Below you will find a note from our friend Vijay of Shalom Ministries. Shalom Ministries has been a part of our lives for about 5 years.
Please help them if you can. Please read below to see the persecution taking place. Some of their own missionaries have been killed!
Vijay has visited our home in New Hampshire many times and we just had him come tonight 10/14/08 for a visit. All of our hearts were
filled with love and compassion as Vijay spoke of the horror and shock of the persecution and that donations coming in from America have
dwindled down so that it is very difficult. He is so humble and praying to God for his country. We'll update here when we receive communication from
Vijay but in the meantime, we ask, if you can, please pray for them and if possible, send donations to them through Christian Aid Mission. Every penny that goes through Christian Aid, goes to the ministry you designate and the number for Shalom Ministries is 620SMI. May the Lord bless you mightily for helping
Please send donations here: Our house meeting with Pastor Vijay (10/14/08) Karl and Carlene with Vijay (we love you Vijay)
P.O. Box 9037
Charlottesville, Va. 22906-9037
p.s. please let us know if you would like more information.
Here is ViJay's recent communication.
HI PRAYER PARTNERS AND FRIENDS
SHALOM
I AM SENDING YOU A COPY SENT TO ME BY EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP OF INDIA ABOUT HOW PERSECUTION IS BEING CONTINUED AND WE REQUEST THE GREATER BODY OF CHURCH MAY UPHOLD US IN YOUR PRAYERS AND MAY APPEAL TO THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANRIGHTS COMMISSION AND UNO.
FROM OUR SHALOM MINISTRIES TRAINED PASTORS 14 OF THEM ARE TARGETED AND THE MEMBERS FLED AWAY INTO THE FORESTS. WE HAVE BEEN SENDING CLOTHES AND SOME HELP BUT IT IS ONLY A DROP IN A OCEAN.
I AM PRESENLTY IN USA AND GODWILLING I MAY MEET YOU SOME TIME.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL,
VIJAY
EFI NEWS
Religious Cleansing Continues In Orissa
In Boudh District Eight Houses Torched
The religious cleansing has been meticulously planned and executed for forty seven days now
While Innocent Die, BJP calls for anti-conversion law
Press Trust of India
Oct. 06, 2008, (New Delhi): In the wake of continuing attacks on Christians, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Monday called for passing of an anti-conversion laws. Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu also demanded a comprehensive debate on the issue. When it was pointed out that seven states, including Orissa, already had an anti-conversion law but this had not prevented communal violence there, Naidu said the reasons were more deep-rooted.
Eight Houses Torched
Oct. 09, 2008, Bhubaneswar, (Orissa): A group of Sangh Parivar hate mongers and killers from Gochhapada area in Kandhamal entered adjoining Kantamal Police Station area of Boudh late on Wednesday night and torched the houses at Lamsaripali village, Deputy Inspector General of Police R P Koche said.
Separate Hindu Families From Christian
Oct. 08, 2008, G UDAYAGIRI/BHUBANESWAR, (Orissa), Anand Soondas, TNN reports: You know you have reached Kandhmal when you see rows of saffron flags fluttering atop houses meant to fulfil one purpose: separate Hindu families from Christian. In G Udayagiri, a region that hides insidious violence in serene beauty, the process of identification, of Hindus and their institutions, and appropriation of Christians and their churches, is almost complete. Houses that don't have saffron flags are either burnt or damaged.
Kandhmal sees first burial in 45 days
Oct. 08, 2008, BHUBANESWAR/RAIKIA, (Orissa), Anand Soondas, TNN reports: Five men, surrounded by a posse of policemen, quietly went to a charred house in Tikawali, Kandhmal, on Wednesday, and scraped off a few bones lying scattered on the floor since August 24. At 1 pm, they put the remains in a coffin and buried it with a quick prayer session. It was Kandhmal's first funeral. The rest of the survivors are awaiting administration's permission to send off their loved ones according to Christian rites.
(A must read for every thinking Indian)
Hapless Christians handy for minority bashing
Author: Dipankar Gupta Published in: "Mail Today" 7th October 2008
When Christians are being killed let us not search for its causes in the rising graph of conversions. Such an exercise is not only fraught with difficulties, but it may also direct our attention to poverty- based explanations..
(Some Excerpts)
Why the Christians? Have we run out of Muslims and Sikhs, that a small and insignificant minority should be slaughtered, pillaged and raped at will by right wing Hindutva forces? This may sound strange, but in a real sense that the saffron mob has in deed — if not in words — run out of options. This is why they have now turned against Christians. They are the last soft target.
