AREA: 3,204,000 sq km (twice the size of Texas)

ECONOMY:74% of labor force agricultural; 75% of population in deep poverty annual income per capita, US$350

Ricky and a fellow resident series of meetings and got the support of the Delhi Naga Students Union (I.F.E.S. and initiated action to clear the house. The students conducted surprise raids and caught drug users and other abusers. The Deputy Resident Commissioner was relieved of his duties and a senior officer has taken over. Now the atmosphere in the multi-story guesthouse is quite different. Other changes in the administration and facilities are emerging.

A triumph of political activism? Hardly. To the Medoms, disciples of the Lord Jesus must serve as agents of change in their specific social situations. That's what it means to be "salt of the earth."

In 1982, Ricky left his native home in Kohima, deep in the northeastern Indian State of Nagaland, to study theology at the Asian Theological Seminary (ATS) in Manila.

Nagaland's Christian heritage dates back to the golden days of intense missionary activity in India,

which explains why some 85% of Nagas are at least nominal Christians.

But in the nearly 50 years since India expelled missionaries from Nagaland in 1946, many Christians lost the fire of the gospel and their churches turned into structured institutions that offered people little in terms of spiritual growth. In spite of a significant revival (people movement), many young people, including Ricky himself, felt displaced from the church.

With this background, Ricky nurtured a vision for his people. He sought to train in a seminary where the curriculum would be appropriate for the spiritual needs of his own church and community. Bypassing offers of admission from two western schools of theology, he opted for ATS convinced that his church back home especially needed their curriculum of contextual ministry. While in the Philippines, he also learned the practical side of discipleship ministries from such The Navigators and Reach. At the seminary, he met and later married Viring dela Rosa, a long-time staff member of Reach Philippines.

After obtaining a master's degree, Ricky and Viring returned to India. However, he that found at he couldn't make an impact within the restrictive church structure. He turned his attention to finding a position where he could be "in the church" but not "of the church." Eventually he was offered a chaplain's position among the hundreds of Naga students in the universities of New Delhi. He and Viring built a students' ministry from scratch, applying the principle of ministry which involves training disciples to multiply as they grow in Christ.

This year, Gene Tabor, director of Reach Ministries International, visited the Medoms on several occasions and saw the fruit of Ricky's efforts-clusters of people who have a deep and committed relationship with God and to each other. It is evident that the underlying principles of Reach Ministries are well planted in yet another fertile soil for the gospel.

Ricky's vision for Nagaland is plain and simple. By building disciples among the students now, Naga society will be influenced later as the students return as professionals capable of impacting every aspect of community life.

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