1. India: Harassment Campaign Against Christians Continues 2. Indian Leader Plans Advances Despite Persecution 3. India: Girls for Sale Cheap 4. Haiti: Christians Counter Voodoo with Christ 5. Photo of the Week: Haitian Bible Students

———————————————————————- These are the contents of today’s Missions Insider Report by Christian Aid August 13, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 432 Visit our website at http://www.christianaid.org ———————————————————————– John Lindner, Editor ———————————————————————– Note: Missions Insider refrains from mentioning names that could make the subjects targets of anti-Christian activity. Names are sometimes mentioned of ministries conducting work commended by authorities or located in areas of greater religious freedom. ———————————————————————–

1. India: Harassment Campaign Against Christians Continues

Christians in India continue to be arrested, beaten and intimidated by hard-line Hindus, police, and media, according to reports received by Christian Aid.

One Indian ministry leader told Christian Aid one of its churches in Haryana state was attacked on July 31.

“A mob of 250 people came and burned Bibles and Christian literature, damaged furniture and property and vandalized the place,” the leader said. The vandals beat the students, including five females. One of them called the police, but the mob left before the police arrived. According to reports, the local Hindu leader has charged the Bible college students with being a menace to the neighborhood.

Last week a 36-year-old Christian worker in Gujarat state was apprehended by police and locked up like a criminal pending review. Charges were not disclosed. His court hearing was scheduled for next week.

Meanwhile, the Evangelical Fellowship of India is complaining that Punjab Kesari, a newspaper published in New Delhi, published a false and inflammatory report that incited local suspicion and hatred against Christians. The paper claimed that Christians would load children onto a bus to take them to a picnic and after heading toward the destination would turn off the motor. The leaders then allegedly would ask the children to shout, “Jai Bajrang Balli,” an exclamatory prayer to a Hindu god. When the bus still would not start, they then allegedly would ask the children to shout, “Jai Jeshu Ki” (“Praise the Lord Jesus), and then the bus would start. EFI said the report violated the standards of the Press Council of India.

In southern India, nationalistic Hindus have begun taking a census of Christian families in Kerala state. “Almost every village in the state has a squadron of militant khaki-clad, sword-wielding RSS volunteers who have been indoctrinated to fight against minorities,” said a spokesperson for the All India Christian Council, according to a news report by Assist News Service last Saturday. A census was taken of Christians in Gujarat state just before violence wiped out scores of churches and destroyed hundreds of homes of Christians in December 1998 and many fear the unofficial census being undertaken in Kerala now is a prelude to attacks against Christians.

Christians in India are threatened on every side and have no support locally or nationally from an elected government that ignores constitutional guarantees of freedom to practice religion and pushes a militant Hindu agenda. Gifts to aid Christians and churches harmed by anti-Christian violence are being welcomed by Christian Aid. For more information write and put MI-432 600-PERS on the subject line.

———————————————————————- 2. Indian Leader Plans Advances Despite Persecution

An indigenous mission leader of India is devising plans to advance the work of evangelization and church planting, despite increased persecution on the grass roots level.

The national leader who recently met with his state leaders one by one told Christian Aid that despite persecution the number of baptisms is “high.” He said anti-Christian elements are putting pressure on local people to refuse to rent houses to Christian preachers. That hurdle can be overcome by purchasing houses, but that takes capital.

The leader said his ministry had relatively good success holding “mini-crusades” instead of major crusades last year. A “mini-crusade” would be for a crowd of about 100 people that was preceded by very little publicity.

As persecution continues to increase he said his strategy for the coming year would be to hold 10,000 “micro-crusades.” A micro-crusade would be simply an evangelistic meeting in the home or back yard of a family to which specific seekers and inquirers were invited. He said the current anti-Christian rhetoric in India is provoking people to wonder what Christianity is really all about.

In addition to conducting thousands of micro-crusades, he hopes to open at least 15 of his 21 Bible institutes located throughout the country. Each institute trains ethnic people from its same area in their own language. Each of India’s 29 states has its own state language, besides one of the two national languages, Hindi and English.

Persons wanting to know how they can help this strategic mission plan financially may write and put MI-432 652-IET on the subject line.

———————————————————————- 3. India: Girls for Sale Cheap

Newspapers in India almost daily report that girls are being sold for next to nothing-by western standards.

According to clips from The New Indian Express, a family sold their unwanted daughter for 1000 rupees ($20) in early July. Another mother who couldn’t feed her family sold her child to another couple for food. And on August 1 another woman sacrificed her 6-month-old girl to appease a local goddess.

