Muslim extremist stabs pastors; their love and forgiveness lead him and his family to Jesus

Report: Bibles for Mideast

cutting the fingers and hands of a man caught reading the Bible

Al-Farooqi (name changed for security reasons), 37, had been a fanatic and faithful Middle Eastern follower of Islam his whole life. He strongly believed the whole world should be ruled according to Islamic Sharia law, and anyone not following Sharia must be killed.

In his twenties, he worked with the Taliban, destroying churches and temples and killing scores of people. He seemed consumed with shedding the blood of ‘infidels’. Seriously injured when the US army attacked his Taliban base, he managed to escape and fled back to his native city. He still limps from the damage caused by the bombing.

He had a special enmity toward Christians. Whenever he met one, he would immediately slap them. It was his pledge, as was keeping a large knife ever with him.

Several weeks ago, two Bibles for Mideast pastors met him along the road, gave him a sample gospel and started talking to him about Jesus. They of course had no idea who he was or about his past; they simply saw and attempted to engage a handicapped man walking alone.

Farooqi exploded in anger. His eyes reddened and he shook with fury.

“Allahu Akbar!” he screamed, tearing up the gospel literature they’d given him. He then grabbed his knife and lunged at them several times. Both pastors sustained injuries, but by God’s grace the wounds weren’t too serious.

While furiously stabbing the pastors, Farooqi lost the grip on the knife. It flew from his hand down to his one undamaged leg, tearing into it violently. With blood spewing out like a gusher, he fell to the ground, crying out in agony.

The pastors moved quickly to form tourniquets out of their handkerchiefs and attempted to bandage him up. At first he wouldn’t let them near him. The men had to force first aid on him, and managed to at least partially stop the flow of blood. They then hailed a taxi and took him to the nearest hospital. Once medical staff had applied proper bandaging and  given him several injections, the pastors brought him back to his own home.

On the way there from the hospital, they told him the parable of the Good Samaritan [from Luke 10:25-37].

“This was what Jesus taught us to do,” they explained. “We are simply following what He says.” Farooqi listened but seemed totally uninterested.

When the pastors left, he refused to smile at or even thank them. They could tell he was still angry. Yet the next day, backed up by prayer, they went back to the home. While his family members were happy they returned, Farooqi refused to speak to them.

Two days later, the prayerful, persistent pastors again paid a visit. They helped him untie his bandages and apply new ones. Other family members grew fonder of the Christian leaders, but not until their fourth stopover did Farooqui finally speak, thanking them. While they knew he’d done it under the compulsion of his family, they became regular visitors. Farooqi eventually began to enjoy the visits, and as they talked, the whole family learned more and more about Jesus. They listened carefully, and accepted the Arabic Bible offered to them.

 “I am not worthy to stand before the Lord,” Farooqi told them one day. “I am such a sinner and I’ve killed so many people. He simply cannot love me as a human being.”

The pastors opened the Bible to Romans 5:8-10 and showed it to him.

result of punishment inflicted in picture above: The blood of Jesus covers even this

“But here is how God has shown his love for us,” he read. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The blood of Christ has made us right with God. So we are even more sure that Jesus will save us from God’s anger. Once we were God’s enemies. But we have been brought back to him because his Son died for us. Now that God has brought us back, we are even more secure. We know that we will be saved because Christ lives.”

Farooqi and his family became convinced about the value and truth of the Christian belief system. They confessed before the Lord and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Now all regularly but secretly attend worship services at a Bibles for Mideast underground church.

Please pray for Farooqi and his family: that the Muslim community will not bring them any harm; that our mighty Lord will continually protect them under His wings.

From Hindu Indian royalty to daughter of the King of Kings

The testimony of a young woman in India

I am Princess Sayujya. I belong to a royal family in India. If this was the time of kings ruling, my father would be the King of our territory.

