PASTOR AND OTHERS RELEASED AFTER HIGH DRAMA- Haryana, July 29 2002

Thank you for praying for Pr Saji, Grace, Joel and Gladys. After a high drama they were released from the prison on Saturday morning. The whole night in the prison, they were not allowed to speak for themselves and an angry mob surrounded them in the police station. By God's grace, they were not assaulted physically. While they were inside, through your prayers, God raised up non christian friends who stood in the gap and helped secure the release of all the six people involved.

Their opposers even signed a declaration that they would not create any such disturbances in the future. While there is no way that their claims can be believed, we trust in God that He will take care of His children in the future.Later in the evening, the residents committee of the colony where they stay, met to decide whether they could continue to stay in that colony. There were a lot of people who wanted them to vacate the place and move out of the city, but God once again performed a miracle and they voted that they should continue to stay in that same house and worship there.When I talked to the Pastor, he rejoiced jubiliantly and told "This is God's real work - now everybody in the city knows that there is a Church and that there are a group of people who meet regularly to pray - I am waiting to see how the Lord will multiply his ministry."

Though towards the end of the conversation, he broke down and requested "We need tremendous amount of prayer to continue here". This is what I will also request you to do. Thank you once again and please know that we are grateful to God that we have people who will bow their knees with us when we the time arises.

Paul Mathews

PASTOR AND FOUR OTHERS ARRESTED - Haryana, July 27, 2002

Six hours ago, at midnight, Pr Saji and four other people were arrested at their home. The Police came and woke the pastor up and asked him and four other brothers who were with him to come to the Police Station. When the Pastor's wife called us last night, she had crossed the street to make this call leaving her two small children fast asleep on their bed and no one around them was available to help them. She was crying bitterly on the phone asking us to "please pray for Pr and for all of us, they have taken all the men to the Police station! What will happen to us I am not sure and I am not sure about our children also. Please pray that they would be released from the jail quickly."

The immediate cause cannot be ascertained. But it is believed that few days ago, a group of people bent on doing mischief came to the Pastor's house and started accusing falsely that some one had seen believers taking down a certain 'flag' and trampling it underfoot. This never happened but when when they were unwilling to admit it, one of the accusers started to slap a brother who was standing listening to the conversation. Few others joined in and within a minute he was on the floor asking for mercy. Now this has happened last night. WE NEED YOU TO PRAY RIGHT NOW FOR PASTOR SAJI, HIS WIFE GRACE AND THEIR TWO CHILDREN JOEL (4 years) AND GLADYS (30 months). Also pray that through this God's Kingdom would come into Palwal town and that several people would be led to the Lord.
Coveting your prayers,

Paul Mathews

NMM CHURCH ATTACKED in Haryana May 05 2002

This morning another of our churches was attacked in Palwal city in Haryana state of north India, quite close to New Delhi. While the Sunday morning worship was in progress, forty assailents broke into the church and tried to stop the service. They started to lay false allegations against Pastor Saji Chacko saying that he was trying to 'convert' people by giving them money. They also threatened him with dire consequences and told him that if he would not wind up the work and leave, they would not hesitate to take his life. Before leaving, they also warned him not to talk to anyone about this incident.

The pastor and the believers sounded quite shaken when we received the call this afternoon. We have asked them to file a case in the police station which they were initially afraid of doing, but later we believe they did. Till 6pm the pastor had not returned from the police station.

The work here is a only a few years old and there was good response from the local people and right now a team from the Filadelfia Bible College in Udaipur is ministering there. Pray that the believers and the pastor would stand strong in this hour of reckoning. Pray that the work in that area would only grow as a result of this incident and that the favour of God and man would rest upon all concerned YOUNG BELIEVER MURDERED This past week, the decomposed body of a young believer of one of our churches was found in the jungles of Dang area in Gujarat. He was missing for the past six days from his home. He is survived by his wife and 16 day old baby.
This young man was quite active in the church and was instrumental in bringing several people to the Lord. This is the same area where during 1998 Christmas, 48 churches belonging to several organizations were burnt. Now we have 25 churches in this area. Please pray that God would comfort the widow and that we would be able to help her financially. Also pray that God would protect the pastors and the believers in this sensitive area. Standing in the gap between you and the persecuted brethren,

Paul Mathews

Praise Report from Orissa May 03 2002

Dear Partners, Thank you for praying and standing with the believers of Orissa. The Lord has done something marvelous on behalf of the believers there. Through your prayers there was unprecedented favour and speed in the actions that were taken by the Police and District officials. Not only was peace restored but the government agreed to restore the church structure. There were several other initiatives that were taken that are underlined in the report from Pastor John towards the end of this mail.

