This is is a  request for prayer for YWAM missionaries and their

churches in Orissa , India .  The request came from Mable Hurst, an associate

of HCJB Global.  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 con tinuous 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 minu tes notice to vacate. No one ha d 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  the 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 s poken 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. B ut 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 ar e 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 ba sic 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 MBI

        Team Facilitators to YWAM frontlines