Email from Vivert Lall from Mid-Indian Christian Mission

Dear Friends,

Thank you very much for your continual prayers for the situation in the state of Orissa. In the past few days, we haven't heard of any major incident of atrocity on Christians, but again we have gotten negative news. One of my friends has sent an article on persecution on Christians that was printed in the U.S. some of you might have already read it, if, not, I am attaching it.

About 35 miles from one of our Churches in Birmaal, extremists went to a Christian orphanage there on Friday, October 24, 2008. A Christian lady, Rajni Manjhi was there as its care-taker. They asked her to come out. Extremists were looking for the owner of that place. When they could not find out about him, they set the kitchen on fire, tied the hand and legs of Rajni, covered and tied her head with a plastic bag and threw her into the fire. She was burnt alive.

There is no single week that goes without an incident of atrocity on Christians in Orissa. The effect is now seen in our state as well. About five days back, a Church was set ablaze at Tikamgarh, a place about 85 miles from us.

I want to thank people who have supported us to help the victims here. We were able to help the evangelist and some of the family who have gone through this. Acts of persecution continue and so do the needs of these people. In next two months, November and December, we are planning to do further relief work and would be targeting majority of the families who have lost someone in the family and Christian families from our Churches who have been directly affected by persecution. If any of you still wish to support the mission in helping the families you may do so.

Thanks for your continual prayers for the situation here in India.

Vivert

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-10-25-india-attacks_N.htm?POE=click-refer

MID INDIA CHRISTIAN MISSION

VIVERT & NEELAM LALL

NEWSLETTER

October 2008

We want to thank everyone for their prayers for the situation in the State of Orissa. We have been sending updates about the situation and are grateful for your response and for the prayers and support.

We have been in regular touch with the evangelists working in different areas where the persecution is taking place. Some of them have been here to Damoh and we have been helping them in their needs that they expressed to us. To some families we have provided help for their clothes, blankets and household needs and books and school supplies. Some families are left with nothing and we have helped them so they will have enough to eat and have things to wear. There were houses where extremists have gone and blamed new Christians that they are sending their kids to schools and educating them and this is the reason that they are turning away from their traditional religion. These people have taken everything out of their homes including books and Bibles and have burnt it. People are also threatened by them and they have asked not to send their kids to school for education. We are having challenging time to do relief work in affected areas. So, we are working out strategy to do relief work from the neighboring state of Chhattisgarh. We plan to do relief efforts in these coming two months.

Brother keshav Rai is working with the mission at Lohar Gaon, in Sagar area in the state of Madhya Pradesh. On the 7th of October, when he was returning after one of evangelistic trips, some people stopped him on the way, beat him up and threaten him not to evangelize people in future. They snatched away his Bible and broke his spectacles.

Brother Yohan Raj who works with the mission in Delhi is having some opposition there as well. Regular services are being held at a home in Shalimar Garden area. Some people in the neighborhood have been opposing these services; perhaps we may have to change location.
At Pasana in Mandla area in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Brother Dhruv Kumar is working with the mission. Five new families have accepted Christ during the last month.

At Midnapur, in the state of Maharashtra, Brother Anand Prasad and Brother Bahadur Prasad hold regular services on every Mondays. Six new families have started attending the services regularly. Of these, three have expressed their willingness to accept our Lord. The evangelist there has started to work on the necessary paperwork involved.

Mission had purchased a plot of 11 acres, which is about 4 kilometers from the Main office. The legal formalities to start the construction there have been completed and we have obtained permission from the Government to construct building there. Now the construction work is in progress. Please pray for campus "ACTS".