From childhood I was an idol worshiper. I used to go to the temples, and kept idols of Devi Saraswati, Lord Krishna, Shiva, Parvathy, Ganapati, Vishnu, Rama, Seetha and others in my prayer room. I did poojas [Hindu prayer rituals—Ed.] before them and anointed them with milk and ghee every day and prayed to them.

Sayujya with bibles for further distribution

One day, when I was doing a pooja by offering flowers to the idols, one of my idols of Devi Saraswati fell from my hand and broke into several pieces. It was really painful for me. I myself hit my head on the table and cried with deep sorrow.

While I was crying I felt someone touch me on the shoulder. I thought it was my mother. I couldn’t control myself and cried even louder. Then I heard the person touching me say, “My daughter.” I was shocked because it was a gentleman’s voice, and I knew it wasn’t my father’s. So I stood up immediately and turned towards him, but I found nobody there.

I looked around the corners and was surprised to see no one. But I was quite sure someone had touched me and called me ‘daughter.’ Then I thought perhaps I was just imagining it. So I collected the pieces of the broken idol and tried to put them back together. I couldn’t, so again started weeping.

Very clearly I heard the same voice again: “My daughter.” When I looked back I saw a bright light shining in the corner. Inside of the light I saw Jesus the Lord. I recognized it was Jesus, because many times I had seen His picture.  

Jesus told me: “My daughter, I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to God the Father, but by me. Believe me and follow me.”

Sayujya being baptised

Automatically I knelt down before Him … the first time I ever knelt before anyone. I had only prostrated myself before idols before.  It must have been Holy Spirit who forced me to kneel down before Jesus.

Then I approached Pastor Paul and family of Bibles for Mideast. They taught me that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Most High God, came down from Heaven to earth, was crucified and died as a punishment of sin for every human being … even though He had no sin at all. He rose from the dead and gave us salvation and eternal life. And they gave me a Holy Bible.

I confessed before the Lord Jesus and accepted Him as my personal Savior and Lord.

As soon as I was born again, I gathered up all my idols and threw them away. My father and mother were astonished why I was doing this, thinking I had gone mad. I explained to them what had happened, which only made them angry. They began to persecute me. But every day I became stronger and stronger in my faith in Jesus Christ, my Lord. And after a few days of studying the Bible and attending worship services I received baptism from Pastor Paul.

Now I share my testimony and distribute Gospel tracts and bibles among my friends and relatives so they too will come to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and the King of kings. Please pray for them.

My husband is also a born-again man from my own community, baptized and involved with our Lord’s ministries. God has blessed us with a child.

Reji Joseph, who was abducted in Libya, rescued

Report: Bibles for Mideast

(July 6, 2016) Reji Joseph, 43, who was abducted in Libya has been rescued today. The Indian embassy in Libya has confirmed his release. The news has been validated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who posted about the rescue on social media.

Reji Joseph had been working as an IT professional, attached to the Civilian Registration Authority (CRA) in Libya. He was abducted on March 31 along with three others. The kidnappers are believed to be members of a local Islamic group.

Reji also worked as a volunteer minister with Bibles for Mideast, spreading the word of God in Libya. He remained in the custody of the terrorists for almost 97 days. His wife Shinuja had been serving as a nurse in Tripoli. The couple have three young daughters

We praise and thank God for the release of Reji. Also we thank for those who prayed for him, especially who were fasting and praying 100 hours with us for the release of Reji along with pastors Stephen, Samuel and James.  Our Lord heard our prayers and rescued them all. Praise the Lord!

Reji with his family

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Related stories:

Indian Christian abducted in Libya (original story of Reji Joseph's abduction)

Missionaries of Bibles for Mideast abducted in the Middle East

Abducted missionaries miraculously rescued from terrorists in Middle East

Hindu woman battled cancer and skin disease, finds fiery healing in Jesus

Report: Bibles for Mideast

Usha, born and brought up in a Hindu family in India, faithfully worshipped many Hindu deities and performed daily poojas [Hindu prayer rituals—Ed.] in her home, with the hope of receiving a blessing in return.

