The more we dig into the History of Christianity and how it became world’s largest faith, the more we realise that it’s full of sacrifices by people who put the Lord’s mission above everything else in their life. One such story of sacrifice is of Missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons, Philip and Timothy, three of whom were burnt to death by members of the Hindu nationalist group, Bajrang dal. Graham Stuart Staines now united with the Lord is survived by his wife, Gladys Staines, his daughter Esther and the many people whom Graham and his family served as per the example of our Lord Jesus.
Graham and Gladys lived a life of compassion and met each while taking care of leprosy patients in remote tribal areas of the state of Odisha, India. During that time, Graham also helped in translation of parts of the Bible into Ho language of the tribal group with the same name.
Graham, Philip & Timothy departed the world on 22 January 1999 when a mob of about fifty people, attacked their stationed vehicle with three of them asleep inside, burning them to death. Their souls are now with the Lord. Satan and his agents can’t do any more harm than that, while our Lord has the victor’s crown for everyone who put His commandments above everything else.
That didn’t stop Graham’s wife, Gladys continued in the steps of Graham, caring for the needy and sharing the Good News. She was awarded the fourth highest civilian honour of India, the Padma Shree in 2005 and the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice in 2016.
The seed sown by them is not going to waste, as we are seeing millions of people all over India giving their lives to Christ, accepting Him as their Lord and saviour in the midst of continued persecution by Right-Wing groups.
You can watch a short documentary about the movie “Warpath Beyond Life” based on Graham Staines’ life below:
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