A 14-year-old girl and her family were subjected to a humiliating reconversion ritual and one Gospel for Asia missionary and a member of his church were
Sonia Devi, a teen girl, much like this girl, prayed for her father to be healed. Later, the girl, her mother and father all chose to follow Christ, which angered the local anti-Christian extremists.
beaten after the girl’s family chose to follow Christ. The missionary and two other Christian workers were charged with forcing people to convert to Christianity. The two workers were jailed for three days as a result of the incident.
Sonia Devi is a student in a Christian education center near her home in Jharkhand, India. Her father, Samsong has suffered from mental illness for many years. Sonia decided to pray for her father to be healed. God answered her prayer and healed Samsong completely. After seeing the power of God at work, Sonia and her parents chose to receive Jesus as their Savior. After seeking her parent’s permission, Sonia was baptized on January 5.
Some anti-Christian extremists in her village were angry when they heard about the family’s decision and Sonia’s baptism. They came to the family’s home and snatched up Sonia and her mother, Vineeta. They dragged them through the village, beating them badly. Then they took Sonia and Vineeta to a local religious temple and subjected them, against their will, to a purification ritual. The ceremony is designed to mark a person’s official return to the faith.
The fanatics also attacked GFA missionary Maliik Hembrom and Anup John, a member of the local GFA-related church, beating both men badly.
The extremists forced Sonia and Vineeta to lodge a complaint with the police charging that local believers had forced Sonia to convert to Christianity.
The police subsequently arrested the two other Christian workers and held them in jail for three days. GFA leaders in Jharkhand sent the following prayer requests.
- Pray for Sonia and her family, that they would not be disheartened, but instead hold steadfastly to their faith in the Lord.
- Pray for a quick recovery for Maliik and Anup. Pray that Maliik would be wise and bold as he continues to minister in this village.
- Pray for the local church in this village, which has 65 members. Pray that this incident would strengthen the Christians in this area and that the believers would remain strong in their faith.
- Pray for the anti-Christian extremists and the police that they would be touched by the Lord’s Spirit and not hinder the ministry any longer.
- Please also pray for the Bridge of Hope Center in this village which has 62 students.