When Brother Lawrie returned from his first would tour on July 25, 1960, he was very much dejected. Wherever he went people talked as if he must have amassed large sums of money from America. This is not unusual, as Indian preachers who join any one foreign denomination or other did benefit monetarily. People even tried to borrow from him thousands of rupees which he did not have! On reaching India, he had on him just about 10 rupees (about 1.50 dollars), and when he met his wife he had to ask her for another 10 rupees to pay for the cab. Even his wife could not understand him when he said he had no money!
Back in the States he had a vision of Jesus Christ who made his plans for Bro.Lawrie known. "I am sending you back to India not with silver or gold, which is worldly power. I will be your power. I will meet all your needs, and you will be supported only by those who hear my voice. So never tell any one your needs".
Soon after Brother Lawrie's return to India, a close friend of his whom he had trusted, deserted him, even slandering his name. As promised while in the States, Bro.Lawrie arranged a big campaign for the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association Youth Team. It was without any hope of being used by the Lord for His work that Bro.Lawrie went over to Madras to collect his personal luggage from U.S.A. At Madras he stayed with a friend, who had been blessed in his ministry. He had to spend many days there, as he was told by the Shipping Agents that it would be a month, before his luggage arrived in Madras from the U.S.A.
During his stay in that city, Bro.Lawrie was asked to preach in a Church one evening. This way God opened the Anglican Churches for him. The first meeting was held at San Thome Church, Mylapore, Madras and God did wonders. He was invited to preach in other Churches also. The crowds swelled to thousands, whichever congregation he addressed, and the Churches could not hold them.
In the days that followed, only an open field was large enough for Bro.Lawrie's meetings. The city began to bestir itself. In a matter of few months, the spirit of revival spread throughout Madras like a forest fire, and the whole city was aflame. The miracles which took place at these meetings are too numerous to be narrated. More than that, thousands of people emptied their hearts to God, and His Spirit filled them.
This excerpt from an editorial which appeared in "The Christian Focus" gives tribute as well as bears witness to these meetings: "To a generation distracted between the intense need of believing and the difficulty of belief, God sends evangelists, according to his good pleasure, of whom Paulaseer Lawrie, we believe is one. He burst upon Madras some months ago without any intention on his part - he had only come here and was waiting for his luggage arriving by ship from America, when the Lord called him. If he had not been called or sent, how can we explain the four-month long major campaigns, sustained without flagging? And what is that attraction that would keep thousands rooted to their places even in pouring rain, as it happened on the first day of the Aminjikarai Campaign (19-7-61)? Or, what was that power that kept 40,000 people of the most mixed sort on their best behaviour - and singing - when the lights went out on the last day of the Aminjikarai Campaign (30-7-61), and there was complete darkness for 15 minutes?"
"The Evangelist has little Hebrew and less Greek, but he was able to attract even the sophisticated, while the common people heard him gladly, even though he came crashing down sometimes on superstitious religion and idolatry. And when in the course of the breathless hurry of his talk, there were gleams of references to God's dealings with him now and in the past, 20,000 necks would crane forward in enthralled attention. Among those he inspired were his fine team of zealous volunteers and his co-workers and translator, Bro.E.D.Savariroyan, who, though he had never done any translation work before, kept his head most creditably above the rushing current of the speaker's words. One of the heart - warming parts of these meetings was the ministry of witness by those who were healed or had found salvation, and the very appealing witness given through singing by Mrs.Lawrie and the three children".
"It was obvious that the evangelist was only interested in exposing the multitudes (especially the Non-Christians) to the challenge of the gospel and the impact of Christ, leaving it to the Lord of life to add to His Church such as should be saved. (Acts 2:47). Only the sick and the burdened ones who had found release at these meetings can testify to his healing power; the rest can only reason. Though people had an excited feeling about him, and would seek after him, the evangelist insisted on their seeing no man save Jesus. The finances of the campaigns were God's department and He never let down his trusting servant. There is one thought suggested by this day, 15th August - and that is, that Independence has not sterilized the Indian Church, that, on the other hand, native Christians are adding to the heritage left by the good missionaries of old".