We want to thank God because “The name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run into it and they are saved.” We also want to thank you personally for taking the time to pray for this incident and the ministry. May God use you more to pray for His people in India.

With love,

Paul Mathews

Following is part of a report filed by Pastor John C Varghese.

• In the first case 5 of the 13 arrested suspects were booked under certain sections of non-bailable offence and were forwarded to the court. The District Officials took an admirable peace initiative and convened a meeting of all the men of good reputation of both the communities. According to the collector the steps that would be taken are as under:

• Police will continue the investigation on both the cases filed and the criminals will soon be forwarded to the court.

• Restoration of the church hall and also some kind of minor shelter to cover up the stone images of the tribal deity in three villages so that they can be kept under lock and key.
  To form a peace committee to watch over the situation so that further repercussions would be controlled.

• The Local Engineer was directed to work with a committee to restore the structures and selected nine members each from both the communities to form a peace committee in with 3 other officials. Till now the progress is satisfactory and we expect normalcy in the situation very soon. Representatives of both communities accepted the decisions of district administration whole-heartedly.

We extend our hearty thanks to you for encouraging and helping us in different ways at this time of crisis. Hundreds of people around the world prayed for us. It is the victory of prayer. It is God’s victory. Let God receive all glory.”

NMM Church Burned In Orissa - April 29 2002

We just received a phone call from our area leader Pastor John C. Varghese in Orissa that one of our churches was burnt to ashes yesterday in the Malliguda area of Orissa. Right now Pastor John is traveling to that interior area to take stock of the situation and we will be able to obtain complete information within the next few hours. For the past few weeks, miscreants have been looking for opportunities to disturb the peace in that region. Please pray that God would protect his Children there in that village and in that whole region and also the servant of God, Pastor Sumit, would be protected from any further harm. You may remember that this is the same state where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two children were burnt to death two years ago, while they were sleeping in their car. Coveting your prayers on behalf of the persecuted brethren,Paul Mathews

NMM Church Buildings attacked and destroyed in Madhya Pradesh:Feb 20 2002

Chandpur: On the afternoon of 10th February a mob of anti Christians came and attacked our newly built church building at Chandpur in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh state. They destroyed one wall and entered the church and burnt all the furniture and instruments inside the church. The musical instruments and mats the believers used to sit on were completely burnt to ashes. The person who did this is a local religious fanatic leader of the area.

Rev. Joy Punnoose laboured in that area for several years and established several churches with the help of our Bible College graduates. The local fanatics threatened that they would not allow the church to continue. They said that they would completely demolish the church. During this time Pastor Thomas Mathews happened to be in that region, 50 miles away preaching in another village . He rushed there with some people and the police was called to the spot.

The police arrived just in time (it was a miracle!) and caught the criminal and they assured us that he will not be given bail and that he will be put behind bars for 10 years. It is a miracle because the police used to ignore such incidents in the past. The local government has appointed policemen to guard the church building. The demolished wall should be rebuilt again.

The whole building needs strong plastering. Floor work is also not done and it needs to be cemented. We are praying for funds for the same. It is a large church building. Around 500 believers gather here for worship. This work should be completed immediately. Pray for sufficient funds to reconstruct Chandpur church building.

He came to the Lord 7 years ago through miraculous healing. He is a graduate of our Bible School at Dahod. "These two church buildings are our strategic centers within this vast unreached region. Please help us in prayer for funds to reconstruct these churches.

I have been traveling in this region extensively and strengthening the discouraged believers. In three other places in Jhabua district our churches underwent minor attacks but major damage was not done.Continue to pray and stand with us."

