update from Jon and Swati- oct 08

Hi folks

Greetings in Jesus name. Below is an update of what the Lord has been enabling us to do here in India.

LEADERS CONFERENCE:

We hosted a conference for local Pastors and leaders in the first week of September. We were blessed by teaching from Pastor Tim Hatt and Paul Yadao. It was a powerful time for all of us as we talked about and learned what it means to be kingdom minded and how we as believers have access to the kingdom and have the privilege to bring it to every situation we face. There were between 150-180 leaders in attendance.

WOMENS FELLOWSHIP:

As mentioned in the prior update Swati has begun a womens fellowship in Nagar. God blessed that time and has mobilized quite a few women into ministry in the local church. She will be doing three more conferences in 3 different towns in the next month. Please keep her in prayer as she prepares. There is a huge need for womens and childrens ministry here and God is opening a lot of doors for her to minister.

PROSTITUTE RESCUE MINISTRY:

We are praying with and working with an organization to design an effective model to minister to women rescued out of prostitution. The aspects of this ministry will include biblically based counseling, business training and help with business start ups. It is very critical that they are able to make a living or they are at high risk of being trafficked again. Please keep us in prayer as the Lord leads us in this venture.

KINGDOM BUSINESS/MICROENTERPRISE

It is fun as we minister to 800 families here. About 95%of these families are non believers. Most of them do not even have a Church close by. It is fun to be able to take the Church to them during their bimonthly meetings. We mentor them and work through a biblically based curriculum on values and business principles. Our meetings end with a time of prayer and devotions which is always powerful. Last week we spent time in 3 slums that we minister in praying with families and sharing the word. It was amazing to see their openness to prayer and the word. Most of them are from lower castes and have never been shown love before. Most of them are not able to afford two meals a day and make less than $1 a day. It is amazing to see the transformation when they encounter God’s love and begin believing that they are created in God’s image and he has great plans for them. They are being equipped and empowered and many of them have started small businesses. Their children are beginning to go to school. We are starting local prayer fellowships in the slums here.

SCHOOLS OF HOPE:

One of the needs for the families in the slums is access to good English schools. Good Christian English schools are critical for the next generation to be able to get out of poverty. We are looking at starting a English K-3 school in one of the slums we work in. Please keep this in prayer.

PERSECUTION IN INDIA:

Intense persecution against Christians broke out in Orissa state in India in late August, destroying 4,500 homes and 150 Christian institutions. It then spread to other states, with new attacks breaking out in 5 more states in mid-September. Dozens of women were sexually abused, and tens of thousands of Christians are in relief camps. Many more are still hiding in forests. At least 60 believers have been martyred. We believe the persecution in Orissa is the beginning of attacks on the Church among the oppressed in India.

Please pray for protection for the believers in India and that the Lord would soften the hearts of the radicals and that justice would be done.

Below is a recent news article

RAIKIA (KANDHMAL): A huge question mark is now hovering over when the thousands of Christian refugees, cowering after a bloody purge, will be psychologically ready to leave the relief camps and head home. As a TOI team visited shelters put up by the administration and NGOs in the districts hit by violence — Kandhmal, G Udayagiri, Raikia, and Nuagam — it looks as if it would take a long time before broken families and homes are able to gather courage to pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives. “They came in a large group, too many to count,” said Asha Lata Naik on Monday, clutching her six-month-old child at the Vijaya High School relief camp for homeless tribals of Raikia and adjoining villages. “Then two of them raised their swords high and brought it down on my husband’s head. He bled to death in front of me. He had been working hard to save money so that he could celebrate our child’s first birthday. Tell me how will I go home.” Fear is so pervasive here that one can almost touch it. In fact, there is such terror that Christians say they will try to remain in the relief sites for as long as they can. At the camps, where CRPF jawans have their eyes on every group and where headcounts are maintained with regimental discipline, the Christians take small breaks of an hour each in the morning and in the evening for their ablutions. Then they return to their dingy, stinking cluster of tents in obedient, single files. After that they look around to ensure friends and family too have returned. There is panic if someone is missing. There is another woman, Kanakha Rekha Naik, whose husband was killed in the presence of their two children, six and three. “Parikhit (her husband) begged them that we be spared. But he wasn’t. He was hacked to pieces. I spent three days in the jungles before I heard of this relief camp.” Ironically, Parikhit’s elder brother, Vinayak Naik, is a CRPF officer entrusted with the protection of people’s lives. “But look at me,” he said. “I’ve never been so much at the mercy of people. We lived in a joint family, so my house is gone, too. I can’t leave them alone and have extended my leave indefinitely. I am a soldier but I am afraid to be alone now. We are better off here.” If Asha Lata and Kanakha have lost their husbands, Christo Das Naik, 60, lost his wife. At the G Udayagiri camp, where inmates said there were around 6,000 of them, the old man said: “They killed my wife, Ramoni. Around 1,500 people came to my village, Rudangiya, and attacked us — burning our houses. My wife couldn’t escape though my son did. I will not leave until he returns. I have nowhere to go until then.” There are whispers about his son that Christo Das wouldn’t want to hear. The Christian houses remain broken, with no trace of human life in any of the deserted hamlets. The only thing that moves is the saffron flag planted atop some of the broken roofs.

MINNESOTA VISIT:

• I will be back in Minnesota October 25th – Nov 16th and look forward to connecting with you all in person.
• We are claiming God’s protection as we minister here. We covet your prayers and support as we minister here.

We love you all

Be blessed

Jon, Swati and Neil