"Some people ask, how long will all this last? No answer is necessary, because Lawrie's Master, and ours, would urge us saying, Walk in the light while you have the light. Further, no one has any right to go to another man's fire without lighting a torch of his own".
In March 1961 the Lawries had a few days' meetings at Kuppa Medu followed by the meetings at Perambur, where the people overflowed the capacity of the ground. In April that year, they had a convention at Trichy organized by Mr.Joe Daniel, supported by Dr.A.Mathuram. In April itself, the grounds of St.Ebbas Girls' High School was booked for two weeks, and then the Theyagaraja College grounds for a month. This was the type of itinerary they had.
The healing ministry was so powerful that the sick had to wait even upto 2:30 in the mornings the next day. So one of the evenings had to be dedicated just for the healing ministry without any preaching or prayers.
Conventions and meetings were held at Vellore, Conjeevaram and other places in Tamil Nadu with the permission and support of the then Bishop of Madras, Rt.Rev.D.Chellappa. Wherever such meetings were held, the Lawries organized and established Prayer groups with the help of full-time or part-time workers.
This is an eye-witness report of the Campaigns and Camp Meetings in those days as told by Bro.Arulanandham. He was a Deputy Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu who, after retirement, renounced everything of this world and came over to the Ashram.
"These Campaigns are not organized with great human effort or with a lot of preparation and vast collection of funds. But, as led by the Holy Spirit, vast expansive grounds are booked wherever Bro.Lawrie goes, and are equipped with bamboo platforms with thatched roofs plus of course tube lights and loud speakers. As the time of meeting draws near, everyday vast crowds from all walks of life begin to pour in, and in a short time the grounds are jammed to capacity - a unique feature unheard of in history. Another unique feature is that no police help of any sort has been sought for the protection of these great crowds. It is strange to notice that as Bro.Lawrie gets on the platform and begins to deliver His Holy Spirit - anointed messages, even a child stops crying, and there is pin-drop silence. It is evident that a supernatural power - the power of our Lord and God Jesus Christ - falls on the people and keeps them attentive and responsive. As this power begins to fall on the people, men and women bound by evil spirits stir out from their places in the crowd and come running to the platform. As the approach the platform, the Holy Spirit controls them and allows the meeting to proceed without disturbance. At the end, these demon-possessed people are delivered by God through the mass prayers or through individual prayers offered by Bro.Lawrie. These are days when people do not believe in demons, but the sight of these people bound by evil spirits, and their control and deliverance in the Name and power of Jesus, makes even a critic or a doubting Thomas or an unbeliever dumb-founded. When the critic or the doubting Thomas or the unbeliever witnesses these and other numerous miracles of healing with his own eyes, he sees the power of God in action and realizes that what Christ has said is true. When he finds that many are touched by the Power of God, he believes that the same unseen power could touch him also, and he begins to yield himself up to God. That is how thousands of men, women and youngsters have been led to the feet of Christ by Brother Lawrie. Another factor I would like to mention and it is important. Healing meetings are regarded by many as money-making attempts, but this Brother never demands money from anybody. Even stalls are not rented out at the campaign grounds and no collections are taken. No money has even been or is demanded by anybody connected with the Ministry. Then what about the underground whisper which sometimes gets expression through the lips of some and through the pen of others - I mean the whisper that Bro.Lawrie is supported by large foreign denominations or secret funds? Nothing can be farther from the truth. People in the Ministry know that money for the Ministry comes from God in so many unexpected ways - from a few individuals, led by the Holy Spirit to give what they can in support of this work for God".
Bro.Lawrie had a call to tour the Andhra Province, and he attended a Convention at Rajamundhry. In 1962 he came back to Madurai in the South and Calicut and other places in Kerala State in the West. Then came his trip way North to Meerut beyond Delhi.
It was not smooth sailing everywhere they went. They had resistance generally from the local Churchmen and laymen alike. Some of them printed hand bills to be distributed among the public, painting gloomy pictures of Bro.Lawrie as the Anti-Christ. Others wrote letters to Bro.Lawrie - some advising not to preach the devil's scripture, some threatening and some abusing him. One gentleman pooh-poohed God's healing powers, which He has bestowed on His servant, as nothing but the time-worn SUPER-NORMAL POWER, and later came out with a more learned treatise and warned the public of 'False Teachers and Prophets'.
