During all these years, I held conventions without a break in various places. I am not going to describe all that. I am nothing only the important incidents. The Bible School classes stared in June that year, too. The classes were held its a shed built in the front yard of the Kurnbanad Faith Home. P. T. Chacko, who was studying B.D in Serampore College, had come for vacation, so he also taught along with me that year.Staying at his house, he served at the school. From that year, students from distant places started to stay with us and study. Apart from the brothers from neighbouring areas, there were 40 students from far off places. About 35 brothers and sisters stayed with us including Brothers T.G. Oomen, M.K. Chacko (Dehli), Melpadam K.G. Mathew (Kochukunju), K.K. Varkey (Valakom). Four or five brothers including Brother K.M. Zachariah, Brother C. Chacko, Borther C.K. Daniel who is a Marthoma evangelist in South Vengaoor (cousin of Pastor C.K Daniel) stayed a neighbouring house on their own and attended the school.
I mentioned earlier that when our movement and Pastor Cook’s moves decided to collaborate, Brother Zachariah, who was of the opinion that collaboration would harm the independence of the local church, decided to stay away and remain independent. When we became again, he returned and joined with us and was enrolled as a student at the Bible School. The school did not have a permanent income or aid. Our needs each day were met through prayer, receiving it from God. Several times, we had shortage of food and God arranged ways of help in a timely manner. I will cite one example.
During that time, Brother Kumbanad Anjilimoottil A. A. Joseph (Podiachan) stayed with us to assist in the ministry for some time. One of those days, a Monday, we had no food. There were 35 students, my family, and Podiachan’s family – altogether about 50 people. On Tuesday, too, there was no food. Everybody became tired. My children and brother Podiachan’s children became very weak. The classes were stopped. On Wednesday afternoon, at 1 o’clock, I , was lying in my bed very tired. I couldn’t get up and pray so I prayed lying down. “Lord, what is this? Have I started this school without your proper guidance and from my human desire? If that is the case, tell me and I will stop it right now. If it is not, help us,” I prayed.
At that time, a voice was heard in my heart: “Son, I am doing this. These young people have come to get training for my work and to study my Word. I have done this so they will learn to trust me, too. In the mission fields where they will go, they should learn to trust me for their needs. So you get down and call them together to pray for food. I will send the food. Thus they will have the experience of trusting me.”
As soon as I heard this inner voice, I got up from my bed, got out arid rang the bell. I called the students and informed them of what the Lord had told me. We started praying on our knees for food. T.G. Oommachan prayed first. Following him, another brother prayed. When that brother prayed, I heard the voice of the Lord in me again. “When you pray, believe what you prayed for it has been received. Believe that you have received, no that you will receive. Therefore, praise God for having received food, believing that the food has come.”. After the brother’s prayer, I said: “Let us keep praising the Lord for sometime believing that we have received food.” Everyone got up, joined their raised hands together and kept praising the Lord for a long time. I then called my wife and told her to go with a few other sisters to the kitchen and heat up water in vessels because rice and other food supplies were on their way. They boiled water without seeing rice or any other food. I was sitting in my room. Then Satan came to my side and gently whispered to me: “What a fool are you. You have heated water saying that rice and other stuff are coming. What will you do if it doesn’t? Won’t these people ridicule you? Ha, what folly!”. Then I said: “Satan, you leave this place. My God will not dump me after giving me His Word. He will fulfil His Word.”
Five minutes later, I saw through the window somebody coming uphill with a large basket on his head. It was a brother who lived two miles away. He did not have any prior information that we were starving. He came to the Bible School shed and said: “Please help me unload this” Brother T. G. Oommachan went to him to bring the load down. When it was placed on the floor, it was found to be a basket full of rice and salt, chills, peas, coconut, and other such things. We praised God again, prepared the food and ate. From that day on, the students were refreshed in the Spirit with a new life.
Many such incidents have taken place at the Bible School during that time. The young evangelists who got trained, went to various places in Kerala and different parts of India to declare the full Gospel depending only on God for their needs. Wherever they went, churches were established. Let all glory be to the all-powerful God.
A few years ago, at an IPC Convention in a school building near the Punalur Paper Mill, I mentioned this incident in an evening meeting during my message. At that time, a brother named Kidanganoor Scariachan got up while I was speaking and declared loudly: “Brothers, this is fully true. I was one of the students at that time and an eyewitness to the incident.”
[Excerpt taken from “K. E. Abraham: A Servant of Jesus Christ” – Autobiography of Pastor K.E. Abraham pages 177-179. To purchase the autobiography, go to https://www.indiago.org/resources/books/]
