USA. He prayed for 6 weeks keeping the letter before the Lord and he knew clearly the Lord gave a definite no. Miraculously he got admission in UBS Yavathmal to do B.D. "My greatest challenge was to see if it is possible to live and work like the apostles and the prophets of the Bible by faith alone" he used to say. In the first seminary vacation, instead of going home, he decided to travel to Kashmir by faith. This missionary journey confirmed his call and vision. In 1961 he graduated with B.A and B.D. which he did side by side.
Soon after this, he met Christy, the only daughter of Kunjappy Upadesi a famous evangelist in Kerala. They were married in May 1962. Christy was not only a life partner but also a major instrument in the hand of God which He used mightily to execute His plan in Thomas’s life. In April 1963 their first son Santhosh was born. When he was seven months old the little family started their journey to Kashmir, bidding farewell to family, friends and their native place. on Nov.1, 1963. They carried their meager luggage of some household things and after many a break journey they finally reached Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir on Nov.17. 1963. They stayed in a small hired room for thirty rupees a month. They had no cots or mattresses and somehow managed with two wooden planks and some old newspapers to make the bed warm in that first winter. It was extremely cold as Udhampur is 2500 feet above sea level, facing the snow mountains of the Himalayas. This area has been the mission field of WEC missionaries. Most of them had left and the last ones were leaving.
Some old friends kept sending small gifts which gradually came to a minimum and there were times when there was nothing to buy food or even milk for Santhosh. The little family continued to lift up their eyes to the Lord to send His ravens to feed them. They, immediately started evangelizing the hill country sometimes on foot and sometimes by bus. The work progressed slowly but steadily and seekers started coming with great hunger and thirst. When many people began to turn to Christ the local hindus were greatly annoyed. There was no church building except the little rented house. They started praying for a place to worship. When no help or aid came for a church land, Thomas decided to apply to the unlikely source, the government, for some land and to his amazement the government gave him a piece of land free. A small mud hut was made by Thomas and Christy with the help of the believers. By 1970 the believers had grown to a congregation of fifty.
But very soon dark clouds encircled this joy and happiness and stiff opposition arose when they started to make a bigger building. The local people took out processions against them. In spite of all this opposition, the Thomases stealthily continued the construction of the church when a stay of construction was handed over to them by the court. Still they did not stop work. In 1971, another order, this time an eviction notice from the court was placed on the building. This time it was unbearable for this young couple and soon Thomas had two heart attacks one after another. Friends in the army admitted him in the army hospital and took good care of him. While in the hospital he asked God, 'is that the end of their ministry in the hill country; but the Lord said, the days are coming when “ these mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” From the military hospital Thomas wrote a letter to Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. To everybody's surprise she stayed all the proceedings against Christians. Soon Thomas had a miraculous healing. Assured of the promise of God, the family filled with new zeal, continued their ministry. During this time both Pastor Thomas and his wife Christy received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and their ministry was no more the same. He now obeyed the long neglected voice of God to take believer’s baptism.
A wave of revival broke out in their ministry. Many people started committing their lives to the Lord. Out of the many converts and members, to mention only a few, are, Hav. P.G. Vargis who along with his wife Lilly got saved, got discharge from the army and started ministry at Katra. Captain A.M. Samuel, a young army officer also got discharge from the army and started another ministry near Udhampur. Similarly a young army nursing officer Sosamma got saved, married Thomas's brother Philip and joined Thomases. A young Tibetan lecturer working in the local government college, got saved and baptized, soon resigned his good job and joined Thomases. Yet another army man P.M. Joseph miraculously healed from peptic ulcer, began serving the Lord in the Pakistan border there. Following that was Hav. T. C. Chacko with his wife started another ministry in Himachal Pradesh. Soon some of the local converts like K. T. Paul, John Mattu, B. S. Daniel, Karim Masih and many others came out for full time work and the small congregation became a missionary church. As most of them started to extend their ministry to the rest of India, Thomas continued to concentrate on the Himalaya region.
By 1994 they had 96 missionaries in 36 outstations. As the work expanded to Punjab, UP, Nepal, Bihar, Bengal and Bhutan borders, they started to pray for a mid-Himalayan head quarter. After few years of waiting and prayer the greatest miracle took place one day, when somebody rang them up from Gorakhpur offering them a piece of land free for their use. Thomas checked the map of India and saw it was exactly in the middle of the Himalaya region as they asked the Lord. Soon Thomas and Christy packed some essential things and decided to leave Udhampur which had been their home and office for 33 years with a heavy heart bidding a tearful farewell to all their dear ones there. Their son Santosh who has been already working as the assistant pastor there and whom the believers loved very much, took over the charge of the north west region including the Udhampur ministry.
