In the past week, Pastor Mark Jaikumar (43) was twice kidnapped by militants in the village of Chelekere in Karnataka.
At approximately 10:00 p.m. on August 22, the pastor was gagged and abducted from an orphanage by five Hindu militants. The assailants took him to a nearby garden where he was stripped, beaten and accused of converting orphans. The assailants tried to kill him by crushing his head with a large stone. They fled when they heard the sound of a motorbike, fearing that they had been followed. Pastor Jaikumar was hospitalized with internal injuries.
Three days later, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Pastor Jaikumar was kidnapped from the compound of his church, the Divine Gospel Church, by four men armed with knives. He saw the men sitting in a car with its engine running near the church gate and assumed they needed help. When he went over to offer his help, they forced him into the car and drove off, blindfolding him and confiscating his cell phone. The men cursed his Christian faith and talked of how they were going to kill him in order to put an end to his conversion activities. After driving around for five hours, the pastor’s blindfold was removed and he was forced onto a bus, accompanied by one of the men. When the bus stalled he was able to tell the driver of his situation and contact his family who helped to rescue him.
Thank the Lord for bringing Pastor Mark home to his wife and three young daughters. Ask God to give him physical and spiritual strength as he recovers from his injuries.
For more information on persecution in India, go to the India Country Report. Video reports on persecution in India are also available at www.vomcanada.com.
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