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India

• Pray for Christians in India and Sri Lanka

  Two VOM staff members recently returned from India and Sri Lanka, where they met with partners and visited with persecuted Christians in need of prayer as they serve Christ amid great opposition. In India, reports of violence against believers, village churches being destroyed, and church leaders being threatened by local Hindus continue to be a daily reality. Converts to Christianity are often cast out of their families, denied inheritance rights and face poverty and ostracism. In Sri Lanka, Christians often face opposition from militant Buddhists intent on ridding the nation of Christianity. Churches have been burned, believers beaten and Christian leaders killed.

  Pray for lasting fruit from the time VOM staff spent in India and Sri Lanka as projects are developed. Pray that the suffering believers they met with will look to the Lord for encouragement. Pray also that VOM will be effective in equipping Canadian Christians to understand the situation facing Christians in India and Sri Lanka and stand in solidarity with them.

  You can learn more about the trials facing Christians in India by visiting theIndia Country Report. You can also stay informed about persecution facing Christians in Sri Lanka by visiting theSri Lanka Country Report.

• Twelve Christians arrested

  Pastor Satish and Ravi Photo from Persecution Update India

  On August 15, police arrested 12 believers in Mandya district, Karnataka state, India. Pastor Satish and Ravi, an evangelist with India Campus Crusade for Christ, were conducting a service in a believer's home when approximately 30 people entered the building and started to accuse them of forcibly converting locals. Later that day, 10 of the believers were released; Pastor Satish and Ravi remained in detention at last report. (Source: VOM-USA, Christian Persecution Update India)

  Pray for the release of these believers. Pray that their testimonies of faithfulness amid adversity will draw non-believers into fellowship with Christ. Pray that the Word of God will continue to be declared with clarity, boldness, love, and power in India (Ephesians 6:19-20).

  For more information on the persecution of Christians in India,click here.

• Four students taken into custody in Lucknow

  A team of students from a Bible college in Lucknow of Uttar Pradesh have been attacked and detained by the police for their alleged conversion activities.

  The police first beat up the four students belonging to Compassion for India Ministry late in the evening of July 24. The students had been engaged in serving the poor and underprivileged in and around Lucknow. The police team forced the students' pastor to visit them at the police station. The police accused them of participating in conversion activities. The pastor and his team were questioned about their work in detail. The police also extracted money from the pastor before releasing the students from custody. (Source: All Indian Christian Council)

  Thank the Lord for the many faithful Christian workers and evangelists in India. Pray these students will be spurred on to continue the good work the Lord has prepared in advance for them. Pray the police will be moved by the witness of these Christians.

  For more information about persecution in India, go to theIndia Country Report.

• Christian woman brutally attacked

  A Christian woman, Amodini, was brutally attacked on July 6 for sharing her faith in Karnataka, India. Amodini (40) is a member of a church where a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary serves as pastor. She was at her home when a group of 15 men arrived and began accusing her of forcing people to convert to Christianity. They then grabbed and began to beat her. Witnesses of the horrific scene said, "Amodini's clothes were removed in public and she was attacked with knives." At last report, she was hospitalized and in critical condition. Police have arrested 14 of the accused attackers. (Source: Assist News Service)

  The believers in the area ask for prayers for Amodini, that the Lord would heal her wounds. They also ask that the peace of God will keep her firm in her faith. Pray also for the men who so cruelly attacked her. Pray that they will repent and turn to Christ. Pray that believers in India will continue to be bold in sharing the Gospel amid violent opposition.

  Click here to find out more about persecution in India.

• Assailants sever Christian's hand

  Photo from AsiaNews

  A group of unknown assailants attacked a college professor and severed his right hand and part of his arm in Kerala, India. TJ Joseph, a professor at Newman's College in Thodupuzha, allegedly offended some of his Muslim students two months ago with some questions he included in a test. Due to protests from Islamic groups, Joseph was suspended from his job and apologized for his "unintentional error." Nevertheless, he continued to receive threats.

  On July 4, Joseph was returning from a Sunday service at his church when a van pulled up beside him. The assailants forced him from his car and attacked him with knives and swords, amputating his lower arm and inflicting deep wounds to his body. At last report, doctors were attempting to save his limb.

  The attack has been condemned by many Islamic groups. The attackers are suspected to be members of the militant Popular Front of India. (Source: AsiaNews)

  Pray for full and rapid healing. Pray that the misunderstanding which led to the attack will be resolved. Pray for peace amongst India's religious communities.

  For more information on the persecution of Christians in India, go to theIndia Country Report.

• Two pastors attacked; vehicles burned

  Two pastors from the Assemblies of God Church denomination were attacked on June 23 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The pastors -- Shiju Kuriakose (35) and Jayan (30) -- had left a prayer meeting at a fellow believer's house when a group of unknown people began beating them with iron rods. Both pastors were badly injured and were admitted to the hospital.