Thomas along with a few people came to Gorakhpur on Jan 20, 1996 and thankfully accepted the offer. It was an unused land with many tall trees and bushes and gave the look of a thick forest. But a small old clinic and some servant quarters etc. were helpful to start living. They found it very much suitable because it was on the main road side going to Nepal and also close to a Medical College. Immediately the cleaning started and applications were given for electricity and telephone connections. Because of Pastor’s strict principle of not to pay bribe they decided to suffer working in scorching heat and mosquitoes for 8 months and then only the connections came . Then was the question of church building, which also brought many problems because of not giving any money under the table. Miraculously one day the city officer came and said that they could start the construction of the church and gave the map properly signed without any bribe. Pastor never lost an opportunity to share the gospel with all these government officials. We could see from the very beginning the Lord’s hand in supplying all the needs necessary to build what can be seen at present in the Himalaya Evangelical Mission. At present we have a missionary training center that holds classes three times a year and sends out missionaries to unreached areas. According to available statistics, up to Aug. 1, 2003, HEM missionaries have visited 775,383 houses, contacted 4,02,0795, 165,950 people made decisions for Christ and 8263 people including fifty in Union Church Gorakhpur, have taken water baptism. Mrs. Christy Thomas is often busy in her prayer ministry. She holds prayer meetings three times a week. People from just anywhere and everywhere contact her for prayer either personally or through letters or on phone for their different needs. This picture book gives a glimpse of life, strugggles and joys this missionary couple, while living in a place, culture and language, far away from their home, family, and friends.
The year 2002 saw Satan’s attack on the health of this missionary couple. On18th May while Pastor Thomas was in America and Mrs. Christy Thomas was here in Gorakhpur, both had to be rushed to the hospital one in New York and the other in Gorakhpur on the same day. After forty days of prayer by the local people healing and revival both came revealing God’s purpose in allowing this incident.
Much has been said about this family except one person. Their only daughter Grace who is married to Rev. Johnson George an Anglican priest in Kerala who recently got a vision from the Lord left his work and came for full time missionary work in the North East region of India. God laid a special burden in their heart for a place called Totopara near the Bhutan border. Now Pastor Johnson George is the Director Missions of the North-East region of the ministry.
Today, 276 co-workers working in 13 states and neighboring countries, stand together with the Himalaya Evangelical Mission spread over the unreached areas of north India. The flame that ignited the heart of Thomas to leave his native land 50 years ago continues to set ablaze many to spread the gospel and fulfill the task in the Lord’s vineyard.
For HEM Family
Dr. (rs.) Sheeba Sharma
Greetings
It gives me great pleasure to express my sincere thanks to God for the half-century of Christian service rendered by my beloved Brother P.M. Thomas and his helpmeet, Sister Christi and that in a region culturally far removed from their native soil of Kerala. A Christ- honouring couple, they have shown to one and all that it is no great thing for The God of heaven to use weak instruments such as ourselves for the weaker we are, the more He can use; that Christ’s strength is indeed made perfect in our weakness. The mud hut in Udhampur was humble beginning but then the Scriptures ask: “Who despises the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:9)
Of this we may rest assured that the spiritual impact that they have already made in the Himalayan Region will long, long outlast their lives on earth. May the tribe of P.M. Thomas and Christy increase vastly, making themselves available to lead multitudes out of darkness into the wonderful light of our Blessed Saviour! To God be the glory!
Dr. D. John Richard
June 21, 2003
Greetings
My wife Grace and I would like to congratulate our parents, Pastor & Mrs. P. M. Thomas for completing their long and miraculous 50 years of faith ministry. These last 50 years have been full of difficulties, hardships, physical and mental ailments which were ultimately covered by God’s love, protection and providence as written in 2nd Cori: 6:4-10. They can be termed as “Miracle Beings”. Being alive and that too, in almost normal health is beyond the dreams of medical science. They were even advised by friends, relatives and doctors both in India as well as overseas to stop the ministry in this hill country and spend the rest of their lives somewhere in south with complete peace and comfort; but they clung on to their calling, claiming the promises of God.
We can never forget what our parents said a few years back, when they visited us in Kerala. They said “If we die here in Kerala, please do not bury us here. Take our bodies back to the Himalayas for burial”. They have dedicated their lives for the Lord’s ministry in the Himalayas and they wanted to live, serve and die and also be buried there so that on that day when the trumpet sounds they can say we are coming from our promised land. One thing is sure, they had a vision and call for the ministry and they obeyed God implicitly and so He had been faithful to them till this very day. God’s greatest faithfulness was shown in bringing us, their children, into the same ministry, with the same burden and vision to continue their call and vision.
We are proud to follow the footsteps of our parents into the mission field and now they too can say along with Joshua with all courage and pride, “I and my family will serve the Lord”. We give all glory and honour to the Lord Almighty Who has led and guided our parents and now, just as Elisha asked we have only one prayer that we may inherit a double portion of their spirit.
