Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000068A
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00:00 (dramatic orchestral music)
00:21 - Hello, and welcome to Jesus for Asia Now. 00:24 I'm Natalie Wood, and today my husband Jon and I 00:26 wanna share with you some places 00:27 that really hit home to our hearts. 00:30 Hello, love. 00:31 - Hi darling. 00:32 - You know, this is kind of a serious show. 00:34 - Very serious. 00:35 - It's um, a little bit unusual. 00:38 We're gonna be talking about the persecuted church today. 00:40 - Right. 00:42 - And, um, we do have, want to tell our viewers, 00:43 we do have some graphic stories toward the end. 00:48 - We'll warn them, - Right, 00:49 - Before they come up, so, 00:50 - Right, there's no graphic video, 00:52 - No. - It's just the stories. 00:53 - Yes. - And, you know, 00:55 when we think about the persecuted church, 00:57 - Yeah. - We think that that's like, 00:59 a long way off, 01:00 we don't know a persecuted person, 01:03 most of us, - Right. 01:04 - We kind of live in a protected bubble. 01:06 - Yep. - And yet, they are, 01:08 it's very real. 01:09 - Yes. - Their lives are impacted, 01:11 today, by persecution. - Yes, yes. 01:14 - In many areas of the world. - Yeah. 01:15 More Christians have been martyred 01:17 this last year than any other year in human history. 01:21 - Wow. - So there's a lot 01:22 of persecution going on around the world, 01:24 just not here where we live. 01:26 This is like, like you said, a bubble. 01:28 - Right. - But sometimes we get 01:31 a chance to step outside that bubble 01:33 and meet people that have gone through persecution. 01:36 - Right. - Many friends that I have, 01:39 and myself, growing up, 01:41 we were so afraid of persecution, 01:43 I remember lying in bed, not able to sleep, 01:45 because I was afraid of, you know, being persecuted. 01:48 Of going through torture, and the pain, 01:50 and all that suffering and everything, 01:52 it used to freak me out. 01:55 And meeting people that have gone through some of that, 01:59 or reading about their stories, I think, is very healthy. 02:04 - You know, one thing that we've heard 02:06 from many stories of persecuted people 02:08 is that their faith grows under persecution, 02:11 their connection with God grows under persecution 02:14 because they really don't have anybody else 02:16 they can depend on. 02:17 - And that's what we're gonna go to today, 02:18 we're gonna go to a place today 02:21 that has suffered persecution 02:23 and is continually under the knife, so to speak. 02:27 - Right, they don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. 02:29 - Right, currently there's no persecution, 02:32 but there's that undercurrent, that edge, 02:35 that you really don't know. 02:37 - Right, so where are we going? 02:38 - We are going to the state of Odisha, in India. 02:42 - Okay. - Used to be called Orissa, 02:44 but recently changed the name to Odisha. 02:47 - Okay. (Jon laughs) 02:48 So we have a map and the map is labeled Orissa, 02:51 but it's really Odisha. 02:52 - Correct. - Okay. 02:53 - [Jon] So this is about halfway up 02:54 the eastern coast of India, 02:56 - Okay. - The state of Orissa. 02:57 And we flew in there, to the capitol city, 03:00 and then the president met us with a vehicle, 03:03 and we drove down to the southern part 03:05 where the headquarters of the Adventist church work 03:08 in that area is. - Okay. 03:10 - [Jon] So, here we are, driving down through town, 03:13 this is after dark, as you can tell, 03:15 and the roads are actually quite clean and organized, 03:18 - Hi! - From what we're used to. 03:20 (Jon laughing) - Right, 03:22 it's a little bit different. 03:23 - [Jon] Yeah. 03:24 The next morning we went to the Seventh-Day Adventist 03:25 headquarters for the area, 03:27 and you can see, it's a walled compound, 03:30 with some nice buildings, 03:32 but there's one part of that building that is not completed. 03:36 They started this about seven or eight years ago, 03:38 but they haven't been able to finish it, 03:41 because they ran out of funds. 03:42 - Okay. - And, while we were there, 03:44 we had a meeting to encourage our Bible workers, 03:47 and then interviewed some of our Bible workers 03:49 for their stories. 