Latest News |
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Anti-Conversion
Bill Reintroduced in Rajasthan |
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April
5th, 2008 By Staff Reporter |
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After much controversy and debate, the Vasundhara Raje Government has reintroduced the Freedom of Religion Bill in the Assembly, which is likely to come up for discussion on Friday. The new Bill gives the Government the power to cancel registration of societies and trusts, where it is found that the "funds of the body have been used, or are being used or are contemplated to be used for conversion; or the body is involved in securing conversion." The Raje Government had first
introduced the Rajasthan Dharm Swatantrya Bill in 2006, which was
returned unsigned by the then Governor of Rajasthan, Pratibha Patil,
as she found it affecting the Fundamental Rights of a person. The
Cabinet again sent the Bill to the Governor without making any amendments.
The Governor, after holding it back for almost a year, forwarded
it to President APJ Abdul Kalam in June 2007. |
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State
Level Pastors' Seminars |
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April
5th, 2008 By Rev. Joy Punnoose |
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State
level Pastors Seminars were held in the the states of Rajasthan
and Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh respectively. The desire is to bring
together the |
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pastors
working out in the fields for four days of relearning, evaluation
and spending time in the presence of God. One pastor commented,
"Sometimes we get bogged down by too many details and we miss
the big picture. |
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Coming
together like this clears the glass in the ministry and helps me
to refocus on my calling and my giftings."
Rev. Joy Punnoose, Chairman, and several others addressed these State Seminars. While over 160 pastors and missionaries came together in Rajasthan, 360 of them came to the Gujarat and Maharatra State Level Pastors meet. We have been organizing this informally over the past years. But now we want to do it systematically in each state, atleast once a year. Would you want to partner with
us hosting these seminars? You can come to one of these Seminars
or sponsor some pastors to this seminar or even sponsor the entire
event. Please contact us for more information at contact@nmmindia.org
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Orissa
Persecution |
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April
5th, 2008 By Staff Reporter |
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This story may sound like a nightmare, but it was enacted many times
over on December 24th and 25th in Orissa state. As recorded in the
February newsletter, these were anti-Christian activists bent on
driving out Christians from Orissa who galvanized their efforts
and drove the believers out of their homes in the Kandhamal district.
After the rampage was over, nearly 1,400 houses and 60 places of
Christian worship lay destroyed, mostly by fire. More than 3,000 Christians found themselves confined to makeshift refugee camps. Sadly, as of this writing they remain in these Red Cross emergency units, with contaminated food, no clothing or blankets to keep out the cool winter temperatures, and no remedy to their homeless condition in sight. |
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Testimonies
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| BrotherNathaniel
Naik : On Christmas Eve, we walked to the church, looking
forward to a special service remembering our Savior’s birth.
But as we neared the building, around 25 extremists with weapons,
put up roadblocks and stopped the believers. Finally they demanded
that we leave the village. Fearing for our lives, we fled to the
nearby woods. Later on the radical anti-Christian mob set the church
on fire. The flames destroyed the church and everything inside:
the musical instruments, Bibles, and songbooks. |
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Brother
Arvind : told us that the radical Hindus came and demanded
that they leave their home otherwise they would be killed. Along
with his wife and two children, they fled to the surrounding jungles.
