India Opportunity

If you know how to pray, pray for this. One of the Ellerslie students brought this need before the body. This is happening right now! Let us be watchful!

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There is a group within the Dalits who are known as Manual Scavengers – the Dalits of the Dalits.  There are 2 million of them.  These are the ones who clean manholes filled with sewer.  One man who is from this group has managed to get an education and his daughter is in Toronto.  This Dalit man contacted [a certain missionary] last week, saying he wants to see this specific group set free from Hinduism.  He had told [this missionary] that Buddhism had the same challenges as Hinduism, Islam had terrorism, and so he was choosing Chrisitianity.  He told [the missionary] that 100,000 would be ready to enter Christianity.  He asked [the missionary], “Will the church be ready to accept us?”

This man has gone ahead on his own and planned a meeting on August 20 in Tamil Nadu State, inviting 10,000 leaders from this specific group of Dalits.  On that day he will declare that they are releasing themselves from Hinduism to enter Christianity.  He has asked [this missionary] to be there and to speak.

[The missionary] sent a team to this town 2 days ago to prepare the pastors and churches for this.  He wants to meet with the pastors in this area (about 250) on the following day, the 21^st.

[The missionary] is excited but also scared about this event.  This man is planning this all on his own and is determined to go through with this.  [The missionary] sees this as a pivotal event in the Dalit movement.  This could be as critical as the Nov. 1, 2001 meeting in Hyderabad.  

He is asking that the global church pray for this.  

1. They as Christian leaders need wisdom to know how to proceed with this. Politically this could be a high risk event and if these people decide to take a stand and walk away from their labels that they have had for 3000 years, again the government could resist them.

2. And the church of India needs prayer that they would be open to accepting these people into their churches.

(I watched a documentary with [the missionary and his wife] on this group of people.  It is absolutely gut wrenching!)

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May the church not miss this opportunity! Though you may be in America, Spain, Russia, England, or Mexico, far away from India, you can still participate in drawing together in the unity and strength of the body of Christ, lifting up this event in prayer. God is able to work!

In the 1200s, there was another opportunity for a huge group of people to turn to the Lord, and the church failed to take the opportunity. The people were ready and waiting to hear the gospel and learn the truth. Their emperor, a significant military and political conqueror, initiated the event and requested 100 missionaries to come and teach his people the word of God. But only 2 missionaries embarked, and when a storm came up early in their journey, they turned back.

That people was the Mongols, and their emperor was Genghis Khan. His empire was the largest (land-wise) ever known in history, bigger than the Babylonians, the Romans, or the Greeks. One can only imagine the early impact Christianity would have had on Asia if the church had been faithful to respond to the call. (See the first few chapters of the Travels of Marco Polo for the entire story of this.)

How sad it would be if only 2 of my readers prayed for this! Pray. Pray that the power of God and anointing of the Holy Spirit will flowing forth in full strength upon this meeting.