03:50 - Okay, and this is one of the Bible worker's stories. 03:53 - [Jon] Yeah. 03:54 (speaking in foreign language) 04:01 - He talks about this small miracle 04:04 that happened in the life. 04:06 Before you are not even able to speak. 04:09 You are a stammering tongue. 04:11 But when he decided he wanted to do the work of God, 04:16 and when he began to pray, 04:17 the Lord opened his mouth, 04:19 and now he's able to speak, 04:21 and then the Lord is helping him to communicate to people 04:25 his belief and thought right now. 04:26 - Isn't that amazing testimony? 04:28 - That is, you know, God enables people. 04:31 - Absolutely. - Really. 04:32 And the way God overcomes speech impediments, 04:36 - Yeah. - And teaches people to read, 04:37 so they can give the gospel clearly, 04:40 is so awesome. - Yeah, 04:41 reminds me of when God told Moses, who formed your mouth? 04:44 - That's true. - You know, 04:45 God can do anything. - That's true, 04:47 very true. 04:48 - By the way, that building that was unfinished? 04:50 - Right. - The cost of finishing that, 04:54 only $8,000. 04:56 - Wow. - Yeah. 04:57 - That's not very much, 04:59 for us. - This is, no (laughing). 05:00 - But it's a lot for them. 05:01 - Yeah, so it shows you 05:02 that the poverty of this section also. 05:06 - Right. - So the next day, 05:07 we traveled down to the very south of Odisha. 05:10 - Okay. - Countryside is flat, 05:12 and as you're driving along, it's very warm, 05:15 it's got a lot of plains with some mountains 05:17 sticking up and you can see there's wildlife, 05:20 goats and then, as we were driving along, 05:22 we came up on this little building. 05:25 So this looks like a pretty small building, 05:26 - Right. - But lemme tell you 05:27 what's actually inside this building. 05:29 - Okay. - Okay. 05:30 On the far left, that first door on the left, 05:33 is an entire classroom, 05:34 - Okay. - And we're gonna go 05:35 into it in a few minutes. 05:36 - Okay. - The second door 05:38 is another entire classroom. 05:40 - Okay, - Okay, and then 05:42 the third door is a little storage room, 05:44 the fourth door is where an entire family lives. 05:49 - Wow. - And then the fifth door 05:51 is where another entire family lives, 05:53 - Oh my. - And then the sixth door 05:55 is where one of our Bible workers lives. 05:57 - Wow. (Jon laughing) 05:58 So half of the school is housing for people, 06:02 - Right. - And, wow. 06:04 - Yeah, because housing is a real challenge 06:06 when you're living on such a small income. 06:10 - Right. - And so, the president 06:11 of this mission is trying to find ways 06:14 to build this school up into a more substantial school. 06:17 He'd like dormitories, he'd like larger classrooms, 06:21 things like that, 06:21 and he'd like to fence it, 06:23 because right behind that building is the train track. 06:25 - Oh, that would be good to fence it, protect the children. 06:28 - Yeah, now this is the bathroom for that whole block. 06:34 - And one side has no door? - One side is not being used. 06:37 - Oh, okay. - So they got 06:39 that one bathroom for the whole-- 06:41 - For everybody, 06:42 when school is there, and for the families, and, 06:44 - Yes. - Wow. 06:45 - [Jon] Yeah. 06:47 So here's inside, I love this shot. 06:49 - That's so cute. (Jon laughing) 06:51 - She'd look up at me, 06:53 and then just keep writing and writing and writing, 06:54 look up at me and keep writing and writing and writing. 06:57 - Precious. - Just sweet little kids. 06:59 And here's a little video that kinda gives you 07:00 the feel for the area, and how they study. 07:03 - Okay. 07:05 (upbeat folk music) 07:36 (teacher speaking in foreign language) 08:13 - So it's a beautiful little school, it's very small, 08:16 but they have hopes that it will grow, 08:18 because there's quite a number of communities 08:20 in the surrounding area that could come 08:21 and send their children to this little school. 08:25 - Wow. - Yeah. 08:26 - Well that's definitely something to pray for. 08:28 - Absolutely. 08:29 Now we move on to some churches. 08:32 - Okay. 08:33 - So a big typhoon came through and damaged, 08:36 or almost destroyed a lot of churches. 