Johnson George
Director of Missions, North East Region
HEM, Birpara
West Bengal.
Email:gracej@sify.com
Greetings
Date: Thursday, 05, June, 2003 9:30PM Dear Pastor P. M. Thomas and Friends,
Greetings from Chicago!
It is both a pleasure and an honor to congratulate Pastor P. M. Thomas and his ministry team as you are celebrating 50 years of faithful ministry of the Founder. Your founder and leader, Pastor Thomas, is a godly and humble man of God. He has been used by God to bring countless number of people to the love of Christ and to raise up many leaders in India and worldwide. No one can measure the influence of Pastor Thomas and his wife Christy's obedience to the call of Jesus Christ. Because of their vision, commitment, passion, and ability to share their burden with tears, they became an extra ordinary couple in the mighty hand of God.
My wife Moni and I are thankful to God for their impact on our lives and ministry. Their stories of hard work and sufferings are inspirational in our lives. We ask God to grant them strength and wisdom to carry on the work.
Our best wishes from RIMI/ and Mission India (Nagpur) to you Pastor Thomas as you celebrate (Golden Jubilee) God's faithfulness in your life. We rejoice with you!
Blessings,
Rev. Saji K. Lukos
Founder/ Executive Director/RIMI
P.O. Box 688, Round Lake Beach, IL 60073
847/ 265 0630; E-mail: Slukos@aol.com
Website: RIMI.org
Greetings
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
I praise the Lord for His mercies and blessings as He has enabled me to see the fiftieth anniversary of my father's ministry. Apart from being a father he has also been my friend, philosopher and guide.
From my very childhood I have seen him to be faithful towards God and His statutes. I have read his life as a book and have worn his utterance as clothing. From his exemplary life alone I am what people can see me today. The instructions given to me by my father in my childhood can be seen today as " …. A graceful ornament on my head and chains about my neck" as Solomon says in Proverbs.
I have lived with my father for about forty years and have seen him working in Udhampur amid toils and tears. His prayerful ministry is a living challenge for me and my family. It is my earnest prayer that God may give me His wisdom and strength to fulfill this task and follow the footsteps of my father and give glory to God.
Both my parents have lived for God's glory and have been a source of encouragement to many. My wife and I congratulate both of them heartily on this occasion and pray that God may show them many spiritual children and grandchildren in the Himalayas in the days to come.
Santosh Thomas
Director of Missions,
North-West Himalayas
Email:Sthomas@kef.org
Message
Rev. Dr. Leaderwell Pohsngap
Principal
union biblical seminary
Affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College
Accredited to Asia Theological Association
July 2, 2003
Rev. P.M. Thomas
Himalaya Evangelical Mission
Arogya Mandir P.O.
Gorakhpur Dist. UP-273003.
Dear Rev. Thomas,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is indeed a pleasure to know that you have completed fifty years in faith ministry. We are proud that you are a Graduate of Union Biblical Seminary. It is encouraging to know your ministry has grown so effectively and still continues to grow by God’s Grace.
We congratulate you all at the Himalaya Evangelical Mission and wish you God’s blessings in future too. We rejoice with you as you celebrate God’s faithfulness in your lives and ministry.
Please remember the ongoing ministry of UBS in your prayers, as this is the Golden Jubilee year of our Seminary as well.
With best wishes and prayers,
Yours in His Service
Message
Dear P. M. And Christy Thomas,
“It is the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:23)
Congratulations and praise the Lord as you celebrate your 50th year of God’s call upon your lives. As you look back over the past years, you can see so many milestones, some have been painful and some have been joyful; but now looking back you can say that the Lord in His grace and mercy has turned all of your trials into glorious triumph for the blessings of tens of thousands both at home and abroad as well as for His eternal glory. The secrets of the success of your ministry have been threefold:
1. The Call of God upon your lives. In obedience to the call of God you committed your lives to do anything and everything at any cost for His glory. You were steadfast, loyal and immoveable to the call of God, which enabled you both to be “always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58). The Lord’s will never leads us to a place where His grace cannot keep us.
2. The Vision of God. From the very beginning you both have had the vision of God. That vision gave you the faith, commitment and courage to be available to God whether others were standing with you or not. Like the Apostle Paul you can say that you were not disobedient to the heavenly vision. It was that vision that kept you going in spite of all the trials and tragedies of life knowing that “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” (I Thessalonians 5:24).
3. The Mission borne out of the Vision. Your mission has been the result of your vision and the call of God. Many Christian workers go astray because their mission is not the by-product of their vision of God or the call of God. The purpose of any life or ministry is to show forth the greatness, the glory, the wonder and the awesomeness of our God. During these past 50 years of your lives and ministry the Holy Spirit of God has enabled you to show forth the greatness and faithfulness of God. May your lives and ministry be an inspiration for the generations to come as you both continue to serve Him faithfully.
