Lately, Brian and I have been constantly, at least in our hearts, on our knees. I told him tonight that I am at the point where I am not even formulating complete sentences, rather, my spirit seems to incessantly breathe "help." In the back of my mind, no matter what I have been doing over the past week, I have found myself in a place of surrender, in a place of complete helplessness. The stock market, the elections, the happenings in the middle east and our future (somewhat dependent on Brian's interviews) seem to be hanging in mid-air. And for the first time in my life, I may be catching a glimpse of what my life as a believer is supposed to look like. Shouldn't I always be this reliant on the Lord? Shouldn't I always throw aside the "securities" of this world and depend solely on His providence?
We spent a great weekend in Phoenix with our friends, Ann and Danny Seiden, and are now back in Lancaster awaiting the results of Brian's interview - we should know within a week and a half. He loves the program and felt pretty good about his interview, so we are trusting that if Phoenix is not the best place for Brian then the Lord will direct him to somewhere even better.
Yesterday I received some more news that certainly deserves our attention and prayers. The matters I am concerned about pale in comparison. The following was written on October 4 by two YWAM (Youth With a Mission) facilitators and is still currently happening in India (click here for news coverage). Please take time to read it and join me in prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters. Also, PLEASE continue to pray for my dad and brother. They are heading to India on Friday and will be in the country until October 22. Although they will not be in the exact area where the situation below is happening, I still ask God for their safety as there are obviously many in India who hate Christians.
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 ....
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 firsthand 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 bloodthirsty 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. More than 500 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.
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, 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!
1 comment:
Oh my goodness, I had heard only a little blip of something about Christian persecution over there recently. I had no idea the whole story. I'll continue praying.
And we're praying for you guys too. I know this is a really hard to for you as you await answers about next year and Brian's residency. We're hoping & praying along with you.
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