08:39 - Wow. - This is one of 'em, 08:40 where the top is completely blown off. 08:42 - Wow. - Here's another one, 08:43 where half the roof has blown off. 08:46 Now we're driving into town, 08:48 and we're walking up to another church, 08:51 where the front portico has been damaged. 08:53 You can see the back half of the roof has been torn off 08:57 by these terrible typhoons. 09:00 They still worship in there, but when it rains, 09:01 they have to come to the back half of the church (laughing). 09:04 - Use where there's still a roof. 09:06 - Right, and then that same day, 09:08 we drove up into the state, 09:10 up into the mountains, 09:12 and driving along the way is just some beautiful scenery, 09:16 and then we arrive at that church, 09:18 that green building in the background on the right 09:21 is our Adventist church. 09:22 - Okay. - Inside you can see 09:24 the decorations from when the church was going, 09:26 but there's a big hole in the roof. 09:28 These churches have been sitting like this 09:31 for a long time. 09:32 Then the next day, we drove up to the area that is, 09:37 that suffered persecution. 09:38 - Okay. - Okay. 09:40 So the story goes like this. 09:41 Back in 2008, there was a Hindu leader that was murdered, 09:46 and a local political group claimed that as their action, 09:53 but it was blamed on the Christians, instead. 09:55 - Oh. 09:57 - And so there was massive rioting throughout Orissa. 09:59 And over 5,000 Christians were killed. 10:03 - Wow. 10:05 - I really wanted to go and meet these church members, 10:06 because in this area, 10:09 we had four Seventh-Day Adventist believers 10:13 lose their lives. - Hmm. 10:15 - The Hindus would come along and say, 10:18 "Will you convert to Hinduism?" 10:20 And if they said yes, they would be allowed to go. 10:23 If they said no, they would be killed. 10:25 - Hmm. 10:27 - That was many of the Christians. 10:28 And we have some testimonies from people that survived, 10:31 and they tell us what it was like, and what happened, 10:34 and what took place during that time. 10:36 - Okay. 10:38 (dramatic music) 10:47 (speaking in foreign language) 10:51 - She's telling a little bit of detail 10:54 of the riots, 10:57 her name is Beauty. 10:59 She has two children, one son, one daughter. 11:02 That time, her son was just four years old, 11:05 and daughter was just one year old, 11:07 and she was living with her father-in-law and mother-in-law. 11:09 Her husband was working in different state. 11:11 (speaking in foreign language) 11:14 The previous night, what happened was, 11:16 there is a place called Mondakia. 11:19 These rioters, they came, they broke some churches, 11:22 and they began to break the houses, 11:24 but there was no physical attack. 11:26 That was the rumor they got, 11:27 that they're not going to harm you, 11:29 but they break some churches, 11:30 that's what they thought previous night. 11:33 But the next day, it turned out to be very serious. 11:40 (speaking in foreign language) 11:44 The whole group began to come from the side. 11:46 They entered this campus. 11:47 The church they set into fire. 11:49 By seeing all this, he, his children, grandchildren, 11:52 all of them ran out to the jungle, 11:54 they stayed there two or three days. 11:56 On third day, they went to nearby town, Raikia, 11:59 where they had established a camp 12:03 that they went and stayed. 12:05 The miracle is none of his children were beaten, 12:08 or none of his grandchildren were affected, 12:10 in the sense there are no physical harm as such. 12:13 (speaking in foreign language) 12:16 He felt the presence of God, 12:17 and with the same thought 12:18 that the Lord is going to be with them, 12:20 they went up the jungle. 12:22 (speaking in foreign language) 12:24 As the prophet Jeremiah stayed in the jungles and forests, 12:27 they also said, "Whatever the Lord does, 12:30 "we'll trust in him." 12:35 (speaking in foreign language) 12:41 At next day morning, when the day started, 12:44 she began to hear, on the opposite side of the street, 12:47 people crying and weeping and all these things, 12:50 house are burning, people running here, there, 12:52 so they had a small corner farm. 12:55 She, her children, all of them hid, 12:57 but one young man came and told 13:00 (speaking in foreign language) don't stay here. 13:02 They are attacking people, 13:03 they are going to kill people also. 13:04 At that moment, the pastor who died, 13:07 his house was just in front of their house. 