In December of 2008 when I visited Pastor Jongbahadur Debbarma, one of the church leaders among the Borok people group in Tripura, he invited me to attend the Golden Jubilee celebrating 50 years of the gospel being among his people. The Borok tribal people group number about one million, and are indigenous to Tripura.

Two years later in October 2010, Helen and I landed in Agartala, Tripura, anticipating a Jubilee with a few thousand believers in attendance. I had been to a Borok Youth Conference some ten years earlier so I thought I had some idea of what to expect - heat and lots of people.

When we arrived at the venue for the celebrations I realised that we had underestimated the heat and weren't prepared for the numbers or the magnitude of what was happening at the Jubilee.We were informed that fifteen thousand people were expected. We watched as people arrived in jeeps, motorbikes, cars, vans, in colourful Borok dress. Families, young people, older folks, all walked into the large temporary venue to celebrate what the Lord had brought about over the last fifty years – more than most of us had dreamed of.

I was moved as their leaders enthusiastically led the large gathering of Borok believers in song, in prayer, and worship. Five hundred young adults formed the main choir, singing a song especially written for the occasion.

Rev Bony Resu, General Secretary of the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, who was one of the main speakers at the Jubilee, gave the celebration a sense of connection with the wider Indian and international Christian community.

Leaders, pastors and previous New Zealand missionaries from the 60s and early 70s were remembered - such as Brian and Shirley Smith and Olwyn Kemp (now Pound).

Thanks to modern technology, Pastor Jongbahadur was able to Skype Brian and Shirley Smith in Auckland from the Jubilee venue. Brian & Shirley, who served with tranzsend / NZBMS, were involved in the translation of the New Testament into their language of Kokborok and are highly honoured there. Brian spoke in both Bengali and Kokborok, his voice heard well over the sound system ,and the people applauded.

We discovered that there are now 82,500 believers in 626 churches in all denominations among the Borok People group. In 1950 there were three believers, in 1980, two hundred, and in 1990 about fifteen hundred. Over the past twenty years there is evidence of a significant people movement. The Holy Spirit is working among this people.

16,640 people registered for the Jubilee. All were fed two meals a day, and most were given accommodation in various places surrounding the venue. They took up an offering at each morning meeting and covered all their expenses. One statistic that stood out for us was the amount of rice that was cooked – 8,000kg.

At the closing ceremony we watched as senior leaders and pastors lowered a Jubilee flag, folded it and then presented it to a group of children. In doing this they were symbolically passing on the mission of the gospel to the next generation.

The Jubilee just wasn't an amazing celebration when the Spirit moved in way I hadn't seen before. This was history unfolding. Helen and I were privileged see the gospel making a difference in the lives of so many people.

John & Helen McMullan served with tranzsend in Tripura from 1999-2002. John is a member of Mission Council.