We were honored to have with us Brother David McAnally and Brother Riley Shelton. They visited the mission from the 16th to the 19th of October. Their visit was an encouragement to all at the mission. A nine-member team from Savannah Christian Church, Georgia visited the mission from the 17th to the 23rd of October. This team led by brother Jarred included brother Ghuman, Brother Austin, Mrs. Austin, sister McGinnis, sister Hedemark sister Baggett, brother Simmons and sister Jefferson. They visited and appreciated the mission's work in the states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. It was our privilege to have them with us. They encouraged the evangelists and mission co-workers doing Lord's work amidst adversaries in different areas.

On the 22nd of October, over 100 visually impaired children presented different programs for the visiting team from Savannah, GA, at the Mission's Outreach Center/Prayer Hall. During the function, almost 5 feet long cobra came out and was at the main entrance of the building. Our son Lae was playing with the children in front of the entrance. Salil, who is one of mission's co-worker, his mother saw the snake and also Lae running in that direction without noticing the snake. She shouted just in time for Lae to leap over the snake. Cobra is one of the most poisonous snakes found in India and it strikes very swiftly. The snake was killed. We are thankful to God that it could not harm anyone.



NEEDS
In the months of November and December, we plan to continue our efforts of relief for the victims and their families who are facing persecution. Some of you have asked if you could still contribute towards this. Yes, your contribution will be very much appreciated. The need is large and a lot need to be done.

For Security Fence for mission's new campus in Damoh - $ 31,650. (We have $ 5,000 towards this need, the balance now that we need for this purpose is $ 26,650)

For van for the mission's Satellite Center at Bilaspur - $ 6,667.

For generators set $ 7,500. (There is six and a half hours of scheduled power cut everyday, there is unscheduled one also.)

Update from Spur Ministries -- First Hogan foundation poured

Hi,

We poured the first Hogan foundation for John & Roberta's home this past week.

We thank God for providing the funds and gifts!

We want to thank our supporters who helped donate to this cause, and the extra gifts that the local businesses gave to help begin the foundation work. Plus we thank John and Roberta's family for working along side us setting forms and pouring concrete.

Plus a big thanks to Marty Etsitty, (the brain on hogan building), and his family for helping us.

Please keep us in prayer as we build the rest of the house this November 1-9. Pray that God will provide the rest of the funds also.

Lord bless ya!

Steve Thompson

Spur Ministries

3453 Spur Lane

Show Low, AZ 85901

928-205-1279

azspur2002@yahoo.com
www.spurministries.com

UPDATE ON THE STATE OF ORISSA

We are back in India now. I traveled extensively in the U.S. in the last few weeks of our trip. We are thankful to God for travel mercies.

On our arrival here, the first thing that we came across was the information about persecution. Town 70 miles from us, Jabalpur has gone through a major incident when people tried to burn a Church. Christians got together and protested. One of our evangelists in Jabalpur, Solomon Masih and others were beaten up by the police.

Evangelist Rajendra Nand, who works with our mission team in Orissa was chased by a group of people. His bicycle was taken away and burnt by the miscreants. Rajendra Nand was beaten badly but he somehow managed to escape and save his life. One of our other evangelists from Orissa, Jyoti Pike called me but I could hardly hear him. He wanted to make sure if I had arrived in India or not and wished to come to Damoh for help.

The situation of Christians is still very bad in Kandhmaal area in the state of Orissa. Everyday on National Television there is news about attacks on Christians. Also you can read about different incidents through the print media.

Yesterday in Orissa, 36 houses of Christians were burnt and according to television, one person was killed. In reality the figures are much higher that those that are reported.I am thankful to several of you who are praying and have sent emails to us in this regard. Many of you have also responded to the financial need of these people. Please continue to pray for the situation. If you would like to contribute towards the financial needs of these people, please do so.

Once again we are thankful to all of you for your prayers.

Vivert Lall

Mid-India Christian Mission
First Christian Church
1100 Killarney Dr.
Greenville IL – 62246

From Marsha Relyea-Miles from Pioneer Bible Translators

Dear family and friends,

Floods...

