India -- Churches across India are mourning over the deaths of two students at the Gospel For Asia’s English Medium School. The teenagers, along with six others, were caught in the crossfire between two warring tribes in the state of Assam.
"Two tribes the Kuki tribe and (the) Karbi tribe. And, one of the elders of our church, two of his children were murdered by the tribe that is fighting against his tribe,” said GFA’s KP Yohannan.
The two children were the sons of Rustam, who heads the Christian school. The murders, committed by the Kuki tribe, came in retaliation against last month’s kidnapping of 28 of its tribal members.
Though the event is tragic, Yohannan said the churches are uniting under the comfort of the Lord.
"The churches spend days in fasting and praying because they realize that it's satanic forces behind the scenes. The Lord gives them grace and power and this really ignites a new burden for them to do the work of the Lord,” said Yohannan.
According to Yohannan, such violence in rampant in the impoverished nation; Hindu Fundamentalists continue to target Christian evangelists.
"The Hindu Fundamentalists some times go house-to-house warning people not to let Christians into their home."
However, this can sometimes back-fire on them. "Many people are curious about these warnings" and invite them in to see what their message is all about.
While there are more than 120 GFA churches planted among the Karbi tribe, outreach to the Kuki tribe has only recently begun. Despite the persecution and threats, five missionaries are currently going door to door to share the gospel with the tribes.
