Urgent prayer needed for Christians in Orissa, India

PLEASE PRAY!
This is a request for prayer for YWAM (Youth With a Mission)
missionaries and their churches in Orissa , India . The request came
from Mabel Hurst, an associate of HCJB Global. Please, we need to come
boldly to the throne of Grace together...

Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India .

We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most
resistant and hostile State in India as far as
the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and
harassment we
faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that
they would see this kind of carnage.... And it seems to be totally under
the radar of the Western Media ....
Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who
were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and 'reconverting'
people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in
Central Orissa last weekend.
Immediately the Christians were blamed.. The cry rose up...'Kill the
Christians!' And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first
hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many,
many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other
reason than they bear the name of Christ.
Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors
spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they are right in the middle
of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer
protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff
and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a
lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and
smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and 'finish the
job.' Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way
with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of
desperately calling on the Lord in prayer.
More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and
some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and
kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a
change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood
thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a
mass funeral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking
for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors
turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area.
So they left.. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.
All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff
huddled inside and police outside.. The fanatics are circling outside
waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby
Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave
and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them
to death. Many
believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the
road.... even women and children. At another orphanage run by another
organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their
motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children
and staff behind.
Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: 'We stay
with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never
abandon what God has called us to do.' More than 5000 Christian
families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into
the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to
bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen.
This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day
mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will
die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down.
The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things
will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the hand of God can calm
this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids
and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu
backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening
around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and
are unable to come and get them during these trying times.
Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our
goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children.
Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these
thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of
Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but
it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.
What can you do?

First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer.
Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get
the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare
at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order
to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are
crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help
us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort
to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations....

Prayer works!
Blessings, Chip & Sandy Wanner Col 2:2 MBI
Team Facilitators to YWAM frontlines