Urgent Prayer Needed for India

There are two major things happening in India right now. The first is heavy persecution in Orissa state. The second is flooding in Bihar. Below are two stories from the GFA website, www.gfa.org

Please pray for Orissa and Bihar. The believers and those yet to be saved. God is doing a mighty work there. No wonder the enemy is working so hard!

Christians Flee to Forests as Mob Violence Escalates in Indian State

Mob violence in India's Orissa state continues to escalate, and reports coming from Gospel for Asia leaders in Orissa say that as many as 20 GFA-related churches were destroyed and hundreds of Christian families have been burned out of their homes. At least a dozen members of GFA-related churches have been murdered, but no one knows the overall death toll.

"The Christians in Orissa have fled for their lives into the forests," GFA President K.P. Yohannan said, "and some have been in hiding for three days without food or water.

"Several of our pastors are in the forest along with their church people, and one said that he could have escaped, but would rather die with his people than leave them."

Dr. Yohannan called the situation "unprecedented in his 30 years of ministry in South Asia."

"I have never seen persecution so bad in my life," Dr. Yohannan said, "and I have seen a lot of opposition to the Gospel over the years."

Orissa, the state where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burned to death by anti-Christian militants in 1999, has a long history of opposition to the Gospel.

Read more of this story at www.gfa.org/orissa-update

Starvation, Water Diseases Plaguing Flood Victims in Bihar, India

Lack of food and clean water is beginning to take its toll on flood victims in Bihar, India, according to Gospel for Asia's correspondents in that area. People scrambled for shelter in Bihar as floodwaters, released by a broken dam upstream in Nepal, raced through several districts of this impoverished Indian state.

The unexpected flooding caused many to abandon their homes and seek relief in makeshift shelters, where food is scarce. Others are stranded in their villages, some living on their rooftops, waiting for rescue.

Those with access to the small food supply and the boats needed to transport people and supplies are allegedly inflating prices of the goods. A GFA correspondent said that rice is selling for four to five times its usual price. When they manage to get a little rice, it is often eaten raw because there is no clean water in which to cook it. Many wells are underwater and are now contaminated.

There are numerous reports of children wailing in hunger at the makeshift refugee camps throughout the state. Some people have already succumbed to starvation and water-borne diseases.

The situation is also grim for people stranded on or near their homes. Many boat owners are demanding exorbitant fees for rescue. The amount of money being demanded is too much for the vast majority of Bihar's 12 million residents, who live on an income equivalent to less than $1 per day.

The rescue and relief work is also being slowed by the many rebel extremist groups active in the state. The rebels are taking advantage of the chaos to cause more trouble.

GFA leaders in Bihar ask for prayer for their country. They ask specifically for avenues to open so that they can get in and take care of the physical and spiritual needs of the people.

Find out how you can donate to provide relief for those being persecuted. Click here.

Or donate towards those who have have lost so much due to flooding through GFA Compassion Services. Click here.