The Hindu zealots also resisted the Spirit at many places. At Salem when Non-Christians came to the Christian fold in hundreds after witnessing the powerful ministry, some of the Hindu leaders threatened Bro.Lawrie to bear the consequences if he did not quit the scene immediately. It is amusing to go through the file containing these letters and handbills.
The notice in Tamil bears this threat: "If the Christian preacher (Bro.Lawrie) would not quit the place on reading this notice, the Bible which he worships and propagates will be burnt in public. The Hindu Society is hereby requested to extend their full co-operation!" Following this threat with action, a large crowd of about 2,000 men converged to the meeting place, threatening to kill Bro.Lawrie and his wife, shouting that they would take his Bible first and tear it up and burn it. Suddenly their leader was struck by the Spirit of God and was taken to hospital. Then a ferocious looking man, brandishing two big knives, and accompanied by another man with a knife, forced Brother and Sister Lawrie into a van and drove them off. Sister Lawrie said, "Oh! They are taking us some place to kill us". After they had driven for a while, the big man said. "Don't be afraid Bro.Lawrie, we are your friends, and we know all the plans of those people. They wanted to waylay you on the road to Madras. So we are going to take you by a different route". So they arrived in Madras safely.
The opposition to the ministry was manifest in many ways. But everytime God's power was victorious. Even when Bro.Lawrie was working in the Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore doing Gospel work part-time, he had the experience of God's protection. He used to go out on the streets of Vellore as early as four in the morning with his family and friends, singing and shouting Bible Verses. This annoyed Non-Christians in general, and their champion - 'Tiger' in particular. This 'Tiger' was a bad character and a dangerous man to confront. This man sent a warning to Bro.Lawrie that he must not disturb him in the early morning or else....... But the bold God's children were not afraid of his threats and went right in front of his house, singing and praising. His anger roused, Mr. 'Tiger' came out screaming death and destruction, but was stopped by God's hand, and he ran back into his house. It was through his son that they learnt later that his father 'Tiger' went mad since that date and he was to be taken to the Mental Hospital in Kilpauk, Madras. The son accepted Jesus Christ and was baptised by Bro.Lawrie.
At another place near Sis.Lawrie's village, the opposition they encountered was from the Roman Catholics. Bro.Lawrie was preaching in the street that Salvation is through Jesus and not through the mother of Jesus. The Catholics got very angry and surrounded Bro.Lawrie and his group of Gospellers, threatening to beat them up. When they were contemplating the hopelessness of their situation, there was a sharp shower which dispersed the entire crowd. The rain was surprisingly in and around the place they were having the argument with the Catholic crowd, and nowhere else.
At many places the crowd used to be split, some for and some against. At one such village in Tirunelveli, some one from the 'against' party threw a stone aiming the head of Bro.Lawrie as he stood in front of the table delivering his message. But instead of hitting his head, it hit some invisible barrier, stopped dead and rolled on to the table harmlessly. The 'againsters' seeing this, marvelled and repented of their evil deed. There was a great blessings to the village and many were converted.
The spate of meetings and campaigns continued all along. The one at Tuticorin in 1963 was remarkable in that over 1000 persons were baptised. This was followed by conventions at Palayamkottai and Mudalur. Mr. & Mrs.Otto Buess, Switzerland visited South India during these days and were with the Lawries and worked with them at Tuticorin and then at many places in Kanyakumari District.
Heavy work told on Bro.Lawrie's health who, on February 10, 1964, had a heart attack. It happened this way. Bro.Lawrie was called at midnight to the sick bed of one Mrs.Alleluia Samuel to be prayed for. On his return, Bro.Lawrie collapsed at the doorstep, exhausted. He was unconscious for over an hour. Dr. (Miss) Oliver who was with the Lawries, attended on him and ordered complete rest in bed for some weeks. But there was a Camp Meeting the next day at Nagercoil, a distance of nearly 80 miles. Bro.Lawrie refused any medicine and insisted that they travel the next day to Nagercoil. He was perfectly all right after the prayers, which so baffled Dr. Miss Oliver, that she took a vow not to interfere with God's ways of working, and left medical practice for ever.
