With all the bad news and depressing economic situation in the world, it is important for us to remember that Jesus Christ is just as much in control of this world as ever. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! His purposes are being fulfilled every day and His plan of salvation is working to completion. Recently, the Window International Network sent out the following report of what God is doing in India:

 

One of our ministry partners is Dr. Victor Choudhrie, the father of the House Church movement in India. He was believing God to baptize 100,000 people during the Easter season. What do you think it looks like when the Kingdom of God comes to earth as it is in heaven?  Probably something like the scene in India on Pentecost Sunday, 2009.

Dr. Choudhrie reported they baptized 253,206 on the Day of Pentecost, which was also the Global Day of Prayer. In India, the decision to follow Christ is formalized through baptism. That means hundreds of thousands were welcomed into the Kingdom of God! Praise the Lord! As we united our hearts, hands, and voices to cry out to God for a harvest of souls, your faithful and fervent prayer partnership brought forth this fruit.

The Word says there is more joy in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine righteous people (Luke l5:7). What happens when 253,000 sinners repent?!  And that was just in India… on one day! The harvest of souls is accelerating!

• Pray for God to continue this explosive move of the Spirit in India, drawing millions more to His Son. Pray for His Kingdom to grow, advance, and spill across ethnic lines, religions, and national borders, engulfing the entire subcontinent.

• Pray for the harvest to blaze like fire through the l0/40 Window, burning through enemy strongholds and penetrating “closed” nations and unreached people groups.

• Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. (The Bible, Matthew 9:38 niv)

• Pray for Jesus to be exalted far above every god, idol, false religion, and manmade philosophy. Pray for demonic lies, arguments and pretensions to be torn down and cast aside. Pray for every knee to bow, every tongue to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father. AMEN!

At the same time China has been deceiving many Christians around the world through their massive 'smiling face' campaign and their insistence that there is now complete religious freedom in China (claims that many misinformed Christians have believed), news has come out of Henan Province of the arrest of more than sixty house church leaders on February 11.

The 60 house church leaders, along with two pastors from South Korea, had met together in Wolong District of Nanyang City to attend a seminar.

 

At 5:00 pm on February 11, more than 30 Public Security officers broke into the meeting place, arresting all the Christians and taking them into the city. All personal belongings, including money, mobile phones, books and bags were confiscated by the officers. Each believer was forced to register their names and pay a fine. As many of the attendees had traveled to Henan from other provinces, the provincial police in each location were contacted and asked to come and take the detainees back to their home province. The two South Koreans were expelled from China on February 14 and have been banned from the country for 5 years.

 

The authorities identified and continued to detain the four main house church leaders until February 20, when they were released after international pressure about the case caused the police to feel uncomfortable. It appears China continues to try to strike a balance between its desire to crush the house churches against its desire to maintain its positive and smiling face to the international community. Contrary to the claims of many, Bob Fu of the China Aid Association has confirmed that "Persecution of Christians in China took a dramatic upswing in 2008."

Source: China Aid, February 2009.

If you have been following the News reports on our website in recent months, you will be aware that a massive persecution of Christians commenced in the Indian state of Orissa last year, leading to the deaths of more than 500 believers, with thousands more left homeless and destitute.

 

One of the families Asia Harvest supports through the Asian Workers' fund has an effective ministry in Orissa. They recently reported that there were more than 35 Christians from 9 families living in their home, having come in from outlying areas where persecution had devastated their lives. Three widows are among the 35 refugees. These women's husbands were buried alive late last year by fanatical Hindus. Other Christian women had been raped, while most of the men had barely escaped with their lives, and were badly beaten and injured.

 

We have an urgent need for people to pray and financially help these precious believers. The immediate need is to provide $100 for each family per month so that they will have basic necessities such as food, clothing, and blankets. Longer term, plans are to construct simple bamboo homes for these families, and a piece of land has been obtained for this purpose. Each home will cost $1,300 to build.

 

Please pray for the physical, spiritual and emotional well-being of these precious brothers and sisters. If you would like to contribute financially to their needs, please make a donation by credit card on our secure website, via the Asia Disaster Relief fund on our "Projects and Donations" link at the top of this page. Alternatively, please send a check/cheque to one of our Asia Harvest offices, along with a note, "For the believers in Orissa." Click here for a list of our addresses. 100% of donations received for this purpose will be sent directly to Orissa. Nothing will be taken out for any expense. God bless you.

The Burmese military has prohibited Christian and Muslim groups in the city of Yangon (formerly Rangoon) from holding prayer meetings in private homes. The owners of buildings rented by believers for their worship services were recently handed an order by officials of the Yangon Religious Affairs Department, demanding they prohibit these meetings or face the confiscation or closure of their property. Since the government rarely permits religious groups from owning or constructing places of worship, local Christians estimate that the majority of churches will be affected.

 

Christian Solidarity Worldwide says the news agency Mizzima reports that the order could affect as many as 80 per cent of churches in the city, and that 50 pastors were forced to sign at least five documents promising to cease church services. The pastors were reportedly warned they could be jailed if they disobeyed the order.

CSW reports: "The campaign appears to be particularly targeted at churches meeting in apartment buildings, rather than churches that own their own building and land. Christians are worried that they will not be allowed to worship anymore, even in their own house."

Some Christians believe that the immediate cause of the crackdown is church involvement in providing relief for victims of Cyclone Nargis, which devastated the area in May 2008. According to a Chin pastor from Burma living in exile, the regime does not like the fact that Buddhists have been receiving help from churches, and fears this may possibly result in conversions. "The regime does not want Buddhists coming in and out of churches. It does not want Christianity to grow in Burma," he said. "Ultimately, the regime seeks the destruction of Christianity. This is part of a top-secret plan by the military to stop Christian growth."  Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide, 15 Jan 2009.
 

Many people in the landlocked country of Bhutan, nestled in the Himalayas between China (Tibet), India and Nepal, believe that witch-doctors possess great powers to heal any sickness and to place deadly curses on their enemies.

 

One famous witch-doctor named Puru Ganpati, and his wife Yamya, were held in great awe because of their healing power. Sick people came from all around the globe to receive healing from this couple. Dramatic ceremonies ensued, where Puru would often go into a trance as he sought the help of the spirit world. Despite the awe they were held in by others, however, when Puru and Yamya fell ill last year they were unable to heal their own infirmities.

 

Confined to their bed and completely helpless, they called for the aid of medical doctors and other witch doctors. Despite all efforts, their condition continued to deteriorate. One day an Asian missionary visited their home and shared about the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. After sharing the Gospel, he prayed for the couple's healing. Dramatically and immediately, Puru and Yamya were restored to full health. The missionary invited the couple to attend a viewing of the Jesus film. A large crowd gathered to watch the presentation, including the village leader, a man named Akash.

After seeing Jesus Christ rise from the grip of death, Puru and Yamya walked to the front of the crowd. They told Amil they wanted to follow Christ, and prayed to give their lives to Him. Akash's heart was also deeply moved by the presentation, and he received Jesus into his life as well. Today, the three of them are still faithfully following the Lord and are a living testimony to the whole community. Source: Gospel for Asia, October 2008