May the Lord bless you and continue to make you both a mighty blessing.
Yours in His Eternal Love and Service,
T. E. Koshy, Ph.D.
Founder of International Assembly
Founder Director of International Friendship Evangelism, Inc.
Evangelical Chaplain at Syracuse University
June 20, 2003
Message 
Dear man of God, Pastor P.M. Thomas,
Greetings in the sweet and matchless name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” (Mk 10:27)
Indeed, it is a pleasure to know that this is the 50th year since you decided to put your feet on the Himalayas and make it your promised land.
Many promised. Many went. But you promised, went and stood-stood firm. Though you also had opportunities to go to greener and safer places, you refused to quit.
And thus you became an Apostle and a model to many — like me. Because of you, several entered full time ministry and planting churches in different parts of North India.
I am proud to say that you and Mrs. Christy Thomas who walked with you from the beginning, are my spiritual parents. Lilly and me salute you both.
May the Lord give you more decades of harvest and discipleship training.
Yours to count on to see North India evangelized in our life time. None can do it alone. But together we can do it. Let us do it now.
Indian Evangelical Team
Servant of Jesus,
P.G. Vargis. August 2, 2003
Indian Evangelical Team
A registered indigenous fellowship of full gospel faith workers labouring in North India
Tel: (91-11) 6801915, 6808092, 6804842 . Fax: (91-11) 6804152 E-Mail: ieteam@vsnl.com
Come with us for a thrilling missionary journey through the villages of
North India on the webpage:
Message
It is heartening to know that ‘Himalaya Evangelical Mission’ is bringing out a Souvenir on the occassion of the Golden Jubilee of Revd. P. M. Thomas’s ministry and mission. His active and profound services having multifarious programs and activities leading to prepare mankind for His Kingdom and avail everlasting eternal life are commendable. Only a few years back, I came in touch with the evangelists of Himalayan Mission since they have shifted and established their office here at Gorakhpur. Their enthusiasm, zeal, devotion and thirst for winning souls have really impressed me. I pray God and our Savior Lord Jesus Christ to richly bless the Mission, its activities and all the functionaries during the Golden Jubilee Celebrations and in the years to come. Extend my felicitations and best withes to all the officials and helpers for their endeavor to a grand, successful and a blessed program.
Principal
( Dr. J. K. Lal )
St. Andrews Degree College,
Gorakhpur-273001 U.P
Website : www.st-andrews-college.com
e-mail: principal@st-andrews-college.com
Message
October 2, 2003
It is a joy to note that Pastor P. M. Thomas has completed 50 years of ministry. The Lord has blessed him fabulously with a beautiful family and with hundreds of people, saved, baptized, and added to the kingdom of God.
My association with Brother P.M.Thomas began in 1957 when I attended a Missionary Confernce where I met him. SinceThen he came to New Delhi and spent sometime with us before he went to Udhampur as a missionary. The Lord blessed him, and now his son, Santhosh, is in charge of the week in Udhampur. He moved on to Gorakhpur to take charge of a new field.
We wish him all blessings as he begins 51st year of his ministry.
(Dr.) P.N. Kurien
Director
Gram : CRUSADE
All India Prayer Fellowship
Q-3, Green Park Extension, New Delhi- 110016
Phone : 2665226
It is a joy for me to write this message for the 50th anniversary of the ministry of Pastor P.M.Thomas and Mrs Christy Thomas. Pastor and Mrs Thomas stand as the pioneers of Christian missionary work in the Himalaya region especially in its remote areas.
When many others have settled to the more comfortable parts of ‘north India’ with almost every facility available at doorsteps, Pastor and Mrs Thomas pioneered in an area which was remote, small, and had all ingredients for a disheartening of a missionary. With very small beginnings in Udhampur, the Himalayan Evangelical Mission has come a long way. Now a days when almost all missions stand at par, at least on paper, I am proud to say that this missionary couple was used by God to initiate several mission sodalities in India and envision scores of others abroad as well. Our family has known Pastor and Mrs Thomas for the last forty years, ever since they came to Kashmir; but it was in Udhampur during my tenure as a lecturer in the Government Degree College, that a deeper spiritual relationship was built. Kashmir Evangelical Fellowship was formed in those days with which I was associated for many years.
I, on behalf of the Moravian Church in Ladakh, feel that Pastor and Mrs Thomas’ ministry is so close to the ones of the Moravian missionaries who almost 150 years ago started the work in the remote Himalayas of Ladakh, Lahoul Spiti and Kinnaur. Not looking to the “wind or the clouds”, the work was done; difficulties were compared with the call of the Lord and Jesus Christ obeyed; Kingdom advanced and God glorified. I wish my best wishes and of all the Moravians on this happy occasion.
Rev. Elijah Gergan
Moravian Church,
Leh, Jammu & Kashmir
