From the Editor's Desk

Dear Readers, it is good to meet you again. We have chugged along to the third issue so far this year. One more trimester remains before we see a change of guard at the Editorial Conclave. So some of you guys better get ready with your blue pencil!
It is great joy bringing news to you, to read your encouraging letters, spending endless hours at the Press Proof-reading. We also enjoyed meeting different people; interviewing them to bring their views to you. Than there’s the uneasiness of telling (read forcing) someone to write something quick in order to meet the dead-line. It was also fun and dizzy at the same time editing very convoluting articles, and trying to find out if a poem is authentic or borrowed. Did we hurt any of you in the process? Sorry if we have. But we’ld much rather you remember us as humans who tries to do their best than the unfeeling editors.
By the time the next issue hits the stand Christmas would be very close. And I believe we are looking forward to this wonderful time of sharing. But right now, as we have some perspective, we think that it will not be very inappropriate to look at some of the activities the C.E has had. The Seminars which we enjoyed greatly, the half-a dozen weddings where we said “goodbye’ to our friends as they moved to a different echelon in the church. The many wonderful song practices in the church, the excitement of church-building (literally!), the thrill as we moved out for our outreach programmes, and the CEM Summer Camp where many of us got the opportunity to see the youngsters praising Jesus at full throttle, and with equal vivacity devouring their breakfast. And there still remains the anticipation of the next three months.
In the midst of all these, as young people, it is sometimes easy to forget the real objective of our activities. We believe this is a good time for us to calm down again for a while. Be still and know I am your God, says our Lord. As students, businessmen, office-goers, or professionals we all have a job to do. But as Christians we have the common career to proclaim His glory, and take the message of Salvation to the unredeemed.
We are looking forward to working with you again. Ciao!

Is Christianity in a dilemma today? We have Jesus telling us that He has shown us the way and that He wants us to imitate Him (1 Cor. 11:1). Our Christian society has almost lost its Christian principles. Be it in schools, colleges, offices, or in business world, Christian values are observed very less. As long as one gets along life well, there’s an it’s O.K attitude. There is a need to introspect ourselves over and over again and see what we really are and where we stand.
In every individual’s life whether small or big, life’s hurdles are not absent. Along with the hurdles, there are thorns and briers in one’s path. As I live daily to fulfill God’s call in my life, I find myself always confronting with thorns. And ever asking this question What would Jesus do? helps me walk in the footsteps of my Master. Just because life is not always smooth and fine, it doesn’t mean we are lost in confusion. For we have one (Jesus) who had gone through life before us, setting an example in every circumstance. Jesus’ world was no different from our world today. He faced all kinds of problems common to the community, yet, was successful in every endeavour. When faced with a fiery situation, instead of reacting violently, He was possessed of a great calm. One cannot just say, ‘well, Jesus was God,’ and lose heart. Yes, he was God but the Bible said that He gave up His divinity and lived as perfect human being while on earth. (Philippians 2:6-8). That’s why He had to live in the power and presence of God. Jesus would often withdraw from the crowd to be alone with His Father, to gain strength so as to live a pleasing life before His Father. Then how much more should we spend time with God to live a successful Christian life. We might be a born again Christian but still we all have a tendency to stumble over sin or to react to circumstance according to the flesh. Smith Wigglesworth said, We try to tame the old man and we can’t do it. But God can, if we are totally surrendered to Him. We must totally surrender to God and live under the control of the Holy Spirit, which alone can take us through victoriously under critical or confronting circumstance. When the disciples were ordered by the high priest and his associates to stop teaching in the name of Jesus, they responded, we must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). In other words, they chose to please God than men. Are we trying to please God or men? In a situation when obeying one’s boss would mean compromising on our Christian principles, how do we tackle it? We are obsessed by human master that we fail to acknowledge the one who is above all. This is just an illustration which one often face in life. When no eye is on us and we’ve a golden opportunity to cheat, or when we’re asked to sign a paper in favour of someone which is actually wrong in God’s sight, what do we do? Have we ever paused to ponder what would Jesus do or just rush to gain favour, position, fame, money, etc.
Life must be lived with a purpose. If we’re going to ask ourselves what would Jesus do? We need to know Jesus well enough to have a storehouse of information about who He was and what He was. John states, In the beginning was the word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (1:1). We know from the Scripture that Jesus was the word and the word was Jesus. Know the word and you’ll know Jesus. Whenever you are faced with a situation that requires you to ask, Should I do that or should I not? Ask yourself what would Jesus do? and you’ll make wise choices. Let your life be that models the transformed life.