Dr. Thomas Mathews

Navapur Convention - November 2001

We saw God's faithfulness once again in the convention. It was absolutely marvelous to witness how the Lord was leading us into deeper worship and higher praise. Navapur convention hasn't merely been about gathering ever-larger numbers and having a good time. Teaching, encouraging the national Christians in the present difficult days and church planting have been absolutely central to what we have been doing in the convention....Full Story

NATIVE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT OFFERS RELIEF TO THE EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS IN BHUJ
NMM News Service Feb 2 2001

In response to the devastation and tragic loss of life due to the recent earthquake in Gujarat a team of nurses, mission staff and laymen from Native Missionary Movement (Founder-President Dr. Thomas Mathews) in Udaipur have left for relief and medicare work in the villages of Bhuj, the epicentre of the earthquake. We have managed to collect a bus and a jeep full of blankets, medicines, rice, lentils, biscuits and warm clothes worth Rs. 2,00,000. While relief efforts of different charity organisations focus on the cities, our team aims to work in the villages which lack basic necessities as it is. Thousands are suffering because of the injuries, biting cold and homelessness. Needless here to describe the scale of suffering and helplessness of people who live in the villages. With over 100,000 injured and homeless, there is an urgent need for emergency funds.

NMM News Service Jan 18 2001

'The desert shall rejoice and blossom'- One of the largest deserts, the Thar desert, is in Rajasthan. The Lord is strengthening his work in thirteen districts of this desert region. Pastor J. Pal from Bikaner district wrote to us recently that one day while he was preaching a person approached him and asked him what was Jesus? Whether he was an animal or a person? This question began to stir up faith in Jay and now the Lord is using him to reach out to the lost in the region. There was severe opposition but this Christmas; the previous opposers of the gospel invited him and his team to their homes to listen to the story of Christmas. In a new village more than 400 people gathered to hear the Christmas story. We need partners to uphold the work in this area.

New church plants- Pastor Rajendra from Lusadia reported that the work that began in a single village in Lusadia has now spread to nineteen other villages. Of these, eleven villages witnessed miraculous healings and now 5-7 families are gathering for prayer every week in each of these villages. Once a month they all gather from these different locations to break Bread together in Lusadia.

Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever -Pastor Rajesh Dhanwar from Bihar wrote about the Lord’s faithfulness in his ministry and family. Last year his wife was constantly sick with various illnesses. First with malaria, then with typhoid and later with pneumonia. The doctor advised that she would need three bottles(drips) of blood. The pastor and everybody around her thought she would die that very night. But the Lord miraculously healed her and she did not have to take those bottles of blood. The Lord intervened at the right time and gave her a victorious recovery. Now she is serving the Lord with her husband joyfully. Let us pray that God would restore in double measure the blessings and the energy, which the devil tried to steal from this precious family.

New mission stations- We have begun new work in several villages in Punjab. Now three of our pastors are ministering in pioneer places. The Lord is confirming His word through signs and wonders and we request you to pray for them.

Christmas story, first time ever- During the Christmas season Christian Festivals were organised for the villagers in two places. It was conducted mainly to strengthen the believers in that region. People responded very well and in each place more than two thousand people gathered. It was a day filled with sports, songs, competitions and preaching of the word of God. Please pray for extra protection in these villages as in the past months they have been facing severe persecutions.

Church construction halted- While many are praying and waiting to begin constructing new simple structures, authorities have halted construction in five different places. Please pray that the Lord’s money that has already gone into them would not be wasted and that these structures would be completed. Once these are completed we are praying to build another fifteen more church buildings. The people in the villages need them urgently and as they contribute through their physical labour and the land costs, pray with us that God would provide the rest of the money.

Drought appeal- There is an urgent and important prayer need. The state of Rajasthan is reeling under severe drought. For the last four years there have been no rains and we now request you to pray with us that God would open the heavens and bless this land. Through this the Lord should also display His glory among the people. Already the believers have suffered heavily and they are walking miles just to fetch drinking water. Crops have failed and in many places the parched and cracked land is a sign of the devastation that could follow. Please pray that the Lord would have mercy.