After four days hiding in the jungle without food or water, thinking
the situation to be calm, they went back to their village. Nothing
was found in their house when they returned. They were sad to see
their house was totally destroyed by the radicals. Their Bibles
were burned. |
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Brother
Anjan Kumar: “Around one a.m., radicals knocked at
the door. I woke up my wife and children. They demanded that we
leave the house or be killed. In the dark of night, we walked away,
while they looted our belongings and destroyed the doors, windows,
and the roof.” |
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Concern
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In spite of the tragedy of the situation, the
presence of the Spirit of Christ is moving. Many Christians, including
NMM missionaries, have sought shelter in the forests. Because
tensions are still high, there is little hope for them to be able
to return home anytime soon. |
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Compassion
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“The
righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of
all their troubles.” Psalm 34:17 Will you pray earnestly for this grave situation? A tense and desperate condition still exists. Although the attackers ceased open conflict, the demands are the same—no Christians in Orissa. All these Christians are treated like foreign enemies in their own land. The current living conditions for them are difficult at best. They need homes, food, and personal belongings—enough for even their low subsistence needs. Will you give out of whatever abundance you may have to help meet this desperate situation? Jesus wants us to be His eyes, hands, and feet of compassion toward these precious children of His. We want to build three churches which were burnt to ashes. If we can give them some, they will collect the remaining amount and they can rebuild a church with a tin sheet roof. If we can give some funds to each family in need, they can build a hut of thatched roof, where they can go and live, cook their own meals and eat. We want to help these people. We have 50 children in the existing orphanage—there are no more places, but we have land. You can build a Hope Home for 100 children We need your help. |
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Prayer
Concerns |
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NMM
missionaries are doing everything they can to minister to the people
in these areas. They request prayer that the attacks from anti-Christian
extremists would stop and their attackers. They also ask for prayer
for the many believers who are being threatened and attacked, that
the Lord would give them strength and peace to endure these difficult
situations. Pray for a cooling down of the situation so that homes
and churches can be rebuilt, lives restored, and the growing church
nurtured. Please pray for the mind of Christ for the NMM leadership
as they ponder how and when to move forward in the area. Also pray
that the anti-Christian extremists will come to know the Prince
of Peace. Until Every one is Reached, Joy Punnoose President, Native Missionary Movement |
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Six
Christians killed, 60 churches destroyed, over 600 Christians in
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hiding
in the state of Orissa, north India |
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Dec
24, 2007 By Rev. Joy Punnoose |
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Christians in the state
of Orissa, north India, are facing severe persecution. On Christmas
Day, early morning I received a call from John C, NMM leader in
Orissa with a sad news that the anti christian fundamentalists
had burnt down two of the NMM churches. The violence began on
December 24, 2007 when the fanatic mobs interrupted Christmas
celebrations and vandalized Christmas decorations in several areas
of Kandhamal district of Orissa. The violence soon spread, with
reports of hundreds injured. According to a fact-finding team
led by Dr. John Dayal, Secretary General of the All India Christian
Council, six bodies of Christians were found, 400 Christian homes
and 60 churches were burnt down within six days in Kandhamal district.
According to the reports, several Christians are hiding in the forest for fear of more attacks. Some of them are without food and drinking water. In some places, the phone lines are not working and the bus services have come to a halt. The extremists ransacked some of the houses of the Christians, took out all books, Bibles and even their property deed and put them on fire. The fanatics are threatening the Christians that they would destroy their houses if they did not reconvert to their religion. Moreover, in many of the violence-affected villages, the Christian leaders are not being allowed to visit. The population of Orissa is over 36.7 million. Out of this only 2% are Christians. In January 1999, the anti christian activists in this state had burnt alive the Australian missionary Graham Staines with his two sons. In spite of all the persecution and opposition over the years, there has been tremendous church growth in Orissa. Our leaders are trying to help the people in that region, providing them with some of their needs. In this time of chaos in the region, please pray for strength and protection of the missionaries and believers. Pray for the missionaries as they continue to serve in this hostile environment. Pray for peace and comfort for those who have lost their homes. Pray for the NMM missionaries that they will not be discouraged in this situation. |
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2007
Navapur Convention Report |
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Nov
18, 2007 By Staff Reporter |
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To
view in your browser click on the Link to launch the PDF version. |
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For
Slow Connections: |
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Bible
School Trainee Murdered By Naxalites |
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Oct 29, 2007 By Staff Reporter Aytu one of our Bible school trainees in Bijapur was murdered by the naxalites yesterday (28 Oct). Yesterday early morning in Bijapur he was killed in ambush by the naxalites. The naxalites, are groups waging violent struggle on behalf of the landless laboureres and tribal people against landlords and other exploiters. They constantly wage war against the government machinery. Brother Aytu was an active member of Filadelfia Fellowship church in Bijapur. He was also working as a part time police official in the locality and doing night duty. Every morning hours he attended our training centre to learn the word of God. Aytu and his wife came to the Lord an year ago. Aytu was sick for many months and found none to help him. But once he began to attend the church God healed him completely. He has a two year old son and a wife. His wife Kosla is a student at our Tailoring centre. Please pray for this family and the believers in this region. |