The Sikhs set the retaliation game in motion. They hit out, often randomly, at designated targets making it known to Hindu sectarians that taking on a Sikh will not be a picnic any longer. This stopped further attacks against them.
The Muslims picked up this lead and set their own pace by orchestrating the Mumbai blasts of 1993, and several after that in quick succession. So the Muslims can no longer be hunted down either for casual Hindu amusement.
This only leaves the Christians. It must be borne in mind that Hindutva activists are at their predacious best when the kill is easy and their own safety assured in advance. This is why where Christians are in sizable numbers, such as in Nagaland, Kerala or even Goa, Hindutva sectarians dare not touch them. Instead they turn to areas like the Dangs in Gujarat or Kandhamal in Orissa where Christians are scattered and isolated. In these places it is easy to kill without the fear of being killed.
If not the Sikhs and the Muslims, who then? Then the paisa dropped — of course, the Christians!
This is why it is important to distinguish between those who are willing to die for a cause, from those who are only willing to kill for one. Hindu extremist parties and organizations, all the way to the BJP, can encourage, condone and organize mobs to kill for Hindutva, but none of them is willing to die for it. This trait also separates fundamentalist from pure ethnic baiters. A fundamentalist like Khomeini, and even Bhindranwale, would encourage the faithful to go back to the foundational principles of their religion and draw strength from there. Khomeini said that America may be the house of the Shaitan, but Muslims must pay attention first and foremost to the five pillars of Islam.
It should be clear by now that there is no social science behind the killings of Muslims, Sikhs, or Christians. Even so, academics, intellectuals, commentators and secular do-gooders are always searching for social and economic reasons behind these ethnic slaughters. What they do not realize is that the moment one gives into this kind of weak secular urges, Hindutva mobs find easy justification. Muslim terrorism today has nothing to do with Al Qaeda, Taliban, Palestine, or even Iraq. These terrorists are home bred and are direct outcomes of Babri Masjid and Godhra.
Cowardice
So when Christians are being killed let us not search for its causes in the rising graph of conversions. Such an exercise is not only fraught with difficulties, but it may also direct our attention to poverty- based explanations.
Which in turn would be the reason for something else, and the regression exercises could go on. What such analysts should ask is: Why don't these Hindutva activists go to Nagaland or somewhere else where Christians are in a majority and show us their nationalist daring- do there? Why is it that they are only active where their safety is guaranteed? In places where there is no administrative encouragement, sanction or connivance, Hindutva activists, of whatever description, dare not strike any minority community. This is why such attacks take place largely in BJP run areas like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka or Orissa.
Wherever Hindutva presence is built into the state administrative system, saffron forces are assured that every ethnic attack will be like a picnic.
Even as L. K. Advani, Rajnath Singh and BJP national leaders assembled on September 14 in Bangalore, 16 churches were attacked in Dakshina Kannada, Chikmaglur and Udupi.
Two followers of Christ Jailed In Premnagar, Sarguja District, Chhattisgarh
Oct. 9, 2008: EFI Correspondent Rev. Akhilesh Edgar reports from Raipur: Ravi Devangan and Muneshwar Ekka were in their beds in the night of Friday the 3rd of October, when Hindu fundamentalists came to their home in 3 jeeps. They banged their doors but when the doors were not opened, they broke open the doors and started beating the duo mercilessly. They then took both the persons along with them, declaring that they are being taken to the police station. But they were actually taken to a secluded place and were beaten till the two became unconscious. On Saturday morning the two of them were taken to the police station.
Police kept both of them in the lock up and refused to write any complaint against the culprits stating that this is the time of election in the state.. On Monday the police misguided the local believers that they are not booking either parties and the duo will be set free. But later both the believers were sent to jail. At present the two of them are in Surajpur jail.
Pray Pray Pray.
====================================
SHALOM
PLEASE UPHOLD THE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS IN INDIA IN YOUR PRAYERS
vijay
--- On Fri, 24/10/08, Evangelical Fellowship of India <mail@efionline.org> wrote:
From: Evangelical Fellowship of India <mail@efionline.org>
Subject: Press Statement of Kandhamal Nun, Sister Meena
To: shalomvijayindia@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, 24 October, 2008, 10:39 AM
EFI NEWS
PRESS RELEASE
Statement made to the Press by Sister Meena
John Dayal's note: While the Catholic Nun who was gang-raped in the violence in Kandhamal, Orissa on 25 August 2008 has signed this statement, which she read out at a Press Conference in New Delhi today, 24th October 2008, members of the Indian Media may recall the Supreme Court Advisory on the use of names of victims of gender violence.