13:09 They tried to take refuge there, 13:11 but when they saw that man being attacked, 13:13 from there they ran. 13:14 And there's a river over here, 13:16 when they tried to cross the river, 13:17 she, her son, her mother-in-law, and her baby, 13:22 when they tried to cross, 13:23 the water was almost swept her mother-in-law, 13:25 but there was one young boy who came 13:27 to save the mother-in-law. 13:28 So after crossing, somehow both of them, 13:31 from that side, they came this side, 13:32 hiding through this jungle, 13:33 this way straightaway they came to this mountain, 13:35 and they hid here. 13:37 (speaking in foreign language) 13:43 When they went to the jungle, 13:44 and they all gathered, 13:46 they saw so many people in the jungle, hiding there, 13:48 and sitting under a tree. 13:50 She also joined all of them and one lady came, 13:53 non-believer, non-Christian, 13:56 she came and told them, "You don't go to village, 13:59 "they already killed the pastor and his mother. 14:02 "If you go to the village, you won't be safe." 14:05 The man who was non-believer, who lived in jungle, 14:08 he came in search of them, 14:09 took them to their house, 14:11 kept them in the room, and told them, 14:12 "I'm going to stay outside on veranda, 14:14 "you sleep inside. 14:15 "Anyone who is going to come and kill you, 14:16 "first they'll kill me, then they'll come and kill you." 14:20 That's right that the non-believer began to stand 14:22 for God's people. 14:25 Seven or eight families, they stayed in the same house, 14:29 in the same room, they stayed there for two days 14:30 in the non-believer's home in the middle of the jungle. 14:33 After that, they all went to refugee camp. 14:35 So by God's grace, her son, her daughter, 14:38 mother-in-law, father-in law, no one was harmed. 14:41 (speaking in foreign language) 14:43 We were hungry for two days, 14:44 but the Lord gave us strength, even in those crucial days. 14:48 (speaking in foreign language) 14:50 Even though we stayed in jungle for two days, 14:52 no harm by any kind of creatures, 14:54 no snake, no scorpion, nothing was able to trouble us. 14:58 The Lord was there and gracious to us. 15:00 (speaking in foreign language) 15:01 We want to thank God for that. 15:03 (speaking in foreign language) 15:09 God has kept us for his glory, 15:11 even though we had to go through 15:12 (speaking in foreign language) these hard situations. 15:16 (dramatic music) 15:20 - I found it amazing how, 15:22 even though they went through the difficult times, 15:24 they weren't complaining. 15:25 - Right. - They were thankful 15:27 how God took care of them. 15:28 - Right, and they saw that only God could've done that, 15:31 - Yeah. - And they, that's just, yeah. 15:33 - So their faith ended up being strengthened. 15:35 But the two people that they talked about dying, 15:39 the pastor and his mother, 15:41 that's in the next video. 15:42 So if you're sensitive to graphic descriptions 15:45 of what happened, 15:46 you will want to turn your audio off for the next 15:49 about three minutes. 15:50 Let's play the video now. 15:52 (dramatic piano music) 16:07 (speaking in foreign language) 16:14 - It started in the month of August. 16:16 When it started, the first thing what those rioters did 16:19 was to attack a Roman Catholic church. 16:22 They got into the church, got over the church, 16:25 and rang the bell, 16:27 when all the people began to come to the church, 16:29 they started attacking. 16:30 By seeing this, the members ran to the forest 16:33 with practically nothing in their hand. 16:35 Not only they tried to beat them and kill them 16:38 and they with swords, with the axe, with the gun, 16:42 whatever they had, 16:43 those rioters came and tried to attack the people. 16:46 Not only attacking, 16:47 and they also began to ransack the homes, 16:50 began to steal anything they found in the home, 16:52 break everything, 16:53 when these things were happening, 16:55 our members and others, they began to go to the jungles, 16:58 and in the jungle they stayed for a long, long time. 17:02 It took almost eight days for the government 17:05 to start a refugee camp in the nearby town 17:08 called Raikia in the high school campus. 