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Living in America, many times as Christians we forget the plight of those serving the Lord in hostile environments. We can look to the believers in Islamic nations, we can think of the brutal reign of Communism in China, or we can even see the persecution in India. As believers in a 'blessed' nation where we have freedoms to live out our faith, we must consider the situation of those who live in hard situations. It remains our job to pray for them. Here at Dippu, we would like to bring you the story of one man who is serving the Lord in Jammu. He serves in an environment where Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism are well established. His heart is for the poor and destitute.

 After the Bible Class we all went to our respective buildings for rest and individual prayer. Suddenly Police Officials, News Media People and Shiva Sena, RSS, Bajrang Dal people came and began to question Pastors and believers. Police Officials cancelled the permit given to us to conduct the meeting and ordered us to remove immediately the tent and all other equipments from the play ground where meeting was arranged. The Lord told me to close the meetings and send the people to their respective places immediately. The big crowd of children of God began to move with their luggage to the Bust Stand and Railway Station. The number of the hostile people began to increase rapidly. I also came to Meerut Railway Station with some people. My Son Finney- Mathew Samuel and two Evangelists named Balkar Singh and Malkan Singh stayed behind to check whether any people or equipment left behind. The Shiva Sena, RSS and Bajrang Dal people caught these three servants of God and beaten them very badly without any mercy. They took them to a secluded place to kill them but God intervened and created confusion among them.  They had beaten Finney very badly because they saw him standing with me on the stage and translating the message. Then they took these three servants of God to the police station and put them in prison charging that they tried to convert people. In the meanwhile Pastor Hansraj Saini reached the Police Station to enquire about the three servants of God. The hostile people caught him also and put him in prison. The big crowd of hostile people continued to shout slogans till midnight out side the Police Station. It was a very hard time for these servants of God to spend the night in prison because they were suffering from severe pain in their body due to persecution.  The next evening they were released from prison but the charges against them is yet to be withdrawn officially. My Son Finney’s condition is serious. His head and neck is swollen and due to giddiness it is very difficult for him to stand up properly. Evangelists Balkar Singh and Malkan Singh are also suffering with severe body pain. I request you to pray for their quick recovery. Due to this sudden attack on us, a huge amount of money was spent for the arrangement and travelling expenses for the meeting. Here in North India we are facing severe opposition from all side. Police and Government Officials are also against us. Among the believers of our Churches, majority are from Hindu or Sikh back ground. We did not convert any one from their religion to Christian religion. They accepted Jesus Christ as the only true God and Saviour and do not visit Temples and Gurudwaras as they used to do before. Therefore, the Police Officials, Government Officials and hostile people raise complaints against us with the allegation of converting people. The Officials are making plans to arrest us and put us in the prison under Anti Conversion Law. In Jammu city, this week we divided the believers into eight worship groups so that they may worship God secretly. The situation is very tense. The new believers are facing severe persecutions from their own people.  We are sharing all the burdens together. At any cost, people should know the way of salvation. Friends, we are in the midst of great turbulence of persecution. We need more grace and boldness to face this situation. I plead with you to pray and intercede for us during this hour of great trouble.

Pastor A.M. Samuel 

As we read of such situations, our hearts must be stirred to prayer for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. It remains our duty to pray. We just want to remind you that even though there is persecution, Christianity is still changing lives, transforming cities, and shaking nations. This above example is just one story. There are countless other stories like it.

So let's pray and ask God for protection for Pastor A.M. Samuel, and let us take some time to pray for all our brothers and sisters around the world who are persecuted for the sake of Christ.