From May 6, 1964, for three weeks, Bro.Lawrie went North to such far - flung places as Nagpur, Bhilai and Dhurg. At one of the meetings he held in the industrial centre at Bhilai, which is considered to be a communist cell, he was assaulted. As a follow-up, the communists wanted to liquidate him, as the preaching of Jesus weakened their hold on the masses. To carry out this nefarious act, they hired a man, to board the train in which Bro.Lawrie was booked, and do away with him at night. In another compartment an American, Dr.Miller, his wife and their small daughter were travelling. An Army Major, Mukundan, bristling with his moustache, was also booked in the same compartment.
At night, Dr.Miller's little daughter wouldn't sleep, as she was frightened of the Major, that the Major volunteered to go to some other compartment, and walked into the cabin where Bro.Lawrie was sleeping alone. It was the moment that this hired killer had chosen to assault and was about to attack Bro.Lawrie with a long knife, when the Major pounced and overpowered him.
In October 1964, Bro.Lawrie had a call to a Convention at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Just before this trip to North, Sister Lawrie undertook a fast for 21 days. During the days of her fasting, a letter from Sister Goebel was received, in which the Missionary had requested the Lawries to take over the Orphanage she was running at Bangalore. Reluctantly this offer was declined, as the Lawries had planed to concentrate their spiritual work at the Ashram.
The first Camp Meeting to be held at Sathia Nagar (Manujothi Ashram) was for three days in January 1965. "In faith, a big pandal (Huge but temporary structure to roof a big gathering for protection against the sun) was put up, and facilities were provided for the stay of all believers in batches. The meetings were arranged to fulfill Mark 6:31 which says, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile". So the meetings were mainly for those in towns and cities. Against all aniticipations and against all the wishes of people who thought nobody would come, large crowds came from different parts of India in buses, vans, bullock-carts and hand-carts. It was like the Israelites' camp in the wilderness. The Pandal looked like a Tabernacle. Is. 35:1 which says, "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing", was actually fulfilled. The hand of God which fed Israelites in the wilderness and which fed five thousand out of five loaves was seen at work. There was no deficiency at all. God also fulfilled I Kings 17:16 which says, "The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the Word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah". There were many unseen blessings of the Lord in the meetings. On the last day of the meeting, there was a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost. It was found very difficult to end the meetings. A lady from Madras attending this series had this vivid vision. In her own words:
"On the last day of the meeting at night, when Bro.Lawrie was right in front of everybody, the pandal was filled with some kind of smoke. 'Why are they burning incense?' I shouted. But suddenly my eyes were opened and I saw the glory of God filling the entire Tabernacle, and it surrounded everyone".
The subsequent Camp Meeting, wherever they were held, was on this line but on larger scales.
Bro.Ewald Frank, Germany came over to India and attended this Camp Meetings. It was in the same year the Lawries had meeting Bro.Oral Roberts when he visited India. Soon after this Bro.Lawrie had to go over to Andhra Province in the North, followed by a trip to Kerala-South and then on to Mysore-West.
It was during these days that Bro.Lawrie had the book 'Life that Pleases God' by Fred L.Page printed in large quantities and distributed them all over the world. This helped many people in their spiritual life.
The call of God took them again to Kakinada, Andhra. In 1966 they were again called to the Andhra range. This time they went to Orissa State also and visited Sambalpur and Cuttack. The then Chief Minister of Orissa, Mr.Biren Mitra's son had a fractured leg and was in plaster. He got healed immediately after prayer, and removed the plaster. At Sambalpur they were invited by the Maharaja of Kanunga to whom they opened the mysteries of the Bible. They had some tracts printed in the local language and distributed them.
On return from their trip to North India, a meeting was held at S.I.A.A. Grounds, Madras and then at Saidapet, where Dr.S.C.Jacob and Dr. (Mrs) Mascreen came over to the ministry, after renouncing their jobs and worldly possessions. Dr.Jacob was a Research Scientist in the Madras University Geology Department. The letter he wrote to the Presbyter, C.S.I. Methodist Church, Saidapet giving out the reasons for his resigning his membership of the Church gives an insight to the impact of Bro.Lawrie's messages on the public in general and on the intellectuals in particular".
