Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) learned has learned that Hindu extremists attacked Christians during a Sunday worship meeting on January 10 in Hyderabad, India.

Alleged members of Bajrang Dal (a Hindu extremist group) broke into the worship meeting of Heaven’s Glory Church and attacked Christians attending the church service. About [...]]]>

Map of Hyderabad, India

Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) learned has learned that Hindu extremists attacked Christians during a Sunday worship meeting on January 10 in Hyderabad, India.

Alleged members of Bajrang Dal (a Hindu extremist group) broke into the worship meeting of Heaven’s Glory Church and attacked Christians attending the church service. About eight Christians sustained bruises but there were no serious injuries.

The extremists also warned the pastor and church members to stop preaching in the area or face dire consequences.

The victims lodged a complaint at L.B Nagar police station and police officers were sent to the church immediately. Both parties were summoned to the police station on Monday, January 11, where Police Inspector Dronacharyulu suggested a meeting with the village head to resolve the tensions between the two groups.

After the meeting, the Christian leaders approached the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Satyanarayan, to express their concern that further attacks would be perpetrated against them. He promised to provide police protection to the church for two months.

The area is known for Hindu extremists who are bent on creating trouble for the Christians, reported a church representative.

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa and South Asia, Jonathan Racho, said, “We condemn the attack against Heaven’s Glory Church by the suspected members of Bajrang Dal. We urge the officials of India to investigate the attack against the Christians and bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. We also call upon Indian officials to prevent further attacks from occurring at the church.”

Please call the Indian embassy in your country and politely ask Indian officials to bring the attackers of the Christians to justice.

Indian Embassies:

The children in this photo are students in a Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope Center. Flood waters still surround their home after more than a week.

was alone, working on a farm in a neighboring village while his [...]]]> CARROLLTON, Texas /Christian Newswire/ — Dinanath Rangan, 50, watched as the rain kept pouring down. He

The children in this photo are students in a Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope Center. Flood waters still surround their home after more than a week.

was alone, working on a farm in a neighboring village while his wife and two children stayed at home. For two days, the waters wouldn’t stop. When he discovered that the river that flowed through his home village had breached an embankment, he rushed home, but by the time he reached his village, his house was underwater.

Frantically looking for help, he managed to find a small, hand-crafted boat. He climbed in and started rowing toward his house. But the strong current beat against his tiny boat until it capsized, and Dinanath lost his life in the flood waters.

When GFA relief workers arrived in the area with aid, they met Dinanath’s widow. Constant tears flowed down her cheeks as she received the relief materials. “Thank you,” was all she could say.

GFA relief teams had stepped in when government workers weren’t able to reach the area where Dinanath’s widow resided.

“It was one village where we could not supply any help yet,” a local government official said. “I appreciate [them] for coming forward to lend a hand of help and for supplying essential commodities to people who have lost everything.”

So far GFA relief teams have helped thousands of families in the flooded Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka by supplying items like blankets, bed sheets, cooking utensils and towels. As the water recedes, the workers will stay on to rehabilitate and rebuild damaged homes.

“Ministering to the survivors of these catastrophic floods is a privilege that God has given us. Right now they need food, water, clean clothing and basic household utensils, which we are already providing,” said GFA President, K.P. Yohannan. “We also know that when the water completely recedes they will need help rebuilding their lives. That’s why we will be in these affected areas for the long-term to help them clean up or, in some cases, completely rebuild, their homes. We want to replace the livestock that was killed in the flood. We want to help them restore their lives.”

In the meantime, GFA Compassion Services teams continue ministering to the immediate needs of the people caught in this unusual flooding situation.

Tanmay’s family was one of many that received aid. After the floods covered his four acres of land and swept away everything he had, including crops, buffalo, cows and chickens, he and his family took shelter in a relief center opened by the government.

GFA-supported missionaries visited the relief camp and gave Tanmay and the other refugees blankets and household utensils.

“They had come to the relief camp virtually empty handed, and they were so grateful for the help we gave them,” said a GFA field correspondent.

Fulfilling a Need

Besides food to eat and clean water to drink, victims of the floods were in desperate need of clothing and blankets to shield them from cold nights and ravenous mosquitoes. GFA relief teams have distributed clothing to about 2,475 people in Andhra Pradesh.

Santosh was a fisherman who lost his entire household and possessions in the rising flood waters. He was left with nothing until GFA relief workers helped him.

“Others gave us food and water, but you are the first person who helped us with clothes,” Santosh said.

In one village in Andhra Pradesh, waters rose to 15 feet, collapsing 15 houses. Villagers fled to a government-operated relief camp, leaving everything behind.

GFA relief teams gave clothing to 250 families in that village.

“We had many sleepless nights due to cold and mosquitoes, and we had nothing to cover our bodies,” one survivor said. “Now, God has sent you to provide our needs. You Christians are good and help all people without partiality.”