"TRAIL" interviews Mr Neivilieo Zuyie
(Secretary ABKK and President NBYF)
The ABKK Seminar in all the six sectors have ended. What is your impression?
Neivilieo: It is good to see that our youth members are becoming more open and receptive. I am also impressed with the thirst for practical solution our youth in evincing. On the whole it was a great success.
What do you think will draw more people into the church?
Neivilieo : Firstly we need to modify the traditional system of worship and also introduce new activities in the church. Secondly gibe more opportunities to young people to participate in the worship so that they do not just remain a mere observer.
As the Youth Secretary of the ABKK what is your greatest concern?
Neivilieo : My greatest concern is to develop committed and Godly leadership among the youth.
Coming to NBYF what is your main thrust?
Neivilieo : We are interested in leadership development and in reforming the physical and spiritual life of the youth.
We understand these issue could be outside the original purview of the NBYF, but is NBYF doing anything about the fast growing menace of AIDS and DRUG Addiction and HIV/AIDS in Nagaland.
Neivilieo : At the NBYF level we had conducted awareness seminars on this issues. We for some years had a branch called New Life Ministry which was directly dealing with these issues. But due to financial constraint, the NLM had been handed over to the NBCC.
The Naga Youth of today inherits a society where the predominantly Christian population simply do not see the relation between their faith and office. How disturbing and dangerous is this? What do you think can stall this rot?
Neivilieo : This is happening because of nominalism among us which becomes a stumbling block for the progress of mission work within and outside of our land. If our people return and go back to the Bible then only can we solve these problems.
A message for the MHBC Youth please?
Neivilieo : Live creatively, as creative as your bulletin for the Lord.
Thank you

In this issue we have Neikeseno speaking to us.
I strongly believe in ‘Faith’ and ‘prayer’. It is through faith I am empowered me to tap the resources in the spiritual realm and bring them down into my personal, practical daily living. Throughout my life I’ve come across so many hurdles, temptations and problems, at times making me very difficult to cope with it, but my faith in God makes me overcome all these circumstances. God says in Revelation 3:30 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me. Facing those moments drew me more closer to God. Though I was born and brought up in a Christian family, I am still very young spiritually. But still, God listens to a person like me. When I pray to him secretly, My Father secretly rewards me richly. He enlarged my vision and sharpened my focus. God hears the prayer of the righteous (Proverbs 15:29.) When we are faced with a hopeless situation God comes to our rescue. So believers remember that ‘Faith’ and ‘Prayer’ are the keys by which one can unlock one’s blessings from this spiritual realm and transfer ones success from the spiritual realm to the nature - Physical realm.

Words tend to spoil over the years like old meat. Their meaning rotes away. Consider the word, charity, for instance. When King James and the translators contemplated the highest form of love, they settled on the word – charity, to convey it. Nowadays, we hear the scornful protest, “I don’t want your charity!” “Grace” is one grand theological word that has not been spoiled. I call it the last best word because in every English usage I can find, it retains some of the glory of the original meaning. Surely it has theological significant that unearned gifts and unexpected pleasures bring the most joy? Grace billows up. Or, as the bumper sticker says, “Grace Happens”. For many, romantic love is the closest experience of pure grace. Someone at last feels that I - I! – am the most desirable, attractive, companionable creature on the planet. Someone lies awake at night thinking of me. Someone forgives me before I ask. Someone loves me just the way I am.
For this reason, I think, modern writers may choose an affair as a symbol of grace in their novels. They are speaking the language our culture understands: Grace as a rumour, not a doctrine. And then along comes a movie like “Forest Gump” about a kid with a low IQ who speaks in platitudes handed down from his mother. This dimwit rescues his buddies in Vietnam, remains faithful to his otherwise unfaithful girl-Jenny, stays true to himself and his child, and lives as though he genuinely does not know he is the butt of every joke. A magical scene of a feather opens and ends the movie – a note of grace so light no one knows where it might land. Many thought it naïve, ridiculous, manipulative. Others, however, saw in it a rumour of grace that made a sharp relief against the violent Ungrace. As a result, it became the most successful movie of its time: The word starved for Grace. I grew up with the image of a mathematical God who weighted my deeds on a set of scales and always found me wanting. Somehow I missed the God of the Gospels, a God of mercy and generosity who keeps finding ways to shatter the relentless laws of ungrace. God tears up the mathematical tables and introduces the new math of Grace; the most surprising, twisting, unexpected-ending word in the English language.
The Bible tells of a murderer, an adulterer, of a church being led by a disciple who cursed and swore he never knew Jesus, of a missionary being recruited from the ranks of the Christian torturers – who’ve now changed into an apostle of Grace, a servant of Jesus Christ, the greatest missionary history has ever known. If God can love that kind of person, maybe, just maybe he can love the likes of me. God is “the God of all grace” in the apostle Peter’s words. “And grace means that there is nothing I can do to make God love me more and nothing I can do to make God love me less. It means that I, even I who deserve the opposite, am invited to take my place at the table in God’s family.”

