SoCal Theologica: Musings from the West Coast

One of our church members received the following letter from Orissa. Feel free to copy and paste it everywhere you can in order to get this message to Western eyes and ears.

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 i n 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 f or 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 thes e
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!