(from a former junior associate Rev. Kevi Meru)
It is Tuesday evening now (Wednesday morning in Nagaland) as I write this. I have just come to learn of the passing away of Rev. Deo Vihienuo as I logged online to read news from Nagaland. My mixed emotions were immediate: sadness and joy. Sad that this man of God is no longer with us on earth; joyful that Pastor Deo (as I conveniently call him) has gone to his rewards in heaven. I can attest to the facts that he is a man of integrity and fiercely loyal to Jesus Christ and faith in the Bible as the Word of God.
As an impressionable young boy studying in Baptist High, in 1973 I came to hear of Pastor Deo as the Union Baptist Church (UBC) came into existence that year as an aftermath of the 1972 Billy Graham Crusade in Kohima. In my formative years I participated in some singing activities at UBC. From 1989 - 1992 I also served as associate pastor alongside Senior Pastor Deo. Together we put heart and soul in developing Shalom School in Doyapur, a Kachari community a few miles beyond Bade where Oriental Theological Seminary stands. It was a project of UBC and we took it like our own baby and visited almost every week until the school was firmly organized and established (Thanks to Viyiesa Terhiijah too for his efforts in the same). We secured the church property with government documents (to prevent encroachment by some shameless Nagas) --- and handed the land to local Kachari Christians --- and moved the school to another property duly purchased from Kachari landowners. Everything was done with zeal and integrity.
I mentioned the above because that was the most memorable (to me) and significant achievement we did together. I am happy to say that when the eldest son of Pastor Deo was blossoming into a young minister of the Gospel, I happened to be in the Youth Camp at Viswema where now Rev/Pastor Chathau (Rachiilie) Vihienuo delivered his first Bible teaching publicly. I offer my prayers to Pastor Deo's family members and draw our attention to the promise that his works will continue to flourish and follow him into heaven: 'Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them" (Revelation 14:13). Amen.
It is Tuesday evening now (Wednesday morning in Nagaland) as I write this. I have just come to learn of the passing away of Rev. Deo Vihienuo as I logged online to read news from Nagaland. My mixed emotions were immediate: sadness and joy. Sad that this man of God is no longer with us on earth; joyful that Pastor Deo (as I conveniently call him) has gone to his rewards in heaven. I can attest to the facts that he is a man of integrity and fiercely loyal to Jesus Christ and faith in the Bible as the Word of God.
As an impressionable young boy studying in Baptist High, in 1973 I came to hear of Pastor Deo as the Union Baptist Church (UBC) came into existence that year as an aftermath of the 1972 Billy Graham Crusade in Kohima. In my formative years I participated in some singing activities at UBC. From 1989 - 1992 I also served as associate pastor alongside Senior Pastor Deo. Together we put heart and soul in developing Shalom School in Doyapur, a Kachari community a few miles beyond Bade where Oriental Theological Seminary stands. It was a project of UBC and we took it like our own baby and visited almost every week until the school was firmly organized and established (Thanks to Viyiesa Terhiijah too for his efforts in the same). We secured the church property with government documents (to prevent encroachment by some shameless Nagas) --- and handed the land to local Kachari Christians --- and moved the school to another property duly purchased from Kachari landowners. Everything was done with zeal and integrity.
I mentioned the above because that was the most memorable (to me) and significant achievement we did together. I am happy to say that when the eldest son of Pastor Deo was blossoming into a young minister of the Gospel, I happened to be in the Youth Camp at Viswema where now Rev/Pastor Chathau (Rachiilie) Vihienuo delivered his first Bible teaching publicly. I offer my prayers to Pastor Deo's family members and draw our attention to the promise that his works will continue to flourish and follow him into heaven: 'Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them" (Revelation 14:13). Amen.