Two NMM Missionaries abducted, beaten up in Rajasthan
Source : NMM News Service (A first hand information received from Evg.David Masih and Pr.Simon Zecharia)

UDAIPUR Jan 6 2001: Upon the invitation of Ramesh Solanki (a believer) to pray for the blessing of his new baby, Pastor Simon, Evg. David Masih and another priest went to his village Jher. They also took a film projector and the Jesus film with them. They reached village Jher at 7 p.m. on 3rd January, and after dinner they stayed overnight at Mr. Ramesh’s house.

On January 4, Mr. Ramesh took these men out to show his village. He also took them to the Vanvasi Kalyan Shala (Tribal Welfare School) run by Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad (a social welfare wing of a fanatic group), where he happened to meet a teacher named Babulal. Mr. Ramesh invited Babulal to see the Christian movie in the evening at his house. That evening in a small gathering, the newborn baby of Mr. Ramesh was prayed over and blessed by Pr. Simon and his companions. Right after that inside the same house they began showing the Christian movie.

There were around 25-30 people present in the house. At around 9 p.m. that night, over 40 people loaded in 3 different Jeeps with swords, knives, iron rods, canes and stones came near the house of Mr. Ramesh. They began shouting loudly against the Christian priests, so there was a big commotion. Somehow the believers hid Pastor Simon and Evg. David in the house of the village chief (Mukhi).

I have shed the blood of 8 persons so far. If I just say a word, these tribals will cut your hands and legs and throw you somewhere. No one will be able to find the pieces of your body.No one will be able to figure out who were the culprits." They kidnapped Pr. Simon and Evg. David and took them in the Jeep to the nearby jungle. They kept on beating both of them and on the way they stopped somewhere and gave liquor to the mob. So after getting drunk they began beating up these two innocent servants of God. They hit Pr. Simon on his head with the sword, leaving a deep injury with 6 stitches. Evg. David got 3 fractures in his right hand. While he was crying for mercy, they kept a sword on his neck and threatened to kill him if he cried. They pushed them out of the Jeep and left them in the jungle.

These two helpless priests bleeding and crying continuously for help became unconscious and they did not know how they spent the whole night. In the morning some labourers who were on their way to their work saw them and took them to the nearby town Vijay Nagar and admitted them in the hospital.On 6th January a few people from our church head office in Udaipur visited our brothers at Himmat Nagar civil hospital and personally heard the above stated descriptions. For the past few years in the Gujarat-Rajasthan border area, which is a tribal belt, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrangdal and the Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad have made the Christian priests and innocent Yeeshu Bhakts their target. In the Vanvasi Kalyan Shalas little children’s minds are embittered against the Christian minority. The above described incident is a solid proof of what the so-called nationalists are doing in the name of Hindutva and Bharatiya Sanskriti.

Gujarat tense over alleged Bajrang Dal attack on priest

UDAIPUR Jan 6 2001:Two Christian priests were beaten up on Thursday night and are now in a hospital in Himmatnagar in Gujarat. According to doctors, the two have sustained serious injuries and are in a state of shock. The DIG and Collector from Udaipur district made a late night visit to the Himmatnagar hospital. They also met officials from the Gujarat administration and have asked for help in catching the alleged Bajrang Dal activists believed to be behind the attack.

Abducted and beaten for over two hours by alleged Bajrang Dal activists, priests David Massey and Simon finally had to be brought to Himmatnagar hospital under police protection. According to Father David Massey, "They beat us with sticks and kicked us. They also tried to hit me with a sword, but I caught it in my hand. They said why have you come here, why are you showing a film on Jesus here? The two priests were attacked when they had gone to visit the house of a local pastor in Jehra village on the border of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Doctors attending to them say along with the injuries, the victims have also sustained a severe psychological trauma. Dr. B R Solanki, Chief Medical Officer, Himmatnagar Civil Hospital, said, "The patients are in a state of shock. They were been beaten up a lot and so are scared."So far violence against Christians was restricted to the Dangs area in South Gujarat, but the attack on the two priests could create tension in North Gujarat, which does have a significant tribal population