But when she developed uterine cancer and a serious skin disease, her husband left her for another woman. Due to her sickness and unpleasant appearance, many in the community rejected her. Even her own brothers and sisters wouldn’t let her into their homes.

To care for herself and her four children, Usha had no choice but to beg from neighbors. She tried to continue teaching her children at home and live as normally as possible in the midst of her suffering.

She prayed to her idols every day for healing, including Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna, Ganpati, Ayyappa, Laxmi, Saraswathi. As part of the pooja rites, she would pour out milk, honey, rice, flowers and fruits on her idols. For months and months she repeated the rituals, but found no relief from her health maladies.

Usha applied for help from the government and they approved treatment in a mission hospital, which involved a hysterectomy. Doctors were optimistic they had removed all of her cancer, but her skin disease persisted, which baffled them.

One day some ministers connected with Bible for Mideast visited her in the hospital. They shared the gospel with Usha, a message she had never heard before. Visibly moved, she repented of all her sins and accepted Jesus as her Savior.

“I believe in Jesus Christ,” she openly declared. Everyone in the room joined hands and prayed for her.

Then something remarkable happened. As they prayed, Usha felt as if she were suddenly engulfed in a burning furnace. Her internal body temperature seemed to rise dramatically—as if a fire raged within every cell of her body!

She looked at her skin and hair, expecting to see herself charred or singed, then expressed surprise when she saw no evidence of the fire she felt.

Usha receives Bible from ‘Bibles for Mideast’ worker

“All my sin and sickness burned from my body by the grace of Jesus Christ!” she exclaimed.

After this intense experience, her skin disease slowly disappeared. The ministers who witnessed her healing praised the Lord. Doctors could not explain what happened, some admitting it had to be a miracle.

As Usha regained her health and strength, she was baptized and began to freely share the story of God’s amazing work in her life.

Now working as a housemaid in the Middle East, she often spends her spare time involved in evangelistic activities with Bibles for Mideast. She distributes bibles and Christian literature for free, wins souls to the Kingdom of Christ and attends a local house church.

With one of her children now married, Usha manages to support the studies of her other three even on her minimal wages. And when she does get paid, she faithfully gives a tithe to the Lord’s work.

"The Lord Jesus Christ has given me life and livelihood out of empty hope,” she explains. “I can hardly give enough to Him for His unspeakable gifts!"

Thalaikoothal: the crude ritual killing of the elderly in India

By Pastor Paul

Thalaikoothal, the crude ritual practice of geronticide or involuntary euthanasia of the elderly and infirm, is still practiced in parts of India. In a sense it resembles leading a lamb to slaughter, except no knife is involved. In more than 50 villages of the districts of Virudhunagar, Mandabasalai, Madurai, Thoothukudi and Theni in the Tamil Nadu State, the favored practice involves an oil bath

Even in some regions otherwise praised for a vibrant culture encompassing all walks of life, the ritualistic practice is often accepted as an innocuous norm.

When a family is unable to bear the burden of an elderly, they kill them off. Many of the strongest hearts would cringe at the methods used.

A group of elders gather outside a village corner shop. At times thalaikoothal is practiced even with their consent

The most common practice involves first giving the person an oil bath. The body is massaged with 100 ml each of coconut, castor and sesame oils, usually at dawn. After this, the person is given a cold bath and put to bed. The body temperature soon dips, often lethally. After 15 minutes, the person is made to drink a few glasses of tender coconut water and a glass of milk. This causes renal failure. In a day or two, the person catches fever and dies.

Another method is to massage the elder’s head with cold water, causing a sudden drop in body temperature. Unable to handle the change, the individual often suffers cardiac arrest.

Should these procedures fail, a third way would be give the person a glass of mud mixed with water, or force a piece of murukku, an Indian snack, down the throat.  Being difficult to swallow, suffocation and death often ensue.

Another popular method is to administer a highly-toxic tablet used to kill pigs. It costs 10 Indian rupees and is sold under various brand names, such as Quickphos and Celphos, in pesticide shops throughout the villages. The tablet is usually mixed in tea and given to the elderly. The death results from profound shock, myocarditis and multi-organ failure.

