Chiliguda Church is a rural area in Koraput District, Odisha. In 2018, SCI Missionary Suresh Hial visited the area, and after a period of ministry, Mr Pataran Hanjan and his family embraced Jesus as their Lord and Savior and converted to Christianity. As a house church, they began fellowship every Sunday. Even though there are no Christian associations accepted by the local Hindus, they bravely continued to worship God every Sunday since the beginning and up until the present.

There is a terrible news in that village right after ministry began, but it also provides certain people with an opportunity to convert to Christianity. Three members of one family mysteriously passed away, while the rest of the family had strange and scary dreams. After the ministry’s work with them through our missionaries they too became Christians. The number of believers in the village grew gradually. There are currently 26 new converts. Membership increase is making home meetings more difficult, and the need for church buildings is increasing.

In the meantime, Upa Chalneihzawna’s family decided to build a church in memory of their son Dr.RK.Lalrosiama who passed away on August 26, 2022. Following that wonderful news SMRC has started looking for a church site, but nobody is allowed to sell the land for a Christian site. Finally, with great difficulty, the land for the church was bought. While we were preparing to build a church, the Hindus disturbed our people and said that a Christian church should not be built in our village. Hindus argued that if you build a church, you have no reputation in the neighborhood.

On May 10, 2023, the church valiantly started building in reaction to this threat. No one in the village was willing to work for pay while the church was being built. Additionally, laborer’s from Jaipor, which is more than 30 kilometers from Chiliguda, were employed. Despite these difficulties, the church building was completed in August 22 after 105 days of construction. Mr. Laltlanthanga, President of Salvation Church of India, inaugurates the Chiluguda Church on August 26, 2023. The dedication prayer was led by Rev. C. Rualchungnunga. In addition, on the same day, Pastor Suresh Hial baptized two new believers from Hinduism. God has bestowed his grace on our mission field, and we really thank God for all that he has done for us.