Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Urgent Prayer Request from Missionaries to India

I just got this from my church. It is from a couple that work with Youth with a Mission. This sounds like something right out of a LaHaye/Jenkins end times book! Will you pray?

Urgent prayer request from workers in India Please pray. 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 tribes 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 His mandate: Go and make disciples of all
nations....Prayer works! Blessings,

Chip & Sandy Wanner Col 2:2 MBITeam
Facilitators to YWAM frontlines

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