17:12 (speaking in foreign language) 17:19 Of course he's talking about one of our 17:20 Bible worker/pastor, 17:22 when they saw him, this man was kneeling and praying. 17:26 They hit him in the mouth with ax. 17:28 Telling that, "You are the one who is 17:30 "preaching the word of God." 17:32 And, (speaking in foreign language) 17:36 after that, after hitting him, 17:38 they pierced him with sword, and 17:43 (speaking in foreign language) 17:57 By seeing when they're killing her son, 17:59 the pastor's mother, by killing her son, 18:02 this lady went and hid in a cow shed. 18:05 Knowing that she's hiding in a cow shed, 18:07 the almost, (speaking in foreign language) 18:09 80-years-old lady, 18:11 knowing that she's in a cow shed, 18:12 they brought her out forcefully, 18:14 and they burned her alive. 18:19 - You can see that he lived through it. 18:21 - Yeah. - He's remembering it, 18:23 not just talking about it, 18:25 but he's remembering it, 18:26 because he's weeping before he really starts the story. 18:29 - Yeah, the church that they were sitting 18:32 in the door frame of, the roof was off, 18:35 that wasn't from the typhoon. 18:37 That was from the rioters back in 2008. 18:43 And it hasn't been rebuilt. 18:44 - So it's still sitting like that. 18:46 - Still sitting like that. - A testament to the riots. 18:48 - Yep. 18:49 And these kids are growing up in that church, 18:53 with this memory, 18:54 and one of the most urgent things that they did is please, 18:58 can you help us with the schooling for our children. 19:02 Please, and I go, "Oh, yeah, yeah," 19:04 and they're like, "No, please," 19:05 they were insistent, they were really wanting 19:07 an Adventist education for their kids. 19:10 - Wow. 19:11 So there's no Adventist school anywhere near this place. 19:13 - No. - Oh boy. 19:15 - No, so my dream is to take that church 19:22 that had been broken up, with the missing roof, rebuild it, 19:24 and start a school there. 19:26 - Okay. - We have the teachers, 19:29 we just need the place. - Right. 19:31 - So, this next little video has scenes from 19:34 the town that they hid in, 19:35 remember, Raikia, - Okay. 19:36 - 'Kay, there's a worshiping group there, a house church. 19:40 - Okay. - And then also some more 19:41 scenes from the church that we, 19:44 the area that we just had the interviews at, 19:46 and just to get a feel for the area and the people, 19:50 they're normal people, - Their daily life. 19:52 - Daily life kind of things, so, we'll play that now. 19:54 (tranquil piano music) 20:10 (man speaking) 21:39 - They live simple lives. - Yeah. 21:41 - I mean, they're very poor, obviously, 21:43 because the little boy's playing with the inner tube 21:45 and a stick, (Jon laughing) 21:47 and their clothing is hanging on the fence there to dry, 21:49 and just very simple lives. 21:51 - But very nice people, normal people, 21:54 people that you could meet in America, 21:57 different clothes, different setting, 21:58 you would have no idea. 22:00 They just happen to be there. 22:01 This little church, this is the house church in Raikia. 22:05 - Okay. - And we met there, 22:06 it was like in the middle of the day, 22:08 people were at work, - Busy at work, yeah. 22:12 - [Jon] But a few people got together and they fed us 22:15 some of the best food. 22:16 That food was cooked in this kitchen, 22:19 sitting on the floor like that. 22:20 - Very small kitchen. - Very small. 22:22 - No counters. - Yeah. 22:23 - All the work on the floor. - Yeah. 22:25 - Yep, that's very normal in India. 22:27 - Yep. - But we're not 22:28 used to seeing it. - No (laughing). 22:29 - And we don't work that way. - No, that's one of 22:32 the reasons why it only cost $90 a month 22:34 to sponsor a full-time Bible worker. 22:36 - Right, because they live simply. 22:38 Very simply. - They live simply, 22:39 but they blend with the community. 22:41 - That's true. - For me as a missionary 22:42 to go there and blend with the community like that, 22:45 I would have huge hurdles of, in my own emotions, 22:49 to live like that, 22:50 plus the language, plus the culture, 22:51 plus the skin color, 22:53 so that's why the Bible worker's so powerful and effective. 22:56 - Mm hmm. 22:58 - Now this last place that we're going is 23:00 the place that really hit my heart the hardest. 