Amy angrily pushed her bedroom door and screamed for Fiona their part-time maid. Amy the only daughter (child) of the Kilpauks, a wealthy oil family, was what you’ld called a spoilt child. She had virtually everything. And that day for the first time her orange juice was not delivered to her bed. Her parents too were a little perturbed. Fiona’s a very sincere woman. That simple woman would quietly do her job and at 9:30 catch her bus to the College. But that morning she simply did not come. Immediately Mrs Kilpauk thought of the obvious. “But”, she said to herself, “ she never has had a boyfriend. “And it is very unlikely that she would ever do such a thing! However gut instinct told her that something was terribly wrong. But breakfast first. They would decide later on what to do about her.
The breakfast news on the TV was not too palatable either. A groggy newscaster was reporting for CNN about an air crash. The 7463 carrying 174 zoomed into a golf course narrowly missing a residential area. Most of the passengers were feared killed. Jamie, a priest of a nearby parish was one of the first to witness the crash. He immediately rang the Fire Department and then his Sexton, Patrick Paine. But no one would answer his call. Than, at 6:45 in the morning, was strange. He rang the PD who after 25 minutes rang back saying though the house was unlocked there was no one in there. But neither was there any sign of foul play. “I should’ve known”, said a relieved Jamie to himself, “Pat was talking about a vacation with his family to Spain”. “But why didn’t he at least tell me before leaving?” He felt a little hurt. The Tel Aviv Television too had a very disturbing news though of a different nature. A key Israeli military outpost had been completely overrun by the Palestinians. There didn’t seem to be even a semblance of a fight. Did the soldiers simply surrendered? Impossible! The footage also showed soldiers of the PLA wildly cheering. Ramdas had been in that charity home for the last two and a half years. Rejected by his family and waiting for death in the street he found rest and humanity there. Every morning the nun would come with a glass of warm water. That day she was late and his throat was parching. But life has taught him to be patience. The CNN continued to cover the crash. Far away in the hospital laid the pilot mortally wounded. The body of his colleague, his navigator, could not be traced yet. But as he laid in comatose drifting between life and death, he knew what exactly happened to his co-pilot. He muttered something like “Jesus” before something very strange happened inside the cockpit. He still could not comprehend why that happened. But what those, who went to work that morning, were oblivious of was the fact that they had missed the Trumpet sound.

Your creator is so amazing, imaginative, charming, alive, fantastic, and loving that you can never appreciate him properly. But you can begin. You can talk and listen to him, worship and thank him, laugh with, ask, and love him for all you are worth. And remember, you are worth a lot – especially to him. You exist because he loves you. Without him there would be no yesterday, today, or tomorrow for you. He loves you at this very moment. All this may make you so happy that you get lost on cloud nine. But come on down and be practical in your appreciation. Do the things he said to do. Think the thoughts he said to think. Be the wonderful you he wants you to be. That’s real appreciation, and that’s reason enough for you to let yourself grow.

Though the truth be hard to bear,
Let the rains mingle with my tears,
Let the waves wash away this pain,
Lest I should forget to smile.

‘Cause as the days draw nearer,
From a distance I hear you,
And I know, we’re not far from apart,
We’re getting closer.

