Dear Jami,

Today, I ask you to pray for Ranjan Vengua.

Ranjan Vengua is one of our students at Orissa Bible Training Center.
This last weekend, he went home to visit his Hindu family. His village’s
local chapter of the RSS, the radical Hindu organization, received information
that he was coming, probably from family members. When he arrived in the
village, they forcibly took him to a Hindu temple where they manhandled
him, shaved his head and forced him to bow before idols in a public setting.
They forced him to undergo other rituals to forsake Christianity and re-convert
to Hinduism.

He is still in police custody and must appear before a judge to be “questioned”
whether he was forcibly converted to Christianity. He is forbidden to
have any contact with any Christians. This has been going on for four
days.

The media (TV and newspapers) in Orissa has picked this story up. They
are declaring that a Christian has come back to the Hindu faith after
forcibly being converted to Christianity. Of course, they conveniently
dismiss the force and humiliation they have resorted to themselves.

John Mathai our coordinator for the work in Orissa, says that there was
some early fear that the name and location of the Orissa Bible Training
Center would become generally known, and that the school would be forced
to move. But so far, this has not come out in the papers.

The situation with Ranjan Vengua is similar to the experience still being
endured by Bharat Bhushan, an applicant to India Bible College and Seminary.
Bharat Bhushan comes from Delhi from a family of high-caste Hindus (Rajputs)
hostile to their son’s conversion to Christian faith.

Pray for both Ranjan Vengua and Bharat Bhushan as they face their day
in court because of their commitment to Christ. Pray that God will give
them strength and the words to speak in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Pray that God will vindicate them and that the gospel will be advanced
in Orissa, Delhi and elsewhere through their testimonies.

For the glory of Christ,

Valson Abraham

INDIA GOSPEL OUTREACH

Here are a few previous posts on India Outreach, on Christian Persecution in India and on Praying for the Dalits