church building, and another missionary saw his church building
destroyed this summer.
The first incident occurred on June 25. When pastor Chandan Dutta showed
up to lead worship the next day, he noticed that all the windows in the
church were destroyed. The door was also damaged where the vandals
attempted to break in.
Chandan reported the incident to the local police, but they have yet to identify the culprits.
This was not the first challenge to Chandan’s ministry. In 2009 he
was confronted by an angry mob of 200 people who took him to a nearby
religious temple, accused him of forcing people to convert to
Christianity and demanded he answer numerous questions about his
activities.
The incident happened after Chandan passed out some gospel
tracts. During the lengthy illegal trial at the temple, Chandan shared
the gospel, explaining the love of Jesus as outlined in Psalm 23 and the
book of John.
His accusers let him go that day, but warned him not to preach the
Gospel or hand out any more tracts. In spite of their harsh treatment,
many people continue turning to Christ as a result of
Chandan’s ministry.
He is asking for prayer that his opponents won’t interfere with the
ministry, but instead, will fully comprehend God’s love for them. He is
also asking for prayer that he will be able to relocate his parsonage
next to the church so that he can better guard the building.
Another church in Orissa, India has been destroyed. This time, it was in
an area about 200 miles northeast of Kandhamal, where much of the
violence against Christians raged in 2008.
The destruction of the church was believed to be directed by a local
anti-Christian leader with strong ties to the traditional faith of the
area. His anti-Christian rebel group was angry that people from
different castes were meeting together for worship.
The church building
was constructed on land donated by a Dalit (“Untouchable”) man, which
also angered the anti-Christian group. This particular group holds fast
to the tradition of segregation based on caste, although that system was
outlawed more than 60 years ago.
The leaders of GFA’s ministry in Orissa ask
for prayer for the believers who lost their church to remain unified
and devoted to the Lord. They are also asking for wisdom and provision
to rebuild the church building.
Orissa is a difficult state for missionaries. In 2008, this same
anti-Christian rebel group went on a rampage after their leader was
murdered. They killed hundreds of Christians and burned down thousands
of churches, homes and businesses owned by believers.
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