October 24, 2008, New Delhi: On August 24th, around 4:30 pm, hearing the shouting of a large crowd, at the gate of Divyajyoti Pastoral Centre, I ran out through the back door and escaped to the forest along with others. We saw our house going up in flames. Around 8:30 pm we came out of the forest and went to the house of a Hindu gentleman who gave us shelter.
On 25th August, around1:30 pm,the mob entered the room where I was staying in that house, one of them stopped me on my face, caught my hair and pulled me out of the house. Two of them were holding my neck to cut off my head with axe. Others told them to take me out to the road; I saw Fr. Chellan also being taken out and being beaten. The mob consisting of 40-50 men was armed with lathis, axes, spades, crowbars, iron-rods, sickles etc.They took both of us to the main road. Then they led us to the burnt down Janavikas building saying that they were going to throw us into the smouldering fire.
When we reached the Janavikas building, they threw me to the verandah on the way to the dining room which was full of ashes and broken glass pieces. One of them tore my blouse and others my undergarments. Father Chellan protested and they beat him and pulled him out from there. They pulled out my saree and one of the stepped on my right hand and another on my left hand and then a third person raped me on the verandah mentioned above. When it was over, I managed to get up and put my petticoat and saree. Then another young man caught me and took me to a room near the staircase. He opened his pants and was attempting to rape me when they reached there.
I hid myself under the staircase. The crowd was shouting "where is that sister, come let us rape her, at least 100 people should rape." They found me under the staircase and took me out to the road. There I saw Fr. Chellan was kneeling down and the crowd was beating him. They were searching for a rope to tie us both of us together to burn us in fire. Someone suggested to make us parade naked. They made us walk on the road till Nuagoan market which was half a kilometer from there. They made to fold our hands and walk. I was with petticoat and saree as they had already torn away my blouse and undergarments. They tried to strip even there and I resisted and they went on beating me with hands on my cheeks and head and with sticks on my back several times..
When I reached the market the market place about a dozen of OSAP policemen were there. I went to them asking to protect me and I sat in between two policemen but they did not move. One from the crowd again pulled out from there and they wanted to lock us in their temple mandap. The crowd led me and Fr. Chellan to the Nuagaon block building saying that they will hand us over to BDO. From there along with the block officer the mob took us to police outpost Nuagaon, other policemen remained far.
The mob said that they will come back after eating and one of them who attacked me remained back in the police outpost. Policemen then came to police outpost. They were talking very friendly with the man who had attacked me and stayed back. In police outpost we remained until the inspector in charge of Balliguda with his police team came and took us to Balliguda. They were afraid to take us straight to the police station and they kept us sometimes in jeep. In the garage, from there, they brought us to the station. The inspector in charge and other government officers took me privately and asked whatever happened to me. I narrated everything in detail to the police, how I was attacked, raped, taken away from policemen paraded half naked and how the policemen did not help me when I asked for help while weeping bitterly. I saw the inspector writing down. The inspector asked me "are you interested in filing FIR? Do you know what will be the consequence?" At about 10:00 pm I was taken for medical check-up accompanied by a lady police officer to Balliguda Hospital. They were afraid to keep us in police station, saying the mob may attack police station. So the police took us to the IB (Inspection Bungalow) where CRP men were camping.
On 26th August around 9:00 am, we were taken to Balliguda police station. When I was writing the FIR, the I I C asked me to hurry up and not to write in detail. When I started writing about the police, the I I C told me "this is not the way to write FIR, make it short". So I re-wrote it for the third time in one and half page. I filed the FIR but I was not given a copy of it.
At around 4:00 pm the inspector in charge of Balliguda police station along with some other government officers put us in the OSRTC bus to Bhubaneswar along with other stranded passengers. Police were there till Rangamati where all passengers had their supper. After that I did not see the police. We got down near Nayagarh and traveled in a private vehicle and reached Bhubaneswar around 2:00 am on 27th August.
State Police failed to stop the crimes, failed to protect me from the attackers, they were friendly with the attackers. They tried their best that I did best that I did not register an FIR, not make complaints against police, police did not take down my statement as I narrated in detail and they abandoned me half of the way. I was raped and now I don't want to be victimized by the Orissa police. I want CBI enquiry.
God bless India, God bless you all.
Sr. Meena
Rev. Dr. Richard Howell
General Secretary
Evangelical Fellowship of India
New Delhi, India
Evangelical Fellowship of India (established 1951) is a charter member of World Evangelical Alliance, an accredited NGO with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