Pesticides, sleeping pills and lethal injections have also become part of it. Or, a local quack may prescribe a too-high dose of valium. A survey carried out to study the practice in Tamil Nadu reveals there could be as many as 26 different ‘acceptable’ ways to kill the elderly. 

In the village of M Reddiapatti in the district of Virudhunagar, 92-year-old Subbama Veluchamy was recently ‘put to sleep’ by her family. Bedridden for more than 40 days, she had been under the care of her son and her sister-in-law’s family. One day, after a bout of diarrhoea, Subbama refused to eat or drink. This was when the family decided to give her the oil bath. However, the bath failed, and a local quack prescribed a dozen sleeping pills. These too failed to put her out of her misery. The last resort was a lethal injection. As her veins were infirm, the quack pricked her foot and took her life.

“We all could hear her crying loudly and quivering in pain. But the family cannot afford her,” said her neighbor Kasthuri.

Though villagers claim they have buried the gruesome tradition, it has now taken on a silent form. Sometimes, the elderly themselves consent to it, in which case everything will be done with full preparation. Relatives are often told the exact date, as if some marriage ceremony were to be held.

Kannaki, 65, lives with her daughter Malar on one meal a day—a cup of kanji (rice gruel) early in the morning.

“I don’t want to live," she says. "I know I will be killed as my daughter cannot afford to take care of me. But I want to die a peaceful death without pain.”

She knows her daughter has little time to take care of her. Her right leg and left hand, both paralysed, add to the burden. Malar, an agricultural laborer, ekes out a living and cannot afford her mother's medicines.

“Will you help me?” she asks her daughter, hands together in supplication. “I am a burden. I don’t want to trouble you any more.” Tears run down her wrinkled face as she lifts her head to look into the eyes of Malar. Her words are lost in sobs, and her lower lip trembles as she wipes away the tears with the corner of her muddled green sari. 

Given her condition, Kannaki could soon be another victim of thalaikoothal.

As justification for the killing, some offenders say the practice enables the old to be rid of their suffering. Others say they do not have the means to take care of their parents.  The truth could be anything, including ownership of property. A higher number of the elderly victims are men who usually have the property in their names, which does somewhat validate the ownership angle.

Although illegal in India, the practice has long received covert social acceptance as a form of mercy killing. The government finds itself helpless to interfere in any practice of a society fiercely divided along religious, caste and traditional lines. So no one complains and doctors often cite the reason for death as natural causes; no one is arrested for this crime. Since society accepts it as normal, there is no hue and cry. Entire villages can stand united behind those who carry out this procedure. 

With the diverse ways there are now to kill the elderly, the ritual has spawned an unorganized crime sector involving middle men and quacks known as vettiar who claim to be siddhans (indigenous medical practitioners) and doctors. Because of the gravity of the act the quacks engage in, hesitatant villagers refuse to divulge more details about them. Furthermore, this happens right under the nose of law-makers and police.

Though the practice is ethically and legally unpardonable, one should note that it is sustained by the economic backwardness of this region.

“Their livelihood has always been a question mark,” says J. Manivannan of the Elders for Elders Foundation, an NGO in Cuddalore. “They are farm laborers. Both men and women work, but their daily earnings can meet only one person’s needs.”

State health secretary J. Radhakrishnan, however, claims that the government of  Tamil Nadu “is doing its best for palliative care.”

That this form of murder is socially acceptable says a lot about the evil lurking in a society that appears perfectly civilized and chest-thumps about its ancient history. To the hoi polloi in the villages and towns where thalaikoothal is practiced, it is considered merely part of ‘the cycle of life’.

Even activists trying to end the barbaric tradition tread carefully. They have taken the indirect route of educating the masses about how to care better for the elderly instead of telling them outright that their practice is nothing less than demonic. Bibles for Mideast ministers in the region, attempting to end the barbaric practice by teaching the value of a soul through the love of Christ.