After his basic education at [the Church of South India (CSI)] Mission School, Mooledam, [Andrews] passed the matriculation examination from [the] Kottayam [Church Missionary Society (CMS)] College with good grades. Impressed by his intelligence and exemplary character, an English factory owner in Calcutta offered him a job with a salary of Rs.100/- pm.
But he had other priorities, and accepted the job of a Munshi (Malayalam Teacher) with a salary of Rs.9/- pm. and taught Malayalam to the British CMS missionaries. His deep faith in God helped him look beyond the world’s value system to see the eternal values of God’s kingdom. Later he became an evangelist and had a great concern for [the] poor tribal people of Devikulam Taluk in Kottayam District.
In 1906, he became a deacon and in 1909 a priest. Till 1935, he worked among the Muthuvan tribal community of Devikulam. Like the New Testament Andrew, he introduced many to Jesus, so he was affectionately called…Kerala Andrew.
He was an evangelist of exceptional courage. He used to conduct open air meetings during Trichur Puram, Aluva Shivarathri, Guruvayoor Temple Festival, and Edathuva Palli Perunal. He was severely mistreated and tortured many times for his strong stand against idol and image worship.
In addition to Malayalam he was well versed in English, Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Tamil, and Sanskrit.
