An independent evangelical church in Badulla, Sri Lanka was accused by the chief Buddhist monk of unauthorized building, despite a building permit the pastor had obtained in 2003. According to a May 3 report from the National Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, the monk filed a complaint with the Badulla police on April 29. That night, an unidentified group attempted to break down the doors of the pastor's house. When they were unable to do so, they began to throw kerosene on the house to burn it down with the pastor and his family inside. When neighbours shouted at them, the attackers left and destroyed the temporary structure being used to conduct services. They also pulled down the concrete pillars for the new structure being built.
A complaint has been made to the police but there has been no investigation to this point. The pastor has expressed fear that the delay may be because a monk was involved in the incident.
Pray for the pastor and members of this church. Pray that freedom of religion for Christians will be fully respected in Sri Lanka, and that authorities will investigate this recent incident.
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