Holding on to Hope

In a quiet village tucked inside Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district, a family once lived under the dark shadow of sickness.

Pastor Mulayam
still remembers those early days, long before he was a pastor, long before he preached the gospel to a single soul. He was just a boy then, watching his family unravel with fear and helplessness.

His father had epilepsy. Violent seizures would strike without warning, throwing the household into chaos.

Desperate and scared, they
tried everything. Witch doctors, temple rituals, sacrifices, nothing
brought relief. Hope was vanishing like smoke.

Then, one day, hope arrived in the form of a quiet, firm voice. A believing sister told them about Jesus Christ, the healer of all wounds, the Prince of Peace. She said, “If you believe in Him, He will
heal your father and bless your home.”

It was the first time the name of Jesus had ever been spoken into their pain.

That night, they prayed. No incense. No idols. Just a broken family crying out to a Saviour they barely knew. And then, the miracle
happened. The seizures stopped. Days passed. Then weeks. Then months.
The man who was once bound by fits and fear was free and has remained
healed to this day.

That was the moment everything changed.

The entire family gave their lives to Jesus Christ, receiving Him as Lord and Saviour. For Mulayam, it was more than a miracle, it was a
calling.

He went on to complete a year of Bible training and then earned his Bachelor of Theology from Grace Bible College. In 2014, Mulayam and his young wife moved to Jaunpur to serve full-time in ministry. They had nothing but faith and a fierce passion to bring light into dark places.

That fire, however, would be tested in the furnace of suffering.

In December last year, tragedy struck.

His wife began experiencing severe issues with her tongue. What started as pain quickly escalated to a terrifying diagnosis- tongue
cancer. Aggressive. Invasive. Incurable, said the doctors.

Her entire tongue was destroyed. A gaping hole now connects her mouth
to her throat. The cancer has spread toward her chest. Hospitals, specialists, treatments, they tried everything. But in the end, all the doctors could offer was resignation: “There’s nothing more we can do.”

She has stopped eating. She lies in bed all day, unable to speak, bathe, or use the toilet on her own. Her husband is her caregiver.

Her children, just five and three years old, watch silently. One is in LKG, the other in nursery. Her life has become a bed of suffering and yet her spirit has not broken.

Mulayam has spent over ₹5 lakhs on her treatment, money borrowed from
relatives, taken on interest, begged in tears. The weight of it all, her condition, the financial strain, the children’s needs has left him devastated.

And yet, he refuses to quit.

In May 2020, during the height of COVID restrictions, Pastor Mulayam was conducting a Sunday service in one of the house churches. Without warning, eight policemen stormed in. Behind them were a group of
anti-Christian agitators and media personnel.

He was dragged out, his collar pulled, his dignity crushed under false
accusations.

“You are converting people with foreign money.” “Why do you need a foreign God when we have crores of gods and goddesses?”
“Stop house churches. You are manipulating villagers.”

He spent a day in Jaunpur Jail. Alone. Accused. Humiliated.

They told him to stop preaching in homes. To stop praying in villages. To confine his faith to a building with walls- so that he would stop the work he was called to do.

But how do you silence a man who has seen Jesus heal his father? Who
has walked through sickness, hunger, prison, and yet still sings?

Pastor Mulayam didn’t stop. He kept going, from village to village, house to house, soul to soul.

Today, he still serves in nearly 15 villages. Two out of five churches continue to run actively. In many places, people give him nothing but
a handful of rice or some vegetables. That’s how his family survives.

His mother, father, and brother have come to live with him now in Jaunpur. The small rented space is packed, but it is full of prayers. He leads the services. He sends out workers. He preaches the name of Jesus, sometimes with tears, but never with regret.

He has lost much, his wife’s health, his peace of mind, his financial stability. But he has not lost his calling.

“Jesus said: ‘If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming
that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.’” John 15:20; 16:2.

Pastor Mulayam believes this with all his heart. He weeps sometimes, especially for his wife and children. His eyes carry the
weight of sorrow. But his hands remain lifted in prayer.

Update: God has called her to her Heavenly Abode on 7th August

Those who are persecuted and suffer for their witness to Jesus Christ, including death, are pleasing in God’s sight. Bro. Shibu Thomas, Founder- Persecution Relief.