This is a request for prayer for YWAM workers and their ch*rches in Orissa
, India. Please read and make this a matter of urgent prayer.
Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India,
We have never
seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile
State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the
continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none
of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage.... And it seems
to be totally under the radar of the Western Media .... Let me explain.... A
militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around
the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting' people back to Hinduism, were gunned
down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the
Christians were blamed. The cry rose up...'Kill the Christians!' And the horror
began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches
being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been
slaughtered.
For no other reason than they bear the name of
Christ. Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News
India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in
the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer
protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and
destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage
to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc.
They have promised to come back and 'finish the job.'
Our kids
and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut
for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the
Lord in prayer.
More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.
All our dream
centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police
outside.
The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death.
Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children. At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: 'We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.'
More than 5000 Christian
families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into
the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to
bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue
for another 10 days....supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the
slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed.
Many more churches will be smashed down.
The Federal government
is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your
prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning
of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our
kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what
is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles
and are unable to come and get them during these trying times.
Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the
transformation of a community by transforming its children.
Orissa will
be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of
throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will
transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking
in terms of the Great Commission.
What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this
e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase
our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are
literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next
10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa. Thank
you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as
many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill