Please pray for Orissa, India

Villagers Try to Stop Mission Work

February 19, 2010
After sharing the Word of God with villagers, a GFA–supported pastor was threatened.

Before they were Christians, the believers in Gospel for Asia–supported pastor Sahas Gupta's church in Orissa, India, were given the "god land" in their community. This land, designated as the land of the local deity, was intended to be given to the poor.

When these families chose to follow Jesus Christ, it angered the villagers, who believed only the people of their religion had the right to use the land. They attempted to attack the new believers and Pastor Gupta just a few months ago, but the Lord spared the Christians' lives.

Then the villagers called a meeting on February 12 to expel these new believers from the village. Even with no other land to call their own and no other place to go, the Christians were ready for any decision from the village leaders and said they would leave everything for the sake of Jesus. But as the day unfolded, the meeting was unexpectedly postponed. No new date has been set.

Gospel for Asia leaders ask for prayer for these Christians, that they would be protected and that the village leaders would allow the believers to remain on the land.

The Testimonies Changed their Minds
GFA–supported pastor Aafreen Mukopadhyay faced a similar situation in a village in West Bengal, India. He was asked to attend a meeting with the primary political and religious leaders in his area. On February 9, around 300 people gathered for the meeting, with the purpose of creating restrictions to stop the spread of the Gospel.

This meeting came about as a result of one person choosing to follow Christ. Before this man gave his heart to Christ, the only Christians in the village were Aafreen and a few other missionaries. When the villagers learned that one of their own had decided to live for Jesus and more people were joining him, they went to the missionaries and accused them of converting people to Christianity by force. They warned him that no one should come to their village to proclaim Jesus.

During the meeting, the Christians were questioned on video as to why they had left their former religion to become Christians. One after another, all the new believers testified that when they were sick, it was through the prayers of God's servants that they received healing. They explained that peace and happiness came into their lives when they chose to follow Jesus.

When the people at the meeting heard the testimonies of these new believers, their hearts were touched. Instead of implementing rules to stop the missionaries' work, the villagers gave them freedom to continue sharing God's love in their area.

Pastor Aafreen and the other missionaries request prayer that God would use them mightily to reach the rest of the community and other villages with the Word of God.

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