Posts Tagged ‘India’
Pastor Beaten and Abducted
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Madhya Pradesh, India - A Gospel for Asia native missionary serving as a pastor in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has been beaten and abducted and is still missing.
GFA leaders in the state report that Pastor N. Chauhan was attacked by a mob of 40 anti-Christian extremists on Monday, beaten severely and then dragged into the forest. Attempts to contact him have failed, and no word of his fate has been received.
When a GFA leader tried to call Pastor Chauhan on his mobile phone, a voice answered, saying, “The same thing is going to happen to you!”
The GFA state leader and other pastors have reported the incident to police, who have promised to take the matter seriously.
The leaders are asking for prayer that God will protect Pastor Chauhan, and that He will give wisdom to all who are handling the situation.
Missionary Chased Down While Waiting to Vote
When he went back to his home village to vote in India’s recent elections, Gospel for Asia missionary Jadesh Kour faced an array of opposition and never got to cast his ballot.
Jadesh serves the Lord in Chhattisgarh near the border of Orissa, India. On November 14, he travelled with his wife and children 19 miles to his hometown—where he was the only Christian. He and his family had to stand in line on the side of the road to wait for his turn to vote.
When the villagers heard Jadesh was in town, they started stirring up complaints against him. Trying to scare the missionary, a villager drove his tractor down the road and purposefully sped toward Jadesh. Then the driver, with a gang of young people, surrounded Jadesh and started threatening him.
Seeing that the situation was quickly turning violent, a peaceful group of villagers came to Jadesh’s rescue and offered him a place to hide. But when the gang found out where he was hiding, they surrounded the house and threatened to burn it with him and his family inside. Again, the other group of villagers told the mob to leave Jadesh alone.
It wasn’t until 3 a.m. that Jadesh, with his shirt torn and his bike confiscated, could return with his family to his village. Police told Jadesh he had to pay 6,000 rupees (US$120) to get his bike back and that they couldn’t protect him from the angry mob.
“You became a Christian, and the villagers are not happy,” the village leaders told Jadesh. “This is election season, and we can’t do anything to help you.”
Jadesh is pastor of a church and has started seven fellowship groups. He also oversees an orphanage and Bridge of Hope center. He asks for prayer that the Lord will give him strength and courage to continue serving, and that he can get his bike back without paying the fine. He also desires that the people who opposed him will come to know Jesus.
Extremists Demand End to Christian Activity in Orissa - Gospel for Asia
Two of the anti-Christian extremist groups responsible for the violence against Christians in Orissa, India, are demanding that the state government ban Christian witnessing and officially honor their murdered leader, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. At the same time, Orissas state government announced that it would give up to 200,000 rupees $3,990 to the churches whose buildings were destroyed and 100,000 rupees $1,995 for those that were damaged.
Persecution Report for November
From the Voice of the Martyrs Canada:
Part one of Novembers Persecution Report includes stories about the ongoing violence against Christians in Mosul, Iraq and Orissa, India. Also an update on the custody battle of 13 year-old Christian twin boys in Egypt. Their Muslim father changed their religion to Islam on their birth certificates when he converted to Islam.
Part 1
In part two of Novembers Persecution Report youll meet Yousef (not his real name)who came to Christ in 2004 in Pakistan. Yousef now spends most of his time in hiding with his wife and young son. Find out why.
Part 2