This is not a question or debate of your/our faith of choice, this is truth which is not being reported.

We take our freedom to worship for granted as these people are giving up their lives for God.

> Please see the urgent prayer request below from YWAM in India:

> This 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 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 is 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 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 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 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. 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 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 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!
>
> Blessings, Col 2:2 MBI
> Team Facilitator to YWAM frontlines

>