  On June 22, seven vehicles belonging to Jesus With Us Ministries were burned by suspected Hindu militants in Tamil Nadu. The vehicles were being used to transport believers to and from Hosur, where a Gospel meeting was taking place. Hindus had earlier protested against the meeting and, due to the opposition, the organizers were eventually forced to change venues. (Source: Global Council of Indian Christians)

  Pray for healing for Pastor Shiju and Pastor Jayan. Pray that the Lord will make them strong to lovingly and boldly proclaim the gospel (Ephesians 6:18-20). Pray that Christians in Tamil Nadu will not become fearful but will trust the Lord in all things.

  Click here to find out more about persecution in India.

• Christian beaten, forcibly reconverted to Hinduism

  A young Christian man was recently beaten, tortured and forced to undergo a ceremony of reconversion to Hinduism in Nuapada district, Orissa, India. Six Hindu militants stormed 19-year-old Bhakta Bivar's home on June 8, intending to kill him and his parents, Neheru and Budhabari. Since Bhakta's parents were not home, they instead beat him and dragged him to the local Hindu temple where he was forcibly "re-converted" to Hinduism. The next day, police arrested five of the assailants, who were charged and then released.

  The national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians has stated, "There are hidden interests behind the threats and violence against the Christian community in Orissa. Just as the community was slowly learning to live a normal life again after the 2008 pogroms, we get this kind of violence." (To find out more about the attacks in 2008, please click here.) (Source: AsiaNews)

  Pray that Bhakta will not be fearful, but will turn to the Lord for his daily strength. Pray that the persecution he has faced will embolden him to be salt and light to his Hindu neighbours (Matthew 5:13-16). Ask God to bring healing and peace to India's Orissa state.

  Go to theIndia Country Report to learn more about persecution in India.

• Missionary murdered

  Logo: Gospel for Asia

  Ajit Bansi -- a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary in Assam, India -- was killed by an anti-Christian militant group on May 20 while on his way home from purchasing construction supplies for a new church building. Pastor Ajit and three others were ambushed by the militants and then shot, their bodies left on the roadside. He was murdered just days before the building for his growing congregation of approximately 60 believers was due for completion. "Pastor Ajit was one of hundreds of missionaries risking their lives to share Jesus' love in this area," K.P. Yohannan, Gospel for Asia's President, has stated. "He was doing a great work, and his life brought hope to many people." (Source: Gospel for Asia)

  Pray for Pastor Ajit's wife and two small children as they mourn his loss. Pray for guidance for his congregation at this time. Pray for boldness and enduring faith for other Christians serving in Assam.

  To learn more about persecution in India, go to theIndia Country Report.

• Christian man dies, three injured after attack

  Amit Gilbert Photo from Indian Focus blog

  A 25-year-old Christian man was killed and three other believers were severely injured following an attack by militant Hindus on a prayer meeting in Saliya, Betul district, Madhya Pradesh on April 17. Between 15 and 30 assailants disrupted the meeting attended by more than 400 Christians and began to destroy Bibles and other property. They then accused the believers of forcible conversion and attacked them with sticks and iron rods. The Christians fled the scene, running outside into the darkness of the night. Amit Gilbert, a Master of Divinity student, fell into an open well, hit his head on the well's outer wall and drowned. One of the injured Christians sustained a fractured spine and remained in serious condition at last report. (Sources: Global Council of Indian Christians, Union of Catholic Asian News)

  Pray for those mourning the loss of Amit. Pray that the three injured Christians will fully recover. Pray that Christians in Madhya Pradesh will exemplify the love of God through consistent love and prayer for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:43-48).

  To find out more about the plight of Indian Christians,click here.

• A call to action and prayer for Christians in Orissa

  The Voice of the Martyrs in Canada is a member of the Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP), a collaborative effort of Christian organizations in over a dozen countries to raise awareness of religious liberty issues around the world. Two years after an outbreak of mob violence against Christians in Kandhamal district, Orissa state, India (click here to read more), the RLP remains deeply concerned for believers there and is requesting united prayer for justice, reconciliation and peace in the area.

  The RLP urges you to remember our suffering brothers and sisters in Orissa by praying specifically for them this Christmas season. In particular, we encourage you to use the following prayer from Mgr. Raphael Cheenath, the Catholic Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in Orissa, in your churches on Christmas Day:

  "Gracious Father, Lord of all the earth, we praise you for the gift of Jesus Christ, sent into the world to break down the dividing walls of hostility. Have mercy upon those in Orissa who are suffering. Give them the peace and the justice that they crave, and cause the walls of bitterness and hatred in Orissa to be torn down. Comfort those who have been bereaved, counsel those who have been traumatised, provide for those who have lost everything. Give them the grace to forgive and confidence in your gracious favour. Do not let us forget them, our brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace and look forward to his coming again in glory."

  For the full RLP report, "Orissa: A call to action and a call to prayer," please click here.

  To find out more about the persecution of Christians in India, go to theIndia Country Report.