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Hindu
militants have attacked a NMM pastor and raped his wife! |
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Sept
4, 2007 By Grace Punnoose |
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Pastor Benedict Damor and his family have been faithfully serving the Lord in Kotada, Rajasthan, North India for the past 7 years. The ministry has been fruitful and many people have come to know the Lord through his ministry and a strong local church has been established. However this district in Rajasthan is one of the most hostile and persecuted areas that NMM is laboring in, there has been many problems and trials. Pastor Damor was warned that if he does not shut down his ministry in this area he will be attacked, to which he responded, “If I live I would live for Christ because He lives for me!” Then Hindu radicals came into the area to stir up the locals and told them that if they would not assault and drive out this pastor and his family, they will call people from other villages and cities to do it. This stirred up an antichristian attitude in the local area and the problems began to increase. Then a group of Hindu militants came and attacked this NMM pastor in the Kotada village. These assailants came and surrounded him and then attacked the pastor and beat him. This happened to him on several occasions. They also threatened and warned the believers not to help or else they would also be harmed The assailants and came from neighboring cities and villages, accused pastor Benedict and his wife of “compulsorily converting” local people. This is one of the accusations that the Hindu radicals continually use to motivate the locals and to ensure that the local police do not interfere with their antichristian activities. Another day a man went into the pastor’s house while he was away from his home and very brutally raped his wife and threatened her saying that “we will kill your family if you tell anyone”. After this his wife fled the area and is now staying at her parent’s home. The pastor has asked local police to interfere and help them reach a compromise with the assailants in a peaceful manner, so his wife can return. Please pray for pastor Damor, his wife and family that the Lord’s healing hand would touch their lives and would restore them. Also pray for the other local pastors and their families as there are thirty other churches in the district. Also pray for the Children’s and the primary school that NMM is operating in this region. Once again I want to thank you for the love that you have for India, your ongoing prayers and support, may the Lord bless you abundantly. |
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News
From The Mission Field - Sept 01 2007 |
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1. Pastor Sanjeeb who is in north indian village 20 km from a small town. In that village a sister who is a Lutheran Christian, got married to a Hindu brother. They are having two children. Their son is suffering from paralysis and was unable to walk. The husband was a stanch Hindu would not allowed the wife for prayer By the inspiration of Holy Spirit the pastor
went to the village and visited the house and saw the handicapped
boy and then the lady requested for prayer as the family had already
tried medicine and black magic but the boy remained same .The
pastor prayed for the child and family. Jesus Christ healed the
child and the child begun to walk. Praise the lord. After some days the FIL came to my house and apologised and told that he’s is extremely sorry for that incident. He opened his house and we began to start Sunday service in his house. Pray for that family |
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2. Pastor Pobitra who is the area leader of the Borigumma area. God is using him miraculously. In a Sunday service brought their daughter who was insane. They had tried a lot by medicine and black magic. But it was in vain. We prayed for the girl. After two months the girl became total healed. Due to black magic her mother was suffering from boils in her hands. Through prayer she also got healed. After this incidence the family has expressed their desire to take water baptism. They were baptised on 18.07.06. Pray for that family. They belong to Kalahandi district and there is not a single Christian in that village. Pray that they will be witness for that village as well as for that district. In a Sunday service a family attended the meeting.
They had a son who could not walk for one and half years of his
birth. But after prayer the boy was able to walk Pastor Pavitro also visited Janiguda village, where a brother named Jayram was suffering from fits. But after our prayer he was healed completely. Pray that the brother will take water baptism very soon During my visit to village ANCHALA lot of people were healed. A 10-year-old boy was suffering from PARALYSIS and was not able to walk for ten years begun to walk on that day. Pray that God will do miracle and use me for the glory of the kingdom of God. I am working in the Borigumma block. But my vision is to reach the village and people where till now no one has listened the Gospel. Pray so that an orphanage and a boarding school will start in the Borigumma town. |
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3. Pastor Bimal working with FFC in small village in Borigumma block. He expresses his gratitude to the FFC for the help he is receiving. In Koiary village where I am working there are 30 believers who are attending church regularly. The entire people group are scheduled tribe and scheduled cast. The people are very poor and daily labourers but after receiving Jesus as their personal saviour their economy condition is improving gradually and finding peace in their lives. Inspire of this there are still
illiteracy problems and many people who dos not know Jesus are coming
for counselling for their problems of life while I am counselling
I am telling the gospel and praying for them |
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| Brief Stories of God at Work in India | ||||
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