By Felix Anthony

Tezu, April 17, 2019: Jeremai had never missed an occasion to denounce Christ and Christians. Now as Jeremiah Krong, the Mishmi tribal woman is an ardent preacher of Jesus as the savior. Thereby hangs the tale of Arunachal Pradesh’s modern day Saint Paul.

“I was a stony-hearted person who could not stand the name of Jesus,” Krong said April 16 while sharing her story with the parishioners of Sacred Heart Church in Neotan of Miao diocese that covers the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh.

While it took lightning and a fall from a horse for Saint Paul to find Jesus, it was her prolonged feeling of emptiness that resulted in multiple health issues and anxiety that led Krong to the Lord.

“But after finding the Lord, all my anxiety, emptiness and sickness have gone and I have never been so happier,” the 27-year-old woman said with tears trickling down her cheeks.

Like Saint Paul, who became a strong defender of Church and the Christ after his conversion, Krong, a biotechnician with an MBA degree, left her eight-years-old corporate job with a renowned multinational business organization and returned to her village in Lohit district, which is literally on the top of mountains, to proclaim Christ among her people.

She now spends most of her day visiting families in her neighborhood to explain how Jesus Christ cured her sickness that no one else could. When she is not visiting families, the villagers bring the sick to her home for prayer. Many have experienced physical healing.

In Neotan, she explained why she quit her job and returned to her village. While praying one day she realized that many have not yet known Christ in her own family. “I am the only Catholic in my family and in my whole village. I want to share the joy of finding Christ to my people, starting with my family,” she told the gathering.

“Receiving Jesus Christ for the first time in Holy Communion was the best day of my life,” she says.

The number of sick visiting her family for prayer has increased. “This is slowly leading my parents and my siblings to believe in Christ. They do not stop me from praying anymore,” she added.

Listening to her testimony during the Holy Week brought tears to many in the animation program that she led in Neotan.

“Her story challenges our faith to do more for the Lord,” said Nemsi Mossang, a young woman who teaches in a private school.

“The story of Jeremiah Krong is indeed a strong message from the Lord that He is alive, the Church is alive,” Mossang told Matters India.

Amid the grim stories surrounding the Church, God has his unique and mysterious ways of restoring shattered hopes. “Here is one such story from the interior villages of Arunachal Pradesh,” she added.