The Aruamu people have a flood story. This summer when I was in PNG, part of our Aruamu team was working on the book of Genesis. When we were talking about the Noah flood story from Genesis chapters 6 through 9, the Aruamus told me again about their traditional folk tale. In their flood story a brother and sister climbed up in a coconut tree to get away from a raging flood. Rangai, their spirit-god, caused the tree to grow and grow, and the brother and sister survived the flood. When the earth dried out they came down and re-populated the earth. Then we talked through aspects of translating the Biblical flood narrative -- about how God saved Noah and his family in the Ark when the whole earth was destroyed by a flood.

Now our family has flood story. As you know, Hurricane Ike tore through the Galveston area 2 weeks ago, leaving destruction in its wake. Our Heather and Philip have been living on Galveston Island, both studying medicine at UTMB. They evacuated to our house in Dallas right before the hurricane. Ten days after the hurricane, residents were allowed back on the island, and they returned to assess the damage, accompanied by Philip’s father James Ashley, as well as several wonderful PBT co-workers. The house they have been renting had been flooded, leaving most things in their house damaged by sewage-laden floodwaters or by layers of mold. They spent one day trashing many items and salvaging things that they will try to de-mold or repair, and returned to Dallas that night with a load of things, as there was no place to sleep there. Then a day later Philip, James and I returned to Galveston to finish the trash-or-salvage job. They are currently going through what they salvaged, steam cleaning and disinfecting...and crying some...and trying to put an eternal perspective on the whole traumatic thing. Even though the loss of sentimental things brings tears, it’s just STUFF! God is in charge. He knows what he is doing. Thankfully, Heather and Philip have been able to reserve a temporary apartment in Galveston by phone, so they will have a place to lay their heads when classes at UTMB resumes classes in a couple of weeks.

Thank you very much for your prayers this last month. We are grateful that Heather and Philip are safe. We are grateful that the Aruamu translation team is progressing on translating the book of Genesis. We are grateful that God used Nathan this last month to help lead a course in Stuttgart Germany for Bible Societies computer support personnel working in places like Norway, Holland, Finland, Coatia, Czech Republic, Portugal, North Africa, and several former Soviet republics. We are grateful for a week of much-needed vacation time -- we used our frequent flier miles so that I could join Nathan near the end of his course, and then we relaxed in Switzerland for a few days. Whew. We SO needed that break! (I was especially thrilled to walk around the streets of Bern, Switzerland, where my ancestors are from.)

Please continue to uphold us in your prayers. Our Pioneer Bible Translators’ team is working diligently on many things, one of which is the PBT Annual Banquet to be held on Thursday October 30 at Valley View Christian Church in Dallas, with Max Lucado and Greg Pruett speaking. If you live close enough to attend, make sure you get tickets SOON at www.pioneerbible.org. This will be an unforgettable evening devoted to the Bible-less peoples of the world. I hope you can share it with us.

As we walk through this next month, may the declaration of praise expressed in Psalm 29:10 be true in our lives: "The Lord sits enthroned OVER THE FLOOD; the LORD is enthroned as King forever."

Blessings,
Marsha
(for Nathan and our whole clan)
To donate, checks may be made out to Pioneer Bible Translators, P.O. Box 420335, Atlanta , GA
Cell: 214-205-7060

More reports of Persecution against Christians in India

The email below was sent yesterday from Dr. K.P. Yohannan who is the founder of Gospel for Asia. It contains more information about the persecution against Christians in India occurring now.


From: DR KP Yohannan [mailto:kpyohannan@gospelforasia.messages2.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 6:05 PM
Subject: GFA Bible Colleges Expecting Attacks

Dear Fellow Christian,

We need you to pray for two Gospel for Asia Bible colleges in India that are
being targeted for attack by radical Hindu groups. The campuses, one in
Orissa and one in Haryana, are under lockdown as a precaution.

The Haryana campus, in the city of Ambala, is a girls Bible college and
shares a site with GFA's Haryana state office. Missionaries from the field
have been called in to stay at the center and offer additional protection to
the students.