"...It is true that I resigned my membership ultimately as a consequence of attending the meetings conducted by Bro.R.P.Lawrie at Richards Park, Saidapet, Madras-15. The happenings in the meetings were a direct contrast to the present day situation of the Churches. The power of God was felt all around the place, the sick were healed, the dumb spoke, devils were cast away, etc. The messages delivered were inspiring, unlike the dull and spiritless sermons in the Churches. Murderers were converted, many Non-Christians gave their hearts, many were filled with the Holy Ghost and so on. The uncontaminated truth from the Word of God was preached, as a result of which the power of God worked in the hearts of many. I have been greatly benefited in attending these meetings. An inexplicable 'peace' fills my heart amidst the difficulties and anxieties of the world. I now realize that I have become the "Temple of the Living God" which forbids me to attend any Church "made of hands". Within a short time my love for My Lord has become real, and I am able to feel His presence in all my dealings. My twelve years of membership in the Church could never teach me to love my Lord with all my heart".
"Further, I do not support your contention that the 'false doctrines' have a backing of a rich foreign Organization. The Central Bureau of Investigation maintains a list of people, who have direct contacts with foreign organizations and the name of Bro.R.P.Lawrie does not find a place in the list".
Also this particular case of a soul that hungered after the knowledge of the true God and how it found peace and tranquillity at the feet of Jesus through Bro.Lawrie will make interesting reading.
During those days in June 1966, when huge crowds of people thronged the S.I.A.A. Grounds, Madras the volunteers had a tough task handling the various types of people, some out to create mischief. As is expected in a crowd, there were people of different mental build-up also. One night when the crowd was thinning out after the meeting, a Hindu Sadhu (saint) in saffron coloured robe confronted the volunteers with the question, "Why was I not able to see God?" He was dripping with murky sewage water. It appears that this man was creating lots of trouble earlier in the meeting, asking questions like "What is the size of the soul?" "Show me the true God" and the like. In order to get rid of him, one of the volunteers told him, "Why don't you get into the sewage running behind the Moore Market (close to the S.I.A.A. Grounds)? You may then be able to find the true God". This Sadhu took him literally and was standing in the sewage water for hours immersed upto his neck!
He found the true God when Bro.Lawrie prayed for him. At one of the meetings this Sadhu, Jeevaputhiran he is call now, avers that he saw an angel of the Lord standing by Bro.Lawrie in a protective stance. Seeing this he screamed, "Lawrie is the messenger of God, Listen to him. Listen to him".
In his quest for the true God, this man had roamed the country from 1958 to June 1966. During these years, he changed so many religions. He was a Roman Catholic by birth but was converted to Hinduism. Leaving that, he joined the Rashtria Swayam Sevak Samaj. He became a Muslim and when this too did not satisfy his soul, he joined the Nirankari religion wherein they worship space as God. Then he jumped over to Arya Samaj. When nothing quenched his thirst for God, he started his own religion combining doctrines of different religions and named it 'Kalki Rajyam' declaring all religions are one, and their God - 'Truth'. He had a following of about 400 persons. Bro.Jeevaputhiran is a staunch and close follower of Bro.Lawrie. Bro.Lawrie says of him, "In the beginning it was a great problem to deal with this man".
Again the call came from Northern parts of India, and Bro. & Sister Lawrie visited such places as Naidupettai, Nellore and Bitragunda. At Naidupettai, a devil-possessed man went rushing upto the dais. When he could not reach Bro.Lawrie, he hit the ground with such force that his entire fist went into the ground! At Nellore more than 50,000 people attended daily, the 30 days' meetings held there.
In 1967 again they went North, to Jamshedpur this time. They were caught up in the political agitation. The train they were travelling in was held up at a wayside station and stoned. No harm came to the God's children.
The 1967 Camp Meetings was held at Thayanur, a village near the town Trichinopoly. Sister Lawrie had a vision of Bro.Ewald Frank calling them to Germany and Switzerland.