The waters in another village of Andhra Pradesh rose to six feet. When the waters entered GFA-supported missionary Kundir Rao’s church, he climbed on the roof and was stuck there for three days without any food or water.

When GFA relief workers arrived, Kundir received food and another 180 people received relief materials. The residents of Kundir’s village welcomed the workers and thanked them for their help.

“Many gave us food, but you came from a far distance and gave us clothes,” the villagers said. “This is the first time we received clothes. We are so thankful for your kind help in our time of need.”

“God Sent His People to Help Us”

People fled their villages completely empty handed. Now, as they slowly begin to return to what used to be their homes, they take with them the materials given them by GFA relief workers—and a new understanding of the love of Christ.

“It is God who sent you to us,” said a survivor. “Now, if we have to go back to our home, there is nothing except what you gave.”

GFA relief workers are working around the clock to care for these men, women and children.

At 1:30 a.m., as one team traveled to the home of a local pastor, they spotted people sleeping on the roadside without blankets. The group stopped their journey and handed out blankets, clothing and towels. The distribution lasted until 3:30 a.m.

“At this midnight [in our lives], God sent His people to help us,” said one recipient.

Gospel for Asia continues to provide relief to those suffering from the devastation of the floods that hit Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, India. It is estimated that a total of 10,000 families have been given aid through GFA, and the number is growing each day.

GFA relief teams stand ready to extend physical help and also share the Good News found in Jesus Christ to the ones in need. One GFA worker summed it up as he helped a survivor.

“We are here to help you,” he said.

The Children’s Learning Centre is run under the oversight of Children Compassion Ministry, a Christian group that operates in the area. Pastor [...]]]> Washington, D.C. – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Hindu extremists attacked the Christian Children’s Learning Centre in Ambala, India and forcefully shut it down after beating staff members on July 19, 2009.

The Children’s Learning Centre is run under the oversight of Children Compassion Ministry, a Christian group that operates in the area. Pastor Kamaraj has been running a free education program for poor local children at the school.

The Hindu extremists barged into the center on Sunday, July 19 and accused Pastor Kamaraj and his staff of forcibly converting children to Christianity. After beating them, the extremists forced them to leave the building.

In an interview with ICC, Pastor Kamaraj denied the accusation and said, “We have about 15 students from poor families coming to the school every day for two hours in the afternoon. We are helping these children in their studies with the consent of their parents.”

He reported the attack to the police the next day, but they told him to close the center and vacate the building because he had caused trouble by running the school.

The Children’s Learning Centre has temporarily moved to Pastor Kamaraj’s house as they try to continue ministering to as many poor students as possible in the face of extremist and government opposition.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Raheem left his wife and two children in Pakistan almost three years ago to make a better life.  He found work in the United Arab Emirates, a small, oil-rich nation of federated Arab states located in the Middle East. Upon arriving at the labor camps, he met men and women [...]]]>

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Raheem left his wife and two children in Pakistan almost three years ago to make a better life.  He found work in the United Arab Emirates, a small, oil-rich nation of federated Arab states located in the Middle East. Upon arriving at the labor camps, he met men and women from India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Like other workers, Raheem sends nearly all of his paycheck home. This worldwide economic climate has the workers on edge. Everyday many are fired and told to leave. Forced onto the streets, they make temporary homes in the park, scrounging to gather enough for a trip home.

Raheem becomes a statistic, losing his job. He has nowhere to lay his head. In the park, he joins a group gathered around a small black box. He begins listening to dramatized stories about another wanderer who teaches about God, love and faith.  Raheem’s heart warms as he realizes that this Jesus knows where he’s been.

“In the middle of the desert, a harvest is being reaped,” said Malcolm Montgomery, a Faith Comes By Hearing representative.

Through partnerships with the Bible Society in the Gulf and local pastors, Faith Comes By Hearing is discipling immigrant workers with God’s Word in audio.

“Local pastors use Audio Bibles in their outreach and discipleship efforts among the immigrant laborers,” Montgomery said. “Less than 20 percent of the 4.8 million people there are citizens. The rest are workers.”

There are workers from roughly 200 different countries in the U.A.E.

“Jesus said ‘go into all the world and make disciples,’ but He has brought the world [here]. These workers come to the Gulf to find jobs, and then more than jobs, they find Christ,” said Babu Ganta, a Bible Society in the Gulf representative.

“Our ministry is to bring God’s Word to these people,” said Ranjini Ganta, a Bible Society in the Gulf representative. “We are always looking for new tools, new means. The Proclaimer has been one of the most important means by which we are presenting the Gospel to them.”

The Proclaimer is a self-powered audio player that is pre-loaded with the Audio Drama New Testament in the heart languages of people around the world.

Pastors are using 150 Proclaimers, but Montgomery said they could use up to 1,000 each year.