According to a GFA leader in Haryana, three vehicles carrying about 50
people came to the state office on Tuesday with plans to attack the campus.
He believes that they saw the extra people at the campus and then backed off
from their plans. GFA staff members at this site have also been informed
that the group is gathering more people with plans to return. The would-be
attackers are all members of the Bajarang Dal, a radical Hindu nationalist
political party. Bajarang Dal members from throughout the state are gathered
in Ambala right now.

A similar situation is happening in Orissa. As you know, Christians in
Orissa have been under intense attack since August 22. The Orissa Bible
college was previously attacked by a mob of 500 militants in February 2007.
During that attack students were beaten up, and windows, vehicles and other
campus buildings were damaged. There is credible evidence that the attack
that is being planned will be much worse than the one in 2007.

Here are some prayer requests for the situation:

- Please pray that these plans of the enemy will be thwarted.
- Ask God to protect each of the students at these Bible colleges
- Pray that the Lord would draw these Hindu attackers into a relationship
with Him.

We know that our God can do anything that we ask of Him in prayer.

Yours for the persecuted,

K.P. Yohannan
President & Founder

Reports of persecution of Christians from Mid-India Christian Mission

Christian friends,

Although Vivert Lall and family are in the United States, these reports of continued atrocities against Christians come from their co-workers in Damoh, India. Please pray for courage and peace for these brothers and sisters in Christ who live under threats against their property and persons just because of their faith in Jesus instead of the Hindu panoply of gods. Ask God to put a desire for justice in the hearts of Indian government officials.

Thanks for your concern.

Gene Jarrett

Christians in the state of Orissa are facing severe persecution.  Their houses are being burnt, religious leaders and youth are being put to death and women are being raped. Bibles and Christian literature are being put to fire.  Many people have had to desert their houses and villages and take refuge in the forest.

 

Last year also, in December 2007, houses of Christians were burnt and Churches broken down.  The leader behind the incidents that time was one Laxmanananda Saraswati, member of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.  On Saturday, August 23, 2008 unidentified people killed him and his five supporters. Although the state government has said that the Maoists are behind the killings but the supporters of Laxmanananda have put the blame on Christians.  This has led to agitation against Christians in the State of Orissa.  In this recent spate of atrocities against Christians, a Children's home in Bargarh has been set on fire by the miscreants.  The care taker of the orphanage, a lady was burnt alive.  An evangelist Rasanand Pradhan of village Rupa at Kandhamal, was also burnt alive.  At Phulwani and 22-year-old Catholic Nun was burnt alive.  According to local reporters, many  Christians have been put to death in Phulwani and Kandhamal.

 

The mission has its Churches in Bargarh area.  This area has also been the target of the miscreants.  At Chichinda in this area, 15 houses of Christians have been broken down and people beaten up.  They have been searching Rajendra Nand, mission's evangelist for the area.  He has taken shelter in the nearby forest.  Along with him are also women and children of that area.  Two of the women are pregnant.  The plight of these people is beyond imagination.  Reports say that the state government has disallowed one of the Central Ministers to visit the affected areas, perhaps to prevent people from knowing the exact situation.  Please pray for the evangelists, leaders and their families who are facing atrocities in this state. 

 

In Damoh about a month back, we hosted a seminar of Christian leaders of the area.  The purpose of this seminar was to educate people, to make them aware of their legal rights and the procedure they should follow in case of incidents of atrocities.  Also effort was to encourage them to report all such incidents.

 

We need your prayers and financial assistance for the victims so that we may go and give  them help to repair their houses and provide them with some of the very basic household needs and some food articles.  Also we would guide them what legal steps they need to take in such situations.  We plan to provide this help to fifteen affected families and for this we would be needing $ 15000.00.  Any assistance from you towards this need of the suffering evangelists and their families would be greatly appreciated.