On October 23, a church worker and his family at the Vineyard Community Church in the city of Gonawela, Sri Lanka were attacked by five men claiming to be police officers. According to a November 3 report from the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEAL), the family was guarding the church building when five men approached at approximately midnight. The five men threatened the family, beat the man with clubs and aggressively shook a child. They also stole a woman's gold necklace, damaged the building's electricity supply and smashed pots and vases. The beaten man sustained serious injuries; he is passing blood with his urine and suffering from severe pain in his lower abdomen.
A week later, on October 30, the Vineyard Community Church was again attacked, this time by a group of ten men. They unsuccessfully tried to set the building on fire. No one was injured in this attack.
In another attack on October 30, the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Lanka in Polhena was accosted by a group of local men at approximately 9:00 a.m. Two or three men beat him while the others looked on. He has been hospitalized for arm injuries.
Pray that the men suffering physical pain will be strengthened and delivered by the Lord (2 Corinthians 1:9-11). Pray also for their persecutors, that they will come to know Christ (Matthew 5:44).
For more information on the persecution of Christians in Sri Lanka, click here.
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