23:03 Because it's a church, 23:05 and this was damaged extensively in 2008, 23:09 and this is sitting in a community, 23:11 we still have believers there, 23:13 but as far as I know, they don't meet for worship, 23:17 but when we came, they insisted that I come 23:20 and pray in their house. 23:23 And I didn't have, we were short of time, 23:25 we had to keep going, but they were just so insistent 23:28 that I finally went and prayed. 23:30 And the one guy, I went into his house, 23:32 it was so poor, I couldn't even take video. 23:36 So I have no pictures or video from that place. 23:39 But it just really struck me, can you imagine, 23:42 being in a small community with your church 23:46 in a state of-- - Destruction. 23:49 - Destruction. 23:51 The roof is missing and the windows are broken out 23:53 and all this stuff, 23:54 and have to walk by that every single day, 23:57 knowing your neighbors see it every single day, 23:59 and here, over a decade later, 24:01 you still have this standing monument 24:04 to the power of the rioters. 24:06 - Right, right, the power of evil. 24:08 - Yeah, where's your God? 24:10 - Right, and exactly, that's part of the point, 24:13 because we've had people tell us in India 24:15 that they ridicule the Christians for having house churches, 24:18 because your God is not strong enough 24:19 or good enough, or whatever, 24:21 powerful enough to provide you a place to worship, 24:24 and look at the Hindu temples, 24:25 they're so nice, whatever, 24:28 but the Christians, if they have a house church, 24:31 or if they worship under a tree, 24:33 I can't imagine what these people have heard 24:35 from their neighbors. 24:36 - Oh man. 24:37 - I mean, it's heartbreaking. 24:39 It's heartbreaking. - You can tell the members, 24:40 the membership there, is under oppression. 24:43 It wouldn't take much to completely repair that church 24:47 and take the stain off of God's name. 24:49 - Right. 24:50 - And restore that community of believers, 24:52 have a revival there, 24:54 I don't know how receptive the local village is, 24:57 we have a Bible worker near there, 25:00 and he says that it may be about the right time 25:03 to start to rebuild the work in that area. 25:07 So this is my deepest prayer. 25:11 Here's a little video from that day. 25:13 (uplifting piano music) 25:22 We are standing in a village that, 25:24 about 10 years ago, suffered a lot of violence. 25:27 This is a mainly-Christian area, 25:29 we have an Adventist church right here. 25:41 In 2008, four of our members, including one pastor, 25:45 was killed. 25:46 And this church was destroyed. 26:06 We are now praying for God to do a miracle. 26:10 The people around here are wanting to have a church back. 26:16 They're still believing in God, 26:17 they're asking, desperately asking for prayer, 26:20 even as we visit here, 26:22 please come and pray for my family, 26:24 pray for my invalid mother, pray for my daughter, 26:27 all these things are happening here. 26:30 There's an urgency that something needs to be done. 26:34 It's an opportunity, many opportunities here, 26:37 big opportunity to glorify God's name 26:40 in this little village. 26:48 So please pray about this little village in Orissa. 26:52 May not mean a lot in the world scale, but in Heaven scale, 26:57 one soul is worth more than the entire world. 27:16 - You know, there's a lot of sadness there. 27:17 - Yes. - There's a lot 27:19 of opportunity to be downcast based on the history. 27:23 But when we look at the opportunities there are here, 27:26 there's opportunity for God to be glorified. 27:28 - Yes. - There's opportunity 27:29 for the church worldwide to show their love for those, 27:35 that small community of believers. 27:36 - Yes, it's a great opportunity. 27:38 - Yeah. 27:40 If you'd like to get in touch with us, 27:42 you can contact us at Jesus for Asia, 27:45 P.O. Box 1221, Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315. 27:51 Call us at 423-413-7321 or visit our website at 27:56 Jesus4asia.org. 27:58 May God richly bless you, as you pray for Odisha, 28:02 for the believers there, 28:03 and for God's name to be glorified in a powerful way. 28:07 We'll see you next time, on Jesus for Asia Now. 28:10 (dramatic music) |
Revised 2019-11-01