The India Missions Association told Christian Aid that girls in Assam-a state in northeast India above Bangladesh-are being sold “cheaper than cattle.” Girls that are purchased there by flesh traders are resold in Haryana state near the nation’s capital for up to 20,000 rupees ($400) each. Many young girls are sold to Hindu temple priests and eventually become temple prostitutes. Others become bonded laborers or are sold to brothels.

One of the reasons for the selling of girls is that sons are desired to maintain the family legacy and to provide a work force for the family. In some parts of India, a father must pay a large dowry to marry off his daughter. Unfortunately, illiterate families do not practice birth control and usually produce more children than they can feed.

While the Indian government is trying to educate the public concerning birth control native missionaries boldly proclaim Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life. They know that only as people are enlightened with the gospel will they comprehend the value of human life.

Many Christian ministries are rescuing children from impoverished families and from the street and giving them Christian care in orphanages and foster homes. To learn how you can sponsor a needy child in India, write and put MI-432 600-CSF on the subject line.

———————————————————————- 4. Haiti: Christians Combat Voodoo with Prayer

Tomorrow while Haitians celebrate their National Day with sacrifices to their Voodoo demons, Christians will mount a National Day of Prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.

The National Day hearkens back to August 14, 1804, when a black slave named Boukman sacrificed a pig and drank its blood to form a pact with the devil. The Haitians agreed to give their land to the devil for 200 years in exchange for freedom from the French.

The Haitians gained freedom from the French, but have been in bondage to Satan and his demons ever since. Traditionally on this anniversary date a child is sacrificed by Voodoo ritual. The child is either ground to death in a large pot, or left hanging upside down over a large pot until it dies and all its fluids drain out. Then the corpse is ground to powder to use in Voodoo ceremonies. Last week, a baby was stolen from a local hospital, presumably to be sacrificed.

President Jean Bertrand Aristide has now made Voodoo an “official” religion, giving it equal footing with Christianity, and has twice publicly recommitted the country to Voodoo. Tomorrow many will flock to Voodoo ceremonies to renew their contract with the devil.

At the same time, thousands of Christians will converge on a National Day of Prayer event in Port-au-Prince organized by HAVIDEC-from the Creole for Haiti Vision for the Third Century. It could be a real spiritual tug-of-war as Aristide reportedly is offering to pay radio stations to play Voodoo music during the Day of Prayer as an open attack on Christians and the churches.

One ministry spokesman in northern Haiti said five of its pastors had been murdered recently. He blamed it on the strong influence of Voodoo in the area. No other details were available.

While some witch doctors want to renew the 200-year commitment to Voodoo, Christians are spear-heading a year-long prayer movement to “take Haiti back from Satan,” according to the HAVIDEC website. HAVIDEC is “a concerted effort of all the major churches, denominations, and Protestant organizations in Haiti to bring about a spiritual deliverance for Haiti on the occasion of the celebration of our country’s 200 years of independence.” About 300 pastors were expected to attend the leadership conference in Port-au-Prince August 11-13.

Meanwhile, one of the ministries in Haiti assisted by Christian Aid has just opened its new Bible school in Port-au-Prince. The 20-plus students meet in facilities that are still under construction, but are eager to learn how to communicate the gospel of Christ.

“Tomorrow will be the best day of my life because I will finally have an opportunity to learn how to do everything in ministry. I will learn so much!” declared one of the eager students beginning the two-year program. These students want to proclaim Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to the people of Haiti. See also Photo of the Week: Haitian Bible School. To learn more write and put MI-432 120-LWM on the subject line.

———————————————————————- 5. Photo of the Week: Haitian Bible Students

http://www.christianaid.org/pow/pow-4-32.asp

Haitian students began their Bible training in July, eager to learn how to proclaim the saving grace and lordship of Jesus Christ to the people of Haiti. “I never knew how to answer Bible questions, but I know I will learn that. Most of all, I already see the importance of knowing God’s Word for me, and not just to answer questions,” Said Roodrigue, left, after one week of class. For more information see Insider story #4 or write and put MI-432 120-LWM on the subject line.

———————————————————————- Mission Statement:

Missions Insider is a free weekly email report from Christian Aid Mission, your link to the world of indigenous missions. We seek to establish a witness for our Lord in every tribe and nation (Matthew 24:14) by supporting highly effective native missionary ministries based in poorer countries overseas, or where believers are persecuted. Christian Aid has contact with more than 6000 indigenous ministries that have a total of 300,000 missionaries on the field or ready to go when support is available.

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