One of these days, I believe,
We will fulfill our dream,
To slide down the rainbow,
Fly together in the midst of stars.

If this should be our destiny
Then I wistly pray, dear Lord,
Make this dream a reality,
Let it come true. Amen.

The book of John suggests we “die”. Put simply it means we short-circuit our desires and follow Christ. I know it sounds boring, orthodox, and too familiar. But apparently the one above has something more to offer to us. He has already given us the ‘package’. A little sacrifice from us and I am sire He won’t deny us the ribbon. Questions like ‘how do we use our pocket money, pick our friends, go about with our works, et al, could be crucial. Do we act on these things purely on our own feelings and to satisfy ourselves? “Real happiness does not always lie in getting everything you want, your way”, says Tim Stafford, an excellent teacher on good Christian living. It is imperative that we base our decision on what is right. One formula for happiness could be : Forget it. It is ironical that most people in their quest for happiness have only “marks of woe”. Whereas those whop have turned away from following happiness actually finds it. It’s a strange paradox. True happiness is quite unlike what comes from being popular, high in office or living out fantasies. With God’s help we grow more indifferent to these things. God’s happiness makes us thankful even when grief is heavy. It helps us in turning our back on pleasure when we have to. It is the open front door to life and our future. Christians are not unhappy. Real Christians I mean.

We express our heartfelt condolence to the family members of Late Mr. Johnny Nagi for his sad demise on the 23rd of Aug’2002. We pray that the calm peace and hope of Jesus Christ be with you.

The MHBC Youth, Finance Department would like to express our gratitude to all the people listed below for supporting the Youth Ministry financially since June 2002. May the Good God bless us all through this kind gesture.
Neilhoukhoto Kuotsu
Akhrieno Kere
Dr. Seketou Luho
Kevin
Arhebu, Menuo & Viguo Sorhie
Neitho Kiso
Seyiekelie Tepa
Adu Kire
Abei-u Chücha
Chotha Zhotso
Dr.Medovikho Chücha
Neikhrie-o Üsou
Niphelhuno Pünyu
Seyiekhrielie Whiso
Neitsu & Neino Kuotsu
Mr & Mrs Theja Üsou
Khriemenuo Zhotso
Aviu Üsou
Vingoto & Kheleno Sale
Avizo Savi
Swedesenuo, Tenoseno &Visetono
Zhovi Mephfü-o
Aneno & Dr. Mehokhu Zao
Sedezhalie Nakhro
Dr.Kezhaleno Mekro
Dr. Asano Sophie
Vikehiezo & Avino Tase
Achono Zao
Nongozono & Pelevino Sophie
Khriebu Nakhro
Vikehiel Khazo Aba Kheiya
Kezhaleto Meze
Rokose Tetso
Neileseü Tetso
Neikeseno Sothu
Medoseho Sothu
Pudezono Tase
Rokono Tase
Apieno Pierü
Kevi & Ase Yalie
Avü
Neihovono & Dr. Pengovile
Zakiesalie Thore

In His Service
Sd/- Neilhoukhoto Kuotsu
Finance Secretary.

Hello Bao T (Shillong)
B’lieve your life & work are going on fine there. Do mail the T-team & let us know your address too.
Love, T-Bull
Dearie Avino T,
Your K is growing fatter, please suggest some figure-maintaining remedy. There you might be growing thinner but here someone is going to burst. Prick a pin & finish poosh …….. Missing U .
Dost, Avino Z & Apeno
Hi Ensemble members,
Guess you are having your practice regularly. Won’t mind receiving few letters from you guys. Keep in touch. Missing all of you.
Kedo (Pune) on email
Avino T, Aja, Azha. Zayie & Vikhor,
Hey, What’s up? Anyone new on the list?
Alive,Apeno
Dearest Seyie Tepa,
Thanks for enlightening us on how ‘dirty’ is sin! God bless you son.
Some grateful Seminarians
Dear Aka,
Thank you so much for the floppies. It really helps. Ever grateful,
Editors
Dear MH Youth
A big thanx for the selfless help rendered towards the KTBKK concert. May God bless you all.
Organisers
EPB,
I believe you had a real experience performing at your full during the KTBKK concert. You did a greta job! Shows you’re able!!!
Zakiesalie T