On the Eve of Christmas let's have a look on southern ordisha's missionary development:-
Paralakhemundi was a town of 28,000 population during 1899 situated among the Eastern Ghats at the terminus of a branch line of railway which leaves
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Purusottama memorial church, Pkd

leaves the main line at Naupada . mountains in the distance are nearly 6,000 feet high.
In 1876, when the missionaries made their lengthy tour of exploration into the northern madras country, they soon decided that Paralakhemundi was one of the places to be occupied as
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as soon as possible. In June of that year, Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong arrived, and as there was no Mission House, they gladly accepted the invitation of Mr. W. D. Ainslie to occupy rooms in his bun- galow until a temporary house could be erected.
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This temporary house was ready for use in three months. A beginning was made in the study of Odia and Mrs. Armstrong started a school on her verandah, which grew to an attendance of over eighty
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A school for Odia children and another for Telugu children too far removed to come to the bungalow, were also started.
But owing to repeated attacks of malarial fever, the missionaries were compelled to abandon the place and were fnally transferred to Chicacole.
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Doss Anthravadi.-The way had been prepared for Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong long before they had settled in Parala.The circumstances were these:For a considerable time previous to their arrival,the 41stRegiment of the Madras Native Infantry was stationed at Cuttack &Vizianagram.
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The mess writer was a devoted Christian and the pastor of the Baptist church in the regiment. His name was Rev. Doss Anthravadi, and he was instrumental in scattering the truth through many districts. Several churches in different parts
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of the odiacountry were organized, among them one at Akulatampara, a village ten miles from Parlakhemundi. Just before the regiment sailed for Burma in 1877, Mr. Anthravadi visited Akulatampara, and formally placed the church under the care of the Canadian Baptist Mission
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This church is thus the oldest one in that Mission, and is always called the Mother Church of the Northern madras. Among those baptized by Mr. Anth were two men, one an odia and the other a telugu, who after- wards became preachers Mr. Apalla Narsayya & Mr. Bhagaban Behera.
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Both were intelligent, earnest men
Through them the Gospel was spread far and wide.
1891 a church of 14 members was organized at Parla. A site for a Mis- sion House was secured, and the erection of a building begun by Mr. Higgins, who finally settled there in 1892. .